3000 Miles!

A Marathon!

We finally made it to Marathon after many miles!  Including lots of stops at gas stations along the way!

We shared breakfast with Pam and Art in Northern Florida.  They had just left Michigan, heading south to spend the Holiday break in the lower latitudes, with a trailer in tow!
How fortuitous for us!  Out of the blue it was decided that certain items currently located in our Florida storage unit (not needed in the RV) would be transported by Pam and Art and taken to Michigan - to await our summer sojourn north.  What a lifesaver!

One more testimony to the value of friendship, of the tightness of the boating community!

Not only did Pam and Art come to the rescue, but Arlene and Jim were quick to step up to the plate!

You might remember the post about moving our storage from Fort Lauderdale to Marathon... well now it was time to give up the 5x5 air conditioned second story hurricane safe space and re-align what we could to the RV.

Lew and Jim made the trips from 'Jolly Roger' RV park on Grassy Key to the storage unit and back, filling the car with stuff to be stacked and stored both inside and out of the rig...  stuff we needed, stuff we didn't, stuff we hadn't seen in years, stuff we didn't ever need to see again!

Arlene and I decided which boxes needed to come inside, which would be stored in the 'basement' compartments, and proceeded to find a space for each and every thing.  Much like a boat, all things need to have a spot they belong in... "everything in its place"... before the 'shore power' is unplugged and the voyage begins!  Of course things have been misplaced, maybe even 'lost for good', as the unpacking unceremoniously progressed.

A couple days later and Pam and Art arrived, the last of the storage was emptied and their trailer was loaded.  

Whopee was retrieved from her storage space at Eric's Shoreline and secured to the roof.  My bike was folded and found a space in the car.

Hiliary and Charles (on Ship of Fools) organized and hosted a Christmas Potluck at the City Marina (So Very Nice of them to schedule our 'Goodbye Party'!) on Christmas Eve.  It was well attended, as expected, the food great and the camaraderie even better!

It was with a heavy heart and a sense of adventure that on Christmas morning we topped off the tire pressure, severed the power cord, re-attached the dolly, locked down the Cute Little Kia Soul and headed north-bound on US1 out of The Heart of the Keys.

Some quiet time in our 'home on wheels' we headed out of Florida and west on I10.  Eventually we came to the Mississippi River, and our new life officially took a new turn!

Soon we entered Texas and headed to Brother Bill's place in Houston.  He and Janice had promised a place for us to park our rig while we took the car and drove up to Kansas for new plates, a mailbox and a place for Lew to establish residency.

And finally we reach our new HOME.
Shawnee, KS 66217
You are NOT going to believe this.

IT IS A WALMART PARKING LOT!!!