We found the house, thanks to Nuvi and while I counted out Suzette's money to the wife of the husband-wife sellers, Suzette went over EVERY detail of how the camper worked with the husband. 

I think all she heard was the giddy laughter inside her own head, because other than the location of the door, stove and beds, she was a total blank on anything else in there!

This paid off later when we went to pick up my own camper, she made me do EVERYTHING by myself to be sure I was paying attention! 

Blue Spring State Park

Beautiful park, well-patrolled!
There is a boardwalk that follows the river, giving plenty of chances to see lots of manatee in the winter months, the same boardwalk provides swimming access in the warmer months.
The water is very clear, much more than any other manatee-watching spot we have been to in the past.

Driving the camper on the beach!
You think I would not fall for the old 'Esther, jump out and take a picture of me pulling the camper!' twice.

I eventually caught up. 

Now-what happened between pics:

We headed out in the dark to find a campsite, following Nuvi to the KOA. 
I just typed in the letters, we did not have an address.
For future reference...KOA can also be Kingdom of America
and you could pull in and discover a Jehovah's Witness compound.

Just so you know.  Cause we didn't.

We ended up at the Clark Family Camground.

A fellow camper found out we were having trouble getting
the furnace it and loaned us a long-handled
lighter for the night.  It did not help, as we had no idea
where to apply the flame!

She told us about various escapades she and her husband had
with their first few campers.

Here is a recap of the first night in the camper:

The weather was record low, we had NO heat and could not get the propane heater to light. 
The bunks had no mattresses, so we padded them with towels-which fell through the 'trap door' cabinet doors because when the bunks are latched up, you can store things in the pocket they make against the roof of the camper.  Some of them did not latch, but the weight of the kids up there knocked them open anyway, whether they latched or not. 

I don't camp in the cold for a reason-because it is COLD.  I had packed for mild winter-jeans, sweatshirt, couple long-sleeved tees.  I am wearing sandals.  With socks.  I found a fleece hat in my laptop bag.  No, I don't know how it got in there, but I am glad for it!  Luckily the kids seemed to be faring well, no one said they were frozen anyway!

Off to the beach!

Our lunch!  Look-we whipped it up on the little stove!

People have pointed out none of it is cooked.  I now point back that I never said we cooked it, I said we used the little stove-see?  It's holding the plates.

Suzette stomps the ocean wearing her last pair of clean pants and only pair of shoes. 
On the coldest day in 35 years.
That is something to consider-not in my entire life span had it been as cold in that area of Florida than it was the few days we spent there

You better bet she milked the 'but my feet are wet' excuse for the rest of the day.

The 'stuck' story

Suzette looks at me, "The van won't move!"  I say, "Try reverse!"
"I can't back up!"
"I know, I mean just a little, to see if we can rock out of the rut."
We dig in deeper.
She stops, looks at me.

I say, "I am thinking 'floor it'"
She says, "Me too."

I get out to take a look after the sand stops flying past my window.

"Looks like the sand is soft here." I am good with technical terms.

She takes another at sheer willpower, getting us firmly into a rut all the way to the frame.  I had to shove sand to get the door open the second time-remember her feet are wet.

I decline to photograph it the second time and hop back in.
Me: "Hey, do you have AAA?"

"Yes.  Why do we need AAA?"

Me: "Um. We are in pretty deep."

The kids point out that beach patrol has been by a few times.  It's starting to get dark.

"Get out and be ready to flag down the next one that comes by!"  this from Suzette.  Had I been by myself, I would have waited for the van to evolve and crawl out on its own.  Because I HATE interacting with people I don't know, in particular when I need help.  It's like some sort of reverse common sense.  Like I would try to casually walk briskly while being chased by a zombie to avoid alerting anyone to my need for some assistance.

The kids start screaming "BEACH PATROL" and Suzette reaches across me and opens the door and shoves me out. "Get that man!"
I nearly faint from embarassment.
I walk toward the traffic lane and wave a little.  He pulls over and asks if we need some help.  I fight the urge to say "No!" and duck my head and run away.

Instead, I point at the front wheel.  He walks over to look and I LEAP back in the front seat, leaving it all up to Suzette, who has never had a problem telling anyone anything.

After telling us we are in soft sand (duh) he suggests we take the camper off and let him pull it out while we follow along.

Suzette says she has no jack-which is true, the camper is on the van until she buys one to get it off again.  He says that is illegal in Florida.  She shrugs and says, "We are from Alabama.  And I just bought it last night."  I would have burst into tears and arrested myself, she is not even blinking.

He sighs and gets his shovel and starts digging.  I think it will take half an hour, but in 3 shovels, he is done.

Suzette gets back in and he leans in the open window. 

"Go real slow.  Pull forward a little.  That's good.  Now, put it in reverse."

Suzette, who until this time has been just fine, grabs her steering wheel, whips her head around and screams out her window, "WHAT PART OF I CAN'T BACK THIS THING UP CAN YOU PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND?"