Venice, Florida

Terrain // Concrete Pad | Cost // Free | Discovered By // Friends

Thanksgiving in Venice

After a week on the road, we finally reached Venice, Florida. Spending time on the road away from family during the holidays can be a bit of a weird experience, but we had the most wonderful time with Stacey and Matt over Thanksgiving Break.

Stacey and I have been best friends since third grade, and when she decided she was moving down to Florida, I was a little heartbroken. But the distance between us only made our friendship stronger as we can pick up where we left off every time we get together. Plus, having a destination spot in the Sunshine State is pretty neat.

We had planned a Friendsgiving the Friday after Thanksgiving, but little did I know that Stacey had planned a birthday celebration for Michael and me instead. 🖤 She goes all out for birthdays and decorated their place with balloons, candles, and disco lights. Not to mention the delectable cupcakes from her brother Bradley, fantastic food, and way too many presents.

We couldn’t have asked for a better bonding trip. So many laughs and stories shared.

Where We Stayed

Stacey and Matt have a lovely house in Southern Venice with their daughter, Kinsley, and three dogs: Lincoln (our god dog), Toto, and Oliver. We spent most of our time hanging out at their house; we decided to give their home a name like other Boondockers Welcome destinations. Stinky Linky & Friends after our God dog, Lincoln. My favorite part of their house is Stacey’s plant room. With all 80+ plants, it is the perfect, cozy little room.

Matt was gracious enough to let us park our camper at his business’s gated parking lot, which was a short drive from their house. He also let us hook up to electricity so little Jaxy could stay cool and content in the Florida heat.

Excursions

Venice Pier & Beach

If you’re in Florida, the beach is a must-visit. This time of year, it was the perfect weather: sunny, a little bit chilly, with a nice breeze. The pier was full of people fishing. We saw a woman with three small bluefin tuna, and someone had caught a tiny sting ray.

Sunken Gardens

One evening, we headed about an hour north to St. Pete to check out some botanical gardens. It was a beautiful spot full of enormous palm trees and birds of paradise. They also had flamingos, macaws, and talking parrots. It's a gorgeous spot to walk around. If you go on a weekend, you’re likely to run into a wedding or two in session.

Downtown Venice

This downtown is full of shops and restaurants. We rode our bikes here and spent a little time walking up and down the street window shopping.

Food & Drink

Joey D’s Pizza // A pretty good pie. We got their Hawaiian and polished it off. They also had these beef egg roll things that were super tasty.

Three Bridges Brewery // Their “Almost Famous” Smash Burger is definitely worth trying. Our favorite drinks were the Bahama Mama and Gatekeeper.

Gold Rush // Absolutely impeccable bar-b-q Stacey and Matt got for the birthday celebration. Beef brisket, mashed potatoes, and green beans, oh my!

Taqueria La Marcelita // We picked up a handful of tacos from here for “Friendsgiving.” They were cold by the time we got to eating them, but they had the potential to be decent. 6/10

Pia’s Trattoria // This was a lovely authentic Italian restaurant in Gulfport. The bruschetta was phenomenal. I also loved the baked 4-cheese penne. The sangria had a surprising amount of flavor, 8.5/10.

The Soda Fountain // We got a single slice of pepperoni for $7.50, and it was huge! The perfect bike-riding snack.

Detwiler's Farm Market // Is a farm market grocery store packed full of fresh veggies, meat, and bakery items. We found our favorite seafood spread here!