Travelers Thoughts

RV travel is a great way to see the country and spend some quality time with your family. Why not take advantage of gas prices coming down and start planning a family getaway.  Traveling by RV is less stressful than other forms of travel because you can control all of the departure and arrival times since you are not at the mercy of the airlines.  Depending on your location, you can also schedule your days to include sightseeing tours, or just go out on your own and find your own adventure.

When traveling with the family it is important to find family friendly sites to hitch up overnight.  The kids can go a little stir crazy if they don’t have some social outlet.  There are many RV parks and campgrounds that are family friendly and offer amenities for entertaining the children, and therefore attract many families. RV travel is quite the social outlet for some families. When you settle into these campgrounds, it is not uncommon to meet other families whom you form lifelong friendships with.  This is a great way for the kids to have some time to play with other kids and for the parents to swap ideas about entertainment in the area and exchange other RV travel ideas.

RV travel is also very popular with retirees. After retirement, many couples choose to sell everything they own and live in their RV’s and travel the country full time.  There are Senior RV clubs that offer social gatherings all over the U.S. and Canada for those who are full time travelers, as well as the weekend warriors. It is believed by many that RV-ing is the best way to see the country and a great way for empty nesters and retirees to reconnect with their spouses, after the hustle and bustle of raising a family and working 9-5 is behind you.

While RV-ing you may chose to “camp out” in campgrounds or off the beaten path somewhere secluded.  This decision may be easy for some that don’t like to “rough it”.  RV travel incorporates a few more conveniences than traditional camping. So many people find it fun and interesting.

You can plan a theme for your trip, like antique collecting, or touring the historic sites in the northeast, or all about the Wild West and rodeos.  There are unlimited possibilities when planning an RV excursion.  Let the road and your imagination be your guide.

There are definitely museums and theme parks less than a tank of gas away. There are gorgeous beaches, beautiful lakes and well-known rivers, including the Suwannee River (you know, ‘Way Down Upon the…”) and the St. Johns River which is one of only three rivers in the nation that flows north.

In Florida, there is water, water everywhere and people are always drawn to water. Where there is water, there is all manner of fresh fish and seafood delicacies. This year, I intend to eat my way up through the Florida gulf coast until the money runs out and/or my clothes no longer fit.

I prefer the gulf coast (Florida’s Nature Coast) to the Atlantic coast and good thing for that. It appears to be a little sleepier, a little less populated and a little less expensive to travel through. Let me put it this way, if you are expecting Ritz Carlton- or Four Seasons-styled accommodations on the gulf coast, north of St. Pete/Clearwater area, fagettaboutit. If you can be comfortable in one of the more common, but reputable hotel chains, you are in luck. If you are looking for luxurious, world renowned dining experiences, fagettaboutit. But if you are ready to enjoy the local delicacies along your journey, especially seafood, bring along your most comfortable clothes, a bathing suit and join me.

The Florida gulf coast has its share of charming old estate-styled bed and breakfasts, as well as the usual moderately priced hotels and fishing resorts. On this trip, I am choosing the moderately priced hotels because I don’t intend to do anything but sleep there.

The beaches are not the most notable from just north of Clearwater until you reach our panhandle (where they are possibly the most beautiful, accessible beaches in the United States, excluding Hawaii of course). But along that strip of the coast you will find some of the best oysters, bay scallops, clams, shrimp and blue crabs you may ever feast on. And nothing along that strip of the coast requires formal or dressy attire — probably not much more than just shirts and shoes. That is how I like to travel, honestly — Florida Cracker style. Did I mention that if you get tired of the gulf-fresh seafood (ha), you will find some of that down home country cooking at just about every turn along Florida’s Nature Coast.

There are plenty of things to see and do along the way also, especially if you enjoy the outdoors. Fishing is a serious pastime, as is diving, snorkeling, bird watching, kayaking and canoeing. There are campgrounds, wildlife parks, hiking trails, underground caverns and beautiful crystal clear springs. You can get up close and personal with a manatee or a dolphin or view nature‘s beauty from the comfort and safety of a glass bottomed pontoon boat. There are pioneer museums, antebellum mansions and antique shops. This section of the coast still remains relatively unspoiled and I believe the very best way to see it all is by car.

Well, it is right here at my back door, but you really need to experience it. Contact your favorite travel agent, go online and do your own booking or just get yourself down here some way. Rent a comfortable, economical car and spend some time studying that map. It is pretty simple driving this part of the coast. Holiday travel or anytime travel is the time to make this trip. I’m leaving soon and can hardly wait. I’ll join Weight Watchers once I return.

I suppose my love of the beach and beach vacations stems from growing up here and having it all made available to me most of my life. As a child, money was scarce but we could always scrape up enough to go to the beach for a day or a long weekend or a week or so. Oh, the memories that flood my mind. The most inexpensive of meals tastes so much better when you are at the beach. Anything from an egg salad sandwich to bologna to peanut butter and jelly becomes the best thing you have ever eaten when you enjoy it at the beach. And for entertainment, all you really need is a reliable inflatable floating contraption of some kind and a bucket and a shovel (and some kind of sunscreen preparation). Only your imagination will limit the fun and relaxing and interesting things you can do.

If you have never enjoyed a vacation at one of our beaches, you are in for a treat. It does not matter if you are traveling with your teens or younger children or grandma and grandpa. It does not matter if you are planning a romantic get away for two or a singles vacation for six. The beaches offer so much enjoyment for everyone.

The beach accommodations range from the luxurious to the ‘bargain basement discount’ places. Beach resorts and condominium rentals and hotels and cottages are all available to you. You just have to decide on your particular needs. Do you want to find a destination that has a lot of night life and some great restaurants? Do you like to fish or sail? Would you be satisfied by just working on your tan and reading a book or gathering shells? It is all available at the beach.

Almost any of the airports here are only a short distance from a beach somewhere. There are world famous theme parks not too far from our beaches. Beach resorts abound that will give you the best of both worlds, the enjoyment and beauty of our beaches as well as discounts at some of the theme parks and the more local sight-seeing excursions.

Check out the hotel and/or resorts all up and down the gulf coast and you are bound to find something to fit your budget. I particularly like to try to find one of the old Florida cottage accommodations with a pool and the old Australian pines whispering in the breeze and offering you respite from the noonday sun. They are very casual and not so crowded for sure. And actually, I prefer my lodgings to have some sort of kitchen facilities because I don’t always feel like leaving the beach for long enough to find a meal somewhere or a refreshing cocktail. Those kinds of establishments are not as easy to find as they once were because they have given way to the larger hotel chains and resorts. Don’t get me wrong, if it fits the budget, a nice resort is a great way to enjoy the beach too and they will usually have a beach bar or restaurant directly on the beach so you don’t even have to get in your car to meet those needs. Many of the more exclusive resorts have staff that will come to you while you are out enjoying the beach and offer to bring you one of those refreshing libations or perhaps just a snack to tide you over until your dinner reservations later that evening.

Maybe I should have been a travel agent or spokesperson for the tourist industry, but I would probably just steer everyone towards our beaches. Except for possibly European travel, those beach related travel experiences have been my favorites. Whenever I think of traveling anywhere else, I get the distinct feeling that I hear something out there calling to me…sounds a little like seabirds and the gentle lapping of those waves on the shore…is that the whisper of the Australian pines I hear too? To me it is all like the sound of beautiful music beckoning me back to the place I love most, like the lap of my mother, my beloved Florida beach.