Last weekend, Tom and I journeyed to Tampa for my friend Devora's 30th birthday party. Obviously, no trip is complete without a state park visit! We decided to camp at Little Manatee River about 45 minutes outside of the University of South Florida in Tampa. It was $22.00 a night to camp and $6.00 a carload to get in if you were not camping.The campsites were very nice, with plenty of shrubbery between each one. There was an electrical bo
x for RV hookups -- we were able to plug our new radio into it! Also included was a picnic table and a fire ring. What I liked best about this park is it is exactly like what I pictured state parks would look like. All the buildings had a tall, slant roof like a triangle. They were green and brown in color. The women's bathroom (and possibly the men's) had a "book exchange" hanging from the wall as you walked in, which I thought was a very nice touch. There was even a book in it! If I would have known, I would have brought some of the ones I am donating...oh well. There was also laundry facilities next to the bathroom.
x for RV hookups -- we were able to plug our new radio into it! Also included was a picnic table and a fire ring. What I liked best about this park is it is exactly like what I pictured state parks would look like. All the buildings had a tall, slant roof like a triangle. They were green and brown in color. The women's bathroom (and possibly the men's) had a "book exchange" hanging from the wall as you walked in, which I thought was a very nice touch. There was even a book in it! If I would have known, I would have brought some of the ones I am donating...oh well. There was also laundry facilities next to the bathroom.During the day we took a nice canoe ride up the river. My friends from college, Josh
and Amanda, went with us. It was Josh's first time canoeing! What I liked most about the river was all the shade, it was a cool and peaceful ride. All four of us piled into Tom's canoe -- there are three really nice ones on site that you can rent for only $5.00 a hour (what a deal!), but it was raining so the park ranger wouldn't let us have one. We went upstream first for about an hour, so going back took us about a half hour. There were a lot of very large spider webs -- if you don't like spiders, don't look up! Oh, and I had to take a picture of the turtle crossing at the crosswalk -- this turtle knows how to cross the road!
and Amanda, went with us. It was Josh's first time canoeing! What I liked most about the river was all the shade, it was a cool and peaceful ride. All four of us piled into Tom's canoe -- there are three really nice ones on site that you can rent for only $5.00 a hour (what a deal!), but it was raining so the park ranger wouldn't let us have one. We went upstream first for about an hour, so going back took us about a half hour. There were a lot of very large spider webs -- if you don't like spiders, don't look up! Oh, and I had to take a picture of the turtle crossing at the crosswalk -- this turtle knows how to cross the road!All in all, I enjoyed the serenity of this trip. There were probably only about 10 other campsites reserved, normally when I go other places it seems like they are all full. It would be nice to go back and go on a longer canoe ride, I think we could have gone farther!
Til next time,
The camping bug
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