Wow.. where did the month go? It seems like we just pulled in to Melbourne, Florida for our long anticipated still time.
Oh wait, I remember – we’ve been keeping busy!
Last April we parked in this very location at Wickham Park in Melbourne when we got the unsolicited offer to sell our Oliver Travel Trailer.
Ever since we’ve been on a whirlwind tour of the country in search of our bus and making it back across country.
Melbourne (well, technically Indian Harbour Beach) is where I lived when I met Chris back in 2006 and decided to join him on the road full time. I had lived here 12 years and have a lot of roots – most importantly, my parents. Like St. Louis (where Chris’ family is from), Florida is a frequent destination in our travels.
We consider quality time with family to be one of the main benefits of our mobile lifestyle.
Back in September, when we were still out west, my father started having some symptoms that were… concerning. We were already aiming to spend the holidays in Florida, so we made the decision to start heading eastward ‘just in case’.
And thank goodness, just days before we pulled in… his results confirmed that his symptoms where something manageable and treatable. Whew… big relief!
Our time here has been full of joy, happiness and celebration of life.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. My brother flew in for a long weekend for a long overdue family reunion.. and for my mother’s 65th birthday.
Aside from re-caulking the shower, the bus hasn’t changed a bit in the last month. No bus projects!
In the past couple of weeks we’ve put out an update to both Coverage? and the final update to State Lines 2011. We’ve broken ground on a total re-write of State Lines to allow for easier expansion of data and iPad support. The re-write will also serve as a foundation for some other product ideas that we’re excited to focus on next.
We also started a total rewrite of our old ‘Answers to the Common Excuses to Not Travel Full Time’ (ugh, what a mouthful!) blog series, and are re-launching it as ‘No Excuses: Go Nomadic‘. We’ll be releasing a newly updated chapter every few weeks, as well as updating the pay-as-you-wish eBook version as we go.
Kiki has also gotten into a work routine while parked here. Everyday we walk her over to a nearby clump of trees where she is managing a crew of squirrels. She excitedly wakes us up every morning for her commute.
We’ve been able to get back into a bit of a fitness routine launched by us each completing a 1/2 Marathon. We love staying at Wickham Park while we’re in Melbourne in part because of all of the walking & running trails around. Well, and it’s one of the few options in the area. For $475/month, it’s a pretty good deal for long term stays in Florida.
Our social calendar has remained pretty full, between hosting a wonderful ‘open bus’ (which we totally forgot to take pictures at), reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.
We got to finally meet and hang out with Duncan & Jessica of Traveling On the Outskirts – who also originated their travels in Melbourne. And we got to spend some time with Sean & Louise of Our Odyssey who are roaming around the area.
Tomorrow we’ll break camp and head over to the west coast of Florida (just north of Tampa) to where Chris’ folks are spending their first Christmas at their new Florida winter home. We’ll follow that up by attending the Arcadia Bus Rally (where we hope Sean & Louise will join us at – *poke poke*).
After last holiday season alone in the tropics (oh, woe is us) it’s really nice to get so much quality holiday time with loved ones.
We haven’t a clue where we’re headed after the first of the year. There’s temptation to quickly head back west to join up with all of the NuRVers converging in Arizona and southern California for the winter (which our social side craves) or meander our way to Texas in time to ‘unattend’ SXSW in March (which our ‘take it slow’ side craves).
What’s your winter and spring looking like? Any events, rendezvouses, gatherings, opportunities or invitations we should consider?
Here we are in the same state again and probably can’t meet up with you due to Bill’s work schedule! Where will you be after Arcadia? We are spending Xmas in Key Largo and then the New Year in Key West…would love to see the bus as I’m trying to get Bill to consider one instead of a Class A.
Still haven’t figured out our plans after the first of the year. 🙂
*Poke* Ouch! *Poke* OUCH! OK, uncle, uncle! We’re 82% sure we’re coming to Arcadia. 🙂
Hmmm.. Me thinks we need some more poking to get that up to 95% or higher :).
I’m likely heading back to AZ and SoCal again next month for work. Was just there last winter, though, and really wished I could snowbird somewhere new this year. Have been following a few RV bloggers down in Mexico this season and some of their spots are REALLY tempting…$500/mo for beachfront with hookups (or less with no hookups), good internet and cell, and much warmer than the Southwest. Food and other items ridiculously cheap there as well. If I didn’t have onsite work obligations, I’d be there in a heartbeat!
We totally need to cross a border at some point.