Garden spot

Florida has a reputation. Exactly what that reputation is, would depend on who you ask. I know people who regard the entire state as unvisitable. And that is without ever having visited. Well, I have completely fallen in love with the west coast of Florida.  So, with this post, I am divulging the decision to become a Western Floribbean, trading in a RV lifestyle for a beach. You have likely noticed how much time is spent with the sand between my toes. So, I want the gulf coast in my daily life. Packing the car, a beach bag and cooler is for tourists. My soul has become a local, it’s time my body catch up. Moving to a small house across the street from the beach, falling asleep to the sounds of the water, birds and palms is a solace that I will never take for granted.

Thank you for coming along.  My mind has been busy putting this puzzle together. I have found all the corners of the puzzle and most every piece of the edge, now it’s time to fill it in.

This is the garden spot of the earth.

Random Clinks Noise

Every state has an official bird, tree, etc. Well if every state had an official noise, Florida’s would be a rattling buzz with random clinks. Because, everyone is busy doing something. Even if they seem to be laying around in their lounge chairs soaking up sun, somehow, they have lots to do and even more to tell you that they already did today. Mostly, the events are social, “we met our friends for coffee” “we are going to the museum with our friends from the RV park that we stayed in last year” plus all the usual RV entertainment: cards, bingo, crafts, golf excursions and pot lucks (oh, and don’t forget that it’s happy hour almost any hour).  I am a self proclaimed introverted urbanite, so, it’s not entirely natural for me to keep up.  If my iphone had a CRAM Calendar app, I’d use it to try and cram all the things in a day that we try to do. It could be an App that you would list all the things that you want to do today along with all the things you have got to get done today, hit a button and the App would shedjule it all for you. And if you like the layout of the day, you could hit the AGREED button and your phone could make the Florida Rattling Buzz with Random Clinks noise. Naturally, it would blurt out the noise of whatever state you have decided to cram your day in.

Pillow history

In the early days of my enthusiasm for campers, I had a few friends make the comment, “you?? have a camper ? I guess folks have a preconceived notion about camping, and from what I can tell, they think we are roughing it. Although I have slept in a tent, then graduated to a camping cabin, I was in my 20’s and my motivation was to be at the beach. I couldn’t always afford a house on the water, but, in Hatteras anyway, most campgrounds are steps from the beach. So, moving on to a camper was my beach house on wheels. Not only that, but the sheets on the bed were fabulous and I knew the exact history of the mattress and pillow. And that history did not include bedbugs or anyone’s else’s DNA.

Good times

Hey, I don’t know if any of you noticed, but I have been quite faithful to my determination to not post so many photos, afterall, this is a blog (web log). If you miss the photos, fear not, I can’t go much longer without them, and until then, you can go back and look at the early days of the blog. Good times.

Couples tick

The majority of RVer’s are couples. It would be an interesting psychological study to see what makes these couples tick. Oh, the definition of tick is ‘live together in 200 square feet or less.’  There was a couple here from Michigan who had never stayed 6 weeks in their camper before. I talked to her the day before they pulled out to go back home. She said she’ll never do it again. She said, “I like my husband, and I want to keep it that way. So, we’ll go back to our house.” They plan to return, but next time they’ll rent one of the cottages. I guess they are not happy campers.

Speed stories

RV parks have a very interesting culture. Before New Years, the park was about half full. We knew almost everyone’s name, and most definitely knew all the dog’s names. Then over the weekend, we got lots of new folks, from everywhere cold. You see folks chatting in various size groups, and you assume they are traveling together, or have camped together before. But no, most RV people just roll in expecting to hear everyone’s story. “Where are you from?” “What brings you here ?” “Is this your first camper?” “What’s the longest you have camped before?” “Do you play bridge?” “Do you work out?” “Do you do crafts?”  It’s kind of like speed dating, you quickly figure out who you’d like to hang out with for the next 12 weeks.

…we’ll let you know…

Round trip

A friend asked me “What are you doing?”   Her question perplexed me. She reads the blog, she has all the facts, we had lunch right before we left. So, I had to ask, “What’s throwing you?”   She quickly came back with, “Are you coming back?”  I was a little surprised, I didn’t think that I left behind any unanswered questions. I get it, she’s young, not quite half my age and none of her friends, have ever lived in a camper, probably have never considered it, and likely think they never would. I told her, “No, we are not returning to Virginia except to visit.” Seems she thought every RV trip ends where it began. I guess it’s not a round trip when it’s your house.

not

I’m not playing bingo in an RV park.

I’m not playing bingo in an RV park.

I’m not playing bingo in an RV park.

I’m not playing bingo in an RV park.

I’m not playing bingo in an RV park.

thanks

Thanks for reading our blog, we had a great 2010.

Normalcy

Our Christmas has been wonderful. We are very grateful for all our friends and family with whom we share our lives. Seems as though we have been so busy sharing our lives that we have been somewhat absent from ERVS. Normalcy to return soon.