Whew. The past few weeks have had us tapping into our reserve tanks to muster up some spare social energy. We never imagined when we booked a spot in Cedar Key how many folks would be joining up with us.
Don’t get us wrong, we have absolutely LOVED meeting so many people and many new friendships have been forged.
And it’s downright humbling to have reflected back in person how many lives our blog and videos have touched.
We’re just introverts who absolutely need undistriburbed recharge time in between social experiences, and there’s only so long we can go with out that. And it’s now been a really long time.
[quote_center]Oh, the price of posting so many Cedar Key sunset photos! [/quote_center]At any rate, we have had some great experiences since our last update.
Kayaking Adventures
The best way for us to get a quick recharge has been launching our inflatable Sea Eagle 370 kayak for some paddling.
We’re so glad we had this kayak delivered to us by Amazon Prime during our stay last year – it’s been a perfect balance for us finally having a decent 2-seater kayak, without the storage space worries. It rolls up pretty compact into a duffle bag that stays neatly in our bus bays. And, we’ve only popped it once – on oyster beds out here in Cedar Key last year. The patch job we did then has held up remarkably well.
We’ve since gotten really in tune with the tide charts using the Tide Trac mobile app, and utilizing satellite maps on our iPhones (now protected by Lifeproof cases) to stay in the channels.
Social Adventures
In the past week, we’ve said good bye to a handful of folks as they ended their monthly stays in Cedar Key, and welcomed in a whole bunch more.
The weather hasn’t been the best, but we’ve still managed some group activities:
Lots and lots of fun, for sure!
Taking a Breather
Between the gatherings with our convergence and building friendships with those staying longer term as neighbors – our introversion would already be pretty tapped. But on top of that, a week doesn’t go by where we don’t get several visitors with little to no pre-arrangement.
We normally appreciate the occasional drop in, it’s just the constant pace over six solid weeks that has worn on us. It has nothing to do with the individual encounters – we’ve enjoyed meeting everyone – it’s completely the cumulative effect.
We’re often asked how we keep up with it all. Truth is, we’ve been struggling and the weather hasn’t helped.
[quote_center]We’re no longer swimming in social abundance, we’re drowning in it.[/quote_center]In effort to take care of ourselves, we’re pulling out of our Cedar Key Convergence early. We’re moving to an undisclosed location to get some much needed re-charge time and focus on projects we’re behind on. Our apologies if anyone was inbound for an unannounced visit, and thank you for understanding.
Our next stop will be February 20-24 at the Tin Can Tourists Convention in Brooksville, FL. We endeavor to be back to our welcoming selves by then.
We have one more post scheduled as a general guide to exploring Cedar Key in an RV, but this will be our last travelogue this visit. I couldn’t end without some sunset shots from our one actual sunset this past week.
So understand the need for introvert-down time! Both of us are much the same, (we recently took the Meyer-Briggs test online and BOTH came up ISFP’s – the most introverted of introverts!) although we both adore meeting new folks and need social time, as well. Glad you’ve found a balance and are taking good care of yourselves 🙂 Be well & travel safe ~
Totally understand from another couple of introverts. I can only take so much then need to recharge.
Just sorry for the extroverts that don’t understand.
haha My husband and I are both introverts as well, so I can totally relate to your need to get away. It’s only been through internet memes that I have come to understand the difference between introverts and extroverts. I was always confused about what I am since I really do enjoy people, but need my time alone too. We introverts get worn out by the social experiences and need recharge time, and extroverts get fueled up by social experiences. Have a great recharge!
Indeed.. there are a lot of misperceptions about what being introverted means. It in no way implies that someone is shy or non-social. Just where one derives their energy.
As I read from afar while we ready ourselves for full timing I kept asking my introverted self, “How do they do it? Seems like an endless party. ” with so many RVers chiming in that they too are introverted, I wonder if we are more likely the ones to search out this lifestyle.
While RVing can be a very social thing, is also gives one a lot of flexibility to get out on your own and indulge in solitude. We’ve decided that our next live video chat will be on the topic of Introversion and RVing. Hosted, of course, after we recharge a bit 🙂
Hi,
That “Quiet Time” sign is a great idea! Hope you are both some where now that the sun will come out a little. I’m also an introvert so can understanding the need to recharge. Glad that you wrote a post on this and explained the need to setup those boundaries. Wishing you both are getting the rest you need and feeling better soon. : )
Tina
Always important to take care of oneself. The ‘Quiet Time’ sign is a new prized possession, and we suspect, will get a lot of use!
We are heading over to Cedar Key today to just check it out and were going to stop by and knock on your door but now after reading this post we will simply leave you alone and check out the park on our own. Enjoy the down time…
Enjoy Cedar Key. Hope the weather has cleared up, it was pretty miserable when we left the other day.
No apologies necessary for needing quiet time, Mike and I are the same way! When we put our rubberized canvas Folbot kayak into the water in Cedar Key the first time we did it down by the marina and boat launch. We were fortunate in that the guy who rents hard kayaks saw us launching, came over to admire the Folbot and gave us newbies a wonderful lesson in kayaking where there are oyster beds lurking everywhere! If not for him we too might have ended up with a rip!
The people of Cedar Key are generally wonderful and helpful, so fantastic he took the time to explain the oyster beds to you! They are dangerous to our fancy blow up pool toys 🙂
Being an introvert myself, I totally get needing some time to recharge your batteries. I read a book recently entitled Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert, by Beth Buelow, which helps to explain what it means to be an introvert. Interesting little book and helped some of my friends to better understand that I need time alone to recharge. Being around people all the time isn’t what recharges my batteries. Enjoy your quiet time Chris and Cherie!
Especially for us folks where our introversion doesn’t manifest as being shy (because it’s not the same thing), it can sometimes be hard for some to understand that we need our alone time too. I consider myself a social introvert – I love meeting and interacting with people, truly and really. I just need recharge time in-between.
Most everyone these past several weeks has been highly respectful of our time and space (thank you for being one of them!), and we’ve enjoyed each meeting – we’ve just not had enough balance with recharge time.
I don’t know how you could have done it for so long….lol. Just remember when you leave to stock up on Ida’s fudge! (Just leave me some for when I come in May). Thank you for mentioning the tide info too, as I will be taking my sea eagle out too. We are the people that bought one last year after your recommendation, and thank you so much for that. I have had lots of fun in it.
I was always worried about being stranded out there somewhere on a mud flat half way through my paddle! Lol. Enjoy your down time….recharge those batteries….hug Kiki….and enjoy life….
Jill.
Kiki hugged… and we are indeed enjoying life 🙂 Thanks you much!
And no worries.. lots of fudge will be left for you. We’re not really into sugary things, but have enjoyed the nibbles they gift us when we order lunch.
TOTALLY get that recharge thing!! We’re doing a bit of that ourselves right now. ENJOY your alone time, my friends.
Nina
We’re cut from similar clothes there, dear. Enjoy your recharge time as well, and can’t wait until our next rendezvous. Time with you guys is always recharging.
Totally understand! My husband and I are also introverts. We enjoy doing a lot by ourselves, but also like to hang with friends ON OCCASION. So I can totally see where you are at if it has been such a whirl wind for you.
We love being with our friends, it’s one of the highlights of this lifestyle. But there is too much of a good thing. This sort of convergence is still a perfect style for us, we’ve loved the opportunity to meet so many people.
I’ve noticed that as bloggers become well-known, they are forced to create boundaries just to maintain some personal life. I hope you find the quiet time and space to get your work done and feel rejuvenated.
It’s definitely a strange balance for us. We blog mostly to meet people, so having to create boundaries is a really weird feeling for us. Thank you for the rejuvenation wishes!
Enjoy your quiet time, Cherie and Chris. We’ve so enjoyed this past month with you in Cedar Key, and getting to know you better after meeting you last year, especially our Tiki Bar times. 🙂 We’ll miss you, but know how much you’ll treasure feeling refreshed after some much needed ‘Cherie, Chris, and Kiki’ down time. Until next time… 🙂
It’s been wonderful getting to know you guys better as well!
Even more so than Robin William’s ‘RV’, every RV’er should consider ‘The Long, Long, Trailer’ a must-see.
I can’t believe it took me this long to see the entire thing – I had seen the scene with Lucy making dinner in the trailer underway so many times as just a video clip that I hadn’t even realized I had never seen the full movie!
Anyway – if you or anyone you love has ever had to back up a trailer into a tight spot with an audience watching…. you must see this movie.
A horror film for sure! *grin*
– Chris
I saw the Long, Long Trailer when I was a kid and absolutely loved it! We will have to watch it again now that we are older and RV owners. It was little things that made that charming, like when he was putting coins into several parking meters at once.
Enjoy your private time and I hope things warm up a bit for you. Bob
Thank you… we will indeed enjoy it. Hopefully the warmth will follow.