Sunday, December 22, 2019

More adventures in Florida














Hello all,

I'm still moving around in Florida,

It's been great seeing new places and meeting interesting people. The weather has been averaging sunny in the high 70's. In the past, my travels in Florida were fairly limited. This new life has wonderfully allowed me to experience many more areas!  I enjoyed staying at the Orlando RV Resort in Clermont. Most days I would work on writing during the morning hours, go for a walk or bike ride and to the pool during the middle of the day, and then back home to work on jewelry, music, and other things. Tough life I know.
 
Some of my jewelry

 I drove down to Juno Beach next 

I stayed overnight at a Walmart in Jupiter. I parked and hung out at Jupiter Beach Pier the next morning. It was breezy, beautiful and peaceful. The water temperature was 78.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Jeez now that is warm!
Jupiter Beach Pier

 Then I headed to Jensen Beach 


I stayed at Ocean Beach RV Resort for four days. Jensen Beach is an unincorporated community northeast of Stuart and southeast of Port St. Lucie. It was a nice place and I really enjoyed riding my bike around. It is such a great little seaside town. A quaint main street has a section called Maple Street Art Cottages, a group of sweet tin-roofed homes that have been converted into artists’ studios.
There's even a cafe called Bunkhouse Coffee Bar next to them. Of course I went in those shops and ended up at the cafe. I loved the wall of Pay It Forward at the cafe. A person can purchase an item on the menu and donate it to someone by putting it on a sticky note and putting it on the board.

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Pay it forward at Bunkhouse Coffee Bar


 I rode along the seashore and over to the causeway, but it was so windy at the causeway that I decided not to ride over it. Maybe I was being a chicken, but whatever. On the main street, Crawdaddies Cafe and Raw Bar included live blues and jazz music, but sadly, I already missed the weekly evenings it happened.

Crawdaddy's

 I landed at  Dupuis State Park in Canal Point on the 19th. 


I was scheduled to stay there for four days, but decided to cut it short to meet my mom back in Indiatlantic, located next to Melbourne Beach.  I hope to get back there one day soon. I met a family of six living in a big white school bus. They let me walk around inside and interview them. A mom and dad and three older children recently hit the road in a school bus they converted into an amazing living space for the whole family. I spent an hour with them and learned a lot about their adventure. You can follow them on Facebook at Wanderfar-Bus.
Family living in a school bus
White school bus
     I am staying here in Indiatlantic for a few days, then  heading back to my friends in Palm Coast for Christmas week. Santa and Mrs.Santa passed us on a motorcycle yesterday. How funny!


Mr. and Mrs. Santa

      I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. May you be surrounded by love and peace and good health.

    If you see any of my kids or grandchildren, please give them a hug and pass on a 'Merry Christmas' from me.



Saturday, December 7, 2019

Holidays and stuff

Hello all,
It's been a quiet few days, as I'm now at Orlando RV Park for 10 days (even though it is in Clermont, not Orlando...)
I hope you've all had a nice Thanksgiving. I know it can be full of family, friends, and good food for some. 
It can also be painfully lonely and sad for others. I encourage you to reach out to those you know who may be struggling with this time of year. One gesture of kindness or a listening ear can make a big difference to someone. For me this was a little bittersweet, as it was the first Thanksgiving for the last seven years that I have not been a part of helping with the dinner at North Central Vermont Recovery Center in Morrisville, VT.  A big shout out to all of you up there at NCVRC. I was thinking of you on Thanksgiving day. 
I left the campground in Wildwood, FL on the November 26 and stayed with some dear old  friends on Palm Coast for a week. It's a beautiful area. I was grateful to share  their holiday time with them. These guys were a big part of my pre-teen and teenage years. Maura, the mom, let me stay at their house quite a lot back then. Rachel and I definitely got into our fair amount of trouble and heartbreak. Her sister Shelagh was just a little younger than us, and was hopefully not too scarred by our behavior and  influence...Just kidding Shelagh! Andy is Rachel's husband from England. Chopi is Shelagh's husband from India. He is one of the producers for the GOODNIGHT children's book series. I enjoyed the time with all of them very much.
 Their young boy Austin, and I, put on a little musical show for the Thanksgiving day entertainment and it was fun and funny! He's learning to play that harmonica!
Unfortunately I had a little mishap on the way over. This is kind of embarrassing, but hey the blog is not only about fun things, right? SO, I had stopped a gas station, which had a little smaller turn around than I'd prefer. (first mistake) I filled up with gas and pulled out to leave, taking a fairly sharp right turn. I was closer to the gas pumps than I should have been ( yup. second mistake) and my back drivers side corner got caught on the edge of the pillar. Yeah. That kind of sucked. I was quite mad at myself. I continued my trip to Rachel and Andy's. When I got there I had to take a better look at Aretha's injury. It wasn't good. I won't go into it, but the amazing Andy looked it over and proceeded to come up with a plan to seal it up for now. I decided not to take out an insurance claim.He did some (McGuiver) stuff and it is sealed up tight now. It should be safe to stay that way until next summer when I can perhaps get some Vermont helpers to look at it with me. So there's that. Andy also helped me with some scary trouble I had with my computer.  It seems that guy can figure out just about anything. Another angel in disguise.Thank you so much, Andy! 
I am uploading a video that Rachel took of my song The Bittersweet Truth to YouTube channel. If you check it out, please LIKE and SHARE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P3I6kROZzY
Well now I'm parked here for a little while working on some things and charting out where to go next. This is a big park, but I'm in a back corner near a lake. The sign at the lake says stay out of the water because of Alligators. Ok. I will. I have nooo problem with that. 
Until next time:


Thanksgiving appetizers by the pool


Me with Rachel and Shelagh

Solid temporary Bandaid for Aretha

Poor Aretha

At the lake at Orlando RV Park

Thanksgiving music with Austin


Saturday, November 23, 2019

Wildwood Florida



Hi All. I’ve been at Three Flags Campground in Wildwood FL for over a week now. It has been a good time to catch up on some writing, organizing my thoughts, and researching ways to create income. It was pretty chilly here for several days, but is creeping back up to the high 70s. (Sorry my northern friends. I’m sure you are mentally throwing stuff at me right now.)
 I’ve had a couple of unusual music experiences here at the campground. One lady I met at ‘Coffee on the Porch’ hired me to sing at a three site yard sale last Saturday. I must say I’ve never sang at a yard sale before, but the price was right and it was actually pretty fun. The next day I played music with two other people at the church service here. I’m not a church person, but they asked me and I said yes.
I’ve had a surprise visit from Keith Williams over the weekend! He is heading west in a couple of weeks and I think he was just trying to find some sunshine and warmer temps. He was able to get a campsite in this park for some days and he is only two sites over from me. We’ve had some fun times together while he’s been here. He took me to a grocery store, which was helpful because I don’t have a vehicle unless I want to unhook Aretha. I just bring what I think I’ll need for the duration of my stay and that works out fine, but it’s been fun to get out and around town. We went to a Gator World Park and held, fed, and learned about alligators. I did not know they can live to be 80 years old and can go a whole year without eating. Wow! We played some music with another gentleman here and we’ve been playing some music together. Games of scrabble, playing pool, grilled salmon, waffles for dinner, and practicing some music, have been fun. He was teaching me how to play cribbage, and I was catching on, but we will have to get back to that another day - because he is gone now. Thanks KW for the fun times!
I plan to head to Palm Coast from here to spend Thanksgiving with a family I've known since 4th grade.
Baby alligator
Over 'n out.
cute goats there too (?)
Home at Wildwood
Keith and baby alligator
Us in front of 'Big Al'










Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Visiting Melbourne Beach





Hello All,

I arrived at Melbourne Beach, FL on October 25.

I spent approximately 2 weeks there, mostly helping my mom move out of her condo. Of all the places in my life, Melbourne Beach is a place I have visited since I was a small child. My grandparents had a house there as long as I can remember, until they passed away not long ago. We all called them Lolly and Papa. I have fond memories of times spent with extended family at their house. From their house you could walk a few blocks to the left in the early morning to watch the sunrise over the ocean, and then walk a few blocks to the right in the evening to the river to see the sunset. It’s a little unique that way.

It was great to spend time with and helping my mom, and I’m glad I am at a place in my life where I could just go do that. Mom and I then stayed at my aunt MaryAnn’s place in Indialantic for a week to finish organizing stuff. (Thank you MaryAnn for lending us your house!) I was grateful to be able to park Aretha in your driveway while I was there.)

I also got to visit with my aunt Grace Ann a few times. I’m not sure we’ve ever spent much time hanging out before, and it was great to spend time with her. She’s so funny. I rode my bike around the area several early mornings and that was cool. I think the bike needs a name. It’s bright yellow. Any suggestions?

I came across some animal friends during my time there

On the back porch of my mom’s condo were two squirrels that were always hanging around. They would eat peanuts right out of our hand. They cracked me up, and I must say I’ve not had that experience before. The only morning I went to the sunrise at the beach across from the condo, I met some bird friends. Sandpipers running at the water as it receded, then running to safety as it rolled back to shore. Over and over. And over. There was a tall heron standing there who let me get pretty close, but wasn’t much interested in conversation. Oh well. He looked like he had a pretty suspicious nature anyway. Later in southern Florida I met what I think was a bearded dragon or iguana. I'm not sure what they are. He was many shades of orange and quite impressive, yet creepy. I’m not judging, but…ya. You’ll see the picture below. There were a few others of them, but he/she was the biggest.
I had some work done on Aretha while I was there. My refrigerator stopped working. Not good. I did not know how to fix it, so I brought her to a doctor to have that and a few other things checked out. The fridge actually ended up needing a whole new mother board. That was costly indeed, but pretty necessary to my life on the road. 

GraceAnn introduced me to a man named Terry Shaw.

He had RVs for many years and loves to work on them. He also went to school for RV (maintenance). I couldn’t believe my luck! I brought Aretha over more than once, and he answered my many questions and taught me so much. He is a retired from the military and seemed to really enjoy the time helping me with it. We visited and had coffee and talked RV. His knowledge and experience helped me so much, and I’m grateful for this new friend that I will hopefully see again one day. Thank you Terry!
Next I gave mom a ride to Miami, and then met with someone I am working with who is going to open a mental health recovery center down there. We had coffee (notice any pattern here?) and breakfast at a great place called MyRoots Juice Bar. Delicious! I was in the area for less than 24 hours.

From there I drove up to Wildwood, FL 

I've landed at a wonderful campground (Three Flags Camping Resort) where I plan to stay for the next week (or two). I arrived two nights ago. Phew! I must say I’m really glad for some quiet time to read, write, play music, and create art. I have already met some really nice people here. They even have ‘Coffee on the Porch’ every morning at 8am! I mean, how awesome is that? Right? I know I have a tribe out there who would agree…
Well okay, until next time – Be well and take care of yourselves. Live in the solution and look for the good. It is everywhere.
And if any of you see my kids or grand kids, PLEASE give them a hug from me.

Mom and Stef at the pier

Bearded dragon near Miami
Feeding squirrel
Sunset Melbourne Beach
Sunrise Melbourne Beach


This guy 



Morning bliss



Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Continuing on...




Hello again,
Since my last blog post, I have been to Charlotte, NC, The Oaks at Point South campground in Yemassee, South Carolina for a night, and then headed to Melbourne Beach. I arrived here last night.
I met up with Keith Williams (aka Papa Greybeard) in Charlotte. He drove down from Vermont in his vintage Volkswagen bus! It was the first leg of his journey of traveling and living out on the road in his bus. How awesome. We are good friends fellow musicians and it was great to see him again!

When I left Black Mountain last Sunday, I decided to check out this nearby 5.00 campground that Keith told me about. Curtis Creek Campground. Good lesson for me. The road to it was 5 curvy miles long through the woods, with the road getting more and more narrow. Then it turned to dirt. Then it became one lane. Then, there was a little one lane bridge. Hmm. There I was, alone, nervous about Aretha meeting this little one car bridge in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn’t back up. There were no weight limit signs posted so - I drove over it. We lived! Then I looked at my phone and realized I had no service out there. I wasn't feeling great about this. Suddenly, voila! A wonderful little turn around appeared before my very eyes! So what did I do? I turned us around and headed back out the way we came.  Lesson: Perhaps do a little more research before I go driving into unknown campgrounds. I found a Pilot flying J to sleep at that night.
It was great to meet up with Keith for a few days. We did not play music, but I did get to meet his twin daughters and their children – and we took a trip to Asheville.
On the way to Asheville, Keith wanted to check out Curtis Creek Campground because he thought he would be staying there sometimes. I told him about my harrowing(  ) experience there, but this time we were in his VW bus. We drove all the way in to the camping area, (which included two more one lane bridges) and then up and up and up this mountain on a rough road cut through the forest. I’m not sure how long we kept going up and around this way, but we never did get to the top. We finally turned around and headed back down. The VW got a workout that day! Keith is going to hike it soon and let me know what is at the top. He says it might be a vintage clothing store, and I’ll be really sorry I missed out. (I love vintage clothing stores. wink)
Asheville was a nice place. Not as active as I imagine it is during the summer. We walked around for a while and ate dinner at a funky place called the Aux Bar that a juggler on the street recommended. We talked to one street musician, to ask about busking rules etc. I plan to get back there, but I'm not sure when yet.
While I was in Charlotte, I slept at a Walmart that was 2.5 miles away from the Charlotte Motor Speedway and could hear the cars racing around the track.
I left Charlotte on Thursday the 25th and stayed at a Thousand Trails campground (The Oaks at South Point) for the night and then headed toward Melbourne Beach, FL to visit my mom. For those of you who don’t know, my mom lived in and traveled in a big class A motorhome for 9 years in her 60’s and into her 70's. An inspiration perhaps? I think that's a yes. I arrived here last night. Mom and I have traveled together many times over the years. It will be good to catch up with her again.
At the Georgia line on the way here I pulled over at a rest area that was the Savanna History Museum. I found Forrest Gump sitting on a bench with his box of chocolates in there! It was a real life replica, and I should’ve taken a picture- but alas, I’ve got to get better at this picture taking thing…
Aretha and The Bike
In Asheville with Keith Williams
Keith's VW bus ready to go






Monday, October 21, 2019

It's about time...


Hi all,
I'm finally getting to my first blog post. First I had to set the thing up, and that was a bit of a learning curve. Learning as I go. Just like the rest of this thing called life. Love it!
My Children - Jasmine, Joshua, and Elijah, and four grandchildren - Cole and Millie, and Julius and Willow are planted in my heart and I carry them with me always. I want to say thank you to my friends in Vermont for your help, support and love. I look forward to seeing you all next summer.  Bill and Susan, thank you for allowing me to park and live at your place throughout the summer. Your love and kindness meant so much to me.
I headed out in my RV named Aretha on October 2, 2019. I left Vermont and headed toward Meadville PA (nortwest corner) to see some dear old friends. I slept at a Cracker Barrel that night. I arrived on the 3rd and was enveloped in the arms of love. My friend Tracy and her husband Rich have always felt like home to me, and I'm so blessed by their friendship.
We spent a lot of time visiting and eating delicious foods! We went for walks and I tried out my new electric bike. It is an awesome thing and I'm really enjoying it. Thank you so much Dad for this unbelievable gift! I am learning how useful and fun it will be as I travel along. 
From there I headed to a campground in Lenoir, NC for a few days. Nice place. I parked next to a creek, and could hear its voice from inside my home the whole time. Good quiet time to work on some things. I enjoyed swinging on a bench by a pond watching this group of white ducks (true). One day they swam over to me looking for food. It didn’t take them long to figure out I didn’t have anything for them. As they turned around and swam away, one of them kept honking like he was insulted or pissed or both. It cracked me up.
Next I headed to Black Mountain, North Carolina to work at the LEAF festival for 3 days. It was for Tom Givens at THE SUGAR SHACK. Tom actually made it possible to park Aretha on the grounds so I could sleep in my home. I had never worked at a festival before and it was interesting and fun. Luckily the team was patient with me. The Sugar Shack is quite a popular place and people seem to LOVE it. Breakfast items all day, plus the ever popular Veggie Thing! I worked with some great people and enjoyed the learning experience. Thanks guys!
I left there yesterday and slept at a Pilot truck stop. I’m parked at a Walmart at the moment writing this post. Heading to meet my friend Keith Williams in Charlotte this afternoon.  
White ducks

Rich making bread
Tracy
 at LEAF Festival

Made It Home!

THE ENDING OF ONE EPIC JOURNEY Wow. Sometimes it's still hard to believe I'm back here in Vermont.  But it also hardly feels like I ...