From the Keys, I moved back up to the mainland, drove west on Alligator Alley (there were no alligators) to Naples and stayed at Lake San Marino RV Resort. This park is really a mobile home community with several empty sites they rent to travelers. Its only downfall was a gravel/sand plant next door that produced a lot of dust that covered everything in sight. If I stayed any longer, I would have been concerned about breathing it for too long.

My spot at Lake San Marino RV Resort in Naples, FL. Not truly camping since it’s a mobile home park with rental sites for RVs.

Naples proved to be an ideal location for easy access to Everglades activities and several beautiful gulf coast beaches, including the famed Sanibel Island, a place I’ve wanted to visit for most of my adult life. In fact, I had planned a trip there for my 25th anniversary. My husband and I usually went to the Caribbean but he had been battling cancer for nearly four years and didn’t want to leave the U.S. in case he needed to be hospitalized. He actually wound in the hospital the week we should have been away so the trip was canceled. It was a little bittersweet to be there without him.

A sandpiper on Sanibel beach.

The reason I’d always wanted to visit was for the seashells—Sanibel is ranked as one of the best seashell beaches in the world. Well, there were plenty of shells but not many worth bringing home. I learned that you have to time your “shelling” with a great deal of planning. Very early in the morning after a good storm is when the best shells are deposited. They’re also mostly under water and not on the beach. It’s best to snorkel for your treasure. But all was not lost because there’s a lighthouse on the beach so my visit can be considered a success.

Sanibel Island is one of the top seashell locations in the world.

Sanibel Lighthouse.

On the bay side of Sanibel Island is J.D. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. They have a four mile “Wildlife Drive” that winds through the refuge with views of the mangrove swamps. It costs $5 but I used my National Park Pass for free entry. I didn’t see any wildlife but it was a nice way to see what Florida must have looked like before we built all the condos.

Mangrove swamp at J.D. “Ding” Dearling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.

Roots of a mangrove tree.

I took a couple airboat rides in the Everglades through Captain Jack’s Airboat Tours in Everglades City. It was a package that included a mangrove tour, a grassland tour, and a swamp buggy tour.

Airboat tour of the Everglades.

The mangrove tour was an educational ride through the tunnels of the mangrove trees with stories and folklore about the Everglades. The only wildlife I saw was a family of raccoons that are fed by the captain so they’ll always be found in the same spot for the tourists. I didn’t care because I got my only photos of animals in “the wild.”

Family of raccoons in the Everglades.

Raccoon in the Everglades.

Captain Ken telling stories about life in the Everglades.

The grassland tour was an adrenaline junkie’s good time. We raced through waterways only a foot deep getting up to about 30 or 40 MPH and did 360 degree spins. It was great fun!

Click on image to watch the video of my exciting airboat ride.

My crazy airboat driver.

The swamp buggy tour was a little boring as we took a drive through the forest—not the swamp—sitting high enough to be brushed by tree branches.

Swamp buggy.

No swamp but a nice ride through the forest at a height that kept us away from the snakes.

These last two tours were out of Wooten’s, a neighboring venue. They also have an animal attraction that includes alligators (naturally) and even a lion, although I don’t think they’re “native.”

One day I visited the truly spectacular beaches of Marco Island. Access is a bit easier if you stay at one of the hotels right on the beach but there’s a parking lot at Tigertail Beach Park that costs $8; then you need to walk about a half mile to the gulf beach. The sand is pure white and powdery and the water is “Coke bottle” green. I took a photo of the beach to show how few people were there and a runner in my shot asked me to send him the photo because he wanted to prove to people that he runs even on vacation. He was a realtor from Washington, D.C. so I got his contact information for my son when he’s ready to buy a house in that area. I make friends everywhere!

Marco Island, FL.

The nearly deserted beach at Marco Island. The runner on the beach stopped and asked for a copy of this photo.

I had lunch one day on the beach at Delnor-Wiggins Pass in the Naples area, still on my quest to break even on my State Park Pass.

Lunch at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park.

Just up the road a couple miles, in Bonita Springs, I discovered Everglades Wonder Gardens, a small family-operated zoo and botanical garden. This is one of those iconic roadside attractions that proved to be a thoroughly delightful experience with the usual collection of alligators, lions, tropical birds and exotic plants but for me, the best attraction was the flamingo pond. They aren’t fenced in so visitors can cautiously approach the birds and see them up close. What a wonderful experience for a flamingo addict like me! (For those who don’t know me, my motorhome is decorated with flamingos.)

Peacock showing off like a…well, like a peacock!

This guy had his eye on me. Maybe its because we have similar hairstyles. At least my skin is better!

Beautiful Cannas surrounding the flamingo pond.

I was really in my element at the flamingo pond. These are my “peeps.”

The graceful necks create a heart.

Lovely natural setting for the flamingos.

My peculiar taste in home decor: I reupholstered the dinette ad sofa in my motorhome.

The motorhome sofa.

My flamingo LED string lights under the awning. I also have a couple flamingo wind chimes.

After a week, it was time to move north to the Clearwater area where I stayed at a KOA campground in Palm Harbor. KOAs are known for their amenities and this one offered landscaped sites complete with paver patios and furniture. From this location I was able to meet up with a couple friends who live in the area.

KOA campgrounds are known for their nice amenities including paver patios and furniture provided.

Yve (pronounced E-Vee) is a woman I met when I took the motorhome cross country in 2016. We were neighbors in a campground in Crescent City, California and hit it off from the minute we met. We’ve stayed in touch through Facebook and now we had an opportunity to have lunch together and catch up on things.

This is the day I met Yve at a campground on the Pacific Ocean in California in 2016.

Yve and I at lunch in Tarpon Springs, FL.

I had dinner with my childhood friend Diane and her husband Kenny. Diane and I grew up together in New Jersey (she’s actually my youngest sister’s best friend) and our families have remained close over the years. It was wonderful visiting their home and reminiscing about our youth.

Diane on right along with my two younger sisters in my family’s camper circa 1970.

Dinner with Diane and her husband, Kenny in Clearwater, FL.

Honeymoon Island State Park is another well-kept secret in the Clearwater area.

When I was nine years old and my sister Katy was seven, we went to Florida with our grandparents for Easter vacation. On that trip we visited Weeki Wachee Springs and saw the famous mermaid show then we spent our summer pretending to be mermaids in our backyard pool. I’ve always had fond memories of it so I went back and was not disappointed. The show was just as enjoyable as an adult as it had been as a child.

The famous Weeki Wachee Mermaids.

River boat cruises on the Weeki Wachee River are included with admission to the park.

Weeki Wachee Springs is operated by the State Parks so this was another free admission for me with my State Park Pass. Included with admission is a lovely little boat ride on the Weeki Wachee River. The water here is crystal clear and the river is very shallow so you can easily see fish and plants. I was taking photos over the railing of the boat when my lens fell off the camera and sank to the bottom of the river. Yikes! (That’s not what I actually said.) Grateful that I had not brought my most expensive lens, I was still bummed because it was my favorite. The water was clear enough to see it sitting on the bottom but there was no way to retrieve it and it would be useless after being submerged. I suppose it’s now an anecdote on the tour.

I lost my favorite lens over the side of the boat!

My route from Fiesta Key to Naples and then Palm Harbor.

Upcoming post:

Ocala National Forest and Silver Springs.

My name is Lindsay Reed and I’m a photographer and retired graphic artist with a passion for both lighthouses and road trips. I am living as a full-time solo RVer in my 31 foot Coachmen motorhome and plan to spend the next few years traveling the U.S. and Canada photographing not only lighthouses, but everything else there is to see in this wonderful land. I hope you enjoy my blog and will follow my adventures in the months and years ahead.