Spring Break 2009

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.~~Alan Cohen

After much thought, we decided to put our RV up for sale. The reasons varied.

We haven't been able to go camping as often as we'd like so the investment was large compared to the utility of it. We've had it for almost 3 years and it was getting to be about time for routine maintenance...new tires, new batteries, etc. On a 40-foot RV, you can imagine that wasn't going to be cheap. And, the bigger reason was the floor plan. Now, that the girls are older, we desired a floor plan that provided some privacy for them. Having said all of that, we decided we loved camping too much to give it up all together but that we preferred to find an option to give us a better floor plan with less investment overall.

So, we put our RV up for sale just to see if we'd get any nibbles. And, we did. We sold it last Wednesday. In it's place, we planned to purchase a tow vehicle and either a fifth wheel or camper. We have already purchased the tow vehicle, a 2008 F-250 crew cab diesel pickup truck (So, we can still use "Stop and Smell the Diesel.") With all of the rebates, etc. we were able to purchase it at a great price. Jeff traded in his jeep at the same time so the truck will be his daily driving vehicle. We already have some ideas of the replacement we'll get for the RV but we've just got to find some time to go look and select it. That's been hard to do with me traveling so much for business as of late.

Jeff's New Truck

The negative about selling the RV when we did was that it almost hosed up our spring break plans. We had camping reservations at Top Sail Hill Preserve, Florida. Without a camper, those reservations weren't doing us much good. We would've just cancelled the trip but Gail and Harold, my mother-in-law and father-in-law, also planned to travel there and camp as well. So, we were left scrambling at the final hour trying to find a place to stay. We lucked out and found the perfect rental home located less than 1 mile from Top Sail. So, Jeff and I were able to ride our bikes to visit with Gail and Harold at the campground. And, the girls stayed with Harold and Gail most nights with Anna sleeping on the sofa in our cottage the final two nights. The cottage we stayed in was called the "Green Gecko." This little cottage was perfect for just two people. However, due to the cold weather, all of us congregated here several evenings to enjoy the hot tub and to cook dinner. I highly recommend renting from Bert, the lady who owns the property, if you're in need of a place convenient to the beach in the Santa Rosa Beach, FL, area.

The Green Gecko

Rachel and Anna holding puppies outside of Yoder's Gift Shop

We stopped for dinner at Yoder's in Montezuma, GA, on the way down to the panhandle. The food was yummy as always! Rachel and Anna enjoyed petting some puppies that they had outside for sale before we hit the road again. We drove back roads going to Florida and we were surprised by the number of roads closed due to flooding. It had been raining quite a bit in GA over the past couple of weeks but we didn't anticipate that. Luckily, it didn't slow our progress too much. Sadly, it appeared several families were flooded out of their homes.

Unfortunately, the weather never really warmed much while we were in Florida so we didn't get to enjoy the beach nearly as much as we'd hoped. We had one really good day, the day after we arrived. The remainder of the time was windy and cold. But, any day away from work is a good day so I'm not going to complain.

We all ate way too much. We especially enjoyed Miss Lucille's Gossip Parlor (coffee, pastries, ice cream, etc.) Although, Rachel and Anna were a bit put off by a sign that they read inside Miss Lucille's. But, that didn't stop them from wanting to go back the next night for ice cream again. It's a good thing we are all well behaved. :-)