Slowing Down and New Community

Our Florida morning yoga crew, January 2022.

Behind Andrea (from left to right) is Diane, Alex, Easy, and Tom

Returning from Costa Rica, Andrea and I were exhausted.  Our adventure in full time travel had led us to 13 states and a foreign country all in four months. 

We both desired an opportunity to stay put somewhere for longer than a week, our previous longest stay.   

Andrea also let me know that this new place could not include shoveling snow, cold weather, or winter as we had known it every other year of our lives. 

We found a hidden gem of a camping opportunity outside the small town of Palm City, FL. 

A small pond out our front door greeted us every morning as we watched the sunrise and alligators patrolling the waters. 

We would get to enjoy our first Florida “winter”. 

After our first week of beaches, sunshine, and amazing weather, we realized something was still missing. 

We were missing people.  Some specific people from our past like, family and friends, but we were also missing meeting new people and fellow campers. 

Andrea and I started talking about how to make that happen.  Should we create meetups on our social media?  Look to join community groups? 

Then, as if we requested it, they started showing up! 

First it was Dustin, India, and Hank.  The newlywed couple in their late 20’s, and their dog embarking on a yearlong honeymoon around the country in their remodeled trailer.  They were youthful, fun-loving couple and radiating love!

As they left in came Easy, Alex and the gentlest pit bull ever, Opie.  They had recently bought a motorhome and were taking out for its first trip in the local area to learn all the systems.  What we really enjoyed about their company, is that when they asked questions, they truly listened to the answers.  They were extremely thoughtful, considerate, and wanted to learn all they could about this lifestyle.  One morning they were up before us waiting outside for our morning yoga session.

Thankfully, as we started feeling like the senior citizens at this campground, in came Tom and Diane.

A vibrant, fun loving, adventuring couple in their late 60’s.  They were escaping winter in Connecticut and testing out their converted sprinter van.  Laughter, joking, and updates of their newest favorite Tik-Tok videos were frequently the result of our time together.  These two had so much life experience, it was truly enjoyable to just sit and listen to their stories. 

Thankfully for us slowing down and putting temporary roots in a place, if even only for a month, allowed us to find what we had been missing. 

Opie did not want to leave when it was time to go home. We were grateful this gentle soul allowed us to become his friend.