LAKELAND, FL

We reserved a site at Sanlan RV & Golf Resort on the recommendation of Roy, owner of Bigfoot of Florida. We were given a wide, shady site under a tree with just a few tree roots to contend with. The park was huge - 500 full hook-up sites, and ten different categories and rates. We were paying $32 a night. When we asked for a Good Sam/AAA/Military discount,they refused because they said they didn't charge tax. Is that the most absurd claim? The choicest spots cost $1410 a month in winter. We saw very few Florida license plates. Most guests were Canadians with a sprinkling of Americans from Northern climes. The schedule published by the office listed dozens of activities each day. It was like a small town.

We began to notice that our neighbor behind us drove his golf cart right through our site as he left and came back. That was irritating. That night, the same neighbor had huge patio lights on all night. We asked to move. 

Our new site. Still wide but no shade. Better wifi, though.

Did you notice the clotheslines in that picture? Most RV parks prohibit hanging anything in your site. A few tolerate swim suits and towels. The rare place has a discreet communal clothesline near the laundry. Here the rule was freestanding clotheslines only. They were everywhere!

Another oddity. Our spot was in the second row from the laundry and restrooms. There was a parade of people from other rows through the nearby sites, as well as ours, going to and from the facilities. For the most part, they stayed at the edge of other people's sites and walked with eyes downcast. It was weird. Remember, they all have full hook-ups.

One more weird thing? So many of the RVs were small. These folks were here for months on end and lived quite nicely in ≃100 square feet.

Our next-door neighbor. Part of that little trailer is a toy hauler for the motorcycle on the patio.

Across the street was one of several truck campers.

Another truck camper.

The last odd thing, I promise. A lot of other people lit up their sites and left them on all night, too. It's as if they're afraid of the dark. That fits with the tendency to lock the entrance gates to the park at night. It's a fearful world.

There aren't any pictures of our experience at Bigfoot because it was pouring rain. Roy very kindly allowed us to stay in the camper with the cats while he worked. It took him a couple of hours to repair the leaking jack and service the whole system. It was a nice experience. When we got back to our campsite, Carole took advantage of the heavy rain and washed the camper - its first bath since we left California.

Not all of the so-called resort was RV sites. There were large sections of modular homes and park models or converted RVs. Some were enormous.

Could this be called a quadruple-wide?

Sometimes Linda just finds things interesting. She has been wanting to post a picture of Moon Pies ever since we've been in the South. On a trip to the hardware store for a pair of pruners (you know what those are for), she got her shot.

Linda found it funny that the hardware store carried hundreds of insect control products.

To be fair, in spite of its reputation, we have encountered very few bugs in Florida. Maybe it's all in the timing.