Our transportation, accommodation, food and entertainment cost so far
Nov 11 ~ Day #185
| Budget to date
| Spent today
| Total to date
| Daily average
|
Total
| $18500
| $115.22
| $16501.55
| $89.20
|
Miles by Road
| Miles by Sea
| Miles by Air
| Miles by Train
| Total Miles
|
15566+249.4=15815.4
| 12056.7
| 7662
| 196
| 35730.1
|
Current Location: Caliente Resort, Land O’Lakes, Florida
Today’s Total Expenses: $115.22
Transportation: $50.00 (gas)
Accommodation: $28.14 (timeshare)
Food: $37.08
Consisting of:
$5.20 (Subway for lunch)
$5.34 (drinks at the resort)
$26.54 (dinner at the resort)
Miles Traveled Today:
Road Miles: 249.4
Birthday Celebration
Today a Happy Birthday wish goes out to grandson, A. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Booking Caliente Through RCI Timeshare System
When we were checking our timeshare options for this trip we were quite surprised to see the Caliente Resort come up as an choice. Caliente is a very upscale, clothing optional resort.
In the “important information” section when you’re booking timeshare through RCI, it does mention that it’s a clothing optional resort and you have to click a check box to say that you’ve read that information. However, you have to check that box for every resort you book, even if there is no important information. So, we couldn’t help but wonder how many people just click the box without actually reading the information. We also wondered if people had booked through RCI and showed up at Caliente not knowing it was a clothing optional resort.
Madge, Our Magellan GPS
Once again we put Madge into service to get us from Davie, Florida to Land O’Lakes, Florida.
She gave us several options, as she always does, and we decided to take the longer route for a leisurely drive, avoiding any major highways. After all, it was a lovely day for a drive and we were in no particular hurry.
Checking In After Dark
The drive actually took us a little longer than anticipated and we arrived at Caliente just a little after dark.
We checked in at the front gate and were directed to the building where the check in desk was located.
The resort uses very soft lighting in the evening which is very attractive, but it also makes it a bit difficult to see where you’re going. But, we did manage to find the right building, and a place to park, and proceeded to check in.
During the check in process we did ask if people had exchanged into the resort through RCI not knowing that it was a clothing optional resort.
They told us about one incident where a husband had booked the trip without telling his wife it was clothing optional. I can’t imagine that that ended well.
This Isn’t a Studio
On our RCI timeshare exchange we had selected a studio unit. When we got to our room, we realized that what we actually got was a hotel room. We were hoping for some minimal cooking facilities, which is what you usually get with a studio, but all we got was a tiny fridge and a microwave.
Oh, well. We’d just have to make do. At least the microwave would give us the option of having some hot meals. We don’t want to be eating out for a whole week.
Free Cocktails and Dinner
After getting settled in our room, we headed back to the clubhouse which was only steps away from our room.
Tonight was “free drinks for the ladies” night so we each had a couple of drinks and, because mine were free, the total cost for the drinks only came to $5.34. Not bad!
We didn’t stop for groceries before we got to the resort because we weren’t certain about cooking facilities. So, we decided to eat in the restaurant tonight and make a grocery run tomorrow.
Beautiful Resort
Caliente is a beautiful resort with an RV section, condos and a residential area, with some fabulous homes, as well.
They also have several pools, a large hot tub, extensive grounds, and planned activities every day. We were able to see what activities were coming up on the tv in our room.
We are looking forward to spending a week here.
