Orlando’s Arts District

  Four museums and two theaters are clustered around Loch Haven Park. There are several parking lots large enough for RVs. Do not try to park at the Mennello Museum. The lot is very small with only one entrance/exit and no room to turn around.

We visited the Mennello and the Orlando Museum of Art. Neither are very large so it takes just an hour or two to see both.

  The Mennello has a permanent exhibit of paintings by Florida folk artist Earl Cunningham and special exhibits of artwork by other American artists.  Mennello Museum

  The Orlando Museum of Art has a good ,very diverse collection of contemporary American and African art. Most artwork is gathered in the galleries under themes  rather than specific artist , medium or style so a gallery may have paintings ,sculptures and photographs. There are some minor accessibility problems. The front desk where you buy tickets is very high.It’s actually too high for short people so people in wheelchairs are invisible. The lighting on a few of the paintings causes so much glare that it’s hard to view them. The description labels in Ancient Americas Collection and the Caballo Volador Project have been positioned flat on the display cases, at eye level, making them very hard to see and read.   Orlando Museum of Art

  The other museums are a fire museum and a science museum which we didn’t visit. They are all accessible by sidewalks from any of the parking lots in the park.
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More Maps

Moss Park Campground ( Moss Park ) is so nice that we decided to come back and hang out for a few days. I’ve been working on more maps for the states that we’ll be visiting after we leave Florida. Check them out here -  Alabama  Louisiana Mississippi Texas  or at the Google map link on the right.

The maps have all of the attractions that are free or discounted with a pass just like the Florida map plus some other attractions that we might want to see. I still have to add campgrounds

You can download the maps and personalize them to suit your interests and travel route. Just sign up for a Google account then when you click on any of the map links you'll  also be able to click on "Save to My Maps". Once the map is in your maps you can personalize them by editing,deleting ,commenting or adding other attractions.

Brevard Zoo

   This is a nice small zoo but most of the exhibits have some type of obstruction at eye height. It’s still possible to see the animals –you just have to peek through or over the fences.
        
    It’s much easier to see the birds in the aviary.
       
   Parking for RVs is along the edges of the service road-follow the signs. The zoo wasn’t busy when we visited so we parked in the sandy lot on the left. The sand is soft so it’s hard to roll through and the curb cut up to the sidewalk is a little high. If you have a van, park in the paved lot on the right. The ticket window is low and  zoo’s  boardwalk paths are in good condition.  Brevard Zoo
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McKee Botanical Garden

   During the 1940s, the garden was a very popular tourist attraction but most of the land was sold in the 1970s. Only 18 acres are left so it doesn't take long to walk all of the paths. The paths are mostly hard packed sand and shell so rolling is fairly easy.

  Parking for RVs is to the right after you turn off of Route 1. Follow the paved path to the ticket booth. McKee Botanical Garden
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Donald MacDonald Park Campground

  This is a county park with a small campground. None of the sites are handicapped accessible. The bathroom (which we didn’t check out) is supposed to be ADA compliant but there aren’t any paved paths to it. The tables are concrete with a concrete base raised a bit above the ground surface. Using them would be difficult. The ground is pretty soft sand so rolling around is hard.

  Most of the sites are small but there are a few large enough for big class As.  Campground
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Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge

  Refuge houses were built along the east coast of Florida in the late 1800s to shelter shipwreck victims until they could continue their journey. The shelters were important because there were no roads and few towns.

The house is handicapped accessible but there is little parking, just a few spaces long enough for cars. We managed to park sideways in the handicap spot but a larger RV will not fit. The admissions building has a set of steps but there’s also a gate and a ramp to the back door. The gate was locked. Tony had to go inside and get someone to unlock it for us.  House of Refuge
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Jonathan Dickinson State Park

    
  The campground in this park was recently renovated. Unfortunately all of the palmettos and trees were uprooted and, for now, the campground is just one large grassy expanse. They did a great job with the sites – level, large with fair amount of space between them. Most of them have graveled pads which make it a little hard to roll around.

  Two sites are officially handicapped sites but there are others, like the one in the picture above, that are handicapped sites but not officially listed as such. They have large paved pads extending to a table with long overhangs, a fire pit with tall sides and paved paths to the bathroom. They differ from the official handicapped sites which are completely paved. These ones have a graveled tent pad. Campground
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North Lake Bike Trail , Palm Beach

  The bike trail starts a little north of Flagler Museum at Sunset Ave. and ends at the Sailfish Club , about 6 miles round trip. There’s also a shorter section south of the museum. The trail is on the west side of the island so the view is of the water and skyline of West Palm Beach. Most of the homeowners have high hedges and other landscaping blocking views of their properties. It's all very manicured and pretty.

The trail is smooth, mostly flat asphalt. We visited on a slightly cool Sunday afternoon and had no trouble finding parking along Royal Poinciana Way –free but limited to two hours.
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Palm Beach Zoo

  We weren’t very impressed by this zoo. It’s small and poorly laid out. Many of the enclosures aren’t big enough for the animals. The newer section is fairly good for accessibility and has great landscaping and architectural  details. The older sections have broken and uneven pavement. Some railings are at eye level making it hard to view the animals.
 
  The parking area isn’t very big but there’s overflow parking south across Summit Blvd.  Palm Beach Zoo
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Mounts Botanical Garden

 
  This is a small public garden with some plants that we hadn’t seen in any of the other gardens. 2/3 of the paths are paved and accessible but the other 1/3 are graveled, mulched or grassy and most wheelchair users will need help. The parking lot isn’t very large but most RVs should be able to fit across the spaces.Botanical Garden
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