Beyond Excited - Planning Florida Trip!

[BamaBob]

Sounds like a Great trip!! We expect updates and remember it never happened if you don't post photos

[RLHAMILTON]

Hope you have a great and safe trip.

[Hannah]

Have fun in Florida. I spent fall and Jan there and loved the camping. As an "eternal optimist", I have been online at 8 am every morning for the past month attempting to "win" a campsite in any of the 3 state parks in the Florida Keys for next Jan or Feb. No luck. Has anyone in the forum every booked this kind of campsite successfully? I'm retired and thought I'd given up setting my alarm every morning!

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by vinmaker

Wow. Great trip. So nice to be free and footloose.

Enjoy.

Vin.

Thanks! Now that our daughter is grown, it certainly frees us up for this kind of adventure

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by pvbbrennan

Your trip sounds fun. I am leaving Atlanta on March 13 and taking 5 days to get to Key West. Once there, my wife will join me for 10 days and then I will stay for 3 more days and return to Atlanta.

How nice! It's going to be so hard waiting for September to come around but when it's time, when going to 'hot foot' it over to Florida - our first and last trip days will be spent at a stop-over KOA in Pensacola

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

Sounds like a Great trip!! We expect updates and remember it never happened if you don't post photos

I hear you! Thanks so much!

[Hannah]

If you are over 62, you may buy a federal campground pass - I think it is called a Golden Age Pass but not sure - that allows you to stay for 1/2 price in federal campgrounds. Fort Pickens outside of Pensacola is then $12 a night and is a very nice campground.

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by Hannah

If you are over 62, you may buy a federal campground pass - I think it is called a Golden Age Pass but not sure - that allows you to stay for 1/2 price in federal campgrounds. Fort Pickens outside of Pensacola is then $12 a night and is a very nice campground.

I've got a few years to go before I get to 62 but time flies fast, doesn't it? It's good information for those who can benefit. I hope you win the campsites and it won't be too much longer before you can turn off the alarm clock

[Steeljag]

Wekiwa is a very nice place! We use it for long weekends at least twice a year! Paddling down the river after about 40 minutes you will come across a great / fun area to have a drink, eat, listen to music, play volley ball, Cornhole, people watch, etc.....can't miss it!

Enjoy your trip!

[dave961]

Originally Posted by Mrs Evans

LOL! Oh yes I do!

It'll probably still be sunny and 80 when we come in September, might even be 90 - just so long as there are no hurricanes

We've snorkeled in Pennecamp a few times, you'll love it!

If you want some cheap entertainment, go feed the tarpins (somewhere around mile marker 77). Those things are huge, don't get your fingers too close!

[pvbbrennan]

Make sure you go to the carribean Club in Key Largo (mile maker 104). It is a hoot.

[WrongWayRandall]

Originally Posted by Mrs Evans

First we're going to Wekiwa State Park and stay for about a week and we will take a day or two to visit Daytona where my husband has already booked a Petty Driving Experience, LOL! That's not for me, but hey, opposites attract!

Wekiwa is a small but very popular park, and it can be a lot of fun if you time your activities carefully. You can canoe, hike, birdwatch, or just relax (as long as you're not too close to the spring where people swim, loudly, for most of the year.) On the spring run, keep an eye out for the other people in canoes - it's super popular with those who have no idea how to pilot a canoe and collisions are not at all uncommon .

Take your canoe cart if you have one as it's a long carry to the put-in from the campground (unless you drop off your boat first and then park - go early if this is your plan or you will have problems finding a place to park.) Camping in the park will get you an early start, which I strongly suggest if you want to see wildlife and avoid crowds. The temperature will also be more comfortable early in the morning than after 10am or so.

I also would suggest that you also consider driving over to Deleon Springs State Park (not much of a drive from Wekiwa) for their pancake breakfast. You make it yourself using an electric griddle that's built into the table and the restaurant is in an historic sugar mill. Go early though, it fills up fast and is less fun when crowded. We used to go early in the morning, eat, and then hike the trail and always had a great time. Also nearby is Blue Springs State Park, at which you can see (and swim near, but not with) manatees when the temperatures get cooler and you can easily hit both parks in one day if you feel like it.

Have a great trip!

- R

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by WrongWayRandall

Wekiwa is a small but very popular park, and it can be a lot of fun if you time your activities carefully. You can canoe, hike, birdwatch, or just relax (as long as you're not too close to the spring where people swim, loudly, for most of the year.) On the spring run, keep an eye out for the other people in canoes - it's super popular with those who have no idea how to pilot a canoe and collisions are not at all uncommon .

Take your canoe cart if you have one as it's a long carry to the put-in from the campground (unless you drop off your boat first and then park - go early if this is your plan or you will have problems finding a place to park.) Camping in the park will get you an early start, which I strongly suggest if you want to see wildlife and avoid crowds. The temperature will also be more comfortable early in the morning than after 10am or so.

I also would suggest that you also consider driving over to Deleon Springs State Park (not much of a drive from Wekiwa) for their pancake breakfast. You make it yourself using an electric griddle that's built into the table and the restaurant is in an historic sugar mill. Go early though, it fills up fast and is less fun when crowded. We used to go early in the morning, eat, and then hike the trail and always had a great time. Also nearby is Blue Springs State Park, at which you can see (and swim near, but not with) manatees when the temperatures get cooler and you can easily hit both parks in one day if you feel like it.

Have a great trip!

- R

Thank you for the recommendations We will be camping at Wekiwa Springs State Park for 5 days and plan to hike, canoe and tube!

I would LOVE to see manatees but just not too sure they'll be around when we are there the 2nd week of September, after labor day. Either way, I am sure there will be plenty to enjoy

Btw, I love pancakes too, so I'm adding that to the list of things to do!

[offroad]

Originally Posted by dave961

If you want some cheap entertainment, go feed the tarpon (somewhere around mile marker 77).

It's at Robbie's marina on Islamorada and it is a lot of fun.
Check out the video

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by offroad

It's at Robbie's marina on Islamorada and it is a lot of fun.
Check out the video

LOL! My husband would be like, "I don't want to feed the tarpon, I want to catch them!" The first full day we're in Key Largo, he has already planned a charter, sans moi (b/c it's on a small skiff boat and I'm NOT doing that for a full day), and the last full day we're there, he has booked another charter, but this time with me b/c it's on a larger boat will full facilities! He LOVES fishing

However, we will still have a day or so to plan a snorkeling tour and do some other fun things around town so I appreciate all the feedback, it's so nice to get recommendations over trying to figure it out on your own