Usually, when I go to Florida, it’s either beaches, Harry Potterworld, or Disney. And I go to lots of seafood restaurants. On this visit, I saw more of the inner parts of the state, but I did make drives to the beaches on most days, and still ate more than my fair share of seafood.
Our plans changed and our trip was delayed because we got our Covid vaccines, a happy reason to reschedule. But because of that, I couldn’t book the best camp spots we wanted and had to make the best of it since the reservations were last minute.
We accidentally stayed AN HOUR from the beach in Bradenton. It was a great KOA, but much further away from the water than I wanted to be.
We were in the heartland, and the campground felt almost like we were back home in Kansas. I guess I didn’t realize just how large Bradenton was, and only thought of it as a gulf town. (Maybe I should’ve looked at the map, huh?)
Hunsader Farms had a lot to offer, even if it wasn’t what I had thought I was getting.
I have to admit, that I was a tad bit cranky when I realized exactly how isolated the place was when we arrived. But after hanging out, it grew on me.
There was a U Pick Em zinnia field and strawberry patch, and I not only got to eat juicy berries to my hearts content, and fill the camper with fresh flowers, I was able to walk the dogs to the colorful field and get some portraits of them.
It really was pretty there. Once I let myself enjoy it and stop being resentful about my booking mistake, I was glad to be there.
We even found a seafood tiki bar nearby on the water.
It was a lake, not my beloved ocean, but the place was delicious and fun.
Plus an hour to get to Point of Rocks at Siesta Key is much better than 20 hours from Kansas.
And we weren’t any further from one of the best off leash dog beaches I’d ever been to.
We all loved that leg of our journey.
Beautiful pictures. My kind of place!