Well as the first of February rolled around we knew it was time to depart but before we left we made the rounds to say goodbye to our new found RV friends at Imperial Bonita Estates. As kind of an added bonus we also were able to meet up with some fellow bloggers Steve and Mona Liza of The Lowe’s RV Adventures during our stay at IBE. In fact we discovered they were parked further down the same street we were situated upon. They hosted a happy hour at their RV and included us with some of their friends. We had a fun visit sharing a few stories as to how we all ended up where we are… 
We also took one more walk down to the Imperial River to enjoy one last look at the Manatees that wander up the river. There were at least 15 of them this time and clearly many of them had their babies in tow. A pair of them were practically covered in barnacles. I had never seen that before but apparently it is fairly common for those that prefer the marine environment. Interestingly, the barnacles will actually drop off once the manatee starts spending more time in fresh water environments.
We had a blast at Imperial Bonita Estates but on January 31st I decided to pack up all our outside stuff. I was a bit surprised with how much more packing was
required due to our two month stay. Once we were all packed, the next morning we headed north out of Bonita Springs to drive the less than 60 miles to Labelle, Florida. We chose this location to see what some of the interior parks were like and also because we scored some free nights camping from the Tampa RV Show. Whisper Creek RV Park is not any different from any other 55+ RV parks in that it is mostly a park model community. There is plenty to do in the park but with monthly rates only slightly
less than Imperial Bonita Estates we would likely never winter here because we like being close to the beaches. Nonetheless, we do plan to enjoy our four day stay… Our first day at Whisper Creek we headed back south by car to check out the Fort Myer’s Brewing Company. I tried to visit this brewery once before but it was closed the day I visited. We happened by the exit to it on our drive from Bonita Springs in the RV and it reminded me we had never returned to try it. We decided this was the perfect opportunity after setting up to take the drive over to sample their wares… Several of the beers we not to our taste but two of them stood out to us. Sharon loved the Tamiami Tan and the Black Double IPA was the one I found to be very tasty…
Back at the park we settled in and watched a great sunset… just another wow day in the lives of two full time RV’ers…
Love relocating and trying new beer two great things that you got accomplished.
ReplyDeleteManatees crack me up. They have the littlest head with the biggest body.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy your new site.
That's interesting about the barnacles.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your favorite ocean fishing camp sites?
ReplyDeleteHow exciting you got to meet MonaLiza and Steve. We will be meeting them mid-Feb. Is most of the RVing community wintering in Florida this year? We seem to be headed counter-clockwise from everyone else. We are in Clearwater visiting friends and heading to Naples tomorrow. Enjoy your time in Labelle. :)
ReplyDeleteWow about the Manatee so close. I wonder if they are there every year or if this year, being particularly cold is what brought them in. Good for you in scoring those free nights. Always a great thing. I don't seem to have figured out how to do that despite being at the Supershow 3 times now. David would love to go Brewerying with you. Is that a word?
ReplyDeleteWe had a wonderful short time with you, John and Sharon and we did wish we had more time. Our meeting was just too short and we have so much stories to share. Lets keep an eye on each other, who knows we will be neighbors again somewhere.
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