Beauty and Grace

Yesterday we swam with manatees.

YESTERDAY. WE. SWAM. WITH. MANATEES!!

We have done some pretty spectacular things over the past 6 months.  Yesterday was right up there!  We used the tour company www.snorkelwithmanatees.com called River Adventures or something.  We went out with Captain Anna and she was fantastic.  Even kept P up in the boat and let us snorkel without him for a bit.  He helped her spot the manatees and guide us toward them!  You can't see them well while IN the water until they're right there, so this guidance helped!

It was really wonderful.  Ben pet one, I did not (nor did P).  We also saw 2 calfs (calves?) with their mamas.

There was a decent current, so it was a struggle sometimes.  At one point I was surrounded.  They are very curious creatures!  But, it panicked me a bit and once I was able to swim away, I took some time off in the boat.  I was glad we didn't opt to rent kayaks and snorkel in.  It was good to have  a place to take a breather from swimming against the current.  P also  needed a bit of time to become comfortable.  They are HUGE animals!

Living the dream.

Here we go again.

Big news from us. It's a strange news about some unexpected changes. However, it's actually leading us back to the purpose of our rv'ing life. We'd always planned to rv while searching for a place we'd like to settle.

But, we enjoyed the lifestyle from day 1 and sort of forgot to look. In fact, we had started talking about traveling for a few years (and that remains a distinct possibility).  We made plans to return to Arizona, handle a few things and trade our motorhome for a fifth wheel.

Then, completely out of the blue, an opportunity arose to rent land from another family who are fulltime rv'ers. It happens to be in an area that we've wanted to scope out (and have online). We will have the opportunity to live in the area and hopefully gain an idea about how we'd like living there. It will either become a serious contender or be crossed off our list.

Arkansas, here we come!

Fun in Florida!

We've been in Florida now for about 2 weeks.  We started out in Seffner, near Tampa for the FullTime Families Rally (check them out at www.fulltimefamilies.com).  It was fun, but for two people with anxiety, it presented a lot of challenges.  Everyone was very nice, but a lot have known each other for years and that sometimes feels awkward to join.  We did meet some great families and I learned a few things about school, mostly.  We also hit up Legoland with the group and had a blast!

P had a great time playing with the kids!  He had the best time with a group of teenage boys.  I was so impressed with their interaction.  I've also had the opportunity to see how much our kiddo has changed over the past 6 months.  He's so much more confident.  The other day at lunch, he jumped up next to an elderly fellow and talked to him about the area we're at in Florida.  It was amazing!

We have some big things coming up.  Through a series of events (starting with a few rv tours, followed by a family medical scare), we decided to head home early.  B is going to get his social security disability taken care of, we're going to do some fixes to Wander and then ... sell her.  We're going to buy a travel trailer or fifth wheel that will fit us better down the road.  Hopefully I'll be able to work some while home.

Oh!  During a little hike around our campground, we saw a crocodile!  Right where I wanted to see one ... across the bank of the river!

Be you!
The G's

Resting

Sitting here at my in-laws in Texas and thought I'd update last week's travels. We took 5 days to get to Texas and other than the Phoenix zoo, we didn't do much. That is until we made it to Alamogordo, NM.

This is where the White Sands National Monument is. It was cold! We actually came very close to just burying ourselves at home and not going anywhere! But, we decided to at least check it out and we're so glad we did! It was a really amazing place. The sand isn't the sand we were used to. It's an almost powder substance made of gypsum (selenite crystals are formed when the water evaporates from this sand-unfortunately we didn't make it to the lake bad where you can see the crystals).

It was fun to explore and then we bought a sled! Loved it there!

Then, we took a nap, packed up and drove 500 miles that night! Yikes!

Did I mention our vehicle heater went out in the middle of our trip? It was 26° out ... freezing!

Happy travels!

Getting Wild

January 17, 2016. We left Havasu amidst many tears and headed to Casa Grande for a couple of nights. We have a zoo membership, so we wanted to have a day to relax and go to the zoo. We'd been home for 10 weeks and did a lot of work. It was also the first time having the dog and cat in close quarters (yes, we adopted a cat ...), so we thought the extra night would help.

Oddly, we woke up in the morning and somehow the door was open and both animals were in bed! They're still pretty unsure of each other and neither are happy driving. The car, mostly because he wants to climb all over, especially under Ben's feet, so he had to travel in his kennel.

So, had a great time at the zoo. Mostly spent time in the farming area, totally P's choice. Funny, I was the one who had a panic attack, so we went out to the car and ate lunch. Was very nice! Last June it was hotter than hell and empty. This time the weather was wonderful and it was packed!

All in all a great day!

Today we left early and drive 290 miles to Deming, NM. Only here for a night and then we go to Alamogordo, NM, where the White Sands National Park. Be there for a couple days and we've heard this is a great time to go.

Time for dinner!