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| The office/lounge with the shuffleboard court in front |
Our first stop in Florida was in Lutz which is north of Tampa in an Encore campground called Winter Quarters Pasco. This was our first time here.
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| Entrance to campground |
Our very first impression was that it was noisy with the highway being right there beside it. And yes, it is noisy. But the people here more than make up for this inconvenience. From the office staff to the annual and seasonal residents, everyone is friendly and happy. The staff is very helpful and tries hard to make everyone's stay here pleasant.
It is an old campground but the streets are paved and each site has a cement patio. They don't allow any campfires or even charcoal BBQs. Our site is close to the road which reminds me of our apartment in Hamilton sometimes. Our neighbours on both sides are very nice. One even took the time to make friends with Cheeka.
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| Paved streets lined with lights. Some permanent homes and some motorhomes or trailers. |
The lounge area is quite nice and we go there often to take advantage of the free internet. Every Friday, there is Happy Hour from 4 to 6pm with free wine/beer and munchies. I have made quite a few friends there! They also have breakfast a few days a week for a very reasonable price. The food is good and the company even better.
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| The lounge building lined with golf carts which is the preferred mean of transportation here. |
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| Inside the lounge |
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| Our internet corner. We seem to be almost the only ones using this spot. |
The small pool is lovely. Most times we have it to ourselves. We tried the hot tub but it was almost too hot to be enjoyable. Plenty of loungers line the pool and there is a HUGE umbrella providing shade in one corner. It is very comfortable and we also get use of the internet there too.
There are two off-leash fenced areas for dogs located at the edge of the park. One area is for small dogs and the other for larger ones. Poop bags and garbage cans are provided. The whole area is shaded by large trees. It's quite nice to sit on the benches in the shade while the dog sniffs every blade of grass and twig.
I forgot to mention the two small lakes and the pond. One lake is right behind the office where we can access a long dock that leads to a nice gazebo. The breeze can be a bit cool there so we have rarely gone there which is a shame since it is very lovely with the sound of the water fountain which sits in the middle of the lake. A lot of the mobile homes and trailers that line the lake have decks right on the water.
Across the road from our site is a small pond that attracts many shorebirds like Egrets, a Little Blue Heron, Ibis and a pair of Sandhill Cranes that have made the campground home. Around the corner, we always see the resident Tortoise that looks like a garden ornament until you see her blink. So cute!
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| Little Blue Heron |
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| Sandhill Crane |
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| An Egret with her catch |
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| Our beautiful resident tortoise |
Across the highway we have different stores, a vet clinic, a dentist and a medical center. We can walk to Lowe's and Walmart is just about 10 minutes away. Very convenient!
Our friend Michelle is quite enjoying all the attention her dog Sadie is getting here. Sadie, a lovely Greyhound rescued from the racetrack right here in Florida, is also a service dog for Michelle which means she can go everywhere with her. So she has become a favorite in the lounge area where she lies on her big cushion while we search the internet. Sadie has even become quite the social butterfly from all this attention and now gives kisses to anyone who cares to pet her.
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| Michelle and I |
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| Sadie is never very far from Michelle |
I must mention here that Sadie, being a boney Greyhound, must have a comfy cushion to lie on. While visiting our trailer, she had to make do with Cheeka's bed which was quite funny!
Everyone here keeps saying that we'll be back and I think they're right!
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