Time Zone: Eastern
Today's Weather: 83ºF, thunderstorms & sun
Length of Tour Stop: 5 days/5 nights
Next move: in three days
The details of how and why we've decided to do what we've decided to do are tedious (tour schedules, layoffs, available positions, locations, etc). Suffice to say that after spending much of our time in Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale either on the phone or else deep in discussion, we've accepted an offer. Starting this summer Jonathan will be the year-round pianist at the Glenwood Vaudeville Revue in Glenwood Springs, CO. Starting next week I will also be working at the GVR, in an administrative/house management/catch-all assistant position.
This is thrilling for us because we adore Glenwood. It's close enough to the kids that we can settle down and carve out a life. Also, let's admit it, this is a good state to pick where the dogs are concerned. For those of you who care, I'll probably keep the blog going. We'll still be FTRV (Full-Time RV) so I'll continue to write about that, as well as whatever else we get up to in Colorful Colorado.
Our next opportunity to stress-bust arrived on our Golden Monday in Ft. Lauderdale. We decided to take the dogs down to Key Largo to get out of the humidity and stretch their legs on an island ("Always take your dogs to an island when you're stressed" is a good rule of thumb for anyone who deals with dogs or stress and lives near an island). The drive down felt quick and easy, and our map showed that US Highway 1, which connects the mainland through a string of keys, terminating in Key West, is littered with countless morsels of interest and diversion. The supply of daylight seemed infinite. We pressed on southward through key after key, hungering to see the next bridge on the horizon, delighting in the name of each new key as we crossed the channels.
Duck Key, Conch Key, Fiesta Key, Ramrod Key -- the longer we drove the more each name seemed like an inside joke. As we crossed onto Big Pine Key we laughed so hard at nothing that it was clearly time to get out of the car and blow off some steam. We hooked up the dogs and scrambled around the beaches of Bahia Honda State Park. The view of the ocean was almost too rich for consumption. The park is eerily framed by a crumbling railroad bridge, built at the behest of Henry Flagler at a time when it was hard to comprehend his desire to connect this remote place with the mainland. The railroad became known as Flagler's Folly. The world it brought to us has fostered artists like Hemingway, desserts like Key Lime Pie, and songs like "Kokomo."
We got back to the trailer at 2am. No stress-induced insomnia visited us that night.
One last trip this weekend before we move: I'm going to Boston for my younger sister's baby shower, with a dinner the night before to celebrate my other younger sister's engagement. 2014 is apparently a huge year for the Paull girls. I get a giddy feeling thinking about any of these avenues into the future.
Two flights, two parties, and two thousand miles before we park two vehicles and two dogs in our new home. I am too excited. I think Jonathan is too.
Miles Driven with RV: 6185.3 miles
Days Lived in RV: 101 days
Camps Overnighted in RV: 16 RV parks, 1 Walmart, 1 Casino Parking Lot
States Camped in RV: 11 (TX, AL, TN, IN, KY, IL, NC, WV, MD, SC, FL)