Day 35: My Van Traveling Plan for February

I stayed at a great Hipcamp for one week and ignored any planning for what would come after. Then, today, anxiety started accumulating. I didn’t know where it was coming from at first. I thought it was something work-related. My breathing was shallow and it was hard to enjoy spending time with my friend while walking through Hyde Park in Tampa. But then I knew what this was: the anxiety was mostly coming from not having a plan of where I would stay that night, and where I would stay after that.

Someone told me about parking by the fishing pier on the south end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but I went there and there were signs posted about no overnight parking. People ignore this and do it anyways and it’s fine. I get that. But I don’t want to stay where I’m not wanted and I had read reviews online by other van campers that said police woke them up with a bullhorn during the nighttime and forced them to move. It was also a parking lot and I try to avoid those.

Another opportunity arose when I parked in downtown Tampa to see my friend. A parking lot attendant stopped to appreciate Chester and, after we got to talking about dogs, I asked him where I could park overnight for free. He told me about a secret place and to put a special note on my dashboard to avoid detection. But, again, parking lots. I only want to use them as a last resort. It was also in the city and cities are loud.

So, around 730 pm, I started sending messages to hosts on Hipcamp. One host quickly replied who was an easy 45-minute drive away and that’s where I’m writing this from now. I’m under an oak tree with Spanish moss hanging from it, two horses are roaming the field I’m in, Chester is outside listening to neighboring dogs park, and the sliding door is open letting a cool breeze in. I have a smoothie to my right, hot coffee to my left (in an Ember mug), and this laptop here in front of me. I’m glad I am here, but I don’t want to rush to get to somewhere good like here again. And that’s what this post is all about.

It’s nice having horses graze where you van camp.

Van Traveling Plan

Here, I will make a loose plan for where to stay this month. It’s loose in the sense that I can move away from it if I have a good reason. To keep this loose, it’s important to only book with Hipcamp hosts who have a flexible cancellation policy as the first Hipcamp host did. (He set a high bar for other hosts.) It will also help to stay around places where free camping is allowed. Some of these places are managed by Southwest Florida Water Management District. On many preserves they manage, you can make a free reservation. They then send you a confirmation email with a code for the padlock on the gate.

• Friday 2/4 to Monday 2/7: Hipcamp near Lakeland, Florida
• Monday 2/7 to Friday 2/11: Free primitive camping in Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve, managed and reserved through Southwest Florida Water Management District
• Friday 2/11 to Saturday 2/12: Keel and Curley Winery near Plant City, Florida, via Harvest Hosts
• Saturday 2/12 to Monday 2/14: Tarpon Springs, Florida, via Boondockers Welcome
• Monday 2/14 to Friday 2/18: Inverness, Florida, via Boondockers Welcome
• Friday 2/18 to Saturday 2/19: OrganicaWorld in Groveland, Florida, via Harvest Hosts
• Saturday 2/19 to Sunday 2/20: Seminole Springs, Florida, via Boondockers Welcome
• Sunday 2/20 to Monday 2/21: Clearwater Lake Rec Area in Ocala National Forest, Florida, via Recreation.gov
• Monday 2/21 to Monday 2/28: Fellsmere, Florida, via Hipcamp

The map for my (loose) van travel plan in February

This plan took nearly all day to create but it was fun and worthwhile. Now I won’t experience stay-related anxiety. Problem solved. It helps to have a plan. Let’s see how close I stick to it. Either way, I’m excited for what comes next.

I choose to be happy.