The last of the Tally Tales!

The Field, grilling, campfires and more

When we first arrived at the goat farm, we parked in the front parking area and while that was perfectly suitable and we had everything we needed, the site did not offer a sense of home so we were not really able to set up our outdoor area for relaxing and grilling. We were not unhappy, just had hoped for a more spacious spot with more privacy. Another work camping couple came to farm a couple weeks after us and their first job was to install a new 50 amp circuit in the field for a camper - once that was done we could move to the field. I was excited and probably asked Eric every single time he came into the camper how it was coming along. I was such a nag, lol. He worked with the other campers so diligently to get that service finished. He used a big pick ax to create a channel in the ground through all the tree routes, ran the pipe and helped pull the wire through. The service was finally ready on a Monday afternoon, we packed up the RV, hitched it up and moved it to what would be come our home for a while. It was a great spot, right next to another work camping couple we had become friendly with, it abutted the pen for the 2 bucks on the farm and also looked out into the camping field. It was a lovely spot, Eric building the coolest pallet fence and a little fire ring in the yard. We got to set up our grill, outdoor table, my hammock and we got some outdoor rugs to help keep the dirt in the house down to a minimum.

The first night we had people over for a fire and food, I was making pork chops and burgers on the outdoor grill. We didn't have any light out there except the badass blue lights but that was making it really hard for me to cook. I was making noodles on the inside kitchen and grilling the meat out side. It made for a lot of back and forth which is annoying enough but -----wait for it--------wait for it-------- on one the trips outside, I took a step down the stairs, my foot slipped out from under me and I fell flat on my ass down the steps! PHUMPF ----- PHUMPF ------ PHUMPF. I managed to hold onto the dishes in my hands but the liquid sloshed all over me and the colander when flying. I was really embarrassed and it hurt like hell...but no one needed to know that so I quickly popped back up on my feet and making a joke how it was a good thing i just put on underwear and shorts instead of a skirt. lol Not one of my more graceful moments :)

We love having people over, I didn't think I would have the chance much on the road to play hostess like I did so many times back home . It truly is one of the things in life I take great pleasure in. It warms my heart and soul. so I was so glad to be cooking for a group and watching people enjoy great conversation and company.

We made friends with the fellow work campers, went kayaking with them, made beads, told countless tales around the camp fire, commiserated on the craziness of the farm and made lasting connections with them. Since we have left the farm, we have maintained connections with many of them and look forward to long friendships. This was another major goal of ours when we jumped into this life. We wanted to meet people, to hear their stories and know them through the experiences they shared with us. Eric and I both have lots of anxiety when it comes to meeting people and we both have things we struggle with mightily. So we struggle through it everywhere we go but we keep pushing our selves to meet people and to build connections with the people we meet.

Crafting and Projects:

I had some time on my hands during the days so I started crafting. Thankfully, Eric knows me better than I know myself and insisted I bring as much of my craft stash with us as we could fit! I have my cameo, all my scrapbook paper and supplies, paper punches galore, lampworking tools, jewelry making supplies, beads, glue and more! You name it, I probably have it! I got to teach several of our new friends how to make beads and I also started making new necklaces and note cards. It has been a lot of having my supplies and certainly gives me that creative outlet I need. I also am a master at Facebook marketplace and found this amazing set of plastic furniture. Eric and I picked it one afternoon, bought some paint for the set and got to town painting. There was also some spray paint from the farm so we had a great time one Sunday afternoon getting them ready for use on the farm. As you can see by my paint stash, it was hot and sweaty so all the dirt just clung to us! Ick. Anyway, we had a fantastic finished project of 11 pieces are yard furniture we donated to the farm.

Hiking in the swamp and St Marks with Sammy:

So Sammy came to visit us for his spring break. We were so excited to see him and for him to see us living life in the camper. He was away at school already when we got everything finalized so he hadn't seen us in our NEW HOME :). We always love being all together. We have a great time chatting, catching up, being goofy and talking about anything and everything. While Sam was with us, we decided to go for a long hike. It is always a great way to have conversation. I found us a trail that lead to a place in the woods called the Cathedral of Palms. It was a a highly ranked trail, was about 7 mile loop and was the perfect hike for a sunny afternoon. What I didn't really account for when choosing our trail was the recent rain we had been enduring - it had been torrential at points!

Well, a few miles in to our trek, we started to encounter water. The first encounter, we were easily able to find a walk around. Then as we walked along, we came across a group of people who warned us the trail got "real wet" ahead. We said, thanks, for the heads up but continued forward. I mean, how bad could it get, it had rained recently but not for a couple days. As we followed the trail, it quickly became soppy and it was not long before we came upon flooding so wide we could not find a walk around. We had no choice but to turn around, so we did. But in true Heroux fashion, we were not done with our hike and would not be dissuaded from getting to the Cathedral of the Palms! We took out our phones to study the trail maps and forest roads to see if we could bypass the current trail. To my excitement, and Eric's utter dismay, we located an alternative route. What's a little detour off the original plan after all? We are only trekking through a forest in a strange state that is flooded in parts and know to have inhabitants such as alligators and giant snakes. What could go wrong???

We followed a forest road a couple miles until it intersected again with the trail to Cathedral of the Palms. It was drier at its intersection so we checked it out... to the right was a wooden boardwalk built out over a beautiful spring. In the spring was a family of gators - It looked like a mamma and two babes :) It was majestic watching the fish swimming, the gators sunbathing, the hawks flying overhead and the absolutely cloudless blue sky. We spent some time there taking pictures and making various observations then decided it was time to get back on the trail. The left side of the intersection was the continuation of the trail the Cathedral of the Palms.. We headed down the path, about 100 yards in we started to encounter small pockets of flooding and each time, Sammy and I convinced Eric to keep going. It can't get worse, see its not that far....yada yada.. So we kept going, until we finally came up to an area that was too big to walk around. it was walkthrough or turn back.... At this point, it only made sense to trudge ahead. So we did, we slogged through the next few miles in swampy, muddy water. Looking back, it was a lot of fun. Also we would never have completed that hike if Sammy hadn't been with us. Eric and I for sure would have chickened out I mean, there are ALIGATORS!

Well, we lived, we did not get chased by gators or bobcats or snakes so I will say that it was a very successful adventure with a classic Heroux twist!

The goat babies are born

The absolute highlight of living on a goat farm is watching the goats. They have the most amazing personalities, they are all unique, some friendly some not interested. Some love to give hugs and hang out with you. The babies have got to be the hands down the ultimate best. The animals are just amazing. It was so special seeing them born, helping a little - like running for towels, learning how to milk the mama goats and and all the goat baby snuggles you could handle. Loads of pictures here for your viewing pleasure!

St George St park - once with Kim and once with Eric

The biggest draw form e of coming to Florida in the winter was to see the beach! To swim and sunbath when I would normally be wrapped up in wool sweaters and dodging snow banks. My sister came to visit in early March so that was the perfect opportunity for me to get to the beach. We headed down to the St. Georges Island again and this time we went to the state park part of the island all the was to the end of the island. It was sunny and warm but we weren't expecting a swimmy beach day really. Just wanted to lay out in the sun for a bit. Naturally, I jumped in the water! It was cold but surprisingly very comfortable once you got used to it. There is 5 miles of beach beyond the last parking area in the park so Kim and I set out on a nice long walk, shelling and chatting away. It was such a nice walk.

I loved it there so much, I took Eric back a few weeks later. We brought out bikes with us and rode a long way down the but did not to the end, the tide was coming in and we were getting squeezed onto soft sand and that is no bueno for bike riding. After we got back from the ride, I swam for a minute and did some more shelling where the waves reached and then we watched the fisherman feed a fish to a blue heron and were mesmerized watching the heron stalk the fisherman's every move for like an hour hoping for another fish.

Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park

In the middle of Tallahassee is the great little botanical garden. It has a mile or so trail, some great and colorful blooms, a living history house/museum, some amazing live oak trees and hidden gardens. It is a lovely little garden and walking path to mosey through for an hour or so. Since it is right in the city, it is easy to squeeze a trip in here on a Saturday filled with errands. And we did just that! We played around trying to hoist ourselves up on these giant tree branches...lets just say, I still can't do a pull up - hahhaa

The MRI Machine, PT and all the aches and pains.

When we left home, I did not have any answers as to what is causing my chronic pains. We ruled out Lyme and RA thankfully but I am still in pain, have no diagnosis and therefore no treatment in place, just suffering. All of my joints hurt, I complain about my right hip and elbow because they are excruciatingly painful and cause interruptions to my daily living and my ability to work out at the pace and intensity I love. I tried working out a few times on the farm but between the pain and the dirt I just gave it. It hurts and its frigging filthy gross.

I found an orthopedic clinic down here and have seen specialists for my hip and my elbow. Just yesterday, I finally got the cortisone injection in my hip. It had to be done with an ray so the doc could see what he was doing. I have to admit, I was really nervous about this one. I didn't know how much it would hurt, how much they would numb of my leg, how long it would be numb etc. I took the full day off work and asked Eric to drive me there. I just didn't want any uncertainty. Turns out, the shot in the hip was easy peasy. It took all of 2 minutes to get done and my hip starting feeling better the next day. It has been one week since the shot, I have worked out 3 times, rode bikes with Eric 3 or 4 times, got in and out of the truck a bunch without pain. I even maxed out on the leg press machine last night at PF. Probably not the smartest most adult decision I have ever made but damn it was fun! Max leg press right now is 358 lbs!

Job Search with in a job search

Part of the fun of this life we are living is that it changes regularly and on purpose. Eric will be work camping and different locations for 3-6 months at a time so we get to move every few months to a new town, surrounded by new sites to see and people to me. Finding work camping jobs follows a lot of the traditional job search protocols, You have a resume with applicable experience, have a friendly demeanor when reaching out to the site, write and speak well, etc. It also has some of its own nuances. We often are asked to provide a photo of our RV and truck and a photo of our selves. Since I am not a workcamper and Eric is applying solo, some of the jobs are of limits to him because they only hire couples. Despite this, there are PLENTY of opportunities. After Florida, we are heading up to Michigan then we have a potential gig in the keys for the fall or we will plan to head to Arizona. We can go wherever we find the most interesting job situation. I am really excited about that.

Tornado watches and other scary things! So living in an RV is really not too terribly different than our house. Aside f rom being ALOT smaller, it feels just like home to us. I really didn't expect that. For months whenever we referred to it, we called it the camper or the rv and then suddenly one day we started referring to it as home. I am so grateful for that as it was once of the main goals for living in this tin can we wanted to feel like we were at home no matter where we are in the country. There's this sayin that we (me and Eric and Sam) have always sort of lived by and that is that home is where your people are and not necessarily a place. Whenever we camped for vacations or quick get away, it felt like just that - a trip away from home. I really really didn't want living in the camper to feel like anything other than home. So I am really really grateful we pulled that part off.

Now, when there are tornado warnings and watches in the area, feeling like home doesn't much matter when living in an RV. This sucker would get ripped to shreds if a tornado came barreling by us. There were several storms scattered over a series of week where the rain was heavy heavy volume - it was coming down in buckets rally - and the wind was so scary. Tree limbs were whipping around a few smaller ones fell on the roof of the camper but thankfully there was no damage to the house only a few hours of anxiety and hell who can't handle that?!

Many of you know, Eric and I made a quick extraction from the goat farm and find ourselves on an impromptu adventure in the middle of our adventure. I am not really one for getting into ugly details of muddy situations so I will leave the reasoning for leaving the farm at this - we found it was no longer a place where we could thrive mentally and emotionally so we made the decision to look after our selves first and above everything else. We are happy, healthy and full of adventurous spirit. I am glad to have completed this chapter of living and now completing the blog for hat time period will allow the door to close and that time to become a sweet memory. Onwards and Upwards we go!