Living Our Dream

Florida's Space Coast Part III: The Coast

In addition to witnessing the launch of the Shuttle Endeavour and visiting the Kennedy Space Center, we also explored some of the other things to do in the vicinity of the Space Coast.

On the barrier island south of New Smyrna Beach and to the north of Kennedy Space center is Canaveral National Seashore. The seashore is an undeveloped area that is a sanctuary for plant, animal, and marine life.

A short distance inside the northern entrance to Canaveral National Seashore is Turtle Mound. Turtle Mound is a 50 foot high hillock of mostly oyster shells and is a refuse mound left by the Timucuan Indians from about 800 to 1400 AD. During the time the Indians lived here, the mound was as much as 75 feet high. Turtle Mound contains over 30,000 cubic feet of refuse and extends approximately 600 feet along the shore of the Indian River, which is the river that runs between the barrier island and the mainland. The mound is easily visible from the sea and has been used as a landmark by mariners since the time of the Spanish explorers. The turtle-like shape of the mound gives it its name.

There is a boardwalk that carries visitors to the top of the mound.

The photo below shows Margery and Paul on the boardwalk with the Indian River in the background.

 

Much of the larger plant growth has been removed from the top of the mound. You can see exposed oyster shells in a number of areas. But more importantly, with the vegetation removed, there is a clear view of the surrounding area. The photo below is looking north along the Indian River. The beach houses in the distance to the right are outside the national seashore.

 

Along the boardwalk, we saw several of these zebra longwing butterflies sipping nectar from the flowers.

 

A little farther down the road into the national seashore, we stopped at a parking area along the ocean side of the island where we could walk out to the beach.

 

After visiting Canaveral National Seashore, we also stopped to the north in New Smyrna Beach near where we were staying. Unlike the beach at Canaveral National Seashore, New Smyrna Beach is more like Daytona Beach a few miles farther to the north with a wide beach with little slope. The sand is very fine and so tightly packed you can easily drive your car on the beach like you can at Daytona. There is little danger of getting stuck unless you disobey the signs and try to drive on the sand at the very back of the beach where the tide seldom reaches. The photo below is one of the many auto entrances to the beach at New Smyrna.

The panoramic view of New Smyrna Beach below shows how totally different it is from the beach at Canaveral, which is only 8 or 10 miles to the south.

Just across the inlet to the north of New Smyrna Beach is Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station. But you can't get there from here because there is no bridge across the inlet. You have to go back across to the mainland, drive about 10 miles north almost to Daytona Beach, cross the bridge there out to the barrier island, then drive almost 6 miles back to the south to get to the light station.

At 176 feet high, Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest in the country. The lighthouse used to be called the Mosquito Inlet lighthouse until the inlet was renamed in honor of the Spanish explorer in 1927, which is a good thing because we tend to avoid any places that have "mosquito" in its name. :)  Work on the lighthouse was begun in 1883 and completed in 1886. The lighthouse is constructed entirely of brick and contains approximately 1.25 million of them. The foundation is 12 feet deep and is 38 feet across at ground level. At the base of the tower, which is 32 feet in diameter, the walls are 8 feet thick. The tower tapers to 12 feet in diameter at the top where the walls are only two feet thick. The photo below shows the Ponce de Leon Inlet lighthouse.

This area of the coast was long recognized as being very dangerous. Bonfires were lit on the shore to aid mariners. The first lighthouse built on the south shore of the inlet in 1835 was damaged by a hurricane, attacked by Seminole Indians and eventually fell into the sea without its lamps ever having been lit.

Last year when we visited the light station in St. Augustine, FL, we learned that, although the terms lighthouse and light station are frequently used interchangeably, lighthouse refers to the tall structure with the light on top while light station refers to a lighthouse that has a complex of support buildings. The support buildings at Ponce Inlet include the principal keeper' s house, two assistant keepers' houses, a woodshed, a pump house, a generator building (added in 1940), and an oil storage building.

Paul climbed the 203 steps to the top of the lighthouse. The photo below shows one of the assistant keeper's houses from the top of the tower. Margery, who decided not to stress her knees by climbing the tower, is sitting on the bench in front of the house to the right of the steps.

 

From the top of the lighthouse, you can see Daytona Beach in the far distance to the north...

 

...and to the south you can see the marina at the mouth of the inlet, New Smyrna Beach in the middle distance, and Canaveral National Seashore beyond that.

An entrance building/gift shop was added to the complex in 1992. It was built according to 1883 plans for a proposed, multi-family keeper's dwelling. In 1995, a building to exhibit the Preservation Association's collection of Fresnel (pronounced Fre-NEL) lenses was also added.

Fresnel lenses are actually a combination of lenses and prisms. The use of prisms allows a reduction of the overall thickness of the lens.

Order numbers are used to classify Fresnel lighthouse lenses with a first order lens being the largest and a sixth order the smallest. The first lens used at the Ponce de Leon Inlet lighthouse was a non-rotating, first order lens illuminated by a five-wick kerosene lantern whose light could be seen 20 miles out to sea.

In 1933, the lighthouse was electrified and the fixed lens was replaced by a rotating, third order lens. The rotation of the lens allows a unique pattern of flashes which is used by mariners to identify the lighthouse so they would know their exact location. The third order lens continues in operation today as a privately-operated aid to navigation.

There are a number of lenses and lamps on display in the lens exhibit building, but the star of the show is the restored, first order lens that was originally located in the Canaveral Lighthouse to the south. The Canaveral Lighthouse is located near the Kennedy Space Center. When it was discovered vibrations from all the rocket launches were damaging the lens of the Canaveral Lighthouse, the lens was removed in 1993 and placed on display at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. The lens is over 16 feet high and weighs 12,800 pounds.

 

As you can see, the lens is illuminated, although with a lower wattage lamp than would be present in actual use. The lens also rotates, and we were fascinated by the light patterns as they traveled around the walls.

 

Many of the other buildings on the grounds have displays of artifacts and photos that depict the life of the keepers and their families. The First Assistant Keeper's house is furnished the way it would have been at the turn of the 19th century. The photo below shows the bedroom.

 

Also on the grounds is one of the first charter fishing boats in Ponce Inlet, the Gay Wind. The boat was built in 1939 in St. Augustine and was in service until 1999.

 

Next to the Gay Wind were two rafts used by Cuban refugees trying to escape to America. The one on the left is made from canvas and styrofoam and washed ashore in 1989. A life vest was left in the raft by the Coast Guard indicating those on board had been rescued. The raft on the right was made from a truck inner tube, some wood, and a few pieces of styrofoam. The fate of those on the second raft is unknown. The fragility of these rafts that were used to traverse 90 miles of open ocean between Cuba and Florida indicates how desperate some are for freedom...something we take for granted.

 

While walking the grounds of the lighthouse, we stopped to admire these tropical-looking plants with bright orange flowers. We don't know what they are, but it was a good reason for a photo.

We spent a week on Florida's Space Coast and we found plenty to do, but there was one more thing we wanted to check out before we left. Right up the road from the campground was a sign for the ruins of a sugar mill. Every time we drove by, we were curious as to what it was. Finally, on our last day in New Smyrna Beach, we drove into the narrow road to find out. Just a few yards off the main road was a nice little county park.

In 1830, Henry Cruger and William DePeyster acquired 600 acres of land, bought machinery, and established a sugar plantation and mill on the site. Unfortunately, in December, 1835, Seminole Indians attacked the mill, set fire to it, and destroyed other plantations in the area.

The sugar house where the sugar cane was processed is pretty much all that remains of the mill. The locals carried off some of the stone blocks to use for other buildings after the destruction of the mill. The building was made from coquina, which is a type of limestone found along Florida's Atlantic coast. Coquina is composed of compressed bits of shell and is quite durable. In our travels last year, we found the Castillo de San Marcos (the large Spanish fort) in St. Augustine, FL, was constructed from coquina. The photo below shows the sugar house.

The mill had a steam-powered cane crusher to extract the juice, which was then heated in large kettles. Some of the kettles are still there. With Margery and Molly standing beside them, you can see how big they are.

 

When enough water had been boiled off, the thickened juice was ladled into wooden cooling troughs. After the sugar had cooled and crystallized, it was packed in barrels. Before shipping, the barrels were stored for a time to allow the molasses to run out.

Behind the ruins of the sugar mill is a short nature trail that runs through the palmettos. Molly enjoyed the opportunity for a little walk.

As we said, there is a lot to do in this area, but it was time to be moving on. We will have to add another location to our list of places we want to return to someday. From here, we will be heading farther south.

Florida's Space Coast Part II: More Kennedy Space Center

After the bus tour at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), we returned to the visitor center and went the the IMAX Theater where they have two screens showing two different movies. We missed the start of the movie Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon so we saw Space Station 3D. Margery makes quite a fashion statement with her 3D glasses.

The movie depicts life aboard the International Space Station and shows how the astronauts go about their daily tasks. The 3D effect with the huge, wrap-around screen and surround-sound makes for a really great experience. The movie was shot from the astronaut's perspective enabling you to feel like you were actually on board.

After the movie, we walked over to an area that featured a space shuttle replica.

We were able to climb aboard to view the cockpit and the cargo bay, which has a simulated payload.

Next to the replica of the shuttle are shuttle booster rockets and an external fuel tank.

For the launch, the shuttle rides piggy-back on this rocket/fuel tank assembly. We learned the booster rockets, which are the smaller, white cylinders on the sides, contain solid fuel and burn for two minutes. They are then separated and fall into the ocean. Parachutes allow the booster rockets to splash down undamaged, after which they are recovered and reused up to twenty times.

The large, orange fuel tank in the center holds liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for the main engines on the shuttle itself. The fuel in this external tank lasts about eight minutes; and when the fuel is exhausted, the tank is separated from the shuttle. By this time, the shuttle is traveling about 15,000 miles per hour or approximately 20 times the speed of sound. The tank is the only major component that is not reused. It burns up on re-entry.

Adjacent to the shuttle replica and rocket/fuel tank assembly is the Shuttle Launch Simulation Facility which is shown in the photo below behind the trainer jet. This new attraction is a Disney-like ride that simulates a space shuttle launch.

 

Paul couldn't resist trying the ride, but Margery went to the observation room where she could watch the ride on monitors without experiencing all the shaking and tilting of the ride. It wasn't really all that bad - mostly shaking to simulate the vibration of the rocket engines and tilting backward and forward to simulate the g-force of the launch. There were no sideways movement, spinning, or turning upside down.

After the ride we walked over to the Rocket Garden that consists of various rockets used throughout the history of the U.S. space program. Each one has a plaque describing the history and specifications.

The photo below shows an F-1 rocket engine that was on display in the Rocket Garden.

A cluster of five F-1 engines that produced a total 7.5 million pounds of thrust were used on the Saturn V rocket. Just one F-1 engine, which was powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene, produced as much thrust as all three of the main engines on the shuttle combined.

The Saturn V rockets that were used in the Apollo Program are the largest operational launch vehicles ever built. It was said at the time that outside of a nuclear explosion, the sound from the lift off of the Saturn V was the loudest man-made sound ever produced. Our previous post showed a photo of a Saturn V rocket that was on display at the Apollo/Saturn V Center on the bus tour. There was also a Saturn V in the Rocket Garden that allowed us to get a photo of the other end where the space capsule is located.

They also had a mock-up of an Apollo space capsule on display to illustrate how cramped it was. The photo below shows Paul clowning around adjusting the controls of the mock-up trying to get it to blast off. You sit in the capsule just the way it is shown in the photo - lying on your back. Getting in wasn't too hard, but getting out was less than graceful. Paul was glad Margery had already turned the camera off.

 

Adjacent to the Rocket Garden, there is a building with artifacts, scale models of rockets, and photos depicting the early days of space exploration from Sputnik to Project Mercury, which was the first manned, human space flight program of the U.S. Paul took advantage of a photo-op with a life-size composite photo of early astronauts.

It was getting late in the day and we had seen pretty much everything we wanted to see, so we left KSC and headed back to the motor home. There are lots of other things to see and do around Florida's Space Coast. Stay tuned to see what else we found.

Florida's Space Coast Part I: Kennedy Space Center

As we headed south from Myrtle Beach toward Florida, we made a one-night stop at McIntosh Lake Campground and RV Park in Townsend, GA. Lake McIntosh Campground has fairly widely-spaced sites, full hookups, and cable. Roads are gravel and sand and the sites are grass and sand. The campground is fairly quiet - they are less than a mile from I-95, and, although you can hear the traffic on the interstate in the distance, the noise isn't objectionable. We got a pull-through so we wouldn't have to unhook our toad. Lake McIntosh Campground is a good place for either an overnight stop or a longer stay. They also have an on-site restaurant, The Lakeside, which is nice after a long day of driving. However, we ate in during out stop. The photo below shows our site at Lake McIntosh.

 

Right across from our site was the lake.

 

From Lake McIntosh, we headed down I-95 the next morning to New Smyrna Beach, FL, where we stayed at New Smyrna Beach RV Park and Campground. New Smyrna Beach RV Park has roads that are sand and crushed shells. The sites are mostly grass. There is a good bit of shade from live oaks in the front section, but the back section has mostly palms, which are less dense. They were very accommodating and gave us a site in the back where we could get good reception with our satellite dish.

Site spacing is fairly generous. The campground has full hookups (including cable) in the RV sites, but there are also tent sites without hookups as well as nine cabins. Wi-Fi is also available. The photo below shows our site at New Smyrna Beach RV Park.

The campground is nice and quiet - no planes, no highway noise, and only a few, distant trains. From our site in the back section, we couldn't even hear the cars passing by on the road that ran past the front of the campground.

New Smyrna RV Park will undoubtedly be filled with Snowbirds in another month or so. Quite a few have arrived already.

We wanted to tour around Florida a little before heading to our winter stop in Bushnell. A stop at the Kennedy Space Center was at the top of the list. The area immediately around the Kennedy Space Center, which includes Titusville, Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, and Palm Bay, is known as the Space Coast.

When we first began to research campgrounds around Kennedy Space Center (KSC) several weeks ago, we were unaware there was a space shuttle launch scheduled for the evening of the day we planned to arrived. When we found out about the shuttle launch, we were delighted to know we would be so close on the day it was scheduled to lift off.

The shuttle mission is to perform several "home improvements" to the International Space Station. The astronauts will install a new recycling toilet, a new galley, and two new sleep stations. The work is part of a long-range plan to boost the station's full-time crew from three to six.

A little while after dinner, we went outside to wait for the launch. Sure enough, right on schedule at 7:55:39 the sky to the south lit up as the rockets ignited. In a few more seconds, we could see the bright light of the rocket engines coming up over the trees. The photo below is a little blurry because we didn't have a tripod to steady the camera for the low-light photo, but it gives you an idea of how the shuttle launch lights up the sky, even though we were about 35 miles away from the launch pad "as the crow flies."

 

The shuttle arced to the northeast out over the ocean. We could see the booster rockets burn out and fall away. We watched until the shuttle was just a little dot of dim light, then we went back inside and watched a replay of the launch on the NASA channel on our DVR.

A few days after the launch, we drove about an hour to the south to the KSC. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958. In 1962, NASA established its Launch Operations Center on Florida's east coast. The center was renamed Kennedy Space Center in 1963 in honor of the president who put America on a path to the moon.

KSC is located on Merritt Island (it was once an island, but now it's actually a peninsula) and covers 219 square miles. Only about 9% of the land is developed, and the remainder is a wildlife refuge. Since public access to most of the area is limited for security reasons, the wildlife is very much undisturbed. We saw numerous birds while we were there and even a small alligator near a pond along one of the main roads.

Kennedy Space Center has a visitor complex that has numerous exhibits and shows detailing the past, present, and future of space travel. Tickets are expensive ($38 + tax for basic adult tickets); but the visitor complex is so big and has so much to do, the tickets are good for two days, and you certainly get your money's worth. We managed to see what we wanted to see in one day, but it was a very full day. A bus tour of the facility is included in the basic admission price, but there are also extra-cost tours and programs that would take much more time.

The bus tour of the space center is the primary thing we wanted to do, so we went straight to the bus boarding area as soon as we bought our tickets and got through security. Security is tight, but not as unfriendly as it is in airports. Be sure to check the web site for what you can and can't take in if you're planning a visit.

Shortly after the bus departed, we went by the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where the shuttle (properly called the orbiter) is mated to the booster rockets and external fuel tank and where the whole assembly is stacked onto the crawler that is used to transport the orbiter to the launch site. The VAB has cranes that can position components weighing thousands of tons to within 1/64th of an inch. The low building to the right is the launch command center.

 

The first stop on the bus tour is the Launch Complex 39 Observation Gantry. One of the two crawlers that is used to transport the shuttle from the VAB to the launch pad is stored near the observation gantry. The crawler itself weighs 6 million pounds and has a carrying capacity of another 12 million pounds. The crawler moves on eight gigantic treads, and its speed when loaded is about 1 mph. It takes eight hours to move the shuttle from the VAB to the launch pad.

From the observation gantry, you can see Launch Pads 39A and 39B. The photo below shows Launch Pad 39B, which is where the most recent launch of the Shuttle Endeavour took place. The white dome is the liquid-hydrogen tank with a capacity of 850,000 gallons.

 

The photo below shows Margery reading about the space shuttle rocket engine that was on display at the observation gantry.

Visitors can stay at each stop of the bus tour as long as they want. When you've seen all you want to see, you just get on the next bus that passes by to travel to the next stop. Buses run about every 15 minutes.

The next stop was the Apollo/Saturn V Center, which details America's moon landing program. At this stop, the Firing Room Theater re-enacts the Apollo 9 launch. The simulated control room is set up using some of the original consoles from the Apollo 9 flight. Apollo 9 was the first flight with the Lunar Module on board the spacecraft.

There is also a Saturn V rocket on display. The Saturn V is a multi-stage, liquid-fueled rocket used for NASA's Apollo moon program. The photo below shows the "business end" of the 363 foot long Saturn V rocket.

 

Also on display was a Lunar Rover that was used for astronaut training.

And what would a moon-landing exhibit be without a moon rock? They have a two samples on display including a small slice from a rock that you can actually touch. The sample was brought back from the Apollo 17 mission. Margery said it felt very smooth.

The Lunar Theater depicts the first moon landing (Apollo 11) using taped footage of the flight and scale models that are about a one-third life-size.

The third and final stop on the bus tour was the International Space Station Center. The International Space Station (ISS) is a cooperative effort of the U.S., Russia, eleven European countries, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and Italy. Work on the ISS began with the launch of the first segment by Russia in 1998. Several other modules have been added since that time. The ISS has been continuously manned by various groups of astronauts since November 2, 2000.

At the ISS Center, there are displays of modules that you can walk through. The photo below shows a module with biotech experiments.

 

In the photo below, Margery is looking at a "Waste Management" module with the toilet on the left and the shower on the right. Her facial expression seems to be saying, "Is this what I think it is?"

At the ISS Center, you can also climb up to the mezzanine and look down on actual ISS modules being assembled.The assembly takes place in an ultra-clean environment to prevent any type of contamination. All the workers must wear shoe covers, bonnets, masks, and disposable suits called "bunny suits."

In the photo below, the Japanese are working on their experiment module, Kobi (Japanese for "hope").

The Kobi project is Japan's first facility for manned space activities and aims to conduct astronomical observations of Earth and other celestial bodies. It is scheduled to be completed in time for a 2009 launch.

After we toured the ISS Center, the bus took us back to the visitor center where there was still much to see. Check back in a few days for our next post or you can sign up to receive e-mails of our posts. We have more to share about what we learned at the Kennedy Space Center.

Myrtle Beach 2008 Part II

The storm system that passed by offshore the first part of our stay took almost three days to move on. By the end of the third day, the clouds finally started to break up, and the following day dawned bright and clear. We sat on the beach a little while enjoying the warm sun and watching the waves...no two are alike and they're mesmerizing to watch.

 

A gull stopped by and checked us out. Since we didn't have anything to eat, it didn't hang around too long.

 

We also watched a couple of sandpipers flit up and down the beach. As a wave would flow out, they would run down to the edge of the water pecking at the sand as they went looking for whatever it is they eat. As the next wave would come in, they would run back up the beach as fast as their little legs could carry them staying just ahead of the advancing wave. Then they would repeat the process as that wave flowed back out. Occasionally they would stop beyond the reach of the waves and stand on one leg to rest.

Later in the day, while Margery was cooking dinner, she realized that Paul had "disappeared." Following her instincts, she walked down to the beach and found him.

He loves watching the sunset. Even though the beach faces east and the sunset is behind you as you look out into the ocean, the water and sky still take on an unusual, luminous quality just as the sun goes down below the horizon. The photo below is looking up the beach toward downtown Myrtle Beach. There is a plane in the pink glow just to the right of center coming in for a landing at Myrtle Beach International Airport.

 

With the return of sunny weather, we were also able to resume our bike riding. Ocean Lakes has several miles of internal roads running among the camping areas and winding among the beach houses. The photo below shows some of the beach houses lining one of the lakes at Ocean Lakes Resort.

 

Outside one of the beach houses there was a lantana still in full bloom that was covered with butterflies.

On Saturday, we went to the Golden Corral for the breakfast buffet. The price isn't cheap ($7.49 for adults, $6.99 for seniors over 60), but it is one of the most extensive breakfast buffets we have seen. In addition to a full array of the usual breakfast items (scrambled eggs, bacon, several types of sausage, bacon, ham, several types of potatoes, sausage gravy and biscuits, hot cakes, French toast, fruit, etc.), they also have made-to-order omelets, made-to order waffles, corned beef hash, creamed chipped beef on toast, two types of quiche, fried chicken, and so much more we can't even remember it all. They even have deserts (pie, cake, cookies, and soft-serve ice cream with sundae toppings) for breakfast! Golden Corral's dinner buffet is pretty good, but we like breakfast better. We usually go later in the morning for brunch.

After brunch, we stopped at the Myrtle Beach Flea Market. It's a nice, little, indoor flea market with 50 or 60 vendors...lots of t-shirts, beach blankets, and beaded jewelry.

Myrtle Beach is a big tourist town, so there are plenty of places to tempt us to eat out. After the Chinese/seafood buffet and the breakfast buffet within a few days of each other, we had to be careful with our budget and our waistlines. We did, however, eat out one more time.

We don't get steak often, but when we do, we like to go to Texas Roadhouse because we think their steaks are excellent. We also like Texas Roadhouse because most of their locations have a "two-fer" early bird special between 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM. The special includes a choice from 7 or 8 entrees, rolls and honey butter, two sides, and all the peanuts you can eat for two people for $15.99. We usually get the 6 ounce sirloin steaks, salads, and mashed or baked potatoes; and that turns out to be just about the right amount of food for us. If you're interested in trying the "two-fer", check to be sure the restaurant at your location has the special and what the hours are.

While Texas Roadhouse is a national restaurant chain, Myrtle Beach also has a couple of restaurants called Texas Roadhouse Grill. As far as we know, these restaurants are not part of the Texas Roadhouse chain, and they do not have the "two-fer" special.

During the rest of our stay in Myrtle Beach, we groomed Molly, rode our bikes a little more, and walked on the beach. The day before we left to head south, Paul checked tire pressures in preparation for our departure. Oops! The pressure of one of the rear tires was down about 10 psi. Tire pressures can drop when is gets colder; but it wasn't that cold and when one is down that far and the rest are OK, it's a pretty safe bet there is something wrong.

It was a rear outside dual, so it was easier to see than an inside dual. And fortunately, it wasn't one of the new front tires. Paul got out a small mirror and looked around the tread. Sure enough, there was a small piece of metal (it later turned out to be what was left of an 8d nail) sticking out from between the tread. Paul called Coach Net, which is who we use for roadside assistance, and within about 20 minutes a service truck from Mason Tire Co. in nearby Surfside Beach showed up. The mechanic had the tire pulled, dismounted from the wheel, repaired, and remounted in about half an hour.

This was the second time we had a flat while stopped and the second time we have used Coach Net to get the tire repaired. The way roadside assistance works is they cover the cost of the service call, but the customer still has to pay for whatever repairs are necessary. If repair along the side of the road is not possible, then roadside assistance pays for towing to the nearest facility capable of making the repair. We are pleased with the response we got from Coach Net both times we used them.

After the tire was repaired, we took one more bike ride, then packed the bikes in the back of the car and took one last walk on the beach.

A little way up the beach, we ran across several surfers trying to take advantage of the waves the wind was kicking up. Although the waves weren't all that huge, the surfers would occasionally get a nice, long ride.

There were also several groups of horseback riders on the beach. We found out the Heart Association sponsors an annual 20-mile ride on the beach from Lakewood Camping Resort, which is the next campground to the north, to Myrtle Beach. The annual Jack Monroe Beach Ride, which is a 5-day event, is in its 27th year. It's fund raising goal for this year is $330,000. Last year over 1,300 horses and riders participated! That's a lot of horses AND manure! In addition to the beach ride, the weekend also includes live entertainment and dance, a silent auction, a mechanical bull, vendor row, a costume contest, and a parade.

We talked with a local lady who was on the beach with her horse, and she said it is a great family event. Not only are there adult riders, but some families also bring in miniature horses that their children ride.

The event was scheduled for the weekend, but a number of participants had arrived early and were already out riding.

Some of the horses had never been to the beach before, and their owners  were getting them used to the surf. The surf was a little heavy; and, although the rushing water and noise made a few of them skittish, the horse in the photo below was fairly calm.

It was getting dark as we finished our walk. We headed back to the motor home for dinner and to finish our preparation for departure the next morning.

Myrtle Beach 2008 Part I

With our new front tires installed, we left Carowinds Resort near Charlotte the next morning and drove southeast to Myrtle Beach. During our first year of full-timing in 2006, we decided to stop at Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach kind of on a whim. We originally planned to stay only four days that first year; but we liked it so much, we decided to stay another week. We also stayed there last year and made reservations again for this year.

We have read in some of the campground reviews that Ocean Lakes can be quite zooy in the summer. However, in the fall, the campground is usually not crowded, although they have occasional rallies in the off-season; and we hear they fill up for Thanksgiving. On November 1, they switch to winter rates; and in the early part of November, the temperatures are generally still in the 70s and upper 60s. It is still pleasant to sit and walk on the beach and to ride bikes. We get to enjoy an uncrowded campground and good weather at reduced rates.

Ocean Lakes has full hookups, cable, and free Wi-Fi. Roads are paved as are some of the pads, but sites with paved pads cost an extra $5 a night. Every year they pave more of the pads; and we think they will eventually all be paved, which means their prices will also be higher. The photo below shows our Ocean Lakes site, which was two sites back from the beach.

And the next photo shows the view from our door.

Most of the time we were there, the end site beside us was empty, and we had an unobstructed view of the ocean. In fact, this year, the campground did seem a little more empty than the past two years we were there. Actually, in spite of the high oil prices all summer, this was the first time this year we have noticed a definite drop in campground occupancy.

All the tourist spots like Yellowstone, Moab, UT, and Durango, CO, where we were in this summer, were filled. Although we couldn't be sure about a lot of the interim stops we made because we had never been there before, they didn't appear to be that empty. Most of them, especially the state parks and Corps of Engineer campgrounds, filled up on the weekends, which is typical. In a few campgrounds where we asked about cancellations, they said they had more than normal, but they also said they always seemed to get last-minute replacements and remained relatively filled. Maybe now it's the combination of economic worries on top of the summer's high gas prices that are causing all the vacancies.

In the off-season, dogs are permitted on the beach. Being a spaniel, Molly has always loved the water (swimming, that is - NOT baths). We thought she might have gotten a little too old to enjoy swimming, but as soon as we started to walk toward the water with her, she began acting like a puppy and waded right in. Margery noticed right away how cold the water was, but Molly didn't seem to mind.

One of the things Molly likes about the beach is digging in the sand. The beach is pock-marked with little holes when she's done.

 

When at the beach, one of the things Paul likes to do at least once or twice is get up early and enjoy the sunrise over the ocean. At sunrise, the beach is usually fairly deserted; and the gulls and pelicans are out looking for breakfast.

Unfortunately, the beautiful weather didn't last long. The second full day we were in Myrtle Beach, a storm came up the coast and just seemed to sit offshore for several days. It was interesting to see the mood of the beach change when the storm moved in. Once the rain hit, the beach soon became deserted. Even though this wasn't that bad a storm (there was moderate rain and a little wind), the waves took on an ominous look becoming dark from all the sand that was being churned up. The beach was white with froth. It has its own special beauty.

 

With the wind and rain, we didn't venture outside much except to take a quick look at the ocean and to put Molly out. We spent most of the day reviewing our research for travel for the next month or so. The general plan is to take a week or two to drive down the east coast of Florida, spend a few days in the Keys, then drive back up the west coast before ending up in north-central Florida at our winter stop at Blueberry Hill in Bushnell, FL.

The next day wasn't as windy or rainy - just cloudy with occasional rain, a little drizzle, and a fairly stiff breeze. The birds enjoyed bathing in the puddles.

Except for a few gulls raiding the trash, most of the birds in the campground are starlings and grackles. The grackles are very noisy with their raucous squawking. But with the sound of the surf in the background, the grackles sound somewhat exotic, and you can almost imagine you are on a tropical island.

With a little less rain the second day the storm was offshore, we made a Wal-Mart run and also went to dinner at the New China Buffet right down the road in Surfside. They have a second restaurant a little farther north in the heart of Myrtle Beach. New China Buffet features both seafood and Chinese dishes. They also have roast beef (carve your own), barbecue ribs, sushi, and a fairly complete dessert table including a variety of fruit, jello, pudding, pastries and soft-serve ice cream.

Overall, we thought the food was pretty good. We liked most of the shrimp dishes best, especially the pepper shrimp. General Tso's chicken is one of our favorite Chinese dishes, but we thought the coating on the chicken was rather soggy at the buffet. In spite of the disappointment with General Tso's chicken, we found plenty of other things we liked, and we thought New China Buffet was an excellent value. The lunch buffet is $5.95 and the dinner buffet is $9.95 ($5 extra if you want to partake of the crab legs on the buffet). We had a coupon for the Early Bird Special, which is $2 off the price of the dinner buffet between 4:00 and 5:00 PM. The photo below shows just some of the food available.

The next day, the rain had stopped, but the skies were still gray so we wandered around the Tanger Outlets. There are two in the Myrtle Beach area - one to the north and the one we went to toward the west. This is a large outlet with over 100 stores. A major remodeling project is just about completed, and it's going to be very nice when it is done. After picking up a coupon book at the outlet office, we checked out some stores and made a few purchases, including a couple of small Corning baking dishes to replace some discolored plastic microwave dishes we had kept from our stick house.

Margery was also delighted to find a Kroger nearby. Kroger is her favorite grocery store of all, and we hadn't seen one since we were in Dayton, OH, last spring. She was thrilled to find hot turkey sausage, a hard-to-find product in the west.

The weather report was finally calling for an end to the rain and eventual clearing. We were looking forward to getting back out on our bicycles and spending more time on the beach.