Your Plan Worked Pam and Dennis!

It took phone calls, numerous texts, and emails from Pam and Dennis, but we finally did it.  We went to visit them in Port Charlotte, Florida last week.  Our forecast was not good, so we left Gulf Shores at 6:00am last Thursday with clothes stuffed into shopping bags, Butch, and directions to the hotel.  A mere 11 hours later, we arrived to a very nice "pet friendly" hotel, 75 degrees, sunshine, and a whole lot of very friendly people, and of course, my sis and her hubby. 

Butch very happy to be with Pam again, especially since her dog, Darla, is at the breeder after having puppies

Butch loves to harass Smudge, who does not like Butch at all

As luck would have it, it was "ice cream social" night, followed by entertainment.

A band made up of RVers

We met up with Pam and Dennis in the morning to get a good look at their park.  We walked the two miles through it, stopping to meet new people every 50 feet, dragging Butch the whole way.  They took us to visit two other RV parks nearby, and then lunch outside at Navi-Gator restaurant.  The giant fish sandwich was great, as was the 75 sunny day.

Pam, Dennis, and I headed to the heated pool for a game of pool volleyball while Mark headed to the hot tub.  After that Mark says to me, "This is where I want to spend next winter."  We were hooked, which was the plan all along by Pam and Dennis.  

Pam hosted a happy hour, and then made us dinner again  

The next morning we got up way too early and decided we had seen enough.  We headed back to Riverside RV Park, filled out the appropriate forms, picked out a few spots we might be interested in, left a deposit, said goodbyes, and headed north.  We drove through rain for the first 4 hours, but made it back to Gulf Shores in 10 hours.

New sign we saw at the Florida rest areas.  What next??

Butch driving, wanting to get us back to Gulf Shores in a hurry.  Too much car time, in too short time

It's hard to stay in this park now after visiting an active, pet-friendly park.  We let the park know yesterday that we would not be back next winter.  Even if we don't get in the park in Port Charlotte, we will find somewhere warmer for next year.  The girls in the office were shocked, but we didn't retire to wear coats, gloves, and scarves while paying to winter somewhere warm.  

I've been cleaning all morning since Mark left for the chiropractor.  Now he owes me lunch out!  So much for austerity and dieting.