Epic RV Trip -- ONE MONTH IN --> Navarre, FL

**TUE 5/28  a short 234 mile drive day to Navarre, FL
We are one month in and over 4000 miles on the tripometer.  Chris honked the horn in the middle of the freeway to celebrate the mileage.  We got gas for $2.19 in Biloxi, MS -- our new record for cheapest gas. We went through our first tunnel today.  It's hard keeping track of what day it is, so I'm glad Addisyn wanted a calendar in the MH; it's come in handy and we are writing down where we are each day.

Chris wrote some more exact stats one month in:
 - 4,148 miles driven in MH
 - 835 miles driven in Jeep
 - 17 states (15 new ones)
 - Gas mileage: 5-6 mpg in MH, thankfully SD has by far been the most expensive gasoline (paid just under $4/gal in SD before leaving)
 - One breakdown, rear left axle seal blew out in Kansas, only lost 1 day.
 - Next destination unknown, here for at least 2 more nights... we're thinking north-ish since we can't go much more east or south (don't want to go further into FL) and we came from the west.

My shorts are a little tight and I'm hoping strangers will think my tummy budge is a cute 3mo bump but it's not.  We are eating well and it's a challenge getting regular exercise.  My joints feel funny and stiff and my sporadic crude stretches aren't cutting the mustard.  But we still try our best.

Chris just found out his office assistant quit with 0 days notice, our AZ tenants are moving out in a month, and he is still dealing with someone trying to scam the Govt through his business for child support system so he put a freeze on all his credit reports.  Life keeps going!

In a strange way it makes me kind of sad that we've hardly had time to miss our friends at home.  We are just constantly adjusting to the place we've arrived in and on our maps looking for our next home away from home.  The kids have been having fun sending postcards to friends and family.  We've been to multiple post offices buying them out of postcard stamps.  We are thankful for family, neighbors, and sheriff RSVP's who are checking on our house and taking care of our chickens.  And we enjoy everyone's comments on the facebook updates.

Today we stopped in Mobile, Alabama at the USS Alabama museum.  It was just $4 to park and stretch our legs.  We only walked around the free outside displays for a mini history lesson.  We didn't have time for more, nor did we think we'd have the mental stamina to take it all in.

Mobile would have been a good place to learn about river deltas, but we let that one slide.  We also missed out on air boat rides.  We didn't think Marissa would make the 48" height restriction for the places in Louisiana, and didn't realize there was a place was here until today that we probably could have done with a day or two notice.  Oh well.  That also brings up the other thing we keep running into on this trip--Marissa is like 47.5" tall, so when we see the 48" rule, we tell her to stand tall--some places are more lax than others.

Today we got to play one of our favorite songs "Sweet Home Alabama"!  The Alabama state flower is a Camelia, which is what I think was at our campground today.  When I taught the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, my students would ask what a Camelia is, and I never knew, but now I have seen one, and now it makes sense since the story setting is Alabama.  

**WED 5/29 Navarre, FL.  School & Work Day
Chris used the onsite gym and got some cardio in.  Karen went for a run, and got trapped on the beach and couldn't get back to camp!  I was too tired to turn around and go back, so I tried walking on the rocks (look out for crab!), tried walking out in the water (took my shoes off and got knee deep), thought about cutting back across someone's yard and having Chris come pick me up, but I went with Plan C and crawled through the palm bushes (stiff branches!) and made it out with just one 3" scratch on my leg.  I got back so sweaty and hot I almost wasn't walking straight.

Shower and breakfast, and time for the kids to roll out of bed, then it's school mode.  This homeschool business is really making me question my ability as a patient teacher.  I am so bored of helping them find (what I consider) the obvious, and nagging them over and over and over to do their work, write the next sentence, show me their work, stop slamming the buttons on the Chromebook, repeating the explanation 3x (b/c they zoned out or got distracted, or didn't care), ....

I can't sit down because there are no more seats in the MH where I can have my computer out to type on... Today there are two kids sitting on either side of the table, Chris on the couch with the lap desk, and another kid working hunched over on a bed, so I either stand at the end of the table or at the stove like a standing desk. I think I want a folding stool (I'll put that on my Amazon/Walmart list now).

To find space and keep it quiet for Chris during his class time tonight, I took Piper and Marissa to the library just a mile up the road.  It's a cute little place with a nice kids corner.  Marissa found plush characters, including Marvin K Mooney, the star of the book she packed from home.  I didn't get much writing done, but it was good time to focus on helping Piper on getting quality assignments in and using the free WiFi to upload and email assignments.

**THUR 5/30 School & Play day
We worked longer on school than we hoped this morning (so time consuming!), but we got good work done.

We drove the bridge over the bay to the gulf beach side.  We went for a bike ride from the beach parking lot to lunch--yummy and a nice view of the gulf.  We tried to show the kids houses and buildings built on stilts and explain why you don't want your home at ground level.  Then we rode back to our car and traded bikes for bathing suits.  The beach was steeper than we expected and the waves were crashing hard, so we couldn't go in far.  The waves knocked us down several times while trying to jump them.  Thankfully Marissa was just as content digging a hole in the sand and building drip sandcastles in the white sand.

Back at camp, the kids wanted more water time, so I let them swim in the bay at our campground while Chris ran to the grocery store to rustle up something for dinner.  It was so shallow, Addisyn and Piper were able to get all the way to the end of the pier while still touching the bottom.

While Chris BBQ'd dinner, I enjoyed being active playing frisbee with Marissa and dancing every time we had a good throw or catch :-)

Chris had our mail FedEx'd to our campground today and the kids were ecstatic to get "care packages" from Grammy & Grampy!!! 

**FRI 5/31  another School & Play day
I took Piper & Marissa to the library again.  We used the study room for a bit so I could talk to the homeschool teachers about grades and preparing for the end of the school year.  We can't borrow books here, but we bought 7 or 8 books from the friends of the library used book store for less than $2!

This afternoon we rented JetSkis in the bay.  Wow that was more of a workout than I expected!  We distributed our weight, so I got Addisyn and Marissa on my ski (Marissa sandwiched in the middle), and Piper rode behind Chris.  With two kids pulling on my lifejacket for dear life, I had to hold on tight to the handlebars trying to keep up with Chris ahead.  And the chop.  It was choppy.  And Piper's been fighting a cold and got a headache, a bad one.  She didn't like switching places with Addisyn (I wanted them to try riding with each of us).  We switched back, but man, there is a clear difference in how Piper and Addisyn hold on (it felt more natural with Piper leaning in; it was like tug of war with Addisyn pulling back)!  I don't mind the sore shoulders and arms after, it was a fun workout.

Upon returning our JetSkis, the kids could not resist the WiBit floating obstacle course.  Even Piper, not feeling well, gave it her best shot and made it about a half-hour before retreating to shore to hang out with daddy (who opted to put his $ toward a cold beverage at the beachfront establishment over the WiBit).  If you know Piper, you know that she must have felt pretty crummy, but tried so hard to enjoy the fun activities.  Addisyn, Marissa, and I played our entire allotted hour.  Addisyn bravely jumped from the highest platforms. Back at camp, Chris took A&M swimming at the pool, while I stayed at the MH cleaning and prepping dinner while Piper fell asleep in a chair outside with towels over her because she felt cold (!?) for like an hour.  I hope her headache and sore throat don't turn into what I had at home right before our trip.

**SAT  6/1  Chill day 

We relaxed and did very little school today.  I ran down the street to the grocery store to re-stock the fridge for our next journey.  Marissa made a friend and rode bikes around camp with her, then they played at each other's campers, and then we all went to the pool at the same time and got to share their giant pink flamingo.  

Now Marissa has a skin rash we are keeping an eye on.  Piper had a great time at the pool, but felt miserable again as soon as we got back.  Trying our best to make her feel better while putting up with her severe mood swings in our small 350 sq ft home.

This was a nice campground and I'd definitely recommend it.

Chris even made it on their facebook page--can you find him? :-D