RV Adventures

2022 Tampa RV Supershow & Rally

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For the second year we attended the biggest RV show in the country, the Tampa RV Supershow. The 2022 show was massive compared to 2021 and we were in the thick of it.

In our role as Lippert Scouts we camped on the grounds of the Florida State Fair with other Scouts. Together we enjoyed a great happy hour sponsored by Lippert, which allowed us to get to know our fellow Scouts and the Lippert staff. You can be a Lippert Scout too! Just join us on Facebook.

Steve representing
Happy Hour
Bob, meet Tanya
Lippert Scouts Happy Hour Crew

Nightly “campfire” chats with plenty of good wine and munchies finished each day. By the end of the week we had renewed friendships made last year and made new friends for life!

Campfire
Steve and Bob staying warm

Lippert is the largest maker of RV components. They were strongly represented at the show with a fun expo booth which was our meeting place throughout the week. Fun stuff happening there.

Lippert booth
Steve, Tanya, and Marnie

Our Scouts leader, Tanya, was always available with energy and a smile…and lots of love for the dogs!

Tanya loves Bob
Steve and Tanya

To promote the Scouts program throughout the show, we volunteered to drive golf carts throughout the grounds, offering rides to anyone who needed a lift.

Ready to drive
Starting his first shift

The show grounds are vast and once in the mix of it, it’s easy to get lost. Both of us drove tired and lost souls to their cars, to food, to the exits…wherever they needed to go. Along the way we learned their stories and offered a little information about Lippert Scouts. Everyday was a new adventure, driving through crowds of over 20,000 people, dodging the daily parade of entertainers.

Poodle parade
Steve making tall friends
Daily parade

Of course we did a little shopping throughout the week. We checked out the latest models of our favorite brands and drooled on a few. Ultimately we reminded ourselves that the rig we have is just perfect! Of course, we bought several doo-dads for our trailer to make it even more perfect!

Steve exploring the Airstreams

We had such a fun week making new friends and connecting with those we hadn’t seen in a year. We’re already looking forward to next year.

Gail and Jeff
Mia loves Kunio
Mia, Michelle and Kunio

After a high energy, busy, 100% RV week, we’re now settled in a beautiful state park, resting up, restocking, and getting back to “normal.” 

Can’t Get Enough of Key West

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Last year we spent two weeks in the Florida Keys. This year it’s been six weeks, and we still have so much to see and do. For two weeks we based ourselves at the luxurious Blue Water Key RV Resort. We stayed here last year and it’s a real treat. We had our own tiki, complete with a kitchen and living area, which allowed us to spread out and breathe. 

Living room in tiki
Tiki kitchen
More tiki views
Rig in front of tiki
Bob likes the tiki

The highlight of our time here was a visit from our dear friends Tom and Nancy. We share a wall with these two in Prescott and have been friends for many years. To be able to share Key West with them was a treat!

Nancy
Nancy and Tom
Nancy

Together with Mia and Bob we took a fabulous sunset sail on the Argo Navis. Besides the incredible views, this ship, which we also took on Christmas Day, offers premium cocktails and appetizers. If you’re ever in Key West, we highly recommend this excursion!

Getting started
Sailing underway
Nancy’s getting cold!
Family photo
Mia enjoyed the cruise
Bob and Steve at sunset
Sitting right up front

And, you can’t miss the cuban dinner at El Meson de Pepe on Mallory Square. What a fun evening!

Mojitos and sangria
Cuban favorite

Blue Heaven is one of Key West’s most popular restaurants and, in the past, the site of cockfights and Hemingway’s notorious boxing matches. We enjoyed brunch one afternoon, and yes, the Key Lime Pie is that big!!

“One of the best Key Lime Pies I’ve had.”
Mmm…
All mine!!!
Brunch at Blue Heaven is heaven!

Sunset at Mallory Square is a must when you’re in Key West and we all enjoyed a lovely evening watching the day come to an end. Having Tom and Nancy join us was very special, and we were happy to share a little of this paradise with them.

Bob’s buddy
Beautiful sunset, of course!
The girls at sunset
Fun at Mallory Square
Waiting for sunset
Fun at Mallory Square
We are “that” close!

Also in our final week in the Keys we cashed in on a tour we won a few weeks ago and went parasailing. This was the first time in all of our travels that we’d strapped ourselves into a parachute to get pulled by a boat, and it was incredible! Check out the videos!

Strapped in
Lift off
Watch us take off!!!

Believe it or not, up there above the water, it’s very peaceful and relaxing—until they splashed us down into the water.  What an experience!

Taking a dip

We also paid a visit to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, another gem in Key West. The park, which contains a large civil war-era fort and expansive beach, is popular with tourists and locals alike. We toured the fort and enjoyed learning about the history of the military presence in Key West, which dates back before the War of 1812. Next time we’ll spend more time at the beach.

Moat around the fort
Inside the fort
Well preserved
Cannons
The latrines

It’s now time for us to move along from this paradise but we’re leaving with gratitude for the opportunity to spend time here and looking forward to our next visit. But there’s more fun ahead!

Happy New Year from the Florida Keys

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Happy New Year! We’ve been continuing to bask in the warmth of the southern Florida winter weather. Here in the Keys we’ve enjoyed temperatures in the 70s and 80s while thinking about our friends and family in the Midwest and in Prescott who are enduring typical winter weather.

We know we are so lucky to be here, especially since finding an RV site is so difficult in the Keys. We had to work to piece together our reservations this time of year. Thus, we’ve jumped around a few times over the last few weeks.

We were able to book four nights at the newest KOA around. The Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA was severely damaged in Hurricane Irma in 2017 and has been under renovation ever since. The newly opened, completely reconstructed campground features a beautiful pool, a pub, full service marina, and all new facilities.

We kayaked right from the resort, and Steve got in some good fishing in the channel next to camp. We also took advantage of the easy-to-access Overseas Heritage Trail to get in some good runs and bike rides along the water. The dogs enjoyed the sunshine too!

New Years Eve took us to nearby Mangrove Mama’s for a drink and then back to the KOA to enjoy a local band. As usual, we didn’t make it to midnight but it was still a fun evening with lots of festivities to enjoy.

After our time at the KOA we drove about 20 minutes north along the Overseas Highway to one of Florida’s premier state parks. Getting a campsite at Bahia Honda is like winning the lottery and we scored four nights. With some of the few beaches in the Keys and breathtaking views, this is the kind of place you never want to leave. 

A highlight of the park is the broken bridge, a remnant of the park’s beginnings when Henry Flagler’s railway arrived on the key in 1908 en route to Key West. The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane swept a train off the tracks, destroyed miles of rail lines, and seriously damaged the bridge. The railroad never ran again. The bridge found new life when they laid a concrete slab on top and opened it to cars. Now it’s a picturesque viewpoint from which to watch the sunset and a silhouette that makes for great photos.

Like at the KOA, we never left Bahia Honda while we were there, except to run the trail and to kayak the bay. Steve did some good fishing under the bridge pylons. If we can get reservations here again, we’ll jump on them!

We headed back towards Key West after this incredible stay and will report on that time in the next post. Spoiler alert: it includes appearances from our friends Tom and Nancy and a few more spectacular sunsets.