Sunday November 26th 2023

The holiday week and long weekend is over. There was a steady flow of RVs out of the campground this morning. Before the new arrivals started to show up, the campground looked to be about half full. Many of those sites were full by evening. There are empty sites tonight.

Today was a three cruise ship day in the port, but there was a brief period with four. A Carnival Cruise ship out of Jacksonville on a three day cruise to the Bahamas came into port around noon long enough to offload a medical emergency. I don’t think it even tied up at the dock. The pilot boat and the sheriffs boat hovered around the entire time it was in port. So there was a little excitement in the port today.

Most of the day was cloudy and dry along the coast. Inland there was a lot of light rain all day. Around the time the cruise ships were preparing to depart a little light rain moved into this area. I hung around the channel in the rain to watch the first two ships depart. The second ship to depart was the Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas. This is the largest cruise ship in the world currently in revenue service. Another Royal Caribbean ship the Ion of the Seas is scheduled to enter service next year is bigger. I wanted to see it go down the channel, so I endured the light rain. It is truly huge, but it doesn’t do anything to make me want to take a cruise. Cruising just isn’t my idea of a good time.

I took a couple of walks around the campground and beach today, but my primary focus in the early afternoon was watching NFL Football on TV. The beach and fishing pier didn’t seem to be as busy today. The weather was warm, but not really suited to beach activity. Later in the day the fishing pier started to get more attention, but it still was well short of yesterday’s crowds. The one thing that was more plentiful than yesterday was the birds. There were a lot more sea gulls, pelicans, pigeons and black birds all over the area today.

Saturday November 25th 2023

Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day. No I’m not in Oklahoma (and I can’t sing), but it was a very nice weather day. It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze that allowed the temperature to reach the mid seventies. Clouds moved in for sunset foreshadowing a wet day tomorrow.

I had a visit with some active dolphins in the Banana River today. I stopped at Kelly park on Merritt Island in search of colorful sailboarders in the water. The wind was probably wrong for the location, but I did find three dolphins that were feeding in the water around the boat basin. They hung around for ten or fifteen minutes poking their heads or fins up every minute or so. It was very hard to get pictures. I just couldn’t anticipate the where and when of their surfacing.

This was a five cruise ship in the port day. The day use and beach part of the park was very busy all day. It was warm enough that the beach got quite a bit of use along with all the opportunities for fishing along the channel into the port. Around 3:30PM more people started to arrive to watch the cruise ships depart. Cars and spectators lined the channel. Each ship sounded its horn as it passed to the delight of the spectators. The Disney Fantasy was the last ship to depart. It’s horn plays Disney tunes.

Between ships I switched my focus from man made ships to natures birds. The pelicans were busy feeding on the fish in the water and the foragers were busy on land. Many of the birds are not phased by all the people. I think other birds just stay away.

Friday November 24th 2023

It was a cloudy and gloomy day. There were a few signs of blue on the horizon during the day, but overhead it was thick clouds. As sunset approached rain arrived. It just persistent enough to necessitate seeking shelter. The temperature during the day peaked in the mid to upper sixties. Tonight it is cool enough that I had to turn on the electric fireplace in my RV home to keep the chill off. It is the first time since early spring that it has been on.

There were four cruise ships in port today. The Carnival Liberty docked at Terminal 3 towers over the western end of the campground. The other cruise terminals in use are further into the harbor. At those docks were two Royal Caribbean ships and one Disney ship. Shortly after 3:30 this afternoon they started to depart. The Carnival Liberty lead the way. The two Royal Caribbean ships followed and the Disney ship brought up the rear an hour later. I watched the first three depart from the side of the channel along with dozens of other spectators. The rain chased me back to my RV home as the second Royal Caribbean ship passed by. I didn’t get to see the Disney Wish depart.

There were plenty of people at the beach and day use area today. The mix was different than earlier in the week. The number of people there for the beach was way down. The percentage that were actually in the water was even smaller. People were dressed much warmer than your average bathing suit. Most of the people were in the park for the fishing. The fishing pier and the side of the channel were line with people with fishing poles. It was a bit dangerous walking behind them. I decided that the elevated narrower part of the pier wasn’t worth the risk.

The party atmosphere in the campground continues. A few RVs departed this morning, but the sites were filled by new arrivals as soon as they allowed new check ins. The cooler temperature and the occasional light rain has quieted things down a bit. There isn’t a party outside my neighbors tonight.

Thursday November 23rd 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!

After a few days of warmer than normal temperatures, today was a little below normal. It was a clear dry day with a very light breeze out of the north. The temperature barely reached seventy degrees. Tomorrow is forecast to be cooler with a chance of rain.

The holiday was in full celebration at the campground today. There are several groups gathered together to celebrate the holiday. One of them seems to be centered at the site behind me. I saw a couple of people that brought smokers with them for cooking. There also seemed to be a lot of charcoal in use. Surprisingly, I didn’t see anyone trying to deep fry a turkey. At various times during the afternoon people gathered at tables to enjoy the results of the different cooking methods. Out in the day use area all of the dining pavilions were in use with good size groups.

My meal today was nontraditional, but something I often do when I have time to dedicate to cooking. I roasted a pork loin in my convection oven. It came out very well. To go with it I cooked and mashed some potatoes. The plan was to heat some frozen vegetables to go with it, but somehow they never made it out of the freezer. I’ll cook them to go with the leftovers of which I have plenty. It was a good Thanksgiving day meal.

The ocean was calm today compared to yesterday. The channel into the port didn’t have any wave action. The pelicans were floating in the water and a few fishermen in kayaks were also working the edges. I even saw one dolphin occasionally breaking the water to breath as it searched for food. Several pelicans were doing loops above its path to look for fish it drove toward the surface. It was a good example of cooperation between species.

As the day went by the number of people fishing along the channel and on the fishing pier grew. Shortly before sun set there was very little space along the rails. People young and old were trying their luck. I saw one medium sized mackerel caught, but considering the number of people fishing that isn’t saying much. Maybe their luck improved after dark.

Wednesday November 22nd 2023

Waiting for a rocket launch disrupted my sleep last night. The original posted launch time was shortly after 11PM. Before heading out to watch the launch I checked the internet to find it had been rescheduled for 1:47AM. I decided to stay in my RV home watching old Hallmark Christmas movies until near the time of the launch. Then I’d watch it from my front lawn. The next time I checked the schedule the launch time had moved to 2:27AM. I gave up on actively waiting. There will be other launches to watch. It might still be possible to watch the launch out the window if I was still awake. At 2:27AM nothing happened. Another check of the internet showed the time had moved to 2:47AM. I went back to bed with no real intention of being awake for the launch. At 2:47AM I woke from a light sleep to the sound of the launch. Looking out the window I didn’t see anything. The viewing angle was blocked. I was finally able to get to sleep just before 3AM.

Gasoline prices are down again in this area. I filled my car at $2.95 a gallon today. I thought I’d hit the price roller coaster just right. A few miles down the road I found gas at $2.65 a gallon causing me to go from happy to sad in only a few miles. The price roller coaster is very hard to predict.

While I was driving around today I had to stop at a railroad crossing. The gates were down to allow the new high speed train from Miami to the Orlando Airport to pass by. The Bright Line train service was extended this fall from a commuter service between Miami and just north of Palm Beach to one that goes all the way to the Orlando Airport. The route takes the train north along the Atlantic Coast to Cocoa then west to the Orlando Airport. Work is underway to get approval to continue west from the airport into the Orlando Resort area then on to Tampa, but that is likely many years out.

Life at the campground continues to be very confusing. There is a lot of vacation partying going on around the park. It feels so much like a holiday weekend crowd that I continue to think it’s a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The activity level at the beach and the day use area is also at a weekend level.

Tuesday November 21st 2023

It rain a little overnight, but today was filled with a beautiful sunshine and a southeast wind. The temperature peaked around eighty degrees.

For a sunny day, the ocean was not so peaceful. The wave height coming into the port was higher than I remember seeing it. Out at the opening to the ocean the waves were breaking over the protecting jetty. If it was a stormy day I wouldn’t be so surprised to see those conditions, but it just didn’t match the nice sunny day.

The port was the opposite of the sea. It was very quiet. There were no cruise ships in port today. I don’t think they return in a big way until Friday. Other than small craft trying to fish in the channel or just offshore, I didn’t see much traffic in the port today. Looking down into the harbor I saw one big cargo ship that wasn’t there yesterday.

The atmosphere in the campground continues to confuse me. It is very much a party atmosphere. There is lots of loud music during the day. Unfortunately, one of the loud radios is at my neighbors site. That neighbor seems to be the ring leader for a number of campers at sites near by. They often have people gathered at their site or stopped in the road holding a long conversation. All of this has me thinking this is a weekend day. Several times today I had to remind myself it was Tuesday and not Saturday.

There is a rocket launch scheduled for tonight. SpaceX seems to fill in available launch windows with a launch of a set of Starlink satellites with only a few days notice. Last week in wasn’t on the schedule I checked, but it was added yesterday. I’ll be out by the port at 11PM to see the launch.

Monday November 20th 2023

It was very foggy overnight. My sleep was interrupted by the sound of a shipboard fog horn. Usually the ships entering and exiting the port pass by in silence. When I looked out the window the entire area was glowing in the reflection of the various lights in the thick fog. There were several more fog horn blasts overnight. Each ship sounded the horn multiple times as it entered or exited the port. I never saw any of them. It is typical for most of the commercial shipping to come in or depart during the overnight hours. The cruise ships also arrive right around sunrise. Today there were six cruise ships in port.

Today’s weather was mostly cloudy. The temperature climbed into the upper seventies before the clouds thickened and the wind off the ocean cooled everything off. There were a few people on the beach taking advantage of the limited sun. Others were taking advantage of the increased surf associated with the current conditions to surf the waves. This is clearly not a normal week day. The number of people on the beach and fishing along the jetty was reminiscent of a weekend day.

During the middle of the day I ventured out for groceries. Walmart was filled with Thanksgiving shoppers. It is only going to get worse as the holiday gets closer. The store was prepared for the holiday. Pallets of potatoes filled the produce section. Pies of all varieties were stacked three feet high in the bakery section. All of the traditional accompaniments stacked in temporary displays filled the aisles. Shoppers navigated around the aisles picking and poking at the displays. I got my shopping done and successfully avoided any of the items the store was pushing.

Checkout took a little longer than normal, but it was very entertaining. A multi generational family was in line in front of me. They had a shopping cart overflowing with the supplies for a feast. Each generation had their own stuff in the cart. Watching them sort things on the conveyor so the right person could pay for it was amusing. The middle generation seemed to doing most of the purchases, but the other generations had their purchases as well. The most surprising element was the two or three year old little girl that was wandering around the checkout aisle picking out things she wanted. She would bring them to her mother to put on the conveyor. I thought they would be sent back, but the mom put them aside. At the end she made a separate purchase of the three or four items the little girl wanted. I think that might be one spoiled little girl.

This afternoon at 3:30 the cruise ships started departing. I only watched three of them go by the campground. The second one I missed when I went back to my RV home for a sweatshirt and the last two departed well after dark. The Disney Wish departed a little after 6PM and the MSC cruise ship was scheduled to leave at seven. I only assume that departure happened.

Sunday November 19th 2023

The improving weather trend continued today. It was a day filled with sunshine. The temperature started in the low sixties and peaked in the low eighties.

This was a travel day. My stay at Kissimmee South RV Resort was over. My two week reservation at Jetty Park at the entrance to Port Canaveral began today. I had plenty of time to get packed this morning. The official end of my stay is Monday. I booked a month to get a better rate and it ends on the twentieth. It worked out since the official checkout time is 11AM and the 2PM check in at Jetty park is strictly enforced. I departed shortly after 1PM for my seventy mile drive.

The route I take from Davenport to the coast starts by passing through the very congested downtown Kissimmee and downtown St. Cloud. Traffic wasn’t the worst I’ve seen, but I had to stop at more than half the traffic lights. There was no getting up to speed between the lights. The middle of the route is through the middle of nowhere. The cattle fields didn’t have many cattle, but lots of water. The coastal area got several inches of rain over the last week making things look a little swampy.

The final part of the journey skirts around the edges of Cocoa then heads over the bridge to Merritt Island followed by another bridge onto the barrier island and Port Canaveral. The last bridge brings the huge cruise ships in the port into view. Today there were four cruise ships in port. My route takes me right by several of the terminals to get to the campground at the point that the port meets the ocean.

The campground is full. There were two rigs checking in before me and several more after. I booked my reservation for one the last available sites back in the spring. It turns out that this is a vacation week for most of the Florida schools. The result is many families in the park creating a bit of a party atmosphere.

Saturday November 18th 2023

The weather finally dried out. There was some rain overnight, but the day gradually improved. By afternoon the sun was out and the sky was blue. Today’s high temperature was in the mid seventies.

There was a lot of car traffic in the park today. The long term residents of the park were holding a park wide Yard Sale between 10 and 2. A sign on the main road was put up earlier in the week advertising the Sale for Friday and Saturday. Yesterday, I didn’t see anyone trying to sell stuff. They may have been rained out. The traffic this morning started earlier and lasted later than the announced hours. I walked around just after noon and didn’t see anything very interesting. A couple of people were obviously craft vendors with lots of handmade jewelry at one spot and some wood knickknacks at another. Some people were trying to get rid of stuff that had seen better days. I didn’t see anyone actually buying anything.

I didn’t really get a lot accomplished today. This is my last full day here, so I should have been working on picking up the clutter and getting thing packed for travel tomorrow. I am not really motivated. I’ve been here for a month and have been having fun enjoying the theme parks and other things in the area. I will be back in this area after two weeks on the Atlantic coast. This month long stay here was decided on in September. It is an OK stop because of the location, but I wouldn’t want to stay here for much longer of a stay.

Tomorrow I’m traveling about seventy miles to Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. The reservation was made months ago and represents the start of my winter of two weeks stays. It will be nice to watch the cruise ships and other maritime traffic coming in and out of the port. I don’t think I’m going to have the opportunity to see any rocket launches while I’m there, but there is plenty of other activity to keep me busy.

Friday November 17th 2023

Today’s weather was the best of the week, but it didn’t live up to the positive forecast. The heavy rain overnight gave way to a cloudy morning. The forecast called for an ever improving day. The reality was different. The mist moved in shortly after noon and continued off and on for a few hours. Around 4PM the sun broke through. I thought the worst was over. A little after 6PM the mist was back with a vengeance.

I am so aware of the weather and the timing because I chose to go to Sea World this afternoon. The mist began on my way to Sea World. I didn’t bring my raincoat, but I did wear a long sleeve shirt. By going in and out of buildings and other shelter, I didn’t get real wet. I just got damp. Late in the afternoon it got drier. The sun actually came out long enough to get in my eyes while I was watching the parade in Sesame Street Land. I thought I was home free for the night time shows and fireworks. Wrong! I came out of a show shortly after 6PM to find the mist back worse than ever. I walked around a little and enjoyed the Christmas Lights, but decided to stay dry and not remain for the final shows and fireworks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got canceled. The rain really got bad on my way home.

Dolphin Pictures

Manatee Pictures

Bird Pictures

Christmas Decorations

Other Interesting Pictures