Exercise and an invasion

Today, we decided it was time to exercise the motorhome. We have been sitting for 10 weeks with only cycling of the slides, jacks and running of the engine in place. It was definitely time to get all the moving parts into play. Normally, we spend a maximum of two weeks in one place, so there is no need for this kind of program. We headed out to the Gulf Islands National Seashore to enjoy the Gulf views and surf on this windy day. Halley is not allowed on the beach, so she had to be watched closely while she was outside. The last time we were here with Halley, a park ranger stopped us in the parking lot to just remind us that she could not put her paws in the sand.

We were able to enjoy the surf, run the generator and not get a fine for sandy paws. It was a nice few hours underway and lunch with a view.

When we returned I almost immediately had a conversation with one of the ladies in the park who was hobbling around with red and swollen feet. She had a nasty encounter with some red ants and was on the losing end of the meeting. Since I had a similar problem a few years ago in Brooksville, Fl, I immediately checked our campsite. Sure enough there were two fresh ant hills that had not been there yesterday. They certainly looked like the same as in Brooksville.

At the risk of offending those who think all creatures should co-exist, I immediately got out by Home Defense Max strength ant spray and sent at least several hundred ants on their way to their final reward. I have plenty of the stuff left in case I missed any.

All in all an enjoyable day.

It finally happened!

The last week has seen a big change in Victoria’s mobility and curiosity about her surroundings. She is walking more steps every day and moves around the house without restriction. She has been watching the cat come and go thru the pet door to the garage for some time. She would sit in front of it and seemed to be thinking about a transit.

Today was the day that she made the big move to try the door. It was quite funny and we could not help but think about the Winnie the Pooh video where Pooh gets stuck in the rabbit hole.

There is more child proofing in the works as she expands her horizons of adventure. It must be great to have so many new things to explore with wonder and innocence.

A quick trip to Hawaii

Over the weekend, we broke out of the grandparents and house hunting modes for a short stint as snowbirds. We attended the campground Luau, which turned out to be a lot of fun. With cooperating weather with temps over 70, you could almost imagine that you were in the Islands –almost:)

The entertainment was provided by a U S Navy trained musical husband and wife team. They did a great job on the steel drums with songs from the islands, the keys and pop hits. There was dinner followed by the campground Hula dancers. They practiced for weeks before the event under the tutelage of one lady who grew up in Hawaii.

I have to mention that Anneke was one of the most colorfully dressed in the group. In a lucky find at the Salvation Army store, she found just the outfit for the occasion. I am pretty sure it was purchased originally for a cruise.

There was dancing inside and under the stars (once the overflow outside dinners moved around).

It was good to spend the evening in the RVing mode.

Flirting with change

Since our return from the Netherlands, we have been concentrating on our possible lifestyle change and spending time with our granddaughter Victoria. We have spent a lot of our physical and mental energy on looking for that perfect house. While we are seriously thinking about giving up the full time lifestyle, we are still planning on traveling and exploring those many places we have not yet seen in the last five years or so, just not in the same way. We love what we do, but change is inevitable.

Having said that, the housing hunting has not been going that well. Our last experience was in 1999, when I was about to retire from the Coast Guard. Since my last duty station was overseas, we had to decide not only where we would live, but also find a job and a house. Once I had found a job, we made a quick trip to the states and found a house and made all the necessary arrangements in only four days.

This go around, there is no time pressure, as we are living in our moveable home of five years. So after over two months of on and off looking we are not much closer than when we started. Perhaps we are a bit smarter on the market here, but otherwise no closer.

During this process, we are still enjoying spending time with family. Victoria is getting to be a hand full. She is mobile now and has to be watched like a hawk. Turn your back and she is pulling stuff down on herself or taking diving lessons off the couch with Grandpa being held accountable for the black and blue injuries.

Today, we took a complete break from our schedule and sat on the beach and watched the waves braking on shore.

Tomorrow, we will hit the newest listing on the housing market.