Trip Report July 13 - July 21
- Thread starter mash
- Start date
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Since they have brought back the resort specific merchandise I think an increase in the souvenir bucket is justified! I also like the Happy Camper t-shirt and am considering buying it in the future. Although it will be after the blanket that I really, really want!
We really loved Curry Hammock! I took lots of pictures and will be posting them later in the trip report.
Both of your trips sound great. I think starting by flying into Key West and then working your way up sounds relaxing. Staying in the cabins is just as much fun as the camper and a little less work (especially with maid service!!!).
Thanks for the compliment of saying it's a great report. I read some of the trip reports on the trip report boards. Those folks REALLY know how to write a fun and exciting report. I'm a little drier but hopefully the pictures are making up for it.
Thanks! I have more report coming. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay at the Fort next year. It did stink about the truck breaking down but it's great to have such lovely friends to help us out. My mom said that she knew I was really committed to making the trip when I accepted the offer to use my friend's truck while she drove my car. I really, really love my car and call it "Miss Precious Perfect!" That alone showed my mom how much I love all of them to make such a sacrifice!
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Wednesday, July 18
My husband and oldest son were up early and on the road just before 7 am. I slept until about 8 am before I got up, made breakfast and started breaking down the camper. Ive never taken the camper down by myself. My oldest nephew came over and helped me out. Hes much taller than I am and took down my pop up gizmos. He is also a really awesome young man that I adore!!! He then helped me take down the awning, put the bunk ends in (I hate taking off the poles. Im just not strong enough Im embarrassed to admit.), and crank down the top. By the time my husband pulled back into the campsite it was 11 am.
Overall I did a pretty good job of taking down the camper but messed up on a few things that my husband caught before leaving:
1. Forgot to close the door before taking the top completely down. I figured this one out and fixed before my husband arrived.
2. Forgot to empty the water out of the hoses.
3. Didnt shut off the pilot light to the water heater. Although the gas was off and it wouldnt have been an issue on the road it could have created a problem when we started setting up in the Keys.
4. Didnt take the faucet of the kitchen sink off. We didnt catch this until we arrived in the Keys. Fortunately it wasnt damaged.
Live and learn right?! Overall my husband was pretty happy that we were ready to go.
Here are the final pictures that I took at Ft. Wilderness in no particular order:
They were working on this loop:
I took this picture along Ft. Wilderness way, just before the Meadows Trading Post. The trees and plants that were planted a few years ago are really maturing:
Not sure why I took this picture:
This concludes the Ft. Wilderness portion of the trip. The next post will be about trying to get out of Ft. Wilderness, traveling to the Keys and staying at Curry Hammock, and some of the things we did while we were down there.
My husband and oldest son were up early and on the road just before 7 am. I slept until about 8 am before I got up, made breakfast and started breaking down the camper. Ive never taken the camper down by myself. My oldest nephew came over and helped me out. Hes much taller than I am and took down my pop up gizmos. He is also a really awesome young man that I adore!!! He then helped me take down the awning, put the bunk ends in (I hate taking off the poles. Im just not strong enough Im embarrassed to admit.), and crank down the top. By the time my husband pulled back into the campsite it was 11 am.
Overall I did a pretty good job of taking down the camper but messed up on a few things that my husband caught before leaving:
1. Forgot to close the door before taking the top completely down. I figured this one out and fixed before my husband arrived.
2. Forgot to empty the water out of the hoses.
3. Didnt shut off the pilot light to the water heater. Although the gas was off and it wouldnt have been an issue on the road it could have created a problem when we started setting up in the Keys.
4. Didnt take the faucet of the kitchen sink off. We didnt catch this until we arrived in the Keys. Fortunately it wasnt damaged.
Live and learn right?! Overall my husband was pretty happy that we were ready to go.
Here are the final pictures that I took at Ft. Wilderness in no particular order:
They were working on this loop:
I took this picture along Ft. Wilderness way, just before the Meadows Trading Post. The trees and plants that were planted a few years ago are really maturing:
Not sure why I took this picture:
This concludes the Ft. Wilderness portion of the trip. The next post will be about trying to get out of Ft. Wilderness, traveling to the Keys and staying at Curry Hammock, and some of the things we did while we were down there.
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Before I get started on our departure from Disney and the drive to the Keys let me share some observations about camping in two different places during a vacation. This was the first time that we were taking down our camper mid trip to move onto another camping destination. Weve always just camped in one place and then come home.
Overall, it wasnt bad. I think that if my husband hadnt gone on the great truck rescue we could have gotten the camper down faster. I did most of it by myself, with help from my nephew at the end. I think two of us working together all along would have sped it up. I am also usually tasked with just taking down the inside stuff. Thats my job. So when it came to the outside stuff it was a little trial and error and took longer.
I think the biggest pain was the refrigerator. We have a 3 way fridge but we havent figured out how or even if, it will work while traveling. I didnt want to risk all of our food spoiling so I took everything out and transferred it to the cooler. Some stuff had to be put in Ziploc bags so it wouldnt get water logged. On our next trip Im going to insist that we at least try to get the fridge going during our travel just to see if it will work.
Wednesday, July 18 continued
Our departure from Disney World wasnt so smooth.
We turned on the GPS and headed out, planning to go to the Keys on the Turnpike.
However, our GPS had a different idea. We followed its directions until we realized that we were west bound on I-4. Our GPS wanted us to go west until we hit I-75 and then take it down south and cross back over the state to hit the Keys.
Really? Seriously?
Sometimes GPSs just dont know what they are doing.
We turned around and headed back to Disney to follow our own directions to get on the turnpike.
But we were tired and we made several wrong turns. One of which was accidentally pulling into Disney Hollywood Studios parking. Ugh!!!
It took us an hour to get to from the campground to the Turnpike!
And we are somewhat locals who allegedly know what we are doing!!
Just a note for anyone planning to travel south on the Turnpike: Most of the rest areas are under construction and not travel trailer friendly. The first one we stopped in was really, really difficult to get gas. There was only one pump that we could get to with the trailer behind us. Not that the person using the pump noticed or cared. In fact, most people there didnt really care that while they could use any pump, we could only reach one. Sometimes people are just rude.
We noticed that at least one other rest area had a sign up before the entrance saying that there was no trailer parking at all.
Heres a picture from the drive down:
We arrived at Curry Hammock State Park about 6:45. We had not stayed at this campground before. I read the reviews on Trip Advisor before booking it and the reviews were very good. We ended up loving it. It was beautiful, small and quiet.
Here are pictures of the entrance:
Everyone was pretty tired from taking down our campers, traveling to the Keys and then setting up again.
We had an easy dinner of spaghetti and sausage.
Then everyone got ready for bed.
My husband and I did walk over the beach briefly before hitting the sack to check out the stars. It was beautiful and peaceful.
My next installment will include pictures of the inside of our rig.
Overall, it wasnt bad. I think that if my husband hadnt gone on the great truck rescue we could have gotten the camper down faster. I did most of it by myself, with help from my nephew at the end. I think two of us working together all along would have sped it up. I am also usually tasked with just taking down the inside stuff. Thats my job. So when it came to the outside stuff it was a little trial and error and took longer.
I think the biggest pain was the refrigerator. We have a 3 way fridge but we havent figured out how or even if, it will work while traveling. I didnt want to risk all of our food spoiling so I took everything out and transferred it to the cooler. Some stuff had to be put in Ziploc bags so it wouldnt get water logged. On our next trip Im going to insist that we at least try to get the fridge going during our travel just to see if it will work.
Wednesday, July 18 continued
Our departure from Disney World wasnt so smooth.
We turned on the GPS and headed out, planning to go to the Keys on the Turnpike.
However, our GPS had a different idea. We followed its directions until we realized that we were west bound on I-4. Our GPS wanted us to go west until we hit I-75 and then take it down south and cross back over the state to hit the Keys.
Really? Seriously?
Sometimes GPSs just dont know what they are doing.
We turned around and headed back to Disney to follow our own directions to get on the turnpike.
But we were tired and we made several wrong turns. One of which was accidentally pulling into Disney Hollywood Studios parking. Ugh!!!
It took us an hour to get to from the campground to the Turnpike!
And we are somewhat locals who allegedly know what we are doing!!
Just a note for anyone planning to travel south on the Turnpike: Most of the rest areas are under construction and not travel trailer friendly. The first one we stopped in was really, really difficult to get gas. There was only one pump that we could get to with the trailer behind us. Not that the person using the pump noticed or cared. In fact, most people there didnt really care that while they could use any pump, we could only reach one. Sometimes people are just rude.
We noticed that at least one other rest area had a sign up before the entrance saying that there was no trailer parking at all.
Heres a picture from the drive down:
We arrived at Curry Hammock State Park about 6:45. We had not stayed at this campground before. I read the reviews on Trip Advisor before booking it and the reviews were very good. We ended up loving it. It was beautiful, small and quiet.
Here are pictures of the entrance:
Everyone was pretty tired from taking down our campers, traveling to the Keys and then setting up again.
We had an easy dinner of spaghetti and sausage.
Then everyone got ready for bed.
My husband and I did walk over the beach briefly before hitting the sack to check out the stars. It was beautiful and peaceful.
My next installment will include pictures of the inside of our rig.
ebtready2go
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2009
Ahh, loved Curry Hammock. We wanted Bahia Honda but it wasn't available but I'm so glad we got CH! It was closer to my in-laws house in Marathon anyway.
Hate the GPS! That happens to us all the time... sometimes I think I was better off when I had to follow signs and a map!
We had to set-up/pack-up three times (Destin, FW, Curry Hammock). It worked for our schedule of events that vacation, but it was a pain... and it was our first time with an RV and a rental at that so we weren't quick, that's for sure.
Can't wait to see more pictures!
Hate the GPS! That happens to us all the time... sometimes I think I was better off when I had to follow signs and a map!
We had to set-up/pack-up three times (Destin, FW, Curry Hammock). It worked for our schedule of events that vacation, but it was a pain... and it was our first time with an RV and a rental at that so we weren't quick, that's for sure.
Can't wait to see more pictures!
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Like you we tried to get the reservations at Bahia Honda but they were all booked. Curry Hammock turned out to be a real gem. We too were really glad that we got Curry Hammock. It was clean, quiet and peaceful. My dad absolutely loved it. He said that it was exactly the kind of camping that he likes...natural state parks.
Our general set up and take down of the camper is slow. Our old pop up didn't have many features...just basic electric and water. We had the setup and take down of it down to a science. We are getting better with this camper but it definitely has more "stuff" to set up than our old one. Plus, adding the pop up gizmos has added time. Good thing they are worth it!
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
This post is dedicated to pictures of the interior of our camper. My last trip report from May 2011 was our maiden voyage in our New to Us camper and a few folks requested some pictures of the interior of our camper. I never got around to taking any to post. But this time I did and I thought I would share them.
When we arrived in the Keys and I finished setting up I figured that it would be a good time to take the interior shots. I figured it was the best time to take pictures for these reasons:
1. The interior of the camper wouldnt look as clean and organized again during the trip
2. I had 3 boys living in the camper and an additional 2 boys running in and out
3. The interior of the camper wouldnt look as clean and organized again during the trip
So yes, please be impressed at how neat and clean it is and how perfect I must be to have such an organized set up. And lets all pretend that it looked the way during the rest of the trip.
Here is a picture of our set up taken from my cell phone. The light was fading so the shot is a little grainy. Hopefully you can see the pop up gizmos on the bunk ends. These things are great! My parents bought them for their pop up, too, and this trip was the first time they used them. They have a Viking pop up and they said that using the gizmos prevented the moisture build up from the interior of the bunk ends. Without them the moisture really builds up and gives them an unpleasant shower in the mornings to help wake them up. YUCK!
Next up:
Adventures without the GPS
Relaxing at the campground
Dinner at Islamorada Fish Company
When we arrived in the Keys and I finished setting up I figured that it would be a good time to take the interior shots. I figured it was the best time to take pictures for these reasons:
1. The interior of the camper wouldnt look as clean and organized again during the trip
2. I had 3 boys living in the camper and an additional 2 boys running in and out
3. The interior of the camper wouldnt look as clean and organized again during the trip
So yes, please be impressed at how neat and clean it is and how perfect I must be to have such an organized set up. And lets all pretend that it looked the way during the rest of the trip.
Here is a picture of our set up taken from my cell phone. The light was fading so the shot is a little grainy. Hopefully you can see the pop up gizmos on the bunk ends. These things are great! My parents bought them for their pop up, too, and this trip was the first time they used them. They have a Viking pop up and they said that using the gizmos prevented the moisture build up from the interior of the bunk ends. Without them the moisture really builds up and gives them an unpleasant shower in the mornings to help wake them up. YUCK!
Next up:
Adventures without the GPS
Relaxing at the campground
Dinner at Islamorada Fish Company
Disney Freebird
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
Enjoying your trip report.
Looks like we have the same type of camper as you, maybe a different year because our decor is a little different. We love ours. Love having the bathroom in a pop-up.
I've never camped at Disney, but I would love to someday.
Looks like we have the same type of camper as you, maybe a different year because our decor is a little different. We love ours. Love having the bathroom in a pop-up.
I've never camped at Disney, but I would love to someday.
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Enjoying your trip report.
Looks like we have the same type of camper as you, maybe a different year because our decor is a little different. We love ours. Love having the bathroom in a pop-up.
I've never camped at Disney, but I would love to someday.
Thanks!
Our camper is a 2005 Fleetwood Niagara. We bought it in April of last year. We had been looking at them for a few years before we finally bought one. We had actually planned on buying one new right when Fleetwood Folding Campers went out of business. In the long run I think we ended up with a better deal buying a used one.
I, too, love, love, love having the bathroom. That was one of two major reasons I wanted to upgrade our camper. The other reason was I was tired of turning the dinette into a bed for the younger boy every night.
We are very happy with this camper!
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2008
So yes, please be impressed at how neat and clean it is and how perfect I must be to have such an organized set up. And lets all pretend that it looked the way during the rest of the trip.
Living in an area the size of one room at home isn't easy to do tidily.
Thanks for taking the time to do a TR. Great job!
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
So yes, please be impressed at how neat and clean it is and how perfect I must be to have such an organized set up. And lets all pretend that it looked the way during the rest of the trip.
Thanks for taking the time to do a TR. Great job!
Thank you for the kind words!
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Thursday, July 19
We had planned to keep this day as a relaxing day to hang out at the campground, sit on the beach, swim, kayak, etc.
But, we were running low on food and needed to make a grocery run to Publix.
Remember the theme of the trip The best laid plans
Here we go again and this time it involves me being a know-it-all (I really hope my husband doesnt read this and see me admitting in public that I sometimes act that way. Ill never live it down.).
My husband is big on the GPS. Loves it and uses it everywhere. Me, not as much. I like maps and relying on my memory. I will use a GPS but I dont like to rely on one. Case in point: exiting Ft. Wilderness.
As my mom and I were getting in the truck my husband reminded me that the GPS was in the truck. Oh please GPS to get to Publix?! Its just a few miles south on US 1. Ive been there plenty of times thank you very little. I dont need a GPS to get there, really!
Can you guess what happened?
I really shouldnt have been so arrogant.
I finally admitted my mistake to my mom as we entered the 7 mile bridge that I had evidently passed Publix.
Long story short the grocery run took A LOT longer than I had planned.
We finally made it back to the campground about 2 hours later.
We made some sandwiches, grabbed some drinks and headed over to the beach to grab a shelter and hang out. The winds were up and made it nice and breezy. I mostly stayed under the shelter out of the sun and ate. And drank a cold beer. Heavenly.
The older boys rented a kayak. The younger boys swam and fished. The youngest caught the only fish of the entire trip that afternoon.
Curry Hammock does have a nice beach area for the Keys. What do I mean by a nice beach area for the Keys? Although the Keys are known for the beautiful water, they arent really known for great beaches. The sand in the water can be really mushy and covered with sea grass. Its a unique experience. The beach here was pretty good compared to other Keys beaches. We liked it but if you are looking for a beautiful Caribbean type beach this aint it.
Here are a couple of pictures of the beach and park area:
Coming up dinner at Islamorada Fish Company
We had planned to keep this day as a relaxing day to hang out at the campground, sit on the beach, swim, kayak, etc.
But, we were running low on food and needed to make a grocery run to Publix.
Remember the theme of the trip The best laid plans
Here we go again and this time it involves me being a know-it-all (I really hope my husband doesnt read this and see me admitting in public that I sometimes act that way. Ill never live it down.).
My husband is big on the GPS. Loves it and uses it everywhere. Me, not as much. I like maps and relying on my memory. I will use a GPS but I dont like to rely on one. Case in point: exiting Ft. Wilderness.
As my mom and I were getting in the truck my husband reminded me that the GPS was in the truck. Oh please GPS to get to Publix?! Its just a few miles south on US 1. Ive been there plenty of times thank you very little. I dont need a GPS to get there, really!
Can you guess what happened?
I really shouldnt have been so arrogant.
I finally admitted my mistake to my mom as we entered the 7 mile bridge that I had evidently passed Publix.
Long story short the grocery run took A LOT longer than I had planned.
We finally made it back to the campground about 2 hours later.
We made some sandwiches, grabbed some drinks and headed over to the beach to grab a shelter and hang out. The winds were up and made it nice and breezy. I mostly stayed under the shelter out of the sun and ate. And drank a cold beer. Heavenly.
The older boys rented a kayak. The younger boys swam and fished. The youngest caught the only fish of the entire trip that afternoon.
Curry Hammock does have a nice beach area for the Keys. What do I mean by a nice beach area for the Keys? Although the Keys are known for the beautiful water, they arent really known for great beaches. The sand in the water can be really mushy and covered with sea grass. Its a unique experience. The beach here was pretty good compared to other Keys beaches. We liked it but if you are looking for a beautiful Caribbean type beach this aint it.
Here are a couple of pictures of the beach and park area:
Coming up dinner at Islamorada Fish Company
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
Thursday, July 19 continued
After a day of hanging out at the beach we decided to eat out at the Islamorada Fish Company. Yeah! A break from cooking!! Weve eaten at the Islamorada Fish Company before but not for many years. They are famous for their fried grouper sandwiches.
I cant remember exactly how long it took to get there but I want to say around 30 mins.
Right after we arrived and were seated they started a shark feeding. We all love a good shark feeding! Yippee!! Here are some pictures:
The food was delicious. Everyone loved their meals. My husband and I had the fried grouper sandwiches, my parents had the fried clams, one of the boys ordered calamari, one ordered the tuna, one ordered something I cant remember and the youngest ordered the chicken strips. Yes, hes not an adventurous eater as much as we try. We also had a sampler appetizer. Cant remember everything on it but it did have crab cakes that were wonderful. 8 people (4 of which are growing boys) and 1 appetizer plate = BIG FEEDING FRENZY! I think we gave the shark feeding some really good competition.
The scenery was gorgeous. It was beautiful, breezy and we watched the sun go down. Here are pictures:
The two were taken with my cell phone camera so the quality may not be as good:
We wanted to go to Worldwide Sportsman next door after dinner but it was closed by the time we were done with dinner. We headed back to the campground called it a night.
My next post will be dedicated to critters! 
After a day of hanging out at the beach we decided to eat out at the Islamorada Fish Company. Yeah!
A break from cooking!! Weve eaten at the Islamorada Fish Company before but not for many years. They are famous for their fried grouper sandwiches.I cant remember exactly how long it took to get there but I want to say around 30 mins.
Right after we arrived and were seated they started a shark feeding. We all love a good shark feeding! Yippee!! Here are some pictures:
The food was delicious. Everyone loved their meals. My husband and I had the fried grouper sandwiches, my parents had the fried clams, one of the boys ordered calamari, one ordered the tuna, one ordered something I cant remember and the youngest ordered the chicken strips. Yes, hes not an adventurous eater as much as we try. We also had a sampler appetizer. Cant remember everything on it but it did have crab cakes that were wonderful. 8 people (4 of which are growing boys) and 1 appetizer plate = BIG FEEDING FRENZY! I think we gave the shark feeding some really good competition.
The scenery was gorgeous. It was beautiful, breezy and we watched the sun go down. Here are pictures:
The two were taken with my cell phone camera so the quality may not be as good:
We wanted to go to Worldwide Sportsman next door after dinner but it was closed by the time we were done with dinner. We headed back to the campground called it a night.
My next post will be dedicated to critters!
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
My family and I went to the Keys back in March 2011 and your pictures make me want to go back. We have a popup too and I have been tempted to get the Popup Gizmos but I find it hard to justify the cost for the type of trip we only do once a year (although I know I could use them year AFTER year).
Maybe someday I'll get Gizmos......
When I have a spare $200 lying around
Kudos to the writeup and pix.
Bama ED
Maybe someday I'll get Gizmos......
When I have a spare $200 lying around
Kudos to the writeup and pix.
Bama ED
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
My family and I went to the Keys back in March 2011 and your pictures make me want to go back. We have a popup too and I have been tempted to get the Popup Gizmos but I find it hard to justify the cost for the type of trip we only do once a year (although I know I could use them year AFTER year).
Maybe someday I'll get Gizmos......
When I have a spare $200 lying around
Kudos to the writeup and pix.
Bama ED
Thanks for the kind words Ed. I appreciate it!
The gizmos are worth it if you do a lot of camping in the sun. Since we live in FL they are a good investment for us.
We did use them in cold weather camping in November. We camped in N Georgia for Thanksgiving and it got pretty cold for us Floridians. The gizmos really helped keep the heat in. So did the heated throws underneath all of our sleeping bags.
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
This post is dedicated to the various critters that we saw at Curry Hammock.
These guys paid us a personal visit at our campsite:
This is the same iguana, just a different pose from him:
We saw this guy at the beach:
The crab had the nerve to pinch my nephew! Can you believe?
Coming up:
My breakfast cooking set up
These guys paid us a personal visit at our campsite:
This is the same iguana, just a different pose from him:
We saw this guy at the beach:
The crab had the nerve to pinch my nephew! Can you believe?
Coming up:
My breakfast cooking set up
photogal06
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2010
Love the critters, especially the iguana! How cool is that?! The fish restaurant sounds wonderful, and what a beautiful setting, too. I'm really enjoying your TR---promote the heck out of it....when you spend so much time putting it together, it's nice to have people reading it!
mash
Disney Fan
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2006
I completely forgot about a picture that I had taken at Disney during our trip that I wanted to share. I snapped it on my cell phone and forgot all about it until yesterday. It's a Vinylmation character for River Country Water Park. It brought back a lot of good memories from our visits to the park back in the day.
I think I saw this in the Outpost Trading Post store.
I think I saw this in the Outpost Trading Post store.
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