Florida - Here We Come!

Well, we were actually up before the alarm went off and it seemed like we still had plenty of things to load.  It was only 26 degrees and very cold!  We hadn't loaded any food items or shampoo, hair spray, etc. ahead of time because we were afraid things would freeze!  We left the apartment around 3:15 and drove to the large parking lot at a nearby shopping center to hook-up the CRV.  It was dark, but the parking lot was well lit!

We were on our way by 3:45 AM and it was the perfect day for driving, although we were cold until Wilbur warmed up.  We did stop in York for a cup of coffee and a pumpkin spice cappaciano!  There was very little traffic for our drive around Baltimore and Washington DC (very unusual).  We were extremely thankful!  We did stop south of Richmond at a Denny's for a delicious breakfast.  There were several additional stops for gas and at rest stops along the way, but all went well.  We had decided to stop at a campground at about 2/3's of the way through South Carolina so we would be settled in before dark but that did not happen!  I called many CG's , but none of them had any campsites available - what was that about???  Ken was feeling good and said we will just keep driving.  We did some "rethinking and regrouping" when we stopped at the Welcome Center at the entrance to Georgia.  I made some phone calls to several Wal-Marts to ask if they allowed RV's to spend the night in their particular parking lot (lots of RVers stay at Wal-Marts) and if they feel it is a safe area.  We have never stayed in their parking lotz, but after talking to the gal at the Wal-Mart within 3 miles of the Florida border, we decided it was a good option.  

We arrived at the St. Mary's Wal-Mart at 7:45 after traveling 810 miles.  Needless to say we were happy to be done traveling!  There were 6 or 7 other rigs there and it was definitely a good experience and no cost to spend the night!  It is something we would definitely do again!

We were up by 6 and leaving the parking lot by 6:45.  It was another great driving day with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures!  Again, the drive was a good, uneventful one.  We arrived at Lazydays near Tampa at 11:45 and happy to be there, especially since it was 73 degrees - perfect weather for this gal!  

We spent time finding places for the things that were in the car and Ken did a fantastic job de-winterizing Wilbur.  Last night we didn't have any hook-up's including water and we don't plan to start the refrigerator until after Lazydays has completed the maintenance work on Wilbur.  It is a bit inconvenient, but it just makes sense.  At least we now have running water!

Lazydays provides campers with lunch and breakfast when staying in their campground, so we headed to their cafeteria and had soup and salads.  We spent some additional time organizing and then I did some texts and e-mails and working on this blog!  Ken took a much needed nap after all that driving!

We really enjoyed watching the Auburn/Alabama football game - what an exciting one and I was so happy Auburn was victorious!  When it was over, Ken and I drove to a nearby Sonny's Barbeque for their delicious pulled pork sandwich.  It was as good as we remembered!  Back to Wilbur where we did some reading and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie.  It was a fun relaxing evening!  We were in bed by 10:30 and ready for a good night's sleep!  Looking forward to watching the Eagles and Steelers games tomorrow!  I am so excited to be in Florida, but I bet you already know that!