Arriving at Disney World–Wednesday–January 23, 2013

Today, we left Lake Louisa State Park and drove 20 miles to meet friends at
 
Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground!!01 Fort Wilderness Campground Entrance
 
 
Bill and Nancy                                                               Dan and Tricia 02 Fort Wilderness Campground site 160905 - Dan and Tricia Site 
  We managed to get all the campsites on the same loop:o))
03 - Bruce and Laura Site  04 - Gin and Syl Site
Bruce and Laura                                                                   Gin and Syl 
 
 
Once everyone arrived and got set up,
we decided to spend the afternoon exploring!!
 
Yep… Bikes, Boats and Monorails!!!
 
 
We jumped on our bikes and headed to Bay Lake.06 - riding to the boat launch
 
From there, we caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom.
 
Bill, Nancy, Gin, Syl, Dan, Tricia, Bruce, Laura
07 - waiting for the boat to the Monorail 
 08 - Riding Boat to Magic Kindom Monorail
 
 
When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom…04 - Magic Kingdom Day - Let the Memories Begin
 
we boarded the Monorail to explore the resorts!!
09 - Riding the Monorail  10 - Riding the Monorail
 
 
First stop… The Polynesian!!
11 - Visiting the Polynesian Resort
 
  12 - Visiting the Polynesian Resort
 
 
Next stop, the Grand Floridian!!
13 - Visiting the Grand Floridian14 - Visiting the Grand Floridian
Tea Party Anyone?!?!?
15 - Visiting the Grand Floridian
 
 
Our last stop on the monorail was the Contemporary Resort
16 - Visiting the Contemporary getting boat
 
 
where we caught the boat to The Wilderness Lodge.
17 - Visiting the Wilderness Lodge
 
  18 - Visiting the Wilderness Lodge
 
From there, we took a boat back to Fort Wilderness.
 
It was a fun way to try the transportation system to see some of the premier Disney Resorts.
 
There are 29 resort, including Fort Wilderness Campground.
 
While they are all very nice, we really like returning to our "homes" in the campground:o))

Lake Louisa State Park–Friday to Wednesday–January 18 to 23, 2013

This was our first visit to Lake Louisa State Park.  It is very different from other Florida State Parks we have visited.  Lots of wide open spaces and it is hilly!?!?!  The State Park covers 4500 acres and the campground is located between Dixie Lake and Hammond Lake, 3 miles from the entrance.
01 - Lake Louisa Campground Map  02 - Lake Louisa Drive to Campground
 
(click on any photo to enlarge)
 
There are 3 campground loops. The sites were nice but very few trees.  If you like a place that is real quiet and away from it all—you might enjoy this campground. 
 
 
We liked it and would come here again if we plan to be in the area.
 
 
Lake Louisa is the largest of all the lakes in the state park. 
 It is about 3 miles from the campground.
03 - Lake Louisa
 
We spent a couple days hiking and biking. 
 
Early Morning Sunrise over Dixie Lake.04b - Dixie Lake Sunrise
 
There are many hiking trails.  Most are designed for horseback riders. 
So they have a base of soft sand—not so great for walking. 
04 - Hiking horse trail
 
There were a few places where the trails were more natural.
05 - Natural Trail  06 - Natural Trail
 
 
On our arrival, we saw a Bald Eagle.  However, after that we never saw it again. It was surprising how little wildlife we saw in such a large park.  We did see Red Shoulder Hawks and Osprey quite often.  Of course, there are vultures and the evidence of Wild Boar everywhere:o((
08 - Osprey 07 - Red Shoulder Hawk 
 
 
We got our bikes out one calm morning.  The winds were really strong while we were here.  Combine the strong winds with the hills and that’s a little more than we were willing to take on.  When the winds are calm, this is a wonderful park to ride.  Lots of paved roads and beautiful scenery.  The hills are just enough to add a little challenge.  Another plus for bikers, is Lake Louisa SP is located near several rail to trails.  If we were here longer or come again, we will be checking them out!!
 
(click on any photo to enlarge)
 
09a - Bike Ride View
09 - Bike Ride View  09b - Bike Ride View 
 

One afternoon, we managed to get the tire covers made from the material we bought at Beasley Manufacturing.  The project was actually a lot simpler than I anticipated:o))  First we measured and then measured again!!!  Each cover needed to be 43” high.  However their width were different.  So first, Nancy cut 4 strips 43” high.  Then Nancy trimmed the width of each piece for each wheel. 
10a - Tire Project  10b - Tire Project
 
The best thing about this fabric is it doesn’t fray…so NO sewing!!! 
 
Once we had the four covers cut to the correct size, we just had to attach the suction cups.10c - Tire Project
We placed 3 across the top and 2 on each side.  We used an ice pick to poke a hole 1 1/4 inch from the top and side on each top corner.  Inserted the pin and then pressed the suction cup onto the pin.  After the two top corner suction cups were attached, we poked another hole halfway across the top and 1 1/4 inch down from the top edge to attach the third suction cup.  Once the top three were attached, we put the cover on the motorhome before we attached the two side suction cups.10d - Tire Project


In order to be sure the side suction cups were in the correct place, I stuck the cup where I wanted it on the motorhome and then used the ice pick to punch the hole in the correct spot. 
10e - Tire Project  10f - Tire Project
 
 
All the suction cups are in place!!
10g- Tire Project
 
 
Just one finishing touch….  paint the white caps BLACK!!
 
10h- Tire Project  10i - Tire Project
 
Start to finish, the entire project took less than two hours :o))
 
 
 
On our last day, we drove to Showcase of Citrus just down the street from the State Park.  Nancy has always wanted to pick an orange from a tree.  Well, she got to do just that.  We had a great couple hours picking citrus—Pink Grapefruit, Valencia Oranges, Red Naval Oranges, Spring Naval Oranges, Honey Tangerines, Meyer Lemons, Key Limes and Kumquats!!! 
11a - Citrus  11b - Citrus11c - Citrus  11d - Citrus
 
 
All in all we picked 1 1/4 bushels…  should be enough;o))
11e - Citrus
 
We’ve enjoyed our stay at Lake Louisa State Park,
but it is time to move on to our next adventure.
 
I think it could be a “Magical” one :o))

The RV Super Show In Tampa–Wednesday–January 16, 2013

This is the third year in a row that we have gone to this huge RV show at the Tampa Fairgrounds.  Every January, the show runs for 5 days – Wed thru Sunday.  We stopped at Lazydays on our way to the show to have breakfast at The Crown Club. That was nice and it is always fun to see the people that take care of our rig.   We’ll be back here in March for a few warranty and maintenance issues.  After breakfast, we headed off to the RV show to hang out with thousands of our closest friends;o))

07 - show - Sign  07 - show - Crowds
 
We actually ordered Baby at the show last year!!  We are just thrilled with our rig, so we were not looking to buy another RV.   I did, however, have my wish list of things I was looking for.  Even if you aren’t buying, it is fun to see the different RVs.  We went through every type from the multi-million dollar Prevosts to truck campers.

Little too over the top… We’ll stick with Baby!!
07d1 - show - Prevost
07d2 - show - Prevost 07d3 - show - Prevost
 
 
Hmm… This would make a cool toad;o))
It's called a Tiger Adventure Vehicle, 4x4 camper!!

 07e1 - show - Tow Vehicle Tiger 07e2 - show - Tow Vehicle Tiger 07e3 - show - Tow Vehicle Tiger
Who says you can’t take it ALL with you!!!
 
 
One of our favorite stops was at the Vintage RVs. 
These units have been beautifully restored and are still used regularly by their owners. 
 
They just make you smile:o))
 
 


07f5 - Vintage - Casita 3 
 
(click on ANY photo to enlarge)
 
07f1 - show - Vintage RVs  07f2 - show - Vintage RVs
 
 
Many vendors and campgrounds were displaying their goods. 
 
There is not shortage of “stuff” you can buy.
07c - show - Vendor Area
 
We ended up buying three items on my list – an “Xtreme” vent cover,  a gallon of 303 Tire Protectant and an under-sink water replacement filter which we need to change shortly.  It was a warm day, even HOT at times and we heard people complaining about how crowded the show was.  It wasn’t bad early in the day, but the crowds did pick up as the day went on. 
 
 
With all these people, we felt sure we would bump into some fellow RV-Dreamers. 
 
WE DID!!!
07 - show - Jill and Paul
 
We stopped and chatted with Paul and Jill, the infamous ‘Dunkin Donuts’, from the Carolina Clan group;o)  After a short visit and a ‘see you down the road’, we decided we were ready to head back to our site at Hillsborough River.  Originally, we had planned to go to the show today and tomorrow, but after today, we are ‘showed out!!’