We woke up to a sunny morning at our new site. We got the coffee going in the french press ( which our Polish friends have become fond of as well) and settled in at our picnic table. Simon, who we met last night, and his girlfriend Melissa joined us with cups in hand. She and Simon are from Canada and are doing a similar trip to ours in a Subaru with a sleeping platform in the back and storage on the roof. Melissa has aspirations to own her own farm and Simon works in sound and music. As we were chatting, Greg said, “Hey is that Chris?” We looked over and in fact it was! We called him over and spent a few minutes catching up.

As we looked around at our surroundings, Francis and I realized that despite the flush toilets and shower, this campground is not as pretty as the family one we went to the night before. That one had a nice pond, fewer RVs, and prettier scenery. We told the others about it and we all decided to move over there. After a shower of course!

When we arrived, the gate was locked. Francis hopped the fence and went to talk with the camp host. The camp host was not there but a fellow camper named Dan filled him in. It turned out it should have been locked the night before. Although you can stay free for up to 7 days you need to register at the Visitor center and get the combination. Once that was done, we selected adjoining campsites with plenty of sun and a view of the pond and settled into our new home. It was nice and quiet with only a few campsites filled.

Simon and Melissa joined us at the campfire that evening. Simon mentioned he was from Prince Edward Island. I asked if that was where the Anne of Green Gables stories were set. He looked a bit pained and said yes. It turns out he had just finished doing the sound for a play based on the books and is pretty tired of it. Towards the end of the evening, Simon noticed a pair of eyes in the water which the guys all believed was the resident alligator.

Our campsite at the family campgrounds at Dupuis

Bundled up because it’s still chilly in this part of Florida