Spring Break Blessings in Florida

 

After leaving Medellín, the ''land of perpetual spring'', we landed in another spring paradise at the beginning of March.  Here we faced one of those ''first world, full-time RVer'' problems ... what to do for seven weeks while we take care of some van projects and appointments in Florida??

Let's take a walk on the beach while we

think about this ...

As I scrolled through Facebook, I was happy to see that so many of our northern friends were finally able to travel south to celebrate ''Spring Break: Florida Style''. Florida's beaches, likewise, were happy to welcome back those yearning for sand and sunshine. We quickly realized that we don't have to look too far to take advantage of all the ''Spring Break Blessings'' that surround us at our current ''home''.

The Blessing of Time With Family

Doug's parents always have the ''Welcome'' sign out, so we are grateful to able to make their condo a place to get some projects or just relax and visit on the porch.

I reassured my mother-in-law that

the basil I planted only has to

survive until we head north.

The Blessing of a Home-On-Wheels

First order of business when we returned was to get Baby Beest out of storage. While she started up just fine, we quickly saw that she had developed a new ''beauty'' mark. Someone apparently backed into her front bumper while she was parked in the storage company's lot.

Thankfully, she's still drivable. After dealing with insurance claims and repair shop searches, we found out that it will be a year before the mechanic can get the parts needed to make the repairs. We were, however, able to get her 60,000 mile service appointment done, so she is stoked to start the journey to Alaska ... as are we! But not quite yet. With our other appointments scheduled in early April, we still had a few weeks to enjoy springtime in Florida,

...and we were happy to hear that some friends of ours had the same idea!

The Blessing of Friends Wherever We Roam

Tim and Liz were testing out the ''snow bird'' lifestyle just south of us in The Villages. We met up for a long weekend of outdoor activities ... and enjoyed the laughs that ensued when we decided to take Tim out of his comfort zone to canoe with the alligators.

Poor Liz ... she just wants to get close enough to see a gator,

but the power engine in the back of the canoe

wants nothing to do with those fearsome creatures.

After our afternoon of canoeing and hiking, we refueled with the delicious culinary creations of their daughter, Megan, a newly-graduated registered dietitian. She may even turn me into a vegan if I can have scrumptious chocolate banana smoothies like these every evening!

Unfortunately, Zoey and Charlie were less successful at getting Doug to share his dessert with them.

From there we traveled on to start our two week Habitat for Humanity build in Dade City, Florida. While helping provide affordable housing is the greatest blessing, the new friendships formed comes in a close second.

Looking forward to the next time I get to build and laugh with these skilled and fun-loving women ... and excited to see at least one of them when we get to Fairbanks, Alaska later this summer. I can only imagine the beautiful parking spot that Maria promised is waiting for Baby Beest!

On our Saturday ''off'' we all spent the day exploring Honeymoon Island State Park. The beach was beautiful, but observing the nesting eagles ... spectacular!

After working full time for two weeks (how did we ever do that every day for years and years???), we were ready for a relaxing week at one of our happy places ... Fort Desoto County Park near St Petersburg. Bike rides, beach walks, and sunsets over the Gulf are wonderful blessings for the soul!

On our way to Fort Desoto, we were able to meet up with a friend from Medellín who recently moved back to the United States. She was thrilled with the Colombian chocolates that we delivered with love from her mother and aunt.

We had our own Hymer ''meet up'' with a couple that we got to know during our stay at Fort Desoto last year. They assured us that the neighbors wouldn't mind us turning their street into a Class B campground as we boondocked there overnight.

While in Jacksonville, we were reunited with dear ''church'' friends from our Rochester days who share our passion for small homes-on-wheels. As a former RVer, Judy made sure that her handmade gifts were small enough and practical enough to claim a spot in our van ... they certainly are beautiful enough also!

The Blessing of Camping at a New State Park

Just when I thought that we had stayed at all of the best state park campgrounds during our five months in Florida last winter ... we discovered a new favorite. Fort Clinch State Park had been on our radar for quite a while, but it is one of those ''difficult to get a camping reservation'' type of parks. A fellow RVer told Doug about a new app called Wandering Labs which allows us to put in a request for a certain park, and it will send us a notice when there is a cancellation for the dates that we requested.

Located about forty miles north of Jacksonville, Fort Clinch State Park is a beautiful place to hang out for a few days. Stately live oaks laden with Spanish moss line the three-mile Canopy Road that runs through the park.

The refurbished military fort lies on the tip of the peninsula and is open for tours. 

On top of the fortress walls are beautiful views of the St Johns River as it empties into the vast Atlantic Ocean,

... and the buildings provide an interesting glimpse into military life during the late 19th century. 

The plaque says, ''No spitting in the kitchen!''

A good rule to live by then and now!

The state park is located near the town of Fernandina Beach, a popular tourist destination. It was an easy five mile bike ride into the cute downtown area that had not one, not two, but three craft breweries for Doug to try. 

But this handsome gentleman convinced me to check out the ''Pirate's Punch'' at the Palace Saloon, ''Florida's oldest drinking establishment since 1903'' ... at least that is what the souvenir cups claimed. The question is: can I find room for these two souvenir cups in the van??

The Blessing of Not Having to Make Dinner

Despite being quite a distance from Maine, there seemed to be many opportunities for Doug to enjoy his favorite dinner ... a lobster roll while in Florida. All it takes is having a talent for tracking the location of his favorite lobster food trucks in the area. Bonus points are given if that food truck is parked by a brewery,

... although he gave the highest score to the lobster roll dinner that was served up at the golf clubhouse in his parent's community. Hooray for ''Seafood Specials'' on Fridays during Lent!

The Blessing of Easter Joy

Being surrounded by palm leaves, I practiced up on my ''palm leaf origami'' and was ready to try out my new ''skill'' on Palm Sunday.

What JOY to be able to celebrate Easter in person for the first time in two years!

Alleluia!

Springtime Blessings surround us and reminds us to enjoy the beauty of nature

and the gift of all the special people in our life ... including you!

Happy Easter! 

Habitat For Humanity Build #20: Dade City, Florida

''Habitat is not a handout,

It's a HAND UP!''

As someone not used to seeing the sun rise, we needed this lively cheer to jolt us into action. While in Florida during the month of March, we decided to join a dedicated and skillful group of Habitat for Humanity volunteers for another Care-a-Vanner build ... this time in Dade City, Florida.

Although early morning risings are not common sightings for us, we had to admit that they are pretty spectacular.  This beauty on our first morning also let us know that a lot more beauty awaited us ... time to raise up our hands in support of affordable housing! After a few days we even got used to the alarm going off at o'dark thirty ... excited for the magnificent sunrises and the bright smiles of fellow volunteers that would greet us!

Habitat for Humanity of Pasco County builds in the hot Florida sun year-round to provide decent and affordable housing for local families. But come wintertime, they really raise their hands to warmly welcome an added boost of support from snow-bird volunteers. And what a boost they received! 

This house and the one next to it were just concrete slabs on New Year's Day.

This affiliate, like all Habitat organizations, depends on volunteers to keep housing costs low.  In order to attract Care-a-Vanners, they built its own ''campground'' less than a mile from the work site to accommodate the volunteers and their RVs.  For a minimal fee, we were treated to all the comforts of ''home''. A volunteer lodge complete with a kitchen, showers, laundry, screened porch, and fire ring provided a central social space for the twenty or so Care-a-Vanners who were a part of our team.  

After our morning devotional, construction instructions, and Habitat ''cheer'', we were ready to get to work. About half of our group were ''seasonal'' volunteers who had already been volunteering here for the last three to six months ... amazing talent and dedication! Eight of us were ''newbies'', but site supervisor José patiently brought us up to speed.

...although this volunteer and his side kick may need a little extra guidance ;-)

Our group was tasked with siding the two houses as well as installing the soffit and fascia. Maria and Wendy along with future homeowner Sonia quickly mastered the skill.

What a joy to see Sonia's smile as she helped bring her dream home closer to reality.

During our two weeks on the job, we were privileged to see and take part in so many ''hand-up'' moments.

From cleaning out the storage compartment so that important and costly supplies could be stored and easily found,

... to a successful installation by ''team soffit'',

... to precise wrapping and taping of windows and electrical boxes, 

... to mastering the art of cutting, folding and installing fascia, 

... to gratitude for expert guidance and new friendships.

But best of all was working with and seeing the pride of future homeowners as they realize that their dream for decent housing for them,

... and for their precious little ones will soon become an affordable reality.

So, all hands on deck

 ... as we work together 

... to give hard working families a ''hand up'' for a brighter future!

Our ''spring break'' Care-a-Vanner build with Habitat for Humanity was ''hands down'' the best way to give a ''hand up'' to so many beautiful and deserving families!