Visiting Lazy Days RV Park and With Blogging Friends

(Seffner, FL - near Tampa) 71 degrees, clear blue skies, perfect

Barred Owl

Before we left the Escapees Park we saw a Barred Owl. A pair of them have taken up residence in the campground and had a nest in a tree trunk.  This owl had a large paparazzi crowd following his every movement this morning.  It is a huge bird  that is also known as a hoot owl.  It was fun to watch him fly back and forth and hoot for all his delighted fans. 



John also captured this picture of a nesting Sandhill Crane and its mate. Their wing span can be 6-8 feet in length.

Sandhill Crane on nest

Our site at the campground

Escapee's Sumter Oaks RV Campground -  Site #10

As we checked out of the campground the workamping couple at the desk told us about their upcoming trip to Alaska.  They gave us lots of tips and suggestions.  We hope to go there in the summer of 2013. 

They also told us about workamping opportunities with Escapees.  There is an orientation for a few weeks at a Rainbow Park  near Branson Missouri.  Upon completion you are assigned a park for  six months.  From then on you can select the park you are interested in  and the length of time.   This couple had worked at several parks and really liked it.  She gave us the name of the person who coordinates the workampers  If you are interested in more information send me an email.  You only have to work two days a week for your full hook up site and accumulate points towards additional free stays at other Rainbow Parks.   

We drove back to Tampa for two more night to stay at Lazy Days RV Campground.  This is a huge dealership and campground that we had heard so much about.  Several of our friends have bought their rigs here.  We received a coupon for two nights free stay at the FMCA rally.  It includes breakfast, lunch, WYFI, cable, and newspaper each day.  Sounded like a good deal.

This place is BIG!  There is a Camping World, Flying J, and Cracker Barrel right on the property.  The service area has over 250 bays.  We drove our bikes all around and peaked inside lots of motorhomes and fifth wheels. It was fun!  There was a large Holiday Rambler rally going on this week.  It was a very busy place with toad cars, bikes, and golf carts going around in every direction.  Normally camping at this park during peak time is $35/night 

Our site-nice corner lot had a little more space than other sites



Lazy Days Campground - site #59



Pool and hot tub (screened in Florida room)



The free meals are small in size.  For example breakfast was a Danish and oatmeal and lunch today was a chef salad with about a teaspoon of ham on a lot of lettuce.  John was whining a little but it’s a nice gesture.  We enjoyed our stay here very much.  Be sure to check it out if you are in the area.

Yesterday some blogging friends (Karen and Al) of ours came for a visit.  It was just like having family come by except we had never met in person before   We have been reading Karen’s blog for about a year now and she is a great writer.  You can check out her blog by clicking here -  Florida-Georgia Camping, Kayaking Exploring

Karen and Al

She gives lots of tips about kayaking in Florida and RVing and her photographs are beautiful.  Their home is for sale  in Georgia and they hope to start full timing soon.  Right now they have a 31 foot motorhome and have spent the winter in an RV park near Karen’s mother  They are looking for a larger motorhome and had bought their current one at Lazy Days. They will soon return to their home to "get serious" about getting rid of all their stuff.  We certainly remember that stage very well (it's not for sissies)  and traded a few tips.  We gave them a tour of our rig and celebrated Valentines Day with a piece of red velvet cake (John's favorite).

We had a nice visit and hope that they can join us in Silver Springs this week.  They gave us lots of information on kayaking the Silver Springs River and several others in the area.It was so nice to finally meet them in person. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Check back soon for our upcoming  kayaking adventure!  Can you tell we are excited?