HEADING HOME, MARCH 29-APRIL 1, 2011

 

We arrived back at our favorite Ortona Corp of Engineer Campground and spent the next 3 nights there.  We were pleased to see that they had posted our panther photos on the check-in window and also have started a list of all the wildlife that has been spotted at Ortona this season.  Hank was also thrilled to see that they had put up the purple martin birdhouse he built right by the stream running out to the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly, we have made the decision to sell our boat.  We dropped it off at Fischer Marine in Fort Myers on Tuesday and signed all the paperwork for them to sell it.  We then spent the rest of the day exploring some of the campgrounds in the area.  While exploring, we think we spotted our old Bluebird motorhome.  We especially liked the Riverside RV Resort near Arcadia on the Peace River and are hoping to spend some of next winter there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited Karen and Pat, friends who are volunteers at the Franklin Corp of Engineer Campground.  They used to stay at SSK and it was good to see them.  We also had dinner with Art and Jane at the Log Cabin Barbeque in LaBelle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday morning we headed for Lazy Days RV near Tampa.  We drove through a horrible storm that forced us off I-75 for an hour or so.  We hunkered down at a rest area with many others, waiting for the heavy winds and blinding rain to pass through.  We found out later that there had been 9 separate tornadoes spotted in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent 2 nights—free camping--at Lazy Days and I can only describe this HUGE RV dealership as a Disneyworld for RV owners.  We spent hours exploring used and new coaches.  They offer a free breakfast and lunch and shuttle service all over the park.  There’s swimming and tennis for those who are not too tired from shopping.  Business is good and we heard they have sold over 500 coaches each month this year so far.  We were very intrigued to see that the new Diplomat has a slide-out on a slide-out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mel and Janice were still there as they bought a new motorhome and were getting it settled.  It was fun to visit with them one last time and to see their new coach, too.