Reservations, Reservations, Reservations

Although we are still parked at Camp Driveway in California, I am confident we will soon be on our way.

I have been working on our plans for NEXT winter.  We want to go to Florida, and from what I have read on the blogs if you want to stay at State Parks, you really must get your reservations far far in advance.  For some of the parks reservations can be made eleven months in advance, and if you want to get a spot at one in the southern part of the state in late December or January you had better not wait.  They really fill up fast! Some fill in the first seconds they open reservations on the first day!

Picture from the Web.  Doesn't hurt to dream!

I did manage to get two weeks at Long Key State Park.  Not Key West as I had hoped, but the Keys none the less. 

Not us, this picture is from the park Web Site

I also got two weeks in a park  south of Maimi called the John Pennekamp Coral Reef.  We are not divers, but the beach looks pretty good, and maybe we can find some commercial boat tours to take in the area.

For our non-RV friends, the big differences between state parks and commercial RV parks in the Keys are cost and amenities.  In December - January, a spot in a commercial park can cost close to or more than $100 per night.  I checked on the January 2015 monthly rate for one park I was interested in and it was over $2600 plus electricity. 

The state parks cost a little more than $40 per night.  There is a 11% or 12% tax. At the commercial parks you have a sewer hook up.  At the Floriday State Parks you don't.  This simply means you have to drive  to another location in the park about once a week to empty your holding tanks.  We don't mind doing that. 

I have also made one or two week reservations at three other Florida State parks for January 2015:  Johnathan Dickinson, Kissimmee Prairie, and Wekiwa Springs.  I also have all but one week of November covered. 

From what I understand there is no boondocking in Florida in winter. Unless you have friends with an open driveway, or are traveling in a van type class D that can be discreetly parked.  I'm sure we will learn more when we are there, but for next winter I figure it is best to know where we will be staying.

I sometimes get the impression that true boondockers just pull up and park, but the truth is there is a lot of planning that is done there as well. As I read their blogs I catch statements about "checking out" this place or that for future use. Camping on the public lands in the Southwest also seem to take some planning, or at least the willingness to move if the spot they first park in is not right for one reason or another.

I hope that in our future we will explore many different options. Some high end resorts, some Walmart overnights, some Bureau of Land Management or Corps of Engineering campgrounds, and of course state, national and regional parks.  

As they say "Home is where you park it" and I am sooo ready.

The number of days until March 25th!