Just a quick update! Life is very challenging here in the Florida Keys in the winter.

It is kinda hot so we have to run the AC more than we would like. The banana bush outside our window has way more bananas than we can eat. The fresh shrimp, mahi mahi and smoked wahoo prices are getting a little high. And there are way too many snowbirds!

But we would still rather be here! 😉

I’m sure you understand?

Here is a short video to let you see where we are staying. Looks like we might be here through April or so – then the idea is to make our way up to Maine to check out the lobster. Sounds like a good idea to us!

One of the main reasons we write these updates is the enjoyment from looking back and appreciating where we have been. It sort of solidifies the experiences. It is too easy to just keep on moving and put the past in the past!

Check out this google maps history of places we have used in maps in the last two years. That is so many miles and so many experiences!

For some reason, (maybe we did not use maps as much) but it really does not show our travels well from Florida back up into NW Oklahoma, back down through Galveston Bay and across to Florida again.

And that is where we pick up the story.

Last post we were heading east out of Texas towards south Florida again. Because it took longer to remodel and sell the boat I was working on in Texas, we had a deadline at Thanksgiving to meet. In New Orleans, a couple of hours was quite enough and it was nice to get some seafood and take it home to eat!

The damage remaining from Hurricane Michael to be seen just by driving across I-10 was unbelievable. They still had not cleaned up the trees down on sides of the interstate over a year later.

One of the best parts of traveling is the places we get to stay. Often we are only one of three or four RVs in the whole park!  In and set up by 130 or 2, go round up some firewood for the evening camp/cook fire, and sit back to watch the sky do it’s sunset and night star dance! Here is a slideshow of some of our favorites!

Thanksgiving was spent at Ian’s house in Valdosta Ga, where much fun was had by all with their virtual reality toys. Shelly really got into the music game. It is truly amazing how far gaming has come since the day of Pong! I hope this video can play for you. This is the first time I have tried inserting a video like this. What you see on the screen, Shelly is immersed in inside the virtual reality headset. It is awesome!

We pointed the RV south to Stuart Fl and back to the Hatteras motor yacht we had worked on in the Spring with a goal to get it in the water and moved to a marina. All went fairly well and we were able to get the bottom epoxied and painted, and in the water in just a couple of weeks.

Then Shelly flew off to Seattle for a conference with her work with Atlas Service Dogs while the owner, Goose and I worked on the engines and generator enough to take a nice day trip up the Intercoastal Waterway to Ft Pierce Fl.

It had been over 25 years since running a 60 ft yacht but it was like riding a bicycle!

Our rv spot in Ft Pierce was in the same place as the marina, right on a little causeway a mile from the beach. Awesome! That first week we started some projects and made sure the boat was happy being in the water and then hooked up and headed north for Christmas in North Carolina.

Three days (and three state parks) later we pulled up into the mother-in-law’s drive in-between rains. I came very close to getting very stuck in the grassy yard and spent much time trying to rake and shovel in the deep ruts. Then it started raining again!

On the way out of town, I had a VA appointment in Asheville, so we left a bit early to miss the next huge rain and spent the night down on the Broad River. When we arrived that afternoon, the river was 3 feet below the banks. It started raining – again. In the morning the river was coming up under the RV! We decided it might be time to hook and and leave!  You can see the water coming up behind our wheels. Scary.

I felt for all those permanent RV dwellers who seemed oblivious that the river was rising that fast – and if fact there was a video later in the day of a 5th wheel RV like ours floating down the Broad River!

Ft Pierce welcomed up back with sunny warm weather and lots of work to do. We got to a point in mid January where the boat was up for sale, and had been seen several times and it just did not seem financially feasible to put much more time and money into her. What to do next? Too cold to head north!

So – as seems to often happen – we got an invitation to head down to Islamorada in the Keys where there was another yacht needing some work and an open RV space for us to stay. Here we are back in the keys again! We even drove to Marathon and played softball for old times sake!

It looks like we will be here for at least a few months. But thoughts are already turning to Maine for the summer!

And finally we wanted to share this really cool drive through these tress on the way to the beach in Hobe Sound Fl!

On the wunderground weather site I can see the saved weather for the last couple of places we have “lived”. It is 18 in Red River, NM, 39 in Grove, Ok, 79 in Stuart, Fl and 78 here in Seabrook, TX.  I like 78!

I wonder how two weeks in one place can seem so long? We like it here for the most part. Texans are nice people, the area is a lot like the gulf shores of Fl, (except fairly crowded!), and we have enjoyed visiting Galveston Beach, and the Kemah boardwalk. But – it is just too many people for us.

Prices for RV spots are ridiculous with the Texas economy booming as it seems many oil workers live in their RVs and travel around to hot spots. RV spots in a crowded park are $50/day and $300 a week! Ouch!

We came here for The Foundation for Exceptional Warriors to get a 37 ft Silverton Yachtfish boat running and sold that had been donated by a Vietnam veteran to help the nonprofit. It took about a week to get Duchess engines going and another week to fix systems, wiring etc. We sea trialed yesterday and put the boat on the market at almost half the NADA value ($14,950) for a quick sale. She is a nice boat! (If you know anyone who wants a super deal on a boat check out the videos here.)

From here we head north and east along the gulf towards our boys in Georgia to spend Thanksgiving in Valdosta. Then it will be back to Stuart, Fl to put that 58′ Hatteras we worked on last spring in the water and maybe get it sold as well.

Our trip south to here from Grove was very enjoyable. We stayed in Oklahoma and Texas state parks each night and can tell you they have some amazingly beautiful properties!

We did not know that in Oklahoma the pelicans are white and do not dive into the water but swim and lunge at their food! That same park was like an animal sanctuary with egrets, Blue Herons, hawks, seagulls, and more. Then, just at dusk a doe and her young fawn came out of the woods followed closely by a proud dad who was watching very closely and herding the young guy exactly where he wanted him to go. There was no doubt the doe was in charge though! With the sunset and the sunrise, and having the whole place virtually to ourselves, this day was one of THE best ever in a campground.

At one site Shelly found a creepy new pet right outside our door while setting up and watched carefully all that evening for the little guy to come take our marshmallows!

 Houston and Galveston Bay are two places we have heard about but this is our first time here. It is kind of strange  as you are driving along surrounded by miles of gas and oil pipelines and refineries and concrete then almost immediately  the scenery is thousands of boats, harbors and tourist restaurants and clubs!

Shelly had some old friends drop by for lunch. Maureen and Marley who both took riding lessons for years at High Country Stables drove down from where they live in Texas. A good time was had by all!

It has been a long time since Goose was all excited about getting into a dinghy and going for a ride! (It used to be the only time he got off the boat!) He was a bit hesitant but quickly settled into his old spot.

Last week we bicycled down to the Kemah boardwalk to pass out The FEW brochures and wristbands at the Military and First Responder Appreciation Weekend.  After stopping for liquid refreshment, and a walk around the boardwalk, we had an enjoyable ride back at dusk to a restaurant for a high priced, way too much food supper and home.

We both agree as usual.

Time to back the truck up and hook to the RV and get down the road! We’ll see you there!