This weekend we went to Lazy Days in Tampa (really Seffner, Fl) to pick up our Fuse after spending a couple of weeks having some warranty work done. Since it is 4-5 hours from Tallahassee, we decided to spend the night at the attached campground. We had spent the night at the purchase lot when we bought it, but we were interested in what the campground was all about.
We made our reservation a week earlier. It is their off season and the rate was $30 a night. Remember this is the summer in Florida and Seffner is well inland from the beach.
Check-in was very easy. They had a large check-in lot in front of the reception building. I walked in, paid, they gave me a parking pass for my Fuse and my car and we went to our spot. The booklet they provided for the campground was well done and complete. As we drove through the campground I noticed it was about half full. This confirmed this was their off season.
Our site was nice and level. The setup was very nice with a utility pedestal with power, water and CATV. The sewer was right there as well. The only problem was Tampa had gotten a huge amount of rain and I had to step over some puddles while I hooked up the utilities. Not a big deal but it should be expected since Tampa had received 10-20 inches of rain in the last several days (1-2 feet of water).
The campground had a nice screened in pool (remember this is Florida and the mosquitos are huge) and plenty of play areas for kids and dogs. If you are there any other day but Sunday morning, they give coupons for breakfast and lunch at the dealership. We have eaten there and it is not bad. A newspaper is delivered to the campsite in the morning and trash pickup is at the site. Cable TV was nice along with free wifi.
The showers were located at the pool. They were clean and a reasonable size. Plenty of hot water and pressure. I could see where they might be a little busy if you wanted to take a shower while people were out swimming.
We really enjoyed the bar and grill that is on site called the Exit 10. The menu is standard bar food, but it is really good. We had the chicken tenders and the club sandwich with chips. The night we were there they had a musician playing jazz and that made the meal much more enjoyable. Actually I had a great date with my wife that night.
I even had some fun while we were at Lazy Days. I looked at the Lazy Days camping store and examined several E-bikes. They even let me take a test ride. Zipping through the parking lot was fun!
Now for the bad part. The sites are pretty close together and both Sonya and myself thought that the campground just had no character. Sort of like all of the cookie cutter beachfront condos that are along the coast. It just kind of felt sterile.
I would stay there again without hesitation. It was nice and clean. But I don't think I would go there as a destination. For a one night stay it is perfect. There is even a Flying J between the campground and the Interstate to fill-up on your way out.
The weekend we went was the weekend that Hurricane Hermine came through he Florida Panhandle. It did some pretty good damage to the area. Tampa got the torrential rains on the East side of the storm. Some communities were flooded and had to be evacuated. Tallahassee, where we live was on the West side of the storm and most houses lost electricity. Trees were down and power was out from Tallahassee to Lake City a distance of about 100 miles.
The picture above is from the rest area on I-10 just West of the I-10, I-75 interchange. The electricity was out at all of the rest areas along my path on I-10. What this meant was that the restrooms were closed and porta-potties were being used. As I saw the expressions on peoples faces when they realized the restrooms were closed, I loved my motorhome even more that day.
Don, agree with your assessment in full.
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