Take That Exit

Leaving the fast lane, to enjoy the view

Early January in Florida – An exhausting water pump repair, flooded campgrounds and a very stressful day on the road

Feb 242016



Airstream-water-pump-repair-stress

Travel dates :: January 7 – 16, 2016

After leaving the Florida Keys (see our Christmas in the Keys post here) we spent most of January jumping around the western coast of Florida – it feels like a blur and was honestly a bit of stressful time. Our water pump was on the fritz (suddenly no water pressure and it sounded horrible) so we had a repair appointment January 8 in Fort Myers, Florida.

WP_Franklin-campground

We stayed at WP Franklin campground the night before and we loved it. It’s a Corp of Engineers campground and we found it to be clean, affordable and close to Fort Myers.

North-Trail-RV-Airstream-repair

We brought the trailer into the repair shop at North Trail RV for what we were told would be a one-day appointment. Worst case scenario they’d just replace the water pump which would only take a couple hours – and they said they had the water pump in stock.

Ding-Wildlife-Refuge-Visitor-Center

While the trailer was in the shop we spent the day exploring Sanibel Island. Our first stop was the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center – which was a fantastic place – don’t miss it if you are in the area.

JN-Ding-Jr-Ranger-badge

Great educational exhibits – especially for children and the kids did the Junior Ranger badge program here. This was our first blue and gold badge and I think it’s still one of the kid’s favorites!

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Christmas in the Florida Keys. . .

Feb 182016



Christmas-In-Florida-Keys

We spent December 19, 2015 to January 6, 2016 in the Florida Keys – nearly 20 days of hopping between state parks and playing in the sun, sand and surf. We even celebrated Christmas here – and it was unlike any Christmas holiday we’ve ever had before. Balmy temperatures, endless sunshine, a tiny Christmas tree, minimal decorations – it was honestly one of the most magical Christmas celebrations we’ve ever had. Let me tell you about it. . .

Because we waited until the last minute to book our Florida Key State Park reservations, we didn’t have any reservation longer than 6 days. This meant we did a lot of hopping from park to park . Our first stop was Curry Hammock State Park (read our blog post about it here) and we were there only a few days before heading to Bahia Honda State Park.

Bahia-Honda-Campground-blue-skies

Bahia Honda State Park is one of the most popular of the Florida Key state parks and has some of the most amazing views and an incredible beach for swimming. We had three nights in spot 15 – and I declared it the best camping spot in the park and probably one of my favorite campsites since we hit the road.

Bahia-Honda-Sunset-campground

Located right on a corner of the campground it’s a large spot with breathtaking sunsets nearly every night. It’s crazy to me that this is a state park campsite for under $40/night. If you stay in a private campground in the Florida Keys you’re going to be crammed in with a bazillion other RVs and fork over $100 – $160/night. The state parks are the way to do the Florida Keys. . .

Wrapping-Presents-view-Bahia-Honda

On the morning of December 23, Jeremy took the kids to a Bahia Honda Nature Center program (making seashell necklaces!) while I wrapped Christmas presents. Hiding, wrapping and storing presents is a lot trickier in 180 square feet than it was in our house. There is no big garage or closet to store gifts – so this was a delicate dance we did. And I have to admit, I’ve never wrapped presents with a more beautiful view (usually it’s on the cold concrete garage floor!).

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Help us plan! Heading west from Florida to Phoenix {February to April}

Jan 112016



Florida_to_Phoenix-planning

We are currently tucked in near Tampa, Florida. Although we don’t have reservations past this Friday, we will are tentatively planning to spend the rest of January in Florida. . . we are enjoying the weather and the beaches so much more than I thought we would. We need to head back to Fort Myers next week to get our water pump replaced (it’s been ordered from Airstream) and after that we are free to move around the country. 🙂

Part of me wants to head back to the Eastern coast of Florida for some possible rocket launches in early February out of Cape Canaveral but then I’m anxious to get to the Emerald Coast and explore the panhandle, too. Choices, choices – what should we do? Maybe we’ll do both.

We have no time restrictions or dates – except I want to get to Phoenix by around March 20. My mom and dad are possibly flying in from Alaska to Phoenix to see us (and my grandma who lives in Mesa) and I really love Phoenix weather in late March and early April. We plan to spend around a month in the Phoenix area so I can spend some quality time with my grandma (and aunt/uncle/cousins).

And on the way to Phoenix we tentatively want to visit ::

  • Florida panhandle
  • Montgomery, Alabama – Jeremy’s brother and sister-in-law live here and we hope to spend 1-2 weeks in the area so the cousins can play together.
  • Austin and San Antonio, Texas – We have always wanted to visit this area
  • Socorro, New Mexico – Visit college roommate and her family

HELP US PLAN . . what cities, state parks, national parks, historical landmarks, campgrounds, attractions, restaurants along our basic route do you recommend! We aren’t set on this route . . . so we want your suggestions! We’ll drop pins on all the recommendations and we’ll calculate our routes trying to make the most of your recommendations. We have about 8 weeks to cover about 2,800 to 3,000 miles, depending on detours. . .

 

Dolphins Plus :: We swim and play with dolphins in a natural lagoon {Key Largo, Florida}

Jan 52016



Dolphins-Plus-Key-Largo-Review

Today was our last day in the Florida Keys and we ended it with a splash – playing and swimming with bottle-nose dolphins in a natural lagoon at Dolphins Plus here in Key Largo, Florida. Less than 2-miles from our campsite at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park – this place is amazing!

Dolphins_Plus-Bayside-Location-Florida

Dolphins Plus has two facilities in the Florida Keys – one in Bayside (the location we went to) and one in Oceanside. Depending on the location you select, there might be different experiences available. You’ll want to arrive about 15 minutes before your scheduled reservation bringing your swimsuit and your towel. You can make reservations by calling the numbers listed on the Dolphin Plus website. 

The experience that we did was the Structured Swim with the dolphins. The whole experience takes about 2 hours – but I think you’ll find it goes by so fast because you’re having such a fun time. If you have children under 7 they generally recommend the shallow water experience, which also looks amazing, which has a minimum age requirement of 3.  But because our five-year-old is such a big girl (48-inches and can swim on her own) they had us do the structured swim. I would trust their judgement when they recommend a specific program for your family – they all look amazing and I know you’ll have a good time.

Wet-Suits-Ready-to-Go-Dolphins-Plus

We started by getting suited up in wetsuits and life vests and then we attended an educational briefing – where we learned all about dolphin anatomy, biology and behaviors. We were walked through some of the activities we’d do with the dolphins in the water and were brought out to the natural lagoon. About 15-18 feet deep the natural lagoon was about 71 degrees today (it was chilly today) but we were so warm in our wet suits we didn’t even notice!

We were the only people in the lagoon during the Structured Swim and we took turns doing various activities with the dolphins. Our trainer Kim was super patient and gave very clear instructions – so we always knew exactly what we should be doing – the dolphins did, too!

Dolphins-getting-acquainted

Hadley was a bit apprehensive when we first got there. But thankfully our trainer asked at the beginning if anyone was nervous and Hadley said she was. The trainer answered Hadley’s immediate question (Do Dolphins bite?) and explained a few more things . . .so Hadley quickly felt more at ease and after we got acquainted with the dolphins and she realized they were friendly – she was all smiles for the rest of the experience.

Kissing-Dolphins-Key_largo

I think one of my favorite activities was giving the dolphins kisses . . . .here Liam and I kiss the dolphins. . . .

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Curry Hammock State Park {Florida Keys}

Dec 212015



Curry-Hammock-State-Park-Review

Up through October I was blogging chronologically and I got behind once we hit the East Coast and when I hit my busiest time for work. I was feeling overwhelmed by all the posts I wanted to share to get “caught up” so I’ve made the executive decision to hop ahead to current time (for now) and plan to fill in some of our East Coast fun as I’m able. It’s not ideal – but I had hit a roadblock and missed sharing updates. Sound good with you!?!

Travel dates :: December 19 – 21, 2015

Christmas is just around the corner and we’re tucked in down in the Florida Keys. We arrived on Saturday (Dec. 19) and it was a blustery, windy and rainy weekend. I’m not complaining though, temperatures are still in the mid-70s and the views are breathtaking.

Florida-Keys-Curry-Hammock-State-Park

We spent our first two nights at Curry Hammock State Park and it is wonderful. We are tucked into back-in spot #22 – with just a small dune between us and the beach.  We have peek-a-boo views of the beautiful water and thanks to the wind, we saw lots of kite surfers this weekend!

Curry-Hammock-campground-spot-22

This is looking from the beach back to our spot. The dune is roped off and there are signs saying to stay out of the dunes. But it’s a very, very short walk from our spot to the trail that takes you to the beach.

Curry Hammock State Park is just north of the famous 7-mile bridge and the more well-known Bahia Honda State Park. It’s a small park (which we like) with a security gate, lots of waterfront sites and some nice public space areas.

Curr-Hammock-Campground-2015

The spots on the beach side are not as long in terms of length (ideal for smaller rigs – probably 25-40 feet) but the inside of the loop looked liked it had room for bigger rigs. Although there are only 20-25 camping spots, we saw four other Airstreams within the same park (that’s not ours pictured above) and even one leaving as we pulled in. 🙂 Florida looks good on these shiny, tiny homes.

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Family-map-photo-350 We're a family of four, ditching mainstream and hitching up our Airstream for a year of travel around the United States. Learn more about us