Trip Report July 13 - July 21

[mash]

As I get started on this post I thought I would post a picture of my breakfast cooking set up.

My in-laws bought us the large griddle about 14 years ago when we first started camping. It’s still in great shape and does a great job, especially when cooking for 8 people. I have left over potatoes cooking from a previous dinner underneath the lid.

Now onto Friday’s activities!

Friday, July 20

Plan: go snorkeling at Looe Key in the Keys National Marine Sanctuary. My husband and I had been diving at Looe Key many years ago and loved it. Our personal opinion is that it is way better than Pennekamp. We were hoping to show it to the boys.

It didn’t work out. It was too windy and the dive shop said that the visibility was very poor. Kudos to the dive shop for being honest!

We decided to do one of our other favorite Keys activities. Feed the tarpon at the Hungry Tarpon. Have you ever done this??? It is a cheesy activity but so much fun. We’ve done it before with our boys several times but our nephews and my parents hadn’t been.

It was pretty busy and we had to drive around to get a parking spot.

Here are some pictures of the feedings:

Here are pictures hanging up at the Hungry Tarpon showing how other folks have fed the fish:

There are some flea market type stands in the parking lot that sell necklaces, hats, pictures, etc.

After the tarpon feeding we headed over to the Worldwide Sportsman store. This, too, is a tradition for us. My oldest son was less than impressed with my choice of hat. But what does he know? Oh yeah, he’s a teenager so he thinks he knows everything. But he can barely find the time to wear clean clothes and brush his teeth so I hardly think he’s an expert.

We headed back to the campground and spent the rest of the day relaxing, fishing, swimming and snorkeling. We should have broken out the snorkeling stuff the day before. That really kept them occupied for awhile!

My husband decided to make a big dinner for our last night there. He made his famous clam chowder, grilled shrimp and fresh corn on the cob. Plus, he made pina coladas for the adults and virgin pina coladas for the boys.

We all ate outside and enjoyed our last night together in the Keys. The breeze was blowing, the temperature was nice and warm (but not too warm) and it was just perfect. A little slice of heaven.

Next up my last installment of the trip report:
Departing from the Keys
Overall thoughts on Curry Hammock

 

[mash]

This is my final installment of the trip report.

Saturday, July 21

This was our departure day. We really wished that we had booked another day at this campsite. Unfortunately all the dates were planned around my brother’s and his wife’s schedules (you remember, the folks that weren’t able to make the trip!).

Here’s our camper all packed up and ready to be hitched up to the truck

Here’s something else we learned…they closed down the bathrooms around 11 am for cleaning. Just as we finished getting the camper hooked up to the truck and were ready to clean up before the drive home. We had two choices:

1. Wait for the bathrooms to reopen in an hour so we could shower and then head home and nice and refreshed.
2. Suck it up, put the air conditioning setting on using outside air (not the recirculation option) and head home.

We opted for sucking it up. Be glad that you weren’t in the truck with us. It was gross.

For anyone interested in traveling to the Keys, don’t plan to be on US 1 traveling south around 1 pm. The south bound traffic was extremely heavy and bumper to bumper from Curry Hammock to the Turnpike. No joke. We also saw that the parking lot of the Hungry Tarpon was far more crowded than it was the day before on Friday.

Final thoughts on Curry Hammock:

We loved it. It’s a small campground that is very peaceful. We’ve had trouble in the past camping in the Keys with other campers that like to stay up all night, play music, have small children running around, and generally be very loud until 3 am. Curry Hammock’s campground host did an awesome job of ensuring the campground quieted down after 10 pm. He would ride around in his electric car every evening at 10 with a flashlight checking on the campers. I never saw him say anything. It just seemed to signal folks that it was time to take the noise down. People were still up but no one was loud. We really, really appreciated it!

The sites had enough vegetation around them to make them private. All the pads were rock. I liked this better than the sand at Disney. It made it a lot less messy in the camper.

The campground was very clean and well maintained. The bathrooms were clean and well kept. The only downside to the bathrooms, in my opinion, was the toilets. They are recycling or composting toilets. This kind of freaked me out. My mom said they were fine, didn’t smell and that they offered a refreshing, cooling breeze. If you need another option there are flush toilets in the regular state park area.

Bring bug spray if you go. The no-see-ums bit me up all hours of the day when I didn’t have on the bug spray. I would also recommend bringing Benadryl itch cream or something similar in case you are bit. I had to borrow my mom’s a lot!

We will definitely stay here again sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading along. I enjoyed everyone’s comments! And, I look forward to reading YOUR trip reports in the future!

 

[bama_ed]

Great TR mash!

Glad to hear there's a campground host that does their job. We had noisy neighbors at Boyds in Key West last March so it's nice to know there are some folks who enforce the rules.

Your TR makes me want to try Curry Hammock. I had thought about Bahia Honda next or up at John Pennecamp now that it's been rehabbed. But CH is right there in the middle near Marathon and would make a nice choice.

Bama ED

 

[luv2sewtjr]

Loved this trip report! I really want to camp in the Keys and like the idea of pairing it with a trip to the Fort.

Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

 

[2goofycampers]

 

[Disney Freebird]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

[mash]

Great TR mash!

Glad to hear there's a campground host that does their job. We had noisy neighbors at Boyds in Key West last March so it's nice to know there are some folks who enforce the rules.

Your TR makes me want to try Curry Hammock. I had thought about Bahia Honda next or up at John Pennecamp now that it's been rehabbed. But CH is right there in the middle near Marathon and would make a nice choice.

Bama ED

Ed, Curry Hammock is the first state park in the Keys that we've camped at. We've been on day trips to Bahia Honda and it looks really nice. We tried to get a campsite there but they were already booked. I hadn't thought about Pennekamp but would consider it. However, it was so nice at Curry Hammock that I think it will be our "go to" place first.

Loved this trip report! I really want to camp in the Keys and like the idea of pairing it with a trip to the Fort.

Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

Thank you for the nice words! I enjoyed writing it and sharing it with everyone. I'm glad to know you enjoyed it too!

Pairing Disney with the Keys wasn't my idea but I really enjoyed the whole trip. It turned out to be fun for everyone! If you go, please write us a trip report so we can hear all about it.

Thanks Denise!

I really enjoyed reading your trip report. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It was fun for me to write it. I got a kick out of seeing how many views the post had and reading the comments.

 

[patches4me]

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. We’ve always just camped in one place and then come home.

Overall, it wasn’t bad. I think that if my husband hadn’t 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. That’s 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 haven’t figured out how or even if, it will work while traveling. I didn’t 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 wouldn’t get water logged. On our next trip I’m 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 wasn’t 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 GPS’s just don’t 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 didn’t 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.

Here’s 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.

We have a 5th wheel, but we don't run the frige while driving. We put those freezer pack things in and it works just like a cooler. At least we don't have to empty each time.

 

[mash]

We have a 5th wheel, but we don't run the frige while driving. We put those freezer pack things in and it works just like a cooler. At least we don't have to empty each time.

What a great idea! I don't know why I didn't think of it. I will try it out next time. I could even use the freezer packs to get the fridge to cool off during the drive over.

Thanks patches4me!

 

[storyteller]

awesome report. loved the pics.
nice camper. loved the river country inflatable.
saw a pic of the spare tire cover.. I have an older version, like mine better.
movinf from one campground to another can be a pain, like you folks we have alot of stuff, and evertime we go someplace new we add some more stuff to put up and later to take down and try to pack it so it fits, it gets harder and harder everytime.... call me crazy but I love it.

 

[mash]

awesome report. loved the pics.
nice camper. loved the river country inflatable.
saw a pic of the spare tire cover.. I have an older version, like mine better.
movinf from one campground to another can be a pain, like you folks we have alot of stuff, and evertime we go someplace new we add some more stuff to put up and later to take down and try to pack it so it fits, it gets harder and harder everytime.... call me crazy but I love it.

Thanks for the nice words! I appreciate it.

The new tire cover was expensive. I don't remember the exact price but I think it was more than the $50 blanket that I want. I like the old one, too! You are lucky to have one.

We keep trying to streamline our set up and take down process but it's hard when we keep adding stuff. . But like you, I love it too!

 

[nenner1]

Thanks so much for sharing! We will be camping At FW for the first time over Labor Day weekend and this TR was very helpful.

The only other time we've camped was in the keys (at Long Key) and while we enjoyed it a bit- we were tent camping and I'm not as into roughing it as my husband is. he had to convince me to give it a try again and FW was a great compromise!

I'm curious about the A/C "gizmos" you had that helped keep the camper cool- where do you get them and about how much are they? We are renting a camper but as I mentioned above I'm not so outdoorsy (at least not in FL in Sept.) and would like to be as cool and comfortable as possible.

Thanks!!
Jen

 

[mash]

Thanks so much for sharing! We will be camping At FW for the first time over Labor Day weekend and this TR was very helpful.

The only other time we've camped was in the keys (at Long Key) and while we enjoyed it a bit- we were tent camping and I'm not as into roughing it as my husband is. he had to convince me to give it a try again and FW was a great compromise!

I'm curious about the A/C "gizmos" you had that helped keep the camper cool- where do you get them and about how much are they? We are renting a camper but as I mentioned above I'm not so outdoorsy (at least not in FL in Sept.) and would like to be as cool and comfortable as possible.

Thanks!!
Jen

Jen, thanks for the nice words! I appreciate it. I am glad that my report helps you feel more prepared. There are a lot of great people on the boards that can answer any questions you might have.

Ft. Wilderness is a great choice for camping. You will like it a lot better than Long Key, especially if you have air conditioning.

You can buy the gizmos from this website:
Www.popupgizmos.com

I think ours were just under $200 but I don't remember the exact amount. We bought the super high wind ones and we also have a slide out that needed a cover in addition to the two bunk ends. We camped in the Keys a year ago without them and camping with them made a big difference in keeping cool.

I hope you have a great trip! Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Merry0405]

I really enjoyed your report! Husband and I bought a small class c and will be camping at both FW and the Keys. Yay retirement!
Thanks for taking the time to write this

 

[jeffrey66]

I have been to disney world 18 times and have stayed at almost all of the resorts there but enjoyed fwc the most. My 9yo DS and I rented a class c camper in NYS and traveled for three days, staying at a couple koa campgrounds on our way to fwc. We stayed on loop 200 right next to the comfort station and we were very happy staying there. The other people camping near us must have known that we were new to rv camping and offered much help in case we needed it. That was a good feeling. It was an easy walk to the settlement trading post and the marina for a boat ride to mk, or to the beach on bay lake for mk fireworks. After 8 days at wdw we headed back north and traveled along the coast through the outerbanks. It was really cool driving the rv on to the ferry boat and taking a break from driving as we rode the boat to ocracoke island and finally arriving in hatteras. My ds and i are going back to wdw in may 2013 for a stay at the resorts combined with a cruise to the bahamas and really looking forward to it but i often find myself thinking of our stay at fwc and planning another stay there in my mind.

 

[mash]

I really enjoyed your report! Husband and I bought a small class c and will be camping at both FW and the Keys. Yay retirement!
Thanks for taking the time to write this

Merry0405, thanks! It was my pleasure to write it. I have gotten a big kick watching the 'number of views' number increase, reading the comments and answering questions. I've been pleasantly surprised that this trip report has received about 2,000 more views than the one I wrote just over a year ago. But I guess that so many of us are addicted the the Fort and love reading about it.

Good luck with your retirement and camping. I hope to see a trip report from you in the future to help feed our addictions!

I have been to disney world 18 times and have stayed at almost all of the resorts there but enjoyed fwc the most. My 9yo DS and I rented a class c camper in NYS and traveled for three days, staying at a couple koa campgrounds on our way to fwc. We stayed on loop 200 right next to the comfort station and we were very happy staying there. The other people camping near us must have known that we were new to rv camping and offered much help in case we needed it. That was a good feeling. It was an easy walk to the settlement trading post and the marina for a boat ride to mk, or to the beach on bay lake for mk fireworks. After 8 days at wdw we headed back north and traveled along the coast through the outerbanks. It was really cool driving the rv on to the ferry boat and taking a break from driving as we rode the boat to ocracoke island and finally arriving in hatteras. My ds and i are going back to wdw in may 2013 for a stay at the resorts combined with a cruise to the bahamas and really looking forward to it but i often find myself thinking of our stay at fwc and planning another stay there in my mind.

Jeffrey66, your trip to FW with your son sounds awesome. I am so glad that you loved FW and enjoyed the things that make it great. It is such a hidden gem to non-campers. They just don't know what they are missing.

Enjoy your stay in 2013. All of the DW resorts are great so I am sure that you'll have a great time, especially combined with the cruise.

 

[WorldWacky]

I too really enjoyed your trip report! We've never camped at Fort Wilderness, but I'm m working on DH. Since there was so much standing water at the campground, how were the mosquitoes?

 

[mash]

I too really enjoyed your trip report! We've never camped at Fort Wilderness, but I'm m working on DH. Since there was so much standing water at the campground, how were the mosquitoes?

WorldWacky, thank you for the nice words! I really appreciate the positive feedback.

I usually am the first to get bit by mosquitoes but I didn't have any trouble with them. In fact, they usually aren't a problem for me at FW. I did use the citronella bracelet. I put it around my ankle as I usually get bit there when sitting at the picnic table eating. We also used a few citronella candles whenever we sat outside. I don't think I got bit at all.

 

[jeffrey66]

Merry0405, thanks! It was my pleasure to write it. I have gotten a big kick watching the 'number of views' number increase, reading the comments and answering questions. I've been pleasantly surprised that this trip report has received about 2,000 more views than the one I wrote just over a year ago. But I guess that so many of us are addicted the the Fort and love reading about it.

Good luck with your retirement and camping. I hope to see a trip report from you in the future to help feed our addictions!

Jeffrey66, your trip to FW with your son sounds awesome. I am so glad that you loved FW and enjoyed the things that make it great. It is such a hidden gem to non-campers. They just don't know what they are missing.

Enjoy your stay in 2013. All of the DW resorts are great so I am sure that you'll have a great time, especially combined with the cruise.

Mash, I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed reading our trip report. I am new to the disboards and it is so much fun sharing a story of a past trip with other people that can really appreciate it. As of today we are 259 days from our next trip and that seems so far away, but being able to read about other people coming and going from WDW really helps to pass the days. Thanks to all for sharing your experiences.

 

[ebtready2go]

This is my final installment of the trip report.

Saturday, July 21

This was our departure day. We really wished that we had booked another day at this campsite. Unfortunately all the dates were planned around my brother’s and his wife’s schedules (you remember, the folks that weren’t able to make the trip!).

Here’s our camper all packed up and ready to be hitched up to the truck

Here’s something else we learned…they closed down the bathrooms around 11 am for cleaning. Just as we finished getting the camper hooked up to the truck and were ready to clean up before the drive home. We had two choices:

1. Wait for the bathrooms to reopen in an hour so we could shower and then head home and nice and refreshed.
2. Suck it up, put the air conditioning setting on using outside air (not the recirculation option) and head home.

We opted for sucking it up. Be glad that you weren’t in the truck with us. It was gross.

For anyone interested in traveling to the Keys, don’t plan to be on US 1 traveling south around 1 pm. The south bound traffic was extremely heavy and bumper to bumper from Curry Hammock to the Turnpike. No joke. We also saw that the parking lot of the Hungry Tarpon was far more crowded than it was the day before on Friday.

Final thoughts on Curry Hammock:

We loved it. It’s a small campground that is very peaceful. We’ve had trouble in the past camping in the Keys with other campers that like to stay up all night, play music, have small children running around, and generally be very loud until 3 am. Curry Hammock’s campground host did an awesome job of ensuring the campground quieted down after 10 pm. He would ride around in his electric car every evening at 10 with a flashlight checking on the campers. I never saw him say anything. It just seemed to signal folks that it was time to take the noise down. People were still up but no one was loud. We really, really appreciated it!

The sites had enough vegetation around them to make them private. All the pads were rock. I liked this better than the sand at Disney. It made it a lot less messy in the camper.

The campground was very clean and well maintained. The bathrooms were clean and well kept. The only downside to the bathrooms, in my opinion, was the toilets. They are recycling or composting toilets. This kind of freaked me out. My mom said they were fine, didn’t smell and that they offered a refreshing, cooling breeze. If you need another option there are flush toilets in the regular state park area.

Bring bug spray if you go. The no-see-ums bit me up all hours of the day when I didn’t have on the bug spray. I would also recommend bringing Benadryl itch cream or something similar in case you are bit. I had to borrow my mom’s a lot!

We will definitely stay here again sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading along. I enjoyed everyone’s comments! And, I look forward to reading YOUR trip reports in the future!

I'm so glad someone else was freaked out by the toilets!!! My DD was only 3 (actually days before her 3rd birthday) when we camped there and I was so freaked out that she'd fall in that I told DH too bad, she'll potty in the camper even if you have to pump it out 10 times this trip!