Georgia on my…Magnus? Day 14

Tuesday, February 24

It was 21 degrees in the morning. It supposedly got down to 19. Unbelievable.

Notes from the day:

I woke up with weird dreams and a headache. I blame the chocolate I ate last night. Oh well.
Wow. I didn't realize it until I checked the route, but the destination for the day was almost halfway down the Florida coast, near Orlando. Will it be warmer there? 

When Molly and I walked by the pond, I saw that the stork was still absent but there was a juvenile white ibis there.  (Note to me: the date I posted seeing Wood Stork in Merlin is is 3 days off; later than actual.)

We arrived at Manatee Hammock Campground, shortly after the check-in time of 2pm. It was a mind twister. Crowded and cramped, a hundred or twice that of RVs squished into spaces with cars and trucks at crazy angles in front and beside and all over the grass. There was constant traffic noise from the street (highway 1) in front. It had streetlights scattered all around so that you could walk anywhere at night without a flashlight--provided you could see at all with all the glare in your eyes. Yet...

Just out behind the campground, there’s a big open field and a huge empty dog park and a fishing pier out into the Indian River.  And they are gorgeous.  The tent camping sites have a really good location, between the crowd and confusion of the RV area and the peaceful view of the river (aka Intercoastal Waterway).

Right across the river/intercoastal waterway is the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral. I was told that you could see rocket launches from the campground, and duh!  We missed one!  When we were inside eating supper I started looking at the launch schedule, and realized that the launch had probably happened while Ed was grilling steaks and I was fixing my salad. Dummies!

 

REVIEW Manatee Hammock Campground

(Mostly) all about the location

We had a back-in site, full hookup, with a gravel/dirt surface. There was a nice picnic table. All utilities worked fine. They were under a burn ban, but they were okay with us cooking outside on our charcoal grill. Since our site backed up to the fence around the property, there were trees and bushes providing a little bit of privacy. But the sites were very close together. 

My first reaction to the place was, “this is a disaster.” There were motorhomes and trailers crammed in all over with cars and trucks parked haphazardly at angles.  But it turned out to be pretty easy to maneuver around. And the campers, mostly all out-of-state people, were friendly and pretty quiet. It was neat and well kept up, too.  And for the location, what could you expect?

Back toward the Indian River/Intercoastal Waterway, there was a large walking area with a huge dog park and a sweet little fishing pier. That was lovely!  And of course we were right across the river from Cape Canaveral. When the weather is clear, you can see the Kennedy Space Center buildings. And there’s a perfect view for rocket launches.

It’s only 20 minutes from the space center, plus the Canaveral National Seashore. Great place with a wonderful wildlife drive!  And beaches.

Dixie Crossroads about 15 minutes north is a okay restaurant. Good service, okay food. There were lots of other restaurants in the area.