Sebastian, Florida: 17 - 30 March 2019
De-winterized the RV a day before we left. If you have never done it yourself it is not very complicated and will save yourself about $50.00 by doing it yourself. Start by draining your low point drain hoses (white and red) usually found near the axle. It will drain out the antifreeze you used to winterize. Cap them back off when the lines run empty. Then hook to a water source that has pressure. Slowly turn on each water faucet one at a time and let it run until the water runs clear. Be sure to do both hot and cold. When all of them are clear put the hot water heater and water pump bypass valves back in normal operation mode. They should have been in winterize mode prior to this point
Saturday 16 March - departed Frankfort at 1300. Drove until midnight and stopped at a great rest area near Macon, GA that had a specific section for RVs. After disconnecting from the truck we only had about 1/3 level of battery power to run lights. Good thing we were really tired and went to sleep. This was our first trip taking Oreo. On previous rides she got a bit anxious making her walk from side to side looking out the windows and sporadically meowing. About 3 hours into the trip she seemed to settle into a routine of just looking out window, laying on a lap, and sitting on top of her cage. By the time we stopped for the night she was acting like she was at home.
We put her normal litter box in the shower and had a very small litter box in the floor of the truck. During the night she did use the litter box in the shower so we no longer worried about that aspect. Got on the road at 0700 and made it to the RV resort in Sebastian, FL at 1630. The Sunshine RV resort is just off I-95. It’s a really large RV park with approx. 200 sites with a lot of retirees (snowbirds) and quite a few permanent residents. Temperature got up to mid 70s once we got south of Orlando which felt really good. I cost us about 20 miles by getting on I-95 after a gassing up going north instead of south. We only noticed it when we saw a sign that showed mileage to Valdosta! We had a good laugh, got off on the nearest exit and hauled tail South again! Of course Jennifer questioned me EVERY time we got off an exit after that.
The office closed at 1600 but they called me and said they would leave a packet with our key card and site information. We had site which they consider a standard site costing $43 a night. The sites are angled for easy backing but close together compared to other resorts we have stayed. One thing we did notice was how quiet it was both day and night. Everyone just enjoyed relaxing. The clubhouse had free wifi and a heated pool with laundry and showers. Really clean. Internet was available at the campsite for a fee but we never got it to work. Never saw a park with so many rigs permanently set up with underpinning and porches, almost looked like a neighborhood. Wabasso Beach was about 10 minutes and Vero Beach was about 20 minutes south. Other than the occasional semi using their jake brake the highway noise was just like white noise. Setting up was no problem as the connections for water, electric (50/30), and sewer were very close. Water pressure was sufficient. Cable was available but due to a change in their service you have to go to Comcast to get an adapter and subscribe for the time you are there. We just used the RV antenna to watch the 6 air channels. Several pictures below of the resort
Partly cloudy with temps in low 70s on Wednesday with a breeze so we took the time to scrub the top of the camper. Glad that is only a one time a job. Just used a plastic bristled brush and auto wash, looked like new. The park did not have any restrictions for washing. Oreo did run out one time when Jennifer opened the door...she ran to the next site with Jennifer right behind her and caught her by the tail lol pulling her back. Oreo pouted for a few hours for getting in trouble.
Learned a lesson about the 12-volt battery system. Last fall I took the battery out and put it on trickle charge in the garage all winter. When we got ready to leave on this trip, I happened to check the water levels and 3 cells were dry. I filled them up with distilled water and hit the road. When we stopped at the rest area, I checked the battery level indicator and was surprised to see it was only 1/3 charged. It ran the lights until we fell asleep so I did not think much more of it. Today I checked the battery and it was extremely hot and was venting water around the caps. Come to find out the battery that the RV dealer installed was a regular car battery and not a RV/Marine deep cycle. I learned the distinguishing distance is a car batter is rated with CCA (cold cranking amps) and a marine/RV is rated with MCA (marine cranking amps). So off to Walmart to get a new one, they run about $80.00. Not sure if the all winter trickle charge dried the cells or just a bad battery. This winter I think I will just be putting the battery in a warm place and using a regular battery charger in the spring to bring it back to 100%.
Did some exploring on Thursday of Vero, Sebastian, and Melbourne. All three towns are on the A1A about 30 miles apart with Sebastian being in the middle. Vero is by far the best kept, a lot of gated communities with a quaint historic downtown. Large amount of retired money in Vero. Melbourne was run down and reminded me of small towns throughout the Midwest. Sebastian was in the middle with great downtown and public beaches but had a relaxed feel. We did not see any RV resorts in Vero and the ones in Melbourne were scary to say the least.
Skies cleared and temps returned to low 80s on Friday. Got in that round of golf at local municipal course. A great course with wide open fairways. Learned that golf rates in Florida during the winter season are opposite of KY. They are busiest and prices are highest during their winter rates and cheapest during their summer rates. A local couple that we were paired with said during the summer you sometimes had the entire course to yourself. 18 holes with cart was 52.00. I walked 9 for 18.00. For those that may be interested the golf course sits adjacent to a local airport that offered sky diving.
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| The local alligator in pond on 8th hole and Egrets that enjoyed the course |
A week with Oreo has taught us something about traveling with a cat that is used to spending some time outside at dark. During the early morning hours 0200-0400 she gets really rowdy jumping on bed and chasing after a moving hand or food under the covers. A couple times she jumped on my unsuspecting stomach...I yelled to no avail "That’s how Houdini died you know" she looked at me like I was an idiot. At home she goes out at dusk and stays out till we go to bed around 2200 when she comes in tired and sleeps through the night. I have to work on solving this problem this coming week...Jennifer does not play well with others when she doesn’t get enough sleep
We made Oreo sit outside for a while, on her leash, last night, then gave her a "calming" treat that we found at Pet Smart. She actually slept through the night with no antics. Made Sunday a beach day as it was near 80 degrees. About 15 minutes from the RV park is A1A. There is a Golden Sands Beach park that was a great spot to relax. No entry fees. There are several state parks near Sebastian but they all have entry fees.
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| Golden Sands Beach Park |
Beach day again on Tuesday at Golden Sands Beach Park. Another interesting aspect of this beach is that the sand is really course being made up of crushed shells. If you like shell hunting this place is a gold mine. Plenty of parking and a short walk. Rainy day on Wednesday so we hung around and relaxed.
Windy but very sunny day on Thursday. Rode bikes 16 miles on the Trans Florida Rails to trails that parallels Rt 510 to US 1. Trail access is just across the road from RV park entrance. It was partially paved and partially concrete. A lot of folks were out walking and running. Love Florida and their flat land.
Friday was pack up day. Overall this RV park is great for long stays except for the cable TV and internet issues. If you are looking for a campsite that is isolated this is NOT the place. They have a schedule of activities and a lot of amenities
Drive time was 15 hours one way
Campground rankings (best to worst) to date: #1 - James Island County Park, #2 - Holly Bay, #3 -Townsend TN KOA, #4 - Sunshine RV resort, #5 - Carter Caves, #6 - Dale Hollow State Park, #7 - Green River, #8 - Rutledge RV Park, #9 - KY Horse Park, #10 - Covered Bridges Campground
Next stop Bryce Canyon, Utah....
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