It really was our very first time.. but more on that a bit later.
After leaving the Keys, we drove across "Alligator Alley" to Florida's gulf side. They call it Alligator Alley for obvious reasons, and we saw lots of them. Fortunately, they are kept off the highway by miles and miles of chain-linked fences otherwise this road would have some serious speed bumps!
We were headed toward Naples on the gulf side of Florida to visit Lorraine's sister and her family in Naples. We were fortunate enough to find a spot in Bonita Springs about 20 minutes from their house at Bonita Lake RV Park.
All we can say is, "Wow!" This was an absolutely incredible park. We have run across some very friendly people in our travels, but this park blew us away. Literally every person we met or passed invited us over to "sit a spell". Everybody was incredibly friendly and kind. And there were lots of activities organized by the campground and also by locals in the community. For instance, each morning, there was the "walking club", a couple times a week there were kayak outings, in the evenings there was a "dog walking" club, ice cream socials and on Monday night there was a camp bonfire where everybody sits around and shares interesting travel (or life) stories..
People were so outgoing that there were times we found ourselves peaking through the blinds waiting for the coast to clear before we would exit our RV and make a mad dash to our truck! Because once a neighbor saw you, inevitably a conversation would start, followed by an invitation of some sort.
I don't mean to sound like I am complaining, this park had the most sincerely nice people we have ever encountered. I hope we are able to return.
Now on to our FIRST TIME! Trying to be open to new experiences, this campground offered weekly BINGO games. I haven't played Bingo since I was a child. So on a warm Monday evening we went to the activity center, put a couple bucks into the kitty, and found ourselves a seat.
I had no idea there were so many different ways to play Bingo! There is the Window Pane where you have to get all the numbers around the exterior of the card, the Cover-All where you have to cover your entire card, Four Square where you have to get the four numbers in each corner and of course the tradition Bingo. Well much to the consternation of those around us, Lorraine won the Cover-all event bringing home the largest kitty of the evening: $33. We ate well that night!!