Our last few nights it has been colder here than anywhere else we have been so far in Florida but of course we are now some 300 miles north of Bonita Springs. It has been raining here as well at the Williston Crossings RV Resort but that didn’t stop us from taking a day trip over to Gainesville, Florida for some shopping and a visit to a local craft brewery.
Before I talk about our day trip i wanted to mention that this RV park is huge! It is also for the most part very full. Most of the sites are also huge with lots of space
between rigs. The facilities are top notch and the heated pool is the largest we have encountered in Florida. We are taking advantage of their attractive one week rate special of $109 per week for newcomers and have no reason to believe that we won’t enjoy our weeks stay here. On our rainy Saturday we headed over to Gainesville, home of the University of Florida. We won’t be visiting this campus since we have visited it many times before during our days of chasing Katie around to watch her play collegiate softball. Our goal on this trip was to restock some of our specialty food items and supplies. Thus we planned to shop at the local Sam’s Warehouse and the recently built Trader Joe’s.
There was lots of traffic in Gainesville and we decided there was too much congestion so after buying some goodies, some beer and wine we opted not to
go to a grocery store as originally planned. Since it was nearing 4:00 pm we found the Swamp Head Brewery instead! We love having the opportunity to visit these mom and pop breweries. And in most cases we rewarded with some pretty tasty products. Swamp Head Brewery was no exceptions as the beers we sampled were good, not great, but good nonetheless. The only knock on this place was that it was packed and the bartenders couldn’t keep up with the required service. So we only had a couple tasters and one pint each. I would still recommend this one to those who enjoy crafted beers… Now if only there were more breweries near our resort to visit during our one week stay…
NOTE: Header is Williston Crossings RV Resort and other pictures are from Fort Franklin and Hillsborough River State Park since it was raining here…
I am following your travels very closely because we will be in the same areas this time next year. I have booked two, two week stays in Southern Florida and am looking into other interesting places. We will need to find some bargin spots after four weeks in the Keys, even if they are at State Parks!
ReplyDeleteBe careful with a lot of the Florida Spate Parks as many are not very big rig friendly...
DeleteGreat weather for shopping and craft breweries. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Gainesville but a rate like that might motivate me. That's about $15 a night for full hook ups. wonder why they offer it if they are huge and full up? Lucky you to have found that bargain. I'd sure like to know how Merikay got 4 weeks in state parks in the Keys. I've been trying to do that for years with ZERO luck.
ReplyDeleteHey John. Check out the current issue of nature.com for an interesting story on Isle Royale wolves. Enjoy the trek to NOLA
ReplyDeleteyep, read that and an interesting read it was...
DeleteWe have friends staying there, Burke and Gail Mason, from Ontario. If you happen to see them, give them regards from Kay and Donald from Bentsen Palm Village, and let them know we have their "eggies".
ReplyDeletethis is a really huge park but we will look out for them and if we find them we will give them the message...
DeleteYour description makes me think this is a better park than IBE.
ReplyDelete