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