Lazy Days RV Campground, Seffner, FL

Date of Stay:  Sunday February 24 - Wednesday February 27, 2013 (3 nights)

Rate:  Free (Coupons received when we bought Tawanda)

Website:  Lazy Days RV Campground
   6210 County Road 579
   Seffner, FL 33584
   800-350-6731

Description:  Paved roads and pads, concrete patio, FHU 50A throughout.  Sites are close together but have nice grass in the park.  We stayed on site 287.  Indoor swimming pool.  Nice laundry area and conference room.  Restaurant in main building.  Lazy Days holds many rallys here for different rv manufacturers.

Activities:  We came here to quickly catch up on laundry and technology after being in the Everglades for 12 nights.  We had an upcoming appointment across the street at Lazy Days so this was convenient.  Spent our days resting and cleaning.

Trash and Recycle:  They pick up the trash at your site.  There is a dumpster labeled for recycle near the entry.

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Flamingo Campground (Everglades National Park), Flamingo, FL

Date of Stay:  Tuesday February 12 - Sunday 24, 2013 (12 nights)

Rate:  $19/night (Access Pass discount)

Website:  Flamingo Campground Everglades National Park (FL)
   1 Flamingo Lodge Highway
   Flamingo, FL 33034
   239-695-0124

Description:  This is truly the end of the world as we know it.  The campground is 40 miles from the entry to the Everglades but there is a marina and visitor’s center at this end of the road.  No reception on Verizon so no phone or internet for us.  We stayed on site T27.  The T Loop has 50A electric but no water or sewer at the site.  There is a dump with water fill at the bathhouse.  The bathhouse does not have hot water although the other loops do have solar panels to heat the water in theirs.  Paved roads and pads on large sites without much shade.  Bugs are not bad this time of year during the day but evening can be annoying.  Forget about the summer.  Nice place to ride bikes, paddle, hike the nature trails and enjoy ranger-led activities and talks.  Lots of birds and mangroves.  Alligators and crocodiles co-exist here.

Activities:  Great place to unwind and disconnect from the world for a while.  Our satellite dish worked just fine for television although Verizon didn’t work at all (no phone or internet).  We were here with Dan, Tricia, Bill and Nancy and were lucky to get sites together.  Sherry and David were also here for a couple of days so it was good to see them again.  Ranger-led activities are great here and you really get to appreciate the impact of the Everglades on the Earth’s ecosystems.  We all rode together to the Anhinga Trail closer to the entry to the park on a cool windy day to enjoy some wildlife viewing.  We also all went to Shark Valley with our bikes and pedaled out to the Observation Tower there to get a grasp of the vastness of the Everglades.  Bill, Nancy, Tricia and myself went on a ranger-led canoe ride through the mangroves in very shallow water.  After our friends left, we realized that we missed civilization so we left a couple of days early.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpster at the bathhouse.  Recycle bins at the entry to the loop.

 

 

 

 

Lots of birds and alligators on the short Anhinga Trail

 

Gators galore at Shark Valley

 

 

Observation Tower at Shark Valley

 

Ranger-led canoe trip amongst the mangroves

  

Kestrels, Ospreys and other raptors were everywhere

 

 

 

 

Abundant wildlife!!

Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound, FL

Date of Stay:  Wednesday January 30 - Tuesday February 12, 2013 (13 nights)

Rate:  $14/night (Gin’s disabled FL resident discount)

Website:  Jonathan Dickinson State Park (FL)
   16450 SE Federal Highway
   Hobe Sound, FL 33455
   772-546-2771

Description:  We stayed in the newer Pine Grove CG which is FHU 50A with paved roads and level pea gravel pads.  No trees here and windy.  We were on site 63 for a week then moved to site 66.  This cg is right next to the road so the traffic noise is constant.  The other older cg (River CG) is on the Loxahatchee River (about four miles from the entry gate) and has some trees with water and electric only.  This is a big park very near the Atlantic Ocean.  Great place to ride bikes and enjoy the view from the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower.  In 1942, this was the home of US Army Camp Murphy which was a top secret radar training school.  Several nature trails and the river is great for kayaking. 

Activities:  We rested the first few days after a busy week at Disney.  We were both quite week after our virus too.  Bill, Nancy, Dan and Tricia were camped here also.  They enjoyed kayaking to the Trapper Nelson Interpretive Site and geocaching while we recuperated.  We all rode to Jupiter and saw the beach.  There’s some nice public access areas there.  There is also a nearby National Wildlife Refuge that we visited.  After we got our strength back, we enjoyed riding our bikes, hiking and geocaching.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpsters within the cg.  Recycle at the dumpsters.

 

Site 63

Site 66

 

Atlantic Ocean                                          Sea Grapes line the pathway

 

Nancy the Bird Whisperer                          Baby crocodile and alligator

Sunset from the Observation Tower