Sometimes we just need to get away! Taking care of your mental health is so important especially when locked down in quarantine during a global pandemic. I decided to do just that for my birthday a few weeks ago—and it was so wonderful!
I decided to spend my quarantine birthday in a tiny house North of Miami. I took a short drive there from my South Florida residence so I could try out this living experience for a few days.
I was also interested in checking out a nearby wildlife reserve. I had my inflatable kayak with me. I was ready to spot some manatees and view the blue glow of bioluminescent plankton in the water at night.
I managed to experience all of this and so much more during my tiny house stay in July. Read on for the full story!
Road Trip Beach Stop
I haven't been driving very much since the quarantine hit. I no longer have a commute as I am working remotely and there aren't many other reasons to go out except to get groceries. So I was excited to take a short road trip somewhere.
The drive to Melbourne, Florida (not Melbourne, Australia) is about 2.5 hours North of Miami. My sister in law used to live in the area and recommended I drive part of the way up the scenic highway A1A.
When I reached Wabasso, Florida, I stopped for gas and then turned East to the barrier island where i caught A1A heading North. Eventually I made it to Sebastian Inlet State Park.
I got out of my car at a parking area just before the swimming cove. There was an open public restroom and only a few cars in the lot.
I love the entranceways to the beaches in Florida. The paths typically have pretty green plants on each side. This beach even had beautiful purple flowers in bloom.
It was the afternoon on a Saturday and the beach was basically vacant! Nobody was wearing masks but it didn't matter. The few beach goers were practicing 100-feet of social distancing. I had no chance of bumping into anyone.
It was nice to remove my mask, enjoy the sea breeze, let the waves swoosh around my ankles.
I also visited Melbourne beach during my stay at the tiny house. This beach was a little more crowded (even when I visited on a Monday). But I was still able to spread out and away from other groups.
The beach in Melbourne was really nice. The waves reminded me of Long Island beaches in New York but of course the water was nice and warm!
Tiny House Living
My check-in time for my airbnb was 3pm. I arrived around 4pm. This was the perfect time to get settled and make some food before checking out the sunset.
I absolutely fell in love with this tiny house! The tiny house was designed by the owner, Dana, and her partner who built it. It's in the shape of a barn—a little red barn. So cute.
The interior was exactly my aesthetic. I fell in love with the exposed brick, the oak planks, the hanging lights, and the kitchen built into the stairs. I am obsessed with good lighting so the icicle lights on the outside that I could control from the inside were perfect.
The inside was impeccably clean. You may recall from my previous post about COVID19 travel precautions that Airbnb hosts can opt into "Enhanced Clean" standards. I felt very comfortably staying there with how clean it looked and felt.
I immediately put some clothing in the laundry. I have to pay for laundry in a communal laundry room at my place. So this was actually a huge treat to have my own laundry for a few days. I definitely brought up some things to wash!
I also stripped the bed and replaced it with my own linens—just as an extra COVID19 precaution. The bed was queen sized and comfy especially after I added my own memory foam topper!
The wi-fi in the tiny house was a little weak. But they had Netflix and tons of other options on the smart TV in the house. So I was easily entertained during my stay. I didn't need to stream my own stuff from my phone or tablet.
During my stay, I tried out some new recipes. I've been curious about keto recipes.
My first night, I made yummy ground turkey-stuffed peppers. The hosts had to come and help me turn on the oven—it was a gas oven and the lighter was acting a little wonky. But they got it running and I had a nice, piping hot pepper for dinner!
I also completely failed at making keto pancakes. They just didn't hold together! Alas, I tried.
Overall, the tiny house was perfect for me! I don't think it would have been too cramped with one other person. But I was very comfortable there as a solo traveler.
I enjoyed waking up in the morning to the sound of rain on the roof or falling asleep at night to my galaxy projector (best quarantine purchase!) on the unusual ceiling shape. It was this change of scenery/environment that totally restored me after months of quarantining at home!
Sunset Walks in Melbourne
I spent 3 nights in Melbourne. Two of those nights, I had the opportunity to take a walk at sunset. The sunsets on the East coast of Florida are not usually anything to get too excited about. The barrier islands provide a nice view, however. I could view the sunsets from the West shore of the barrier island in Melbourne.
On my first night, I went to Melbourne Beach Pier for the sunset views. There were people here but not too many people. I was able to avoid them by walking along the grass on Riverside Drive instead of going on the pier.
I was able to take some really nice photos here!
On my last night in Melbourne, I walked up South Tropical Trail on Tropical Island for sunset. I walked over Mathers Bridge and then up the West side of the island. To my right were tons of big, gorgeous homes and to my left were their private, gated piers and gardens.
I loved this walk just to admire the houses and their curb appeal. Lots of people choose to bicycle this trail. I walked up to Paradise Point and back.
Kayaking with Manatees
On my second day in Melbourne, I drove an hour North to Titusville to go kayaking. There is plenty of great kayaking around Melbourne, but I was interested in something else that Merritt Island and the Indian River Lagoon had to offer. Merritt Island is home to Kennedy Space Center and a huge wildlife refuge.
One of the attractions for me was that this area is home to tons of manatees! I called ahead to the "A Day Away" kayaking tour company. Since I have an inflatable kayak, they couldn't let me go on the tour (I would've been a liability – haha!). But they were super forthcoming about where I could launch my kayak for free and where to go from there.
The launch spot is on the Haulover canal, west of Courtenay Parkway North off of Merritt Island. The Haulover bridge connects the parkway. When I arrived in the late afternoon, the bridge was up to allow boats to pass through.
I couldn't cross over to where the kayak tours launch but I was able to launch from the parking lot across the channel.
This boat launch area was very active when I arrived. I had to maneuver around the lot a bit to avoid other boaters and kayakers. But I managed to get my kayak inflated and in the water without interacting with anyone.
The area where the boats launch is where I was told I would find manatees. They ended up being all over the place right in the canal where I launched my kayak.
Manatees are hard to spot, especially when kayaking at surface level with them. I found that the best way to spot them is to look for their big snouts. They stick them up out of the water to breathe periodically (every 2-15 minutes). Sometimes, I stopped paddling and just listened for their breath. That helped me spot them before they submerged themselves again.
Watch the video I took below of one manatee popping up for a fresh breath of air!
I saw this manatee in a quiet, back area near some smaller channels. On my way into this back area, I heard a HUGE splash in the water. It sounded like a tree landed in the water or maybe it was a manatee?
As I turned the corner, I finally saw what it was: An alligator! Apparently I scared it off its resting spot on a nearby beach.
Sometimes wild animals are more scared of us than we are of them!
Even without seeing all of the wildlife, I really enjoyed the nature scenes in this area. The refuge is full of really beautiful vegetation and plant life that I don’t normally see, even back in Miami!
Observing the shoreline with all of its diverse trees and plants was an unexpected highlight of this experience.
Nighttime Kayaking
As the sun went down, I picked a spot on a little peninsula to sit and eat a bit of dinner. I packed a cooler full of snacks, water, salad, and even some hard seltzer drinks.
Ahhh! This is a great way to pass the time during a global pandemic! If you have to stay away from people for a while, there's no better way than to spend it in nature.
Before the sun completely set, I got back in my kayak and followed some other kayakers back to the area where the tours launch. I was able to get a nice full view of the sunset from the entrance to the canal. I was also able to position myself perfectly to wait for the tours to come out for some night kayaking.
The night kayaking here is particularly special. During the months of June to October, salt water plankton called noctiluca dinoflagellates glow and shimmer blue in the Indian River Lagoon. I wish this experience was able to be captured on my camera. Alas, you will have to use your imagination for this one!
The plankton spend the day going through photosynthesis, processing sunlight and building energy so they can easily communicate at night. That's why they glow! When you touch the water, they light up because they are letting each other know that you're there.
You can dip your hand in the water, pull it out, and watch them sparkle down your arm. Your hand and arm will look like it's rippling with sequins in the dark. It's so amazing!
I had my first ever bioluminescent kayak tour experience when I was in Grand Cayman earlier this year. My experience in Indian River Lagoon definitely topped the experience in Grand Cayman. This time I was able to go where I wanted and stay for as long as I wanted because I wasn't on a tour. I was solo!
I was lucky with the timing of my birthday—there was a new moon that weekend in July. Bioluminescence is best seen when there is no moonlight. The bioluminescence in Grand Cayman glowed green, while the color of the plankton in the Indian River Lagoon was a smoky blue!
There was so much bioluminescence in Indian River Lagoon that the water around the kayaks glowed blue as they glided along the surface. In the area right in front of the boat launch was where there was the most action. Tons of fish in the water were there to make the area light up.
A blurry, twilight photo of the other kayakers on tour
In Grand Cayman, the only way to see the bioluminescence was to swoosh my hand through the water or dip my oar into it. But here, you could float along and watch as fish, big and small, would shoot around under the water causing streaks of brilliant blue going this way and that.
This was the most magical experience ever! I leaned back in my kayak to take in the starry night sky above as glowing blue streaks shot around like falling stars below. I felt like I was on the alien planet Pandora from the movie Avatar or something!
This was definitely a top travel experience for me—and it was during a pandemic 225 miles away from home.
Happy freaking birthday to me!
In Conclusion
I spent 6 hours kayaking Indian River Lagoon. I had no idea if I would find what I was looking for, but following guidance from a local tour company helped make it happen—and for free.
I saw numerous manatees and the most brilliant bioluminescent water display ever. On top of that, I had a totally unique experience staying in a beautiful tiny house for the first time. Overall, this was an incredibly rejuvenating getaway in the middle of quarantine orders during a worldwide pandemic.
I hope to take more of these little getaway trips in the near future. As I do, I will write about them. Until then, I am all out of travel experiences to share! Perhaps I'll find some old stories to pull out of the archives. We shall see! In the meantime, keep finding ways to "deviate" despite circumstances. For your mind and body, it's more necessary now and more worth it than ever!
