Sarasota Florida, warm and sunny weather...
On our last post we had finished our first SOWER project at Toccoa Falls College and had moved to Fort Yargo State Park in Winder GA for the week of Thanksgiving 2013. The weather was exceptionally cold during our final week in Georgia so we were anxious to head south to warm, sunny Florida... for four months!!!
We visited Sarasota in December/January 2012 just after ordering our RV and while there we visited almost every campground in the area looking for a place to stay this winter. RV campgrounds south of Tampa on the west coast fill up very quickly and it is very difficult to find a place for long term rental unless you reserve it a year in advance so we did, we put a deposit on a campsite before we left Florida to return to Athens the year before.
The trip south was uneventful, we traveled to Ocala FL the first day. We have good friends, Tim & Barb Connor who live outside Ocala with two of their three their boys, Jonathan and Timmy [their oldest is married and doesn't live at home]. After setting up the coach for the night we went to visit them and had a wonderful visit. The next day, Sunday December 1st, we met the Connor's at their church with home in tow and after the service got a chance to see Timmy's Eagle project, an amazing log building they constructed that is used as the youth center for the church. It is the most impressive Eagle project I have ever seen, or know of and I have seen many!! To get an idea of the magnitude of this project click here
After saying our goodbyes we finished our trip south to Sarasota, actually Nokomis which is between Sarasota and Venice, to Royal Coachman RV Resort. Royal Coachman is a very nice campground with over 800 sites, more than half of which are park models [semi permanent RV like units]. The property was a pine tree farm back in the day so much of the property is still shaded by pines, other parts of the park shaded by big oaks. Our site was covered by both, very shady but impossible to get satellite TV.
This park is HUGE and they have more activities than anyone could ever try to do, tennis, horseshoes, aerobics, dinners, cards, bingo, etc... There is something going on pretty much all waking hours if you want to participate. The pool was heated, sometimes too warm but was very nice and large.
The people here were wonderful but most winter here every year and have their own little groups so it was difficult to socialize with them, after a few attempts we just gave up. This was not a problem though because we have family and friends in Sarasota so we spend much of our time outside the park. There is so much to do in the area, Ruth and I had no problems staying busy.
Southwest Florida is loaded with fresh water rivers emptying into the Gulf and the kayaking is wonderful. Ruth's aunt, Mary McClendon, is an avid kayaker and she graciously offered to let us tag along with the group she paddles with. Mary has two kayaks, I bought one for myself and Ruth used Mary's second boat. Mary's group paddles almost every Monday so we joined them on many occasions. We experienced some beautiful rivers and also paddled the bays between the mainland and barrier islands of the Gulf...what spectacular sights. Birds, gators, beavers grasses, mangroves, beaches, plenty of warm sunshine and friends... all in all a great time!!Christmas in Florida
I grew up in Miami, spent much of my life in South Florida and I remember Christmas differently than the norm for many of snow, cold, sleighs, warm clothes and hot chocolate. Christmas in Miami was shorts, flip-flops, palm trees and warm weather. As a kid I was always longing for what the rest of the country was experiencing and one of the biggest motivators for my moving to Georgia was to experience the seasons...and to celebrate the Christmas season with cold weather, snow [rarely], warm clothes, etc. Well...now I'm over it, I'll take the sun and flip-flops anytime!!!
For the past two years we have spent Christmas in South Florida, 2011 in Ft. Myers and 2012 in Sarasota. Ruth planned Christmas 2013 in an amazing house right on the Siesta Key beach, a short walk out the door and you're on the beach. Erin, Kevin & Eli traveled down with David & Tim to join us for a week on the beach where we spent Christmas. It was fun for me to spend Christmas on the beach and for a very nice change it was warm, too cold for Ruth or I to swim but not Eli, Kevin and Tim [crazy boys]! Unfortunately
Lydia and Dean could not join us, they were both working and couldn't get time off but we did get to see them in January, even if only for a couple of days.
Our family time together came to an end way too soon, a week can fly by so quickly when enjoying time with loved ones but before we knew it the week was over and it was time to say goodbye and everyone left to rerurn to the freezing climate of Georgia... well not everyone, Ruth and I returned to our RV for a rest before heading to Chicago for a New Years Eve wedding.
Did you say Chicago...in the winter???
Ruth and I met through Joe & Lisa Hanrahan, Ruth lived in the same neighborhood as Joe & Lisa and played tennis with them. I knew Joe through the Boy Scouts, his son Brendan as one of the Scouts in the Troop I was the Scoutmaster of, Joe was one of my Assistants. Joe suggested to me that I would hit it off with Ruth...well the rest you know.
Brendan met Tamara in DC where he was going to school for his Masters and PhD. Tamara is from Chicago and when they decided to marry they brilliantly decided to marry on New Years Eve...in Chicago!!!
When Ruth and I were going through all of our clothing before moving to the RV we thought we would never need winter clothing, at least not the kind you would need for COLD weather so we got rid of it all. After learning that the wedding would be in Chicago, in the winter, we knew we were in trouble...nothing to keep us warm so we hit the thrift stores in Sarasota [you can find anything in the thrift stores in SW Florida], problem solved and rather inexpensively.
So we're off to Chicago for the wedding, we arrive to snow, lots of snow, cold, really cold!!! We figure we'll take advantage of being in Chicago and make plans to spend some time with another one of Ruth's cousins, Karen and her husband George who live in Oak Brook, one of the Chicago suburbs.
Thanks to Spirit Airlines we arrive late for the rehearsal party but arrive in time for evening libations at the hotel on the 30th. The next day we head out of the hotel for breakfast in downtown Chicago, it is freezing, literally but we're here and we'll make the most of it so after a wonderful breakfast we decide to take a walk down by the lake which is frozen!
After our lakeside adventure we head back to the hotel to thaw and get ready for the wedding. After dressing for the wedding we head down to the lobby where we meet several of our Lilburn friends and load up on the bus to travel to the church for the ceremony. Wow, it's really snowing now, earlier while we were frolicking by the lake their were light flurries, now its snowing hard. We get to the church, wow again, this place is beautiful, an old Chicago Polish Catholic church, very ornate. The wedding, a full mass in both english and polish was quite nice, and long, but the ceremony was beautiful, as were the wedding party. Now back to the bus, the snow in the parking lot is now over our ankles, we load up for the ride back to the hotel and a quick break before boarding the bus again to go to the reception at the Chicago History Museum. This was quite the affair and we welcomed in the New Year before catching a bus back to the hotel. While riding back we saw fireworks over Navy Pier bringing in the New Year...nice touch!
The next morning Karen and George pick us up at the hotel and we head out of the city to the burbs.
It's snowing again, probably over a foot of snow since we've arrived but the roads are in good shape and the trip to their home is uneventful. Karen and George have a beautiful home and are such gracious hosts, they make us so comfortable and fed us like royalty! We're here till the 6th so we talk about things to do if it quits snowing and took a quick walk around the block while near freezing. Two things happen...it doesn't stop snowing and Ruth gets the flu and spends almost the entire time in bed. Both George and Karen do their best to entertain me while I keep checking on Ruth who is sleeping day and night. It's still snowing, George tells me he usually has his driveway cleared once or twice a week, while we're there it's done every day and it's still building up. On the day before we're scheduled to head home Ruth emerges from the crud, she is out of bed for the first time in 3 days, weak and weary but alive. On the day we are to leave the snow lets up, it's -17ยบ on the way to the airport but not snowing. We're at the airport in plenty of time and luckily the plane arrived the night before, after a nightmare wait for the inept Spirit Airlines ticket counter we finally get on the plane, de-ice, taxi, de-ice and takeoff for the warmth of Florida. We found out after arriving that we were the last flight out of Chicago...thank you God!!!
A Bit of Sadness in Our Adventure
Shortly after Christmas we went to Tampa for the Tampa Supershow, the biggest RV show I've ever seen. We went there in 2012 while we were still searching for our rig and were blown away by the size of this event. This year there were several things going on including a gathering of Redwood owners, we would all camp together, go to the show and spend time together in the evenings. The day we arrived, after setting up, our friends from St. Augustine arrived and after setting up they came over for snacks and such. They had their granddaughter with them and she saw Tom so Ruth told her we had another cat and went into the bedroom to look for her. Our little Toonces was lying on the floor and appeared to be sleeping but when Ruth picked her up she discovered that she had passed. Toonces had been with us since 1999, I'll always remember when we got her, it was right after we returned home from Danny's graduation in California. She had been with us for fourteen years and was a big part of our family...we will miss her sweet demeanor and loving personality. RIP sweet Toonces!!!
Disney World
Ever since Erin announce she was pregnant with Eli, Ruth has been dreaming of taking him to Disney World. She scraped and saved for this occasion and spent an incredible amount of time researching and planning this trip. Between the time we returned home from the beach and our trip to Orlando she was either looking at books, brochures and the web looking for information for this trip. By the time we were ready to go she had the entire trip planned with so many options and choices that the journey was wonderful.
In early February we traveled up to Disney World, to Fort Wilderness, the Disney campground. Just a month since we saw Erin, Kevin and Eli they traveled back to Florida to meet us for 4 days in Disney. To say that Eli was excited would be an understatement though I'm not sure who was more excited, Ruth or Eli, well both but for different reasons!!
The day we arrived it was a rainy and cold so we were a little concerned and spent the day in the
campground. The weather for the remainder of the trip was perfect, sunny and warm, perfect weather. we spent four days in the park, the first day on The Magic Kingdom, the second in Epcot, the third in Animal Kingdom and finally in Hollywood Studios on the fourth and final day. Each day we left the rig as early as we could get everyone ready and fed and didn't return until well after dark. Eli had such a good time and ran so hard that he would crash as soon as we returned home if not on the way back. To say we were exhausted is an understatement, we were not far behind Eli in crashing, the days were long with little rest along the way. In hindsight we should have planned at least one down day so we could take a break from the madness of the crowds. The next morning we said our goodbyes and Erin, Kevin and Eli returned to Georgia while Ruth and I headed to Tampa to spend the weekend with the Manateean Sams RV Club, a group of RV'ers from Southwest Florida who meet monthly in different RV parks around the area. We had a nice quiet weekend with friends before heading back to Royal Coachman for some peace and quiet.
Back in Sarasota...the simple life
We settled back into our quiet life of paddling and cycling. Right outside the park is the Legacy Trail, an old abandoned railroad track that has been converted into a 12 mile bicycle path. The trail begins in Sarasota and ends in Venice, it is a wonderful ride through the palmetto forests and mangroves and is a joy to ride on. We typically rode on this trail a couple times a week and spend most Mondays kayaking.
In late February Ruth's cousin Carol and her husband Ron came to Sarasota from Colorado to visit Mary. Both Carol and Ron are very active in outdoor sports, they cycle, run, paddle so we spent most of the time they were here paddling and riding and an occasional beverage. As always it's a joy to spend time with them. 
While they were here Ruth and Mary planned a family reunion for all or their aunts, uncles and cousins living here in Florida. Mary, Ruth, Carol and Ron spent hours preparing food and munchies for the occasion.
Ruth has not seen many of her Florida relatives for years, so everyone spent hours catching up, eating and having a wonderful time, I got a chance to meet her relatives and learn all their secrets about Ruth!!
In South Florida winter vegetables and fruit are a big thing. There is an abundance of yummy things to eat and strawberries are the thing in the spring. Every year the area is red with strawberries and Florida likes to celebrate like all other places so of course there is an annual Strawberry Festival in Plant City outside Tampa. As soon as we saw that Third Day was playing we made reservations for their show, the day arrived and we set off for Plant City. It was a miserable rainy day but we were not going to miss the show so we resolved ourselves and dressed for the nasty weather. When we arrived it was raining, buckets of rain, a hard rain but we sucked it up and went in, we went from tent to tent trying to stay as dry as possible. All of a sudden we noticed the rain was slacking off and before long it was gone...clear skies and sunshine!!!
Ive never seen so many strawberries and of course they have a make your own strawberry shortcake, so we did!! Add am much strawberry and/or whipped cream as you dare to put in the bowl, you get the idea...lots of strawberries. Along with the food and carnival rides they also have music, good music.
The day we went we knew Third Day would be playing but we also got to see The Oak Ridge Boys who still today are a sight to see.
I'm not a big fan of driving at night anymore so I try to avoid having to travel long distances if I can avoid it, but for Third Day I'll make exceptions, after the show let out we made our way back to the truck and inched our way back to the freeway for the long drive back home. It was so worth it!!
When we planned this trip we wondered whether four months was too long, what in the world would we do for that long, would we get bored? The four months here flew by, as we approached mid March the realization set in that we would be leaving Florida soon but not before making a trip to the east coast, to Vero Beach to visit Dana and Dianne Cox. I went to high school with Dianne and we were the best of friends. We drove over on the weekend before we left Sarasota and had a wonderful time with them...a great way to end a fantastic WARM winter that was brutal for our friends in the rest of the country.
After returning to Sarasota we said our goodbyes to friends and family and prepared for our next journey... another workcamping adventure in Branson MO.
We left Royal Coachman on March 30th in route for Atlanta/Athens.
Next up... Branson, our next WorkCamping Gig
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