In the making of RV There Yet? Episode #5,
Vacation Paradise, our original plan on our final day was to leave the
Space Coast
at 6am and drive 4 hours south to
Everglades National Park
to shoot the last segment of the show. The night before at dinner I received a
text from Brad, our Director of Photography, that read check tomorrow's
weather. The forecast looked grim for
South Florida. I had to make a last minute change - one of the most difficult decisions in
shooting a television show. We didn't have a backup plan. We needed one more
segment to finish the Space Coast episode. At 9pm the night before, we texted
our contact at the Space Coast Office of Tourism to see if they could ask the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge about waiving the filming permits and
allow us to shoot the following morning. It was a long shot. We woke up the
next morning and waited for her text. She scored us full access to the
wildlife area and even scheduled an interview with
Ranger Kim
when we arrived. Love our clients!
I've been to the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
many times for the
Addictive Fishing TV show, but I've never taken the RV there. We arrived at the
Visitors Center
early and met the staff and Ranger Kim. While the crew set up an interview
outside the visitors center, she told us about the 140,000 acres that is the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge located on Kennedy Space Center
property. She recommended that we stop by the
Manatee Observation Platform
and take the
Bio Lab Road Scenic drive. We spent 10 minutes interviewing Ranger Kim before we headed out in the
Refuge to sample the wildlife.
One of the most popular stops in the Refuge is the
manatee
observation deck. Patrice had never seen a manatee up close, so this spot was
a great place to get her first glimpse. She was in awe of the slow moving sea
cows. I would recommend making a stop if your interested in seeing a manatee.
After hanging with the manatees, we drove to the Bio Lab Scenic drive. I had
never taken this drive in a car let alone the RV, so I was a bit nervous as to
how we were going to shoot this segment on a one way road. Thank you tech gods
for our walkie talkies!
Safe Travels,
Producerman
If you haven't seen RV There Yet? Ep #5, Vacation Paradise,
click here
to watch the full episode.
Read more about our trip to Florida's Space Coast.
