The Best Little RV Resort You've Never Heard Of
What makes Southern Aire in Thonotosassa, Florida so special?
A couple of weeks ago, we stopped in Thonotosassa, a town that I cannot easily spell or pronounce even on my best of days. We had left the beauty of the Florida Keys and the excitement of Everglades National Park to make our way back to Oklahoma, where we are preparing to support my loving 86-year-old mother through her third battle with cancer. More on that later.
As Passport America members, we often find RV properties in their network when we need shore power and a hot shower because we get great discounts. And when you’ve spent time in Florida during the snowbird season, you know everything is expensive, so those discounts are critical. Which brings me to their new slogan: Florida. If the humidity or drivers don’t kill you, the rates definitely will!
Anyways.
We’ve stayed at several RV parks in Florida, three alone in the Wilder RV Resorts 55+ Community portfolio, but none had the magic of Southern Aire.
What makes Southern Aire so great?
The first Wilder RV resorts we visited seemed more like Margaritavilles. Large complexes filled with hundreds of fancy rigs and motorcoaches, selling the Jimmy Buffett vibe, along with higher-end amenities and services for their guests. These resorts are where wealthier, older people come to escape the shitty weather elsewhere in the United States and Canada, while enjoying an endless party in the sun.
Overall, both parks were good experiences, despite the awkwardness of being the youngest people in the crowd and the only ones in a camper van; yet it also felt too commercial and cramped for my style. These are places you go to hang out for a season, but not to settle down. They were fun to visit, but fine to leave.
After we made our way to the Keys and back up towards Tampa, we were tired of driving and needed a couple of days to sit and relax. So we found the Southern Aire RV Resort in the Passport America app and decided to book it.
When we first drove up to Southern Aire, I noticed there were older travel trailers and motorhomes, and it wasn’t the shiny commercial version we'd seen at the others we visited. In fact, I wondered whether we had plugged in the wrong address into our GPS. It wasn’t bad, just different.
After we checked in and were shown our camping spot, we decided to take a walk around the complex to get some exercise, and this changed everything!
I can’t easily put into words what we experienced, but it felt like home.
The vibe was eclectic because there was a mixture of RV homes and styles. Some were fancier, others were more permanent and decorated, and a few were just ordinary and average. It was like a melting pot of residents. The more we walked, the more we encountered some of the most welcoming and friendliest people ever. We didn’t feel less than, regardless of our age or what we drove.
Later in the evening, we attended their Super Bowl party in the community center, where 40 or so residents gathered to enjoy a meal together. Even some of the 75+ crowd brought booze and were sipping on bourbon or whiskey. It was a jovial time filled with laughter and fun. There was no drama, no arguments, no politics. I absolutely loved it — especially when their oldest resident, a cute 96-year-old woman, made an appearance in her community of friends as she lovingly carried a stuffed gnome dressed like a New England Patriot. She really warmed my heart with a smile!
I also met Tony LaMarca, the resort's activity director.
Tony is an older gentleman with a youthful and rebellious spirit! He doesn’t typically drink beer, yet enjoys a couple of shots of bourbon, likes to joke around and tell stories, and prefers to keep busy by serving his community at Southern Aire. He worked very hard to ensure everyone had fun and was fed, doing all the cooking and most of the cleaning, and never accepted my offers to help. I truly enjoyed visiting with him and wish he were part of my family!
Of course, I cannot forget the ladies who invited me to play cards with them and take my money, or to join them for water aerobics the next day. Besides these memorable moments, everyone around us, including their staff, was absolutely incredible.
Southern Aire felt like a true community, someplace special where people actually care for their neighbors, even if they don’t know them that well. And I’m not ashamed to admit the day we left, a part of me cried. I was not happy to leave.
Thank you to everyone who made us feel at home. We will come back and see you.
Thoughts about aging and community.
Having spent the last couple of months visiting places with a larger population of people over 70 and hearing their wonderful stories, I must address something that is really on my heart.
There have been many interesting discussions with older people about what to expect when I reach their age, how my health will decline, and how traveling will affect my body, as well as the constant need to be closer to doctors or age-related services.
While I don’t disagree with or look forward to these circumstances, one aspect I believe that often gets missed in the discussion is true community, as I mentioned about Southern Aire earlier. I think it’s extremely valuable in quality of life.
My mother is facing another battle with cancer and we won’t know the scope of it for another couple of weeks. During this time, we are staying closer to Oklahoma City so we, along with my two sisters, can provide support and help as needed to ensure the best care possible. She deserves it!
But here’s why it’s also important.
One thing I’ve learned from my mom over the years is that having a community of loving people and family to be there for you makes a huge difference, so much so that with the proper health care, it increases your rate of recovery or survival. When you’re surrounded by people who give you purpose, you fight harder to live. And when you’re over 75ish, having others to connect with in meaningful ways keeps you going.
As I watched residents from some of these RV resorts care for each other, it was beautiful and warming to my soul.
So often in society, “old people” are pushed into dreary prisons called retirement homes and forgotten. Yet most of them still have the opportunity to live to their fullest — if only given the chance. Imagine these people receiving the love and respect they deserve and living out their days with dignity, surrounded by a community that gives them purpose and joy.
This made me wonder why we don’t have more resorts like Southern Aire to provide for these needs! Maybe they already do. But it gave me a dream to pursue if I ever play and win the lottery, because I think more places like this should exist, rather than dingy and dark buildings that make them want to die.
As many of us in the GEN-X crowd begin to work towards this time in our lives, we also need to remember we’ll be there soon. Perhaps we should start planning for this kind of future while also figuring out how we might help bridge that gap today.
Something to think about!
Thank you for reading. ♥️
I love this soooo much!!!! Meeting random people is hands down, my favorite thing about traveling. Strangers you may never see again but they still made a significant impact in your life 😊 What a wonderful story of a campground nobody has heard of!
Excellent article. This is not the only park like this. I'm just surprised it is not a 55+ community. You were lucky to find this. You never know, maybe that's part of the fun. We have decided to park our 5th wheel at a 55+ community in Arizona which feels very much like your article. We have purchased a 16’ Scamp for short camping trips and the spring and fall trips back a forth. We're modifying it to our needs and excited to start using it. Again nice article.