8 days is the longest we have ever stayed in one location so far. When we talk to other Full Time RV Families it seems 10-14 days is the sweet spot that most seem to enjoy before it is time to move. I could stay two weeks in some of the places we have been, this is not that place. Let me break our week down into 4 categories for you:
The Good
We had some fun adventures this week. We went to historic Sarasota and Lido Beach. The water was so clear the sand was so soft and the weather was perfect. A big win in the beach category. Luke got a new pair of sandals that he has been wanting for legit 15 years, turns out dreams do come true. We also went to a Historical Museum with historic buildings like a school, courthouse, barn, farmhouse, church, boat shop, and the very popular outhouse. It was a cute little museum that we got to explore and learn about Manatee County. No one else was there so we had a great private viewing and it was free! We also had several days of downtime and swimming and biking around the resort. We had two pools to choose from so our little fish were happy. We also had time to plan and book 90% of our stops between now and making it back to Denver by Memorial Day. It was a huge task and honestly takes a lot of research so it feels good to have it almost done. We also got to fix some things on the 5th wheel that needed attention, like a new toilet seat. (Sometimes the little things are the big things.) And then of course we had some good playtime. The boys set up a John Deere dealership in Tucker’s bed. They will rent you a lawnmower for $4 and they will sell you a tractor for either a billion or a trillion dollars. I rent most of them time from them. Looks like we need to work on our business plan with them before we open a dealership anytime soon. We also went to Dinosaur World one day. It is a jungle with a boardwalk weaving through it with life size dinosaurs lurking around the corners. It was actually pretty cool and the boys all loved it. They had a little museum with fossils and 5 animatronic dinosaurs that Tucker could not get enough of. He stood there roaring back at the T-Rex while Zac ran to the door and was ready to leave.
The Bad
TRAFFIC! Oh my goodness golly gracious, the traffic is horrible. Everywhere we went there was a ridiculous amount of cars. Even when it felt like we were driving through the middle of nowhere in the middle of the day there were cars and cars and cars. We literally spent hours sitting in traffic and with three small boys who yell “GO” when you are sitting at a red light, sitting in traffic is not their favorite. This also has been our least favorite RV resort that we have stayed in to date. (Of course it is the longest) The worst thing about this RV park is that we literally back to I-75. There is a row of “beautiful” trees behind us, but that does NOTHING to stop the noise. Now see the previous statements about the traffic and the noise never stops. I think highway noise is my least favorite non-human (ex – whining) noise. It has made for crappy sleep and lack of peace. This RV resort also has what we believe are known locally as no-seeums. Little tiny biting bugs. So tiny you don’t really see them but they pack a punch and we have plenty. I am currently scratching bites on my head that I didn’t know about. Sitting outside and enjoying some fresh air has only happened maybe once, which also means the boys don’t like to play outside with their tractors and trucks. That also means they play inside and drive me crazy. I also never made it to the Laundromat as it was way across the resort with no great parking – which means I have 4 gigantic loads of laundry to do tomorrow at our new place. The boys are out of clean underwear and Tucker may or may not be sleeping in his clothes and Max is sleeping in fleece pjs cause that is all they have left. Let’s hope Max doesn’t spontaneously combust in his sleep, they might be a bit warm for Florida right now. #momfail.
The Ugly
The other unpleasant part of this resort is the view out our window. This park has a combo of full time people, snowbirds, and short term rentals like us. We are so fortunate to be parked next to a “trailer/mobile home” that has been here for quite some time with some very interesting full-time people living in it. It is less than pleasant to look at and I honesty have kept the blinds closed on that side for most of the stay. On the whole this whole resort is not very pretty and there are lots of tired looking RVs camped out here. Not super inviting. The other ugly has been the attitudes and behaviors of the boys who in turn make me have an ugly attitude as well. Not being able to play outside or find any friends to play with has made for a tough week. The traffic noise has also made for tough sleeping and when we don’t sleep we don’t function well. I am tired of being tired and everyone being cranky.
The Delicious
I could have wrapped this into the the good part but I feel it needed its own special place. We had some delicious experiences this week. While on this adventure we are also on a self proclaimed Tour de Taco of different taco places across the country. We could eat tacos almost every day so it is not much of a burden to bear. We happened to find the BEST authentic tacos at a little hole in the wall place that is for sure not some place I would stop just driving by. But thanks to some great online reviews we stoped at Los Primos Taqueria. The Carne Asada was on point, the tortillas were the stuff dreams are made of, and the salsa made me want to steal the bottle, but I did not. It was so good we decided to go back again, yum. We made another stop on our Tour de Taco but the chicken tasted like fish (gross) so it is not worth writing home about. We also made a stop at Dooley Groves and picked our own oranges. It sounds poetic until you are dodging fire ant hills in the grove with little boys who are in flip flops. So mostly Luke picked the oranges and I tried to get the boys to stand on mounds of grass instead of mounds of ants, it was fun. But the oranges were so delicious and juicy. We also picked up a flat of strawberries, as you do with three boys, grown locally and a green coconut that we are going to hack into (stay tuned).
So we are heading out in the morning with great anticipation for our next stop. We are heading north to Tarpon Springs to hopefully a much better location for a few days. My mom flies in tomorrow and will be joining us for the next couple weeks. We are so excited for some Grandma time. Maybe we can even get a date night in! (wink wink mom)
So while things are not always great and we have to take the bad and the ugly with the good, we can always be thankful for the delicious. We learn more about this life on the road at every stop we make. There is a lot to know that you only learn by doing, so we keep on doing and keep on learning. It is for sure the adventure of a lifetime.
Live your Adventure,
Julie