December 8, 2016 - Fernandina Beach, FL to Melbourne Beach, FL

The Lil' Home was not quite ready for its trip down south.  There were a couple things that Erwin had to do.  While he was taking care of things Edith went off to the store to pick up fabric that Keri needed.  After checking out of the campground Erwin went to the parking lot near The Loop and waited for Edith to return back from shopping.

Our next destination is Melbourne Beach, FL and see if we can get a campsite for tonight's stay at Sebastian Inlet State Park.  We already reserved a campsite for 6 nights starting tomorrow. If the state park does not have any sites available we plan to dry camp somewhere, then come check into the state park tomorrow morning.

It was around 10:30 am when we finally hit the road, took A1A/200 toward I-95 South, then got on I-295 South to avoid congestion and construction on I-95 near downtown area. 

Driving on I-295 toward Dames Point Bridge

Dames Point Bridge crossing St. Johns River

Shipyard

We stopped at Camping World off SR 16 and I-95 in St. Augustine to check and see if we can have one of the camping chairs replaced without charge since we had warranty on them. The stitches on the seat were torn apart. We were hoping the warranty is valid because we could not remember when we bought the chairs. The cashier pullled up our purchase history, found out that our insurance is invalid.  The expiration date was April 2016 Aaahhh!!! We had no choice, but to buy a new chair for $38 and we added warranty on it for 3 years.

We took a lunch break at a rest area, north of Bunnell, FL.  While there Erwin made a potful of coffee.  He likes to have coffee in his thermos, so he can drink for rest of the day.

There was a road construction on I-95 and I-4 and it almost created traffic for a short while, but it started to move smoothy.  It looked like they are going to expand the lanes to 6 each way on I-95.

We pulled into exit #180 to get on Highway 192 and stopped at Publix grocery store to load up the pantry and fridge for our one week's stay at Sebastain Inlet State Park.  Edith was able to save $29.69 on groceries (thanks to Buy One Get One Free deals). This is one reason why Edith loves shopping at Publix. In the past Edith was active with using coupons and she was able to save over 75% of the grocery bill, but with our new lifestyle and the way we travel it has become difficult for Edith to check for deals and to look for coupons. 

Sebastain Inlet State Park is off A1A in Melbourne Beach, FL.  We have camped there before, loved staying there. However, there is one big negativity about camping there.  The GNATS (no-seeums)!  They are very relentless and so small they can get through the screen if you keep the door open for breeze. Sebastian Inlet is man-made that cuts through a barrier island that runs along the east coast of Florida. The ocean is to the east and the estuary is between the island and the mainland to the west.

We crossed the Route 192 bridge over Indian River, on way to A1A South.  This is the view of the river.

We pulled into the state park at 5:20 pm, checked with the ranger if there was any available sites for tonight. Whoo!!! We were lucky that the site #41 was available for us.  

As we were on way to the campground there were lots of anglers lining up on the bank for fishing and the birds were waiting nearby, hoping for freebies from the water.

After settling down Erwin prepared goulash using elk burger for supper.  Although it tasted a bit gamy it was very good. There was enough leftover for next day's supper. 

It was a restful night for us. Edith did not feel like driving to the recreation park at the end of the state park for sunset photo ops.  She just stepped out of the LH, walked around a bit to find a good spot and took few pictures. The best picture of the night!