Sunday, December 9

Since it was raining Sunday morning at Wekiva Falls RV Resort and we couldn’t go kayaking as planned, we decided to hit the road to Fort Myers. If you’ll remember, we began our RV adventure in For Myers two weeks ago. We rented a space at a RV storage center. Our plan is to leave the RV there at the end of this trip and then return again in the spring to pick it up.

Our favorite campground in Fort Myers is Koreshan State Park. It’s a nature preserve on the Estero River, right in the heart of the city. Beautiful trees, secluded camping sites, hiking trails, and kayaking right on property AND only 10 minutes away from a Chick-fil-A. The best of both worlds! After checking into the campground, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Bonita Beach. Everything was pretty soggy from the rain, but the sun was starting to peek out for the first time that day.

First, we were hungry so we decided to eat at Coconut Jack’s Waterfront Grille across from the beach. The parking lot was super small, so Andi called ahead (from across the street) and the restaurant said they’d valet our RV. Valet our RV! We pulled into the restaurant parking lot and out came a young guy happy as ever. “No problem, sir!” he said. “We’ve valeted plenty of these.” Have they though?? We hopped out and stood by as the guy drove off with our HOUSE!

We had an early dinner on the restaurant patio and then returned to the parking lot to find our RV parked there, just as the valet said it would be. He pulled it up for us, and we drove away … with all the valet guys chucking behind us.

Next, we drove across the street to Bonita Beach to catch the sunset. We had the stretch of sand to ourselves as the kids collected seashells and Andi and I watched the sunset.

Monday, December 10

Our last day in Florida! We could hardly believe it. This morning, we woke up at Koreshan State Park. Andi went for a run and I pushed play on my workout from the cement pad behind our RV (our typical morning routine on this trip) while the kids ate breakfast and watched cartoons. They are pumped to have cable TV at many of the campgrounds as that’s not a luxury we have at home in Minnesota.

After breakfast, we threw a load of laundry into the community washer and then took the kids for a short hike on the Koreshan property. As we walked, Andi taught Tory about money - how much quarters are worth and quizzed her on how many quarters it would take to do all of our laundry at the campground. It was one of those moments I’ll never forget as it reinforced what this trip and, generally, what our family travels are all about: Experiences. Making memories as a family. Spending quality time together. Teaching our kids about life while we live it.

We decided to take the RV to Sanibel Island for one final adventure. It’s about a 40-minute drive from Koreshan. Andi and I had been to Sanibel years ago, but never with the kids. We thought they’d like shelling on the beach there.

Once we were on the island, we pulled off by the water and made lunch: “clean out the fridge” leftovers.

Then, the beach …

After a few hours at the beach, it was time to close-up the RV. We drove to the RV storage center and spent the next few hours cleaning the inside and the outside of the RV. Our plan is to return to Florida in the spring and drive our RV back to the cabin in Wisconsin.

We stayed the night at a Drury Inn near the Fort Myers airport. The next morning when Andi told the kids to load up into the shuttle so we could go to the airport, Tory said “We get to ride in a rocket?!”

If that doesn’t sum our trip perfectly! From meeting new friends to seeing a real space shuttle, we had a wonderful time in Florida.