Fabulous Florida Furlough

Fabulous Florida Furlough! 

If you follow me on Facebook you were able to keep up with our Fabulous Florida Furlough.  We had never traveled with our camper in the winter before, and added some challenges, but allowed us to see a whole lot in a little amount of time.  

As of this trip, the Cooks have been to 40 states,  22 National Parks, and 77 total units of the National Park Service.  We also added a major amusement park and dry camping in Walmart parking lots to this trip.  This trip put close to the same miles in 2 weeks as our New England/Canada 2018 trip, which we did in 4 weeks. 

We invested in a whisper generator for this trip, which allowed us to run our camper, including the furnace, as we stopped at several Walmarts on our way to and from Florida.  We un-winterized the camper in South Carolina and filled our freshwater tank, which allowed us to shower and do dishes.  The water and refrigerator run on propane, and the furnace is also propane but needs electricity for the forced air.   We can go about 2-3 days without dumping the waste tanks and refilling with fresh water. 

Universal Studios, Florida 

We stayed at the Orange Blossom KOA about 23 miles from Universal Studios. At $40 a night, this was a great alternative to staying at the park resort.  The pups are also able to travel with us at no extra charge.  We made it from the camp ground to the park in about 25 min every day, parking was $26 a day.  

We opted not to do the park to park passes and purchased 3 day, single park passes.  This was about a $200 difference than the park to park option.  I also purchased them through AAA before we arrived and it saved me another $150.   1 park a day is enough and the only thing we really missed out on was the Hogwarts Express between the two parks.   We like Islands of Adventure better than Universal Studios because there are more rides for our adrenaline junkie, Brodey.  Harry Potter in both parks was so jam-packed by lunch that we left those areas and enjoyed other less crowded areas of the park.  (At one point the 4 of us formed a train, holding on to each other, and Dunovan pushing our way through the people to get us out of the crowd. Not fun, very claustrophobic.)

The left picture has been hanging in Brodey's room since 2011.  He has always loved Spiderman. 
I couldn't wait to recreate this photo.  And yes, he still loves Spiderman! 

I love these old and new photos.  The left was taken at Warner Brother's Studios, London, in 2013.  The right photo was on this trip.  Dunovan was grumpy because Brodey always wants to drive.  lol

The Best Christmas lunch and dessert!!  Highly recommend this place for lunch, dinner, or just dessert.  Right outside the entrance to Islands of Adventure in City Walk. 

Taken at the end of the 7 min Christmas light show that was projected on the castle.  It was amazing!! 

Despite some rain, we had a great time filled with priceless family memories.  The closer Dunovan gets to college, the more important this time together was for us.  Having a solid week of traveling and touring together was the ultimate Christmas present.  

How can Dunovan be in two places at one time? 

One of the challenges of this trip was a little band commitment Dunovan had.  The Hempfield Area Marching Band traveled to London, England December 28- January 4th for the London New Year's Day parade.  We left on December 19th for Florida and didn't want to miss out on this time with him.  So, on December 26th Doug and I did one of the hardest things we have ever done as parents, we dropped him at the Orlando airport and flew Dunovan home.  (Deep deep sigh.)  He did great and is so independent.  It was weird for him to not continue the second leg of our trip with us.

Everglades National Park (Bucket-list, Check), Est. 1947 

In-season for Everglades National Park is November to April.  Not an area recommended for summer travel, our winter vacation allowed us to visit this unique and treasured American National Park. 

Everglades National Park is 1.5 million acres and protects 20% of the original Everglades in Florida. The Everglades originally reached from Orlando to the Florida Bay. Today, the Everglades are the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and is home to the endangered Florida Panther, West Indian Manatee, alligators, crocodile, leather back turtle, and hundred of species of birds.  We were able to see crocodile and Manatee and got to experience mosquitoes and the popular "No-See-Ums," which are these little biting insects. "I no-see-um but I feel um!"

Doug and I rate National Parks not only for its aesthetics but what new animals we get to view and enjoy (outside of what we have here in PA or have seen in a zoo).  For Glacier NP, that was Grizzly Bear and Mountain Goats, at Rocky Mountain NP that was Moose, and Everglades we were able to add Manatee to that list.  I always have my wish list and was super excited to check Manatee off that list! 

This manatee was hanging out in the marina.  For 1/2 hour we just sat and watched him.  He would surface every 6-8 min for air.  Check out the video of him coming up several times to catch his breath. 

Flamingo Campground

We entered the park through the Homestead entrance and stopped at the Earnest F. Coe Visitor Center for our required picture.  From there it was a 40 mile drive to the Flamingo Marina and Campground.  This is the only campground where you can make reservations and host RVs.  You can back country camp to other campgrounds in the park but they require you pack-in and out your tent and supplies.  You will also have to kayak to most of these campgrounds.  

The campground was beautiful with large, well groomed sites.  We were able to walk to everything we wanted to do, which included the Flamingo visitor center and kayaking.  I loved the marina because Manatee hung out there and I was able to just sit and watch them.  It was such a relaxing and enjoyable campground.  Note:  There is no service for Verizon customers at the campground.  While at the Flamingo visitor center we were able to communicate with friends and family via wifi.

Kayaking Flamingo Canal 

I wanted to make sure we really enjoyed the Everglades.  Air-boats are not permitted to operate within Everglades NP so we opted for the more eco-friendly kayak trip on Buttonwood Canal to Coot Bay, about a 2.5 hr round trip paddle.  We did not go into Coot Bay because the current was very strong, while the canal was very calm.  

It was here that we saw birds, crocodile (a very large one was hanging out under some mangroves), and Manatee!!  One surfaced very close to our kayak and we were able to see the whiskers on his snout.  Please watch the whole clip, you can see his whole body!

Key Largo, Florida 

We did have to deal with a lot of rain on this trip but we made the best of it.  We traveled out of the Everglades to Kay Largo for lunch, some shopping, and to visit John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is home to over 70 nautical miles of coral reef.  Only a small portion of the park is on land, and hosts a visitors center with a small aquarium, campground, and man-made beach.  We walked the few short trails in the park and Brodey was excited to find some coconuts.

We had lunch at Alabama Jacks, which sits on a canal and is popular with boaters.  The food was plentiful, well priced and very yummy and earned its Trip Advisor reviews!  We then went shopping at Shell World, a total tourist trap, beach shopping store and sucked us in with its stuffed Manatee.  Brodey shopped for friends and Doug and I took Manatee home for our classrooms.

Biscayne, National Park, Est. 1980

95% of Biscayne National Park in under water, less than 1% of the land is not open to the public.  We toured the visitor center and took a 3 hr tour to Boca Chita Key.

Boca Chita Key was developed by a wealthy socialite and inventor, Mark Honeywell, in the 1930s.  Honeywell made his millions from making thermostats and automatic controls for furnaces.  He owned Boca Chita Key as an extension of his Miami home and entertained his wealthy friends who arrived by boat.

On the island he built a light house, however, he failed to register it with the U.S. Coast Guard and within hours it was shut down.  Honeywell actually built the lighthouse on the wrong side of the island and therefore would lead boats to run aground.  Honeywell also built a chapel, because his wife said he had to be in church on Sundays, a barn that housed all the latest cars (the island is only 100 acres)  and elephant for guests to ride, and an ice house. All the luxuries needed while guests stayed on their yachts.

Chapel 

Barn

Ice House

The island was sold in 1942 after Honeywell's wife passed away.

See that storm in the distance?  Well, we went right through it on the way back. 
There wasn't a part of us dry when we returned.  

Private beach 

Today, you can visit Boca Chita via tour boat, or tie up your private boat for an overnight stay.  There are also tent camping sites and a picnic pavilion.

Tent camp sites 

Fort Matanzas National Monument and Castillo de San Marcos National Monument 

As we began our way home, I talked Doug into take me to two more units of the National Park Service.  Our first stop was at Fort Matanzas National Monument but due to hurricane damage we could only stop at the visitor center.

We traveled 13 miles further north to Castillo de San Marcos, located in the heart of St. Augustine, Florida, this was a very popular attraction for New Year's Eve.

Castillo de San Marcos was built in 1672,  to hold the town of St. Augustine for Spain.  It changed hands between Spain and the English several times over the 200 years it was occupied. It was also used to incarcerate Native Americans, during the Civil War it hosted more than 6,000 Federal troops, and became a National Monument in 1924, along with its outpost, Fort Matanzas.  During WWII, it was used by the Coast Guard to defend the US coastline.

Doug hung out with the pups while Brodey and I toured the fort. 

Congaree National Park, Est. 2003 

Our last stop on way home was to visit Congaree National Park in South Carolina.  Just outside of Columbia, this park is home to largest intact old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeast U.S.  Since we arrived on New Year's Day, the visitor center was closed.  We took advantage of the crisp, winter day to walk the Boardwalk Loop, so did many other visitors that day.  Bucky and Loki enjoyed the walk and many of the guests gave them lots of attention as we traveled through the Congaree floodplain to Weston Lake.

The camper is tucked away for a few months now but it doesn't mean I am not planning our next adventure!  The spring will take us to Harper's Ferry, WV and we will visit some familiar spots in Maryland for me to get my passport book stamped. Early Summer 2020 will take us to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore and catch up with good friends, then to the Great Smoky Mountains NP, Mammoth Caves NP, Indiana Dunes NP, and Chicago.  Then later in the summer we will return to Rodanthe, NC to camp at the beach!  We will finish the summer camping in Youngstown, OH to move Dunovan into college.  Oh the places this camper will go!!