Our February exit from Florida had a little bit of everything: Beautiful parks, terrible drives, and some nice surprises.
SeaLife Orlando Aquarium
Our trip to the Kennedy Space Center, which I wrote about last post, coincided with my dad’s visit to see us in Florida. We spent two days with him at the KSC which left one full day to do something else. While Florida’s entertainment options are limitless, my father is 80, so strapping him into the Tower of Terror didn’t seem like the best idea, and he was less than enthralled by my suggestion that we take an airboat ride through an alligator filled swamp.
In the end, I found Orlando’s Sea Life Aquarium, and we were really impressed with our visit. Both the exhibits and the staff were top notch and we felt good about supporting their conservation and public education efforts.
If you find yourself in Orlando looking for something to do that doesn’t involve the Disney Corporation and which focuses more on education than entertainment, this is a good stop.
Westbound on I-10
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, in January, we bought a 2014 Honda CRV to replace our old Xterra. One of the downsides of that decision was we had to get a new towing system installed on the car. This includes sturdy attachments under the bumper, electrical lines that tell the CRV’s lights to come on whenever Barney’s lights are activated (ie: brake lights and turn signals), and a secondary braking system that manually activates the CRV’s brakes when we slow down the motorhome.
It’s a good sized job and one that has to be done right because the consequences of screwing it up can be enormous. In the end, we decided to just have “the pros” do it, and took Barney and the CRV to General RV in Dover.
A day and a half later, they finished up and sent us on our way.
After a brief stopover at O’Leno State Park in High Springs, we headed west.
We knew we’d be blowing through our usual daily mileage limits, but I-10 through Florida is, generally, a really good road and we figured we’d just suck it up to get where we were going.
It was a bad drive from the start.
Soon after we headed out, we ran into a ton of what we, initially, thought was smoke.
But then we started seeing police vehicles and signs that said visibility was reduced due to “blowing dust from nearby fields.”
Florida never runs out of wacky crap, I tell ya.
Next thing we knew, the state police closed I-10 entirely, forcing all of us off the highway and onto tiny, two lane country roads.
Not surprisingly, this quickly led to gridlock and we sat in traffic for several hours.
And just about the time we finally got back on the highway, severe storm warnings began popping up on our phones.
Followed by tornado watches.
Yikes.
By this point, we knew we weren’t going to make it to our campground and we just needed to get somewhere safe.
We pulled off in a service area and I fired up my go-to app in such situations, AllStays. Fortunately, we were just down the way from an ideal solution. A Stone’s Throw RV Park is a tiny, self service campground right off the highway, east of Tallahassee. It’s not fancy, but it was a perfect place to shelter for the night.
Little did we know, however, that our long day wasn’t over yet.
When we disconnected the newly installed braking apparatus in the CRV, we realized the car’s battery was dead.
So, as the sky continued to darken, Kevin got to work troubleshooting.
Turns out, the new system was miswired.
So much for going to the pros.
(In their defense, Kevin said it was an easy mistake to make, but still… Come on, man…)
Anyway, after he rewired it and jumped the battery, we drove around for a bit, and, just as the skies really opened up, we went inside and called it a night. Well, first we had a strong cocktail. Then we called it a night. We were over 150 miles from where we expected to be, but at least we were safe and dry.
Fortunately, the next day was smooth sailing as we made our way to another Florida state park gem.
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
The last Florida State Park we visited this winter was one of our favorites. Topsail Hill Preserve is located along the same stretch of pristine coastline as another long time favorite – Grayton Beach State Park. Topsail is different, though, because it used to be a private campground, so it has a lot of amenities that other state parks don’t have. For example: full hook up sites, a swimming pool, and wifi. And our site was terrific!
I think the correct term to use here is “nestled”:
Used in a sentence: “Look at that swirly purple motorhome, all nestled in its space…”
Like Grayton and the other Florida parks we so thoroughly enjoyed this year, Topsail boasts miles and miles of hiking trails, well maintained boardwalks to pristine white sand beaches, pretty lakes, and stunning nightly sunsets. In our view, it is one of the best of the best.
However, fair warning, not all campsites are created equal. While many look like this:
Others look like this:
So, it’s worth doing your research (campsitephotos.com is a good place to start).
While visiting, we also got to catch up with old friends Nancy and Betsy whom we hadn’t seen since way back in 2017. We spent hours and hours chatting with them and had a great time catching up. Sadly, our visit was pretty short so we only got to hang out once, but we hope to see them again down the line.
Pensacola Beach
Pensacola Beach is part party-town beach destination and part pristine waterfront nature reserve. The downtown area is full of fun restaurants, bars, and other mainstays of coastal vacation destinations, while other portions of the island are part of Gulf Island National Seashore.
We stayed at Pensacola Beach RV Resort which is one of the few RV parks in the country that doesn’t use the term ‘resort’ ironically.
We were able to walk to numerous restaurants and bars and sample lots of delicious food. While the campground was packed the whole time, much of the town was quiet. For reasons I don’t fully understand, the panhandle just doesn’t get very busy during the winter. It’s nice because the beaches are empty, but you can tell the businesses are operating way under capacity most of the time.
We got a pretty good idea of what busy season must be like, though, from looking at the menus. Not only are the drinks insanely cheap:
But their pours are enormous:
And if you’ve ever thought, “Man, Long Island Iced Teas are pretty good, but they’re kinda weak.” Well, fear not! In Pensacola Beach, they DOUBLE them…
But you’re only permitted to consume two of these booze bombs, so 16 shots of alcohol better be enough to take the edge off because if not, you’re out of luck.
Honestly, they must just find hordes of people face down in the sand every morning in the Summer.
Anyway, when not marveling at the city’s potential for alcohol abuse, we explored some of the dog friendly trails in Gulf Islands National Seashore and let Thor get some laps in. He loved every minute.
Westbound Again…
We had one more lengthy drive to get to our next destination. While it wasn’t particularly exciting, we did learn two very important things that are worth sharing.
First, if you’ve ever been in a group of RVers discussing various roads and routes, you’ve probably compared notes about some of the particularly awful stretches of various interstates around the country. There will be talk of I-90 in Indiana and I-95 through the northeast, etc. But if you’ve ever driven an RV on I-10 through Louisiana and the question is asked: “what’s the worst road in the entire country?”, you know the answer is: “I-10 in Louisiana.”
There’s just nothing to discuss.
I-10 in Louisiana is so mind-meltingly atrocious, when driving on it, concepts of time and space melt into a sickening toxic brew of hopelessness and despair. The relentless thumping of the wheels going over perfectly spaced seams grates on one’s nerves and is only interrupted by the crashing and banging of your home hitting potholes so big, they seem to swallow the whole rig. Insulation rains down from the ceiling, random screws roll around on the floor behind you, and anything not properly held down in a cabinet is all but guaranteed to come crashing down.
There is simply no hell like the hell that is I-10 in Louisiana.
Or… to be more accurate, there WAS no hell like the hell of I-10 in Louisiana.
Turns out, I-10 in Louisiana is now… perfectly fine.
It’s fine!
Seriously!!!
Unbeknownst to us, the government has spent the last three years repairing, repaving, and widening the entire road and it’s now FINE!!!!!
We drove and drove waiting for it to turn into the soul crushing nightmare experience of yesteryear and… it just never did.
We’re still amazed.
Second, we found a great place to stop that’s worth sharing. Island View Casino is located just west of Biloxi, in Gulfport.
We’ve stayed at a couple other casinos and have generally found them to be good options for overnight stays. Why? They’re free, you don’t have trucks driving in at all kinds of hours like at Walmarts, and they usually have security driving around.
Island View is even better. First, they have a huge, level parking lot reserved just for RVs, second, they encourage you to stay for free for as long as you want, and third, their restaurant offers all you can eat crab legs which made it easy and appealing for us to go patronize their business without having to sit in a smoky, depressing casino.
After a good night’s sleep in Gulfport, we hit the road once more, headed for the biggest party of the year, but before we could even make it to New Orleans, we saw this…
These are parade floats heading from New Orleans, where they’re manufactured, to other cities that have their own Mardi Gras events.
Next up: What you’ve probably got wrong about Mardi Gras.
____________________________________________________________________
Where we stayed:
A Stone’s Throw RV Park, Lamont, Florida
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Pensacola Beach RV Resort, Pensacola Beach, Florida
Island View Casino, Gulfport, MS
Awww! You posted the sea turtle pic that I love!! ????❤️???? Dad seems to like the aquariums, glad there was a good one there! Yikes on the weather. That didn’t look fun but luckily you made it through ok. I am super jealous at those drink prices, though at the moment we are our own bartenders and so there’s that….. ???? great seeing the pictures from your travels!!
I loved that turtle! I must have taken 40 pics of him. He’s very photogenic!! And yeah, I’ve never seen liquor prices that cheap. It wasn’t super fancy wine, obviously, but I would still expect them to be $8 or $9 a glass.
One of our favorite all time campgrounds is Topsail! Of how we loved it there. We did try to imagine settling down there but it just was too far from our grandsons….
We really miss the lifestyle but this post reminded us of what we don’t miss – road detours and weather alerts that detour us!
Yup, it sure is a mix. We’ve been settled in one place for a bit and are missing the real travel, but then I remember all these incidents and the endless travel planning, and I realize there are positives and negatives about both!
We can’t wait for FL state parks to re-open for camping. I’ll have to add Topsail to our itinerary! Dang, that dust storm must have been something. At least the rains probably tempered it for a while. I’ve lost count how many times we’ve been on I-10. Even though it’s been “fixed”, if I never drive on it again, that’ll be fine with me! Glad the wiring mishap only resulted in a dead battery!
Yes, Topsail is really great! It’s just a nice combination of all the regular Florida state park excellence with additional conveniences. Absolutely check it out next time you head across the panhandle. Though, I guess once you visit Topsail, you’ll have to turn due North to avoid the rest of I-10. It’s funny how many people have been mentally scarred by it! 🙂
I cannot believe that they fixed I-10! Last time we were through there it was horrible! Besides the condition of the road there was all the trash and debris along the road too. Have you ever stopped by The Shed BBQ? It is right outside of Biloxi.
We were so confused when driving on it… there weren’t many signs of construction work anymore. It was all just…. fine! And yes, you’re right. It wasn’t just the terrible road conditions, but it also looked terrible from all the trash and broken down guardrails, etc.
We have not been to the The Shed, but we’ll never turn down good BBQ. Next time we head through that area, we’ll check it out. Thanks for the tip!
Hi guys-
Fun to follow your adventures while we hunker down in Arkansas. When we started the mobile life we planned to spend our winters in the Southeast to enjoy the warmer climate and beaches. We had family members in FL and AL we would visit too. Since our 2 family connections relocated to the Midwest, and after a winter in AZ, we forgot about FL and spent the past 5 winters West of the Mississippi. Your “non-Disney” highlights, and I-10 improvement report, put FL back in our future plans.
Safe travels, Jeff and Deb
I’ve been jealously looking at your photos on social media from your cabin in AR and it looks gorgeous! What a beautiful place to hunker down and hang out for a while.
We will always be tied to Florida because Kevin’s whole family is there, but even if not, we’d still appreciate the fantastic state park system and the interesting things to see and do there. While we love the desert southwest in winter, it definitely stays warmer in Florida and with the increased humidity, it doesn’t get freezing cold at night. On the other hand, the bugs can be horrifying. Ah well, it’s always something. 🙂
I’d like to add I-70 in Indiana to the list of “worst roads”. We seem to drive it each year on the way home and it never gets better…perhaps we better change our route. This fall we followed I-10 west and, while on the Louisiana section, wondered why we had always hated it….now I know why I was confused – they fixed it!
You certainly found perfect Florida campsites, and I love the “Thor at the seaside” series! What a lucky guy he is.
Safe travels, we look forward to see where you head next.
I checked the map and it doesn’t look like we’ve had the pleasure of driving I-70 yet, but I-90 in Indiana was awful, so I’m starting to wonder whether it has something to do with Indiana?? For us, I-10 in the south has been really important. This was the third time we drove it, and I know so many others drive it heading out of Florida each year, so at least we all got some good news! Thanks, Louisiana!!
We keep trying to tell Thor how good he has it, but I don’t think he fully appreciates how spoiled he is. 🙂
Glad you didn’t get got by a twister! Weather woes are just so stupidly amplified in an RV.
Your stays at these great Florida parks have me itchy to get moving and hopeful we can still keep Florida on the itinerary this coming winter. You have to quit telling people how unpopulated the panhandle is, though. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with crowding and travel over the next year. And by interesting, I mean weird and probably annoying. All our usual tools for predicting are…gone. Great news about I-10! Creative re-routing is a pain in the tushie, so it’s good to know we won’t have to do that if we don’t want to.
A sixteen-alcohol-shot LIMIT. Sixteen. Six. Teen. I can’t even believe they serve someone EIGHT at one time.
We’ve never done a casino stay, but certainly know of them, and now I’ll have to look more closely at them as options.
Thanks for posting. This virtual travel is a lifeline right now!
I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about how RV travel is going to be impacted by all this, and I have to say: it’s not gonna be good. For any of us. I see demand going through the roof and prices doing the same. It’s gonna be ugly. So, it’s good if you have your winter route planned out because reservations are only going to get harder to come by.
As for casinos, they really have been a happy middle ground for us. They’re in a lot of places, they’ve all been well maintained, and we really like the security aspect.The other issue is everyone thinks of Walmarts when they think of free overnight parking. The downside is they are getting super crowded and localities are closing them down. Casinos, on the other hand, seem to be off most people’s radar. All the ones we’ve stopped at have been populated, but not crowded.
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts, Laura, and often show them to Ed, who had the same tow mechanism for his car and a Brake Buddy. He sold the RV a few months ago, however, it all still rings true. We are still hunkered down here in Alexandria, and anxiously awaiting when we can fly again. Stay safe.
Judy
Hey Judy! We’re constantly evaluating and reevaluating our RV plans. There is a lot to love about it, and a lot that wears us down. For right now, we’re just maintaining this holding pattern to see what happens next. I was just reading this morning about all the ways in which airline travel may change going forward. It’s gonna be like post-9/11 again. Crazy times…. Stay well!
Lovely pictures! Oh how things have changed in a short few months!
I know, right? It feels super weird to be writing these blog posts about a whole different world, but it kinda makes me feel better to think about something other than the pandemic and I enjoy reading other people’s “normal” posts too. Mentally, I think we all need a break from the bad news. Here’s hoping things return to “normal” sooner rather than later.
We had the experience of driving I-10 west New Orleans in 2015. Worst road ever! I’d like to see how that long causeway was redone, it had to be a major undertaking. You’ve offered some great campground ideas for when/if we make the trek to the SE next. San Diego County Parks opened this week for camping! We’ll be out there.
Oh, that’s great news! We stayed at Sweetwater Summit a couple years ago and loved it! San Diego has fabulous parks and I’m glad to hear you’ll be able to get out again. As for I-10, I think they must have started this project right after the last time we drove through. It was certainly massive from what I read. Apparently, the new governor came in, secured federal funding, and they just went to work. I’m sure it was highly disruptive while they were getting it done, but wow – what a difference it has made!
That crazy weather will curl your hair. We were disappointed to have to cancel our Topsail reservation but fun to see your pictures.
Crazy weather has certainly been a defining aspect of our travels. Those stormy days are unforgettable – and usually not in a good way.
I hope you guys get to visit Topsail and the other panhandle state parks at some point. They really are fantastic!
Nightmare traffic sounds like the dust storms they get our west. We traveled I-10 through LA in February 2019 and were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was, though they were still working on it in a few small places. Topsail was one of our favorite FL campgrounds.
We’ve been in dust storms before, but nothing like that, and we certainly didn’t expect them in Florida! Who knew?
I am still surprised that, of all the blogs I read and social media posts I see, no one had mentioned the I-10 repair anywhere! We had no idea, and we were honestly considering routing around it, but it just would have taken us so far out of our way, we decided to just hit it head on. What a fabulous surprise to have such a smooth drive!
What??? They finished the construction on I-10 through Louisana?? Hallelujah! That is truly a miracle. We still haven’t figured out what to do with all of the random screws and bolts from previous trips across that nightmare of an interstate.
Okay. Now for the really important part. Do NOT be telling people how awesome the Florida Panhandle is in winter. People are afraid of coming here because they think it is going to be cold, and we want them to continue believing that they are going to freeze their butts off if they are anywhere north of Ocala. In truth, it is pretty chilly at times, but that is a very good thing, because as my dad always said, it kills the bugs. We’ve been spending our winters here for years and we love it. But don’t tell!! Thor clearly knows just how great it is. He looks sooooo happy. Sandy and wet, but happy. :-))
LOL. I can totally see you and Shannon putting up signs all along I-10 warning tourists of locusts on the panhandle. “Keep driving. Do not stop for any reason!”
You’re right, though. It is nice to be in on this awesome little secret and let the masses head for the peninsula. The weather might not be quite as warm, but the lack of crowds and the gorgeous beaches make up for that. Alright, no more talk about the panhandle. Promise!
And yes, whenever you get out of there, you can rest assured that I-10 will no longer make you want to cry. Finally, some good news!!
We are isolating at my brother’s place in Sulphur, La.. and let me tell you there is still plenty of I-10 construction in this area. Badly needed construction indeed. The I-210 bridge bypass was literally falling down in chunks.
Yes, I went back and looked at the news article I found and it looks like they’re in Phase III now and it is expected to finish sometime in 2022. So, they’ve got a bit to go, but still – given how awful everything was, I am impressed with how much they’ve gotten done. The road we traveled was in great shape and there was minimal noticeable construction – honestly, we kept waiting for it to get bad and it just never did. And, who knows? Maybe they’ll be able to move the timeline up now that there’s less traffic on the road??
That photo at the top of your post basically sums up why we decided to establish a home base in the panhandle… that and the comments about how this area is surprisingly uncrowded in the winter. There are a few downsides, however, and one of them is the tornadoes. It turns out that southern Alabama and Georgia are a tornado hotspot so we get warnings all the time, even though being so close to the Gulf means that our weather patterns are moderated significantly by the water. I-10 is definitely in the danger zone so it’s smart that you found shelter quickly. All types of paradise come with major caveats, that’s for sure.
Oh, I totally get why you guys picked that region to set up a home base. It truly offers the best of all worlds and is a perfect solution to one of the big problems with our lifestyle. It’s funny you mention the crazy weather patterns because the first time we were in that area, in 2017, we had a bunch of crazy storms roll through. And this time, same thing. I think what surprised us most was that, both times, it was during the winter. I always think of tornadoes happening in late March, April, May…. not January and February, but I guess not. You are absolutely right that there are downsides to just about any location. You just have to prepare for them and pay attention.
I’m so glad for you guys that you could (mostly) stick to plan in Florida. We were there for three months, this winter, but missed out on all the sightseeing as we postponed the “fun” until March and then it was too late with everything closing down.
Many years ago, when visiting Orlando, Sealife was the only park my ex and I visited as well. I still haven’t been to any of the Disney Parks. (Too expensive).
I planned to ask you about the Pensacola beaches and whether they were dog-friendly, when I saw your mention and photos of that. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to visit the panhandle either. That had been on our winter list!
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park sounds and looks lovely. On one hand, we like boondocking and being flexible, never planning anything, in our van, but on the other hand, some of these places you stay at are like mini-vacations! While our approach to camping is simple and free, we never have the feeling that we are on vacation and we never splurge ourselves with restaurant visits or sites at lovely state parks… 🙁 One day! Like you say, there are pros and cons to everything.
To be clear, the place we went was Sea Life aquarium, which is a small indoor aquarium. There’s also Sea World which is the huge outdoor park. I’m thinking if you went to a park, it was probably Sea World.
As for Pensacola, many of the beaches are not dog friendly, but some are. You have to do a bit of research. There is an actual dog beach we visited that is right along Gulf Islands National Seashore (though, I believe it’s managed by the city of Pensacola), and within the National Seashore property, some trails are dog friendly, while others are not. You just have to do a little checking, but there are good options to be found.
It is definitely true that there are pros and cons to everything. When we started out, we thought we’d be boondocking everywhere and running around without reservations. What we quickly learned is there are many, many, many places we cannot go safely or easily. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve excitedly started reading up on some parcel of BLM land somewhere only to run into review after review that says some version of “I wouldn’t try this in a big rig!” While there are some folks who will do it anyway, we just don’t want to get stuck or put ourselves in a bad situation. So, we’ve accepted that 95% of the time, we are going to be in some sort of campground. Our preference is always government parks, but those are often tough to get into (especially with a bigger rig. You guys can fit into any spot. We can only fit into some spots.) So, when possible, I try to get us into state parks, but sometimes, we just go to private parks. Most of them are not as high end as PBRV, but occasionally, we do stay somewhere like that. It all just depends.
I want to go to Florida! BUT, I’m totally nervous about tornado, hurricane, fire, dust storm and BUG alerts. We had hoped to go there this winter, but don’t think it’s going to happen.
Oh the battery thing. Yes, we’ve had that happen before in our car. Now we carry a battery charger. AND it came in handy a few weeks ago when our new to us RV chassis batteries died. But I’m not going to get too confident, because something else will always surprise me.
I saw somewhere that you were headed north, possibly to Montana. Maybe we’ll see you up there. We hope to head that way later this summer.
Take care! 🙂
Florida is great for the winter – even with the occasional crazy weather, we love it. The state parks are as good as anywhere and there is just so much to see and do. You’ll need to start snagging reservations way ahead of time though, if you want to go in winter (though, this coming winter might have a ton of availability because of cancellations. Who knows??)
Having a battery charger with you is not a bad idea at all, especially since now, batteries just die without warning. If you’re driving around in the middle of nowhere, it’s smart to think about. We were lucky with all this in that we had the car and the motorhome together, so Kevin could use the RV to jump the car. That’s not always the case though, so having the charger is smart.
And yes – our current plan is to head to Montana for the Summer. We’re still working out the details of exactly how to get there, but if all goes well, we’ll be near Glacier NP in July/August. Keep me posted on your plans!
We spent the month of April two different years in Miramar Beach. We use to ride our bikes over and through Topsail. We loved the nestling sites like the one you had. April was about as early as we wanted head that far north. The weather could be shorts and tank tops or pants and sweatshirts. Winter aren’t very warm which I believe is why the Panhandle is more summer fun time. Glad you had such a wonderful time with your awesome parks. Love seeing Thor enjoying the ocean and beach. Glad I-10 is repaired now that we won’t be traveling that way with an MH ever again!! But good others can finally have a smooth ride. Safe travels where ever the road turns and stay safe and healthy.
Never say never, Pam. Never!!! (Ok, fine. Maybe not, but you never know.)
You’re probably right about the weather issue. Whenever we’ve been there, it’s generally been in the 60’s and 70’s, but I guess that is pretty chilly compared to farther south. And they certainly do get their fair share of bigger storms. Either way, with Kevin’s whole family in Florida, we know we’ll always be back and we’re happy to know driving I-10 won’t be such a nightmare anymore.
I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, too. We might be closer to your neck of the woods in the Fall. I’ll let you know when we figure things out!
I’m catching up on your blog posts, slowly but surely! I’m staying in FL till August at least, rented an airbnb apt for 2.5 months to see how things go with the virus and ends of lockdowns here in the South. Big plus of the airbnb is the central air, as you might imagine is a necessity in FL this time of year. But I digress.
I-10 doesn’t SUCK anymore? What??? I literally avoided the heck out of that road on my way to FL in Feb because I hated the Louisiana stretch so very much. So I am thrilled at your first-hand reporting of its improvement!
Hope all is well, and you’re enjoying wherever you are right now.
Hey Annie!
I think the Air BnB is a great idea, especially when you’re trying to stay in Florida. Had our Austin rental been a bit cheaper, we would have extended it, but financially, it just didn’t make sense (we were able to book a monthly stay in a nearby campground). Overall though, if you’re gonna stay in one place, especially a place with tough weather, better to be set up in a real home with real insulation and real AC/heat than try to tough it out in these RVs. As it is, we’re getting to the point of having to move north. It’s just too hot.
Anyway, I’m glad to hear you’re somewhere safe, stable, and comfortable, and whenever you DO get to head out, you can rest easy knowing that I-10 is no longer the nightmare hellscape you remember!
🙂
That traffic gridlock had me grimacing. You made up for it though with the great photos of Thor enjoying life. Always fun to read about your latest adventures. Your map on the side of the blog is truly impressive! Maybe at some point the dots will go further South and venture into Mexico.
Peta
Hey Peta,
We would definitely consider a trip into Mexico at some point. We crossed the border on foot in 2018 when we were staying in San Diego, but haven’t been down with the RV. Our main concern is just facilities – finding gas stations and campgrounds that can handle our set up can be tough. But I know there are plenty of people who head down there in rigs as large as ours. We’ll get there!! Hope you all are doing alright!