As we ended our second winter in Florida, we talked about wanting to stay put in one place in our third year.    At the time, we had two extensive trips in the planning phase:  2019 Maritimes where we would be gone for 10 weeks and Alaska 2020 where we will be out for just over 4 months.  While we love exploring Florida, reserving the top state parks and resorts is becoming more and more difficult with all the travelers and Florida residents seeking the same places.

In March we started looking for resorts in SW Florida where we could lease a spot for the entire winter.  We understood that we would have low seniority and would not be in a position to reserve a prime spot.  We also wanted to find a place where we felt welcome and could make new friends.  We explored a few options around Fort Myers and Naples.  Some we knew we would feel at home and others were too pretentious and not welcoming to our travel trailer.

We fell in love with Crystal Lake RV resort near Naples after spending a week there in March.  We even extended our stay by another week, cancelling a much-anticipated week in Disney Fort Wilderness.  We decided this was the one where we would “get on the list” for 2020. We even made an ownership offer on a lot, which was countered and we rejected.  We were not really ready for ownership anyway – or so we thought!

The months of April and May are nervous months for newer Florida snow bird planners, as resort reservation interests are collected, current renters are solicited and open spots are filled.   The anticipation is palpable.  We were already making reservations across the state in case we were not able to find a spot in Crystal Lake.

When we called the reservation office the first week in June, we were told there was a spot off lake for us! We were relieved.  During the course of the reservation confirmation call, we were asked if we were the individuals that had made the offer on a specific lakefront lot.  Well, yes we were.  And from that phone conversation, we are now on a new journey.

It seems that the current owners (who still had the lot up for sale), had not received the down payment required from their long term renters.  The office indicated that the owners were motivated.  We submitted another offer immediately and we are now the proud owners of our own slice of heaven!

We are excited to make this spot our new winter home.  We are property owners in Florida!  Can we say we are semi-Floridian?  Stay tuned for more details as we head south in a few days!