Camper Twins drive to and around Florida!

First camper trip of the year - our camper twins, Terri and Kent, joined us on this adventure. As did Joe & Nancy, our camper cousins who live in Wisconsin.  We all have E-Pro campers and love them.

What a great trip!  Ten weeks, 6000 miles

Collin and Kohlie on our family vacation in Key Largo.

We visited John Pennekamp State Park but didn't get a campsite there.  Snorkeled and saw huge fish and an undersea canon.  Small beach but a cool place.

We saw so much new scenery, had great experiences, enjoyed good times with T & K and friends along the way.  Also got to know Florida - not only on the coasts.  We liked the middle area of the Springs the best.  Crystal clear chilly water and we swam with some wild manatees.  Amazing.

States we went through and/or visited:

Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia

Texas - visited Jimmy and Cheryl in Kyle (near Austin)

Louisiana - visited John and Sallie in Baton Rouge

Florida - Karen and Gary in The Villages

    Dave and Richard in St. Pete

    Mary K. in Bradenton

    met Vicki and family in Key Largo for 6 days for family vacation

We drove many miles with gas prices getting higher every week.  Argh...  in the high $3 per gallon.  But, we rented our house to Audrey on Airbnb for the entire time we were gone.  So we thanked Audrey every time we filled up!  

On the way home we hit gale force winds that were getting stronger!  We had to high-tail it home or be stuck in Oklahoma.  We drove in winds in Arkansa, Oklahoma, then Kansas on I-70.  Stopped by the visitor center in Kit Carson, CO for 4 hours of crazy wind before we could leave at night to get home.  650 miles in a day pulling the camper - not recommended.

We are done with Florida for a while even though this was a fabulous trip in so many ways. There are many more places there to explore, but...we are bothered by the politics and the Trump signs.  Don't want to go back until things change.

Evening star talk with a ranger in the Everglades.  The biting bugs made us crazy!!!  Saw crocodiles, rode bikes, hiked, but couldn't get away from those bugs.

One of many bikes rides.  We rode a lot!  Great way to explore.

Silver Springs.  We rented kayaks so we weren't kayaking with alligators in our inflatable kayaks.  Saw gators, manatee (so sweet), and a monkey (wild troupe lives there).

The Springs we visited:  Juniper Springs - camped there, Silver Glen Springs - choked with boats but here we swam near a manatee, Silver Springs State Park - rented kayaks, Alexander Springs - not crowded and some weedy area to snorkel in, Salt Springs - ringed by a wall and we saw blue crabs!  Loved this one.

One of our first bike rides with all 6 of us - from our campsite at DeSoto State Park.  We loved that place.

Scott and I did a lot of fishing and had tons of fun.  We even ate some of them.

A warm night at the campfire at DeSoto state park.

A ride on the Pinellas Trail with Dave and Richard

We spent a lot of time with my friend Dave from high school and his partner Richard.  We rode bikes in to downtown St. Pete pier area, played pickleball, played euchre, went to the beach, and just got to know the beautiful old St. Pete area. 

We hiked on the Florida trail when we were at the Springs area - crosses the state.

Camper life....  we love it

So many beautiful scenes and sunsets.

We experienced all kinds of weather in our 10 weeks.  Cold, rain, wind, heat, and adjusted activities accordingly.  Camper issues - of course.  We got one new tire and had to reattach the bench seat.  The frig does not do well in the heat so we need to figure that out.  Generally, we have been able to handle whatever has come up.

The world situation has gotten scarier with Putin of Russia invading Ukraine in March.  Gas prices rising for us but death and destruction of their country in Ukraine.  These things are part of vacation whether we want them to be or not.