Colorado Here I Come!

I haven't done a Journal here in like for-ev-er even though I have the best intentions. Those of you who are FaceBook friends or people I communicate with via email already know that I have secured a Workcamping position for the coming summer. Yup! I decided that I wanted to spend the summer of 2017 in my favorite state -- Colorado -- and I will be working 24 hours a week in exchange for a FHU (that's full hookup for you non-RVers) site for 5 months. Can't think of a better way to spend the summer...oh, and I will be just about 19 miles west of Durango. Check it out on VallecitoResort.com  So I will be heading out around the 22nd of April and making the 2,000 mile trip to Colorado. The big bonus of the location is that I will be just 6 hours from my niece, Jess, who recently moved to Riverton, Utah and who is expecting a baby in mid-April! She came to visit me from Charlotte, NC when I was on my way back to Florida in October and we had an awesome 2-day visit.

In the meantime, I'm really enjoying being part of the RV community here at Woodsmoke Camping Resort in southwest Florida. When I arrived in late October, there weren't too many people here. I had practically the whole "street" to myself which was kind of nice, but also kind of lonely. Then right before Christmas, I got a next-door neighbor! Ruth & Butch from upstate New York are here until the end of March and we have become good friends. They invited me for dinner on New Year's Day and we had a great time chatting and laughing and getting to know one another. A few days later, I got a neighbor on the other side of me. Lauri & Chuck from Michigan -- another really nice couple. The five of us really had fun -- having pot luck suppers and the occasional Happy Hour together. Lauri & Chuck were only here for a month and have now gone up to Kissimmee, but we all exchanged contact information and promised to keep in touch. THIS is why I am doing this RV thing -- I love meeting new people and going to different places.

There is another single woman here who arrived about the same time I did. She has been doing the full-time RV thing for the last three years while her daughter was in college in New York City. We have also become friends and shared a lot of stories and experiences. Last evening, I went with her on a 7 mile bike ride through a residential area here in Estero. It was a great group of about 15 riders and a really good time.

Still getting together with my dear Bonita Springs friends, Skip & Richard, at least once a week. Every Tuesday is $6 day at the movie theater and that's a good excuse to get together. This week we say "Lion" and it was EXCELLENT! Afterward, we usually go somewhere for an early supper or just back to their house for snacks and a visit on their lanai. It's all good!

Lilac the Cat is doing well. She really likes this place because there's always something to look at outside. She perches herself on the back of the sofa and keeps an eye on the neighborhood. And she loves it when people come to visit! I have thought a couple of times about adopting a kitten so she would have company, but I think one cat is enough. Lilac has plenty of toys and I'm here a lot, so I don't think she really needs a buddy.

Well, that's about it for now. The weatherman is calling for some real crappy weather here on Sunday evening into Monday so I will have to spend some time buttoning things up in preparation for it. I have my awning tied down, but I don't trust it if we get 40 mph winds and I will have to stow some items I have outside either underneath the RV or in the car. After this front moves through, our temperatures are going to be in the low to mid 70's the rest of the week. I'll take it! No complaints about the weather down here in the winter, that's for sure!