Free, Free, and Free

I am sitting in a Starbucks in Venice, Florida as I write this-Free wifi. I have spent too much of my data this month on streaming-no revealing here on what kind :-) I like Starbucks wifi better than Pandora, it tends to be faster and they don't limit use. And I have to admit, I think the atmosphere in Starbucks seems to be a little more 'fun'. So that's one FREE.
Next free-beach parking in Venice and Sarasota. The beaches I visited in West Palm Beach all charged for parking. Here I have found great parking for free.

late afternoon -Venice Beach

After a free day at the beach, I returned to some of the best free parking I have found here----- Cracker Barrel. Everyone talks of WalMart, and I have been a WalMartian, but the Marts in this area don't allow parking. I spent my second night at the Cracker Barrel in Venice last night. Both nights were great, last night I improved on my view by moving over a few spots. Looking out the passenger side, I felt like I had my own private camp site. Even enjoyed the smell of bacon in the air this morning. (I don't eat it, but it always smells good to me.) The lot is well lit, little traffic noise-none compared to a typical WalMart lot-clean and you can return for nights in a row, just move during the day.

View out the van door

Cracker Barrel dry camp

I do like a campsite for hanging out and spending time, but for now this site is perfect.

Now, off for a day of sun at the beach.

oh-did you notice? the van looks different? yes, it is :-) more on that later