Prepping for Travel

Greetings from Steve's Kitchen in Hernando, Florida.

We have been getting ready for six months of travel. 

We have planned our summer and fall journey. I have made the reservations.  I wrote everything down in my calendar and on a spread sheet.  But I still worry that I missed something or... I don't know what.  I just worry... but not a lot.  Like when I am recording our bike trip in the Puglia area of Italy onto the spread sheet.  We used Tripsite.com to book the tour.  They sent a list of the days and where we would be each day (not the specific lodging location yet, but the towns).  And their listed days didn't line up with my listed days and I could feel the panic rise as I tried to remain calm and figure it out.  I figured it out.  It is all good.

I have packed up my stuff and moved much of it over to Steve's and moved out of my Condo.  It isn't rented out yet, but I hope to rent out the condo furnished again this summer.  Last year I had an ideal tenant.  The rental manager tells me I probably won't be so fortunate this year.  That scares me.  It won't be a big deal to not rent it out, but it will be a big deal to get a bad tenant.  There is that risk.  I tell myself, "Feel the fear and do it anyway." 

In Late April, before all our snowbird friends left the area, I organized a "Truck Topper Party."  The day before the party, Steve and I pulled out the lumber he had stored in the attic and I helped him put the cart back together.  His vast experience shines at this task, since it is cheap lumber that twists and warps.  He manages to figure out how to pull things into place and fasten it there so we ended up with a pretty strong and squared-up cart.  I can't imagine what it would look like if I would have done it on my own.  

The friends lift up the cap on big blue, I drive the truck forward out from under the cap, and another friend or two pushes the cart under the cap.  The cap sets on the cart and they roll it into the garage where it stays all summer.  Genius!

A little work followed by pizza and beer.  It was a fun evening.

Thank you Steve and friends for once again making it possible to park my truck in Steve's garage over the summer.

And then there is poor, lonely LILAC.  Stored in the field by my condo.  I sprayed for bugs, I put containers of kitty litter inside to absorb humidity, and I covered her wheels.  The good news is I have two camping  trips planned with her next winter season.  She will be seven years old next year.  I will probably have to get new tires put on her and the truck.

Her nose and chain is getting pretty rusty.  To keep dirt off the electric plug I put it in a rubber garden glove.  We will see how that works....  will it fill with water?

Steve's guest room is the staging area where we put stuff to take with us in the trailer.  We have to make sure to bring our bike-packing stuff for when we bike the Great Alleghany Passage (GAP Trail).  And we have to pack gifts Steve got for his kids and the suitcases for when we fly to Croatia and Italy in September.  There is a lot.  Hopefully, it will all fit in the trailer.  

Friends ask if we are taking our bikes or our trikes.  We say, "Both."  Steve asked if we will want the kayaks before we get to his house in New York where we can pick up a pair from his stash there.  "Well, our first stop is at St. Marks, FL," I say.  And he says, "Oh!  That settles it, we are taking them!"

Always at the end of each season we try to get together with friends and visit our favorite places.

Last Sunday we rode our bikes down to Nobleton on the Withlacoochee Trail for music and beer and lots of talk.  We had 10 bicycle friends join in!  I love that.  We will miss that in our travels. 

We visited the Gulf for one more sunset paddle.

We will remember the fun we had this season.

Group rides on the Withlacoochee.

The picture below is my favorite from a ride.  Smiles.

We took it while riding the Gainesville Hawthorn Trail.

This season we kayaked the Silver River at least three times!

We attended a few protests as we attempt to maintain/recapture "We the people" power.

We went on a couple road trips this spring.  We went to see the sand sculpture event at Clearwater Beach. 

It was spring break time and the beach was busy with people having fun.

But the best part of that trip was our tour of Whimzeyland  (The Bowling Ball House) in Safety Harbor.  It is an example of how much fun you can have discovering things on a bicycle ride.  We rode the Causeway Trail, and then I saw on Googlemaps that there was another trail heading north into Safety Harbor.  I did a search for a museum or quirky attractions, I don't remember which, and Whimzeyland came up.  I booked us a tour.  The story and the creativity is awesome.  I highly recommend it if you want something fun to do near St. Petersburg, FL.

We went with Steve's neighbors, Kim and Larry, to our first Blues Fest.  We camped at a KOA right on the Pinellas Bike Trail and 10 miles from the concert venue (a park on the bay) The Blues Fest was three days... three late nights.  We enjoyed the music, but we all agreed that three nights is too many at this age.  In the picture left to right, Larry and Kim, me and Steve. I bought that skirt at a vendor at the concert.  It can be turned into a dress, but I haven't figured out how, yet.  If I do, I will have Steve take a picture and share it with you. 

We will be visiting Kim and Larry in Wisconsin.  In fact, we have a lot of meet-ups planned this summer. Christy and Mark (New York and Wisconsin), Frankie and Dennis (Indiana), Ruth and Bill (Iowa), Margaret and Zip (Iowa), Julie and Mark (Ohio and Wisconsin) There is more! Pam (Ohio), Bruce (Georgia),  Amy and the Impromptu Ohio Trikers too. We have a few friends that may hook up with us somewhere along the way.  We will see.  I even made one of our stays in Illinois a Sister's on the Fly event so we will be camping with a few women near the Mississippi River.

Last Summer while we were in New Foundland, We missed meeting up with friends.  This year, we are going to see folks.

My friend Debra and Glen made the move to North Carolina.  I miss having her nearby.  This picture was taken the day we gathered to load up her U-haul and she left Inverness.  She seems to be settling in ok in her new place.  We will stop to see her in October.

In the picture below is Debra, Me, Frankie, and Beth.  

Of course we will see family in New York and Wisconsin.  As of this writing, Steve's mom is still alive.  Though at 70 pounds, we don't know if she will make it a whole year since her "three weeks to live" diagnosis she receive last June.  Last week we had a video chat with her, she seemed kind of out of it at times, but still made some funny comments and we got to enjoy her beautiful smile.

I will try to blog on this trip, but you don't have to wait until I blog to let me know what you are up to and how you are doing.  I love hearing from you.

Oh, and I bought a few of my books to put in Little Free Libraries we encounter.  That will be fun.  I grabbed the box that has the next book project in it.  I thought I would have time while living with Steve before our trip to dive in again.  That has not been the case.  But, if there is room in the trailer, I will bring it along.  Who knows, between writing to you and having other kinds of fun, maybe I will get a chance to dive in. 

Ya, right, who am I kidding?

'Til next time, be well.