When we planned our Nov 17 arrival at the Seminole Campground we thought we would be one of the last to arrive. Au contraire! On November 17 the park was only about a third full. It didn’t really fill up until after Christmas.
Anyway, we have been here for nearly 8 weeks now, so I feel qualified to give a full report
The Weather
Hands down, the best thing about the campground is the weather. Perhaps this perception is magnified by the shitty weather that the entire northern 95% of the country has experienced so far this year, but I think most anyone would think it was pretty nice regardless. Most days have been in the 80’s and most nights have been in the 60’s. One day had a high of 58 and the lowest low has been in the 40’s. I watched the snowy Pittsburgh/Miami game on December 8 while sitting on my patio in my shorts and t-shirt, drinking a cold brew. Because I could. I really enjoyed that game.
As I write this (10am on Saturday, January 11, 2014), it is 78 degrees, heading for a high of 82. Sunny and VERY nice.
Watching the snowy game
The Facilities
This is a very nice park. It doesn’t have a huge variety of amenities (no tennis court, no basketball court, no bocce court, etc), but what it lacks in variety it makes up for in ambiance. The park is heavily wooded with large, gnarly trees draped with Spanish moss. At night it would be very spooky if not for the fact that the park is very well-lit.
Gnarly trees
Our site is shady and is bounded on the back by a lazy stream. The stream has lots of little fish and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a small alligator (I am told that there is a large one – like 8′ long – that hangs out in the little pond to the side of the entrance road). It is a very scenic and relaxing spot.
Our site
Lazy stream, looking west
Lazy stream, looking west
The campground has a LOT of dogs and a very nice dog park to accommodate them. It is a bit of a hike – probably 2/10’s of a mile – but I need the exercise and so do the pups, so we make the trek at least once a day. When we don’t want to go the distance we just walk around the park. As long as the dogs meet other dogs or squirrels, they are happy.
And there are a LOT of squirrels. Bold little buggers. We have been tossing crackers to the ones that hang around our site and we have become very popular in the squirrel world. Sometimes we toss some peanuts, which they really enjoy. They have become very comfortable with us, to the point that when Jett left the door open for a couple of minutes to sweep the patio, one of them bounced up the steps and went inside! Yes, the dogs were out for a walk at the time. It exited quickly when she approached the door, but the fact that the thing had the balls to go into the RV is pretty amazing.
I guess that is what happens when you get them hooked on peanuts.
The park has a nice, though smallish, swimming pool. The rumor is that a larger one will be built over the summer. There is also a very nice laundry room, a game room with a pool table and a foosball game, a small gym, three shuffleboard courts (which seem to be totally unused), some very nice bathrooms (which we don’t use but I am sure they are enjoyed by the people in the smaller RVs) and an office that has a few things for sale, but also offers mail services (which we use daily) and a large DVD rental library ($1.50 for 3 days). There is also a small book exchange.
Rusty in the dog park
Game room
Shuffleboard courts
Laundry room
The office
Pool
The Staff
The staff at Seminole is, without exception, courteous, friendly and efficient. The level of maintenance performed here is surprising. Of course the pool and the bathrooms are cleaned regularly and there is a daily trash pickup. But the trash is actually picked up TWICE a day, a truck goes around at least once a week wetting down the roads to reduce the dust (which I have never noticed), I have seen buildings that look freshly painted being painted again and someone comes around weekly to blow the leaves off of our patio. All of that I would call “above and beyond.”
Another “above and beyond” thing: the Christmas decorations. Some lights were expected, but they went all-out and put up numerous inflatable displays, including a very cute “Holiday Camper Santa”. It was a very festive atmosphere.
Bottom line: we really like this place! We aren’t sure where we will be next winter, but if we come back to Florida it will probably be here.
Holiday Camper Santa
Santa and reindeer
Another inflatable decoration