Christmas Greetings 2019

🎵 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🎵... Florida style! Which means that the snowmen are made of sand! But wherever we are ... we are grateful to look back and celebrate the musical and magical Christmas moments of 2019!

We began our year in Medellín, Colombia on the feast of the Three Kings. There we found a Christmas season that is celebrated until the end of January. Let it snow 🎵 as the children enjoyed the play area in the mall complete with festive decorations, a skating rink, and real snow!

Returning back to Florida in early May, we felt like Mary and Joseph trying to find a place in the inn ... only we were trying to find our new home in a van. Baby Minne Beest has proved to be more fun than a one horse open sleigh 🎵 as we headed up to Minnesota for the summer months.

Surprisingly, it was quite easy to adjust to our new smaller surroundings. We quickly realized that what we gave up in space, we made up for in flexibility. The journey has become as fun as the destination. We had a holly, jolly 🎵 time in Rochester and Minneapolis visiting family and friends as well as biking and exploring a brewery or two. 

But the greatest gift of all was being able to be with and support my sister and her husband during his final days here on earth. God's grace was truly present during that silent night, holy night🎵

In late September, we began our van meanderings south through South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. We found out that baby, it's cold outside 🎵 when getting up before dawn to experience the magic of the Albuquerque Balloon fiesta.

We arrived in Florida in plenty time to deck the halls 🎵 with my friend Tami in Panama City. 

After that it was over the rivers and through the woods 🎵 to be with Doug's family in Ocala at Thanksgiving. In early December, we spent time on the Atlantic coast of Florida. From Jacksonville to Key West there were hints of Christmas ... Florida style!

Do you see what we see? 🎵

Deck the beaches with
elegant sand castles, Fa La La La La 🎵

O lemon tree, O lemon tree,
how lovely is your fruit 🎵

All Doug wants for Christmas is a
good IPA 🎵 (and a coaster)

Hang a shiny star
upon the highest palm 🎵

Nine santas running 🎵

All is calm, All is bright 🎵

Oh come, Oh come, Emmanuel 🎵

With Christmas approaching ...

Visions of family time ... 
dance in our heads 🎵
as we head back to celebrate
with Doug's folks.

While we miss our two sons
and our grand-puppy
resting by an open fire 🎵

It is a blessing to be
Home for the Holidays 🎵
wherever our ''home'' may be.

May you experience Gloria in Excelsis Deo 🎵 moments at Christmas and in the New Year!

Thank you for your friendship, kindness, and support during the past year! We appreciate you following along with RVentures.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas 🎵🎵

Habitat for Humanity Build #17: Bunnell, Florida

''Home for the Holidays'' took on a special meaning as we joined another group of Care-a-Vanners for a two week build in Bunnell, Florida.

We once again had the opportunity to ...

hang siding and paint it ...

paying special attention to the small details.

We got to take out old windows
and put in new ones ...

allowing the sun to shine in
for the elderly homeowner.

We worked as a mighty team
to build walls ...

alongside future homeowners
 like Sierra who is building a
future for her family.

As always, during our two weeks here, we enjoyed meeting new friends and exploring the area.

John, our site supervisor, was always there to teach a new skill or share a good laugh. Here he is showing off his ''electric'' hammer that he claims (with a twinkle in his eye) will help you hit nails perfectly straight into even the hardest wood with only one or two swings of the hammer. Fortunately, not even I was gullible enough to want to try it. But since we have been doing a fair amount of framing recently, I sure do wish this ''magic'' hammer existed! 

After a long day of hammering the old-fashioned way, fellow Care-a-Vanner Bill still had plenty of energy to ''hammer'' out some amazing tunes on his guitar and banjo. His wife, Phyllis provided perfect harmony both on the job site and during his ''happy hour'' performance. Bill's original song, ''The Hands of Someone Wiser'' has become one of my new favorites. 

 

Visit his website here for more of his amazing music.

We are continually grateful for the skills and kindness of our fellow Care-a-Vanners that we meet along the way. Bob would ride with us to the job site every morning and always managed to start our day off with a smile!

On one of our days off, we drove to Blue Springs State Park to visit the over 500 manatee who have found their way into the warmer waters of the spring for the winter. Several adorable new manatee friends greeted us and seemed to enjoy the ''back rubs'' that the bottom of our canoe provided as they swam under it.

Nearby Flagler Beach was a great place to park the Baby Beest on the weekend days. We had everything that we needed as we enjoyed beach walks, bike rides, and the calming sound of the ocean waves.

But it was the chance to finally be able to witness the ultimate Habitat for Humanity experience that made this build extra special. While we have helped during many different phases of the building process, we haven't been able to witness the final phase of construction, the house dedication ... until now!

For Gail and her son Jared, this Christmas will be extra special. After two years of working closely with the Flagler Habitat for Humanity staff, Gail's dream of having a home for her and her son has come true. She had fulfilled all the requirements ... attending classes, working 250 hours on hers and other Habitat homes, and securing the loan. This was in addition to working her full time job. It was a challenging two years for Gail, but as she told me, ''I am doing this for my son and his future. He has struggled with a physical disability, and I want to make sure that he never has to struggle to find a decent and affordable home.''

Members of the community who have supported Gail and her son during this long process gathered to celebrate and give them gifts. The local high school service organization gave them a huge box filled with various house-warming gifts. Lowe's Home Improvement donated garden tools (but no snow shovel ... thank goodness!) and the Christmas tree. Local neighbors were there to welcome them into their new neighborhood.

During the special ceremony, they were presented with the gifts as well as a Bible, a golden hammer, and ...

THE KEYS TO THEIR NEW HOME! 

Cutting the ribbon and unlocking the door were the final steps to beginning their bright future in a new home.

Gail is grateful to be able to feel confident that she can provide a safe home and a solid future for her son. She is looking forward to preparing the first of many Christmas dinners in her beautiful kitchen.

Once again, our Habitat joy comes from meeting, working alongside, and seeing the joy of the Habitat for Humanity future homeowners ...

... as they work toward to day when they can open the door to a brighter future for their family!

We are grateful to be a part of an organization like Habitat For Humanity that is helping so many people to be ...

Home For The Holidays!

We are Returning to Colombia ... And Why You Should Join Us

The freezing temps a few weeks ago had us thinking about Spring ... that is, about the ''City of Eternal Spring'', Medellín. This coming January, we will put Baby Beest into storage and once again, board a plane to Colombia, South America. Our plan at this time is to spend two months in Colombia's second largest city and use the rest of the time exploring a couple of smaller pueblos in the Zona Cafetera (Colombia's coffee country). We were blessed to get to know some amazing ''paisas'' when we visited last year, and we are excited to see them again!

We have rented a two-bedroom apartment in our favorite part of town, El Poblado. I had originally wanted to find something a little further away from the ''touristy'' part of town, but we decided that we liked being close to the shops, restaurants, and people that we got to know last year. The description of our apartment mentions ''penthouse'', so we are hoping for great views of the city. 

Since we will be renting an apartment with two bedrooms, there will be room for guests ... and we are hoping that some of our adventurous family and friends will join us. 

Imagine starting your vacation morning
with a cup of Colombia's best coffee!
I will have to work on perfecting the ''heart'' design ...
or just take you to a cute café down the street.

Is Medellín on your travel bucket-list? Let us tell you why it should be!

The Perfect Climate

With a year-round average high temp of 82 degrees and average low temp of 62 degrees, every day is a beautiful day in Medellín. Flowers are in constant bloom amidst the greenery of the bushes and trees. Being close to the equator, there is twelve hours of daylight all year long ... maybe not so great during our summer, but it sure beats the nine hours that North America gets during the winter. Because it is considered a tropical rain-forest climate, there can be brief showers that pop up (usually in the afternoon), so it's a good idea to always have an umbrella.

Be Smart and You Should Be Safe

Colombia was once considered one of the most dangerous countries to travel to. In recent years, it has undergone a positive transformation. That being said, Colombia receives a mixed rating as far as safety goes. There are areas that are still considered high risk, but be smart, and you should be safe. It is a good idea to ''blend in'' with the natives, thus we try to dress like the locals. So leave your flip-flops and shorts at home. Despite the warm temps, everyone wears long pants and tennis shoes everyday. They also all carry back packs in order to keep their belongings secure. There is a local saying ''no dar papaya¨ which means: don't put yourself in a situation in which you can become vulnerable to being taken advantage of. 

Relatively Inexpensive

At $30/night, our Airbnb apartment (being in one of the nicest parts of town) is considered expensive for Medellín, but it is comparable to what we would be paying per night for a campsite in the US. We found out quickly that while imported goods can be expensive, the local food prepared in the restaurants and cafes is very reasonably priced. Our Friday ''date night'' dessert of carrot cake, cheese cake and two of Colombia's best cups of coffee set Doug back a whopping $6.18 including tax and tip. If you are flexible with your dates and not too fussy about the airline, you can find a round-trip flight for $300 to $400. Spirit Airlines has worked well for us in the past. 

Easy to Get Around

To get almost anywhere in Medellín, hop on the convenient and inexpensive Metro train or Metrocable cars. On every visitor's ''must do'' list ... A Metrocable excursion up the mountainside to Arvi Parque for magnificent views of the city below. Buses, cabs, and Uber are also inexpensive and safe travel alternatives. But let's face it ... with Medellín's perfect weather, it is a pleasure to just walk to nearby shopping, restaurants, and attractions. And speaking of attractions ...

There is Lots to See and Do

Start with the free city tour and learn the story of Medellín's troubled past and hopeful future.

Do some souvenir shopping at any of the many malls, farmer's markets, or sidewalk merchants that line every street.

Tour a castle, enjoy some beautiful gardens and views, and test out your Spanish skills ... I challenge you to try to follow along with the fast-speaking guides.

Board a bus for Guatapé to tour the colorful pueblo and climb Piedra del Peñol for magnificent views of the surrounding reservoir. Day trips like this will set you back about $25 for the bus ride, two meals, and a knowledgeable guide ... who may or may not speak a lot of English. Time to polish up that rusty high school Spanish!

Take a guided Comuna 13 tour. The positive transformation of this neighborhood is shown in the graffiti art on the walls and in the smiles of the guides who are so proud to show off their community.

Once again, you may need to know a little Spanish, so how about just admitting that you have forgotten all of your high school Spanish and take Spanish classes? We attended Toucan Spanish School and were very impressed with their week-long classes as well as their amazing coffee.

If you aren't ready to spend a week of your vacation at ''school'', practice your Spanish at one of the many language exchanges that occur most evenings in cafes around the city. We met so many wonderful young people wanting to practice their English skills. They are always happy to hear a Minnesota accent (you betcha), so I sometimes got through the whole evening without having to admit how poor my conversational Spanish is.

Learn to shop for and cook a traditional Colombian meal. While the popular deep-fried patacones and empanadas were not our favorite, we did enjoy learning to make arepas (the typical Colombian corn bread) to go along with the Sancocho (chicken stew) at a local cooking class. Just be prepared, Colombian food is quite bland, so BYOS (bring your own spices).

On Sunday morning you can join the hundreds of walkers, joggers, and cyclists as they take over the streets for a morning of exercise and family/friend time. Ciclovia is one of many government initiatives to promote health and community.

Other Tempting Reasons to Visit Medellín

Plentiful, delicious
and inexpensive fresh fruits ...

... that provide the main
ingredients for delicious smoothies!

A walk through the Botanical Garden
followed by a delicious lunch
at the garden's restaurant, In Situ!

Colorful flowers ...

... and  colorful urban paintings
everywhere you look!

Airport taxi drivers who will
quickly become your friend.

Smiles that will leave a
permanent mark in your heart.

Friends who are excited to show you
the many reasons why
we are returning to Colombia ...
and why you should join us!

Intrigued?? Message us to learn more ...