By the time this hits the newsstands, gas prices will probably have reached $5 a gallon or more and your side will most likely cramp with pain, real or imagined, as you reach pay for your full tank.
But you’re sick of being in a town overrun by visitors enjoying their time away from home, and your own personal wanderlust is reaching epic proportions. The kids have wised up to the fact that Super Walmart isn’t really a low-rent amusement park and now you’re unsure of how to proceed as everyone in your home grows increasingly stir crazy. The constant commercials for fun Florida getaways we’re bombarded with don’t help.
What follows is a list of things to do right here in Brevard County, and most of them aren’t your typical suggestions. Let’s see if we can stretch the meager remains of your wallet into something that resembles getting away, even if it’s just for a little while.
Refuge lands at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (SR 402, 4 miles East of U.S. 1 in Titusville) are open daily from sunrise to sunset, except during periods of Shuttle launch operations. Both the Titusville and Merritt Island’s SR3 entrance close 24 hours prior to a launch. The Visitor Information Center offers Refuge information, educational displays, wildlife exhibits, and a 20-minute video about the area. A 1/4-mile, universally accessible boardwalk located behind the VIC crosses over a pond, through an oak hammock, and leads to a freshwater marsh overlook. The VIC is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (closed Sunday April though October).
In addition to the trail at the VIC, three other trails are offered: Oak Hammock Trail (1/2 mile), Palm Hammock Trail (3 miles), and Cruickshank Trail (5 miles). Newer trails include the Scrub Ridge and Pine Flatwood hiking trails. Bug repellent is recommended for all trails, especially from March through October. The Oak Hammock trail is perfect for people with younger children. It gives them the opportunity to get out and about in nature without getting exhausted. Bringing your own drinking water is recommended.
Opened in 1964, The Moonlight Drive-In (1515 S Washington Ave. — Route U.S. 1 — in Titusville) is still run by the Raymond family. With a name inspired by the space race, this eatery offers chili dogs, fried seafood baskets, burgers and more. There’s no faux nostalgia being served up here. This is the real deal — service with a smile, reasonable prices, and good food. Take the kids and allow them to experience an authentic bit of near forgotten Americana. If you choose to head north on U.S. 1, forgoing the quicker, less interesting I-95, you can glimpse some of the funkier mom-and-pop motels and quirkier businesses. This corridor into Volusia County offers some of the flavor of Florida before every town became a cookie cutter replica of one another. For fans of Tim Dorsey, there are the same of sort establishments that inspired “Hammerhead Ranch Motel.”
Dunlawton Sugar Mill, the ruins of Bongoland, and the Sugar Mill Gardens (950 Old Sugar Mill Rd., Port Orange) are a trifecta of attractions. There’s forgotten roadside kitsch in the ruins of Bongoland, the beautiful and serene botanical gardens filled with native plants and the historical ruins of a sugar mill plantation.
Bongoland was an amusement park built in 1948 and named for “Bongo,” a large baboon who lived there. It included a replica Seminole village, miniature train, and a dozen “prehistoric monsters” made by M.D. “Manny” Lawrence out of concrete and chicken wire. Five of the sculptures still stand. They are scattered throughout the 12 acres of the park and fit well with the landscape. Their paint is long gone and their bodies are weathered from exposure to the elements. The Triceratops is a plausible dinosaur reproduction, but the T-Rex is a laughable attempt. But this makes for some of its hokey charm. The park eventually closed in 1952 according to a sign next to the Stegosaurus, which states the park closed “for lack of public interest.”
The Dunlawton Sugar Mill is now reduced to the coquina and brick ruins of an 1830 sugar mill complex and an assortment of sugar processing equipment. The sugar mill was destroyed in 1835 during the Second Seminole War. In 1846, attempts were made to reestablish sugar production here. This endeavor didn’t fare well either, marking the end of sugarcane cultivation in the region.
Because of its beauty, Sugar Mill Gardens is a popular location for weddings. There are butterfly gardens, a towering canopy of ancient oaks, and flowering plants. The Confederate Oak is a 250-year-old live oak where Confederate soldiers made their camp. Hours of operation are dawn to dusk daily. There is no admission fee, though donations are appreciated. The gift shop is open Wednesdays and Saturdays. You may call the gift shop at (386) 767-1735.
Just five miles away is the Lighthouse Point Park in Ponce Inlet (4300 S. Atlantic Ave., Ponce Inlet). Since you did drive all the way out there and it’s just around the corner from Sugar Mill, you may as well check it out. This is the tallest lighthouse in Florida — and second tallest in the U.S. — measuring a 175 feet in height. It’s a quick 203 steps to the top, where you get a bird’s-eye view of the Ponce Inlet jetties and the Indian and Halifax Rivers. Besides the lighthouse, the Park has several interesting historical exhibits, most of which have been restored to their original condition by the museum. The Park covers 52 acres of pristine land and features fishing, nature trails, an observation deck and tower, swimming, and picnicking. Admission for adults is $5; Children under 12 get in free. For more information, call (386) 756-7488.
Now armed with this travel guide and enough money to fill your tank, go get out of town. Enjoy yourself, give the kids something to write about in their “What I did on my summer vacation” essay when they get back to school in three short months.
