Florida Finally

View of the ocean out the camper door.

On December 1st we arrived in Florida to stay at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park in Flagler Beach.  What a cool spot!  This is the closest campsite we've ever had to the ocean.  This park has a beachside and riverside campground.  We stayed beachside (obvi).  We were very happy to arrive to this little slice of paradise. 

Happy Campers!

Flagler Beach at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park

We had a little "business" to attend to during our stay.  In October, while still in New York, we discovered that the unit that functions as a combination furnace/hot water heater in the camper was not working on electric.  The Truma Combi is a unique system that can operate on electric, propane or a mix of both by cycling through a propane to electric to propane... cycle.  The Truma worked on propane but not on electric.  When we took the camper to our dealer to diagnose, the Truma rep said it looked like we'd need to replace the whole unit.  As we were about to hit the road, the recommendation was to go directly to the Truma Service Center in Lakeland, FL.  

Our appointment was for 9:00 am Tuesday, Dec. 3rd, and was 3 hours from the campground and meant driving through Orlando traffic.  We decided to leave the day before and find someplace to stay overnight in Lakeland, so we could just get to the dealership easily in the morning.  Unfortunately there were no Harvest Host locations in the area.  I called the local Walmart and they said we could NOT stay overnight in their parking lot.  (I've learned that it's an individual Walmart decision whether to allow overnight RV stays, so you always need to call first to inquire.)  Next on the list of places that might allow an overnight stay; Cracker Barrel.  We called the local Cracker Barrel and asked if we could stay overnight in the parking lot.  The young lady that answered the phone said she didn't know and would ask her manager.  She came back and said, with clear surprise in her voice, "Why yes you can stay in our parking lot overnight."  We slept (I use the term loosely because we were a few 100 yards from I95 and heard traffic all night) in the parking lot Tuesday night and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel the next morning.

Cracker Barrel parking lot, Lakeland FL

I had spoken to Dave at Truma a few times before we arrived.  He's the service technician everyone dreams of finding!  He's a genuinely nice guy AND he knows his stuff.  He did the diagnostics and determined that instead of replacing the whole unit, he needed to replace the circuit board that controlled the electric coming in and going to the Truma unit.  This was a much faster solution and while it was under warranty so not an out of pocket expense, it was nice to know the whole unit wasn't being scrapped unnecessarily.  I can't say enough about what a positive experience we had at the Truma Service Center.  We are so grateful there are honest and knowledgable skilled mechanics and technicians to do what it takes to make our home "all better'!  😀 Thanks Dave!

We let Dave back the camper into that space!

Stella Lance in the bay at Truma Service Center

On Thursday we took a walk on a nature trail at the Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve.  It was a nice place to get out and walk on an extensive network of boardwalks that take you along estuarine creeks and out to the Intracoastal Waterway, offering panoramic views and birding opportunities along the way.

Carol on the boardwalk

A heron we were watching

Heron taking off after we got closer

Views from the marsh walk

Nature was decorating for the holidays.

Nature was decorating for the holidays.

This is an awesome campground.  We'd rank it as an all-time favorite.  In addition to getting out to see nature at the preserve, nature brought the show to us as well.  We had both beautiful nighttime skies and morning sunrise glory.

Thursday evening sky over our campsite.

Friday morning sky over the beach

Friday morning sunrise

View of the campground (Stella Lance in the foreground) from beach overlook 

As you can see, we enjoyed our short time at Gamble Rogers.  Getting campsite reservations in FL in the winter must be done months in advance.  We made these reservations last February and were only able to get a 5 day spot.  Plan ahead if you want to take advantage of this beachfront location!  As wonderful a location and short stay that we had, there was something else that made this week even more special.  We received a wonderful gift of handmade love from our friend Melissa.  A Sun 🌞 and 🌊Waves pattern quilt.  

Getting packages shipped while on the road is tricky.  But Melissa mailed this package to the campground we were staying in Jekyll Island, GA four days before we were due to arrive there, and we were there for a week.  The package was due to arrive the day before Thanksgiving.  It did not.  Tracking showed it was in Atlanta, GA so we were hopeful it would arrive the day after Thanksgiving.  It did not.  Then tracking showed it was in Memphis, TN.  That didn't seem right.  It was moving further away, not closer.  We were leaving on Sunday, so there was only one day of mail delivery left for the package to reach us before we left GA for FL, so I was beginning to panic.  I called the USPS 800 number, finally was able to speak to a human.  She said, "I see your package is available to intercept, you could try that."  What is this intercept of which you speak?  Apparently you can go on-line and "intercept" a USPS package en-route and either return it to sender or have it re-routed to a US Post Office.  So for a fee, I had the package sent to the post office in Flagler Beach.  Fortunately it worked and we finally were able to enjoy this magnificent quilt.  It looks perfect in its new home, doesn't it?!

We are enjoying visiting east coast Florida state parks for the first three weeks of December.  One of our favorite parts of being on the road is seeing new places.  The adventure continues.  Life is Good! 

Jekyll Island, Georgia

We arrived on Jekyll Island on Sunday, November 24th.  Jekyll Island is run by the Jekyll Island Authority much like a state park.  There is a toll bridge to get onto the island, $8 a day.  We arrived a bit too early to check into the campground, so we parked at Oceanview Beach Park and had a picnic lunch.  Once on the island, the beach parking is free and there are restrooms and showers.

Stella Lance parked at Oceanview Beach Park

Covered picnic table where we ate lunch

 Walkway to Oceanview Beach

We were absolutely smitten by the quiet remoteness of this island.  Everything is laid back, there is little to no commercial development, some small homes, some tasteful condos, but mostly trees, beaches and bike paths.  The Jekyll Market is a general store with everything from groceries, beer, wine, and deli to t-shirts, souvenirs and jewelry.  There are no big beach outlets, no billboards, no tall buildings, it's just right.  Jekyll Island Campground is large, rustic and has preserved a natural campground setting with trees and crooked roads.  I failed to take any pictures of the campground to showcase the space per se.  I did however take a picture of this cute vintage camper and it gives some sense of the setting.

Vintage camper at Jekyll Island Campground

The campground has a nice gift store with some food staples, ice, wood, etc.  There is a laundry room and the bathrooms were clean and water hot.  We were at the campground for Thanksgiving and joined a potluck dinner in the Community Building.  Following dinner some folks got up to jam for an hour.  There is a weekly jam session and in peak season over 20 musicians join the jam. 

Jekyll Island Campground Jam Band

We quickly discovered that there are bike paths (see map) that cover Jekyll Island.  We biked almost everyday and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the island by bike.  Our first adventure took us to Driftwood Beach.  This is less than 1 mile from the campground and one of the most extraordinary places I've ever seen. 

Many of the bike trails are through tunnels of Spanish Moss covered Live Oaks

Driftwood Beach

Driftwood Beach

Driftwood Beach

Driftwood Beach

Driftwood Beach

Bike trail from Driftwood Beach towards Clam Creek Fishing Pier

https://www.explorejekyllisland.com/Jekyll_Island_Bicycling.shtml

We also enjoyed a couple rounds of mini-golf at Peppermint Land (Jekyll Island Mini-Golf).  There are two separate 18 hole courses and if you play one, the second is half-price.  It was a gorgeous day, we couldn't resist another round.

Sandcastle feature

Carol and Kelly at Peppermint Land

Another day we biked to Horton Pond and saw alligators and turtles.  There was a much larger alligator sunning on a rock in the distance, but I was able to get a much better picture of this little guy from the viewing platform.

Juvenile alligator and soft shell turtle

We visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and spent a few hours learning about sea turtles and visiting the sea turtle hospital.  All of the turtles at the Sea Turtle Center have come to be treated for illness or injury.  Many have been hit by boat propellers but there are a variety of reasons they come to the hospital for treatment.

Sea turtle recovering in the hospital

Sea turtle recovering in the hospital

Kelly and Carol at Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Jekyll Island does lights right at this time of year!  Holly Jolly Jekyll starts November 29th and it is something to behold.  We were mesmerized walking and driving around the island to see the magnificent lighting displays.  This is a fraction of what we saw.

Sunset from the Historic District

Lit up!

Lights in the Historic District

Lights in front of Jekyll Island Club

On the bike path near the Convention Center

Christmas Movie on the Green at Beach Village (notice The Grinch in the background)

Rainbow trees on Ben Fortson Parkway

Some of our fellow campers were in the holiday spirit as well.

Vintage camper Christmas

As you can see we had a WONDERFUL week on Jekyll Island.  We saw many delightful sights.  But when it comes right down to it, it was the chance to get out on our bikes and be able to go anywhere on the island by bike, especially just riding along the ocean.  It just doesn't get much better than this.  

Biking on trail along Oceanview Beach