RVoutoftheRatRace

For the second summer in a row, we are sticking around Boulder longer than planned. We orginally thought to be leaving about now, but have decided to stick around until at least the middle of October and maybe longer. Last year, we stayed because I was on crutches. This year, several things influenced this decision. First, Dan’s work. He is incredibly busy at work, averaging more than 40 hours a week since April. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to move around and play. Second, with the economy and stock market the way they are, we decided it would be foolish to turn down work. Third, we were thinking about another dive trip to Bonaire this winter. Our plan was to build up our cash reserves this year, and take off for the Southwest in October and fly to Bonaire in December.

With all that in mind, I got a part-time temp job doing some accounting for a company in Louisville. We were thinking we would be in great financial shape at the end of the year. A week after starting my new job, I broke my wrist. Luckily, they liked me enough to keep the job for me and I returned about 5 days after my surgery. However, now the extra money will be going to pay my $5,000 deductible on my health insurance and for a new truck transmission. The week after my surgery, Dan was driving to a site visit in the mountains when fifth gear went out on the truck. The transmission needs to be rebuilt. Oops, another couple grand.

We have a budget and usually stick closely to it, but sometimes unexpected things happen. June was an expensive month. We have savings, but we try not to touch it. We would rather work a little more and try to spend less elsewhere. Our goal it to have the option of full-timing as long as we want. Spending our savings lowers the chances of that happening.

Staying in one place longer helps keep down expenses. We spend less on gas, eating out and entertainment. We will still try to fit in a trip to Yellowstone sometime this summer, but that is fairly cheap. I will probably pick up more hours at work, and we might stay as long as mid december to build back up the finances. We are still considering Bonaire and want to find a way to make that happen.

Even with the last month, we feel fortunate that we still have choices available to us. There is work available to both of us, and our lifestyle lends itself to downsizing easily. We don’t have a mortgage or any outstanding debt to worry about. I have said it before, one of the best things about full-timing is the freedom to make different choices and change plans at any time.

I am starting to wonder if riding bikes is something I should avoid. For the second time, I have injured myself on a bike. Last year, I sprained my lisfranc joint in my foot and spent 6 weeks on crutches and months limping. After a year, it is almost 100% healed. Not quite, but close.

A few weeks ago, we met some friends for a bike ride and within the first 15 minutes, I managed to break my wrist. Both the radius and distal bones through the joint. A trip to the ER was needed since my wrist was twice it’s normal size and very oddly shaped. Plus, I almost passed out from the pain. Luckily, our friends took care of me while Dan went back for the truck.

The ER doc said, “You broke it good”. He referred us to our Orthopedic Surgeon who operated a few days later. I say “our” because he is practically family now. He walked in the room and said, “What did you do this time?” I said I had been hoping to avoid him this trip to Colorado, but it wasn’t to be. Dan asked him if he had a punch card for us. Seriously, buy 5 get 1 free? At least it happened near a doctor we trust. I now have a plate and 6 screws in my wrist. 10 days after surgery, I got a lovely purple cast. 6 weeks in that and I should be good as new. Of course, I did manage to break my left wrist and I am left-handed. Luckily, growing up in a right-handed world, I am fairly ambidextrous. I will be even better after this.

The sad thing is, I was trying to avoid falling when I broke it. We were on a bike path, and I wasn’t really paying attention. I was busy admiring the mountains. I drifted into a small wall on a bridge. I almost saved it, but tried to grab the bridge instead of letting myself fall. Bad decision, I grabbed on and felt my wrist pop. It didn’t hurt when it happened, that came later. Dan saw the whole thing and didn’t think my wrist should bend like that. I fell over anyway and thought I was fine. I even said I was. Then I noticed that I couldn’t hear what Dan and our friend were saying over the roaring in my ears. I had to sit down and breath. Then I looked at my wrist and thought, that doesn’t look right. Lessons learned, pay attention and just fall if needed. Dan has a theory about my fear of falling off my bike. He grew up riding a bike and falling early and often as a little kid. I didn’t ride a bike much as a kid and never learned how to fall properly. As an adult, my first instinct is to stop the fall. I need to learn how to fall without hurting myself, or maybe just pay attention.

Watching barges on the Ohio River from our campsite in Cincinnati

We are once again staying in Lafayette in our old mobile home park. It has been cold and rainy with some snow since we got here. So far, not the best weather although the snow was pretty. On the road, it is easy to get confused as to which season it is. We had so much nice weather this winter that it feels like that was summer and this cold weather must be fall. Luckily, I will be happily confused when the gorgeous Colorado summer starts soon. We are looking forward to seeing friends, and revisiting some of our favorite trails in the area. It is also so fabulous to eat good vegetarian chinese food again. The south has great biscuits, but the tofu selection is non-existent. Seriously, we were back an hour before I called in our first order of Sesame Tofu to our favorite place down the street. There are times it is nice to know where everything is located in the area. Dan is really busy with work and we are both enjoying sitting still for awhile. I think we will be here at least two months and probably more. I have lots to post about South Carolina and will do that soon.

We have just entered our 21st State in the RV. South Carolina to be exact. We began and ended last year in Florida with the summer spent in Colorado. This year started again in Florida and we are spending a month in South Carolina on the way to visit family in Ohio before travelling back to Colorado by May. After that, our plans are open. We never made it Yellowstone last year, so the geysers are high on our list for the summer.

We spent most of January in the Everglades. Technically, Big Cypress is also part of the Everglades, so we’ve spent the last 5 to 6 weeks in the Everlgades Ecosystem. We had one week of really cold weather and many weeks of gorgeous sunny days in the 60’s and 70’s. It was hard to remember it was winter.

The Everglades aren’t a place that’s going to overwhelm you with it’s beauty. It doesn’t have the awe inspiring scenery of Yosemite or the amazing geysers and wildlife of Yellowstone, but in it’s own way, it is just as special of a place. It takes a while to sink in, but it’s special for what isn’t there. There are very few roads and buildings, little traffic noise, and not many people. It still has large areas that are undisturbed by man, vast tracts that are home to only the birds and gators and countless unobstructed views over open prairie’s dotted with tree hammocks.

It is a world ruled by nature. Man has tried and failed to tame it many times. Eventually, people gave up and it became a national park. Now, huge flocks of birds and hauled out alligators are everywhere. It’s their park and we are only visiting. Most of the park isn’t easily accessible. That is as it should be. More roads would only ruin the quiet beauty.

The Everglades are actually composed of many different ecosystems. The Cypress swamps harbor different plants and animals than the coastal mangroves. The coastal prairie differs from the sawgrass prairie. They all depend on each other to survive. We camped in the Cypress Swamp, the pinelands, and among the mangroves and coastal prairies along Florida Bay. Each place was beautiful in it’s own way. The Cypress trees grow where the land is 6 inches lower than it’s surroundings. It can be filled with wild orchids and is a favorite roosting spot for large flocks of herons and egrets.The Pinelands are a foot or so higher than the Cypress, but are “high and dry” for the Everglades. They are home to the few remaining bear and panther, as well as many owls. The coastal prairie and mangroves are sometimes dry and othertimes inundated with salt water. Crocodiles, manatees and otters can be found in the mangroves. Coastal prairies are buffer zones between the bay and the higher dry area. Elevation changes measured in inches change the environment from one to another.

We were lucky to have time to spend in all the different ecosystems. We saw barred owls and upland birds in the Pinelands, crocodiles and an otter in the mangroves, woodpeckers and orchids in the swamps, and large flocks of herons, ibis, wood storks, and egrets everywhere. For a birder, it is fabulous. There are very few places you can go to see hundreds of egrets in one tree. It is the kind of place that is best visited when you have time to absorb it slowly.

Another wonderful sunset from our site.

Our quiet campsite at Monument Lake, FL

We don’t have any special plans for Christmas. We have been out birding early the last two days. There are several kayak routes nearby and some biking choices. There is way more to do than we will be able to get to in two weeks. Just the way we like it.

We spent the last few weeks in a private RV park in Pompano Beach, FL. My first clue that something was different was when I was called “Madame” while checking in… as in the french Monsieur et Madame. As soon as we were set up, the RV’er behind us asked if we spoke French. What? Why would someone think we spoke French in Florida? We soon realized that we were in a resort that catered mainly to French-Canadian Snowbirds. We could hear French being spoken everywhere around us. Unexpected, and somewhat delightful. Such a soft and musical language. Sadly, my many years of French study in high school did not pay off with actually understanding most of the conversations. Our younger ages usually ensures we are bombarded with curious neighbors in a snowbird park. Not possible with a language barrier, a friendly smile sufficed.

Looe Key

There are a lot of reasons to visit the keys. The state parks are terrific, the water and weather were warm, the snorkeling was fantastic, and the lifestyle is laid-back. However, the diving is just OK. I talked to several other divers that thought it was awesome. Whenever I heard that, I would ask where they had dove before. Invariably, the answer was New Jersey, Seattle, a quarry, this is my first trip, etc. The people that thought it was awesome had never dove outside the USA. We did meet some divers that have dove in Fiji, and they thought it was just ok, too. I think it really depends on your previous diving experience. If you are a new diver, you will love it. If you have dove around the world, it will probably rank at the bottom of your list. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dive there, it just means you will probably find other locations better.

We weren’t going to the keys just to dive. We were going to the keys and going to do some diving while we were there. There’s a difference. It wasn’t a dive trip. It was a trip with some diving. We weren’t disappointed because we had low expectations. We couldn’t imagine it comparing to Bonaire or Curacao, and we were right, it didn’t. I did a lot of research and and kept coming across the same info. Many sites said you shouldn’t miss Looe Key in the lower keys, and you have to dive Pennekamp. I wouldn’t agree about Looe Key. I think you could easily miss it and devote most of your dives to Pennekamp. The coral in both places was damaged and dying. There is a lot more rock than coral. There are some nice patches of reef, but no awe-inspiring formations. The marine life was better than the coral. Plenty of healthy fish. However, our best dive in the keys was not as good as our worst dive in Bonaire.

We saw many Midnight Parrotfish in the keys

After saying all that……There are very few places in the world that you can dive on coral reefs. Global warming is projected to destroy coral reefs as soon as 2050. This would be a horrible tragedy. We are grateful to have the opportunity to see them while they are still here, in any form.

If time and money are a consideration, head to the keys. If you can manage a week and a slightly larger budget, dust off your passport.

We are now camped in John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo. Pennekamp is known for it’s coral reefs. So far, we We have done two dives and the diving is much better than the lower keys. There is more coral and fish. We plan on diving more later in the week. We have also snorkeled several times and were lucky enough to see a spotted eagle ray on two different days. We got to swim around with it for several minutes. Yesterday, we went for a kayak, and today went birding and saw our first ever White-Crowned Pigeon. For bird nerds like us, it was exciting.

Holidays on the road are always a little strange. We went birding and snorkeling on Thankgiving Day and had pasta for dinner. I did buy a pumpkin pie, but that was going to be the extent of our traditions. We were surprised when our friend’s Ian and Kristen called us up and invited us over to Ian’ sisters house in Miami Beach on Friday. Not only did they let us crash their (day-late) Thanksgiving Dinner, Ian’s dad gave us great seats to see the Florida Panthers play the Toronto Maple Leafs. Candied Yams and hockey, it turned out to be a great time. It was fun to see friends in the middle of the winter, even for just a quick visit. The keys are being good to us.