Game room and Laundry Day

Laundry does not seem to be as much a chore with a game room next door!  We rotated ping pong, pool and air hockey. All of which are included here at the Space Center RV Park, SpaceCenterRVPark.com.  Good way to make use of a dreary, looks like it's going to rain anytime, kinda day.  Don't let website being under construction, this is a nice place. 

Para Sailing Video

The first time we para sailed, Tammy used the memory to float in her mind for months afterwards.  So we had to do it one more time.

Holiday Musings

I know, I know, it's been a long time since the last post.  Believe it or not, sometimes I don't have a lot to say.  Anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes with me will dispute that, but it's true.

With the major winter holidays recently passed and Valentine's Day coming up, my mind turns to thoughts of the variety of holiday celebrations that exist.

Holidays are not a big deal to Jeff.  He's the kind of person that doesn't need a holiday to remind him how to treat people.  If he sees something that he thinks someone he cares about would love, he buys it on the spot.  He is the kind of friend that will drop anything to help you out.  He shows me his love every day, I don't need a Valentine's Day reminder.  He may not be conventional, but he is true to himself.

As a result of 32 years together, holidays are not a big deal to me any more either, unless we happen to be around family.

In 2012, we went home to Minnesota for the winter holidays for the first time in 20 years.  It was so great to spend that time with my daughter, my grandkids, my in-laws and Jeff's extended family.  

For 2013, we spent our Thanksgiving in North Carolina and a quiet and peaceful day it was!  We were in an RV resort and just chilled.  I cook dinner almost every day, and we really didn't have anything special to eat.  Neither of us particularly like turkey so nothing was lost there. The next day, we got to see some very good friends from NJ, who were in town to see relatives.  Something else to be grateful for, the wonderful friends we have.  We even did a little riding and I got to ride my first Fat Bike.  It was a blast, but I think I'm pretty content on my Tassajara for my riding.

In mid-December we dropped our RV off in Ft. Myers, FL to get some repairs done.  It seemed like the last chance we would have before the busy repair season started in the South.  It also seemed to be a good opportunity to go to Key West, which I have always wanted to see.  First, we went to Sanibel Island.  It was supposed to be a day trip but was so lovely we stayed for 3 days.

Sunset on Sanibel Island

Jeff warming up his new friend at the Sanibel Island Deli.  Gluten free food!!!

We don't even exchange gifts for Christmas any more.  When we see what we like, we buy it if we think the expense is worth it.  Other than that, I think our life together is the greatest gift of all.

On the way to Key West, we spent a few nights in Key Largo.  It was right on a beach, but Key Largo is a little too much of a party town for the likes of us "old folks".  There was live music from the tiki bar next to the hotel every night.  It was a combination of pleasant and annoying.  Pleasant if you were in the mood for it, annoying if you wanted quiet.

Sunset on Key Largo

Due to the expense of Key West, we actually stayed in a cottage on Little Torch Key.  It was right on the beach and had a little kitchenette so that we wouldn't have to go out to eat.  The hardest part of being without the bus was the expense of hotels and eating meals out.  We are currently both eating gluten-free, so besides the expense of meals out, it's not always easy to find good food to eat.

 
 

Christmas Day was spent in Key West.  I have never been in warm weather for Christmas and it was a bit odd, to say the least.  There is a very "Caribbean" feel to Key West, complete with chickens running all over the place!  We were in shorts and t-shirts and just wandered all over the town.  It's a bit touristy, but there is a lot of history and remarkable points of interest.  We saw Truman's Winter White House,  but didn't do the full tour.  We did, however, tour the entirety of Ernest Hemingway's home; complete with dozens of cats.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Only 1 of 47 cats residing at the Hemingway home.

We also chose to make it a complete Hemingway tour by heading to his old watering hole,  Sloppy Joe's.  I regret to say, I overindulged.  Fortunately, this is not unusual in Key West.  The bars also give you your adult beverages in plastic cups so that you may walk along the street imbibing.  I don't do this often, but when I do, I have a great time and Jeff takes very good care of me.  He is an extremely patient man because I become a bit raucous.

We drove back to Fort Myers after Christmas, hoping the bus would be ready.  Unfortunately, it wasn't.  On the way back, we stopped to do an air boat ride and so I could see alligators.  I was bugging Jeff every time we walked or rode that I wanted to see an alligator!!! 

Our luncheon companion.

New Year's Eve was spent in a Fort Myers hotel; a little nicer than what we had been utilizing for most of this "vacation".  I made it all the way to 11:45 before falling asleep.  I can't remember the last time I stayed awake until midnight.  I think I would have made it last year if I hadn't been sick.  I was at my daughter's and she took good care of me, like she always does.

I don't make New Year's resolutions any more.  I set goals throughout the year.  As they are achieved or my circumstances change, new ones arise.  The organized part of my brain likes the concept of new year, new goals, but circumstances in my life and with my health change so rapidly that it just isn't practical.

New Year's Day is my birthday.  I like to celebrate that more than any other holiday; my personal vanity.  Because our RV wasn't ready yet, it was a tad depressing.  I also do a lot of work on my birthday because the shop is closed and I can run all of my end of year reports without bothering anyone.  By the way, that is not a complaint.  I kinda like spending my birthday that way.  I love my work and I love not inconveniencing anyone.

With Valentine's Day coming up, I realized that one of the ways Jeff shows me his love is by continuing to celebrate my new-found childhood.  He grew up going to rodeos but I had never seen one and always wanted to.  There was a rodeo in Lakeland, Florida, not too far from our RV park.  There were even rodeo monkeys!!!

Blurry, cause they move so darn fast!

Even the monkeys move too fast!!!

Religious observances are a personal matter.  I understand the concept of a commemorative day, but I would love it if people held to those principles all year, not just for Christmas, Easter, Passover, etc.  I don't keep with an organized religion, but I endeavor to stay true to the values that have been instilled in me.

So, long-winded as I am, my moral is that holidays are only necessary if you need to be reminded how to treat people.

Family should be celebrated all the time.  Yes, everybody is busy and it's hard to make time to be together and share your lives, but do we really need a specific holiday to do this?  

Valentine's Day and anniversaries mark reminders of those special loves of our lives.  While it is nice to celebrate the holiday, let's not only celebrate on the holidays.  This is the person you are spending your life with.  Let them know you love them every day!

Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day?  These are all days that celebrate the glorious country we live in and the men and women that protect and defend our liberty.  Why not be grateful for these luxuries every day?  Why not thank a serviceperson or veteran every day?

I may anger some people off with these thoughts, but I needed to get them out of my head.  If people choose to spend the holidays in the traditional manner, that's great.  I would just prefer not to be judged for not particularly wanting to celebrate that way.  The longer I move along the linear path of life, the less important individual holidays mean and the more every single day means.

Until I have something else to say, have a great day!

BIKES AND THE ISLAND LIFESTYLE

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.