Thursday, February 10, 2022
Jungle Trail Road, Bongoland Ruins, Scenic A1A
For a reasonably priced hotel, the Vero Beach Inn & Suites offered a surprisingly robust hot breakfast - scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, corned beef hash, french toast, waffles, etc. It was even better than the Hyatt! They have a pretty swimming pool, too.
Vero Beach Inn & Suites
Just north of Vero Beach is the historic Jungle Trail Road, an eight-mile-long sandy track running the length of Orchid Island, built in the 1920s for citrus growers to haul their produce to various docks scattered along the trail.
Biking on Orchid Island
We parked at the Captain Forster Hammock Preserve, a couple of miles up from the south end of the trail, and biked both directions, for a total ride of 15.4 miles. The hard-packed sand surface of the road was no problem for our medium-width bike tires.
Indian River Lagoon
The southern end of the Jungle Trail Road offers wide-open views of the Indian River Lagoon. We spotted some otters in the water, and as we watched, three of them came ashore and ran across the road right behind us! No pics, unfortunately - otters run fast!
Otter habitat
Riding north, the trail soon leaves the water's edge, passing by a golf course and expensive homes in exclusive neighborhoods. The northernmost portion of the trail lies within the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, where we found ourselves surrounded by lush tropical vegetation.
Nice neighborhood
Kayak access
Riding the sandy road
Back in the Buick, we took the A1A along the coast as far as Melbourne before catching the quicker I-95 to Port Orange, Florida, where we made a stop at the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens, home of the Bongoland Ruins.
Port Orange, Florida
19th century sugar cane crusher
Garden path
"Confederate Oak," under which soldiers once camped
Built among the ruins of a historic sugar mill, Bongoland was an early Florida tourist attraction consisting of a theme park centered around a replica of an Indian village and several large concrete dinosaurs. Sadly, the park never caught on, closing in 1952, after just five years.
Early tourist attraction, ahead of its time
Giant ground sloth
Tom and triceratops
Stegosaurus
Although Bongoland is no more, the sugar mill equipment and the dinosaurs remain as part of Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens. Free admission, free parking, and concrete dinosaurs? We couldn't pass that up!
Pretty in pink
Keebler roaming gnomes
Call me Sunshine!
Returning to the A1A, we continued north along the coast, admiring the ocean views and charming coastal communities. We could have used more time between Ormond Beach and St. Augustine, but it gets dark early in February. Our last scenic stop was at Flagler Beach just after sunset. Gorgeous!
Flagler Beach
Stunning scene
Lodging: Funny Farm Apartment, St. Augustine. This was one-bedroom apartment in an old triplex a couple of miles from historic downtown St. Augustine. The place is funky, but we appreciate funky. If you'd put a level on any surface, the level would have slid right off. But we had a king-sized bed, living room, full kitchen, and even a private foyer large enough to store our bikes. With four nights here, it was great to be able to spread out. A super bargain at $95 per night, and our host Mike was a hoot!
|