Lazy Days Crown Club, Seffner, FL

Date of Stay:  Monday December 9 - Saturday 28, 2013 (19 nights)

Rate: Included with purchase of Tawanda

Website:  Lazy Days
   6130 Lazy Days Blvd
   Seffner, FL  33584
   800-350-6728 (service)

Description:  Initially reviewed here.

Activities:  Our new jacks were checked over since we had noticed a leak and the fluid was topped off.  We waited quite a while for a new toilet to be replaced since we had a history of trouble with the original one.  While here, we visited with JoBeth and Catherine at their nice waterfront condo and Bob and Lynette came to visit some from MacDill.  The Crown Club offered a great prime rib meal the day before Christmas and we went to a Chinese buffet on Christmas day.  On December 18 we took a day trip to Chiefland to close on our lot in Cedar Key RV Resort (lot 75).

 

Christmas at Lazy Days

Midway Campground (Big Cypress National Preserve), Ochopee, FL

Date of Stay:  Sunday December 9, 2013 (1 night)

Rate:  $15/night (Access Pass discount)

Website:  Midway Campground Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
   US 41 (mile marker 52)
   Ochopee, FL  34141
   239-695-1201

Description:  Reviewed earlier here.  Great stopover but many more rvs now than it was in October.  We got site 14 again but they take reservations now so it may be hit and miss now even for one night during the busy season.  Camp hosts greet you as you pull in to the cg.

Activities:  Just an overnight stop for us on our way back to Tampa.  When we stopped here in October, we noticed a leak in our newly replaced jacks.  Gin tightened a fitting but we wanted Lazy Days to double check it and top off the fluid.  Our toilet was once again not holding water so we wanted that replaced also.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpsters were in place now for the winter season.

Site 14

Curry Hammock State Park, Marathon, FL

Date of Stay:  Monday November 25 - Sunday December 8, 2013 (13 nights)

Rate:  $23/night (Gin’s disabled FL resident discount)

Website:  Curry Hammock State Park (FL)
   56200 Overseas Highway
   Marathon, FL  33050
   305-289-2690

Description:  Wonderful Florida State Park in the Keys recently reviewed here.  We stayed in site 13 right beside the cg beach access.  Nice quiet cg.

Activities:  We came back to Curry Hammock to enjoy a couple of quiet weeks since our friends had all left the islands.  I biked a little bit and learned how to fix a flat tire.  Gin did a couple of rv chores, and we both relaxed a great deal.  We barely even left our campsite which was quite alright with us.  We were lucky to have 6 weeks in the Keys but I was getting a little tired of the constant wind.  We enjoyed watching the wind surfers from our site and watching the ever-present iguana.

Trash and Recycle:  Recycle bins that take almost everything are at the dumpster by the dump station.

 

Site 13

 

View from our picnic table                                Wind surfers

 

 

Iggy the iguana

John Pennekamp State Park, Key Largo, FL

Date of Stay:  Monday November 11 - Monday November 25, 2013 (14 nights)

Rate:  $23/night (Gin’s disabled FL resident discount)

Website:  John Pennekamp State Park (FL)
   102601 Overseas Highway
   Key Largo, FL  33037
   305-451-1202

Description:  New paved road in the gated cg.  All the sites were narrow for a state park and no plantings for privacy.  We were on site 43 with water/electric (50A).  The sites are all gravel and ours, along with some others, were not quite level.  We used our rubber stall mats and were fine.  We had to drive through the day use area (pretty busy) to get to the cg.  Very nice Visitor Center with aquarium, marina, couple of swim beaches, and canoe trails amongst the mangroves.  Boat tours go out daily to the nearby coral reef for snorkeling.  There is also a glass bottom boat that operates from the marina (maybe next time).  Cannon Beach, one of the swim areas, is a nice place to practice snorkeling with a planted sunken shipwreck.  We could see a few cannons and anchor along with a few fish swimming around.

Activities:  We enjoyed more time with friends here.  Gail and Rick were on one side of us for a week and Dan and Tricia were on the other side of us for both weeks.  We all noticed that there was much more turnover at this cg versus Curry Hammock.  Must be the tight quarters of the narrow sites.  It rained more often here and we were ready to relax a bit.  Gin and Rick fished some and we all went out to eat some during the first week.  The weather improved during the next week and we paddled the canals with D&T.  We also swam some at Cannon Beach and tried snorkeling there.  It was our first time in salt water.  I stayed on top of the water and floated with my face under water breathing through the snorkel.  We all walked some of the trails there and I walked the Grove Trail to an old Key Lime orchard.  Yes I picked one off a tree!  They were working on improving the bike trail beside the highway so we just peddled around in a nearby neighborhood.

Trash and Recycle:  A couple of dumpsters in the cg.  Recycle bins at the dumpsters take aluminum and plastic.

 
D&T on site 44, us, R&G on site 42                                  Site 43

 
Visitor Center                                           Snorkeling is popular here
 
Far Beach swim area                                Cannon Beach swim area
 
Glass bottom boat leaving the marina           Snorkel boat returning to the marina

Curry Hammock State Park, Marathon, FL

Date of Stay:  Monday October 28 – Monday November 11, 2013 (14 nights)

Rate:  $23/night (Gin’s disabled FL resident discount)

Website:  Curry Hammock State Park (FL)
   56200 Overseas Highway
   Marathon, FL  33050
   305-289-2690

Description: Another great Florida State Park in the Keys!  We were in site 17 with water/electric (50A) with paved roads and level pea gravel pads.  Native plants separated the sites nicely and we were right on the calm Atlantic Ocean!  We used the bathhouse for showers (clean) to conserve our tanks.  The park’s day use area is separate enough from the gated cg to give us quiet days.  There is a nice paved bike path across Hwy 1 which we used often with our friends.  Located midway along the chain of the Keys, with Publix Grocery and KMart nearby.  Close enough to Key West for a couple of day trips!

Activities:  We were here with some great friends!  I still don’t know how we all managed to get 5 sites together here for two weeks.  There was Dan and Tricia, Bruce and Laura, Rick and Gail, Bill and Nancy and us all together relaxing and playing in the tropical paradise!  I ‘lost’ many of my pictures but we took an evening trip to Key West with D&T, B&L, and R&G hitting some shops and restaurants.  Another day trip was in order with D&T and R&G to check out the Southernmost Point and walk around some more.  Plenty of nature right there at the cg.  Our first visitor was a big iguana right at our door!  We all paddled our Sea Eagles in the mangroves around the park a couple of times and saw really huge iguanas then.  We also saw some nice property for sell $$.  We all peddled together on the nice bike path across the highway.  I know I lost several pictures of this.  The group also went out on the Sea King for some deep sea fishing on a very windy day.  Unfortunately, Gin and Nancy got sick.  The rest of us had fun though.  We spent many hours visiting each other and just relaxing at our sites.  The water is quite shallow but we all spent some time floating.  It was a wonderful couple of weeks!

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpsters near the dump station with full recycling!  Glass, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard!

Nancy, Rick, Gail, Gin, Bruce, Bill, Syl, Tricia, Laura, Dan (from Nancy’s blog)

 

Site 17

 

Visitors to our site

 

Cruise ship at Key West                        Love the name of this KW shop!

 

KW Southernmost Point

 

Right at our back door!                             Cruising the mangroves

 

 

Love the wildlife!

 

Notice the tilt of the boat (rough water)

Gin and Syl in KW at sunset

Midway Campground (Big Cypress National Preserve), Ochopee, FL

Date of Stay:  Thursday October 24 - Monday October 28, 2013 (4 nights)

Rate:  $15/night (Access Pass discount)

Website:  Midway Campground Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
   US 41 (mile marker 52)
   Ochopee, FL 34141
   239-695-1201

Description:  Paved road and pad with 50A.  Potable water at the dump station if needed.  We started with a full tank so we did just fine.  We were on site 14 which is as far from Hwy 41 as possible.  No one else was here when we first parked and then, we only had one or two other campers join us for the week end.  Great stopover on the way to the Keys or a day at Shark Valley.  Had to swing out onto the grass to back in since the road and sites are narrow.  Volunteers work here for about three months starting in December.  All sites face a pond which does have a resident alligator.

Activities:  Very quiet here but thankful for the 50A service.  One day trip was to the Oasis Visitor Center where we saw lots of alligators, fish and migratory birds.  Another day was spent driving Loop Road which is not paved so the Suki got quite dusty.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpsters and recycle cans available during the winter season but not at this time of year.

 

Midway Campground site 14

 

Our view and us across the pond

Alligator at Oasis Visitor Center

 

Sunning on Loop Road

E.G. Simmons Park, Ruskin, FL

Date of Stay:  Thursday October 17 - Thursday October 24, 2013 (7 nights)

Rate:  $24/night

Website:  E.G. Simmons Park
   2401 19th Ave NW
   Ruskin, FL 33570
   813-671-7655

Description:  Reviewed earlier here.  Located just a little south of Tampa.  We were on site 73 with easy access to the canal.  Water and electric here but only 30A so our air conditioner usage was monitored.

Activities:  We like it here but really missed 50A since it was still quite hot.  Not very busy even on the week end.  We both were suffering from colds so we didn’t get out much.  The no-see-ums were aggravating especially in the evening.  We celebrated our 30th anniversary by going to a nearby McDonalds for lunch.

 

Site 73 with easy canal access

Lazy Days Crown Club, Seffner, FL

Date of Stay:  Thursday October 3 - Thursday October 17, 2013 (14 nights)

Rate:  Included with purchase of Tawanda

Website:  Lazy Days
   6130 Lazy Days Blvd
   Seffner, FL 33584
   800-350-6728 (service)

Description:  Initially reviewed here.

Activities:  Some time during the past summer, our jacks had totally stopped retracting.  We had some work done on them here during our prior visits but the problem had only gotten worse over time.  I had called HWH who said that they would replace all four of them, thankfully.  While here, we always find someone to socialize with.  This time we share meals with Bob and Lynette and played cards with them too.

Walkabout Camp and RV Park, Woodbine, GA

Date of Stay:  Wednesday October 2, 2013 (1 night)

Rate:  $19/night (PPA discount)

Website:  Walkabout Camp and RV Park
   742 Old Still Road
   Woodbine, GA 31569
   912-729-4110

Description:  Reviewed earlier here.

Activities:  Near the Florida border convenient to I-95 but no traffic noise.  All drive through sites and great place for a stopover.

Bass Lake Campground, Dillon, SC

Date of Stay:  Tuesday October 1,2013 (1 night)

Rate:  $22/night (PPA discount)

Website:  Bass Lake Campground
   1149 Bass Lake Place
   Dillon, SC 29536
   843-774-9100

Description:  Reviewed earlier here.

Activities:  Just used as a stopover on our way to Florida.  Convenient to I-95 near the NC border. 

RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads, Roanoke Rapids, NC

Date of Stay:  Sunday September 8 - Tuesday October 1, 2013

Rate:  $500/month (electricity included)

Website:  RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads
   415 Wallace Fork Road
   Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870
   252-538-9776

Description:  Reviewed initially here.  We stayed on site P8 which is on the end of the road and has a gazebo.  Gravel road and pad kept the price lower than last month.  Teresa and Mike gave us the monthly rate even though we were here for quite a bit less.  Since there is no meter on this site, I paid $50 for electricity.

Activities:  Back to homebase to finish up with my crowns.  More visiting with family and older parents made us realize that it would be best for us to stop here in both the Spring and the Fall if possible.  We had a brief surprise visit from Jack and Donna from Lazy Days who had stopped by for an overnighter.

 

Our favorite spot… Site P8