After spending the summer in Nebraska we just returned the to the Florida Keys.
We are leaving in the morning for the Nascar races in Homestead. Is anyone here going? If so we will be east end of the campground. Look us up.

Tim,

It looks like we're headed for the Keys in Jan/Feb.....Any recommendations for a good campground to base from for 3-5 days? (Mainly walking/biking/laying out - no night life planned....)

Tim, We'll be there Thursday about noon. Staying in the RV Camping area thru the weekend. Cell # 941-544-4608. Hope to see ya there. Danny Zeeff

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

Lee,
Some of the campgrounds have somehurricane damage and were closed,but I haven't been back long enough to know the status of any of them. I will find out and let you know.
Danny
We will be there thru the weekend also I am sure we will be able to get together. See you there

Lee, starting from Largo, you have Pennekamp State Park, which had very limited camping last time I was there. Then Islamorada has a few, I'm thinking this is where the KOA might be, but no sure references in this area. Knights key at the south end of Marathon should still be open then but will be gone by March so some rich sumbiches can build condos and get richer. Across the seven mile bridge will be Sunshine Campground, we used to stay there back in the late 70's but I have no idea what to expect there now. Bahia Honda State Park is pretty nice, but not much to do if you don't have a boat. Sugarloaf KOA is the southernmost KOA and only about 20 miles or less from Key West. Very nice, and very expensive. Before using any of this info to make plans, bear in mind that things change rapidly in this part of the country and you have to make early reservations and check often on the status. FWIW, Check out the Collier Seminole State Park south of Naples on 41. Wonderful hiking, canoe and kayak rentals, Everglades tour boat, everything South Florida has to offer. Again, get in your reservations early. Your timeframe is the same as about 70 gazzilion other travelers, so you have to beat out 69.99999 of them. Hope this helps, Danny

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

Geeeeze Danny, sure sounds like you've Been- There-Done-That a time or two.!......Thanks for all the leads. Now I need to start surfin' & making reservations. Since I'm a "typical" Barth owner, money is no object, so I'd like to stay at a nice place for a few days to just lay back & soak-up the ambiance - never been south of Ft. Lauderdale.......

Is there any particular reason to go all the way to Key West, or can I experience the keys at a half-way point or so?....How about Jan. vs. Feb. for crowds...any difference?

Thanks again!

Hey Lee, We're packing for Homestead so I don't have time right now, but next week I'd be glad to give you any input you might find usefull. Feel free to contact me direct.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

Hey Danny:
Sounds like you know your way around Florida. I have some work to do in Cape Coral for about 3 months. Was thinking about bringing the Barth and staying in it, instead of a Motel. Do you know of any good parks on the West Coast near Cape Coral I could look into? Plan on leaving Georgia the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Would love to go to the race but can't get out of town in time. Will have to wait for Tal in the spring.

ED.

Hey Ed, I'm not too familiar with that area but I'm pretty sure you'll want reservations way in advance, much like the rest of this overcrowded state. We don't usually do Dega in the spring but if the opportunity arises you never know.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

Deb&Eds35
I lived in Cape Coral from 1992 till last year so I'll try and help you. Cape Coral is loaded with code restrictions and is not user friendly to recreational vehicles. There are no camp grounds in the city. Most cc are located in Fort Myers Beach or south Fort Myers area and cater to the seasonal "Snow Bird" trade. One cc that comes to mind is located just above North Fort Myers on route 41. It is 15 to 20 minutes from Cape Coral,no toll bridges,close to grocery and other shopping, yet out in the peace and quiet. As many times as I drove by I never went in but it always looked good from the highway. The location leads me to think the rates would be less than in the "tourist traps" Give them a call............
Sunseekers RV Park
16555 Tamiami Trail (Rt.41)
North Fort Myers, FL
(941) 731-1303
.......carl

"THE TOY" 88 33' Regal SE Coach #3448

[This message has been edited by carlflack (edited November 17, 2005).]

[This message has been edited by carlflack (edited November 17, 2005).]

Regarding RV spots in Cape Coral / Ft. Myers: yes, Sunseekers is good, and since we live just a few miles from that spot, I would be happy to check it out for you.
Others in the same area - mapquest can help you decide which is close to your work.
1. Tamiami Village RV Park - 16555 N. Cleveland Ave, 239-997-2697
2. Upriver Campgrounds - 17021 Upriver Dr.
239-543-3330
3. Raintree RV - 19250 N Tamiami Trail, 239-731-1441
4. New Garden RV - 2830 Garden St. 239-995-7417
5. KOA - Ft Myers/Pine Island - 5120 Strinfellow Rd, St. James City - 239-283-2415 [unless your work was in north Cape Coral - this would be a 30 - 45 min. drive each way]

There are a good dozen others in south Ft. Myers / Ft. Myers / Pine Island but those above are in North Ft. Myers with easy access to Cape Coral.

Our Barth is currently in storage at Tamiami RV.

Make some calls or check the internet, I would be happy to get info for you.

Thom

Returned tonight from a very exciting race weekend in Homestead. We got to meet Tim and his wife, {sorry, I'm terrible with names}, and was given the tour of their very nice 84 Regency. I never knew they slept 16! Saw another DP, maybe a breakaway, front entry 30 footer. Very nice folks but again, the names escape me. Got some great pix with the film camera so I have to get a disc made to share some Barth-Race pix with you all.
What was otherwise a perfect weekend was horribly marred by last nights helicopter crash. We were actually watching as one chopper just came right down on top of the other the bottom one dropped like a rock while the top one went forward and down. The one that went straight down hit an RV but there was no explosion, but they did say there was a fire. I didn't see flames but there was a lot of smoke and dust. We figured this to be about 500 feet from us and even closer to Tim's gang. WAY too close! Incredibly, the pilot of the bottom chopper was the only fatality, and he went down in the only place where there wasn't a ton of people and wall to wall RV's filled with fuel. It was, and I hope it remains, the most horrifying thing I've ever seen.
Anyway, the Barth performed perfectly, the weather threatened but only poseponed Friday nights race, and we got to meet a bunch of new folks. We were in with a bunch of friends, old and new, that lean toward 5th wheel rigs, and I gotta say, these things have come a long way. A 38 with 4 slides is like being in a house!! Oh yeah, my homemade Genturi worked great and had evrybody checking it out so they could make one too. Thanks to all who posted pix and info so I could whip one together and save a note or so. I'll post the pix asap.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

The first thing I thought was "where's Danny" I said a prayer for the pilot and while looking at the pictures I thought the same thing. There wasn't much room for the helicopters around all of those RV's.

I'm glad there wasn't more of a tragedy and that you were alright! It doesn't take much at an event like that. I think another NASCAR driver died that way to.

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http://www.truckroadservice.com/

One of my all time favorite drivers, Davey Allison, was killed when he crashed his chopper at Talledega. The big difference was the track was mostly empty because it was not a race weekend, Davey and Red Farmer were just coming in for some testing, and Davey just lost control of his new chopper. I believe that if you check the records, the investigation showed that Davey never should have had control of the chopper with a passenger with the amount of training he had at the time.
At the risk of raising the blood pressure of some, may I humbly use this disaster to relate to the RV industry. It is perfectly legal and acceptable to have a drivers license to drive a Honda Civic, win the Lotto, buy a behemoth coach, and hit the highway. I don't want the government to step in and make this a new hurdle for responsible folks to jump through, but I would like to see the RV manufacturers and Dealers step up the training and education of new owners before turning them loose with a potential 40+ foot road missile.
Don't crucify me! I'm just venting!

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Zeeff:
Oh yeah, my homemade Genturi worked great and had evrybody checking it out so they could make one too.

Danny, are vertical gen stacks required or do just the nice guys use them?

I know of some dog shows that require them.



[This message has been edited by bill h (edited November 22, 2005).]