After our visit to Disney and another 3 night stay at Lake Louisa it was time to move to our next destination, so on Tuesday, January 14th we hit the road heading for Quail Run RV Resort in Wesley Chapel, about 30 minutes northeast of Tampa.

Late last year we found out the Tampa RV Super Show would be held from January 15-19  and we decided it would be fun to go since we had never been to a big RV show before – the last show we attended was in Boston and they only had maybe 3 or 4 Diesel pushers there.

We definitely were not in the market for another RV but wanted to see the latest models and check out any new features. We also figured we could get a look at a few accessories we were interested in and find out about all the other stuff we didn’t know we needed. Plus we heard this show was a great source for information about work camping and short term holiday employment opportunities.

Quail Run was only 65 miles away so we took our time getting ready to leave.  That morning we had a few torrential downpours with the promise of a somewhat rainy day as a cold front passed by but luckily the rain stopped (leaving a muddy mess) as we were getting ready to leave.  Under heavily overcast skies with a little drizzle, we left Clermont traveling north on SR-27, then turning west on SR-50 with the final stretch being on I-75 south. SR-50 in many spots was a two lane road passing through a number of small towns with some stop and go but all in all it was a pleasant ride.

After we took  exit 279 towards Wesley Chapel, we passed several shopping areas including a movie theater that looked familiar but we figured it was part of chain we had seen somewhere else.  It wasn’t until the next day when we talked to someone else staying here, Nancy, that we discovered this very theater was on the news the day before.  It was the scene of a shooting – an ex-cop had shot and killed a man in the theater and injured his wife because he was texting his child’s babysitter. Yikes! It seems even more disturbing when it happens that close.

Anyway, Quail Run RV Resort is divided into two primary areas – the old and the new.  When I had made reservations based on the advice of our new friend’s June & Ronnie at RiverBend, I requested a site in the new section.  After stopping at the office, we were guided to our site, #199.  Nice, well maintained park with 292 sites, 52 pull thrus (ours wasn’t) with a combo of RV’s and 5th wheelers and just a few park models.

Each site has a large cement pad with a picnic table and offers generous spacing between sites.  The only downside would be that in the new section there are not a lot of trees or other plantings to provide any type of shade or privacy from your next door neighbor or even those behind you.  If you want shade then perhaps the older section would be preferable as there are a lot of live oaks with Spanish moss, however, the sites are grass with a smaller cement pad and some looked to be uncomfortably close together. Pick the new section for almost guaranteed satellite reception.

The resort has the usual amenities – rec hall, bath house, heated pool (not operational during our stay – we were told they were renovating it), laundry facilities, exercise room and a convenience store.  And the usual activities – the weekly bingo, shuffleboard, pancake breakfasts on Saturday mornings, etc. The rules are rather strict here and it seems to have had a positive effect resulting in a very neat and clean looking facility for the most part. One rule we found overly restrictive though was the absolute prohibition of washing your car or rig in any form or fashion. We would have liked to give the lower parts of the coach a quick rinse to get the grime off from our soggy travel day.

After we settled in, we took a walk around, enjoying a beautiful sunset and spending a quiet evening, knowing the next day would be a busy one!

We’ll be here for a week and except for the RV show in Tampa, and the Entegra Owner Appreciation Dinner, we have no special plans so you will have to stay tuned to find out if we did anything exciting.