Unsettling times

 

Hi All,

I was in Apache Junction, AZ last time I wrote.

I left there on November 17, and headed toward Tucson. First, I stayed at a desert ranch with a very nice woman named Laura and her three dogs and three horses. The area was experiencing a 90 degree heatwave during the three days I stayed. Phew! I kept checking the sun's location because I knew it would cool down considerably once it slipped behind the mountains. 

Then I stayed at someone's place in Saguaro National Park area, in Tucson. It was kind of a strange place, and I was unfortunately feeling quite unwell there. The people were nice enough though. The woman who owns the place had spots on the property for several RVs and her own, which she travels in quite frequently. 

My arrival there was nothing short of exasperating, but kind of funny now I guess. As I was trying to find her place via Google GPS, I was led down this dirt road that grew more and more narrow, and then became so washed out it was impassible. I turned off the RV, and stepped out with my phone in hand to call her. In so doing, I stepped right into some species of low-to-the-ground cactus plant that had grown onto the road. Many spherical sections of it stuck to my foot. I was wearing flip flops. After a few swear words, I attempted to pull one off. I pulled it off, but it stuck to my hand. Now I was down a left foot and a right hand and didn't know where I was. Not a happy camper. I used my left hand to call the woman. I told her the situation (cactus, lost).  She wanted to know where I was. I described my surroundings, and how I think I ended up there. Eventually she drove out and we found each other. My hubcap had also rolled off during this excursion. Thankfully I heard it and pulled over to get it and put it inside the RV.😟

I followed her to her back to her property, She got some pliers and pulled all of the cacti pieces out of my foot. I was close to tears and ever so grateful for her help with that. It's probably a regular occurrence around here, but it was my first.

I ended up staying there for five days. It was two days longer than planned, because the slide out on the RV got stuck in the OUT position so I couldn't drive away. Of course it was the weekend, so I had to wait it out until Monday for someone to come look at it. Someone did, and we got it back in, but a nut inside the front arm needs to be replaced for it to operate properly. I still haven't invested the money for that and have just been living without opening the room up. 

It was a difficult time for me there. I was experiencing a physical health issue, and then depression and anxiety began. The problem with the slide out just added to the pile of things happening with Aretha. I left there and stayed at an RV park in Benson (south east of Tucson) for Thanksgiving week. It was a quiet place with nothing nearby and little going on. The mental troubles were continuing and increasing. A nice family I met in the laundry room invited me to share in their Thanksgiving meal at their picnic table. That was honestly the highlight of my week. 

I got out of there earlier than planned because it felt too depressing for me. I was planning to meet up with my friend Keith Williams in Quartzsite in another week, which I was really looking forward to. I drove north the 5 or 6 hours it took me to get to a park near our meeting place to wait out the time. 

We met in Quartzsite and it was a really emotional moment when I saw my old friend from home. We spent the following week hanging out on public lands there. We went to Lake Havasu and saw the London Bridge that was transported there stone by stone in 1968. That was cool.

I was really glad to spend time with Keith, but I also knew I had to look at what was happening inside of me with this continuing lost, lonely, depressed, and anxious state that had been, and continued to, follow me for weeks.

The vast stark beauty and interesting landscape over here certainly holds a haunting kind of mystery. I am often awestruck by it. The simplicity of the sunrise and the incredible colors in the sunsets over the ancient monolithic rocks (monuments) are stunning and powerful to see.

Although I'm sure I don't know the extent of it yet, I believe I've come over here to learn something much bigger than myself.

I've written another song, and continue to work on designs for the drink coasters. (Note: They are no longer found at Stowe Kitchen, Bath, and Linens, but are now for sale at Stowe Beverage in Stowe, VT) A long term writing project will also be revealed here sometime this year.

I'm going to end this post for today. I'll return again soon.

Sending much love to my people who have loved and supported me through these difficult times. 

Happy holidays everyone! 

Stay safe.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu

Thanksgiving Family

Sierra from horse ranch

Quartzsite sunset with Aretha

Working on coasters and writing project

Set of VT winter coasters

VT winter coasters designs

Getting from Vermont to Arizona

 

HI All,

As usual I'm farther behind than I meant to be in posting in the ol' travel blog.

I left Vermont 42 days ago. 

The trip to Colorado to see my mom first ended up taking two weeks because Aretha had a tire blow out on I-80 W in Indiana. (I guess I can check that off my list for things I was afraid of happening) It was a long day, but a really nice highway patrol man stayed with me through most of it and helped me find a (local) company to work on it, help me get off the highway, and then followed me to the nearby town of Elkhart. It was the rear inside passenger side tire and it caused quite a bit of damage in that area.  SO I ended up staying in Elkhart for 10 days while Aretha got into a shop and had underbody, gas lines, and compartments re-constructed. Yikes.  And tire replaced, of course. At least I had little Rebel with me, so I was able to get around town and do some exploring, etc. Everyone i met was nice and usually very helpful. Oddly enough, Elkhart is known as the RV Capital of the World.  I went to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum while I was there. It was very cool. 

Blow out on the highway

Screamin' Eagles bus
at the RVmuseum

I got back on the road and things seemed to be going fine. Since I stayed on the interstate, it was just miles and miles of open prairie land through Iowa, Nebraska, and the east side of Colorado. Audiobooks and Pandora radio saved me from the utter monotony. Geez, I'm sure it would've seemed twice as long otherwise!

Just past Denver, CO...

I felt like Aretha wasn't running well. I nervously pulled off the highway in Golden, and parked at an overlook. It was right next to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre entrance 1. I checked the transmission fluid and it seemed ok. By now I was discouraged and thinking, "Oh no. Maybe I need the transmission replaced!" Blah blah. I was feeling discouraged and vulnerable out in this unknown territory. It was almost evening on a Thursday, so I knew I had to find a place I could park and sleep for the night. I'd have to call service stations in the morning. 

Thankfully I was able to stay right there at that big public parking/viewing area. I was parked quite above the highway and it got down to 30 degrees by morning, but I bundled up and put the gas heat on low and tried to get some sleep.

As the sun set at Golden, CO that night

I had an amazing experience the next day. 

I called some places, and was waiting for a call back from 2 of them. I was struck by how beautiful it was there as I reflected upon the mountains surrounding me. I was still feeling very emotional, but believing I was there for a reason. My bones said this place had a spiritual lesson for me.

I had just walked back from a nearby store when I met a man who was parked near me. He had long hair and a baseball cap on his head. He lived in his 1974 camper with his black lab and two cats. I told him how I ended up there. He introduced himself by name, then said, "But everyone calls me Preacher." I told him why I was currently parked here in Golden. He told me he'd been a mechanic his whole life, but became a preacher 10 years ago. He said, "Why don't you pop the hood and I'll take a look." Long story short, he taught me some things about engines and the area and life. He lived in Denver his whole life. He said he'd been preaching to the homeless and drug addicted population on the streets of Denver for most of the past 10 years. 

I was apparently down a bit on transmission fluid (which I've since learned is from a small leak.) I grabbed some from a gas station right there, and he added some and checked a few other things. I learned that high altitudes effect the way auto engines run. An engine loses 3% of it's rated power for every 1,000 feet. I've certainly learned how noticeable that is out here.

This probably sounds crazy to you, but we agreed I would hold his wallet and stay with his animal family at his camper while he took Aretha for a ride to see how she ran. He came back and said he thought she was running strong. In the end, he refused any money from me. He said something like, "I bless you, God blesses me, don't interfere." He prayed over me before I left to continue on my way. 

That experience left me in tears, and in awe over what had transpired. I believe 'Preacher' was there at that time to remind me that I am being taken care of. Even when I question what the heck I'm doing way out here, on the road, by myself - I'm reminded I am not alone. 

 It was a stressful ride

I-70 W between Golden and Grand Junction. Up, up, up - and then down, down, down all of those mountain passes. I went SLOW and prayed a lot. I was hyper-sensitive about every sound or different feeling because of Aretha's health. 😟 I drove 4 and 1/2 hours straight because I was nervous about stopping. Made it to Mom's around 8:30 pm. Boy didn't I just about fall out of the driver's seat! It was an emotional day indeed. There was delicious chicken cordon bleu for dinner. I fell asleep in a soft bed and didn't know a thing until morning!

I had a great two weeks there with Mom and Jeff. Mom and I went hiking somewhere on most days. Amazing climbs and views like I hadn't experienced before. We hiked at the quarry where the 70 foot long Apatosaurus was found and excavated by Elmer Riggs and his crew in 1901. It was cool to see the opening into the hill.

We went away for an overnight in a cool town called Ouray, nicknamed 'Switzerland of America". I don't have pictures from our hike there, but in town we met a young mother who opened her own coffee shop (Mojo's) in her building, a talented piano player at Outlaw Restaurant, and a father and daughter who own and run River's Edge Motel, where we spent the night.

Mojo's in Ouray

 Outlaw restaurant in Ouray

At River's Edge in Ouray

Unfortunately, since my arrival at Mom's had been waylaid, I ran a higher risk for cold weather while I was there. And... Yup. There was a snowstorm and a few days where the temps dropped down to 15 at night. Aretha was parked next to the house. I had a little bit of a panic and had to FIND and then drain all of the water lines in her (first time 🙅) and left gas heat on during the nights. She survived ok.

Yup -got caught in it

Driving somewhere...

Toward the end of my stay, we drove a few hours on I-70 E and met my sister Rachael in Frisco for another overnight. She lives in Denver. If you ever get a chance to drive through Glenwood Canyon on I-70, I highly recommend it. That whole ride is stunning in so many ways, as it travels through Vail and Glenwood Springs. We had a good time together and had a little birthday celebration for Rachael.

Then it was time to say good-bye to Mom and Jeff. 😞

I left there and headed south through Utah and into Arizona. 

191 driving south through UT has some really strange - feeling sections. Giant smooth rock formations for as far as you can see. Many reminded me of huge sleeping dogs. It felt like I was on another planet sometimes, out there on long stretches of road like that. (I didn't take pictures of them while driving) Usually the continuous rock formations out here are more tall, flat, sharp and pointy. And magnificent. 

I boondocked (stay somewhere without any hook-ups) on public lands in Moab and Monticello, UT -  and then a couple of forests in Flagstaff, AZ before landing at an RV Resort in Apache Junction. I didn't much care for the staying out in the woods like that by myself. If I can see other RV's/campers, I'm better, but I'll confess I had a hard time feeling safe at night. Slept with weapons next to me -which I also do when I have to overnight at Cracker Barrels/Walmart's, etc. - but still felt less safe. Oh well. Maybe that will change in the future...

I've been here at Golden Sun RV Resort for a week now and have met some nice people. I went hiking (at Silly Mountain!) with a couple of them, helped to plant the flowers here, and participate in aqua aerobics. Only 2 of us in the pool.😁 I ride Rebel around town a little. It's very dry of course. Warm days, cool nights.

I am putting on a solo Sunday afternoon music show here tomorrow in the ballroom. ♭♭♭

 I'll be in Tucson in a few days, and then on to another RV park in Benson.

Well that's enough outa me. 

Stay safe and healthy - (and please use good habits to help keep others safe)

Good-bye for now!

Stefani

  

On the Road Again

 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Hi there!

My last entry was back in April before I arrived in Vermont for the summer. I kinda wish I'd written throughout the summer because so many beautiful things happened during my time there, but that's how it goes.

 Maybe I can recap a bit.😏

I was in Vermont from the end of April until October 1st. I'm heading toward the western U.S. currently, but became temporarily waylaid after only 2 days into the trip. More about that in the next post..

I was able to spend some really special times with my grandchildren this summer. Those are by far some of my favorite memories. Seeing and being with my children and their children was just wonderful.

I've loved hanging out and reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.

The welcoming and supportive nature of my friends Susan and Bill, who allowed me to stay on their property again throughout the summer, gave me a safe and beautiful place to come home to each day. I cannot say thank you enough for that.

 I was also able to acquire a small motorcycle (2007 Honda Rebel 250) thanks to some help from a friend, that I could use for transportation for the summer. Luckily I also have wonderful friends, Cheryl, Lisa, Dawn, from whom I could borrow a car to get equipment to a weekly music gig. Phew! There's always so much to be thankful for.

I didn't do much exploring around the state, because I filled my schedule with things that kept me nearby most of the time. One thing I knew I had to do was make money to save up to leave again for the winter. I worked part time for Lamoille Community House in Morrisville, did some recovery coaching and other contract work for North Central Vermont Recovery Center in Morrisville, and played the Wednesday evening music at The Bistro at Ten Acres in Stowe each week. They were all good and rewarding experiences in their own ways. 

 I also started this little business making wooden drink coasters specific to Stowe, VT, and they're currently selling at Stowe Kitchen, Bath &Linens. I have more thoughts on expanding it. I've also been recording music with recording producer/engineer Kristina Stykos in Chelsea. Its been a different experience for me in comparison some in the past, and I'm enjoying the artistic process of it. The songs will be found on my website www.capizzimusic.com - eventually.

SO, after wrapping up the things I would be discontinuing, and saying the difficult goodbyes to everyone, I started out on my second traveling journey with my RV named Aretha and our new addition, Little Rebel...

Texas, and then 'stuck in Alabama'

Hello All,

I haven’t posted anything for quite some time.

Thought I’d do a little catching up.
The internet is pretty sketchy here and I won't be including photos with this post.

I was in Texas for over a month in total and had some great experiences there. After my brother’s race I headed to Whitney TX, to Lake Whitney Campground for about 10 days. It was pretty quiet there because all amenities and activities were closed down due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Actually I had noisy neighbors, so I moved to a different site after several days. Over there I met a woman 15 years older than me who actually also graduated from Barnstable High School in Hyannis, MA. I think that's the first person I've ever met that also graduated from there too. Anyway I spent a fair amount of time reading, writing, playing music, and aimlessly wandering while I was there.

Next I met up with some new friends I met back at Peace River campground in FL. We have stayed in touch since we first met. We each stayed this time at a Core of Engineers park in Ennis, TX. A beautiful spot located on a lake. We enjoyed meals and great conversation together. They really helped me with my new website and a plan for ways to spread the love through my music. I’m really so grateful to them. Thanks Don and Alicia! You guys rock!

From Texas, I was in Tennessee for a few days, just outside of Memphis. I really wanted to go to Sun Studios and walk around Beale Street, etc. But sadly everything was closed down. Oh well. I will have to make another trip there sometime in the future.

Now I am at a campground called Hidden Cove RV resort in Arley Alabama. It is located all along beautiful Smith Lake and is very pretty. Unfortunately there's really bad internet connection and almost no Verizon service here. This is the first place I haven't been able to at least use my phone as a hot spot. I bought their internet service and it helps with wi-fi calling at least. Of course all of the amenities and activities are also closed here, other than laundry facilities.

The sites are very large in the new section where I am located, which is nice. I've met some great people here. I met three musicians within the first 48 hours. I pulled together a live music event in front of my site during the first week. It was really fun and seemed to feel good for everyone.

I can see that we, as full time travelers, live on the outside, compared to our friends and loved ones currently living in stable communities. Most of us are certainly connected to the world at large, some more than others, AND we are also part of a community of travelers. We are in survival mode like everyone else, but in a different way.

This organization called Thousand Trails has had to make adjustments like all other businesses, and they’re allowing all current guests to stay until the end of April at no charge. They're also not allowing new guests to come in to their other campgrounds until the end of April, so I guess that's the strategy.

I’ve decided to stay on here for at least a couple of more weeks, and I am super grateful for a safe place to stay for now. I feel so very grateful for the freedoms I have, and for the other people here.

All of this down time has forced me to find or discover more creative places inside myself. Writing songs, making greeting cards, creating jewelry, other writing projects, and progressing with online presence for my music are some of the ways I am spending my time. Walking, yoga, hand weight exercise, and online support meetings are definitely helping me stay balanced. 

On Easter Sunday, we were in the path of severe weather and nearby tornadoes. Many of us gathered in the clubhouse, tracking the storm and waiting until we may or may not need to get into the underground storm shelter. At the 9 PM Tornado alarm, we piled into the bunker for about 45 minutes. About 50 people and several dogs. It was dark. A first time experience for me. But we all escaped unharmed and our rigs were undamaged. A joint feeling of gratitude could be felt throughout the campground in the morning. I felt grateful, but sad to see there was a lot of destruction elsewhere from that storm.

I'm amazed by what is happening during this time in history. The seeds of change, existing in the heart of every difficult challenge, creates a strength and resiliency not previously found.

Adventures in Texas

Medina Lake

Hello all,
I've been living more interesting times on my journey, and am remembering some things from the past few weeks that I can share...

On my way into Texas I stopped at the Gulf Coast Museum in Port Arthur for the afternoon. It was really quite amazing. The bottom floor was thoroughly about the history of Port Arthur. The whole top floor was about musicians who came out of Texas. So many!

There was a replica of Janis Joplin's 1964 Porsche 356, painted by Dave Richards, which was cool.

Janis Joplin Porsche replica at Gulf Coast Museum

I landed at Medina Lake Campground in Texas, located just southwest of San Antonio on February 16th. I knew my friend Keith was arriving the next day on his way back from his western excursion. But as I came around the corner into the campground... what did I see? A white VW bus with a trailer attached! It was my friend! A day early! That was a pleasant surprise.

We had some fun times hanging out there. He parked on the water side, about a mile away. I didn't at first, but moved over there a week later. It was beautiful by the water. The weather was cool, but warmed up some as the days went on. The sunsets and the deer and hanging out with Keith were my favorite parts. There were deer, often groups of ten or more, just hanging out all over the campground. I found that delightful and talked to them often.

Deer at Lake Medina Campground

Keith and I went into San Antonio one day and enjoyed visiting The Alamo and The River walk.
We went into Austin another day and walked along 6th and Congress, checking out the venues and food and some live music. We were actually scoping it out, looking for buskers (street musicians). Though it is rumored that there are usually many, we didn't see a single one. That was kind of a bummer because we were interested in coming back to do some ourselves.

6th St. Austin, TX

We spent time playing scrabble, walking, riding bikes, and working on a better music set up for the house speakers in my RV. It was great. Then it was time for me to go. Keith was staying one more week, and I was headed toward Austin. We'll see each other back in VT this summer I'm sure.

I stayed at two different homes from the Boondockers Welcome program for a couple of days on my way to Austin. At one, I was parked up on a hilltop overlooking the town of Boerne. The other was a cool place in the woods with huge gardens and gigantic containers collecting rain water for their water needs. The area was made up of mostly all limestone, which makes for a difficult water situation as it would ruin their water heaters quickly. So they created their own rainwater collection system. Nice people at both places.

I made it to Austin to see my brothers first race of the season at Circuit of the Americas. Mom flew in from Colorado. It has been a really special time for me. I so enjoyed spending time with my brother and learning about this whole racing world thing. I really didn't know the first thing about it, except that cars drive around race tracks at high speeds and it is a favorite past time for many people...
He got me a spot to park Aretha right along the race track. Concrete slabs and full hookups at each site were a pleasant surprise. Mom and I watched the races from a few different spots and it was all very exciting to keep up with Tom and his team. He is a BMW racing driver for Auto Technic. He was named one of the worlds most successful privateer BMW race drivers of 2014, as he took 3rd place out of the 283 drivers across the world that year. He was one of the drivers invited to the annual award ceremony in Maisach, Germany. That year he also won SCCA NARRC North Atlantic Road Racing Championship. He loves racing. I guess he was born that way.

At the upper paddock pit

Tom's car on the track

I've uploaded the next video in the originals video series I'm making. The song is called One More Song. I wrote it in 2016 or 17. I hope you'll have a listen. Please hit like and share if you like it!
One More Song Mp4

I am heading to a campground in Lake Whitney, TX today.
To my kids: PLEASE keep sending vids and pics and doing face time with me!!!

Take care of yourselves everybody - and those you love.

Until next time,

Stefani

My Last Days In Florida

I have been in Florida for over 3 months and have had some great adventures. Many of them have been shared in my blog posts. I headed out of Florida on the 9th and am making my way toward Lakehills,Texas. But I’ll step back to post a preview of some things from the past few weeks.

 I landed at Peace River Campground in Wachula, on Jan 18. I had really great neighbors, who invited me over to share their Quiche before I even got my water hooked up! Awesome people. They’re two couples traveling together in separate RVs and I just loved getting to know them. Chili, campfire, smores were all wonderful. The women even took me strawberry picking with them! We have been in touch since, and I hope to meet up with them again somewhere along the way. Thanks Susan, Willard, Sandy, and Patrick!

Stef and Mom

 Mom also stopped in for a day!

I met another couple at a music jam. We visited several times and had a great meal together over at their place after my friend Cheryl arrived from Vermont. Hello to Don and Alicia! I might just see you near Dallas soon!

 Cheryl came down for a week and we had a mostly relaxing, and definitely enjoyable time together. We had funny conversations about my aversion to selfies. I think she swayed me a tiny bit, at least toward allowing someone else to take a selfie with me in it. I guess…

 We went to a cafe in Wachula called Java Cafe. The Big Chikuna on the menu was totally delish.
 So Peace River is full of alligators. Many people canoe and kayak there, but we weren’t interested in doing that at all. We were nervous enough just walking along the river!

 We took the rental car into Fort Myers one day and spent the night at a hotel. We  found a really cool place in Ft. Myers called Java House. We had such a great conversation with the owner. He served us lunch on pieces of slate. Interestingly, he and his wife found their slate (plates) on the side of the road in Columbia, South America. The crepes and the artichoke spinach quiche was just amazing!

At Java House

We went to Sanibel Island the next day. It was sunny and warm on both days. Fort Myers Beach is a fun area, and we enjoyed some of the local talent (and ice cream) on the boardwalk. The sunset was beautiful. There was a sand artist out on the beach sitting next to two sculptures she had created. They were simply amazing.

Sand sculpture at Fort Myers Beach

 Sanibel, with its soft white sand and warm breezes was as enchanting as ever. It was a perfect day to spend some time at Lighthouse Beach Park, including the beach, the lighthouse, and the pier. There was a beautiful white great egret hanging out with everyone on the pier. (Or perhaps it’s actually his/her pier and humans get to hang out there). It looked like the fisherman keep him/her well fed. I will try to attach a video clip of it. I was also forever entertained by the many pelicans. The way they dive bomb into the water over and over to catch their food just cracks me up. They are such prehistoric looking creatures, yet they glide so gracefully along the water.

White great egret

Pelican about to catch dinner

Sanibel Lighthouse

 Continuing with the food/cafe theme, we found a great place there called Lighthouse Cafe/ The World’s Best Breakfast. Attached to it is Tuttle’s World Famous Seahorse Shell Shop. The owner has been there for like 35 years. Well don’t quote me on that, but he’s been there a looong time. We finished up our visit on Sanibel Island at a retro place called Cheeburger Cheeburger for a milk shake and a float. Yum!

Guy who owns Tuttles for 35 years

 Our visit eventually came to an end and Cheryl got back on a plane to Vermont. Brrr.
Thanks Cheryl! it was great to spend time and adventures with you!

 I headed back to the east coast one more time. I parked at my aunt's place again in Indiatlantic, next to Melbourne beach. The trip was to see my little sister run in the Florida Marathon. She did so great! It was my first time seeing her race and I couldn’t believe she ran 26.2 miles, including 4x over causeways! Man that was amazing. I can’t imagine even WALKING half that far, never mind running!

Sister Rachael getting ready for Florida Marathon

I am so grateful to have been able to spend time with family - my mom and sister, cousin Lisa, and my aunt MaryAnn. It was really nice to stay and hang out with my aunt by myself for a few days. I was there for about a week all together.

 Yes I finally left Florida on Feb 9, and am making my way to Lakehills, Texas.

 I stayed in Tallahassee the first night. Then in Fairhope, Alabama for two nights. Both of these places are part of the Boondockers Welcome program. This one is at the property of Big Daddy’s Grill. Its a great family restaurant and bar located at a pier on a river where boats pull up and people go in to eat. They arrive by land too of course. Its a popular place, and my gumbo was superb. Interestingly enough, I ended up playing their Sunday afternoon live music! It was fun, and good to perform for people again.

Pier at Big Daddy's Grill in Fairhope, AL

Next I stayed overnight with some friends, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Thanks for your wonderful hospitality Tina and Lewis! 

Biloxi is a really nice area. Unfortunately it was quite foggy, so it was difficult to even see the ocean as I walked/drove along. But that's okay. Can't have everything!

I'm getting closer to Medina Lake Campground in Lakehills Texas, where I am staying for a couple of weeks. I'll be meeting up with my friend Keith there. We plan to have fun and spend some time in San Antonio and Austin!

 Other than music jams and random occasions, I have rarely performed music in front of actual live people so far on this trip. I originally thought I would set gigs up ahead of time before I arrived in areas, but that’s not what I ended up doing. Its all good and probably supposed to be that way for now.

 In my search for income generating ideas, I have been learning and pursuing other avenues with music. I’ve also been writing songs, and have begun recording a video series of originals. I’m recording them right on the couch in my RV! I’m not completely sure what I am doing with them yet, but they will be uploaded to my YouTube channel in the near future. I will put updated links on Facebook, etc as I go. Here's a link to the first one /https://youtu.be/Qz0GrQ7DL8E

 I have upgraded my registration on a platform that will distribute my 2015 music CD  to multiple media streams. Only time will tell me how that goes.

 I've previously mentioned the articles I’ve been writing and publishing on the Medium platform. Its new to me and seems like a slow process, but I think I will keep going with it.

 I experimented with an attempt to sell jewelry one day at a 3 hour campground craft show thing. It wasn’t good. Okay I sold four items. But hey, I tried it out. Its really not a profitable environment for that kind of thing. I will probably look into some festivals sometime soon and try it again.

 Creating income streams in order to sustain this life is rather daunting. It takes a certain amount of belief. And creativity. And dedication to take the time to work on it.

That’s it for now. On to more adventures and opportunities!
Take care. Be well.
Hug the ones you love.

Stefani

Travels along the Gulf Coast

Hello friends,

I've traveled over to the Gulf coast of Florida to hang out for a bit. 

I left Clermont on January 10th and headed over to Clearwater.

I took Route 60 / The Courtney Campbell Causeway to get over to Sand Key Park in Clearwater. Courtney Campbell Causeway is a bridge stretching across old Tampa Bay from Tampa's Rocky Point Island to eastern Clearwater. It's approximately 9.9 miles long with two elevated bridge spans to allow watercraft to pass through. Wow! It was really awesome to drive on that, with the water surrounding me on both sides for such a long time.

I spent the afternoon at Sand Key Park. Ninety-five acres are located on Sand Key, which is a barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida mainland. Clearwater Pass, leading from the Gulf to the Intracoastal waterway, separates the park from the busy resort area of Clearwater Beach. It was perfect for me, with a big parking area, and just a walk through the mangroves to the white sandy beach.

A pirate ship off Sand Key

 I stayed at a Boondockers Welcome residence in Clearwater for a couple of days.

It was a nice place. The owner, Sherrie, had a cool fishpond inside her house. She had a nice pool area outside, but said the fish would get grabbed by birds if she had them outside. I found two great coffee shops while I was there. One in Clearwater was called Southie Coffee. https://southiecoffee.com/ I liked the music items throughout the place. The other one was The Haus Coffee Shop, in Largo. It's advertised as' a lofty cafe with a rustic-chic vibe serving espresso-based drinks, pastries & casual fare.'

 . Both had their own unique character.

The indoor fish pond at my first Boondockers Welcome place

Southies Coffee in Clearwater. Loved it! 

Another great cafe in Clearwater, FL

I mentioned Boondockers Welcome in my previous post. 

Its a program where home/land owners who want to open their property to RVers to stay overnight or longer, create a profile on the BW website, and then RVers can reserve for 1-5 nights, depending on the property owner's desire. Both parties set up their  profiles so they can connect. Its a great way to meet people and help each other out. Love it!

Next I traveled up the coast to stay at another Boondockers Welcome home in Hudson for four days.

Mikie Gallagher was the host at this one, and he was such a great guy. Hes a medically disabled veteran who opens his home up to travelers. It has become an important part of his life, and I I felt very welcome there. I had such fun with his two little dogs (Bostie and Delta). I even had dinner with Mikie and friends in the house the first two nights, and on the last night I went out to dinner with Mike and his brother Tom. I went in the pool one morning. We were all going to go to a nearby shooting range for practice, but the range was full during the time it would have worked for us. Darn. Oh well.
Good people. A great experience for me..

Many egrets were near and on Mikie's property

Today I hit the road traveling southeast from Hudson toward Wachula.

 I passed through a road called Bellamy Brothers Parkway. Kinda cool. Not the road, just the name.
I will be settling in at a place called Peace River Campground tomorrow, and  plan to be there for about ten days. My friend Cheryl from Vermont is coming to visit. We are working on a project together and I'm looking forward to spending time hanging out with her.

I have started publishing articles on a platform called Medium.

If you get a chance to read them and  hit the clap button, and follow me if you're interested, it would be super awesome. It will help create a small income for me as I'm traveling.
Here are the links to the articles:

https://medium.com/@scapizzi36/my-year-of-changing-it-all-49e4443f794b?source=friends_link&sk=be3a7354c74d882c04699ed36647a371

https://medium.com/@scapizzi36/my-awesome-life-without-alcohol-72c0da166d7e?source=friends_link&sk=42c6aeff487e2a87a74b1ceccc4caa81

Lots of love to my family and friends up north.

Stefani