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I found myself standing in The Sandal Factory Outlet in the Florida Keys trying on SO many flip flops. I could not find any that were both comfortable, thin soles and didn't look stupid.
I don't shop often. In fact, the only reason I needed to find new flip flops was because mine were so worn (after 4 years) that rocks were poking through what was left of the soles. It was time!
And then the magic happend.
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We looked at LOTS of ideas for Adali's birthday. She and I searched and searched all over Orlando for something that she would love. That's when we came across Exotic Animal Experience in Orlando! Not only were there a bunch of wild animals, they were all pets and you could hold, pet, feed and play with them. This was made for Adali!
We made our appointment for 11:30 on Tuesday morning! We drove over an hour to get to Leslie Rush's home where she has raised all these wild animals from infancy. They have run around her house in diapers, slept in her bed & they have even gone to the grocery store with her! Can you imagine seeing a wallaby in your local Publix?
Upon arrival Leslie greeted us with a smile and excitement. You could tell right away that she LOVED what she was doing and you could also tell that the animals loved her!
We signed a waiver and we were ready to hold some wild animals. Leslie started off with a young Wallaby named Rooby.
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After our INCREDIBLE stay at Lake Harmony RV Park, we needed to overnight in Orlando before we made it to our next destination - Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort. Also, we had another birthday celebration coming up and wanted to be near something fun for our oldest daughter who was turning TEN!! (say what? how did that happen?)
Knowing that it's hard to find free overnighting in Florida, I called a week pryor to ask if we could park at the Bass Pro Shop overnight. They told me I would need to call the mall security because they patrol the parking lot. No problem, I would be happy to call and ask permission. I did, and they said they couldn't tell me that I could park there but that if I wanted to, parking lot #2 was never busy and that would be the best option but to make sure we were gone by early morning. Great! That was our plan.
We arrived at the mall that Bass Pro Shop was located at the coolest 'mall' by the way. You nailed it Artegon! We parked in parking lot #2, where there were no other cars and went in to grab some dinner after driving for what seemed like forever that day. There was some crazy concert going on that night outside the main entrance and tons of security officers outside. We figured, let's just double check to make sure it is ok that we park there. I was passed around to several security officers until I got to the head of security who quickly told me I COULD NOT park overnight and we would most likely get a ticket from the police. Fan-freaking-tastic. It's now 6:00 pm, dark outside, just started raining and we have to try to find a RV park IN ORLANDO, on a weekend....piece of cake (eyeroll)
After serval failed attempts we finally found that Pondarosa RV Park in Kississimme, FL had an open, pull-through spot that we could stay in for the night! Sweet!! 30 minute drive and we made it! It was a torential downpour. We found our site and waited a few minutes to see if the rain would let up so that we could get out and go hook up to set up the house for the night. (cue moment when an Airstream or a Class A Motorhome would be SUPER helpful!) The rain was NOT letting up and we just decided that we had to make a run for it. Jonathan and I both have our routine of setting up down pat so we just had to figure out how to do it MUCH QUICKER in the rain and without me being able to bend over (due to my broken butt).
It was like a really bad, funny movie. As soon as we stepped out of our truck we were ankle deep in water (and grass clippings) and it was still coming down hard! By the time we got the RV set up it looked like we had just stepped out of the shower, with all our clothes on. It was definitely a memory and a funny one at that.
We finally got the kids in the RV, everyone got dry clothes on and warmed up and we were so ready to call it a night. Big thank you to Ponderosa RV Park for letting us come in after hours and being willing to help us out last minute.
The next morning was Adali's TENTH birthday! I always let the kids request a special birthday breakfast and Adali always picks the best options. This year was no exception. She requested strawberry crepes with homemade whipped cream! She knows what's good!
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Sit down, grab a mexicoke, and get comfy. I want to tell you about the day I broke my butt.
Cue birds chirping, a gentle cool breeze, sun shining, happy kids laughing.... all is right with the world...
We pulled up to this beautiful RV park in Townsend, GA.
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On our way to South Carolina, we needed to overnight in Georgia so I found a ‘campground’ via PassPort America. By ‘campground’ I really mean it was a couple’s house and they turned their front yard into a place that 7 RVs could stay at. We were thankful that they came out and sprayed the gigantic ant hills that surrounded the electric box. While it was just a place for us to spend the night, I am so thankful that we didn’t have an ant problem while we were there. The couple was really nice, though. It was Halloween and she brought our kids some candy since they didn’t get to go trick-or-treating, which is something we never do anyway.
We made it to The Oaks at Point South RV Park which is a park in the Thousand Trails system. This makes our 3rd time staying at a TT Park and we have yet to be impressed with any of them. It’s making our decision to NOT buy the full membership very easy. We’d much rather spend the money getting solar and equipment so we can just boondock wherever we want!
The one thing I can say good about Thousand Trails is we have always had very pleasant interactions with all the workers there. Not once have we had any issues with the employees. If TT would just put some money into their parks I think they’d have a great system that a lot more people would buy into. But the run down buildings, huge pot hole roads and lack of irrigation in the parks make for a not so pleasant experience.
This park in particular was a hug muddy mess. It had rained many days before we got there but also the first week we were there it rained the majority of the time. Spaces were blocked off due to standing water, if you walked outside you were immediately attacked by tons of mosquitos and it was a fairly miserable first week there. We stayed 13 nights and by the second week the sun was drying up some of the park but the mosquitos were so bad we didn’t spend a whole lot of time outside unless we drove to a nearby town.
We were able to meet up with some more of Jonathan's friends for lunch one day. Why is it we can NEVER remember to take pictures when we meet up with people?? Geeze O' Pete! I've got to do better about that!
While in the low country, of course we had to visit the Sheldon Church Ruins.
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Ashley Longnecker / December 04, 2015
We’re Jonathan & Ashley Longnecker. We love weird ideas, great food, travel, drawing, music, homeschool, tattoos, dreads, woodworking, design and our 4 amazing kids.