Washington Oaks Garden – The Hermits' Rest

Vicki wasn’t up to going to the farmers market today, so I pivoted. I can always come up with something to do! So first I put in new nail polish. It didn’t go on very well, but it’s growing on me. I don’t think the magnetic ones are my favorites.

Then I got in the rental car (have I mentioned how much I have enjoyed this Honda? It’s a perfectly reasonable car). I drove straight up A1A for 26 miles. I enjoyed brightly colored beach houses and stretches of just plain beach. I saw Flagler Beach, which I’d never seen before. At the swanky town of Palm Bay, I found my destination, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.

The first thing I did was walk the nature trail, which included a half-mile stretch of the original A1A, the road built to get cars to South Florida. That was a fun piece of history.

You can see it was a road, returning to the earth.

It was pleasant to look at all the plants, and there was a good breeze. I was disappointed that there was hardly any view of the creek/intracoastal, but I did see some spiders. Focusing on spiders is not easy without manual focus.

I drank a lot of water (it’s humid) then walked around the formal gardens. I managed to find some insects for iNat along the way. There were many shady ponds, a sunny rose garden, and a place where they have planted Washington oaks from the trees owned by early settlers.

I enjoyed the rose garden, which had big, hardy roses in it, all of whom were blooming away.

After looking at the rest of the plantings, greenhouse, etc., I went in the gift shop, which was formerly the office of an early television pioneer. It was a cute place, and I enjoyed talking to the volunteers. I put signs in the photos, in case you want to read about the place.

I returned to Ormond Beach a different way, which took me through some fancy neighborhoods and a toll bridge. Then I drove down I-95, which was not bad, since it’s Sunday. I had time to go walk in the ocean a while. I got to watch some surfing, too.