Homestretch

On November 8th, 2014 ... I  S t o o d , sheltered and protected, in a small grove of tall, majestic Eastern White Pine.

I was just outside the front door of our house.

It was late in a Canadian Autumn ... I was understandably nervous.

 And ... I was alone.

A solitary snowflake floated innocently past my left eye. 

And ... I panicked!

I quickly shut that eye and stumbled (almost) blindly into the house. 

.

.
I re-emerged 12 hours later ... but, I was cautious!

Thankfully, LOAF was already fully serviced and outfitted. We left CANADA, early that morning. It was a clear day, we slowly worked our way south and we left that snowflake well behind us. We followed the suns' warmth and wandered, mostly in Florida, for the next 107 days.

 

SCUBA Diving & Snorkelling on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef

Journal Entry: Tuesday, March 03 - Wednesday, March 18
Taxi from Akumal to the ferry dock in Playa del Carmen, a ferry to San Miguel and then a taxi to Hotel Cozumel & Resort on Cozumel Island.

 Cozumel Ferry Dock

Brief Stays On MEXICO's Yucatan

Journal Entry: Monday, February 23 - Tuesday, March 03
Nancy and Jim drove us to the Orlando Airport. We landed in Cancun, MEXICO and from there, took a hotel van shuttle into Playa del Carmen. We'll spend three nights there and visit with my brother Tom and wife Peggy, who are renting a condo in the area. There's also a chance for us to see Phil & Rose Fawna when we are there ... I haven't seen Phil since an Algonquin PP canoe trip, probably 30 years ago! 

At Papa Charlies', Playa del Carmen (clockwise lower left) ... Tom   Peggy   Helen   Dann   Phil   Rose

The Forest People

We've Temorarily Split OUR TEAM 

Helen & I will be flying to MEXICO for our next adventure. LOAF will be resting next to Nancy & Jim's park model in central Florida. All his mechanical services will be disconnected, everything that can be locked up, turned off, put away and secured ... will be, and LOAF will be left in standby mode... and, hopefully, will not have another adventure of his own. If you recall the last one, it was when the residents at Rock Creek CG in Florida tried to set him on fire (read about it here), during their 2013 New Years Eve celebrations ... their average age is around 79 and they're a wild,  crazy bunch!

Immigrants, Indians, A Voyageur Canoe Man and Al Capone

As travellers today, we are all so very fortunate! 
There was a time ... not too recently ... when people did not have the opportunity to travel as we can today.

My maternal grandfather lived to be 92 and my maternal grandmother 87. 

Neither, was ever a licensed driver, owned a vehicle or even, drove a vehicle that I know of. 

Seeing Things: Part 2A - PEOPLE (Adults)

This is the second part of my blog series dedicated to taking the time to stop and see the amazing things that go on around us. 

We have seen and met many, many wonderful people throughout our years of travel.  So many, that, today I am just going to highlight the 'adults' (or should I say those over the age of 18 since the term 'adult' implies a certain level of maturity).  I will leave the children until another day.

There are so many interesting people in the world.  If you stop and watch, they will truly fascinate and never cease to amaze you. Here are a few true encounters (or observations):

Talking With Americans

I have been reading a lot of travel blogs lately and a common thread runs through many of them ... that intense interest many Americans have in travelling to Alaska. We have been questioned so frequently during this current trip and over the past several years, about Alaska, that it has prompted me to write this post.

Seeing Things: Part 1 - SIGNS

We are very fortunate that we are retired and have the time to look around us, observe and enjoy what the world and life has to offer. 

There are so many interesting (and funny) things going on that it is often easy to miss them.

SERIES Truck Camper Life - PART 3: Living In A Truck Camper Is Good For Your Health!

Some Healthy Living

We're entering month four of living in LOAF (yep, FOUR) and I've been reflecting on the quality of our lives in this tiny (134 sq. ft) versus our lakefront home.

There are pros and cons to both of those scenarios, but I believe I'm healthier and more active living in LOAF. Being away from Canadian winter plays a large part in that ... but there are other reasons.

... so, YOU Think YOU'VE Travelled? ... HA!

As travellers, most of us probably believe driving a few thousand kms a year or passing through the borders of a couple of the world's countries in any given year is impressive.

On the other hand ... NASA's HMS Challenger, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida ... flew 10 missions, spent just 62 days in space and travelled approximately 41.5 MILLION kms in that time! That translates into almost 670, 000 kms / day and they accomplished all that in space!

GEAR REVIEW: Montague Crosstown Folding Bikes

We've ridden more than 700 kilometres on these new bikes, so now is likely an appropriate time to do a realistic review.

But, before I do that ... let me Review My Riding Performance on this bike, by recounting yesterdays' real-life experience. 

Downtime

We can't be busy every day all day ... 

Up late, still catching up on a couple of previous, past midnight nights at music concerts in Clearwater. We're not old yet, just older ... any 'partying' time after 9:00 pm takes us days to recuperate. For lunch today ... a big bowl of 'really good' homemade clam chowder at the Turtle Beach Pub and Grill across the street from the campground. We welcomed the hot chowder, it's a little cooler now (high of 18C @ midday) ... brrr!, not Canadian brrr ... just, Florida brrr!

SERIES Truck Camper Life - PART 2: Necessary Skills & Mandatory Rules

ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY FOUR SQUARE FEET

Yup, that's what I said ... 134 square feet!

Our house is for sale. Once it's sold, our plan is to travel for an extended period of time. We've compiled a bucket list that includes several international trips, but additionally, a portion of our intended travel will be in this truck camper we call LOAF. We've completed road trips in the past of nearly 5 continuous months, but we've never tested ourselves beyond that. During this current trip we are focusing on and trying to identify any issues that could affect the overall enjoyment of a major lifestyle change like this ... do we have enough space to live comfortably, will we get bored, can we get along in such a small space, can we stay fit and healthy, will we miss family and friends, is LOAF road-worthy, properly outfitted, safe & secure? There are many questions that we need to answer.

Discovering Stink Bugs, Ghost Ants and Other Strange Things

A fall trip to beautiful Taylor Ranch near Asheville, North Carolina to attend Overland Expo East introduced us to many different 'overland' topics.  We heard discussions on whether or not to bribe border guards, how to travel safely, how not to get arrested in Russia, we saw Tigers, Unimogs, Earth Roamers and a variety of other vehicles, BUT the one thing that really stuck with us was our introduction to the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Insectus Odorous), affectionately called simply "Stink Bug". 

LIVE at the CAPITOL Theatre

We'll only be staying here for 3 nights this time around. Just long enough to attend a couple of music concerts in nearby Clearwater ... (my Entertainment Coordinator made these bookings months ago, she wears many hats!) We'll be seeing Lucinda Williams and her backup band Buick 6 one night and then the David Bromberg Quintet the next night. We've rented a car for the drive ... a little easier than wandering around the downtown area of Clearwater after dark with LOAF.

Raise the Jacks and Disconnect the Stinky Slinky

... inspected, serviced, maintained, aired, cleaned, waxed, polished, updated.

It's a lot of work you know ... this business of offloading and then re-loading a truck camper. I suppose that's why this post became a bit of a diatribe ... and, I'm sorry about that!

SERIES Truck Camper Life - PART 1: Can You Make Gourmet Meals In A Truck Camper

Cooking in a 'wee' kitchen is always a bit of a challenge.  It takes imagination, organization, planning and patience.

Challenge #1 - Storing 'Stuff'.  

With a refrigerator of only 5 cu. feet (vs. your house fridge of between 18-30+ cu. feet), things must be bought in small quantities.  So, you don't buy for the week, you buy for the next day or two.  End result - a healthier lifestyle, you are always eating the freshest ingredients.  It also means less of the common fridge game "Oops Leftovers" better known as 'guess what this green fuzzy thing was'?  The downside is your costs increase and you are forced to buy the tiniest jar of mayo, pickles .... you get the picture.

Cycling In The Naples Area and Beyond

We stayed here for more than a month, and we rode most days, for groceries or other shopping. Additionally, we used the bikes for some sight-seeing trips and several training rides in excess of 20 kms.

Naples, Florida is a busy city and vehicle traffic flows along very quickly. It's also a city that provides numerous opportunities for cycling in wide bike lanes and on several bike paths. Unfortunately, the municipality has not compiled a definitive Bike Route Map and made it available to the cycling community.

Cast - Stroke - Unload - Haul - Shoot

CURRENT LOCATION: Rock Creek RV Resort, Naples, FL, USA

We signed up for a 1/2 days instruction with Captain Ken Chambers who runs a fly fishing and light tackle instructional guiding service out of Naples. Our trip was into the 10,000 Islands, just off Calusa Island. We have both wanted to learn this skill for sometime now and it’s not something that is easy to do on your own, either by reading a book or watching a video. 

... explaining the details.

Fuel Cost Comparison

Since leaving Ontario on November 09, 2014, we've driven 

3712 kms and had 14 fuel fill-ups ... 

We use Fuelly.com to track and monitor our driving economy. Our statistics combine driving with and without the Lance camper loaded ... but mostly with the camper on. Don't forget ... the Lance adds nearly 4000# to our overall weight and has a noticeable affect on our fuel economy. This does not compare to ...  'just throwing a couple of tennis rackets or a bag of wine into the back of your Prius'! ... and, then becoming outraged because you lost a km or two / litre in fuel economy!!!