Sarasota made it on to our itinerary due to the presence of a family
friend who we had arranged to meet before we left the UK. The prospect of
actually speaking to someone we (or at least Emma) had met before felt a bit
strange and we spent a while tidying up the van in order to show it off. We
also practiced the art of conversation on each other, as we realized that the
patois we had evolved (consisting of in-jokes, body language and telepathy)
simply would not do in mixed company. Once we were ready we hiked back to
the camp's entrance area to use the pool while waiting for our friend, Pam.
Hiked is not an overstatement in this case, as the Arbor Terrace Campsite is
huge, and we were a long way back on an overspill site - though fortunately
one with hook-ups.
Pam ended up about one and a half hours late, due to a
miscommunication on the directions side. Still it gave us plenty of time to
lounge and read. She arrived with her aunt, also Pam (yes we were confused
too), and they made appropriate ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ noises when we showed them
around the van. We then headed out to her holiday home on Long Boat Key.
Pam is a snowbird, but one with enough sense to have a fixed second home
as opposed to an RV. She also spends a lot of time in Italy, which is how she
became a family friend ...long story.
After a long gossip we headed to a local restaurant for a delicious fish
meal. The dinner was made even better by Pam uttering the phrase 'my
treat'...maybe we should have met up with more people during our travels?
The next day we headed to the edge of the Everglades National Park, once
we finally got going. The delay was caused firstly by a need to dump our grey