Thursday, February 23, 2012

2/19 - 23, 2012 Lake Louisa State Park, FL

We spent four nights at Lake Louisa State Park, about 20 miles from Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL.  This is our last 'excursion' before our planned mid-April departure for points West. 

Lake Louisa was purchased by the State of Florida from an individual in 1971 and the park was opened to the public in 1974. The terrain is rolling sand dunes formed many years ago when the area was coastline.

Lake Louisa State Park
On the beach

The park has many hiking/biking trails, but we didn't spend much time this trip walking around. I was fighting a cold and we mostly relaxed and took short strolls around the campgrounds which were very nice. 

Paved campsite with full hook-ups ($14.00/night)
for senior's/Florida residents
We drove 20 miles to downtown Disney on Tuesday and had a great day. We had lunch at Bongo's restaurant (cuban fare) , watched a middle school cheerleader squad from Georgia perform a 20 minute routine that was really good, and strolled around the lake.

Bongo's Cuban Restaurant

Downtown Disney, Orlando

Georgia Middle School Cheerleaders



These short trips, this one just 65 miles from home, were a great way to get used to our new 5th wheel and to discover things we needed or wanted to do to get her ready for full time use.  I found a number of items that needed attention and was happy we took the time to sort them out prior to  our longer term travels. 

We will leave this year in mid-April and have made plans to spend the months of May & June at Lake Whitney State Park on Lake Whitney, which was formed in 1951 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers damed the Brazos River which formed the lake near Whitney, Texas - some 75 miles south of Dallas .  This is a fair sized lake covering some 37 square miles and 225 miles of shoreline.  We have volunteered to be Park Hosts for those two months to try something a little different.  We spend only a few hours a week volunteering and will have time to discover more about this part of Texas. We really look forward to this new venture.

In July we'll work our way slowly North through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri, while working our way to Fort Wayne, Indiana in August to spend a few weeks with sons and their families, and grandkids.

This is the plan if house has not sold, and we'll return in fall to put it back on the market.  If it sells before April, plans may change a bit in July - stay in touch, we love to hear from you.