Our Florida 2019 Trip Blog Posts
What to do on a rainy Sunday in Florida with no car?
Well, we caught up on our reading, our social connections via email & text, managed to get a short walk in between heavy showers and of course, get the blog live!
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
Dolly Parton
Our next campsite was at this community park just outside Sebastien Inlet State Park. Another adventure for today was exploring Scout Island through the magical Winnie the Pooh door! This park lies in the Indian River Lagoon system and is another great area for fishing, kayaking and boating in general.
We also had a nice visit from Momma Jo’s cousin Harland and his wife, Kim. They spend their winters in Florida and we caught up and took notes on their experiences.
The weather also finally caught up to us on the second night as the rain started and never stopped for over 24 hours!
Today’s challenge was to once again beat the weather. This time not the Arctic cold but the Florida rain!
We were up and on our bikes before 8 am and headed to the Sebsatien Inlet State Park. This pier was simply too rough for us, as we were getting wet from the crashing waves. We biked through the mangrove forest trails as it wound its’ way back to our campground in Long Point.
As you can see in the picture, some birds just dare to be different.
On today’s drive we decided to check out Cape Canaveral with a stop at Cocoa Beach and a visit to its’ well-known pier. Unfortunately, we arrived at the pier without our wallets, so no Tiki cup drinks for Momma Jo!
Click to see map for Day 10
We are now officially 1 week into our trip and still loving it! Can’t you tell?
We learned a valuable lesson today in that Winniefred can’t play with the big boys. When you visit a truck stop for fuel & propane, don’t go where the truckers go!
This park was rustic and provided a nice disconnect from the outside world. It’s also surrounded the Tomoka & Halifax rivers and a great spot for canoeing (next time!). Did you know Florida has bears? Well, we didn’t see any ourselves but lots of signs, both man-made and natural. The signs also warned us of the alligators but luckily we didn’t see any of those either. I’m surprised Momma Jo left Winniefred!
We stayed here also for 2 nights and that first one was a wicked thunder & lightning enhanced experience. The second day we got the bikes out again and headed to the quaint town of Ormond Beach about 10 kms away. A lovely picnic lunch on Grenada Pier with a visit from a few dolphins while we chatted with the locals fishing from the pier.
This day proved the power of positive thinking. We headed to Anastasia State Park knowing that it was full but felt it was worth a try to check it out on our way. Lo and behold as we walked through the door, the ranger just had a cancellation. We booked the next 2 nights right away and what a stay this was!
This was the first time we took the bikes off the rack and we put over 20 kms a day on those bikes riding throughout the park and the nearby town of St. Augustine. The weather here was much more Florida-like! We ate outside, beach-combed, hiked, and simply played in the surf. The warm sand on your bare feet and the sounds of the birds singing… How does it get better than this?
A Lola misdirection took us into the heart of Jacksonville on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday! Steve got us back on the road to Anastasia State Park via Hwy A1A but not quite quick enough for Momma Jo.
Our first Florida beach was the empty North Gate Beach of the GTM Reserve near Pointe Verda. This location of 30 degrees 8 seconds North Latitude has the historic significance of Juan Ponce de Leon’s first sighting of Florida on his search for the Fountain of Youth! We can certainly relate to Juan and his crew, as we too are searching for our own Fountain of Youth.
What a beautiful day but the forecast showed the Arctic Front moving south. We headed out for southern Georgia with Fort McAllister State Park as our planned destination.
To break up the journey we stopped at the Carolina Cider Company. It was definitely the cutest little country store and we tried a few samples of their ciders (Cheery, Blackberry & Muscat). Who could resist the cookie samples too!
Unfortunately the cold front must have forced others southwards, as the campgrounds were full! Thanks to Allstays, we found an opening nearby in Altamaha. Not the busiest campground this time of year with the river levels such that according to our camp host “even the hogs can’t find a dry spot!”. A unique experience for our night alone in the camp but the nicest locals you ever want to meet.
Today’s travel had us enter into South Carolina. We finally de-winterized Winniefred and settled in for a few days at Myrtle Beach State Park.
The warmer weather had us walking barefoot on the beach, picnic lunches on the pier, dipping our toes in the Atlantic Ocean and being mesmerized by the sound of the surf.
Today’s travel had us surpass our goal of Virginia as we pushed on to this North Carolina State Park.
We arrived just after sunset and imagine our surprise in the morning, to wake up to this little piece of heaven! The day greeted us with a chill but quickly warmed up to 16 degrees.
How pleasant it was to walk around the campground; it felt like a dream and the peacefulness was almost majestic. This is definitely a place to go back to.
Every trip to Hershey, PA should include a stop at Chocolate World!
It’s not just the chocolate that makes you smile, as you should do the tour and feel like a kid again. This stop is a chocoholic’s (Steve) dream. The variety of chocolate and treats is simply amazing and satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. A must is a bag of chocolate for the road!
To make the long drive south a little less monotonous, we stopped at each state Welcome Centre for a “Kodak moment” and a map. Momma Jo doesn’t trust Lola.
We stopped at this Harvest Host location just outside of Hershey, PA. Boondocking the first night with temps still around zero.
Wine tastings at the Vineyard at Hershey included the likes of Firefly, Twisted Kiss, Blood Orange Sangria, Crimson Fox, Frostbite and Cocoa Di Vezzetti. We also tried the unique flavours of Presidential Peanut Butter Cider and ApPaul Revere Apple Pie Cider.
We of course purchased some wine to go and we’d like to thank Chelsea & Morrissa for making this a memorable visit!
Melissa ARNOT
You just don’t ever know what’s going to happen, and that’s kind of why it’s fun. I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to do this, but we’re going to try.
We’re excited about leaving this cold behind us as we head out on our adventure to warmer weather. The forecast showed a deep freeze coming so we needed to go now!
Introducing…. Winniefred.
She’s our new home for the next 6 weeks.
We need to
– load her,
– fuel her,
– weigh her
– set our trip plan into
“Lola” the GPS
Now we’re good to go!
Check out our video here!
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