I always wanted to explore Austin, Texas as I’ve heard it is a lot like Richmond, Virginia but better! We were about four hours away and we needed a cool place to celebrate our 10 year anniversary!

We stayed at an Airbnb which was conveniently located in Travis Heights and close bike trails. Austin has a wonderful biking infrastructure.

#1 - See the Bats at Sunset on Congress Avenue Bridge

We luckily stumbled across this on our way back from Whole Foods to our Airbnb. We found thousands of people waiting to see millions of bats coming out from under Congress Avenue Bridge to fill their stomachs with food. It is a unique experience. You can see it from the top of the bridge, under the bridge and from Lady Bird Lake.

We came to Melbourne, Florida to see Jeff’s, Uncle Leslie. Jeff shares the same birthday with his uncle but they are 17 years apart.

We found a quiet Airstream community to stay in for the month. We quickly learned that we are considered SOBs which stands for “Some Other Brand.” 😂

We went to several parks where we had heard that manatees hang out, but we couldn’t find a single one. Finally, there was a cold evening that brought the manatees to a local creek where they find a warmer environment.

We started full-time RVing last November 2020 and we soon realized we couldn’t sustain ourselves on our savings for two years like we hoped. It costs to live and we enjoy exploring!

Jeff used to work in corporate America by working for IT firms. He’s other talents include being really good mechanically and likes helping people. He did lots of research and determined getting his RV Technician and Inspector Certification would work for living on the road. He decided to go the National RV Training Academy.

When RV’s are going down the bumpy roads, they are really ‘moving earthquakes” en route to their destination. Plus RV’s are notoriously made poorly so there is always something to fix and at least do some preventative maintenance on.

Jeff took RV Technician school for 6 weeks. He learned how to diagnosis and repair the RV’s exterior, heat pump, air conditioning, RV refrigerators, water pumps and more.

Then the last two weeks of April, he took RV Inspector school. You know how you have home inspections? You also need an RV Inspection to determine how sound the trailer or Class A Motorhome is.

Please check out Jeff’s website: Umbrella RV.

“Our relationship with our Mother is birthed simultaneously with our entry into the world. We take our first breath of life and display the initial dependent, human longing for protection and love in her presence. We are as one in the womb and on the birthing table. This woman, our mother…all that she is and is not…has given us life. Our connection with her in this instant and from this point forward carries with it tremendous psychological weight for our lifelong well-being.” Karyl McBride, Ph, D.

We came to Clearwater Florida to see my parent’s friends, John & Sue. It had been about 20 years since I saw them last and I’m hopeful I can connect with as many people as possible on our adventures.

We spent 2 weeks in Clearwater and enjoyed their biking trails and time with John & Sue. They are so generous and kind. They were always a bright spot in my childhood and they continue to shine love on everyone they encounter. They are just that kind of people.

I love horses and there was a gray Quarterhorse mare in the field and lo and behold, what did we see with her? Is that really a young buck?!

It truly was!