NOLA to Lake Worth Florida

The drive from NOLA to Lake Worth Florida is about 750 miles. Certainly too far for us to drive in one day. So we made an adventure out of it.

On our way to New Orleans from Lake Okeechobee actually stopped at the same two campgrounds to break up the long drive. It felt a little weird being on the move again after spending a little over five months in NOLA. It was actually bittersweet leaving a place that has become a second home to us.

We arrived in New Orleans on January 10 and had planned on staying just past Mardi Gras. But we were having so much fun and never seem to run out of things to do there. So when Steve asked me if I wanted to stay longer so we could finally attend our first Jazz Fest, I immediately shouted yes, yes, yes!!!

Then he was asked to work with a friend doing renovations on a house or two there. And he was thrilled. So two months ended up being a little over 5!

By the time we pulled out of our site at 3 Oaks and a Pine, I was ready to get back on the road. We knew that, G-d willing, we will return to The Big Easy mid October for a couple of months, but we still felt a tug at our hearts as we drove off on our way back to visit our friends and family in South Florida.

Our first stop for the night was in Holt, FL at River’s Edge RV Campground. It was great having a pull through site at both of our stops. That meant we didn’t need to unhook our Jeep, so less work for Steve.

We had picked up Central Grocery Muffaletta so we had dinner in the fridge for one night and lunch for another day. And since we were leaving in the morning, we didn’t even open our living room slide out.

The campground was everything you want for camping. Lots of trees and a beautiful river. The Yellow River had a boat launch and lots of Cypress trees growing right out of the water. We took Hershi for a nice long walk and explored the campgrounds. That is until we heard thunder. Then we high tailed it back to the shelter of Ladybug.

After a great night’s sleep we drove off in the morning to continue our journey. Our second stop was in Mayo FL at the Suwannee River Rendezvous Resort and Campground. The first time we stayed there it was just for the night. We knew that we wanted to return and enjoy the facilities, so we planned on two nights for our return visit.

This place has absolutely everything to make your stay fun and relaxing. It’s right on the Suwannee River, there’s a natural spring that’s always at 72 degrees, several pools and hot tubs, a restaurant and lots of fun activities.

Our first dinner at Suwannee River Rendezvous was enjoyed under the stars. We picked up our order of a Cheeseburger and Cheese Steak both with Fries and found seats at a table overlooking the natural spring. It was such a gorgeous setting! And eating outside made the food taste even better.

While we were there there was karaoke one night and a day time homing pigeon race where you captured your own pigeon to chose the one racing for you. Fun stuff. But what we really needed was a day of chillaxing by the pool. So that’s just what we did. We spent hours enjoying the refreshing salt water pool and making lots of new friends at the same time. But just as the day before – thunder and lightning put an abrupt stop to our pleasure. It also ended our plans for a return visit to Grandma Susie’s Cookin’ Shack for dinner. Thankfully, the fridge and pantry were well stocked, so I threw something together for dinner.

We left in the morning to continue on to John Prince Park Campground in Lake Worth FL.

Arriving at our campsite in the late afternoon gave us plenty of time to rest up from our drive. But again, we didn’t put out our living room slide because the next morning Ladybug was getting brand new shoes (tires). Since we had to take her to Callahan’s in Riviera Beach, we didn’t really set anything up, which saved us a good bit of time in the morning.

Back at the campsite, Steve hit the button to put that living room slide out. The slide went halfway out and stopped dead. Yikes!!! Now our entire living room, dinette and kitchen were open to the sky. Obviously we couldn’t let it stay that way. But at that point the slide would not come back in.

We must have a guardian angel because a camper right near us saw our predicament and offered to help. He had spent a year working as an RV mechanic. He tapped something under the slide and Voila! out the slide went. Apparently a slide wheel had hung up on something, preventing proper operation.

One of the things we love about RVing is that the people in the parks are so friendly and helpful. Things breakdown whether you live in a sticks and bricks or an RV. Knowing how to do your own repairs or finding friendly knowledgable neighbors is what makes all the difference between panic mode and going with the flow.