2015 southeastern us
Scott and the kids slept well last night. I had the opportunity to listen to the rain for a few hours while I tried to get to sleep. It was good to see the light return to Scott’s eyes.
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2015 southeastern us
Cody woke up early and as usual full of energy and talkative. We played Duolingo together for a bit. He presses the buttons as I talk him through it. Some of the phrases they have you translate make me laugh. At six in the morning with very little sleep in a tent with my newly turned six year old I am translating, “What do you think of humanity?”
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2015 southeastern us
Warm tiny limbs wrapping around my neck and back were my wake up call this morning. There isn’t a better way to wake up. After a little snuggle Cody swung into full energy mode singing a song he created, “Mama Long Legs.” After some snuggle I slipped out of the tent to splash some water on my face to try to feel a little human. Some people need coffee to get their morning started. I really just need some water to splash on my face. Brushing my teeth and hair and a little exercise are a fantastic bonus too.
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2015 southeastern us
The first campground! Dunewood – They do not accept reservations so it is a perfect location for those of us who like to plan our adventures on the fly. Today we only had a two and a half hour drive. As Cody unbuckled his seatbelt he said, “I hope I meet some friends!”
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2015 southeastern us
“I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” – John Muir
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Florida
Wednesday it snowed at home, most of the day. Thursday night Scott and I hopped on a flight headed to eighty degree temps, sunshine, and the mesmerizing ocean waves. We arrived in Florida after midnight. We are usually in bed by nine, so we were exhausted and slap happy even while we waited over a half hour to get our rental car at the airport Hertz. Our little Chevy Spark has an interesting license plate of CHEWE 4. The engine sounds like a weed wacker, but this little guy has four doors and cruises just fine on Highway 95. We had met a great guy on the plane named Frank. He is living in downtown Chicago now, but he just moved here from New York two years ago. He shared some fun tidbits with us. First and foremost he inspired the trip we are headed on now. He told us about a Flea Market in Fort Lauderdale. He also told us that our plane was landing in Hollywood. Who knew Florida had a Hollywood too? Other than just being grateful for a nice gentleman to sit next to for four hours, I loved that Frank was such a proud Dad. He said, “I live to live the life my kids live.” His daughter is currently in Tanzania studying the educational system and preparing to hike Mount Kilamajaro.
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We left at 9:25 for the first time and had to turn around 5 minutes later when April called to ask, “did you forget the pizza?” Doh! My friend Ed loves Lou Malnati’s pizza so there was no option but to turn around for it. Luckily we wern’t far from home. After jamming the pizzas in the car we left for the second time at 9:38. We came very close to being forced to deploy the alternate transportation method (bikes) just north of Springfield after pushing the gas gauge to the red and beyond.
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Woodworking
This project was inspired by a conversation with a fellow camper during our stay in Rocky Mountain National Park and is based on a design by Blue Sky Kitchens. “How come your kids don’t get water?,” Jim questioned. My response was that the 5 gal jug that we use is to heavy for the kids to lift. To which Jim said that I should quit with the large jug and move to gallon size containers which are more manageable for everyone. He recommend using the Arizona Iced Tea jugs as they are durable (as compared to milk jugs) and easy to come by. That conversation got me thinking about this project. It was a straightforward build and was easily completed in 2 days- one for build and finished in another.
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Woodworking
Have you seen my vehicle? 
Not much room for anything else on the roof? That’s what I thought as well. But you and me both would be mistaken. Robi from Dinosaur showed me a great little table one night over beers. Guess what I learned? Yup, he straps it to the underside of the bars! How perfect is that?