I know that many people think that Jeff and I are on one
long vacation. Don't get me wrong, it is
a totally AWESOME lifestyle, but it really isn't a vacation.
We still have to do a lot of the stuff that regular
homeowners do, with a twist. I still
have to cook, clean, pay bills, do laundry and all those other mundane chores
that come with pretending to be an adult.
Jeff not only has to know how to fix things around the house, but also
diagnose issues with the unique types of equipment that come with a motorhome.
We dropped our RV off in Fort Myers, Florida for some
work. Once again, I am grateful we
bought the extended warranty since this was a "pre-owned" unit. The insurance has already paid for
itself. This time, we needed to get our
generator repaired. We seriously only
need the generator if we are dry camping and need air conditioning, so this was
an easy thing to postpone until we were ready to move out for a few days.
Due to the holidays, we are not getting it back quite as
quickly as we would like and after a week, I certainly miss my home. I used to love to stay in hotels. The idea of someone else cleaning up after me
and eating all my meals out was so much fun.
Not so much anymore. I miss my
own bed and the little table where I work.
Being gluten-free, I really miss cooking at home. It's hard to find GF food for every
meal.
We decided our vacation would be to the Florida Keys. I wasn't sure how thrilled Jeff would be
driving the bus down Route 1 in heavy traffic and it was someplace I had always
wanted to see.
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| Lighthouse on Sanibel Island |
We started by taking a quick day trip to Sanibel Island
since it was so close to Fort Myers. I
fell in love with the island culture and we stayed for three days. We would have stayed longer, but all the
modest hotels were booked up for Christmas.
The hotel was right on the beach with amazing sunrises and sunsets. Ok, I only made it out of bed for one
sunrise, but Jeff took pictures for me.
The island has no traffic lights and bike paths that go everywhere you
want to go. There are a couple
intersections busy enough to warrant traffic cops, but they definitely seemed
to favor cyclists.
After the first night, we rode our bikes to get our meals,
see the town and pick up groceries. We
started out riding the bikes the hotel provided, but they were in such
disrepair we switched to our own bikes pretty quickly. I think this is the first time in years Jeff rode a bike without a Powertap!
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| My friend, the turtle...I love turtles!!! |
I'm pretty sure I surprised Jeff with how much I wanted to
ride. It was perfect for me. The weather was warm, the terrain flat, the
people happy to be riding and no worries about the cars! I had my two longest ride days back to back since becoming
so ill . There was a deli
that had gluten-free breads for their sandwiches and a couple gluten-free pizza
places.
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| Jeff warming up the snowman at Sanibel Deli |
I'm so glad we were there at that time. I have a friend that told me once Christmas
hits, the island is a zoo!
The one downside to Sanibel Island was the insects; not the
big, scary ones you hear horror stories about but rather, tiny microscopic ones
that come out on the beach near sunset.
I have literally 100s of bites on my arms and legs and couldn't see the bugs till
the very end. I still don't know what
they were, but they kept me off the beach the last day.
So we started meandering down the Keys, spending a couple
days on Key Largo. Beautiful swaying
palm trees and a terrific view of the Gulf help make up for the commercialization
of the island. We like to have a good
time, but we really aren't "party people". It's a nice central location for a few day
visit though.
Yesterday, we went back north to Homestead to see the Fruit
and Spice Park. It's not a tour for
everyone, but I love cooking and plants (even though I have a black thumb) and
there were varieties of fruits, especially that I had never heard of. I thought it was pretty cool, and Jeff was
very patient with my "odd" fascination.
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| Baobab Tree - Tree of Life |
I also woke up all excited to ride again yesterday, so we
rode to breakfast, again. Just the idea
of doing it makes me all giggly. At
least in Key Largo, there is a bike path along Highway 1 so we didn't have to
fight with the traffic. Once again, loving the island culture.
We planned to ride early this morning on a trail in the Everglades. I didn't quite make that opportunity. Unfortunately, today I woke up less well than I have been
for a while. I am running a bit of a
fever and have a lot of aches. I am
unsure if it is the bug bites or maybe just a fun hangover, but I have been
taking it easy.
Tomorrow we are heading down to Little Torch Key. It's about 20 miles outside of Key West, much
quieter and less expensive. We are
thinking about having Jeff ride his bike down so he can get a good long ride in
while I drive the car down. There is a
kitchenette in the hotel, so I will be able to prepare some meals for us. That will be our Christmas spot this
year. Home is where the heart is and as
long as I am with Jeff, I am home for Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all, wherever you may be.
