Some moments of insight from our first week:

1. Small things, like say the crank handle we use to raise and lower the top of the camper, are especially appreciated after they’ve been lost. Fortunately we figured out it was missing from “that uneasy feeling” rather than while trying to set up in the near-dark somewhere, and we’re quite glad Suncoast RV in Jacksonville, FL, had a replacement for $10. It’s not as good as the one we lost, but it’ll keep our top going up and down.

2. Sometimes the better part of valor is wimping out and getting a motel room. (With only one night planned for Savannah, GA, it seemed silly to set up camp and deal with a record low of 21 degrees…) Thanks to the good people at Motel 6 for leaving the light (and the heat) on for us.

3. A GPS is remarkably helpful—and creepy. Inflexible Ingrid (we got a new GPS for Christmas and retired Condescending Connie) is weirdly omniscient about where we are, where we’re going, and how I’m driving. But she insists on our staying the course, and she never tires of telling me to turn around when I’m taking a detour. We turn her volume way down, but I can still faintly hear her sincere voice nagging away saying “Turn right then turn right…” “Turn right then turn right…” “Turn right then turn right…” as I approach each intersection.

4. A home-cooked meal with usually far-away family can turn around a long grumpy day of traveling in short order. A thousand thanks to Alex, Emma, and the boys for good food and warm company.

5. In our teen years we’re supposed to outgrow the idea that we’re the center of the universe. Just the same, it’s hard to see it as pure coincidence that everywhere we go experiences hundred-year low temps upon our arrival. We’re hoping our presence in Florida doesn’t raise produce prices too drastically for the rest of you… (I will say, though—it’s nice that “record low” in Florida isn’t as cold as “record low” farther north.)

At the start of our travels we were rushing more than we’d have liked, but that’s changed with our arrival in Orlando. We’re here at least a week, maybe longer if we choose, with time to visit with friends (thanks to the Williams family for their wonderful hospitality and the chance to catch up, with more to come!), hang with the giant mouse (Oh Boy!), and see whatever other sights we want to see. We’ve definitely learned that staying just one night anywhere is too short a time for us to see much of anything. We’ll be keeping our stays at least a few days long as we go, making sure we have time to see whatever floats our boats before we move on.

As to the cold, the good news is that it’s led to our being virtually bug-free here in Florida—also an unusual occurrence. But no bugs doesn’t mean not being bugged. The raccoons in our Bill Frederick’s Park at Turkey Lake campsite are so relaxed that they’d climb right in the camper to check out the pickings if you’d let them. We’ve opted not to do so, despite missing our pets. (The kids tried to argue that they’re about the same size as Bonkers the cat, but I assured them they’re no more tame than he is, so letting them in would be a bad idea.)

The kids have gotten lots of good school work done, and for the benefit of readers who happen to be my boss, I’ve gotten some good writing-work done as well. There’s another family here in the campground with homeschooled older kids—all told they’ve homeschooled ELEVEN kids all the way through, and they’re down to the last three finishing high school. Eleven? That’s a whole lot of kids… We’ve got all we can handle with just our two. Anyway, our first couple of days here we’ve just been enjoying Turkey Lake and its fruit trees (yes, you’re allowed to pick and eat the oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes…), animal farm, playground, and freezing cold bath-house (motto: Bring your courage or you don’t go at all). Tomorrow we may head over near Cape Canaveral to see space—the final frontier, with Disney and much more still to come.

I tried to download some pictures, but it told me it was going to take 6 hours to finish downloading them...so you'll just have to imagine us having lots of fun until I can figure out how to make it work a little faster.