After a lavish week in a Lake Placid home to celebrate Christmas, we are back in Wanda the Winnebago. At the very last minute, Jason found us a place to park through the New Year at Central Park RV in Haines City, Florida. This is one of the better parks we’ve stayed when it comes to amenities. We take multiple daily trips to the Clubhouse where there’s billiards, arcade games (for FREE!), and most popular with our family – darts. Jason continues to destroy anyone that challenges
him on the dart board, but Ryan has called his shot, and is determined to beat his dad before we leave. Time’s running out for Ryan though because we’re leaving tomorrow, and Jason’s streak continues. There’s also a pool here, but we’ve only been once. Can it be possible that the lure of the pool for these boys has waned? Or perhaps the draw of free arcade games and the potential of knocking their dad off the champion’s throne is more appealing for this week?
Although the amenities are awesome, the basic upkeep of this park is less than to be desired. As Jason was backing Wanda into our designated spot, I noticed there was no sewer pipe for us to hook into. That means any water we used, whether from sink, shower, or toilet, had no outlet beyond our holding tanks. We were going to be here for 10 days. Having full hook-ups with a sewer drain was a necessity. This was a sore reminder that we’re not in a house anymore where we can simply “flush it and forget it”. After parking Wanda, Jason came back to look at the hole that used to be a viable sewer drain but was now a hole in the ground with no pipe, and Jason called the office. Fortunately, a couple of
employees came straight away and dug down to where the pipe had broken and smoothed the pipe to ready it for the attachment needed so our RV’s hose can then attach and drain our tanks. However, that’s as far as they got. Maintenance man said he didn’t have the attachment and would be back the next day. Well, nine days later and a few gentle reminders, we still don’t have the proper connection. This means that as we fill our holding tanks, and Jason goes to empty them, then there’s leaking. Yep, leaking toilet water. Gross. Another less than clean downer about this place is the garbage. There’s garbage pick up at our sites every Tuesday and Friday. Sadly, the garbage bags that were sitting out last Friday, plus any move-out garbage from campers upon departure, are all still sitting on the sides of the roads. New people are coming in, and they’re having to maneuver around bags and bags of garbage from previous tenants. It’s not enticing
or welcoming, to say the least. Consequently, although the boxes are checked when it comes to amenities, the grounds-keeping and maintenance of this place have given the entirety of the park a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe they’re simply understaffed – a nationwide problem, but I think it’s more of a lack of willingness on behalf of the employees.
I’ve started a simpler way of eating since arriving in Haines City. I know, it’s so cliché with it being New Year’s and all. But honestly, it was the debilitating medical issues I’ve been battling that led to my change in eating – it just happened to come to the breaking point a week before New Year's Eve. That being said, I am giving myself one cheat meal (with a dessert, obviously – I’m not an animal) a week, and that meal is saved for Friday nights. Well, well, well, wouldn’t you know it, New Year’s
was on a Friday this year! Jason had a wonderful idea to ring in 2022 as well. We’d all go out to dinner, get our favorite snack/dessert foods at the store afterward, then come back to Wanda and each get to pick a game to play until midnight rolls around. It was a simple plan, but everyone indulged and really enjoyed themselves. The boys were allowed root beer and chocolate milk late into the night (oh, the excitement!) and I went all-in on my cheat meal with a plate of carbs for dinner and ice cream for dessert. After drawing names from a hat, we each picked our games and we all sat together at our tiny dinette and played until we heard the fireworks going off outside. New Year’s Eve was a
wonderful nudging of the heart that Jason and I need to spend more intentional time with these boys. Not just share space, or be close by proximity, but valued time of casual conversation and joyful moments. It’s why we sold everything and left our home and family after all – to show the boys the world beyond their small bubbles at home and to grow close with them. To have memories and experiences unlike most people living the standard American Dream and sharing those with the boys. Taking time to sit back and let the slower pace guide our choices. To love each other and cherish these few years we still have with the boys under our protection. I didn’t make an official New Year's Resolution, but this year is going to be different in all the best ways when it comes to my family.
With family time fresh on our minds, Jason found a killer deal for the Aquatica Orlando water park
and we spent a full day sliding, floating, and splashing around. The kids’ area was amazing. It’s probably almost three stories high of squirt cannons, waterslides, dump buckets, climbing walls, lazy rivers, and waterspouts for the boys to run around and enjoy. Ryan and Barrett decided to set up shop at one of the numerous buckets and cannons. Waiting for the right prey, they repeatedly doused unsuspecting victims. Meanwhile, Cord ran around the place like a crazy monkey hitting every slide, bridge, and stair on that place. I just kept thinking, “They are going to sleep SO GOOD tonight!” Which turned out to be completely accurate, and perfect, because the following morning was Monday and the first day back to their schoolwork after winter break. I was ready to dig my heels in and prepared myself for consistent nagging to keep them on track with their books. But, yet again, the boys surprised me with their ability to adapt to an ever-changing lifestyle and had their school knocked out without any complaining by 11am!
With the excitement of free arcades, swimming pools, New Year’s, and water parks behind us, we are faced with another moving day tomorrow. Jason has booked the next two stops for us because that’s his assumed role in our traveling adventure and he does it without being asked or complaint. Our next stop is in Melbourne Beach, and after that, we head back down to the Keys. I had some of the best times during our stay in the Keys, and I look forward to going back to the beaches and calm waters that they have to offer. Jason chooses our locations strategically. He thinks about the park itself and
what it has to offer our family. He thinks about the cost and the price of everything around it. He thinks about the location – is it close to an airport for easy flights to check on out-of-country boats, or is it close to a marina where there’s potential for walk-throughs, or is it near a beach where we can have lazy beach days. Jason’s job isn’t an easy one, but he’s mastered it. As I’m looking back through our calendar and all the places we’ve been, I can’t help but notice a few things. First, we’ve been in Florida for over two months now. When we started this journey across the U.S. back in September, we moved often and covered a lot of miles across the map. But now, we’re just kind of…floating. We’re, essentially, in the same place, but a different town. I think we’re all getting a little restless here in Florida. Which brings me to my second observation: in our two months in Florida, we have only walked on FOUR boats. Four boats! That’s it! We have been in Florida over 60 days and have been readily available to fly anywhere for over five months for a boat, yet we’ve only physically walked through four potential catamarans. It’s disheartening. And frustrating. It leads me to wonder – what are we even doing here? And how much longer can our family bounce around from park to park while we wait for a broker’s text or an online
posting. My family is approaching a crossroads between maintaining course as we are now, or drastically shaking things up for the sanity of our journey. Jason and I have given ourselves until the end of January here in Florida for something to happen. Whether that be a new lea on a boat, trading Wanda for a larger RV and committing to a longer trek on wheels rather than on water, selling the RV and packing up to head home for some time with family, renting a house long term somewhere that affords us availability to continue boat shopping, or some other idea that we haven’t even considered yet. What we do know, is that something has to give. The realization of being in an area known for its boats for over two months and only seeing four boats has us questioning if we’re on the right path. Maybe we need to rest in our knowledge that our path has already been decided and stay the course. Or maybe, it’s time for a shake-up in a major way. I guess time will tell, and I will attempt to keep faith that the right opportunity will become apparent. Jason has us booked through January 16th, so I know we’ll be in Florida until then.
So here’s to appreciating the amenities, to remembering our why, and to enduring the fine art of waiting.
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