Istokpoga Canal Campground
Finishing out another memorable outing over the last several days in central Florida, first to Coleman Landing which I had previously visited, and then to a free SFWMD campground, Istokpoga, which I had never been to before. This one turned out to be a pleasant surprise as it offers several campsites nestled among the pine trees with a very enjoyable hiking trail in the Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area.
The intent was to make the two hour drive home today, but high winds have made us (Courage & me) delay that trip until the winds subside, which might mean tomorrow.
Biking on the trail this morning before the high winds began was great, spotting a couple of hawks along the way.
Pine Glades Natural Area - Dec 2021
After several days of no outdoor adventures, I drove north to Jupiter Florida and found this wonderful little county natural area.
This visit included one of the largest alligators that I’ve seen in a very long time.
Cedar Key - November 2021
Cedar Key is way outside of the busy part of Florida, with an older Florida Keys vibe, and great seafood !
This was a pre-Thanksgiving adventure to Cedar Key, Florida, with a one day stop at Sanibel. My first visit to Cedar Key and I really enjoyed the history, charm, and vibe of this little town with a population of less than 1,000 people.
One of the few locations I’ve been to where spectacular sunrises AND sunsets can be viewed.
Island Hotel - Built in 1859
Tiki Bar Behind Low Key Hideaway
Summer Crush Winery - October 2021
A second visit by my sister and me to a wonderful Harvest Host location, Summer Crush Winery in Ft. Pierce, Florida. This weekend included entertainment by Elton John and Jimmy Buffet Tribute bands, including a special visit by Elvis! We had wonderful weather with no air conditioning required!
Sanibel Island - October 2021
One of my favorite locations in Florida, Sanibel Island. On this trip, the highlight wasn’t the beautiful scenery, but instead another instance of meeting incredible people during my travels.
Another chilled weekend hanging out at one of my favorite water spots in Florida, the Causeway Island Park in Sanibel, Florida. The highlight of this trip was meeting a wonderful couple who recently purchased a beautiful 2020 Travato GL National Park Edition. With no experience with the RV, I spend a few hours showing them how to use the various systems on the RV before they hit the road. They graciously offered a parking spot for the night on their beautiful property right on Sanibel Island, saving me a 15 mile trip to find a place to stay for the night. They also made me a wonderful breakfast before we finished a few steps testing out their new RV. This is a perfect example of why I love the van lifestyle; meeting great people like these ones!
Gainesville - October 2021
Another enjoyable trip to Gainesville to visit the son who is finishing his final year at the University of Florida. I took advantage of a good ticket price in the upper level of the Swamp to attend a football game against Vanderbilt during this homecoming weekend at UF. I love this school.
As usual, the Travato works flawlessly as I spend the nights in the Bass Pro Shops parking lot, saving hundreds of dollars in hotel costs, don’t have to rush out to meet a check-out policy, make myself an awesome breakfast, and spend the morning relaxing while I wait for the kid to eventually wake up for our Sunday time together! This was a great weekend, and I even visited one of my old hangouts when I went to school here some 30 years ago!
Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge - October 2021
Another enjoyable few hours spent at my home base spot on this beautiful Sunday. The weather was great as we begin to get just a hint of fall heading our way here is South Florida.
One of the highlights of this day was meeting a wonderful couple that had just purchased their new Winnebago Revel about eight days ago, and were taking her out for one of their first trips. They haven’t even spent a night in the van yet, and I could tell that they were so excited to begin exploring the country with their new toy. I was so happy for them and glad to have been able to meet them.
A couple of Sandhill Cranes decide to get in the way as I try to take some photos of the Winnebago Revel.
And a couple of photos captured during the day…
Great Blue Heron after a nice catch
Black Hooded Parakeets
DuPuis Management Area - September 2021
My third excursion to this Wildlife Management Area, this trip with the family pup, Courage. He seems to enjoy going camping in the van. One of his favorite things to do is sit on the bed and just stare out the window looking for any activity within his view.
Getting memorable wildlife photos were not a high priority on this trip, but this area always provides some wonderful sunset images. There were only about 3 other campers in the campground this particular weekend as the September Florida heat keeps many away, especially without electricity provided at each campsite, but the Travato lithium system kept us comfortable the whole weekend.
Dozens of turkey vultures seem to make this area around our campsite home during the daylight hours, and they seem to fly away to other locations at night. Quite a sight to behold, nature always seems to provide me something new that I haven’t experienced before.
Palm Beach Raceway - September 2021
Without any travel plans this weekend, I decided to head to the Palm Beach Raceway which was hosting the Champ Endurance Series today, a multi-day, multi-hour racing series designed for amateur racers to race on road courses across the country. I drove the van to the top of a small viewing hill near the exit of the pits, not knowing if I’d be able to stay here or not. Couldn’t ask for a better view of the race track from the van. On this hot summer Florida day, it was nice to sit in the air conditioning of the van and watch some live racing while watching football on TV. This day reminds me of the versatility that the Travato provides me on my adventures.
Long Point - September 2021
Another weekend spent at one of my favorite campgrounds in Florida, Long Point Park in Melbourne Beach, Florida. One of the memories from this trip will be almost getting tipped over in my kayak… by a manatee! I went out for an early morning kayak trip and saw a manatee surface for air about 50 feet ahead of me. I slowly drifted in the direction of the manatee, and suddenly I felt the kayak begin to lift up, tilt to the side, and come very close to tipping over. The splash that the manatee made once it was startled by my kayak being on top of it was so great that everything in the kayak was soaked, including me and my camera. As of right now, my camera is not working.
Coleman Landing at Shady Oaks - September 2021
I spent a couple days over the Labor Day weekend at this Polk County park. What a pleasant surprise this little 54 spot campground was. Right on Lake Kissimmee, I was able to walk my kayak for a couple of wonderful morning kayak trips on the lake.
At this park, you find an available spot that you want and take it. At some point, a friendly gentleman will stop by on his golf cart and take your payment, $20 per night. Not a bad deal for having electric and water at each site.
I head out with the kayak at sunrise to witness an incredible scene.
While kayaking just south of Brahma Island on Lake Kissimmee on Sunday morning, I was fortunate to spot three bald eagles circling high above the kayak. Once they came lower to begin their morning fishing, I was able to snap a few photos from the kayak.
but I missed the opportunity for the perfect shot of the eagle grabbing a fish from the water. That shot remains in my future for now.
I spot this Kingfisher sitting on a pole before he took a quick dive into the water for his morning meal.
The old Spanish Moss trees all over this campground are a beautiful thing to witness.
Maine - August 2021
By far the longest trip with the van. What an awesome trip with the sister, bro-in-law, Zo & Bindi visiting family members that we haven’t seen in many years.
In the Summer of 2021, we drove the van from South Florida to Northern Maine. We visited relatives that we hadn’t seen in years, and spread our Dad’s ashes in some of the special locations that meant a lot to him. It was a trip that we’ll always remember. The beautiful state of Maine is still in our hearts.
DuPuis Wildlife Management - April 2021
The DuPuis Management area is a 21,875 acre natural area in northwestern Palm Beach and southwestern Martin Counties, Florida. Archaeological sites of early American Indians date to 500 B.C. Much later, the Seminole Indians used the Dupuis region as a refuge during the Seminole War of 1835, but living on the land proved difficult. Hundreds of starving Indians were captured and sent to Oklahoma. The area became known as “The Hungryland”.
The highlight of the trip was bringing the family pup, Courage, on this trip with me. Courage LOVES the van and we had a very enjoyable few days away from the urban areas.
A few of my favorite photos taken during a hike through the natural area.
Tampa RV Show - January 2021
I drove to Tampa for my first RV Super Show. Thousands of RVs to tour, and thousands of people doing just that. On Saturday afternoon, I drive to a Harvest Host location just outside of Tampa for a channel meetup with Scott of GoSmallLiveLarge, one of the Youtubers that highly influenced my RV purchasing decision. All of the wonderful people that joined this meetup happened to be owners of Travatos.
