We were only in Florida for three weeks but you’d never know it based on all our adventures. We snorkeled, hiked, sunbathed, and even picked up a new sport: pickleball. This is our last Florida trip report (until we visit again!) and we are packing it in. 

Biscayne National Park: Our last National Park in Florida (3 for 3!). We were thrilled to have a great day of snorkeling with excellent visibility. 

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Lovers Key State Park: This was my kind of day. Relaxing and reading on the beach. Colin, alternately, read briefly, tried to soak up some rays, and then proceeded to go for a few runs along the water.

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Fort de Soto: One of my favorite days! We saw a manatee and dolphins while hanging out on the Gulf Pier. Then, we enjoyed a lovely little sandbar away from the crowds. The best part was sitting in the shallow water on this sandbar and watching as numerous dolphins breached the surface. As we don’t have waterproof cameras and you had to swim to get to the sandbar, you’ll have to take my word for it.

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Hanging out with the fittest retirees you know: For a few days, Colin and I hunkered down with my Aunt Connie and her husband, Walt, in Frostproof, Florida.

They live at the Lily Lake Golf Resort and Retirement Community and it has EVERYTHING: a library, billiards hall, golf course, swimming pool, tennis court, pickleball courts, shuffleboard, the works. You want to retire and stay active? We found the place for you. You want to show off your self-built camper van to a bunch of RV’ers? We definitely found the place for you. We relaxed, hung out at the pool, enjoyed some excellent food (and even better company!), played tennis, and then, on our last morning, we played pickleball.

Pickleball is a pseudo crossover between tennis and ping pong. You’ve probably heard of it. It is the fastest growing sport in North America. And it’s super fun. Colin blew out the side of his shoe in his first game of many but, like the champ he is, he carried on and continued playing his heart out. We definitely worked up a good sweat and had a fun time doing so. Not to mention, we have a standing invitation to come back and play with the group whenever we want. 🙂 

While our trip to Florida was unplanned, looking back, I wouldn’t change a single thing. We were able to do everything we wanted*, visit with friends new and old, hang out with family, and soak up some gorgeous sunshine. Oh yeh, and I forgot to mention, we played putt putt at the best mini-golf place ever. What more could you ask for? 

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*The only thing we didn’t get to do was kayak the Weeki Wachee river – next time, Florida, next time!