Our two week reservation at MacDill AFB ended today and we have really enjoyed our stay. The people were so friendly and the beach was wonderful. We could have stayed longer but we would have to go into a rotation schedule and probably would have been in the boondocking area most of the time. It can take up to two weeks to get back to a full hook up site and this is prime time for base. We only have a week until our NOMADS project, so we decided to travel and see a couple of areas instead.
We have belonged to Escapees RV Club for several years. Essentially the club was organized to share knowledge and provide support to those who love or are considering the fulltime RV lifestyle. They provide a wealth of information and last fall we attended their annual rally in Goshen Indiana. One of their benefits includes being able to stay at one of their Rainbow Clubs located mostly in the south. There are eight parks and the daily rates are very reasonable.
Located about about 1 1/2 hours north of Tampa is the Sumter Oaks RV park in Bushnell. It was an easy drive and the campground was located not far off the interstate. It is a very rural area and the campground has lots of live oak trees draped in Spanish moss. There are about 100 full hook up sites with large concrete patios. It was a bit of challenge backing into our site but it is in a nice quiet area. Our site is #12 and the rate is $15 per night plus electric. You have to write down the reading on your electric meter and pay a small amount for the electricity at check out.
We settled into our new campground today and walked around the area. There are lots of birds and owls in the area. The camphost recommended a German restaurant for dinner about 20 minutes away called the Old World Restaurant in Floral City. The decor was a very dated but the food was delicious and reasonable. The city was very quaint and is said to be "a slice of Old Florida".
Tomorrow we may go for a bike ride since there are several nice trails nearby. We are also very close to the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park home of the famous mermaids. It has an amazing river to kayak but the weather will probably be too cold tomorrow. We'll see what the weather man has to say in the morning.
Glad to hear you arrived safely at Sumpter Oaks. We stayed there one night on the way to Tampa and found it very nice.
ReplyDeleteWeeki Wachee would be a GREAT, GREAT river to kayak, but I'm with you..tomorrow looks a bit chilly in the morning. You should try to go though if you can before you leave.
You put in by the park and they will pick you up a few miles down river (for a fee). The Website for the kayak/canoe livery is http://floridacanoe.com/
It's better to go on a week day, if you can...less people and boats.
Sounds like you've found another great RV park to stay at. Too bad the weather's not cooperating as kayaking sounds like it would be fun - as long as there's no alligators in that river!
ReplyDeleteI am going to look into Escapees again. 4 years ago, when we started, it did not seem to be that great, but I have read where a lot of people sing their praises so, I guess I will see if they have more now. That State park looks good too.
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