The time we almost bought a mobile home

On the Gulf Coast of Florida –

After leaving the Florida Keys, we drove up the West Coast of Florida. Our original plan was to stay in Fort Meyers. I used to work with a woman that absolutely loved Sanibel Island and made me want to visit. The Miami/Everglades resort made us realize we did not want to be in a park quite so large with quite so many full time mobile homes again. So we found a smaller park further North. I am so glad we did! We were only there for 1 week, and some of it was quite chilly, but we absolutely loved the area. This forced us to skip Sanibel…but I think we’ll be back.

We spent the week at the Royal Coachman in Nokomis near Venice Beach. The resort itself was very nice, however, when we arrived we again were in a bit of shock. There were 3 circles for RV’s to park, aptly named the inner, middle and outer circle. Our assigned spot was the middle circle. The nice lady that gave me information said it was the largest spot. Thank goodness! As we drove around the circle we realized just how tight each spot actually was and Ben started doubting his ability to park our home. The great thing about this life is the ease of interacting with other families and fellow RV folks while still maintaining distance. They are always willing to help and share their stories. Our new neighbors immediately jumped up to help out. Here’s what it takes to park your RV on the middle circle:

1. Pull the poles marking your spot out of the ground (it helps to remove your adjacent neighbors poles as well).
2. Get all of your neighbors to move their cars to prevent hitting them as you back up (this may require you to knock on their doors and interrupt their showers).
3. Say a few choice words under your breath so that your children don’t hear.
4. Move the picnic table assigned to you over to make room.
5. Have more neighbors join in to help direct you on both sides giving you different directions.
6. Avoid hitting your children and dog as they complete a second loop walking while you are supposed to be parked.
7. Once you are actually backed in – crack a beer to avoid feeling like you want to go crazy and take a walk.

Discovering how another person began their journey makes you feel like you are not alone and you did not actually go crazy when you decided to let go of nearly all of your earthly possessions and hit the road. After we finished our parking ritual, we met a very nice family that began a journey similar to ours in October. Their children also had a lego obsession so the kids fell into an easy rhythm playing while I chatted with the mom about the good and the bad that this life has to offer. They left just 2 days after we arrived, so the children’s friendship was short-lived but still nice while it lasted.

The resort had little events throughout the week – the kids and I even made Valentine’s Cards at a scrapbooking class. The abundance of free internet in and around all of their buildings also made school, work and planning very easy. They even have food trucks come occasionally. We got to partake in the delicious food from the Mainline Food truck. Lobster from Maine on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I had a lobster grilled cheese, OMG – delicious! Truly, one of the highlights of the stay!

The week was different than the keys, not so many adventures, but it was still very nice. We really enjoyed the resort and mild weather. So much so, that Ben and I walked around the tract homes thinking, maybe we could buy one for future vacations. Jackson got to fish, which is all he really wants to do. Both kiddos met a pet pig and got to swim. Simple and good, that was our week. There are still a few highlights though:

1. Nokomis Beach

The week flew by, we had lots of school to catch up on and Ben had to put in a few more hours since we had taken some time to relax in the keys. But Friday came, and it was warm again! The kids and I went to the pool to wait for Ben to finish up. I enjoyed some free chocolate wine, because why not, and the kids splashed in the water. Again, I met another mom and she asked if we had been to the beaches yet. My answer was no because it had been chilly all week. She told me her favorite was Nokomis beach, not Venice. She talked about the sunset and shells, but when she mentioned the sharks teeth you can find after storms, I was sold! Jackson loves combing the beach for treasures. When Ben came up, we played volleyball with the kiddos and as the sun started to go down, we decided to head over to Nokomis beach. I have never seen a beach made entirely of shells before. It was truly made of broken down shells. No sand to be found. Very cool. In addition (and maybe because of) there were massive amounts of seagulls, like scary movie “Birds” amounts of seagulls. Sloan loved running into the flocks and watching them fly and Jackson and I successfully discovered 2 black sharks teeth contrasting from the broken white shells. We actually left before the sunset in hopes of finding food on the shore, but the trip to the beach was still a success.

2. Kayaks and Canoes

The whole time we were at the Royal Coachman, we wanted to take the kayaks for guest use out on the Bay. While the weather was mild, it was not particularly warm for most of the week and there was always some wind. By the weekend however, the sun was shining and the wind had died down a little. But before our excursion, we had to move our RV. The spot we reserved wasn’t available for our last night, so we packed everything up and moved again. It wasn’t that difficult, actually it was much easier to park than the first time around, but packing and moving just takes time. Anyway, after we set up we set out. Roxy even joined the boys in the canoe while Sloan and I shared a kayak. It was a gorgeous morning. My very favorite part were all the oysters. Okay, so we probably shouldn’t have been able to see them sticking up so much out of the water. The tide was probably a little lower than it should have been for us to actually go out on the kayaks and canoes – but we did live on the Chesapeake and it has never stopped us before. It was astonishing to see these large oyster reefs that I would have died to see in the Chesapeake. Jackson was able to stand on an “oyster island” at one point. No wonder the water was so much more clear than what we were used to seeing! When the wind picked up, we headed back.

3. Sarasota and Siesta Key

That afternoon we headed off to Sarasota. The kids had wanted to visit the aquarium in Key West, but that was not part of our trip, so Ben found one in Sarasota. It was perfect. Small enough to see in a short time and interesting enough to make us all smile. Best part – Jackson got kissed by a Manatee! No kidding, we were staring at the manatees waiting for them to swim up close and then boom, one came right to Jackson’s face on the glass.

Afterwards we went to dinner on the Patio of the historic Columbia Restaurant, established in 1905. It was a beautiful day and the food did not disappoint. There where tons of small birds chirping in the trees which occupied the children while Ben and I sipped cocktails. We even spotted a Baltimore Oriole! After dinner and a stroll in the city (which gave me a new respect for the gulf coast) we headed back to the camper. My only disappointment was that we didn’t have time to check out Siesta Key. We had heard great things about the beach and I just wanted to see it. My husband does not like to see me disappointed, so he made a small detour and took the scenic route home. We all jumped out of the car at dusk and ran onto the beach. While Nokomis was beautiful with all of its broken shells, Siesta key had sand like pure white flour. It felt like that too. I could not believe the difference texture of these two keys just 13 miles apart. We played tag on the beach for a bit and then jumped back in the car.

That was our trip. Ben and I agreed – the gulf coast was for us. We really loved it – so much that we contemplated buying a Mobile Home at the Royal Coachman resort. Could we pay for it with rentals? Then we remembered we already own a trailer and should probably stick with that for now!