A New Day, A New Life, A New Adventure

Before I launch into the tale of today’s adventures, I want to start by announcing that today I became a GRAUNTY!!

That’s right, thanks to my sunshiny niece Margaux and her dark knight West, I am the great aunt (aka “Graunty”) to a beautiful little speck of a human being name Obi. May the force be with him, always!

Now, on to travel news. I’ve really got just one thing to say today:

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I can’t even begin to tell you how good it felt to pull into the campground this afternoon, knowing that it’s my final stop. I had to pause for a moment after I detached the car from the RV, marveling at the strange sensation of being untethered from it for the first time in days. Kinda like when baby Obi’s cord was cut, and he and his mother were no longer physically attached to each other, it was the end of one phase and the beginning of another. Now that we’re detached, I have my car free to roam around the state of Florida, exploring springs, seeking out monkeys and manatees, and visiting family members that I see far too seldom. I love the new freedom, but it’s a little sad too, since it marks the end of a very great adventure.

Last spring, George & I started making plans to spend the winter months traveling in our RV, far from the rigors of shoveling and snow-blowing and endless cold and treacherous, icy driveways. And then he got offered a part-time job – one that he couldn’t turn down. He’s out delivery paint products to auto-bodies around the New England region, and making contact with motorheads everywhere he goes. While I’m happy that he’s found something that he’s enjoying, it was a disappointment to me. All of a sudden, I felt trapped in a brutal New England winter, despite the fact that it was summer at the time.

After a couple of days of pouting about the situation, I realized how foolish I was being. There was a perfectly good RV sitting in the drive way, and I was perfectly capable of driving it. If I wanted to get away, there was nothing stopping me. What could possibly go wrong?

The answer, as we all know, is: Lots of things. Credit cards, electronic gadgets, and torrential rain, to name a few. Out of my four travel days, I had two that were easy (the first and the last), and two that were kinda lousy. So, 50-50.

But you know what? From where I’m sitting right now, I’m just a little bit grateful for the troubles that I had on the road.

You know why?

Because I handled them. I’m going to pat myself on the back for a second here: When the problems arose, I worked them. I made the right phone calls, talked to the right people, got the help I needed, and figured out how to move forward. And all without whining for a single minute!

George is sitting at his computer right now going, “What? Wait a minute! I distinctly remember some whining!”. LOL, that’s true. I mostly handled it all like a grown-up, but I did have a mini-meltdown for just a minute while I was on the phone with him one evening. But hey, other than that, I have never in my entire life felt more capable and competent. Turns out this business of being a “grown up” isn’t half bad!

So, let’s see. What can I tell you about today’s travels.

TRAIL BOSS!

Ever heard of the “Trail Boss” car game? It’s when the first person to see an animal out the window gets to declare his or her self the “Trail Boss”. So, for example, you might yell out “DEER! TRAIL BOSS!”. It has to be an interesting animal, though. No calling Trail Boss for dogs or squirrels or sea gulls.

Today I got to call Trail Boss for an armadillo! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the wild before, so that was a cool sight for me, and Cricket was very jealous that I got to be Trail Boss. She’s really not very good that this game, unfortunately. She did try calling Trail Boss for a very strange creature that she’d never gotten a good look at before, but it was a house cat, so I disqualified it.

I had a picnic lunch in Georgia today, at an abandoned strip mall. It was delightful! (The picnic, not the strip mall). I pulled into the big, abandoned parking lot and stretched my rig out across 3 or 4 parking spaces, threw open the doors, and spent a LONG time letting Cricket sniff every square inch of grass that the place had to offer. Then I fired up my generator, so that I could heat up my leftover Chili-Mac in the microwave, and sat down on the grass in my short-sleeves, soaking up the sunshine. Stepped back inside and got myself a cold glass of lemonade out of my fridge. This is the glory of the RV life style. Everything you need for a perfect picnic is right there – including the wheels you need to get yourself to the perfect picnic weather. I think I get what it would feel like to be a turtle, carrying your home around with you on your back.

Which reminds me, my rig needs a name. I’ve considered:

· Irv

· Ar Vee

· Bessy (no reason)

· Thor (that’s the model name)

· RightThere (as in, “Where do I live? RightThere”)

· Money pit

· USS Enterprise (after the star ship, not the aircraft carrier)

· POS (which can alternate between “Peace Of Soul” or “Piece of Shit”, depending on my mood)

· Serenity (a reference to the best sci-fi series ever)

· Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, or the other Ninja turtle whose name I can’t remember

· Thunderdome. Just because: how cool would it be to tell someone you are staying at the Thunderdome??

Please weigh in on names. Oh, that reminds me, I need to figure out how to turn on comments. Those of you who didn’t read the ENTIRE post before looking for the comments button are pretty frustrated right now… LOL, sorry!

I don’t think I have anything else to tell you about today. Thanks for coming along on this wild and crazy journey with me! Starting tomorrow, I’m taking on Florida. I'll share my adventures with you as they unfold. For now, here are some photos of my trip for you to savor.

Live Long and Prosper.

Kimba