RV Adventures! Bugs, Bears, and the Best Time Ever
Our Little Home Away From Home
One great thing about homeschooling is that you can choose when to take vacations. We did school all summer to beat the intense heat. It was time for a break. Public school started this week in Duval County, but we were nowhere to be found. Instead, the Melville kids were vacationing at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Camping Resort in Madison, Florida!
Since school was in session, we had the resort to ourselves (save for 1-2 other RV’ers). 125 acres of fun and adventures awaited us. There was a giant water slide, many lakes for paddle boating and swimming, trails for hiking, a pool, mini golf, games, two playgrounds, and lots of trees for climbing. We played for hours each day, getting absolutely filthy and loving it.
On our first weekend, the Southern Gunslingers were in town and put on some crazy wild-west shootout shows, complete with costumes and guns that fired blanks. The older kids thought this was great… the younger ones were terrified. Derek couldn’t stop watching, so long as he could do so from the safety of the RV. If we were outside at the time of the shows he would scream at the top of his lungs. Now he won’t stop pretending to shoot things. He’s a “pirate cowboy.” I guess that combines his two biggest interests.
The sandy shores of the lake were a huge attraction to the kids. They loved the playground, and also just plain playing in the sand. The lake itself was awesome, warm and inviting. The kids loved wading in the water and trying to “catch” fish with their hands. For some drier lake time we tried paddle boating for the first time… and second, third, fourth, fifth…. We saw lots of wild egrets and cranes, dragonflies and scores of butterflies.
The bugs were pretty ferocious, but that’s Florida in the summer for you. The bears… well… Yogi Bear did visit our campsite. Derek was initially curious but then retreated. We discovered a couple of great antique shops in the small, historic town of Madison and went on a historic tour of their downtown area. There wasn’t a whole lot to do in the area but enjoy the great outdoors. This was our biggest and longest RV adventure yet… and it was a learning experience. 23 feet of living space gets very, very cramped with 6 people! The little kids were constantly underfoot. This did have one benefit… we spent most of the time outside! Did we get completely turned off from RV’ing because of the close quarters, messes, hot and humid weather, and midnight laundry-mat run? Nope. We’re already planning our next adventure. Are we crazy? Sure, a little. You have to be a bit crazy to have 4 kids… and love the military lifestyle. 
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Florida: http://yogicampingflorida.com/
