There’s a very good reason why you can have your pick of campsites in central to south Florida in the summertime. It’s so hot and humid that most people are heading north to camp. Due to family circumstances, I’m here for the summer, and possibly next summer also. So, how do I survive?

Well, it’s not as easy as previous summers down here. For 1 thing, I’m still looking for work. That means I can’t run my air conditioner all the time without cutting back in other places. I was doing pretty good until about the middle of July. As long I didn’t do anything strenuous in the RV I was OK with open windows and vent fans/ceiling fan running. I could even turn the fans off at night.

Then it started getting really hot and humid everyday, think 90s for both. I could last until about noon without the AC, then had to turn it on for my sake and the cat’s. She’s leaving furballs all over. It is still possible to keep the electric bill fairly level in these conditions. First, I only exercise in the morning when it’s at least a little bit cooler. But by the end of the workout, I’m still very hot and sweaty. Definitely time for a shower. Since the outside temps are rising and my body needs cooling down, I find cold showers very invigorating. Also, with my strange eating habits, I rarely generate any dishes that need to be washed. I can last about a week without turning on the water heater. It’s amazing how much energy that particular appliance uses (propane or electric) when it’s just keeping water hot. So, I’m saving some money there.

If I get down to the Laundromat early enough, I can save even more by line drying my clothes. The park has communal laundry lines right next to the Laundromat, not too useful in winter but almost as fast as the gas dryers during the summer. I do have to be careful and watch the sky though. It’s a real bummer to have a load of clothes almost dry, then have a fast moving rain shower come over to erase all that progress.

So far I’m surviving the 2 hottest, wettest months in Florida and really looking forward to October when there should be a noticeable cool down. And by February, I’ll be wishing that I could’ve saved some of this heat 🙂