Our Escape to Lake Louisa

Like many of you, I’ve done my share of whining during the past three months. The pandemic has left me stressed, angry, and bored. If you’ve read many of my past writings, you know the one activity I’ve missed most is travel.

Herb and I felt disappointed when the Florida State Parks closed in March. Later, when they reopened on May 4 we were excited until we learned the campgrounds would remain closed. In spite of this information, I reserved a site for Memorial Day weekend at Lake Louisa —a short thirty minute drive west of Orlando. We were ecstatic when the campground opened on May 21, one day before we were scheduled to arrive! We packed our clothes, food, and beagle into the jeep and hitched up our Viking trailer for our great escape.

The weather was hot, after all this is Florida. But we didn’t let the weather phase us. Like all happy campers we couldn’t stop smiling. We set up camp before a tremendous rainstorm hit. Did that bother us? Not in the least. Snug inside our tiny trailer we munched our homemade cheeseburgers and laughed about our good fortune.

The ninety-five degree temperatures continued on Saturday. Fortunately, we were able to cool off under the shade of our awning and a large beach umbrella we brought along.

We made Buddy more comfortable by setting up a fan at either end of his pen.

Over fifty campsites sit upon a strip of land between Dixie Lake and Lake Hammond. As night fell we were treated to a beautiful sunset above Lake Dixie.

And of course, no campout is complete without a campfire.

Even so, the warmer temperatures made it necessary to sit farther away from the flames.

Sunday morning we hiked on one of the park’s lovely trails. Buddy had a great time exploring the area.

We measure our distance, and when Buddy has walked one mile, Herb carries him in our doggie backpack. What a good Dad!

Although we’ve camped at Lake Louisa before, we noticed a new addition. Three Luxury Carefree Campsites are for rent.

These air-conditioned tents are furnished inside like a hotel room. (No private bathrooms, however.) Sad.

No trips to the real Florida are complete without a gator. Herb took this photo of a baby below the dock on Dixie Lake.

If you are looking for an escape, and don’t mind the Florida summers, consider camping. No face masks required.