Ft Lauderdale

As a result of our early preparations for departure from Big Pine Key, we were able to get on the road by 9:30 AM. We stopped and said goodbyes to our fellow workers - Maritsa, Brenda and Norma - and left for Ft Lauderdale. It was a nice drive until we left the keys in Homestead, FL, where US Rt 1 went through the downtown area and then South Miami before finally reaching I-95. There was about 20 miles of stop and go during that time but we still made it to Ft Lauderdale at 2:00 pm.

It was a real challenge getting to the campground - the Sunshine Holiday RV Park. The sign on the road was probably 2 feet by 2 feet, and tucked in behind an office building just before you reach it. Needless to say, we missed the turn-in and had to go down the road to find a place wide enough for me to make a u-turn with the truck and fifth wheel. We eventually made it to the park, and the entrance was another challenge. It is not big rig friendly and we managed to squeeze through the entry and to the office. They put us in a pull through space that is intended for 2 RV's. They allowed us to park our Jeep next to the fifth wheel since they were not expecting any more guests to arrive. Below is a shot of our space - actually 2 spaces:

If we had to share this space with another RV, our slide-out on the door side would probably be right up against the RV next to us. It's a very disappointing campground.

The highlight of our day was a trip to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL, about 7 miles away. It is the sister Resort to the one we went to in Tampa earlier this year. In fact, we could use the same Player's Club card we acquired in Tampa. That enabled us to accumulate more points for future perks. Anyway, it was a so-so night on the slots. Josie had no luck at all, and I won one jackpot for over $100 which gave us enough to play longer and also buy some dinner. We ended up leaving there around 7 PM and we went to TGI Friday's, down the road, and had dinner before returning to the rig for the night.

It's off to Ormond Beach, FL, near Daytona and Edgewater, FL, to stay for the next three days. We hope to spend time with Josie's sister and also go to some local attractions. One of the places we want to visit is the Kennedy Space Center where there is a launch scheduled for Friday. Tickets to view the launch from inside the Center have been sold out since March, so we will have to view the launch from one of the suggested areas in this viewing article - hopefully, the causeway which is about 2 miles from the launch site. That would be fun. It is also the last planned launch for the Shuttle Endeaver.

We'll try to be on the road by 9 AM today so that we can arrive in the Daytona area at a decent time to be able to set up and relax before dinner. The trip should be around 250 miles, and is all freeway on I-95. We are hoping that the campground is a better one than here in Ft Lauderdale...