The Road from Florida to Wyoming

Everyday on the road has been a learning experience.   

Setting up camp our first night in Cedar Key( in the rain) we learned that it is important to make sure all your faucets are turned off before turning on the water. We flooded our outside kitchen because we turned on the water to the camper without realizing that the faucet in the outside kitchen was on.

In Quanah Texas (where?? -- part of tornado alley) we learned that as part of the check-in process at the campground they show you where the tornado shelter is!  We also learned the importance of our NOAA radio that blared out a warning of an approaching storm that had us scrambling to prepare a go-bag to go into said shelter.

In Amarillo Texas we learned about the importance of wheel chocks while we where jacking up the trailer to unhitch and it "very uncomfortably" shifted backward slightly on the leveling blocks. eek!

Last night, in Douglas Wyoming we learned that the East Entrance to Yellowstone  will remain closed due to snow and possible avalanches ( what??!! lol) -- so we will need to add an additional 400+ miles to our journey to enter the park through the North Entrance in Gardner Montana.

And today, we learned  a new lesson in "white-knuckle driving".  A high wind advisory (50 mph wind gusts) is not something you ever want to drive your trailer through. So we found the closest campground and settled in early to wait out the weather in Buffalo, WY.

Every day has had  its challenges and learning experiences -- but more importantly every day has brought with it amazing blessings.

We live in an amazing country.  America the Beautiful has taken on a whole new meaning for me as we have traveled.  God has indeed blessed us all with an amazing place to call home...from the gulf coast of Florida to the Great Plains to the Majestic Rocky Mountains.  Everyday I am more amazed by what I see.

Carrabelle, FL -- Ho-Hum RV Park

Mobile, Alabama - Shady Acres RV Park

Monroe, Louisiana 

Grand Prairie, Texas

Quanah, Texas

Amarillo, Texas

Limon, Colorado

Douglas, Wyoming

And most importantly--I am blessed to enjoy this journey with the love of my life.  We learn, laugh, get irritated, and get silly together everyday.  And everyday, I learn to love him more as I get to see on a daily basis what a wonderful person he really is.

To Adventure, To Family, To Health and To Love...

The week after my "retirement" was one of the busiests weeks of my life. Downsizing 22+ years of "stuff" and preparing to live in a 25 ft. trailer for half a year has been exciting but also challenging. For every item James and I crossed off our To-Do list... It seemed like  two or three more were added. 

However, as busy as we were, we knew it was important to spend time with our family before we left. On Wednesday, Jimmy was off from work so we all spent time together and visited my mother and James' mother. On Thursday, James visited the fire stations and even though we were packing our last minute items we made time to enjoy dinner together and have a family toast. We toasted; "To Adventure, To Family, To Health and To Love "...

With Jimmy leaving for his Peace Corp service in August-- It would likely be a long while before we saw each other in person again. 

It was one of those bittersweet moments as a parent -- when you realize that your life path and your child's life path are splitting off from each other. And even though we are all anticipating great things, the reality is that our paths through life are different. 

So after saying our goodbyes, in what was a very surreal moment we set off on our adventure. 

Our first stop was Cedar Key. The place where the possibility of this journey became a reality for us. We would have loved to be able to stay at Low Key Hideaway again... But unfortunately, they were booked. So we opted for Sunset Isle which is within walking distance. We wanted to be sure to stop by the Low Key Hideaway Tiki Bar and see Pat & Cindy to thank them for their encouragement and inspiration for this journey. 

Our first day on the road ended with a beautiful Cedar Key sunset. It was a beautiful sunset both literally and figuratively. A beautiful end to our first day as adventurers... And a figurative end to our lives of complacency. 

We are headed to Yellowstone. Let the adventure begin. 

Faith and Fear

At the end of 2013 we made a decision that 2014 would be a year of change.  

We had celebrated our son's college graduation and felt that the sacrifices and struggles that we faced to build a stable life and give him the opportunity to step into adulthood with a good foundation and education had come to fruition. It was (and is) a feeling of intense satisfaction. And, it provided a sense of closure to a period of our lives-- parenting would be different going forward.   

So what now? What about us?

We both had stable jobs, a nice home and very routine lives that kept us busy.  But busy does not always translate to fulfilling -- and the more we contemplated the day-to-day routine of our lives the more we realized that we wanted more. Not more material things...not more trappings or things to keep us busy...we wanted more freedom and we wanted (actually needed) more adventure. So in essence we decided we needed much less of what we currently have...and that it was time to simplify and change.

But how do you go about breaking out of a 22+ year routine? 

By facing your fears and taking a chance. The call that came in from the Yellowstone Association with the job offers for the 2014 Summer Season in Yellowstone National Park was that chance.  And in a surreal moment -- we accepted -- and then spent the rest of the following days in a daze not believing what we had done. Don't  get me wrong -- we had dreamed and planned for this for years. But dreaming and planning, and actually taking action to set the plan in motion where two different things.

In the months that followed, I could feel two feelings creeping up from the pit of my stomach. 

The first was fear. Are we nuts? Leaving a good job of 20+ years with benefits and stability at a huge financial firm? My husband, leaving the fire service after working so hard to advance his career in our home town fire department.  The fear was gripping and tangible -- it came in these cold waves that would give me chills and goosebumps. I could feel the surge of fear and panic inside me -- what if this is the wrong choice? What if this decision hurts everything that we've worked so hard for?

The second feeling was different. It was warm and steady. I could feel it rising from my gut to take the chill of fear away when the panic set in. It wasn't an icey blast ...it was a warm ember. It was Faith.  Burning low hot it was a fire inside me that I had not felt in a while--- a passion for life, adventure and the thrill of breaking out of the routine and trying something new.  To all of the "what if's" that my fears brought to mind it would answer, "why not?". It was the twinkle in our eye as we talked about beginning this adventure.

So we continue to move forward in Faith and prepare for a new future.

Today is the start of our future lives -- 

I've officially retired from the bank, James left the fire service and is home for North Dakota and Jimmy received his official invitation to serve from the Peace Corp.  We received our campsite assignment from the Yellowstone Association and we are one week from launching on the adventure of our lives.

Lots to do...but taking a moment to take it all in and realize how blessed we really are.

James' Farewell Celebration from the Orange City Fire Department at O'Leary's in Debary.