Back to the Sunshine State

~Saturday, February 13, 2021~

Day 244 (Travel Day)

Breaking down in a light rain, we left our Okefenokee Campground to head back into Florida. Yes folks, crazy route, I know. We didn’t think that we’d be staying this far south this long, but with a polar vortex looming everywhere but here, it looks like we’re keepin’ it in the Sunshine State a little longer.

The drive today was a little over 3 hours to a town I had never heard of before called Apopka. The reason we chose this was wanting to be closer to Orlando as we head back south. And there just happened to be a little gem of a campground that we discovered in our research. Magnolia Park Campground is set inside a county park with lush, live oak surroundings and an abundance of curious peacocks. There is a large pond in the center of the park with plenty of greenery around to cop a squat or throw a frisbee. Getting into site #16 went without any glitches. This park is small (only 18 sites), but packs in a lot of beauty along with the necessities…...30A/50A hookups and water (no sewage). Most of the sites are very private and spaced nicely apart. County parks have definitely stayed under our radar. We’ve only stayed at a few on the trip so far, so will definitely have to keep these at the top of our list. And their low campground fees make them even more attractive. The only downside to our stay here is that the adjacent Lake Apopka (about 31,000 acres) is closed for beach renovations and water quality management. We hope to be back to take advantage of the many hiking/biking/horseback riding trails that loop this diamond in the rough.

We also came to the realization that we were not going to check out the amusement parks this go around. We just can’t justify spending $200/person for 1 day at Universal Studios. We’d rather wait until we’re with family and the grandkids to make it really worthwhile. Crazy expensive….how do these young families afford it?

After setup, we took a look around this beautiful park, letting Sadie have her way with squirrel chasing (not too close to the pond 🐊) while we enjoyed the friendly, roaming peacocks…...and they are everywhere. Sadie didn’t seem too interested in them maybe because they’re close to her size and they don’t run fast. What is it about squirrels? Just the mention of the word sends Sadie into a tizzy.