New Friends and New Birds

When we were sitting in Plains, Georgia five months ago, with feral cats crawling all over the motor home, stray dogs lying in the yard and drugs being dealt from the convenience store in front of the RV Park it was hard to be optimistic about how our winter would go. Today I am sitting here basking in the joy of my morning birding with experienced Audubon Society Birders. I have to pinch myself at what a joy this winter has been here in Ocala, Florida.

This week has been exceptional, two 5-star days in one week.  It’s been a week of firsts, for me. On Tuesday we went back to Silver Spring State Park with our friends Chuck and Julie from Maine. We took a tour of the Spring on a glass bottom boat. A first for 3 of the 4 of us. After getting a fish eye's look at the bottom of the crystal-clear springs and all that was going on below the surface, we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade next to the water then headed out to walk the path were Champ and I saw the monkeys last time we were there. While eating lunch we saw a Swallow Tail Kite circling above. A good sighting for this Midwestern native, as I would not see this bird anywhere near my Iowa roots.  We came upon a large alligator sunning itself on the shoreline in the grass. Another first for me. It was a little unsettling to find myself that close to a creature large enough to eat me! Good thing he was more interested in napping than eating. Another first for me was in the monkey neighborhood. We were disappointed not to see the monkey’s that afternoon, but were treated to a beautiful Barred Owl perched on a tree limb above the trail. My first daytime sighting and first opportunity to photograph an owl. After nearly 4 hours walking and basking in the natural area we returned to our winter homes in the RV park full of excitement for the day we had.

• 

  Barred Owl

• 

  Chuck & Julie Burwell

• 

  Alligator sunning

This morning I returned to Ft. Cooper State Park, this time
with my new friend Julie along. We took part in a bird walk led by local
birders. The day was spectacular. We spent 3 ½ hours and located 32 species.
Four were firsts for me!  The Northern
Perula, Red Eye Vireo, Wood Storks and Great Crested Flycatcher are now a part
of my life list as a birder. We were also treated to a spectacular view of a
Barred Owl pair perched in the tree near their next. They even greeted us with
their beautiful call. The woods were alive with songs and calls of the Florida
birds. It was like a symphony. As a musician I think the sounds of a timbered
area full of birds calling is some of the most beautiful music there is. At Ft.
Cooper the woodland bird calls are often punctuated by the call of a shorebird
in the wetlands located in the same park.

For the birders who are reading today here is the official
list and a few pictures from this morning.

• 

  Red Belly Woodpecker

• 

  Owl Nest

• 

  Northern Parula

• 

  Pileated Woodpecker

• 

  Great Crested Flycatcher

• 

  Bathouse

• 

  Me, Julie, Linda, Gail, Raymond and Eileen
  

• 

  Barred Owl Pair

Boat Tailed Grackle – Palm Warbler – Common Gallinule –
American Coot – Immature Little Blue Heron – Red Winged Blackbird – Killdeer –
Belted Kingfisher – Double Crested Cormorant – Northern Parula – Blue Gray Gnatcatcher
– Tufted Titmouse – Great Crested Flycatcher – Eastern Towhee – Mourning Dove –
White Eye Vireo – Barred Owl – Wood Stork – Red Shoulder Hawk – Red Eye Vireo –
Pileated Woodpecker – Sandhill Crane – Black Vulture – Turkey Vulture – Turkey –
America Crow – Northern Cardinal – Yellow Throated Vireo – Great Blue Heron –
Red Belly Woodpecker -Great Egret – Carolina Wren

Time with our new friends Chuck and Julie is coming to a
quick end. I really savored our morning outing together today. As if this week
wasn’t already pretty spectacular, I got home and read my email. Our official
offer to work camp in Texas next winter, near our Texas friends, was waiting for
my response. Another 18 months of work camping is booked. All we have to do is
open our hearts and minds to what lies ahead.  

Until next time…

Ft. Cooper State Park

Inverness, Florida Sunny 72 Degrees

We awoke to a Colorado kind of morning. Cool, dry, 42 degree air but the promise of warm sunshine this afternoon. After our morning walk we packed a lunch and headed for Ft. Cooper just 30 miles away. Just south of Inverness, Florida.

When we got to our destination, I wanted to kick myself for walking out of the house with my camera bag, cooler full of lunch but no binoculars. I was prepared for a lack luster morning looking at stuff through the zoom lens or with my naked eye. It turned out much better than I thought it would when stood staring into the backseat cussing my menopause brain for forgetting my bird eyes.

We walked the 3 mile trail that looped through forest hammock and by the lake. The gnarly Live Oaks were spectacular and we did see some birds through camera lens. Perhaps the coolest thing on the trail was a fallen tree along the side of the trail that looked like an Alligator lifting its head. Lunch was the best part. As we sat down to eat I looked up and saw two Sandhill Cranes in the park pecking at the ground. I abandoned my salad and went to see how close I could get with my camera. Turns out pretty close. They didn't pay any attention to me. I was 2 feet away, clicking away with my camera as they ate their own lunch, plucked from the sandy ground. Until this morning, I had only seen Sandhill Cranes circling high in the sky. Another first for me today was a Juvenile Little Blue Heron. Karma looked out for me, I didn't need binoculars to see either of these birds.

• 

  Alligator tree

• 

  Gator warning

• 

  Little Blue Heron Juvenile

• 

  Me and the Crane

• 

  Sandhill Crane

• 

  Sandhill Crane

As we ate, we couldn't help but laugh at the rack of rental canoes and kayaks right in front of a sign warning that the water was populated with Alligators and not to wade. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to encounter one in a canoe either. Eventually I was able to finish my lunch in between distractions of birds in the trees above and along the shoreline.

One thing I have really missed this winter is having an experienced birder to help me identify the abundance of unfamiliar birds in the dense Florida forest canopy. I have found a few on my own and identified them with the help of my Merlin Bird App. For the most part, though, it's been tough learning for me. Next Thursday I'll get my wish . The park we visited today will have a bird walk guided by two experienced naturalists who know the area like their own backyard. I can't wait to find out what I've been missing.

Another sunny day is winding down, another State Park I wanted to visit this winter crossed off the list. In less than 30 days we will be back in Iowa and my winter tan will be fading as we wait for the Upper Midwest to warm up. The seasons really fly by these days.

Until Next Time...

A New 'State' Of Mind

Ocala Florida- Sunny 71 Degrees

This winter I have started noticing the maps on RV’s. You know the ones, you put it on the side and place a decal on all the states you have visited. It’s a sort of badge of achievement to those who strive to travel. I began noticing that the state of Iowa is often blank, even though the surrounding states are filled in. I ask people why they hadn’t visited Iowa in their travels that took them nearby. Most replied something along the lines of “there isn’t anything there accept corn fields is there?”  I reply contritely sometimes. “Oh, contraire!” Let me tell you what there is to see in Iowa. We’ll get to that later.

It started me thinking about my own preconceived notions
about states we have visited and how they have been debunked after spending an
extended amount of time there. Florida is a great example of my own imaginings
about a state and the delight I have had to discover an entirely different side
to my expectations. When we made our way to Florida, I had visions of beaches,
shorebirds and exotic flowers that would never survive Iowa’s extreme climate
fluctuations. For some reason I never considered that Florida had an interior.
Maybe we can blame that on the tourism industry. After all, the beaches are the
draw that get northerners here for spring break and snowbirds here for the
winter. Inland images in my mind included only Disney.

Having spent 5 months in the interior of Florida I am still amazed everyday at what I didn’t expect to find here. Woodpeckers would be a big one. I grew up in a heavily timbered area with many woodpeckers present in the dense white oak tree stand that surrounded my childhood home. I have seen more woodpecker varieties and quantities here than anywhere I have ever been. It’s pretty amazing. I even found out there is one that is only present in Florida.

I didn’t expect bears. Again, we Yankees associate alligators and big snakes with Florida. Bear boxes and signs warning that they are present abound in the state parks of interior Florida were unexpected. That's what we see in the Western Mountains. I have found and photographed tracks on the trails but have so far been disappointed not to have seen Yogi. The beaches are awesome and there are a ton of shorebirds as expected. The drivers are borderline insane as is the traffic in the cities. That part didn't suprise us.  I am getting lots of practice with my remedial Spanish skills and the ethnic food is excellent. Spending time in the interior areas this winter and given us a whole new perspective on Florida. We have visited a number of State Parks and Wildlife Preserves and are working on returning to volunteer at one in a couple of years. We’ll be back here in the Keys in three years for sure. We have made many friends who will make future trips here more familiar, just like Texas is to us now after spending two winters there.

Now for Iowa. I will plug Iowa tourism a bit. Iowa is not flat as an RV Park neighbor said he found out the first time he rode RAGBRAI; an annual bike ride across the state that draws thousands from all over the world each year. When people ask me what there is to see I don’t know where to start. A credit union coworker was looking at Iowa online one day and marveled at how beautiful it was. He admitted he had Idaho in mind when he Googled my home state. A common mistake for easterners.

Iowa’s western counties are home to the Loess Hills. A beautiful geological phenomenon that only exists in one other place in the world, China. It is the product of windblown silt from the Missouri River Valley nearby.  Central Iowa is where the National Hot Air Balloon Classic is held each August. The National Hot Air Balloon Hall of Fame is located in Indianola Iowa, 12 miles from where I grew up, where the festival is held each year. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an evening mass ascension. Central Iowa is also where the Pella Tulip Festival is held each May. A 4-day celebration that begins Thursday before Mother’s Day weekend transports you to Holland. The towns architecture is a celebration in Dutch culture. Even the Walmart had to adhere to classic Dutch architectural style to build there. Millions of tulips bloom throughout the town of 10,000 each spring. The town square is home to bakeries and meat shops, quilt shops and even a place that makes wooden shoes. The population swells by tens of thousands during the festival each year.

• 

  Mass Ascension
  Photo Courtesy of Trip Advisor

• 

  PellaTulips
  Photo Pella Toursim Board

• 

  The Loess Hills
  Photo Iowa Tourism Association

The Iowa State Fair is in a league of its own. It is one of
the Nations largest. Lasting 10 days each August and drawing over a million
people during that time it is something to experience. From the pioneer style
farming demonstrations, 1,100-pound boars, 2500-pound bulls, 1,000-pound
pumpkins, to the incredible photography contest and exhibit and national music
acts that grace the Grandstand Stage each night of the fair it is an event
native Iowan’s take for granted and outsiders marvel at when they find them
selves in Iowa in August.  Where else can
you watch women compete in a Husband Calling Contest in the afternoon, Stomp Grapes,
eat all three meals on a stick and then go see The Zac Brown Band or Jim
Gaffigan that night. Regional and local bands grace three free stages each
night as well.

The eastern border is defined by the Mississippi River and
beautiful bluffs, German towns and of course campgrounds. River culture and
beauty define the east and west borders of Iowa. Currently they are also the
source of catastrophic flooding as the record snowfall quickly melts over the
frozen ground creating ice jams and rapid runoff.

Of course, there is Saylorville Lake, where we live and volunteer each summer. It is one of 4 large reservoirs that draw campers and boaters all summer long. Northern Iowa is also home to a system of Glacial Lakes called Okoboji, a popular vacation destination for many.

People ask me about my home state all the time. I tell them it’s breathtaking in the summer. It is lush and green with lakes, woods and river valleys. An outdoor person’s heaven. The cities are rich in cultural and arts and music events throughout the summer.  Town festivals celebrating the kaleidescope of ethnic heritage of the settlers in the 1800’s go on all summer. Along about November it begins to turn into a frozen waste land, and everyone retreats to the indoors, accept those who love to ice fish and snowmobile, then they are in hog heaven. Pun intended.

As a native Iowan, I know how much of my home state goes unnoticed, or is simply not understood by most of the country. I blame it on national media who always interviews a retired farmer in overalls, a seed cap and one front tooth, when they come to do a story on a tornado or flood. Aside form the political coverage for the caucuses, Iowa is rarely depicted on national news. I take that into consideration when we set out to spend time in a state, we haven’t been in. This life has taught me to seek out the unnoticed things. Take advantage of the local festivals, stay off the beaten path, eat in the small-town diners and talk to the life long residents. That is where the pot of gold is at the end of each states rainbow.

Even this winter, trapped in the urban jungle of Ocala and working in my old industry, I have managed to find my way to many natural areas and lose myself in the woods amidst the songs of unfamiliar birds perched in trees I would not see in the Midwest. I have discovered a Florida that didn’t exist in my mind till this year. When we drive north in 5 weeks, I will already be looking forward to coming back.

If you find yourself near Iowa, go ahead and try it out. You
won’t be disappointed, and you can finally fill in the whole in the middle of
your map. As for me, I hear my Dad’s voice in the back of my head this time of
year. He was a prolific traveler in his younger years, and he used to say,
“Iowa is a nice place to come home to.” He is so right.

Until next time…

Happy PI Day!

We are watching the national weather as we bask in the warm
sunshine of Florida and are feeling a mixture of relief and guilt. My aunt
emailed me from Denver to let me know that yes, it was as bad as it looked on
TV.  We have friends who are wintering
and traveling out west who are enduring some terrible weather this winter. I’m
thankful that we serendipitously, landed in Florida this winter, for so many
reasons, not the least of which has been the weather. My credit union job
wrapped up earlier this week and we’ve stayed busy enjoying just being together
all day. I enjoyed the job, but I think deep down we really missed spending our
days together. Neither one of us really talked about it but the elephant was
very much in the room.  It has been a
weird dynamic, almost like I stepped into a time warp and went back to the days
when we still lived in our home in Williams and I went to work every weekday
after he retired. If nothing else, it has been a validation to me that we are
doing exactly what we are meant to do as a couple. Which is to travel,
volunteer and live this wonderfully simple life. We know for sure now that Plan
A is definitely preferred over Plan B.  We have roughly 5 weeks to play before we make
our way back north.

• 

  Live Oaks along the trail

• 

  Bison cooling themselves

When I was commuting to Gainesville for training in
December, I drove past Payne’s Prairie everyday and have wanted to visit all
winter. Today was the day. We awoke to sun, no wind and 65 degrees. A picture-perfect
birding morning. We set out on the hour drive a little after 7am and spent an
incredible morning walking trails and exploring the huge wildlife
preserve.  I was really longing to have a
more experienced birder with me this morning. 
The forest was filled with calls, some familiar to me and many that were
not. The challenge was finding the birds through the dense foliage and moss
hanging in the trees. At one point I let go of my frustration and just closed
my eyes and let myself get lost in the beautiful sounds of all the birds going
about their morning routines. A very Zen moment for me. The highlight of the
morning was watching an American Bald Eagle’s nest with eaglets being fed by
parents flying back and forth bringing food to them. A Red headed woodpecker
sighting was a treat as well. They were common in the woods where I grew up,
but I rarely see one anymore. As we walked the trails lined with palms instead
of woodland wild flowers and deciduous tree saplings, I couldn’t help but
admire the huge Live Oak trees and imagined them some 150 years ago, around the
time my great-grandparents were born, as small acorn saplings just sprouting up
from the forest floor. They have endured so much and yet there they are,
stunning in their sprawling majesty.  I
can’t get over the beauty of Florida State Parks. The beaches are great, but
the real treasure lies inland. We really hope to come back and volunteer at one
or more of the parks in future years.

Bird songs 3.14Download

The rest of the week has been punctuated with departures of
people we have met and become friends with this winter. The couple next to us
left Sunday. Another will leave tomorrow and yet another next Monday. This week
has been a lot of lasts. Last happy hours, dinners out, evening visits on the
patio, you get it. We are starting to exchange cards with contact info, an
inevitable event in the life of full-time RV people. In a few days our little
group will be down to us and a couple from Maine who we have gotten to know and
become very fond of. Eventually, everyone will have gone their separate ways,
not knowing for sure if we will be able to execute plans to meet again someday.
It is that knowledge that makes us savor the last moments so deeply. Sometimes
it happens, sometimes not. But weather or not we see each other again in no way
diminishes the time we have to get to know people along the way. As I say all
the time, “It’s all about the people we meet”. They become a part of you.

As quickly as the season is wrapping up, we still have a
long list of places to see and things to do. Champ is really looking forward to
going to the Barrett Jackson Auction in April at West Palm Beach. He has
watched in on television for years and we have talked several times about how
cool it would be to go watch it live and experience the whole event. Our season
will end with that bucket list item crossed off. In the meantime, I watch the
weather up north and conjure up positive thoughts for a turn in the terrible
winter weather and an uneventful spring for our family and friends who have
endured ‘one for the books’ as they say.

Until next time…

The Remodel

Ocala, Florida 85 Degrees Sunny

When we bought this motor home it was in dire need of some TLC on the inside. The drive train had been well maintained and the miles were low. The inside was a fright. After having bought two houses out of foreclosure in similarly sorry condition and rehabilitating them, the work didn't scare us. After all, someone would buy it eventually and make it nice again, it may as well be Champ and I. The big difference was that with the houses we had a big camper in the yard to live in while we did the big work. This would be a job that would have to happen while we lived amid the mess. The layout was the best of all the motor homes we looked at and the price deeply discounted due to the condition of the inside. Over the last 18 months we have slowly worked at updating the inside and making some other untimely repairs that we didn't expect but come along with the territory of buying a 12 year old unit. I've done posts along the way but decided to wrap it into one post now that the work is done say, for a couple of minor changes we still intend to make.

Lars, the former owner, lives in our imaginations as a 70 something retired farmer with a barn and machine shed full of scrap lumber, coffee cans full of random hardware and no idea how to throw anything away. Every 'repair' he made or shelf he built is held together with 5" deck screws. If he missed he didn't back it out he just stuck another screw next to the badly placed one. All of his handy work has been painfully obvious and as far as we know has been located and done properly with new materials, that match the rest of the motor home and hardware that suits the application. We found all of the drive train maintenance and repair records in the manual folder. Thank God, he didn't touch the motor!

Like many early 2000's RV's, the inside was shades of beige and dark brown. Heavy box valances and dingy vinyl wall covering dominated the inside. The first thing we did was take down all the slatted mini blinds and replace them with insulated panel curtains. I made draw roman style insulated shades for the bedroom and recovered the headboard to match. We painted the entire inside an off white with blueish gray undertones. Grease from the stove had ruined the back splash in the kitchen so we didn't even try to paint that we put up a metallic stick on back splash that matches the cabinet door pulls and handles.

• 

  Original bed area

• 

  Bed after
  

• 

  Original kitchen

• 

  Kitchen w/ new backsplash

We realized a couple of weeks ago that we had replaced all of the electronics and appliances accept the stove. It was an easy decision to buy a whole new cook top when I started having trouble finding grates to replace the aftermarket ones that were on mine and didn't align with the burner heads, making even pan heating impossible. I've been cursing the stove since day one. I suppose Lars, had some old ones from another RV laying around his shed that ended up in here. The 4k living room TV and sound bar quickly replaced the old analog dinosaur that was in it when we bought it. The RV fridge succumbed to a close lightening strike last summer and we now have a nice big residential fridge in it's place that Champ wired to the inverter, so it still runs going down the road. The dealer put a nice new, huge, Whirlpool convection/microwave in before we bought it, since Lars and his wife left some sort of food like substance in the old one when it caught fire before they traded. Our salesman said the smell when they opened it, after sitting on the lot closed up for the better part of a hot Iowa summer, permeated the entire shop for days. The heat pump has been essentially rebuilt this winter and is working fabulously these days after limping along or not working at all for most of last summer.

We threw out the blue recliner the first week, along with the 9 lbs of dog hair embedded in it. In it's place we put a small end table that we picked up at Goodwill for 10 bucks. For another few dollars I bought material and made a skirted cover with an opening in the back. Underneath lives the covered litter box for our two cats. No one knows it's there. I covered the end of the stub wall with matching fabric.

• 

  Original TV corner
  

• 

  New TV Corner
  

Oh yes, we also replaced the fireplace early on. The one that the dealer said worked wouldn't heat for more than a few seconds. $150.00 and Amazon cured that problem pretty easily.

Perhaps the most dramatic change took place this winter. We finally tore out all the old carpet ( the subject of several posts in December) and got our new vinyl plank flooring installed and added some area rugs from Wayfair. While we were on a roll we went couch shopping to replace the Winnebago motorized jack knife couch that was starting to pop springs and had quite a few dog teeth marks on it from the prior owners. That snowballed into a whole new use for the living dining area. As we looked at couches we found that what we really wanted was much bigger than the original couch. After a lot of discussion and some arm twisting on me, we decided to nix the dining table and buy the big couch since that is where we spend most of our time relaxing if we aren't lounging on the patio. Giving up the table was huge for me. I grew up taking meals at the table. I was that mean mom who made my kids eat at the table as well. I have even been accused of being a mean wife for making Champ, who has spend most of his pre-Britt adulthood eating is meals on the couch in front of the TV, eat at the table with me! After laying on the couch with room to spare, I relinquished my permanent dining table for a couple of nice TV trays and a small occasional table with a pull out tray and a cabinet to store my 'table stuff' like the computer and my various notebooks and crossword puzzles that are always within my reach. When I want a real table to eat at or sew at I now have a card table that stores under the bed. When I'm sprawled out on the couch with nearly a foot of length left over I don't miss the table. Being able to plug my phone into the couch to charge is pretty cool too. The dining area has undergone a lot of change. It had a booth when the previous owners bought it new. They installed the table in the 'before' image below and had four hardwood straight backed chairs that were horribly uncomfortable. We bought 2 bucket chairs at a garage sale and a smaller table to make the space easier to move about in. Last summer I splurged and bought new chairs, that stayed after the last change.

• 

  Original Couch area

• 

  New couch 8 " longer
  

• 

  Original dining are

• 

  Dining area turned coffee nook

We marvel at the old pictures and smile when we realize that after buying this very heavily lived in, seldom cleaned unit for more than 20k less than the value, we have made it into a very nice, updated unit for less than $4,000. The only thing we still want to do is replace the carpet in the slides and the driving compartment which we'll likely do this summer. We've priced that job at around $300. Being able to do our own work has been both economical and very satisfying for both of us.

The day we looked at it with our eyes burning from the smell and me gagging a bit the salesman said, "Someone will get a really good deal if they can do the work to make it nice again." As it turned out those someones were us. It has taken a year and a half but I can finally say with some conviction that I'm glad we bought it and I gave up my beloved 5th wheel. Not something Champ ever thought he would hear me say after dragging me kicking and screaming into the world of motor homes.

Until next time...

Day 365! A Year Has Passed So Quickly

One year ago, today, I started my project of blogging daily
on our life as full time RV Volunteers. I managed to do the daily posts till
around July, when things started to seem stale. 
Since then I have posted frequently, sometimes daily in shorter spurts
if something was going on. The experience has been a little like taking a long
trip. When you set out on the first day, the final day seems far off. As the
time progresses the end date approaches quickly, and before you know it you are
at the end of the trip.

Fortunately, we are not anywhere close to being done with this chapter of our life as full time RV'rs, barring a catastrophe. I am writing this evening marveling at how quickly a year went by and all that has happened in that year. The speed of the passing of this year, makes my head swirl a bit.

I remember writing my post on March 1^st sitting in the motorhome dining table at our host site in Goliad State Park Texas. I was imagining what a year may bring and thinking along the track of we never know what lies around the corner. As it happened a trip to the emergency room and emergency surgery to remove Champ’s appendix was the subject of my post 6 days into this little project.

Looking back now, sitting on my new couch in the RV resort
in Ocala, Florida the theme of last year seems to have been extreme weather,
especially flooding. Texas experienced record rainfall and we dealt with
flooding and closed areas of the state park where we volunteered. Our trip home
to Iowa from Texas, stalled twice while we waited out late season snow storms.
The weather delay bought us two very enjoyable days with a cousin and his wife
as they showed us around their part of the world.

We arrived home in Iowa to excited grandkids and families
happy to see us back from our winter excursions in Texas. Three days after setting
up at Saylorville we woke up to 7” of snow. A very late season snowstorm. After
a long cold spring in Iowa the weather did an about face and we had temps above
100 degrees for Memorial Day just around the time the AC in the motorhome quit
and the part backordered. That was after a close lightning strike took out the
refrigerator. Are you seeing theme?

We got to know our volunteer village companions even better
last summer and turned some casual acquaintances into forged friendships. We
met new volunteers who we will return with this year and had more people to
stay in contact with during the winter months this season.

The rains came back to Iowa in June and by July 4^th we were being evacuated from Volunteer Village for the first of what would be two times that season. It was the first time in 12 years that the lake level encroached our area. Part of our volunteer duties became sitting at the closed Dam Road barricades and explaining to people why they couldn’t drive across the dam or go near the spillway.

I worked for my friends, Champ worked for the Natural Resources team at Saylorville and I wrote their newsletters and worked a little in the butterfly gardens. We spent lots of good time with friends, kids and grandkids. The summer flew by and in October we travelled with 9 or our friends and family to the Dominican Republic for a memorable vacation before heading the Georgia.

After tearful goodbyes we traveled 3 days to our winter volunteer commitment in Plains Georgia. It turned out to be a very short engagement. We experienced some great things, not the least of which was meeting President Carter and his wife Roselyn. In the end, though it was a difficult living situation and we tactfully made our exit from the National Parks job and found our way here to Ocala Sun RV resort. I never thought I would work in the credit union industry again, yet I will have spent about 13 weeks this winter doing just that. The job has kept me from going crazy sitting around the RV park and the extra income has made it possible to do the rest of the work we have been wanting to do to the motor home since buying it 18 months ago. In between we have spent time with new friends who are are neighbors in the park and old friends who have wintered nearby. We have kayaked and I have swum in the river with wild Manatees in their world and on their terms.

At the end of this very fast year I can’t believe how much has happened. We just received a job offer for a future winter at a wildlife refuge in the Florida Keys that we will look forward to. In a year we have completely redecorated the interior of the coach. I overhauled my diet and am feeling 10 years younger and carrying about 15 less pounds than this time last year. Our hair is grayer, our hearts are fuller with new people to call friends.  We both have a few more wrinkles than last year, but that’s okay. We are getting excited to be back home at Saylorville with our old group of volunteers that will this year include two new couples, one of whom is a cousin of mine who we will have an opportunity to get to know better. At the same time, we are trying to cram as much time with new friends here before we all depart to different places soon. What a year it has been. Lots of challenges, yet so fulfilling. It makes my head spin to think that we will be coming up on the 4^th Anniversary of our decision to “Sell all our crap and take off” as my daughter put it when I called her and told her we needed to talk to them about something important. Our sons thought we were going to tell them one of us was sick. Kelsy nailed it before I even finished saying we needed to talk to her and JP.

We have never had an expiration date in mind for this life. We just go from year to year, savoring it along the way for however long it lasts. I’ll continue to post about our life on wheels and our volunteer work. This has been a weird winter for sure, but so many good things have come of it. Landing in Florida has been a real joy and opened doors for some really cool future things. We are looking forward to winter in Texas next year, then back here to Florida the following two years we hope. Wow! How did we pack all of this into 365 days? Such is the life. Enjoy the year in pictures below.

• 

  Host Site At Goliad

• 

  Eight Spotted Forester Moth

• 

  Champ setting up for Reenactment of the Battle for Texas Independance

• 

  Mexian troops surrounding Fannin's troops

• 

  Wilderness Lakes friends Gary & Joyce, Connie and Joel and us.

• 

  Desiree and I

• 

  Lonn, Champ and I at Reenactment

• 

  A visit with my cousins Jeff and Kathi on our way home April

• 

  Buster knee deep April 10th

• 

  The Orioles at Saylorville

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  Lightning strike, blew limbs off and sent bark 50' away. It also took out our refrigerator
  

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  Getting to know the new volunteers during a tornado warning May 4th

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  Facing the camera, Hunter fielding the ball

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  Going on the Zoo fieldtrip with Hunter

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  Old Mom's and young mom's for breakfast

• 

  2018 Kickoff Happy Hour

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  Working on my ball field tan

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  Isacc 'driving' grandpa to the store

• 

  Planting Day at Joyces

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  Commander Satinger, Judy, Will and Emma. Receiving a Natonal Volunteer Award

• 

  Birthday suprise from my son Chris

• 

  Miss Sydney Rose

• 

  Poor houseboat. Downpour + broken bilge pump = heartache.

• 

  Brothers

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  Arrow shows where Champ was walking yesterday in first picture. Line is approx. where the guardrail on the road is.

• 

  Curve in road noon. Champ Steve and Nora wading to where the water line was that. morning

• 

  Flood water surrounding our pad. July 6th

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  Reconnecting with an old school mate

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  Wedding # 1

• 

  Colorful Paleo Dinner

• 

  Jester Park Nature Center view from back, Grand Opening Day

• 

  Champ and the National Fair Queens

• 

  The Happy Couple Cole and Bree Wedding #2

• 

  Making luminaries at my station

• 

  Our summer volunteer family

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  Champ and his brother Steve. Both old retired guys now

• 

  Lego time

• 

  Kids always love to paint

• 

  Isaac putting his moves on the soccar ball

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  Nora doing yoga warm ups with me

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  Great Grandkids Sydney 9 and Conner 2

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  Hunter's 1st motorcycle ride. He's hooked

• 

  Don and I pullng Dam Guard duty during the flood. July 7th

• 

  Judy and I celebrating our birthdays together

• 

  Catching up with Beth and Tammy

• 

  Getting the AC fixed in June

• 

  9am bundled up ready for the trip across the dam in an ATV

• 

  The Gang Arriving in Punta Cana

• 

  Zip Lines Conquered

• 

• 

  What can I say?

• 

  Batman and GI Joe

• 

  Champ and I with Mr. and Mrs Carter after church services

• 

  Up close and personal

• 

  Store fronts in old town

• 

• 

  Brown Pelican Fishing
  

• 

  Florida Red Belly Turtles Sunning

• 

  Julie and I

• 

  22,000 CFS at the discharge

Until next time…