“Discover Hillsborough State Park: Our RV Camping Experience-Part 1”

 

This video shows the beginning of our 7th Season and a typical “travel day!” We just returned from 3 month in Europe and so excited to get back on the road and heading to northern Florida. This year we are planning to see most of the northeastern regions of the United States. We wanted to go as far as Nova Scotia Canada but the health travel insurance company doesn’t go into affect with a long term trip unless you cover the entire trip. That would be a waste since we have terrific health insurance and just need for Canada. They have to cover the entire trip from what I understand so the best way for us to see Canada is to fly directly there from home in Florida.

Hillsborough River State Park Campground google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1m87YK3A5kLxNQpt8?g_st=ic

Setting up our Napier Outdoor Tent

This video was taken before we retired in 2018. When we first began planning to be nomads I personally wanted to do a tent. My sweet husband really wanted to make that happen for me. We found a tent online on Amazon that would attach to our van. He built a fantastic bed in the van and the room in the tent was great. It was glamorous camping as far as I was concerned.

We evacuated from one of the hurricanes headed to Florida and set up camp in Unicoi State Park. This was our first time putting this tent up with the help of my son and his wife. We had such a fantastic experience and I was even more excited about our future plans of being nomads!

The Element of Yearning (Preparing for Retirement)

 Written 7/19/2017 as we prepared for retirement in 2018

It is going on 5 years now that I have yearned to live a more nomadic life. It's in my roots from my own parents who took me at 6 weeks old to Africa. Jimmy has lived here in South Florida nearly his entire lifetime so he could not even entertain the idea and said, "No way!" My prayer was that God change either my yearning to go or his heart to stay. One year ago he came home and said, "I think I would like to do go ahead with your plans!" Music to my ears.....I began packing the next day!

My favorite part of any trip is the planning which feeds the yearning inside of me to travel. The past year has been all about preparing for travel full time and eliminating much of our life before. Paperwork, stuff, etc. has to all be eliminated when there is no home to store it away. Relinquishing everything was much more liberating than I had imagined. I have enjoyed life with less and have more time to work on the things I choose instead of things I need to do. I really wasn't expecting this new form of freedom which was an unexpected surprise. Somehow the grief of letting it go fooled me into believing that my grief and regret would be overwhelming. It wasn't the case at all but instead it seemed to release me of my normal anxiety and stress.

Anxiety has always been an issue for me since I was a teenager. Medication has too many side affects that eliminate my being able to use them. When I had kids my way of dealing with the anxiety and stress of motherhood was to go camping with my mom and friends from Europe. It would always work in calming me down and just what I needed to help me cope and start again fresh. That is my biggest reason for wanting to do this because I know it works for me. My husband noticed that my anxiety and stress went away as soon as we moved from our home of 30 years and started this quest. I have to agree!

We have a table I was painting just before my husbands heart change that says, "Prayer changes everything!"  My yearning calmed down when we moved here on the beach because it has been like a vacation for us. My husband now yearns for more travel just from living here so we find ourselves exploring the area to find new things to see and do. We are both thankful for answered prayer!

Exploring Lake Okeechobee!

Planning Again (Retirement Planning)

 Written 5/30/2017 as we prepared for retirement in 2018

We have spent the past few weeks since our trip to Spain planning our next adventure. There are some small trips in the plan and larger trips too. The planning can also be part of the fun of this journey and we are enjoying all the possibilities.

Each day I scroll through my instagram of those I am following who are already nomads. It has been inspiring to see all the places they are going and some of the ideas they have. My husband and I are project oriented and this by far has been a project of challenge. I look forward to what he will be creating as we go along.

I will be planning the route and where we go while he plans and creates what we use in order to make this trip possible. What does that mean? Well, that will be the fun in all of this as I document all the places we go and all the things he creates as we go along.

Our planning right now consist of the best vehicle to use on this trip - the route - the finances needed - going paperless - what to bring - what NOT to bring - and most importantly  making sure that we are physically okay to go. This month the priority is getting all the wellness appointments taken care of such as: yearly physical - mamogram - gyn - blood work - dentist. All these things need to be done first!

Inspiration & Contemplation (Retirement planning)

Written 5/3/17 as we prepared for retirement in 2018

Traveling gives me a chance for inspiration and contemplation! We all need time to reflect and I find that when we are home in the business of life, it is difficult to do. On a trip and especially to somewhere beautiful and natural you find yourself inspired and contemplating all the possibilities of the life around you.

John Muir who was born in 1838 writes about the joys to be found in quietly observing the world. All part of his desire, he said, to"preach nature like an apostle." The story of his life is inspiring to me because of the religious abuse in his young life. He never turned his back on God in spite of his tyrannical and religious fathers beatings while he forced him to memorize the entire Bible. He left the life of what he describes as mans institution of worship to worshiping God in the midst of nature itself in Yosemite Valley. He spent his life trying to protect the beauty of Yosemite which he considered his cathedral from becoming a carnival for people who wanted to commercialize the area. He became the voice in politics to protect Yosemite and other natural wonders of the United States by creating National Parks. He describes himself as an "unknown nobody" who had entered Yosemite and then been transformed by his "unconditional surrender to nature." He would need to convince many other Americans to surrender, as well. To see the necessity, as he said, "in all that is wild." What he means is that wildness is an essential part of ourselves that we lose in the everyday routines of life and rediscover when we wander in the wilderness.

The tendency these days to wander in wilderness is delightful to see. Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home. That wildness is a necessity, and that mountain parks and reservations are useful, not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers but as fountains of life. ~John Muir

Mama Mia’s in Verona, Italy 🇮🇹

What a beautiful place to get lost in while we were exploring Italy. Yes, everyone’s biggest fear about traveling, we were so lost. I thought we had bought train tickets to Varenna, Italy. Let me start at the beginning!

We had family traveling with us in Italy and their first trip to Europe. They wanted to visit Lake Como and so I planned a day trip by train. In the process of planning my husband was looking online at the village of Verona thinking it was the same place. He kept telling me that we were going to a place where there was a Roman amphitheater. I told him I didn’t see a Roman Amphitheater but maybe he saw something I didn’t. Anyways, while I was on the train app I asked him what the name of the spelling was of the town we were planning to go because he was looking at it on his iPad at that time. Well, that was my mistake!

Anyways, when we arrived and we walked out of the train station confused me because I didn’t see Lake Como. I had planned to walk to the restaurant by following the Lake road but there was no Lake road. We got a cab and I gave the taxi driver the name of the restaurant but he seemed confused. He looked it up on his gos and said, it is 2 hours away. WHAT? I realized then that we were lost. So we had the taxi driver take us into town where we saw immediately a Roman Amphitheater. I realized right then that we were both looking at 2 different towns and I had asked him how to spell it when I was getting the tickets.

Traveling full time for 6 years now we have learned to just enjoy what is around us. I look at everything that God orchestrates everything, even when we are lost. It was a beautiful day and some incredible architecture. The amphitheater was impressive and they actually hold concerts there which is why my husband was so excited to be there. He has seen some of his favorite musicians perform there online. This was a great day for him all around. You have to learn to be flexible when you travel because it makes for a more pleasant experience!

Bistrot Mama Mia Restaurant https://maps.app.goo.gl/72sr524g5sdWaZvs8?g_st=ic

2nd Stop - Spain!🇪🇸 (Retirement Planning)

Written 9/28/2016 as we prepared for retirement in 2018

This month we flew over to Spain to visit with family and friends. My husbands first trip to Europe and had no difficulty until we returned and went through customs in Miami. That was actually the worst part of our trip; otherwise, it all went perfectly!

We traveled around many parts of the Costa del Sol in Andalucia. So many beautiful pueblos and cities that we were able to enjoy the food and the beauty that surrounded each one. There was so much to enjoy about each place we found ourselves in each day. 

This is an area we would like to be able to come and stay a few months out of the year. We took time to look around and see where we both could see ourselves spending time. There were a lot of signs showing rentals so I would just take a picture of them since I had my camera out already. 

It is a lot easier to enjoy a country such as Spain when you have a local to show you around. We were interested in just spending time with family, friends and the culture of the area. It was a great experience and gave us an idea of what we needed to do in planning for our next trip.

Our New Normal (Retirement Planning)

Written 2/15/17 as we prepared for retirement in 2018

A dear friend said to me she would be praying for me during our move to have a smooth transition to our "new normal." She had recently moved herself so she knew exactly what prayer we needed. After living in a home for 30 years it had been a very long time since we had made any "new normals."

One thing we began doing immediately was walking at sunset on the beach. We both would sit there just amazed at our "new normal" that God had just given to us. That became the place where we would have our evening prayer together. It also became the place where we would spend much time talking together about our day or anything that was on our mind.

Many "new normals" came into our life because of this move and we have thanked God for that over and over again. We are grateful for the time spent in our home of 30 years and all the wonderful memories of raising children and grandchildren there. It was certainly time for us to let go and begin this journey and new memories to be made.

This past weekend we took our grandkids for a walk on the beach and then a picnic at the park. We look forward to many new outdoor activities with them and many new memories to be made together!

Praying & Planning 

Home for Sale (Retirement Planning)

Written 1/28/17 as we prepared for retirement in 2018

When we returned from Texas I contacted my cousin who is a realtor in another state to connect me to a good realtor in our area. The realtor in our area was named Sharon and she connected with us right away. All our questions were answered about the sale of our house.

Immediately we put the "For Sale" sign up and the next day over a dozen families came by to look around. Within 24 hours we received 5 bids and decided to take the one that offered us more than the asking price. We had 30 days to pack up the rest of our things and find a place to stay.

Fortunately the clean up had already began months before so we were ready to spend the next month eliminating the rest of our things. I continued to give away, donate and sell our things. I knew there wasn't enough time to get rid of 30 years accumulation so I purchased a small storage unit nearby. Each day I filled up the car to go either to the GoodWill or to the storage unit. I stored what I thought we could use at our Beach Bungalow. Within one month we moved those things into the beach bungalow and no longer needed a storage unit. We lived in the Beach Bungalow until retirement and left everything there that we brought because our landlord loved our decor.

Using this method to move allowed us not to have to depend on movers or anyone else to help us move. Basically, I moved everything myself with some help from my granddaughters. I left the heavier things for my husband to do. It eliminated us from having too much to do on the day of the move. We were able to spread out the heavy physical stuff to do so that we would not get too worn out.

The day of our actual move we were able to get it all in both our vehicles and go to our closing. Afterwards, we got a hotel room nearby and spent the next couple of days resting, relaxing and visiting with friends who came from out of town. A much needed mini-vacation!

This was our new home on the beach for the next year and a half!

New Beginnings! (Retirement Planning)

Written February 6, 2017 as we were planning for retirement:

 George Turner the lead character in the Australian/New Zealand show 800 Words writes...."Because endings are, by definition, finite...whereas new beginnings bring infinite possibilities."

There is so much fear in change but yet how often are we having to experience it in life? You would think with all the practice we have with change that we would embrace it better. Leaving our home of 30 years was an ending I never considered. It is also the beginning of a new life together for new things, new experiences, new normals which seems pretty exciting to me. 

The best part of our new beginning together is the sense of newness in our relationship. We have been raising kids and grandkids for so many years now and grateful to have them in our life. Now it is just us and it is such a change in our own thought processes. We go to the beach to sit and talk! It seems so strange to have each others undivided attention and we love that about this time in our life.

Planning things together and making new memories has been such a treat and we never dreamed that we would ever have this opportunity. We have precious memories with our kids and grandkids and looking forward to precious memories together! 

We are enjoying our sunsets on the beach!

Debris (Retirement Planning)

Written January 29, 2017 as we were preparing for retirement:

A quote from Ladies of Letters - Vera writes: Dear Irene, "I'm not one to over-dramatize as you know; but sitting surrounded by the debris of my life I feel this is the end of it." I found the children's toys, a one eared teddy, a rabbit, a monkey abandoned under the stairs......as she sobbed with grief cleaning out her home where her children grew up.....

We have one car load left of our own debris to be dropped off at the nearest donation center. The last of our treasures and memories that we just were not able to sell or find a home for but has loads of sentimental memories for us. Family heirlooms that we just cannot take with us and need to let go of and move forward.

This seems to be the area that most people struggle with when they hear about our journey. I have had many ask me, how did you feel? Or say, I wouldn't be able to let go of my families things. I certainly understand completely because this is not anything I ever planned as I was putting my home together with all my precious treasures handed down to me. How did I feel? Sad of course and it triggered grief especially if it was my dads since he passed away nearly 30 years ago.

Most of the time I did this alone so I could process my own feelings. One particular day we needed to  make more room in our car so I went with my husband who could see the pain in my face. That was a difficult day but not impossible. Grief comes even when you are not giving away your family heirlooms. I explained to him that it just triggers the grief which I have to process as it comes. A walk on the beach can trigger my grief when I think about someone but I don't stop walking on the beach. It brings me more joy than grief but I am aware that it may also make me think of loss. That sense of loss or grief will not be contained if I don't ever let go of things - it comes, quite naturally when and where I least expect.

This has made me very much aware of my grief and embracing it each time I find it difficult to release something from the past. The joy of not being surrounded by the debris of my life is actually more liberating and less time consuming. It's not for everyone and especially those who have just lost someone close to them because the grief is too raw. Timing is everything and it just happens to be the right time in my own life to let go......of my own sentimental and treasured debris!

It’s just stuff

Home for Sale! (Retirement Planning)

Written on January 27, 2017 as we were preparing for retirement:

When we returned from Texas I contacted my cousin who is a realtor in another state to connect me to a good realtor in our area. The realtor in our area was named Sharon and she connected with us right away. All our questions were answered about the sale of our house.

Immediately we put the "For Sale" sign up and the next day over a dozen families came by to look around. Within 24 hours we received 5 bids and decided to take the one that offered us more than the asking price. We had 30 days to pack up the rest of our things and find a place to stay.

Fortunately the clean up had already began months before so we were ready to spend the next month eliminating the rest of our things. I continued to give away, donate and sell our things. I knew there wasn't enough time to get rid of 30 years accumulation so I purchased a small storage unit nearby. Each day I filled up the car to go either to the GoodWill or to the storage unit. I stored what I thought we could use at our Beach Bungalow. Within one month we moved those things into the beach bungalow and no longer needed a storage unit. We lived in the Beach Bungalow until retirement and left everything there that we brought because our landlord loved our decor.

Using this method to move allowed us not to have to depend on movers or anyone else to help us move. Basically, I moved everything myself with some help from my granddaughters. I left the heavier things for my husband to do. It eliminated us from having too much to do on the day of the move. We were able to spread out the heavy physical stuff to do so that we would not get too worn out.

The day of our actual move we were able to get it all in both our vehicles and go to our closing. Afterwards, we got a hotel room nearby and spent the next couple of days resting, relaxing and visiting with friends who came from out of town. A much needed mini-vacation!

This was our new home on the beach for the next year and a half!

1st Stop Texas! (Retirement Planning)

 Written 9/28/16 as we were making plans for a “nomad” retirement plan in March of 2018:  

We decided to begin our journey actually before we retired. It began by looking online at the most economical places to travel and go from there. I had been wanting to see my brother in Dallas so I checked on when the prices were best and found tickets for $100 each. I have flown to Dallas many times but usually holidays or vacation times which cost me almost $400 just for myself. 

Everything we read about the "nomad" life said to plan your travels based upon cost to decide where to go. We began to plan ahead for the next 6 months and found prices cheap enough to go to Europe as well. How exciting to purchase such affordable tickets to Dallas in the fall and Spain in the spring. 

Now we are looking a year down the road where to go next and making plans to travel to California, Germany and England. A really great site for good airfares is www.fareness.com - easy to use!

Dross (Retirement Planning)

Written 9/21/16 as we were making plans to retire by 2018:  

 The definition of "dross" is something regarded as worthless; rubbish, junk. Of course, one person's junk is another man’s treasure! It is amazing how much is accumulated in 30 years. There are things in our home that are my parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren. At least five generations of "stuff!"

Everyone's first question is "how did it feel?" Honestly I have always planned to die with my "stuff" and in my little home. So I was expecting it would feel much like putting my dog down when she became so ill - gut-wrenching! I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it wasn't like that at all but instead it was like paying off a school loan or a car loan instead - liberating!

I'm not sure that is the status quo for everyone who does this and to be honest I don't believe for one minute that this is for everyone. Not at all! It's just right for us right now. Am I terrified? Of course, but fear is something I deal with even in the safety of my own home. I find that I am so full of excitement and anticipation that it is overriding my fears. Each time something is either hauled away or sold it feels closer to making our dream into a reality. So right now in this journey it is pleasant and fun!

Selling (Retirement Planning)

Written 9/19/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018: 

The first thing I did when I realized that we were really going to do this was to go through the attic - drawers - cabinets - closets - etc. Now I don't like organizational or cleaning days to ever become a day of bondage so I choose a much simpler method. This is how I do my chores: Walk around the house (doctors orders). As I enter each room I open a drawer, closet, whatever and remove something to throw away, give away or sell. I have a large IKEA bag to hold the give away stuff that I keep in a designated area so once it is full I can put in my car and drop off at the Goodwill on my way to work.

Five car loads of stuff that we didn't want to bother selling at a garage sale were dropped off at Goodwill. Then I was able to begin selling the nicer items online. Facebook garage sale sites make it easy to do by taking a picture and posting with the information and sale price. Immediately people began calling. There were 2 designated places to meet that were safe - one in the plaza where I work and the other the main post office by my house. In a couple of days and only 4 items I made over $300. It actually only took minutes to do.

The more precious items I boxed up to give away to younger family members. It was fun to put together small boxes with our treasures to pass on to them. Our children requested some of the bigger things in the house which we will give to them when the house sells.

We left enough furniture and accessories to show the house when potential home buyers begin to come. Also, just enough things to make the house look like home and for us to enjoy until the last day. We are excited!!!

Planning (Retirement Planning)

Written 9/6/16 as we were making plans to retire by 2018:  

My favorite part of any trip is the planning stage because I love having something to look forward to. It's like Christmas to me because I love the planning part of the holiday and preparation. Once the day comes it is over so quickly. So this has been so much fun as we plan and prepare much like Christmas without all the stress of time constraint. There needs to be time to make the plans of traveling for long periods of time.

Our first concern is my husbands health and well being. He had a kidney transplant eight years ago and still has to follow up with blood work and check ups. Plus with traveling overseas it is vital that we are insured properly. We have terrific insurance here in the states but it doesn't help us over there. Fortunately there are policies and companies to choose from and we need to be sure they are accepted in the country we plan to visit.

Also, it is a good idea to know where the doctors, hospitals and clinics are located in those areas. We don't want to leave that for the last minute in case something should happen. So that is the part of the planning stage we are now. We began by changing his doctor to one that is closer to our home instead of an hour away. It gives us an opportunity to see what we need in order to make this change and then we can look for new doctors wherever we go and have a better idea of what we need to do.

When traveling abroad there is a great link to check out to give you an idea of what to prepare for - https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/go/checklist.html 

This picture was taken of my grandkids.

Anxiety (Retirement Planning)

Written 8/30/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018:  

When I was only 38 years old I went through menopause and developed Agoraphobia which the Mayo clinic defines as a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed. The doctor put me on Paxil for about 3 years but then the side affects began to bother us more than the agoraphobia, so I stopped.

Since then I have found other ways to deal with the anxiety. One of the best ways is my camera because I find that it changes my perspective. A crowded facility can cause me panic and then behind the camera it becomes art. Art soothes my soul so I try to always carry it with me to be ready for anything.

Because of this I am prone to anxiety for many different reasons. Home has always been my safe place. This has been a challenging decision for me and yet exciting that I would even consider the thought of leaving my safe place. Not letting myself be overcome with fear about the idea has been in my thought processes each day. 

There is certainly no easy cure for anxiety and some days are better than others. My youngest daughter said she can see I am at peace with this whole decision. Peace is exactly what I was not expecting as we have been making preparations. Peace came unexpectedly for both of us and I am grateful!

I took this picture in 2015 of my nieces on Sanibel Island during a weekend vacation together.

Emotions (Retirement Planning)

 Written 8/27/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018: 

Floods of tears came when I began putting together a box for one of my grandkids with some of my things that I have carried with me since a child.  Some of these things have been with me all of my life. I had a few pieces that my parents purchased in Africa when I was very young. They were my favorite things in my parents house because it brought me back to some very wonderful memories.

Later that same day I called my dear friend Gwen who lives in Louisiana and they had just gone through some terrible flooding. She shared with me how so many had lost everything because the water had risen so high. It was such a mess there that they were not able to buy food in the stores and people were very misplaced.

This really spoke volumes to me about my sadness earlier in giving away "stuff" that was sentimental to me. I felt grateful that, unlike many people who suffer tragedy and lose everything, I was able to give away and share with others in my family. I now plan to enjoy wrapping each precious item of memories with joy in my heart and not sadness. Emotions change when perspective changes I have learned today!

I took this picture from our hotel room of Niagra Falls at night.

Control (Retirement Planning)

Written 8/25/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018:

My husband and myself are control freaks in every way. We have raised kids who are also control freaks and they have raised kids who are "perfect!" Of course, what were you expecting me to say? I see them through "grandma" glasses! Actually, everyone is controlling to one extent or the other. The only difference is those who will admit it and those who won't. It's been this way since the beginning of time - just ask Eve!

Every day I try to control my plans, my routine, myself, etc. Some days I manage and most days something else controls my circumstances. Illness, family, friends, work....you get it. Happens to all of us. My husband leaves for work with a smile on his face and the day can go to hell in a hand basket before lunch. 

So what are two control freaks thinking when they are considering a "vagabond" & traveling life existence? When we were young we wanted to change the world. At our age we have learned that we can't even change ourselves much less the world. We have just decided to stop trying to control anything or anyone around us and just enjoy! Enjoy the differences and enjoy the journey....I love this quote by Pastor Tullian: The bad news is we are weaker and worse than we think we are - the good news is that Jesus is stronger and better than we could ever hope or imagine.

I took this picture at Dreher Park Zoo while visiting with my grandkids.

Stuff (Retirement Planning)

Written 8/24/2016 as we were making plans to retire by 2018: 

We all got stuff!!! Lot's of stuff too....right? I know I do and I am not a frequent shopper either. Which makes me realize there are homes all over filled to the brim with stuff. 

I started going through our home and beginning to decide what is going to happen to our stuff. Yesterday I loaded up a few things and took them over to my younger daughters house. Today I loaded up more things and went back over. In fact, I took a nail and hammer to begin putting those things up in her home. She loves my stuff!!!

So now we are planning what to give away, sell and throw out. We would like to leave here with nothing but the clothes on our backs. This should be fun taking 30 years of things and giving them another home. Most of what I own used to belong to my parents, grandparents or given to me as gifts. So I pretty much treasure everything that I have been given over all these years. The first thing I plan to do is to check with all the kids in my family who wants what....then the nieces and nephews....pretty much all that is here is some type of family heirloom. What they don't want we will sell or donate.....sounds like a plan!

I took this picture when watching the sunrise on the beach, 2016.