12/07 to 12/14 Beverly Beach Camptown, FL

Beverly Beach Camptown

Beverly Beach, FL
December 07 to December 14

Another dreary, drizzly day for my 108-mile drive to Beverly Beach, Florida. Arrived without incident ready to veg out and enjoy the ocean before me...maybe with the sun shining.

Last year, my 2-week stay was full of memories. I revisited and enjoyed reminiscing. I'm so glad I chose to keep track of my travels. What good times. If you missed it, I've provided links for WEEK ONE and WEEK TWO here. What follows is the 2026 version.

I was told early on that storm damage affected their seawall and jeopardized the safety of some of their Beachfront Sites. Fortunately, I'm unaffected being one row back along the Oceanview Sites. Still, facing east, the Atlantic Ocean before me continues to evoke a sense of wonder, amazement and humility. I did not see any "damage" and only a few sites further north have a snow-fence preventing setup.

Sunrise today was 7:08 a.m.

Site #74. Full hookups; all sites have 50-amp service. I needed my adapter for 30-amp service.

Looking north; calm, clean but chilly

Beachfront sites don't seem to be much affected.

Looking south

Once settled, friends, Mark and Mya (M&M) from Port Orange, FL, reached out and immediately plans were made to get-together and enjoy dinner and catch up on the previous year. So much has happened for them. Mya is retired and both children are now married. Zane and Amanda, are in a new home in Orlando and will soon add to their happiness with a baby boy. Daughter, Zahni is newly married to Matthew and living in Jacksonville.

One of the terrific benefits of having friends in places I visit is their knowledge of the area. All of us have our "go to" restaurants depending on the type of cuisine we desire. Mark and Mya know no limits to where they would drive for their favorite meals. This is just one of the reasons I love traveling to familiar places to visit friends from the past. The first restaurant of choice was Don Giovanni Contemporary Italian and Pizzeria. Located in Ormond, the small but cozy restaurant was busy and the MENU varied, the food authentic and delicious.

Of course, I chose gnocchi in a pesto sauce. Half for the next day. My wine was a Tuscan Sangiovese. 

The Anchor was our next dinner out. For a Monday night, there were only three or four tables occupied. Our server, Brian, was attentive and knowledgeable. 

Stuffed Flounder: Flounder wrapped around house-made crabmeat stuffing topped with a seafood cream sauce and baked potato. 

Mark's work schedule afforded us another opportunity to dine out. Tuesday night, just a few miles south, a favorite place of ours, Crave's Coastal Kitchen. Small and cozy, the restaurant was busy and our corner table by the window was perfect for our conversation. That is, until I realized the next table would soon host eight ladies for their "Girl's Night Out." They enjoyed their martinis and the opportunity to get together to chat. It was less a dinner and more of a live reenactment of a flock of geese discovering Happy Hour. Bless their hearts.

Check out their menu HERE

My choice tonight, filet mignon: Seasoned and grilled 8 oz Filet with Gorgonzola sauce and sauteed mushrooms with a side of garlic mashed and gravy. The wine, Conundrum, a 3-grape blend of  Zinfandel, Petit Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon, paired nicely. 

The sun finally made its appearance Tuesday morning and I just happened to be awake to greet it with many thanks and a lot of appreciation. Temperatures remained in the high 50's but the ocean breeze gave it a "feel like" temperature of 52º. So eager to soak in Florida sunshine, I even brought my chair to the walkway atop the sea wall to admire the surf. 

So sorry for you sitting in 12º temps when I captured my daily view; you won't appreciate it. Stay warm.

Near the end of my week on Thursday, the temps finally climbed to the high 60's, still a chilly breeze off the ocean but the warmth of the sun and a light jacket compelled me to sit, relax and with just me, the ocean and the horizon, I began thinking about the never ending surf that kept crashing and rolling on shore toward me. What makes this so mesmerizing. I researched others before me and chose some relevant quotes.

Walt Whitman: “I behold the sea itself… the curling waves, with foam.”

William Wordsworth: “My heart leaps up when I behold the ocean’s mighty swell.”

Lao Tzu: “Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.”
Rachel Carson: “To stand at the edge of the sea… is to have knowledge of things that are as eternal as any earthly life can be.”
Carl Sandburg: “The sea is a misty marvel.”

Herman Melville: “Meditation and water are wedded forever.”
Rabindranath Tagore: “The waves of the sea help me get back to me.”

Something about each quote struck a chord. There’s something ancient and instinctive about watching the waves crash upon the shore. They rise and fall in a steady rhythm, repeating themselves with just enough variation to hold your attention without overwhelming it.  As I watched the water roll in, at the rate of nine waves per minute, the horizon stretched endlessly ahead, giving a quiet sense of perspective; a reminder of my insignificance.  Each wave is familiar yet entirely new, a reminder that life keeps moving even as you stand still. How many times has anyone just gazed out and concluded, "if you've seen one, you've seen them all;" just as they do with sunrises and sunsets.

The ocean speaks in sound as much as motion—the hush, the roar, the soft retreat. It’s a kind of living white noise, drawing one into the present moment without asking anything in return. And beneath it all is something elemental: water, wind, gravity, light, tides all working together in a dance humans have watched since the beginning. Perhaps that's why the waves are mesmerizing. They calm you, ground you, and connect you to something larger than yourself—a quiet, timeless heartbeat at the edge of the world. I captured the following clip in slow motion to bring it all into perspective.

And for my last taste treat, a Saturday night visit with dear friends, Mya and Mark. We first drove down to Ormand Beach to catch the famous Budweiser Clydesdales team preparing for a parade. We were able to park right across the street just as the team was staging.

Mya was delighted to catch the scene. The lighting wasn't very good for better photos. We stayed and watched until they eventually clip-clopped off to do what they do so well. 

There are many great stories surrounding these majestic beasts. This 3-minute video shows the love that goes into breeding them at the Booneville, Missouri farm; and here a short clip of prepping for a Christmas parade elsewhere.

From there we drove back up to Palm Coast to Fancy Sushi & Grill for our last dinner together. I must give M&M a very big shout out for their taking the time to drive from Port Orange to Beverly Beach for each of our dining get-togethers. Obviously loving to travel, they'll be visiting me and my RV friends once again in Clermont sometime between January and March.

I hit the jackpot with this trip. Note the proximity to Pizza Hut a few door down. In my travels south, this is the second one I've seen. Soooo, I picked up a few for the future on our way home.

The family owned business had a very pleasant decor and pleasing ambiance.

The Hwy 17 Roll: Smoked salmon, crab stick, cream cheese, deep fried with house special sauce

Dessert was a light, silky and graceful offering called Japanese Crepe Cake. Not heavy at all. Rather, soft, tender paper-thin layers that weren't crispy, allowing the cake to slice cleanly and melt in the mouth. Between the layers is usually lightly sweetened whipped cream. Our choice was strawberry pastry cream which kept the dessert airy rather than heavy. (Available at Costco's)

And so ends another group of fond memories with friends in this neck of the woods. I'll now travel to West Palm Beach to spend Christmas with family before heading to Clermont and my 3-month stay. I'll end this blog with some other memories captured.

 

Sunsets

The joys of fishing. With 4 poles set up, this couple did catch a few. Probably the Florida Pompano which are common and good eating. He would wade well into the surf to cast and then set the pole into the holders.

I was fortunate to witness a 5:01 p.m. launch from Cape Canaveral, 90 miles away as the crow flies. The video shows a Falcon 9 Starlink Group 6-90 with a payload of 29 v2 mini satellites that will enter a low earth orbit. I was able to follow the exhaust plume until MECO (main engine cut off).

Until we meet again, Cheers!

Each place we visit becomes a chapter; when we turn the page, the story continues.