What would you do?

We are going to be going south (from Maine) for about three months during this winter. We're not leaving until after Christmas. We want to be here with the kids and grandkids for the holidays. We have no reservations, and are not sure whether we want to stay in one place for the entire 3 months, or travel here and there. It would seem that staying in one place would be less expensive. What would you do and where would you go, if you were doing what we are planning to do?

A couple years ago, we spent three months in the Florida area (Jan - Mar). It was our fist time there. We traveled SLOWLY for those three months. Never had a reservation (except once). We stayed mostly at military campgrounds and had at least electric most of the time. Some places, we had to wait a few days in dry-camp to move up to a hook-up.

Here was our basic stops. Remember, we didn't have reservations:

• Blue Angel, Pensacola - FHU
  
• Oak Grove, Pensacola - FHU (DID make reservation 2 days in advanced)
  
• Hurlburt Field FamCamp - FHU
  
• Tyndall AFB FamCamp - FHU
  
• Manatee Springs State Park - Dry
  
• Escapee Park - FHU
  
• McDill AFB FamCamp - Electric only
  
• Everglades - Dry
  
• Sigsbee - Dry
  
• Private RV Park - $$ - FHU
  
• Manatee Cove, Patrick AFB - Dry, then FHU
  
• Pelican's Roost, Mayport - FHU, then Dry

We plan to return to the SouthEast next winter and spend a few months exploring it again. We're also used to dry camping and are a bit equipped for it.

Thanks for the return info. I am sure that once we strike out and see what comes, we'll be okay. We don't have a generator, but we have dry camped (wal-mart; flyingJ; etc.) before, but not for extended periods. We've got a hard copy of the most recently published Military RV Campground book, so, between that and this website, we figure we ought to be okay. If we can't find a spot in a FAMCAMP, we ought to be able to find one in a civy park nearby. I'm hoping to keep some kind of a log or journal to maintain a record of the trip for future reference. Thanks again.

Lots of places in the south are "Full" in the sense that you can't call and make a reservation for "days or weeks" at a time -- so the phone person says "FULL" ... but usually, you can at least find an open spot for one night no matter where you are -- and often you can go to an "overflow" even in private or state campgrounds for one night at least... And, I' ve never been to a military campground that does not have an overflow for "waiting" ... I've been traveling the southern states for five or six years in the winters and always find a spot for a night at least to rest and then search later if I need to. If you decide to spend some time in an area, then I recommend a reservation if you can get it, but general traveling -- I'd not worry too much. Sometimes I spend a month or more in an area, but then I try to guarrantee it ahead of time ... but I'm usually not one for reservations and always seem to get a spot somehow ...

I'm sure you are probably right. This may not be the proper place to metion this, but if you are travelling east/west along I-10 in north florida, and you are looking for a place to park for the night, there is a Christian community (called Dowling Park) not far from Live Oak. They do not advertise their campground, but they do have one with about 15 spaces, two of which have 50 amp service, the remainder have 30 amp. You must be 55 or better, and they expect that any camper will respect their Christian values. You will be welcomed there and it may be strategically located as you travel between the military parks in north florida. Check out the Advent Christian Village in Dowling Park Florida on the internet and it will give you numbers, addresses, etc. Thanks for your response.

Just my thought on this one, but if you are worried about the cost of moving the camper from one campground to the next, you might want to think about spending more than one night at places along your route.

Like if you are heading South on I-95 why not stop in VA and spend a week instead of just a night, then on to the Carolinas, and GA and so on until you hit FLA. There are 3 Military RV parks in Jacksonville alone that won't take you too far off the main highway. The only problem with this solution is that if you have a destination and date in mind you will have to plan ahead, or leave early. On the bright side you can do the same thing on the way home so you are ahead of the traffic, and still heading home.

This is sort of like the go grocery shopping on the way home from work to save gas thing, but you are heading to and from a winter destination.