Exploring the places no one visits is what I like best about RV life. Campgrounds tend to be tucked away in rural settings where there’s room for acreage at reasonable prices. It’s unusual to find a site inside a populated city so, for example, in Jacksonville, FL we’re staying in Yulee, FL. Huh? you say? Exactly. We actually could have gotten closer in to city limits but Yulee happens to also be where there’s a Yamaha dealership to get new tires for the motor scooter, so Yulee is where we dropped our power line. And Yulee is where I went exploring on my bike.
We’re not in a fancy campground, to put it mildly. This place has just 60 sites, the majority of which are occupied full-time by people who the ad calls “retired.” My guess is they’re unemployed – either on disability or for some other reason. And this particular campground is a cheap place to call home. I wave to them on my jaunts with Pogo and stopped by for a visit with Gail whose small bus is parked across from ours.
Knuckles, a McCaw from Brazil
Knuckles and Hanna were the draw for my visit. They were climbing all over Gail’s doorway enjoying the cool breezy morning. Neither would let me pet a back or head, which is a real
Knuckles let me get closer
Hanna, the grey cheek parrot hanging upside down in the door jam
now she's closer and right side up
disappointment when you’re a pet lover who has to pet. Gail, herself, is a weathered looking woman whom I guess to be 5 – 10 years older than me. She doesn’t work either although she looks quite able-bodied to me. She was cautiously friendly, at least enough to tell me about her beautiful McCaw and grey cheek parrot. She’s lived here 18 years but just bought her very used bus a few months ago. Before that she says she’d stayed with someone. I left it at that. Since our visit we wave as we both go about our independent business. That seems to be the way of this campground. It’s a neighborhood, of sorts, where everybody just minds their own business. As I walk around I imagine the individual lives that take place inside their small fiberglass or tin confines and I realize that everybody has a story. (I think that’s a good subject for a book or a documentary).
The nearby neighborhood also has a lot of character populated with folks who wear their lives on their homes. Take a look and see what I mean.
This guy's yard was crammed with treasures
more treasures
This fellow had a chicken coop in the back, ducks running around the yard, vegetable gardens surrounding and bird houses everywhere! Seems to me he's self-sustaining.
miniature dogs everywhere, some of whom loved my loving!
This house was right across the street from...
this house! Go figure...
And THIS house had a GIANT ocean toy on its side yard
These houses are not destination sites for the typical tourist, but for me they offer much fodder for imaginings. What do these people do? How do they spend their lives? Do they socialize with their neighbors? Why the overwhelming trend for miniature dogs? How often, if ever, do they make it into the city since we’re 16 miles from Jacksonville’s northern city limits? Endlessly fascinating questions for me. Rick calls them my talk show questions.
Everywhere we go there’s an opportunity to visit sights on nobody’s destination list offering a taste of how some locals live and usually not the wealthy ones. The areas farther away we visit in the car – like this community near a large State Park and the Amelia Island beaches.
gorgeous live oaks border the street with homes tucked away in the back
trees with moss dripping from branches
And of course no ocean side community is complete without a walk on the beach and long connections with the ocean.
say hello to Rick
and me
wish I'd seen said turtles
ocean front lot for $275k right on Amelia Island beach! Any takers?
The whole package offers a rich experience that journeying in an RV can provide. We pack up, hit the road and drive for 3, 4, 5 hours with no destination in mind except a general direction and a plan to stop when Rick’s tired of driving. And wherever we land, people live there.
What sparks your imaginings?
actthreedotnet 
Glad to see you made it to the ocean! If you get a chance..Hanna Park in Jacksonville (Atlantic Beach) is one of our favorites. Full hookups across from the beach 🙂
Oh Holly, this is a few days too late! We settled in Yulee because of its proximity to the Yamaha dealership and we leave town tomorrow morning, never having seen Hanna Park! Just pulled up their map and I wish I’d discovered it sooner! Thanks for the info.
Fooey! Blame it on the city of Jacksonville…they do an abysmal job of promoting the campground. In fact, there’s even a 25% discount during the winter that’s not even mentioned on the website (or the last time I looked anyway). Many of the city parks are some of the best out there but no one knows about them 😦
Appears you may be heading south. These may be of interest to you if so:
Savannas Rec Area, St. Lucie, Florida (very nice park, some full hookups, terrible website)
http://www.stlucieco.gov/parks/savannas.htm
The 4 Broward County Parks around Palm Beach, Fl. (full hook-ups)
http://www.broward.org/parks/camping/Pages/Default.aspx
Larry and Penny Thompson Park, Miami, Fl (full hookups, gated, heated pool)
http://www.miamidade.gov/parks/parks/larry_penny.asp
And of course all the Florida State Parks!
I personally enjoy the public parks better than the private though! Not to mention, they are more affordable. All of the above are $20-$40/nt 🙂
Thanks so much for your suggestions Holly. We’ll be able to take advantage of a few of them!
You know how much I am loving these posts; I’ve mentioned it before. But also, now I see we have something else in common: looking at ramshackle homes with character and wondering about the characters within.
I don’t have a pic of it, but theres a house in the desert east of Lucerne CA that is in the middle of nowhere and is blanketed with wrought iron. I mean, even the roof! I so wonder who did that and why. If you’re so scared of that location, why put up a house there? Maybe a paranoid schizophrenic who inherited a bundle?
But here’s my big question: have you figured out a way to ask these people about themselves without feeling like a pushy broad? If I could just get past my polite upbringing….
I did talk to the guy with the chicken coop, cluttered yard and ducks, veggie garden – turns out he has a grapefruit tree too. I asked him if he’s growing all his own food. He said that mostly he is. He has 103 acres somewhere nearby and shoots wild boar and deer – just like his daddy did and his mama prepared everything. Fellow was in his 70s it seemed and full of life and vigor – living the life he wanted to live, mostly off the grid. But he did have electric. He has 3 breeds of chickens and gives some to the neighbors so they don’t complain about the chicken and rooster noise.
Interesting very southern country fellow and very friendly. In fact it was hard to get away!