Florida November 1-14, 2021

We had a great couple of days on the Water Management Campground. (Serenova Tract) It was a free spot as long as you made a reservation. And you had to make a reservation in order to get the code for the lock in the gate. We thought this place was going to be packed because across the street was a big supermarket and a very busy road. We thought for sure this place would be filled with locals. But to our surprise, it was just us and three others. And the three others that were there were really big rigs. Like 35 foot RVs . That’s pretty risky considering the road to get into this place is a sandy dirt road with overhanging trees and potholes along side of a river. We had no issues getting in but these giant RVs must have struggled.

Our site we picked was very nice and very secluded. It had a picnic table and a fire ring. And nearby was a water well to get our water for washing dishes. We had a cute little visitor to the site as well.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We biked over to the Publix supermarket and around the trails.

Next we headed to Palm Harbor to visit with Greg’s Parents and His Uncle Kenny and Kim. We joked about their place being one of the better campgrounds we have been to. They have every luxury and more. And the price is unbeatable! Laundry, hot showers, a beautiful pool, internet, tv. And even dinners out at local restaurants. This campground really knows how to treat their guests.

We had a great time with them and then the rain came. The entire state of Florida was covered in a blanket of rain. All night and all day and it just never let up. We decided to leave and head across to the other coast. The east coast and get there in time for the weekend to enjoy a visit with some friends. It seems most everybody we know has moved to Florida. We drove about half way and stayed in a town called Arcadia. Great little town. We went to the local restaurant called Reef and Beef. Seemed everybody from the town was there and everybody knew each other. The food was amazing and so reasonably priced. plus they had an awesome salad bar.

We spent the night boondocking in the Walmart Parking lot and had breakfast at the Holiday Inn next door.

• 

• 

Next day we decided to do a little antique browsing. We saw on Google maps that the entire center of town was filled with antique shops. So many of them so we headed over there in the morning and much to our surprise they were having a Bikers Festival day. So much fun! Bands and food trucks and hundreds of bikes. Kind of like an East Coast Sturgis.

• 

• 

• 

• 

After the Harley festival we continued on to the east coast and wound up at the Jupiter Beach area. We set up some chairs and had a nice lunch on the beach it was beautiful.

The waves were the biggest I have ever seen. I was surprised that there were no surfers out there.

Jupiter Beach was pretty awesome. We were able to park the van right in the street and walk right down to the beach.

That night we went out to Mexican with some friends. The food was amazing!

We were planning to stay at the Walmart that night but when we arrived, it seemed a little janky. It was also an extremely loud and busy parking lot. It was packed with people. We took a second to regroup and found a Cracker Barrel a short distance away. So off we went and it was perfect. Got to check out the gift shop which is always a fun thing to do. We got a nice spot off to the side and all was well. For those who have no idea about RV travel, Cracker Barrel’s have an RV area in the back. Usually 3 or 4 spots. They are generally located right off the highway so they encourage overnight parking in their lot.

The next morning we headed to a different beach for the day. This was called Ocean Reef Park, located on Singer island sort of by Palm Beach. Great place. Free shaded parking with a short walk to the beach. The waves were even bigger today than yesterday and today there were surfers. Really good surfers. We had some lunch and then went for a bike ride.

• 

• 

• 

• 

A full day on the bikes and that night we drive off back into the woods and spent 2 nights at The DuPuis Campground which is a free campground run by the Water management system in Florida. This was the most amazing free campground that we have ever stayed at. It checked off four out of our five boxes which includes water,hot shower bathroom,picnic table, garbage dumpster and the only thing it was missing was electric. It was worth every penny of free. The only issue that I had with the place was that the mosquitoes were horrendous they were some nuclear type of mosquitoes and when they bit me, swelled immediately into golf size balls all over my legs it was horrible. Thankfully they only came out at dusk. So I learned my lesson the first night. The second night I locked myself in the van as soon as dusk came! A couple of the little bastards got in the van with me before lockdown and managed to get a few good chews on my elbows.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We enjoyed a nice leisurely pack-up of the van and then headed back to the shore. Parked the van in that same lot, went down to the beach for some lunch and then went exploring the other direction on the bikes.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We spent the night at the Cracker Barrel again but this time went in for an amazing dinner.

Decided to checkout Lantana Beach. Parked the van in a Pay lot. And walked over to the boardwalk. Looking out over the ocean to the most beautiful light blue water that I’ve see in the US. However, there was no way to get down to the beach because there was no beach. The tide was extremely high and the waves were extremely huge. So we just admired the power of the ocean and went back down to the van, set up our chairs in the shade and spent a few hours people watching and relaxing.

Decided to check out the Palm Beach Zoo, a recommendation from my friend Terri. It was really a great zoo. I took a ton of photos and videos of all the animals. My favorite was the aardvark.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After the zoo we were off to go visit some friends from Islip. It’s been a hundred years since I have seen them so we had a lot of catching up to do.

• 

• 

• 

• 

It’s amazing how we just picked up where we left off. Reminiscing about our past and all the fun we had when our kids were young. They both live in the same development in Boyton Beach Florida. I was just about ready to buy a spot and then was reminded of how hot is is in Florida.

We had some rain there but just off and on showers so we stayed an extra night. Our van was parked in a Canadian dentists spot. He is still in Canada doing his thing and was kind enough to let us use his driveway. Once the rain ended, we headed out to The Hardrock Casino. It’s a pretty cool place. Lots of memorabilia of famous rock stars. We didn’t do well at the casino. We were planning on spending the night there but the heat was just intense in that parking lot with no shade so we continued south.

• 

• 

• 

We wound up at a very busy campground from our Passport America Membership. The French speaking Canadians are a very big presence here in southern Florida. Last year because of the Pandemic, they were unable to come so we never experienced them. They are everywhere. Very friendly but the language barrier is definitely an issue.

• 

• 

We are heading down to The Everglades National Park but decided to do an overnighter in Homestead. We stopped at IKEA for some Swedish meatballs for lunch and also because we needed to pick up a new fitted sheet. I sleep in a toddler sized bed so IKEA is the only place that sells toddler sized sheets to match my mattress that I bought from them.

Our plans for tonight was to stay in the Homestead Cracker Barrel for the night but again it got really hot so we opted for another campground with a pool. We set up camp and headed to the pool only to find out that the pool closes at 3 on Saturday. Does that make any sense to anyone? It’s 4 pm and 86° out. It’s a 55 and older community and the pool is closed. I just don’t get it. So here we sit outside the van sipping on cold beverages and enjoying the rest of the day. Thankfully our spot is in the shade. The pool opens at 9am and we intend on taking full advantage of it.

Had a nice evening. Sushi for dinner. That’s the bonus about these rv parks that are in the middle of cities. They are always in walking distance of decent restaurants .

As an added bonus, I was able to wake up early and walk to the nearby church to go to mass. I have really been enjoying the different Catholic Churches and different communities at each parish. Last week there was a total Motown vibe to the mass and the music. I swear the lead singer was one of the temptations. It was amazing. And todays mass was I think a Creole priest. He used the tv screens located throughout the church to emphasize his message in the homily. It’s a couple of hours later and I still remember his three points so I guess his technique worked. The choir was mostly, I guess Creole nuns and their singing really moved me. All in all, it really is a blessing to see how God works throughout this beautiful country we live in.

See you again in 2 weeks. Tonight we head to Everglades National Park.