October 16 – November 4, 2018
Melbourne Beach, Florida
Changing things up a bit this year, we arrived in Florida a full two weeks early. Our motivation was to see if I could get a UPS golf cart route closer to where we live. Last year, I had to drive 24 miles just to get to my pod and golf cart. It didn’t make a lot of sense, as our truck is fairly expensive to operate.
So far, I am on a route that is only 12 miles away. As the Melbourne Beach pods are put in place, I’m hoping to secure one of those. It’s fun to be back behind the wheel of the golf cart, delivering those smiles that Amazon used to tell us about. 🙂
We are back on our site at Melbourne Beach Mobile Park. The vegetation grew like crazy over the summer, so we had a bit of landscaping to do. Nothing as difficult as last year though. It definitely feels like home!
Our first morning back brought us a beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic. Unfortunately for us…
…the next week saw blooms of red tide work their way north on the Gulf Stream, kicked loose from the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Michael. We had thousands of dead fish along the shores of Brevard County, and we ended up having to wear surgical masks to go outdoors, due to the smell from the red tide itself. We were concerned to say the least, as no one knew how long it would last. Fortunately, it continued north and left our area within a week.
Slowly, our friends at the park started showing up. Jerry and Linda who we visited in Rhode Island were already here, as they have bought a mobile home and are in the process of fixing it up. We also had other friends roll into the area, so it was great to see them! Bob and Pat (Michigan Traveler) are in the area until December, so we met them for dinner one evening. We forgot to get a photo, but we will get one sometime here in the next month. After that, we were paid a visit by Tessa (aka Fluffy Dog)!
She brought her mom and dad, Jodee and Bill (On the Road Abode), so the five of us made plans to search for the wild side of Florida.
They brought us a gift to keep us busy this winter: a Junior Ranger puzzle. 211 tiny pieces…
…and detailed instructions on how to put it all together! Hopefully we get a Junior Ranger badge if we complete it. 🙂
We had two different natural spaces in mind to visit with them. The first was Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Nestled along the northern border of the Kennedy Space Center, this refuge if filled with all sorts of wild animals.
We saw multiple alligators…
…and birds of all different kinds.
We even saw a wild pig!
The Great Blue Heron were out in force.
This beauty was twice as pretty as the rest. 🙂
Its remarkable how large this preserve is. The views seemed to go on forever.
To the south, the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center looms in the distance. Every Apollo rocket and space shuttle that ever flew was put together in this building. At 129,428,000 cubic feet, it is one of the largest buildings on Earth by volume.
And this is how a row of mangroves looks in infancy. Some of the ones along the Indian River are so expansive, a kayaker could easily get lost in them.
The next day, we went to Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge to visit the Barrier Island Education Center. There we learned about the sea turtle nesting efforts along the east coast of Florida. We followed that up with a visit to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. This particular wild place is special in that it was the first wildlife refuge ever established in the United States.
They have a unique boardwalk that has slats inscribed for every one of the over 500 refuges across the country.
And there at the top of the walk is Pelican Island, a small 6 acre piece of land set aside by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903. What started out as a 6 acre preserve has grown to a national system of natural spaces covering over 150 million acres. Pretty cool to think you don’t have to go far to find a wild place in the United States. Thank you Teddy! 🙂
It was great to see Jodee and Bill (and Tessa) again! It’s also great to be back in Florida, our adopted home state. Stay tuned to see what other adventures we embark on over the winter. If you are in the area, give us a shout! Until next time, safe and happy travels to all. 🙂
exploRVistas 
Good to see you are back to Florida safe and sound 😎
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It’s great to be back, Rick!
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Glad it was no more than a week of nasty red tide. It is nice to have a home like place to spend time in, especially when friends come by.
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Hope that red tide stays away, Gaelyn! Your name came up when Jodee and Bill gave us that puzzle. Something like “Gaelyn has GOT to see this!”
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I went back and quickly read your earlier post on getting that spot. Wonderful home for sure.
I still can’t get over how alligators don’t chase people in Florida every time you run across one. Something us Missouri boys don’t have to worry about -thankfully.
Karen and I are having a rough time trying to decide between Florida and Texas for a domicile. I’ve got a couple of good friends living in that part of Florida. The healthcare options are alluring as well.
Congrads on getting the job closer to home this year.
Mark
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Remember, Texas has vehicle inspections…which Florida doesn’t require. Check back with me before you make your final decision, as our mail forwarding service is dealing with that voters rights issue. They are working on a resolution, so stay in touch, Mark.
As long as you don’t get between a gator’s head and the water, your chances are better.
Looking forward to meeting you and Karen!
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Have fun with your Junior Ranger puzzle! Hopefully that red tide won’t harm the sea turtles when they come in to lay their eggs.
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Turtle season just ended, luckily, Jonell. It starts again next spring. 🙂
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Glad to see you’re off to a fun start and that you’ve settled into your ‘new home’ for the season 😊 Looks like a lovely site!
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It really is, Ingrid. Our patio faces west, so we get awesome sunsets!
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I’m so glad you took a pic of the little ranger and the instructions!! Now of course we’re waiting for that pic of it completed :-))) Your Florida home is so beautiful – you have the perfect space to spend the winter. Thanks for the great weather and fun visits to the wilds. Tessa says thanks for being her travel buddies 🙂
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We will definitely send photos of the completed ranger! Thanks for bringing the great weather! Can’t wait to see you three again! 😊🐶😊
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Hope things work out for an even closer route this season. Enjoy your winter in Florida. Nice to see that Bill, Jodee, and Tessa were able to meet up with you again.
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I start a closer route today, Pam…so I’ll be sure to post how that goes. It’s 8.6 miles away and close to some stores we use on a regular basis.
It sure was great to hang out with Bill, Jodee and Tessa again! 😊
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I bet it is good to be back in Florida! Hopefully you get a good route and everything goes well this year.
We have been hearing a lot about the red tide. We hope to do a lot of fishing while we are down there this year but fear the fish kill off will put a damper on it.
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We see a lot of people fishing from the causeways, so I wouldn’t count it out, Jim. Most of the fish killed here were mullet. It’s a big ocean!
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How nice to see Bill, Jodee and Tessa again! Ick on the Red Tide (does it really look red?) but glad it went quickly. I hope you get a close route and happy happy to be back home!
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It can look red, Debbie. We didn’t spend long at the beach looking at it! 😊. I never expected it over here, as it seems to only be an issue in the Gulf. Wonderful seeing Bill, Jodee and Tessa!
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I hope that Red Tide is gone when we get there in December! And we will definitely be neighbors for a week before Christmas for we are booked at Sebastian Inlet SP. Hope you won’t be too busy delivering packages then :)!
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Awesome, MonaLiza! December is usually really busy for UPS, but I’m sure we can find some evenings in there. Sundays are free also. 😊
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