Our Florida RV Travel Diary!

We had such an amazing time in Florida these past few weeks, and I wanted to write out our adventures in the south to help preserve these great memories. One thing that I think is so important about family trips is capturing it in photos and video, so that we can all look back on it years later, and have something tangible to see to jog our memories and warm our hearts. It’s also a great way to remember WHY we travel with our kids, because sometimes in the moment when your exhausted from the work of the trip (a reminder that family trips are not a vacation people hehe) seeing all the wonderful memories make it all worth it, and encourage us to do it again one day!

  When my husband first had the idea to drive our trailer down to Florida in the middle of the winter, many thought we were crazy and that it couldn’t be done, especially with a family!  But when someone says something is going to be a challenge that just pushes my husband to want to do it more, haha.  First things first we had to pack up a trailer to live in for a number of weeks, it was a big job, and we were doing it in sub zero temps.  This proved to be a little more tricky then doing it in the warmth of summer, but after endless ‘to-do lists’ and lot’s of trips from the house to the trailer we got it done, and we were ready to get on the road.  The first day we drove from our home up near Parry Sound Ontario, to my parents house in Aurora.  This was only a two hour drive, and gave us a good head start so we could leave bright and early the next morning, while already being past the ‘north end’ of our drive.

  We left about 7 am the next morning (we wanted to leave earlier, but you know how it goes!) and we drove non-stop that whole day (even making sandwiches in the car while we were moving, and only stopping for quick bathroom breaks) we made it all the way to Tennessee that night, and we did something I never thought we’d do…we slept in a Wal Mart parking lot.  If you are already a trailer/RV person, then you know that this is very common and that you can park in certain parking lots for free (it’s called ‘Boondocking), but you don’t have water or electricity.  So that was fun! LOL We did that for just one night so that we could drive as long as we possibly could that day, and start again as early as we woke up the next morning without the time it would take to ‘hook up’ at a campground.  Though I wouldn’t recommend sleeping in a Wal Mart parking lot, ( it was loud and bright) we survived unscathed and it was worth it to be able to get to our destination faster!

The next day we started driving around 7 am, and drove the ENTIRE day again until we got to our first ‘final’ destination, St. Augustine Florida. Driving into the town the first night they still had all the beautiful twinkle lights set up on all the trees in the streets from Christmas, we were happy to catch a glimpse of that because they started taking it down the very next day. We were all so excited to get out of the car and see our camp ground and stretch our legs when we parked. We have been to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine many times, and so it almost feels like one of our Florida homes and it was so nice to arrive and see the trees and palms after such a long drive. Of course our first day there it was only 11 degrees and super cloudy and chilly, but we woke up the day after that and had the best weather the whole remainder of the trip. Generally around 24 degrees and sunny the whole time, we were so thankful. The sun felt amazing after so many cold winter months, and the kids enjoyed riding their bikes, and boogie boarding at the beach as well as taking tons of walks. We spent 4 days here (it’s VERY hard to get spots at any park in Florida in the winter months, but especially at the state parks. So we were only able to get the 4 days, but I am so glad we did!) . This park is right on a beautiful light sand beach, with large and lush camp sites and seashells at every turn. As we drove away from here to our next spot, we were all a little sad, but excited that our trip was still just beginning.

Our next campsite was in Tarpon Springs Florida, we had never even been to this area before, but again because it is so hard to get camping spots in Florida (unless you book a whole year ahead, and a year ago we didn’t even have our trailer) so we just had to take what we could get. It was a busier camp ground, but had a gorgeous pool and even a dog park for Forest. He loved going off leash there and running around every day and meeting other doggy friends. There was a lovely pool at this spot, which was surrounded by beautiful palms, and hibiscus flowers, and felt like a little oasis in the middle of the park. We did school in the mornings here, then would go for a swim in the pool, make some lunch, then head to the beach in the afternoons. We would go to a different beach every time, because we were new to this area and we wanted to try different spots out and explore a bit. We enjoyed some lovely sunsets, ice cream runs and some Target fun of course too.

Every time I went into a grocery store to get food supplies for the fam, I was amazed at how HUGE the grocery stores are in the states, there are just SO MANY CHOICES and so much to look at, it’s fun and overwhelming at the same time. I got the tip from many friends to stick to the ‘outer edges’ of the stores and skip the middle aisles as that is where all the packaged ‘junk’ food is, and the fresher stuff is around the edges. My favourite thing was trying all the nice dairy free yogurts they have there as well as different flavours of ‘La Croix’ as I am a big fan of ‘fizzy water’ as we call it in our house. We did our best to make meals as usual in the trailer and using the BBQ a lot, and we all ate well and as healthy as we could with of course a few runs to Chick-Fil-A mixed in.

Our final campground was down in Bradenton Florida, and this was the one I think we were all most excited about as we were going to be able to go to Anna Maria Island, which is our fave Florida spot. The campground here was really nice, and had more trees and a ‘nature’ feel to it which we all loved. We also spent most mornings here doing some school, and then we would head to the Island for the remainder of the day until sunset. Every one at all the campsites we stayed at was so friendly, and it seemed like everyone had dogs, so even though in most places we stayed we were the only ones there with kids (it was generally all quiet retired couples this time of year, I would guess more families with kids will be enjoying Florida during March break when school is out) we still felt at home, and enjoyed meeting so many nice new people and their dogs at the parks.

We discovered that Anna Maria Island is much more busy and popular this time of year (we have usually gone in November in the past, and this was our first time going in February) so it took a bit longer to drive on and off the island, but once you see the Anna Maria beauty, the driving is so worth it! White sand beaches, clear blue water, tons of bottle nose dolphin sightings, sandpipers and pelicans diving for fish. Huge sailboats out on the horizon, big waves to jump in and the most colourful glowing sunsets. The whole island has a very tropical feel with small colourful houses and cottages and no tall buildings which really gives the island it’s charm. I loved all the palm trees and foliage everywhere I looked this trip, God has made such beauty in nature for us to look for everyday and it was fun to escape winter for a while and see something fresh and green!

After our time in Anna Maria area we began the long journey home to Canada. We wanted to do it in three days instead of two this time, and I am not sure what I liked better now that it’s said and done. It was nice to hook up the trailer in the evenings and stretch our legs more in between the days of driving, we spent one night in Georgia and one in Ohio, but I think I prefer just getting it over with in two days! Our kids did so well in the car, and so well the whole trip (as long as we had plenty of snacks on hand)! They are getting to be good travellers and we are so thankful to be able to give them these fun and new experiences. Travelling around with the trailer was once again so great, we loved having our cozy little home with us wherever we went, with just the view out of the windows changing around us. We look forward to many more trips to come with ‘Gary’ (yes our trailer finally got a name thanks to Mia!) Traveling with a family is never ‘perfect’ or exactly what you picture, the kids fight and complain, you don’t get to finish (or even start reading that book you brought) you get heat rash all over your feet and hands (that itches, and yes that really happened!) and it all goes by in a blur, but I couldn’t have asked for a better trip and I am so grateful, Thanks so much for the memories Florida! And of course a huge thank you to my hubby Chris, who always encourages us to take these trips and does all the planning and driving, he’s our rock and we all love and appreciate his ‘go getter’ attitude!

Stay cozy friends,

Shelley