Orlando and camping titbits

Following the I95 down the coast is the fastest route South, you don’t see a lot but it’s worth it to get there when you have two squawkers in the back.  There aren’t many state parks near Orlando and we wanted to be near the Kennedy Space Centre as well so we looked at privately owned RV parks, the first couple were a drive through and drive away…fast.  We may be on a budget but we are not desperate!  We found a lovely one at Cocoa Beach named Sonrise Palms.  Gorgeous pool and EMACULATE toilets/showers.  The kind you don’t need to wear shoes in and you don’t cringe if you drop something on the floor.  It cost $45 per night but if you join Passport America (for $45) you basically get half price at loads of different private parks that normally cost anything from $35 - $50…so it may be cheaper to stay at these than the state parks.  We have swapped our bush/beach/lake vista for wifi and the glorious beach/lake swimming for a nice pool but it’s still very lovely.

Pool at Sonrise Palms, Florida

Pool fun

Camper and Louie at Sonrise Palms

Each time you cross a state line there is generally a welcome centre within 5 miles and it’s worth stopping there to get a map of the area, ask questions and pick up discount vouchers for motels/hotels or information on state parks.  They also have free wifi so it’s great to be able to check your emails.  Our I-Pad has come in very handy on this trip, once we have hunted down a wifi network (usually McDonalds, hotels or other eating establishments) we simply flip it open and check emails, do our internet banking, research next places to stay, check weather reports, check rugby scores (Justin) or the all important Facebook.  Leo also watches movies on it when we are driving or when we are trying to get Spencer to sleep (this is a great tool to keep him quiet as we are all in such a small space), we listen to music on it at night and use the interactive applications and piano to entertain Spencer. 

Another item that we highly recommend if you are doing a trip like this is the Coleman travel fridge.  We were messing about with ice in a chilly bin each day which was costing us $3-4.  When we did the sums it made sense to invest in a $80 travel fridge.  This stands up like a normal fridge or lies down like a chest and plugs in to your power when you are on your site.  Best of all, when you are travelling long distances like we are you simply throw it in your boot with all your food in it and plug it into your cigarette lighter.  No more ice, no more trying to find ice and no more worrying that your food is going off.  I think Justin is angling to take it home with us, I’d like to see how he tries to fit it in our bags.  Justin also wants to make a special mention of his Leatherman multi-tool - it has got us out of a few scrapes.

My $2 toaster

We have picked up a few more items along the way and you know you are on a tight budget when your husband moans because you buy a $2 toaster (I love it, very Parisian and hopefully I can get it home with me too!) and a 50c cutlery holder from a charity shop.  We pretty much have everything we need now though and are actually coming in under budget now we have our accommodation sorted.

Louie is doing well, we have done over a 1000 miles in him and he drinks oil pretty quickly  but his V8 engine pulls the camper nicely.  He also likes to keep us guessing when he will switch air-con on...sometimes 5 seconds or 10 seconds after we have started driving.  We all sit there praying for it to come and when that blast of cool air hits you, well it's better than .......  it's just really good!  Sometimes he doesn't switch it on at all and we have to turn him off and start him up again, the temperamental so and so.