Just Hanging Out

Here we are still hanging out in Zephyrhills; so different from what we thought we would be doing in our first year of full time RV life. We started this journey to travel and see the country. Since our plan was to go slowly, we anticipated staying in each place for a period of time but not quite this long. 5 months in one place is more than we expected but overall it is still good and we are enjoying living in our small home on wheels. Since it is getting warmer and the sun can be brutal midday, we moved sites to get a little shade.

Morning shade from the park model beside us in our new site. Enjoying shade most of the day except between noon and 2 PM now once the awning is out.

There are definite benefits to being in a RV park during a pandemic and stay at home order, especially one in a warm climate after most of the snow birds have left. It is easy to social distance at our site and get outside to exercise every day. We take at least two walks per day, every morning and evening. Per my Fitbit, we get over 10,000 steps every day. I am actually getting closer to 14,000 daily which is fantastic and helping with my weight loss goals. So far I lost 20 pounds with exercise and healthy eating.

We also ride our bikes a few days each week, still just around the park and we do about 5-6 miles per ride. I suppose that isn’t too long for some bike riders, but pretty good for us old folks, as Tim says. We can do all of this within the boundaries of our RV park with minimal exposure to others.

After all of the exercise, we just hang out at the RV on our patio playing games and listening to music. Tim is finally getting some use of the speaker and tripod set up that he brought with us. I thought this was way too big to bring along but he insisted. I do have to say listening to good music and having a cocktail in the evening is a great way to end the day.

There are still some challenges to social distancing though. Others in the park feel that because we are our own insular community and nobody here has been diagnosed with Covid19, it is ok to forgo the social distancing while in the park. They tend to walk right up to you to talk and we find ourselves backing away or needing to tell them to stop. We explain that we are following the guidelines and have to repeatedly ask them to stay back. Some get it but others don’t. I find myself explaining that we all go out at times to the grocery store, to get gas, etc. and could be exposed. We want to keep everyone safe and healthy so are keeping our distance. It is fortunate that we are in a small town and it is easy to avoid crowds when we do go out. That helps keep risk of exposure down somewhat.

We are still deciding what to do at the end of May. If we head back north, we won’t stop for long at each place since we still want to isolate, so definitely won’t be touring like we did before. Right now we are booked for June and July near Pittsburgh. We would like to be able to visit family but worry about doing that anytime soon. It will be a more populated area as well so stores may be more crowded. So we debate canceling those reservations and just staying here longer. We have a few more weeks before we need to finalize that decision.

Other than getting exercise daily, Tim and I each have different activities we do to pass the time. If you know Tim, you know he likes to shop and research items he is interested in, so he spends a good bit of time online. I am online as well, reading and on social media. I have found free books on a few sites so am getting in some reading without having to buy books.

Became my own stylist!

I decide to trim my own hair the other day; it was getting way too long and was frizzy on humid days. I have cut Tim’s hair for years but never tried my own before. I just took off an inch or so off of the overall length and trimmed the bangs. It isn’t perfect and is a little uneven but looks better than it did before.

I also started coloring with colored pencils. I was getting too stressed initially reading too many news articles and way too many political posts on Facebook. Focusing on coloring totally frees my mind and greatly reduces stress. It is a very relaxing hobby. I am trying to learn how to blend and layer the colors. It is definitely a work in progress. I will end this post sharing a few of my favorites so far: