Before leaving Marathon, FL, we FINALLY received our new paddle board. The maiden voyage of the new paddle board was perhaps the most picturesque experience we’ve had so far. We decided to go back to the same beach we snorkeled at: Sombrero Beach. If we were to plant roots and settle down in Marathon, without a doubt, Sombrero Beach would be “Our Spot”. That beach is protected from the wind, has the softest white sand, and zero breaking waves. Our family can wade, swim, snorkel, paddle, build sandcastles, sunbathe, or picnic on Sombrero. Basically, it’s majestic there. By walking out of the parking lot, over the short boardwalk, and onto the sand, it’s an immediate rush of easy comfort that sweeps over you. With our two paddle boards in tow, we set up camp at the water’s edge
and tested out our newest toy. All the boys did great – even getting comfortable enough to stand up and paddle on their own out to the buoy markers. Our newest board has a higher capacity limit, giving it more stability that allowed Jason and I to both paddle individually or with a boy or two on the back of it. We went to the beach a couple hours before sunset, and since everyone was enjoying paddling so much, we stayed through sunset and experienced the most beautiful skies out on the water. The only thing missing from the beachy sunset dream was a dolphin coming up to say hello by our boards. It was perfection.
Jason’s birthday was celebrated in Marathon as well! The big 44 for Jason this year. Having to figure out something special and personal just for Jason proved itself to be more difficult than I thought it would. With his birthday approaching, it became a clear realization that Jason has done all our planning since we started traveling. Which is a very odd concept for me to admit. I have come to accept that I’m a micromanager and planner. My family’s life is no exception. I don’t take it well when things are changed from what I had scheduled, or things don’t happen when I have planned or expected them to. But with RV life, I’ve become another passenger just along for the ride. And it’s
been awesome!! Jason spends hours on the laptop looking for the best spots for us to stay and plotting the route to get there – taking into account the park’s amenities, price, proximity to beaches, where potential boats are, and excursions to enjoy for every place we’ve stayed. Jason has done all the driving with the RV and the car. He finds all the restaurants for us to eat at. He has done 80% of the grocery shopping (he’s out shopping right now!). But it was his birthday, and he shouldn’t have to plan that, too! Since shipping wasn’t reliable, I had to figure out where I can go to get Jason a gift. A couple days before his birthday, I ended up taking the car and driving about 90 minutes away, back into bigger cities with stores I knew. Since I was taking the car, I also did all the grocery shopping. Conveniently, I was able to get a few small gift items for Christmas as well. Mission: Birthday Gift (and Christmas gift) completed, I then had to think of something special to do on Jason’s special day. He had mentioned wanting to go out for breakfast before leaving the Florida Keys – Boom! Birthday breakfast accomplished. After the meal, we went back to the RV to open gifts. Boys then had to complete their school before they had a turn on playing with Jason’s
birthday present, an Oculus II Virtual Reality headset. Man, that thing is SO MUCH FUN! It’s not easy creating and playing in a virtual reality world while standing in a 7ft by 10ft living room of an RV, but we’ve made it work just fine. Jason and I have hit the ceiling when it gets a bit intense, and Jason had to catch me a couple times when I tried to ride a rollercoaster while standing up, but overall, it’s a kick in the pants watching and playing.
Since Jason and I haven’t had a date night since we left home back in September, I thought I’d hire our in-house babysitter, Ryan, for the evening and take Jason to a birthday dinner. This time, I picked the restaurant. We got dressed in clothes that weren’t swimsuits, or made to cover swimsuits, and had a night out. I thoroughly enjoyed our one-on-one time. The food was good, drinks were better, and the company was
my favorite. We sat outside at a picnic table just a few feet from one of the many waterways that wind in and out of neighborhoods everywhere in The Keys while the sun set behind us. We talked without being interrupted by an 8-year old’s diatribe of nonsense or getting kicked under the table by boys wrestling with each other at the table. It was bliss. Jason’s birthday wasn’t fancy or extravagant like they’ve been in years past, but it was meaningful and one-of-a-kind for a man that is leading this tribe on the most incredible adventure we have ever attempted.
After leaving Jolly Rogers RV Park in Marathon, Jason drove us north about 5 hours up to Road Runner Travel Resort in Fort Pierce, Florida. We’re here at Road Runner for almost two full weeks! This is a whole new animal for us. But so far, it’s been great. The park itself is rather large with over a hundred different sites. I haven’t seen any tent camping sites here, but there are full-time slots with
manufactured trailers on them as well as plenty of traveling RV’ers just like us. Ryan and I have already played a set of tennis and are impatiently waiting for the court to be free again so Ry can attempt to beat me after I put the hurt on him in our first round. There’s a pool here, as well as shuffleboard courts, and a pickleball court. There’s also a restaurant on grounds, which we’ve never had before. Look forward to trying it out. I walked the outer loop of the park this morning before starting this blog due to my back being a little sore and I was hoping to loosen it up (and also – I’ve been eating like I’ve been on vacation for the last five months and my waistline is SCREAMING for a reprieve.) and it hit me like a ton of bricks in the shape of Christmas lights and blow-up lawn decorations: Christmas is in TWELVE DAYS! We haven’t bought a single gift for anyone back home, and I’ve only bought a couple stocking stuffer things for the boys and Jason while on my mission for a birthday gift. Yikes! This whole living in the sunshine year-round has really got my holiday radar on the fritz. Guess it’s time to start making a list and checking it twice.
Our final highlight of the last week was our serendipitous boat walk-through we managed to stumble into! There’s a Saturday Market here in Fort Pierce that Jason wanted to check out. The market had about 60 different pop-up tents of various vendors with their handcrafted wares and foods. If we had the room, I would have brought home many, many treasures. Instead, all we purchased was some
fresh-squeezed lemonade and a couple bags of artisan kettle corn. As luck would have it, the Market was right on the marina where hundreds of boats were docked and easily drooled over as we walked by. Jason mentioned that the boat walk we have scheduled for Tuesday morning with the owners is in a marina just a couple miles down the road. We figured we should probably drive by the place and see if we can get a sneak peak of where the boat was docked so we could find it easily on Tuesday. The generous guard on duty at the marina’s gate let us go through even though she shouldn’t have (“I’ll pretend you just told me you’re going to dinner here – have a nice meal!”), and we set out to see if we could spot the boat. Starting at one end, and after being greeted by a friendly dog named Ruby that was trying to be detained by a man while the owner went inside, we began searching for the Leopard 47 named “Dream On”. We walked the entire dock yard and didn’t see it. The very last slips were all catamarans. We knew the boat had to be there. Unfortunately, the sign read “Marina Members Only”. Feeling risky, we trekked through the open gate anyway and walked through a wistful number of catamarans. Million-dollar
boats that both made you drool and shake your head in wonderment. There she was, at the very end of the last row – Dream On. The owner was hosing down the bow of the boat, so we quickly turned on our heels and headed back for the car. Before we were half way back down the dock, our new dog friend, Ruby, was coming towards us with her owner. Ruby’s owner stopped and talked with us. Common pleasantries that solidified our inclination that the gal walking Ruby was Dawn – the boat owner that Jason had scheduled the walk-through with for her Leopard 47. We were busted. But bless Dawn’s sweet heart, she stood and talked with us for a while and we apologized for intruding and told her we looked forward to seeing her again and the boat on Tuesday. Well, wouldn’t you know it, she went and talked with her husband for a minute (leaving Ruby with Ryan because they were both enjoying all the pets being dolled out), then waved us on down the dock. They let us walk on their boat right then and there! Over and over we thanked them for their kindness and apologized for intruding on their Saturday. We were on that boat for almost an hour checking out the rooms, going through the systems, swapping stories, and enjoying the views. For the first time after leaving a boat
walk-through, Jason and I both thought that we could certainly make that boat work for us. Ryan chimed in and even said this one is his favorite, and the first one that has gotten him excited to live on a boat. There’s some work that would need done, but nothing major or deal-breaking. The owners did most of the upgrading in the last four years they’ve owned it, but there are small issues with the lay out of the inside and out. All the beds are up high and have stairs to get into them – not ideal for visitors. There’s also a lack of storage. The boat is 47 feet long and there should be plenty of room in the hulls for storage, but there just isn’t the access to that space like there should be. Like I said, small issues that kept us from clapping our hands together and saying, “Let’s make a deal!”, but that boat is on our very short list of options.
Today, we walk on a Lagoon 440 catamaran. This is Jason’s favorite layout for the category of boats we’re looking in. I’m not sold on it, but not really dragging my heels about it either. Maybe I’m just worn down and losing the fight in me because this boat shopping is taking a lot longer than any of us anticipated. All of us are ready to have a little more space that we can call our own. The boys want a real bedroom again that isn’t also used for a living and dining room. I can’t wait to have the luxury of more than one bathroom. Each time we have had a walk-through, we were disappointed because we knew it wasn’t the boat for us. And we are so ready to have a boat that fits our needs. So today, there’s kind of a lot riding on this walk-through. After going through the Lagoon, we need to make a big decision – do we go forward with an offer? Or was that Leopard 47 the one for us that we’ll make an offer on? I guess in this absurd seller’s market, I should be crossing my fingers that neither boat sells before we can come up with an answer.
So here’s to Jason – the man with all the plans, to getting into the tropical Christmas spirit, and to finding clarity in our life-defining choices.
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