Gamble Rogers on the Ocean Front

Thursday December 11 – Saturday December 13, 2014
Gamble Rogers State Park
Flagler Beach, Florida

 

Those of you who stuck with me through the multiple Disney World posts will be happy to see me do multiple days in one post rather than multiple posts for one day.

We’ve been at Gamble Rogers for 3 days now resting up and kicking back after Disney.  The major thing happening here of course is the two medical infusions which took place Thursday and Friday at Florida Cancer Specialists in Palm Coast.  Those take David about 4 hours so I’m forced to have to spend my time here.  Poor me right?   Other than the infusions, we seriously haven’t done much but enjoy our magnificent view, walk the beach for sunrises, walk over to the boat dock on the inland waterway for sunsets, wrap holiday packages and David has taken on a couple of fix it projects that have been waiting in the wings for a block of time.  

Oh and both of us came down with colds thanks to all our friends at Disney World.  David’s immune system was strong enough to handle it which is a great thing.  But then he gave it to me.   Isn’t that generous??

 

Here’s our site at Gamble Rogers named after a beloved Florida folk singer who lost his life trying to rescue a tourist in the ocean. The park is located between the ocean and the intracoastal waterway on both sides of  Highway A1A.    The original campground that we are in has 35 sites on both sides of a single non paved road.  The odd numbered sites have an ocean view if you pull in.  The even numbered sites are right behind them.  There are 3 sites that will handle rigs over 40’ and one that says 47’ but I don’t see how.  8 sites are sized only for tents/trailers 25’ or less.  Each site has water and 50 amp electric.  There is a dump station.  There is currently a construction project going on to put another 35 sites over by the intracoastal waterway.

 

 

And this is the view out our front window.   If you know of another state park when you can have a view this close to the ocean, please let me know.   We are right next to one of the two boardwalks down to the water but that’s OK with me.  I get a wider unobstructed view and it’s quick and easy to get down to the beach.  Plus I get to watch everyone else go by.  :-)  The park is currently so small there aren’t such things as crowds even when it’s full but doubling the size may change that.

 

 

 

I love love love my view!!
Of course in full disclosure, the wonderful palmetto and other native plants that surround the coach and create privacy for us except on the walkway side, also block the ocean view if we are sitting down on the patio.  But we can sure hear it and from the living room it is a glorious sight.

 

 

At the end of the boardwalk is the half mile beach of brown coquina sand.   The beach continues both north and south of the park is just as lovely there.   The high rise condos don’t start until you are south of the water tower on your way to Daytona Beach.  Flagler Beach is a really lovely little traditional beach town.

 

 

 

 

The campground road from our site

looking south

Looking North

 

Another thing I love about Gamble Rogers State Park is that the Sunrise is just outside my window and the sunset is about 1000 steps away along the intracoastal waterway.

 

Here’s Friday morning’s barely dawn color from just down on the beach from Winnona.

 

 

Amazingly I was the first footprints on the sand this morning.

 

By the time the sun rose there were a few more people, but not many.  This is amazing to me because the sun comes up just after 7:00 and it is over 40 degrees here when that happens.   What are people doing rather than coming out to greet the day??

 

 

 

 

We think the toilet saga is finally over.  David installed a new dometic toilet back in Colorado in July.  We were surprised to find after we had driven away from the Camping World where we bought it of course, that it did not come with a spray hose.  I’ve told this story before and was even more surprised to find that some folks in RVs don’t have spray hoses.  If they can do it, we can do it we thought.   But we didn’t like it.  So David reinstalled our old one.  Well that didn’t work, too much pressure on the hose and it leaked.  The hose has to be attached to the foot pedal.  So last week we ordered the spray hose kit that goes with this toilet – still amazes me that it doesn’t come with it – learn from our oversight if you ever replace your toilet.   Today was the installation day.   It’s hard to take a picture of David working in such a small space so this one I took when he stepped out to get something will suffice to record that he again saved us some bucks by doing it himself.   Wish I could have talked him in to just buying the kit originally rather than trying his various other ideas which were more frustrating for him than they were worth.  But it’s all fixed now.  Hoo Ray!

 

 

Here’s a sunset from the boat dock at the park.   I love it!  Sunrise AND sunset at the same park and I didn’t even have to struggle to get a reservation in the Keys.  That does not mean that reservations here are easy to get.  BUT I was able to do it.

 

 

On Saturday after getting 7500 steps on the beach at sunrise, we hop on our bikes and peddle the 3.2 miles up to the Flagler Beach Farmer’s Market held every Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1:00 or whenever the customers thin out.

Here’s dawn

 

I look back at the park from the beach.  This is not Winnona but it gives an idea of how close we are to the beach.  These folks have a great view but less privacy between sites.

 

 

Some of the brightest color is between dawn and sunrise.

 

When the sun actually peeks above the horizon, my pictures all become progressively darker because of the sun’s light as I shoot into the horizon.

 

 

 

This is the view from the platform just outside the coach.   Makes me smile every single time morning is broken.

 

 

To get to the market, we ride on the sidewalk down A1A.  There is a narrow bike lane and little traffic today so we could have ridden in the street but there are no pedestrians out either so we opt for the sidewalk.

 

 

We have a view of the water most of the way.

 

 

All the homes are across the highway from the water so everyone has an ocean front view but no one owns the beach.  Seems like a very good plan to me.   We pass some interesting houses.  I take these shots while peddling along.  I hope you can see the New Orleans style wrought iron on both balconies on the first house.

The second one must belong to pirate lovers.

 

 

The Farmer’s market on Saturday is a shadow of its Friday self but there is still a good number of vendors.  You can use your credit card to buy tokens for use if you don’t have cash.  We’ve brought cash.  It is easier for the vendors.

 

 

One of the many reasons we love spending the winter in Florida is because of the citrus in season and the Plant City Strawberries.   These are some early ones.   The festival isn’t until late February/Early March.

 

 

 

They have any vegetable you could want as well as herbs and fruits although not much citrus yet.   We try to limit ourselves to what will fit in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

This is the booth of a wonderful jewelry maker, she and her sister call their business Twisted Sisters.  They make lovely jewelry much of it inspired by the sea and nature.   I don’t wear jewelry much anymore or I could have spent some serious money here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the perfect outdoor shower and it can be yours for only $100.  I just love it but there’s no way it will fit in one of our bins.  Clever idea though don’t you think?  Wonder if he could still use it for surfing with that hole in the top?

 

 

 

It’s back on the bikes for the trip home.  David straps a sack of gold potatoes to his carrier.  I take the bulk of it in my collapsible side baskets bought for just this purpose.

 

 

We bike back down the street one block back parallel to A1A and I love the colors of the houses here.  I can’t even imagine what the neighbors would say in Charlottesville if you painted your house pink or teal blue.  But here it looks great.   This one can be had for $375,000 one block back from the beach.  The pink in the pictures is a bit faded from the bright color I saw.  Mid day sun I guess.   Notice the darker pink almost fuchsia trim around the windows.

 

 

Street signs.  The only other places you might want to go I guess.

 

 

Now here is a great idea and as soon as water becomes the commodity we are all fighting over rather than oil, as it surely will, this sort of landscaping may become the law.   You can only grow what is native to your place.  I think it’s a great idea and applaud these folks for being ahead of the curve.  No grass in their yard.

 

 

 

I remember these flat topped Florida houses from my visits to the state as a young girl.   It’s one of the things I love about Flagler Beach.  There are still many old beach town homes still in use.  Everything isn’t a gigantic mcmansion.

 

 

These shutters remind me of old Key West.

 

 

I was pretty surprised to see this house tucked in among the others.

 

 

 

We noodle around the rest of the day.  By now David is feeling somewhat better although he’s still sneezing and can’t go anywhere without a handkerchief.  He came down with the cold our last day at Disney.  Today my throat is starting to get sore.  A sure sign I’m getting a cold.  But I still walk over to catch the sunset.  How can you resist when it looks like this?