Snowbird Adventures at Highbanks Marina in Florida
Table of Contents
Our 2nd Try at being Snowbirds
In my last post, I questioned whether we would ever head south again for the winter. First Year as a Snowbird: A Journey to Grand Isle, Louisiana
The fact that Jimmy still hated the cold winters of Missouri did not change. So, we headed for Florida soon after Christmas.
Stories from friends, Dale and Christie, influenced our choice for this destination. They had been to Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort located on the St. Johns River in Debary, Florida, and loved it. Dale said the fishing was great. It’s about 1,750 miles from home.
Once again, the fishing stories enticed my husband. Have I mentioned that I do not fish?!
Life at Highbanks
Highbanks is an old “fish camp.” A boat is needed to fish. There is a restaurant and bait/snack store at the marina.
Luckily, Dale had met a man, Rick, at the campground who had a boat. He was gracious enough to take Dale, Mike (another guy from back home) and Jimmy fishing just about every morning. They would leave before sun-up and wouldn’t return until noon. These men were seriously into fishing.
Jimmy enjoyed it but he didn’t like leaving that early and didn’t want to go every single day.
There wasn’t much else to do at the park. They had an outdoor pool but it wasn’t heated. I never saw a person in it. It had a shuffleboard court that looked like it hadn’t been used in years.
The shower houses were newly remodeled and very nice. There was a nice activities building but few activities. They had bingo a few times a month and sold ice cream one night a week. I was able to join in on a few games of Sequence and Mexican Dominoes. We learned to play a card game called Hand and Foot and played with our friends from home.
Other activities included going out to eat, fish fries, and weekly browsing at the Volusia County Flea market. I enjoyed riding my bike almost daily through the nearby neighborhoods. Rick and his wife took us on a couple of boat rides.
St. Augustine
My cousin and his wife, Joe and Debbie, came to visit. While there, we took at trip up to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. We toured Flagler College, saw the city Christmas lights, enjoyed a sunrise on the beach, toured Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas forts, enjoyed the views from the top of the lighthouse and toured a replica Spanish galleon.
Being built before automobiles, the old town streets were extremely narrow but Debbie did a great job navigating them. It is a beautiful place to visit.
Blue Springs State Park
Joe and Debbie also joined us for a trek to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees. Manatees are often called sea cows. They are very large and unusual looking (not really pretty). Blue Springs is one of the best places to view them. https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/blue-spring-state-park
DeBary Hall
The DeBary Hall Historic site was near our campgound. It was well worth the visit.
“In the late 1800s and early 1900s, some of the country’s wealthiest people visited DeBary Hall to spend winters hunting, fishing and swimming in the cool springs nearby, then relaxing in the shade of the veranda enjoying a cool drink and the news of the day. DeBary reportedly entertained Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland; the Astors, Goulds and Vanderbilts; and the Prince of Wales, who went on to become King Edward VII.” Welcome to DeBary Hall Historic Site
Daytona International Speedway
Another couple from home, Bruce and Patty, came to visit. We toured the Daytona International Speedway with them. We were all pretty surprised by how steep the track is on the turns. It was too steep for any of us to walk up it!
On the way back from the speedway, we took a drive on the beach. We thought we’d feed the seagulls. Bruce had some Hawaiian rolls in the car. The minute we got out with the rolls, we were bombarded by the birds. It was hilariously funny as we were being completely freaked out by them!
Kennedy Space Center
Our last visitors were Lloyd and Kathy. He doesn’t like to travel but he did want to see the Paquette’s Farmall museum in Leesburg. He and Jimmy toured it while the women went thrift shopping.
We then met some other friends from back home, Larry and Lana, who were staying at Holiday RV Park in Leesburg. After they gave us a tour of the park, we ate at Ramshackles.
The following day we toured the Kennedy Space Center. https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/
Final Thoughts
We enjoyed our six weeks of Snowbird Adventures at Highbanks Marina in Florida. The St. John’s River is beautiful. We met many other nice snowbirds. Jimmy surprised me by re-caning a rocking chair. (This really made me laugh. I never imagined him doing something like this. It reminded me of my grandfather who learned how to cane baskets while snowbirding in Florida. Jimmy is absolutely nothing like my grandfather!!)
Our favorite part of this camping experience was touring the area with friends.
Will we return? After touring Holiday RV in Leesburg, we decided to go there the next year.