Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort

We stayed at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A fourth visit to TTO, the flagship Thousand Trails park. The second of two stays here this year, totaling five weeks, separated by a week in the Disney bubble.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-02-16
Check out: 2025-03-02
14 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny, a few rainy days
High temps 62-82°F, lows 38-61°F
Occasional wind, gusts to 31 MPH

Noise:

A little road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
Distant fireworks from Disney most evenings

Site:

#6 Hurricane Road, back-in, concrete
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
A little unlevel site; a little high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
Concrete driveway about 60 feet long by 12 feet wide
18 feet to neighbor on passenger side (a mobile home)
35 feet to neighbor on driver side
Just grass between sites
Picnic table on 22 by 10 feet concrete patio
Some shrubs
A bunch of small trash on site
Elevation 120 feet, front facing West

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
40 PSI water, conveniently located
Unthreaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 135-165 Mbps down, 16-20 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
T-Mobile: 50-67 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
AT&T: 26-49 Mbps down, 3-11 Mbps up, 75 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters only in a central location
Package delivery to office, for $5 per package (we got a local mailbox)
Pools

See our previous stays here for our review on Campground Reviews.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Birds and other sites:

Birds

Bird

Other sites

We still enjoy TTO, and will no doubt stay here again next time we’re in Orlando, whenever that may be.

Disney World: Animal Kingdom

We visited the four Walt Disney World theme parks again this year.

I’m doing a separate post for each park visit, starting with a half a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, which is part theme park, part zoo.

Some posed photos:

Posed photo

Avatar land:

Avatar land

Avatar ride:

Avatar ride

Lunch:

Lunch

Heading to the safari ride:

Heading to safari ride

Safari ride

Animals

Posed photo

Tree of Life:

Tree of Life

Snack:

Snack

Expedition Everest ride:

Expedition Everest ride

Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort

We stayed at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A third visit to TTO, the flagship Thousand Trails park. Actually the first of two stays here this year, totaling five weeks, separated by a week in the Disney bubble.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-01-19
Check out: 2025-02-09
21 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny, a few rainy days
High temps 45-80°F, lows 36-61°F
Occasional wind, gusts to 31 MPH

Noise:

A little road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
Gas golf carts going by (on the route for maintenance workers)
Distant fireworks from Disney most evenings

Site:

#49 Hurricane Road, back-in, concrete
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
A little unlevel site; a little high on driver side and rear; used hydraulic leveling
Concrete driveway about 55 feet long by 12 feet wide
25 feet to neighbors on both sides
Just grass between sites
Picnic table on 25 by 10 feet concrete patio
No trees, one shrub
A bunch of small trash on site
Elevation 120 feet, front facing South

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
40 PSI water, conveniently located
Unthreaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 140-180 Mbps down, 12-25 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
T-Mobile: 25-30 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
AT&T: 0.7-38 Mbps down, 0.3-11 Mbps up, 60-180 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters only in a central location
Package delivery to office, for $5 per package (we got a local mailbox)
Pools

See our previous stays here for our review on Campground Reviews.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

After setting up our griddle and furniture:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Aerial view of our site:

Aerial view of campground

Aerial view of a long line checking in, shortly after noon:

Aerial view of long line checking in

Aerial view of campground

The new section; nicely paved sites, but don’t you dare even think about putting anything on the scraggly grass:

Aerial view of campground

A line of RVs snaking around the parking lot and road by the tennis courts, waiting to be guided to a site:

Aerial view of campground

Another view of the entry road:

Aerial view of campground

Above our loop:

Aerial view of campground

TTO is very strict about only allowing checking in after noon. They don’t even let you line up on their entry road before then. So some people wait for noon on the highway turn lane, which risks getting ticketed by cops:

Waiting to check in

Check in line:

Check in line

Line to be assigned a site:

Check in line

Other sites:

Other sites

Most sites are back-in, but there are some pull-through buddy sites (that we’d avoid like the plague):

Other sites

Main intersection:

Main intersection

Pool:

Pool

Game courts:

Game courts

Group fire pit and benches:

Group fire pit and benches

Lake:

Lake

“Alligators and snakes in this area”:

Alligators and snakes in this area

Pond and birds:

Pond and birds

More birds roaming the campground:

Birds

Lizard:

Lizard

A nice thing about TTO is there is a Publix grocery store and pretty good Chinese food nearby:

Chinese food

And a Japanese restaurant:

Japanese food

Plus Chick-fil-A and pretty much any other fast food you might want within about 10 minutes drive:

Chick-fil-A drivethru

Back to TTO soon!

Video

Video: Hundreds of manatees at Three Sisters Springs in Florida

Some clips from three viewpoints at Three Sisters Springs in Florida, with hundreds of manatees gathered around the springs.

Seeing hundreds of manatees at Three Sisters Springs in Florida

We visited Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida, to see manatees. These fascinating creatures spend the winter gathered around warm springs connected to the gulf, as the springs maintain a temperature of 72° F year-round.

Here’s a map of the springs:

A map on the wall of the visitor center:

Map

350 manatees counted:

350 manatees counted

Entrance sign:

Crystal River Three Sisters Springs

Manatee manners signs:

Manatee manners

One of the springs:

Spring

Lots of manatees:

Manatees

The nearby Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center:

Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

Florida’s Forgotten Coast

While staying at Ho-Hum RV Park, we did a few drives along the Forgotten Coast, in the panhandle of Florida. Amongst other things, we saw all four of the lighthouses on the coast.

A pamphlet for the lighthouse driving tour, with information about each lighthouse:

Lighthouse driving tour pamphlet

The first drive was west of the RV park, with lunch at the Blue Parrot Ocean Front Cafe (they have a live cam you can view, too), then St George Island Lighthouse.

Here’s the route on an interactive map:

Bridge to St George Island:

Bridge to St George Island

Blue Parrot for lunch:

Blue Parrot

St George Island Lighthouse; unfortunately the museum was closed when we visited:

St George Island Lighthouse

St George Island beach:

St George Island beach

Further west, the Cape San Blas Lighthouse in Port St Joe:

Cape San Blas Lighthouse

The second drive was east of the RV park, to St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, St Mark’s Lighthouse, and Publix groceries on the way back.

Here’s the route on an interactive map:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

The refuge visitor center, with info about the lighthouse too:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge visitor center

The wildlife refuge:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St Marks Lighthouse:

St Marks Lighthouse

The third drive was to have lunch at The Fisherman’s Wife restaurant in Carrabelle, then visit the nearby Crooked River Lighthouse.

Here’s the route on an interactive map:

The Fisherman’s Wife; we wanted to eat here last year, but they were closed for the holidays. They were closed again most of the time we were at Ho-Hum this time too, but opened a few days before our departure:

The Fisherman's Wife

Crooked River Lighthouse, the tallest of the four:

Crooked River Lighthouse

The old lighthouse keeper’s house, now a small free museum:

Crooked River Lighthouse

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Fascinating stuff. We really enjoy this area of Florida; much more laid-back than the more touristy and populated parts.

Ho-Hum RV Park

We stayed at Ho-Hum RV Park in Carrabelle, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second stay here, again over the holidays. Still one of our favorite RV parks.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-12-22
Check out: 2025-01-12
21 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny, some drizzle
High temps 50-69°F, lows 33-62°F
Some windy days, gusts to 39 MPH

Noise:

Some highway noise
No train horn noise
Some neighbor noise: dogs, and some kids (this is really not a place for kids, but weekenders will be weekenders)

Site:

#45A, pull-in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
Somewhat level site; high in front and passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 55 feet long by 22 feet wide
Just gravel between sites
Picnic table
One tree
Clean site
Elevation 10 feet, front facing SE

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
30 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (less than 1 10-foot pipe needed)
Dangerously fluctuating power for a day due to a corroded connection; used generator until fixed

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 27-55 Mbps down, 11 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 7-11 Mbps down, 0.5-3 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
AT&T: 6-28 Mbps down, 0.05-0.12 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
Starlink: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Waterfront (gulf)
Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Hidden Gem on the Forgotten Coast

This was our second stay here, and I would happily come back again and again. There’s no better view than watching the water and gulls from the front of our coach. The atmosphere is laid-back and inviting, and the staff is helpful and friendly. There was a power issue part of the way through our stay, but they kept us updated on the status of repairs and understood when we needed to run our generator during the outage. This is not the beachfront place for partying and carrying on; it is the beachfront place for quiet contemplation and chilling. We camped at Ho-Hum RV Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

With RVs on either side, as it was most of the time (often a trailer on the driver side, which is preferred over a motorhome, since their living area is away from us; fortunately we didn’t have a trailer on the passenger side, which would have been facing us):

Our site

View from our site:

Our site

View out our windshield:

View out our windshield

We enjoyed watching the various birds, including sandpipers, pelicans, cranes, ducks, and others:

Birds

Paddling:

Paddling

Gentle waves:

Waves

Foggy:

Foggy

Sunset:

Sunset

Night

Partway through our stay (on New Year’s Eve) our Power Watchdog reported electrical issues, saying the voltage was dangerously low or high (actually both), and neutral reversed:

Electrical issue

I wasn’t sure if it was just us or a wider issue, but talked with some neighbors who also had the issue. So after further diagnostics and talking with the RV park owners, I unplugged the power, and we used the generator. The next evening (New Year’s Day), the electrical company came out and repaired a corroded pigtail; hazards of a waterfront RV park!

Electrical repair

The seawall and sandy strip in front of our site:

Beach

Other sites:

Other sites

Dog park and beach area:

Dog park and beach area

Entrance:

Entrance

Bathrooms and such:

Bathrooms and such

Laundry room:

Laundry room

Activity center, where packages are delivered:

Activity center, where packages are delivered

Fishing pier:

Fishing pier

You can see our coach near the center:

Fishing pier

We’d be happy to stay here again in the future.

San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday

We stayed at San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday in San Antonio, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one-night stay on our way east, but a nice campground; we’d be happy to stay here longer.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-11-30
Check out: 2024-12-01
1 night

Weather:

Partly cloudy
High temp 65°F, low 44°F
No wind, gusts to 7 MPH

Noise:

Negligible road noise
Faint distant train horn noise
A little neighbor noise

Site:

#E5, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
Completely level site; used air leveling, since only one night
Gravel driveway about 73 feet long by 15 feet wide
12 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
Fire pit
Some tall trees
Clean site

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
Good sewer connection, very inconveniently located (for a motorhome) at the back of the site (3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 85-105 Mbps down, 5-10 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
AT&T: 470-550 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 30-100 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters and pickup from site
Pool
Onsite cafe with breakfast and Hunt Brothers pizza/wings for dinner

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice and convenient

We stayed here only one night on our way through San Antonio, and it was quite pleasant. There is easy access to freeways and anything you could want to do in the city. Since it was a short stay, we enjoyed having the on-site cafe available for dinner and breakfast. The staff were all friendly and helpful. We would stay here again and for longer. We camped at San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Goose:

Goose

Other sites:

Other sites

Pool:

Pool

Camp store:

Camp store

Patio area:

Patio area

The Patio Cafe, which serves Hunt Brothers pizza and wings for dinner, and cooked breakfasts:

The Patio Cafe

We got pizza from the cafe for dinner (and leftovers for subsequent lunches):

Hunt Brothers Pizza for dinner

And breakfasts the next day:

Breakfasts

Event hall:

Event hall

Playground:

Playground

KOA sign and concrete cornhole:

Sign and concrete cornhole

We’d be happy to stay here again in the future.

Marathon Motel & RV Park

We stayed at Marathon Motel & RV Park in Marathon, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Dates:

Check in: 2024-11-17
Check out: 2024-11-30
13 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temps 61-80°F, lows 32-46°F
Some wind, gusts to 23 MPH

Noise:

Little road noise
Loud train horn noise right out front of the campground, about once an hour, generally between 10:00 and 22:00, though occasionally one or two overnight
Significant neighbor noise for a few days (big family on driver side), otherwise not much

Site:

#4, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Mostly level site; a little high in front; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 80 feet long by 18 feet wide
10 feet to neighbors on both sides
Separation between sites: just grass
Picnic table
A couple of tall trees
Mostly clean site
Elevation 4,060 feet

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 130-180 Mbps down, 30-40 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
AT&T: 53-70 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 25 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Star parties
Package delivery to office
Chickens!

Our review on Campground Reviews:

High desert delight

This was our second time staying here, and we enjoyed it just as much as our first trip. The only downside is the freight train that runs through town with its horn blaring because of the uncontrolled crossings. Luckily, it didn’t tend to go through after 11pm or too early in the morning. Otherwise, this is a peaceful corner of West Texas, and Marathon remains a cute little town. The campground is delightful, with a cactus garden and a chicken run to enjoy. The sites in the 50A section are conveniently situated east/west to mitigate the worst effects of the famous wind. We camped at Marathon Motel and RV Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

A resident cat sitting on one of our chairs:

Cat

Another resident cat:

Cat

A short-term neighbor brought their outdoor cat, which got into fights with the resident cats, and hid in our engine bay:

Cat

GIF of wild javelinas (aka peccaries) walking through our site:

GIF of javelinas

Aerial views of our site and the RV park:

Aerial view

This park is in a dark skies area, so there were lots of stars visible (I’ll have another post later with more aerial photos and star pics):

Stars

A tiny home and covered RV across the road from the campground; if we ever buy land again, we might do something like this:

Tiny home and covered RV across the road

Other sites:

Other sites

Laundromat:

Laundromat

Outdoor showers and kitchen:

Outdoor showers and kitchen

Restroom:

Restroom

Bathrooms and motel room:

Bathrooms and motel room

More motel rooms:

Motel rooms

Historic signs:

Historic sign

Entrance and sign

The train track is across the road from the RV park, with an uncontrolled crossing right there, so the trains honk their horns several times:

Train

A nice courtyard:

Courtyard

Rita’s Cantina, which was closed last time and is still closed; they just can’t get the staff to open it:

Rita's Cantina

An RV park resident hosts star parties a few times each week:

Sky party area

Sky party

A desert garden area:

Garden

I enjoyed hanging out with the resident chickens:

Chicken coop

Despite the train noise, we still enjoy this RV park and town, and no doubt will be back again in the future.

Sequoia National Park: northern side

We visited Sequoia National Park in California, including the Lodgepole Visitor Center and Grill, and the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world by volume. And saw a couple of bears in a tree.

An interactive map of our route:

Relief map in the visitor center:

Relief map