Palm City

First morning in Florida. We decided to save time by eating breakfast on the road. So we headed right out. First stop was at a Winn Dixie for some groceries; then we spotted a McDonald’s. There only seemed to be three people working, and breakfast took longer to be served than if we had made breakfast in the rig, eaten it, and cleaned up afterward. It was easily the worst record for service in any McDonald’s we have ever been in.

That finally done, we headed toward Amelia Island. In the process we got on the very beginning of A1A, the Florida beach road. We went out to the ocean for a view of our first Florida beach. It was cold and windy, not exactly beach weather, and there were only about two or three people there.

The wind was strong. It was white-knuckle driving past the open marshes and on the high bridges. Not what you imagine when you think about Florida. We followed A1A through Jacksonville and St. Augustine. It was busy in St. Augustine, since it goes right through the heart of the tourist area, but not bad withal. We did switch to 150 at one spot where A1A takes a ferry ($20 for RVs) but got back on it at the next opportunity.

We scored the last ocean-side RV site in Gamble-Rodgers State Recreation Area, south of Flagler Beach. We were right across from the walk to the beach, so next morning we went down to the beach. It was still cold and windy, and the only other people on the beach were a mother with two happy toddlers. Jean managed to find enough shells so that she could be picky. Brought back a good haul.

When we got to Titusville, we spotted a Welcome Center, so we stopped. One of the missions for this trip is to check out possible Florida towns to move to. The people at the Welcome Center were happy to point out the advantages of Titusville, and made it sound quite appealing.

We had planned on following A1A all the way to Palm City, but it became apparent that the road mostly goes through the high-rent residential areas, so we switched over to US-1 at Orange Beach. When we got to Melbourne, we started calling camp grounds. This being high season, we found that most of them were filled. We finally scored a site in Sebastian, well down the coast. By the time we got there they were closed, but they had left a map out for us. We could pick a spot and pay in the morning. It was a very large campground, with lots of permanent customers, including “park models” and singlewides. In fact, we found one of them near where we were listed on Zillow (a real estate web site). We eventually found an empty 30-amp site at the back and settled in right next to the jungle. Later in the evening, we found that we were only about ten feet from a busy train track. The jungle is very good at hiding things but not so good at muffling sound.

Next day, Thursday, we headed out looking for breakfast. We were pretty much out in the country, so we headed back to A1A to see if we might have more luck. We simply found ourselves driving between large gated communities. Back on the main road, we finally came to a big shopping center. We drove in, figuring there would be a restaurant someplace. What we found was a very popular Jewish delicatessen. The décor was old black-and-white photos of New York City. The sandwiches were about six inches thick. We ordered a plate of “loaded latkes” from the appetizer menu. We both ate our fill and there was still food left over.

At this point we were running ahead of schedule, and Jean still needed to pick up a couple of birthday presents. Consulting our smart phones, we found some shopping a way off the highway. So after a big detour, we parked at a Beal’s and Jean went shopping. She was successful, so we plunged into the rush hour traffic in Port St. Lucie. We arrived at her son’s house in Palm City about 6:00 o’clock.

The next day was Friday, so I called a mobile RV tech to repair the fan in the ceiling vent which hadn’t worked since Virginia. Getting repairs on the road can be difficult and expensive. It can also entail a lot of waiting. Since the weather had been fairly cold so far, we needed a heater more than a fan. But in southern Florida the problem was the other way around. I waited until we were going to be settled in one place for a while before I made a call. The service tech eventually arrived and, just as in the past with this unit, the fix was quick and easy. However, the service call was still pricey, but I knew that going in.

Next day, Anna took us to a botanical garden. Jean’s son, Sandy, is between jobs (he’s a freelance insurance adjuster) so he spends most of the time driving for Lyft and Uber. We don’t get to see him much this trip. We had perfect Florida weather for touring the botanical garden. They are getting ready to add something called “Faerie Forrest” which will involve scattering a number of these delicate sculptures around the garden.

 

We spent almost as much time looking at birds as we did plants and flowers. One of the first things we spotted was an osprey on a nest.

 

In addition to that (and another osprey nest), we saw this anhinga peering intently down into the pond.

And a little blue heron stalking along the side of the pond; we thought he was dangerously close to where the alligator lives.

We had, of course, seen Spanish moss all through the south, but here was a tree covered with it.

What is more characteristic of Florida is banyan. I was fascinated by this example.

Jean and Anna were much taken by the orchid garden.

Anna is very good with orchids, so Jean brought her one from Virginia that hadn’t bloomed in years. Perhaps it will thrive here. There were other flowers, of course. I think that this is some sort of bromeliad.

As we were resting before leaving, we were treated to a rainbow lizard.

The women had planned on spending the rest of the afternoon at the beach, but Sandy reported that the beach was mobbed (this being Saturday). So we relaxed in the house. Sunday the beach would be just as crowded, so Anna took us on a tour of nearby Hobe Sound. This is a small town just south of Palm City. It is a quiet place with little traffic (at least on Sunday). It also has a convenient beach — important for Jean. While at the beach we talked with a number of residents who were sitting around the pavilion with their dogs. Very friendly folks. Sandy and Anna pointed out that Hobe Sound is a small town near bigger cities with all the advantages of the cities but with less traffic. It looks like the best situation that we have seen so far.

At the beach I spotted something you don’t see much any more, a Plymouth Prowler.

You certainly see a wide range of vehicles in Florida. Just down the street from Sandy and Anna’s house is this example.

Monday, the women went to the beach while I stayed behind and worked on pictures. Later in the evening, Jean went to the salon where her granddaughter Hannah works, and had her hair done. We finished off the day with dinner at a good German restaurant, another plus for Hobe Sound in my estimation.

Tuesday was not one of the good days. First off, Hannah had to take one of her cats to the vet. He is a very sick boy. Then we got word from home that Max, the collie, was also very sick and had been taken to the vet. This is a dog that we had been keeping for someone for a couple of years. Some months back, their situation had changed and they gave him to us. He had been pretty much Chillie's dog, so now it was official. Now he was very sick. After worrying for the best part of a day, it was determined that he had cancer. After much agonized deliberation it was felt that the best thing for Max would be euthanasia, so at 6:00 o'clock it was done.

That was a very sad moment. On happier news, Hannah's cat underwent successful urinary tract surgery and is much better.

It’s getting to be time to move on. We haven’t decided whether to leave tomorrow or the next day. It’s been a fancy-free trip so far.