A new chapter in Florida begins

Welcome back!

  Its been a while, has it? We've been busy settling in and getting yet another chapter of our adventure started. While things tend to fall into place somewhat naturally for us, there are still lots of conversations that take place,  decisions to be made.

We've been here in Largo for about 6 weeks now and are enjoying learning about our surroundings and what this area has to offer people like us, who like to be active. While Covid has changed a few options for entertainment, there is no shortage of things to do around here.

The beaches are beautiful.  Period.

 If you put in a little effort you'll find free parking.  We are about 20 to 30 minutes from several beaches. 

One of my favorite parts here is the fact that no matter what direction you drive,  you'll be passing or driving across large bodies of water. Which makes me feel like I am on a constant vacation. Can you beat that? 

Shopping? Hello world, here I come after I win the lottery!  I came to the conclusion that if I were to try every restaurant and store within, let's say a 10 mile radius from me, it would most likely take me several years to make it through them all. Is that crazy or what?

Let's talk about the weather! Its our first Christmas season in a warm climate.  Oh I am not complaining.  It's different though. Kinda hard to get into a holiday spirit in shorts and under palm 🌴 trees. But I am slowly getting there. Seeing Christmas lights pop up more and more will do the job slowly but surely.

The temperature doesn't vary much so far from day to day. High 70's to high 80's tends to be the norm. The humidity level changes often. I've seen both ends. 

My lifelong battle with 🦟 mosquitos or any crawling or flying creature that feeds off of flesh is being tested to the max right now,  as expected. If it's been advertised (bug repellent that is) or suggested you better believe I've tried it. I often feel that my body should be the poster child for the bug repellent industry to test their products on. I can tell you with great disgust that all of them failed me to this point!

My beach cruiser bike 🚲 has been a great investment!  You'll find me almost daily taking the puppies to the adjacent cemetery for our daily rounds in hopes to wear out the hounds for part of the day.

You are probably wondering why I choose a somewhat odd place like a cemetery for this activity?  Well let's just say that our options for "on premises " dog activities are very limited,  leaving us with 2 options:  Drive the puppies somewhere like the dog park or take the neighborhood past the big white fence and go for the cemetery option.  Now that I've come to terms with this I am actually really enjoying the peace and quiet of it and the beautiful setting, surrounded by nature at its finest, cemetery style.

You know,  when I look up at the trees I see the Spanish moss hanging down effortlessly of the branches I feel like I am in some enchanted places. Somebody pinch me!

As you might remember,  as a workamper you trade free full hookup (meaning being connected to power, sewage and water) for generally 20 hours per week of your time to work at the campground you are staying.  And that is the case here too. Joe does maintenance around the park along with other workampers like us. On some of his off-days he earns extra $$ for handyman work at this park for residents.

 

I found the job I wanted as a personal assistant,  mostly working from home. I am really enjoying what I do, part time. 

Life has us back. While the ongoing vacation we've been on has somewhat ended, a new and different life has unfolded for the time being.

We will be using this time to dig deep within ourselves to see what we really want to do when our current commitment will end in April. 

Until then we'll work some and play some, aiming for a good balance to juggle both.

https://youtu.be/XK8K6e91oDc