The purpose to our visit to Naples was seeing my step-father, Ferd. My parents bought their condo in Naples about fifteen years ago. After spending increasingly long stretches in the winter as a snowbird, Ferd now lives there full time. We couldn’t find  a state park or an rv park close to Ferd’s apartment so we would be staying about 20 minutes away at Club Naples RV Resort.Club Naples RV Resort.

After our adventure with my brain fart and near disaster on the forbidden road, we arrived at the rv park a little strung out and wild-eyed. Club Naples is an older rv resort from a time when rv’s were far smaller. The sites are densely packed together. I don’t know how some of those Class A’s ever got into their sites. It sure didn’t look like they were going anywhere anytime soon and I don’t blame them.  The resort had given us the smallest, most uneven and awful site in the park. The fact that Jim didn’t just quit and run was a testament to his fortitude. The job he did in backing our 48 feet of trailer and truck into an impossibly small space was nothing short of amazing. It took a lot of maneuvering to make it past the Fifth Wheel across the tiny road. We had to fold in our side mirrors and even so we had a bare inch to spare.Our neighbors on either side were so close we could have passed a jar of Dijon mustard back and forth and never fully extended an arm. This was purgatory. It was a shaken crew who headed off to meet Ferd for dinner.

It was delightful to visit with Ferd. We didn’t do much of anything. We ran some errands, hung out a bit and each night I cooked dinner at Ferd’s condo.We would watch the news together and then Jim and I would head back to the sardine can rv resort. Sometimes a quiet interlude is just what is needed.

Ferd’s condo is in South Naples just off Bayshore Drive. This south end of Naples is much less built up and features small businesses, a marina, a smattering of homes and small apartment buildings. Foremost among its charms is Taqueria San Julian 2 . It isn’t much to look at from the outside, but the tacos inside are outstanding. It is a highlight of any visit to Naples for me.

Bayshore Drive is the kind of place where real people live. Sadly that is beginning to change a bit, but it is still endearingly scruffy and real.