Fort Desoto Site 123

Wonderful Friday and Saturday night at Fort DeSoto campground just to the west of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This is a very popular campground, very difficult to get weekend reservations because it is so nice. There were no fire ants on the site or the playground and June and Emma wore the playground out. It was wonderful to have it so close and in our RV, we weren't disturbed by the yells of the other kids at night time. Amazing. Beautiful beach, neat Fort, great wide bike path and lots of Geocaches. A great weekend. Site 123 is great. The best are waterfront but are not pet friendly so not an option.

The Care and Feeding of a DP

Took the RV up to the Tampa Truck Center this past Sunday for a Maintenance check. We knew what we were getting into - yes, $1900 dollars later, she hums. Well, she hummed before but we can relax knowing everything possible was changed, lubed, and/or checked. It is nice to know that we really did get a good machine, that the last owner did not ditch it knowing it was going to blow or something. I had visions of them telling us "wow, did this thing make it through Katrina?". But that didn't happen and plan on camping again soon. TTFN.

Little Manatee River State Park

Another pleasant weekend with the family: Friday and saturday nights. Got there at dusk, managed to get set up as darkness fell. We brought the bikes and enjoyed the 2 mile ride to and from (4 mile) the ranger station twice and multiple 1/2 rides and loops around the campground including in the near pitch blackness of last night with just a sliver of a moon. The river is disappointing to look at - maybe canoeing would be enjoyable but it seem to be a very narrow, tannin creek, not a river. There was the typical playground for June which was enjoyed. June and I painted pictures during the afternoon under the awning. Finally, it is cool enough to enjoy the outside. We stayed in Site 18 which was on the other side of the bathrooms -but we could cut through the opposite site when no one was occupying it for a shortcut. Other than the bike riding and seeing people ride their horses, this park does not have a real draw to return. We'll keep exploring.