Julie Chickery - Chickery's Travels

Visiting Florida’s Space Coast

In our inaugural episode, we discuss our month on the Space Coast of Florida. We also cover our evacuation due to Hurricane Irma. This took us to Georgia and Tennessee, where we recorded this podcast.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.

Centrally located 45-minutes east of Orlando, the Space Coast is a place where sandy beaches meet rocket launches. In this podcast, we list the Top 5 Activities on the Space Coast.

We also mention a wonderful small business that helped Julie out when she experienced some major problems with the RV while Sean was away for work. Thanks again to A1 RV Repair!

Music

Thanks to https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music for the intro and outro music.

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5:00 pm by Julie Chickery

Patrick AFB FamCamp (Cocoa Beach, Florida)

Manatee Cove, the Patrick AFB FamCamp, offers military veterans an unparalleled camping experience. This gem of a campground is in a prime location on the Banana River, just a hop and skip away from Atlantic Ocean beaches. Plus, there’s always something to do on the renowned Space Coast! So, let’s dive into the top reasons why military veterans should plan their next camping adventure at Manatee Cove.

Full Hook-Up Campsites

Manatee Cove offers 156 full-hookup sites (electricity, water, and sewer) and a wide range of amenities to cater to the diverse needs of its campers. There’s something for every kind of camper: RV sites or tent sites.

The nightly rate varies by season and they even have a monthly rate if you’d like to save money. You can even choose to pay a little extra for a site with an incredible view of the waterfront!

Right after the turn for the office, is the new section of the campground. The older sites are all gravel, but there are many paved sites in the new section when you pass the office. However, there is no shade and many of the neighboring sewer connections are extremely close to the adjacent patios.

Campground Amenities

When you camp at Manatee Cove, you’ll have access to the following facilities:

Clean restrooms and showers
Laundry facilities
Community Center with free Wi-Fi
Two dog runs

These modern and well-maintained facilities ensure an enjoyable and comfortable camping experience for all campers.

Waterfront Walking Paths, Dining Facility, and Outdoor Recreation

This spectacular campground is nestled along the serene Banana River, with an opportunity to marvel at some of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll ever see.

One of my favorite parts of the campground is its accessibility to two walking paths. Every morning I walked along the one at the edge of the camp. The other begins right after Chevron Park and is a paved path that leads to Dining Facility and Outdoor Recreation.

Retirees can eat at the Dining Facility and it has a screened veranda overlooking the water. We rode our bikes over to the Dining Facility a couple of days a week for a bargain-priced waterfront dinner.

Be sure to check out Outdoor Recreation while you’re at Patrick. They rent bicycles both regular and elliptical bikes, as well as boats, kayaks, fishing gear, and stand-up paddle boards. You can rent items by the hour, day, or weekend to use over at the FamCamp.

Base Marina and Beach House

Finally, in addition to all the usual amenities of an Air Force base, there are two that stand out. First is the Marina over by the south gate, which has live music every weekend. They also offer sailing lessons and boat rentals. Next, is the Beach House and base beach. Directly across A1A from the east gate, it has food, beach rental items, and live music to enjoy right on the beach.

Access to Atlantic Ocean Beaches

And speaking of beaches, drive north or south on A1A and you’ll have access to all the stunning beaches of the Atlantic Ocean just a short distance away. Explore the very best of Florida’s coastline by visiting Florida’s famed Cocoa Beach just 15 minutes north of the base. Take a dip in the blue waters, try your luck surfing the waves, soak up the sun on shore, cast a fishing line, or simply relax by the water’s edge. This famous surf spot is home to the impressive Ron Jon Surf Shop and the Florida Surf Museum. There’s something for everyone here, so make sure you take advantage of this amazing location!

Activities on Florida’s Space Coast

We absolutely love all the activities on Florida’s Space Coast! From out-of-this-world fun at the Kennedy Space Center to the Treetop Trek Aerial Adventures at the Brevard Zoo, you are bound to have a great time in the local area.

Reservations

They do not take reservations unless you are on active duty, but as you can see in the video above there are plenty of open spaces in the summertime. However, if you want to stay here for the winter, you need to arrive early in the season. You can stay for up to 179 days at a time, and then you have to leave for 48 hours before returning.

A Note About Arrivals

Before I tell you more about the base and campground amenities, let me explain about your arrival at the base. Patricks has the maze style entry and no size of RV can get through the main gates. Instead, you have to go to the commercial gate off of A1A. If you are coming from I-95, take the Pineda Causeway to A1A and turn left. You’ll see a sign on the right in front of some brown buildings that tells you the commercial gate is the next left. There is a turn lane that you can get into. This is important because the driveway to the gate is not very long and depending on the size of your RV, you may have to wait in this turning lane for someone to open the gate. If you are arriving outside of traditional Mon-Fri duty hours, you will need to call the law enforcement desk at 321-494-2008 to get someone to meet you at the gate.

No Check-ins After Dark

Once you get through the commercial gate, you’ll turn right and drive around the flight line to the FamCamp. There are signs along the way to direct you. If you are arriving at night, you will have to pull into Chevron Park for the night because the campground doesn’t allow check-in after dark.

Camp Host or Office

Continuing on past the park, you will approach the campground. Another important thing to know is that the campground office has very unusual hours. I’d recommend checking the website to verify, but at the time of this posting they were from 9am to 1pm 4 days per week. If you arrive outside that window, you will check with the camp host. When you enter the campground you will see a large area to pull over. The first spaces on either side of the road are camp hosts that rotate duty schedules. There will be a sign indicating which one is on duty. If the sign is not flipped up, you can proceed to the office, which is straight ahead.

Resources

A great source of information for the Patrick AFB campground and others is the website US Military Campgrounds and RV Parks. It provides a wealth of information including which gate to enter the installation, as well as reviews.

We plan to post reviews of all the campgrounds we stay at from now on, so please subscribe to get updates. To see a recent review of the MacDill AFB Campground in Tampa, FL click here.

The Patrick AFB Family Campground is a terrific military RV park for eligible patrons. Close to many activities on the Space Coast, it is a a great place for military families to plan their next camping adventure.

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4:05 pm by Julie Chickery

Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast

Centrally located 45 minutes east of Orlando, this is a place where sandy beaches meet rocket launches. In this article, I list the top 5 things to do on Florida’s Space Coast. It is a place where nature provides the ultimate backdrop for visitors to enjoy idyllic year-round temperatures.

Water, Water Everywhere

Image of the shoreline in Cocoa Beach Florida

It is the Space COAST, right? With over 72 miles of coastline, there are many amazing beaches to enjoy including Cape Canaveral National Seashore, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, and Sebastian Inlet State Park just to name a few. Cocoa Beach is famous for having the perfect surf conditions for beginners, so it’s a great place to take a lesson or watch others trying the sport out.

If you like your water a little calmer, look no further than the Indian River Lagoon or the Banana River. The Space Coast boasts over 20,000 acres of freshwater rivers and lakes bordered by approximately 170,000 acres of wetlands to explore by foot or boat. There are also several places to see Manatees when they come inland for warmer weather in the winter.

Kennedy Space Center

It is called the SPACE Coast for a reason! If you have never been to the Kennedy Space Center, I highly recommend a visit. The center provides an opportunity for visitors to learn about space exploration, the story of rocket ships, and the future of space travel. Your tour takes you through a series of outstanding exhibits including the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and the Rocket Garden, but the highlight is the bus tour. It takes you to some of the most historic sites at the Kennedy Space Center. For example, you will stop at Launch Complex 39, where the Apollo missions and Space Shuttle launches took place. You will also see the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), one of the largest buildings in the world. Finally, the bus tour also takes you to the Cape Canaveral launch pads.

A highlight back at the main Visitor’s Complex is the Space Shuttle Atlantis Building. The exhibit allows you to explore a real-life shuttle as well as a simulated space flight. Finally, don’t forget that if you are staying anywhere on the Space Coast, keep an eye on the rocket launch schedule.

Warbirds Museum

As Air Force veterans, if there is an air or space museum around, you’d best believe it’s on our radar! The Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum has a continually growing collection of over 45 historic warbirds from the beginnings of aviation to the present day. Included in the price of admission is a guided tour from one of the volunteer docents.

Brevard Zoo

This small zoo has such a thoughtful layout and many additional activities. There is so much shade that I didn’t really mind the heat when I visited in August. The zoo is a 75-acre not-for-profit facility and is home to more than 650 animals representing more than 165 species from Florida, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

In addition to traditional zoo admission, you can purchase an Adventure Package to take your visit to the next level. It includes a tree-top course over the zoo, zip lines, animal feedings, a train ride, and a kayak tour. Obviously, I purchased the full package. I’m out here for adventure, and I’m doing all the activities I was too afraid to try when I was younger.

Bioluminescent Kayaking

I know I already talked about water, but this activity deserves its own entry. It was the HIGHLIGHT of our trip. In the warm and dark lagoon waters on the Space Coast of Florida lies a natural phenomenon called bioluminescence. During the summer, billions of plankton called dinoflagellates emit a blueish-white glow underwater when they are disturbed. That means that every paddle of a kayak creates a wave of glowing light. You can also drag your hand through the water and it will glow for a few seconds after. We kayaked over to the mangrove marshes to see the chain reaction caused by the mullet as they provided their own light show. I wish I had pictures or videos. Unfortunately, our camera could only capture the light of our glow bracelets that we affixed to the kayaks. If you want to take a guided tour we highly recommend Cocoa Kayaking. They provided everything from dry bags and cell phone dry cases to bug spray and water.

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Collage of Cocoa Beach highlights including the shoreline, manatees, adn Kennedy Space Center