Airabess Life

We are no longer in travel mode.  We are rooted.  And LOVING it. Making our house a home. Nurturing relationships.  Experiencing life in one place.
So, the nature of this space has changed.  And while I am not going to abandon it forever... it's just not about the travel right now.
So, until travel is in the forefront again,  I have started a new blog.  The focus is less on Airabess life, and more on the things I am doing.  Yoga, writing, homeschooling, vino, food...You get the idea. 

If you are so inclined, check it out.  If not... until we meet again.

http://findingmywaylivingthisdream.blogspot.com/

Back to Life

We have finally made back to the place we will call home.  

Is the wanderlust gone?  
No.  
I don't think once you've really started to see what the world has to offer you can ever really be satisfied in one place.  The next trip will be aboard a plane though!  Europe anyone?

But, we aren't really gypsies.  So, it's time to get back to reality.  Or rather the reality we want for our family.

So, when choosing the place we would settle down it was important to look at what brings us joy.  Jobs, work~ that's available in lots of places.  But, we had to consider what, outside of income, would be comfortable, attainable and in line with what our lifestyle is about. 

And, duh.  Just, duh.  Of course we knew where we wanted to make our roots.  We had already started before and came back during this great big Airabess adventure.  We keep coming back.  
Again and again and again; where layers include a bikini and sarong~ not fleece leggings and flannels.  

The Florida Keys really is where this crew calls home.  
I think we have known for a long time.  But... we thought maybe.  And now there is no question.  No, "what if?" 
What if... we could sail the Caribbean and set ourselves up in the Virgins?
What if.... we see the west coast and really, really love it?
What about... a cabin in the mountains?
Why not... where we have a house?
Why?  Because none of it worked, or worked out (i.e. the USVI).

It feels absolutely amazing to be able to know for sure. 

We get this life to experience and I don't want to look back at the end of it and wonder what it would have been like if I had put it all out there.  
It's all out there.  No regrets or questions.

I was welcomed back to the job I had last Summer before we took off to the Bahamas and the beyond that never happened.  RV Airabess is a convenient bike ride to and from.  Which is perfect because when you step out of life for a year or two there are a ton of things that need to come together- car, housing, furniture etc...)  

It will all work out.  I'm not worried.  Not stressed.  Just super hopeful and excited about this next chapter.  

Life is so full of every day moments that are worthy of recognition.  So, I am still going to post about our adventures. Maybe not as regularly, or maybe more.  For right now, we are getting into the groove of Airabess life here, at home, and still living this amazing dream.

Decisions, decisions

This last year has been so amazing.  But if you had told me a year ago that I wouldn't be living on our boat in a tropical local, well I would have been really offended.  I mean we worked so hard to get to that place.  We had spent years and years planning and making shit happen.  So, how could we NOT be 'there'.  
Well, 'there' is a funny concept.  For some people it's a very specific destination, be it financial, spatial or mental.  For me it's been about finding myself.  I am so fortunate that I get to go on the journey with my love, my partner and that we have been able to show our kid that changing your perspective really can take you places; financially, spatially and mentally.  

And while the journey is never really over, it's time for this crew to put the wanderlust on the breaks for a bit.  It's really hard to travel for extended period of time.  Even if you take your house with you.  Even if you had every intention of that destination tropical local LESS than a year ago.  Especially when you sell one travel home for another.  I mean we had plans.  We acted on them and well... Life just says, "Try this... see what happens."
What can I say?  There IS something to be said for a full size kitchen (we love to cook) and level floors with a roof (can I say Yoga!).  And doors.  Doors are really nice.  From sea to the road... doors.  Don't shut a door in your house for just one week and see how it changes you. 

We are currently hanging out on the Oregon coast.  We are enjoying our freedom, but we are also ready to plant ourselves and make some roots.  Our biggest decision is deciding where we want to grow, where we want to be.  Because we are really ready to just be in one place.

Well,  I'm pretty sure we've got it.  We have seen enough to know where we fit, and what fits for us.    And, though we put it out into the universe on a many different levels, it's not here.  We found viable employment (thank you so much for the pats on the back~you know who you are).  We imagined ourselves in so many different homes that were so perfect for us.  Just.  Just not here.  We so wanted it to be.  We sort of planned on it.  Well, damn.... plans. Lesson learned.  Again.

You can tell when you visit a place if it will work for you.  You can feel it.  We felt it in Morro Bay, unfortunately the amount of work to living life ratio didn't fit.  Just because we want to settle down doesn't mean we want to become slaves to the man. 
So, while we aren't really ready to tell the world, we have decided were we call will home.   

I will say this....  we are selling our house in St. Augustine.  So it's not there.  But it is somewhere we have loved for a very long time.

I'm not trying to be obtuse.  I am just being real... we could change our minds again.  We already did 3 times this week, even after telling part of our world.  

The Redwoods

When I asked Hubs to describe the drive he responded with "Wet and sporty".  Which took me immediately to a conversation we had with our friends from Shambala.  "Wet and Sporty" really means, "I know today sucked, but look at what we are doing!" There are so many things that translate so easily from boat to RV.  You would be amazed!

The sporty drive took us through the Avenue of the Giants.  Again super challenging for Hubs to fully appreciate as he was driving, though the idea of me behind the wheel would have proved a lot more frustrating I'm sure.

We camped amongst the Redwoods, tasted sorrels from the forest floor, took a ranger guided tour (where we learned about burls and burl poaching) and Coco earned another* Junior Ranger badge.  She also wrote a poem :)

Redwoods

 Tall and majestic.

Growing to the sky 

and big over the years.

Falling,

burning

and living.

Inspiring us and awe-inspiring us.  

Magnificent trees.

 


*She has too many to count.  She has worked her way across the country earning badges.  So proud.  I love homeschooling!

Mohave Desert National Preserve

The longest drive EVER!  We had to stop for gas and groceries.  So, while we left the Grand Canyon at around 10:00, we didn't arrive at the Mohave National Preserve until after 5:00.   There as also a side trip to the Mohave Desert BLM Office for information.  Super nice guy on duty who hooked Coco up with some Junior Explorer books.  We then took the wrong exit off the interstate.... but eventually we made it.

And wow, is it springtime in the desert!  The whole area is teaming with life. We have yet to see a rattlesnake... not that I'm too keen on seeing one, but we did see cattle crossing, sheep, a desert tortoise, prairie dogs and a few jack rabbits.  We could hear the coyotes too, though they also remain unseen. 

We got up early the next day, knocked out a little math and language arts with Coco and then hiked the "Hole in the Wall" trail.  Such a beautiful hike and we saw more petroglyphs (these were the real deal).  Depending on which direction you approach the trail from you either have to climb two sets of rings to get into or out of the canyon.  We climbed up.  It was an interesting process hauling Ms Willow up... but she made it too.  We should have named her Billy, as in billy goat because she loved jumping up and down the rocks. 

Coco picked up another Junior Ranger workbook the day we left (the visitor center was closed the two days we were there).  She is going to work though it and mail this one in. 

 



The Mohave is home to the Joshua Tree, and while there is a Joshua Tree National Forest, this site is home to the oldest and biggest of the majestic yucca.  They grow only a foot every tens years (according to the park ranger).  So, the big grandaddy 40 footers are around 400 hundred years old!  

Unfortunately, because we are in a single unit motor home... the road that leads to that part of the Mohave was inaccessible this time.  We could have gone around (about a 100 miles out of the way), but decided it would be worth it to try again another time.  We were also itching to get going.  There was another place we wanted to see before we were to meet up with our friends. 

Texas Part 3.... because it is a HUGE State, and a tiny slice of New Mexico

The drive to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park was dusty, windy and rough.  RV Airabess was blowing all over the place and Hubs was white knuckling it the whole way.  
Oil rigs as far as the eye could see.  
Big semis pulling out huge containers.  
Dust storms.  
But, seeing the mountain range come into view after going through so much flat land was amazing.  It was Coco's first time seeing something so large looming on the horizon... needless to say, she was impressed. 

The park has a fantastic visitor center with interactive exhibits and wildlife displays.  Coco made Junior Ranger and started working on her Junior Paleontologist badge. 
***Home school science has been a cake walk lately.  We have been immersed in so many different habitats and terrains.  It has been hard to take all of it in. ***

The Guadalupe Mountains National Park was our first "destination".  Every other place has been part of the journey for sure, picked because it was part of the path.  This was the first place we marked as 'must see'.  It's also where we picked up our National Park Pass and had our first real dry camp (i.e. boondocking). 

We arrived at the park pretty early, set up (made sure everything was secure as the wind was gusting at 60 mph) and toured the visitor center.  

The next day we got up early (for this crew), put on our hiking gear and hit the trail.  The long, steep, rocky trail.  It was four hours up and fourish hours down.

Coco was absolutely impressive.  I am in awe of her 'charge ahead' attitude. She went for it, didn't complain, and took the lead at times.  My girl is going to do great things.  She will change the world. 
I was slightly terrified in some places.  Apparently I have some serious anxiety and fear of sheer (and not so sheer) drop-offs and ledges.  There were real tears and freak outs and I was going to quit several times.  But then there was my Hubs.  
Sherpa Hubs.  He held my hand.  He guided Coco and myself over some of the sketchy parts.  He was the coach and captain.  The ONLY reason I made it to the top is because he motivated me and supported me (he did give me an out at the very bottom, middle and almost top of the peak~ but I am stubborn). He was perfection.  
I know I am waxing poetic about Hubs, but there are times in a marriage and a life when real change can happen.  When we grow together or apart.  This whole trip has been about togetherness.  But I felt very apart.  Not because I couldn't physically do it.  Because mentally it was a mindf@!k.  And we are better and stronger and more together than ever before.  It totally snuck up on me and we as a partnership and family learned and loved.   
This particular adventure was Team Airabess all the way.   

Coco was so stoked (albeit extremely tired and went to bed earlier than she ever has EVER) and talked Hubs into getting up with her early the next morning (I stayed back with Ms Willow) to hike another pretty intense trail.  They left before the sun was up (and it was raining) and made it back before 10 (because the weather was getting worse they couldn't finish). They were dripping wet, cold, but smiling.  My people.  I love them so much and in moments like that I feel like my heart might explode.  


We left the same day about an hour later and headed up the road into New Mexico to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  The cavern entrance is at the top of the one of the mountains.  So we made it a quick trip through the park... totally worth it by the way.  Coco's eyes were as big as saucers as we took it all in.  We tried to take pictures, but they just don't capture the vastness of the caverns.  It's enough to have the mental memories.  

It's a good thing we made it a short excursion because when we came out of the caverns it was snowing and sleet was a definite possibility.  Not so much fun driving the good ole RV Airabess down and around an ice covered road.  

For tonight and tomorrow we are tucked into Whites City, New Mexico.  Staying warm and recovering from one of the most incredible family weekends we have had so far... and that's saying something.  

***

Next up?  We haven't decided yet.  We had a plan for the next few weeks, but the weather isn't exactly conducive to the route we had planned.  We were going to go to Roswell, because, well... how fun, right?  Don't think that is going to happen now with this weather pattern and we don't really want to stay here.  So maybe back to Texas for a bit, or maybe not.  

We did get a little taste of it (Roswell) though when we checked into Whites City.  They really own the whole thing down here.  From stuffed everything to Native American (not so authentic) souvenirs.  There are bats (an homage to the Caverns) and pueblo style architecture.... all in the smallest town I have ever seen. 

The Lone Star State Part 2

San Angelo State Park in San Angelo, Texas was our home for a little longer than we had originally planned.  The weather went from mid 70's to freezing within a day.  So, while we weren't really stoked to be at a stand still, we were grateful to plug in RV Airabess for a few extra days.  Bonus~ there was semi-decent wifi (a novelty on this trip). 

Our first couple of days there we biked around the park, which is massive.  Lots of desert terrain, and open space.  

Coco and Hubs took to the trails, which they both LOVED.  But, thanks to so many cactus needles there where 5 tire repairs.  

Then... it snowed.  Not a lot. But just enough so that Coco got to make her first snowball.  
Plus a pretty cool book exchange.  
Oh, and there were bison..... um not really.  Actually the park is host to THE Texas Longhorn Herd.  We saw where they should have been, but missed seeing them in person.  As for the bison.  Supposedly they are in the park too. The only ones we got to see where these.

We finally left San Angelo after a week and went to Monahans Sandhills State Park for a couple of days (and put our shorts back on).   Probably one more day than we needed.  It's name is pretty self-explanatory.... sand dunes everywhere.  Which for this Florida family was surreal.  First, we kept expecting to see the ocean on the other side (just more dunes).  Second, you are actually allowed to play, slide, roll, jump down them... a novelty.  Where we are from the dunes are off limits.  
So we played on the dunes.  And got sand EVERYWHERE.  

The place is in the middle of no where and the only reason we chose it was because it was a halfway point to the Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks.  That being said, it was a good time and cool experience.  
The drive there however.... looooonggg and boring through oil fields and dust. 

Now onto Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

The Lone Star State Pt 1 Pics

A mix of pics from Guadalupe State Park and  Lost Maples Natural Area.