Sunday Summary #138

Leaving the Everglades and Exploring South-West Florida

Hi there,

Welcome to Scho & Jo’s 138th Sunday Summary. This edition of the Sunday Summary was written in Summit as we drive to see some friends. One of things we love about Summit is that we’re easily able to work and move at the same time!

Last Week.

We wrapped up our time in the Everglades National Park with a slog and a kayak tour. If you’re not familiar with slogging or going on a “wet walk” in the Everglades, it’s essentially a hike off the trail into the marshy waters. We took a ranger-led slog and got up close and personal with the biodiversity present in the Everglades. You might wonder about Snakes, Alligators, and Crocodiles (all abundant in the Everglades) and if we were worried about any interactions, and the truth was that they are more scared of us! As soon as we started walking in the slough, they could feel our movement and all escaped further into the Everglades. We highly recommend going on a slog if you have the chance, we are writing about all the details in our hiking guides below!

The final adventure in the Everglades was our kayak tour with Jenny’s Eco Everglades, and learning about the ecosystem, wildlife, and conservation efforts was the cherry on top of our Everglades visit. Jenny was knowledgeable about the ecosystem, present on current challenges the Everglades face, and patient with us as we navigated in a tandem kayak.

After the Everglades, we noticed our Alternator belt was loose and coming apart! Considering all the rainy, overcast weather, our Wakespeed and secondary alternator kept us at 100%. Fixing this was a top priority, so we went into Naples, ordered a new belt, and got it installed, and now we’re back to fully charged!

At the end of the week, we kicked off our time in Punta Gorda at the Botanical Gardens and ChiliFest 2025, where Jen ranked the top Chili’s around!

We had a fantastic time in Punta Gorda! We explored local festivals, toured the area’s attractions, went on some great hikes, and enjoyed some fun outdoor activities. Here’s a few highlights:

Finally, we went to the AGLCA Looperpalooza and met so many wonderful in-progress, current, and gold Loopers! We loved leading our round table on “how to budget for your loop” and hearing everyone’s unique story. It brings us immense joy to meet the faces of those who watch our videos, read our blog posts, and enjoy our content. Thank you to everyone who said hi 👋

This Week.

This week we’re back home! We have a few small van projects, and take-aways from our month on the road. After we finish the upgrade to Summit, we’ll be filming our full Van Tour and cost breakdown, which will come out next week!

Since the plan is to visit Alaska this year, we aren’t planning on driving back home for a couple of years. Before we head out West, we’re seeing friends and family this week while we’re still close. After we leave, we hope our friends and family join us for trips while we’re on the road.

Videos.

In case you missed it, here are all the vlogs we’ve released since our last Sunday Summary:

Our video this Sunday is waiting copyright checks so stay tuned for our van build time-lapse coming out in the next couple days!

Blogs.

Here are all the blogs we’ve released since our last Sunday Summary:

From the Eyes of Ollie.

In Punta Gorda, I saw a dolphin! I sounded the alarm so Mom and Dad would know. They were really appreciative, they kept telling me “shhhh” - they love me so much.

Gratitudes.

Thank you to everyone who said hi during the Looperpalooza. We’ve been heads down into building Summit and learning about life on the road for the past eight months, so when we went to Looperpalooza, it was a massive breath of fresh air. Whether you are planning your Great Loop, on the water, or already Gold, all of you are full of joy and have that enthusiasm for travel that we love.

Peace and love,

Jen + Elliot

 P.S.

If you are new to our Sunday Summary, you can take a look at previous issues here.