Postcard from Florida- 3

26 - 28 Jan 2010
(Fiesta Key on Long Key, FL)

I'd done a Google for an RV campground in Key Largo which would break up the trip nicely. I found what we needed and called the number. Made the reservation and then loaded the address into the GPS.

When we arrived at the programmed address we were greeted by... nothing! There was no sign of the resort. Whatever had been there at one time had been consumed by the mangrove swamp. I suspected if I listened carefully I'd hear Tarzan swinging thru the trees.

Ocean views at Fiesta Key

A quick call to the same number got the explanation: Fiesta Key Resort has nothing to do with what the on-line listing is about. The phone number was right, but the address was way off. Not to worry though as Fiesta Key Resort had our reservation and all I had to do was drive another 25 miles. Looks like I need to ask questions even though a listing is quite clear.

Fiesta Key, apparently an ex-KOA park judging from the office building, was a nice park. We were 1 row back from the waterfront which is on the Atlantic. The dogs loved all the new smells and all the weird sounds of small waves slapping the sea wall. The park had perhaps 20% occupancy which was s shock for the middle of snowbird season. Yikes! I'm convinced it's the prices here: $125/nite... even more than Sugarloaf Key where we're headed next.




28 Jan 2010
(Sugarloaf Key, FL)

So off we went to our final destination. Check-in time is 1:00 pm and we arrived about 11:30 am. But our site was empty so they got us in our site ahead of the rush. Unlike any of the other campgrounds we've used, Sugarloaf has all sites at 90 deg to the access road instead of the usual 45 deg. It becomes a challenge in backing into place and requires a really good person to guide the driver into place. The guy who helped us was a master at it, but never had to prove it. Instead, he checked the empty site behind us and asked "Think you can make that turn?" I said sure (with my fingers crossed!) and we were able to park as though we had a pull-through site. Yee haw!

So now we're parked in a beautiful campground which fronts on the Atlantic. It may not be paradise, but it's as close as these 2 old toots are going to come. And we're as far south as we can drive in the US... no way is Mrs. Bowman's little boy dragging a 5th wheel into Key West!