You're Welcome

Interestingly enough, today I found out that someone found Fenn's Gold. That quest has officially ended. For me though, I had already found so much while on that adventure. The biggest takeaways from that search are to live life fully in the present moment and to include other people in your life. I am still working on my meditation practice and enjoy life in the present moment. Yes my mind wanders. Yes my egoic mind still plays games and seeks attention. I am human after all. Mindfulness is also having an awareness of your body as well as your surroundings: soaking up the sun and smelling the roses and hearing the birds or the ocean waves and feeling the wind in your hair as well as breathing and clearing the clutter of our minds. (In the current environment with a deadly virus being potentially on any surface and being carried by anyone that we encounter, it is good to have mindfulness as a tool in your kit and searching for Fenn's treasure really showed me what being present is all about.)

So, after a few weeks in Florida building and repairing our vans, Jeeps and other vehicles, we made some changes to our "outline" of adventure. We had been planning a trip up to Maine followed by a westward swing, but the universe seems to be pulling us in a different direction. Maybe it is better to yield and go with the flow than to fight the current? We just spent a few days surfing and playing in the ocean where we experienced both strong and mild currents. Riding the wave in is always a good feeling even if it takes you under water, it won't keep you down too long. And fighting a strong current will just wear you out.
Instead of hunkering down for a few more days in the humidity of Satan's armpit, waiting for parts to arrive from Colorado, we opted to accept an invitation to the beach which turned into a really incredible adventure!

Planning such a trip as this one, which was rather spur of the moment, was easy. Ask the right questions and the right answers are readily available and easily received. Where? When? How far? What route? Who do I know along the way? Is there enough time?
Made some calls, dotted some i's and crossed a few t's and we were on our way before we knew it.
Being prepared is a big part of being flexible and going with the flow is easier when you have the tools to make the most of what comes your way. When making choices there is an "en-gathering" phase. Generally speaking it's better to make choices with more information than with less and somewhere there is a line that you cross where you have enough. How do you know when you are looking for too much information? If you have confidence in the choice you are making, then there was likely enough, but know that you can always make new decisions to manage your choice along the way.
Case in point. It's15 hours of travel from point A to point B and it requires a ferry ride. I prefer to not drive more that 8 or 10 hours a day though I can put in 12 or more especially when headed through the "middle" of nowhere. (Think places like Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, the Dakota's, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska. Basically flat rows of farmland or pastures with few trees, hills or turns.) It's also easier to drive later into the day when you are driving west into the sunset as the days are longer that way.
The ferry has a schedule and it's better to book a spot on the ferry or you might be left waiting several hours or even till the next day to get on one. My friend informed me to book a ferry in advance, so I did. When I submitted my order for a ferry ticket they said there were only 4 spaces left on the 4:30pm boat, the third and final ride of the day.
Now I could have easily stopped at a rest area or a superstore to get some sleep for the night, but instead reached out to my good friend who now lives conveniently located, you guessed it, 10 hours of driving from point A. It was on the weekend and she wasn't feeling up to doing much but we had a great dinner, a relaxing evening watching some Netflix and a wonderful time catching up. We slept soundly with air conditioning that kept us cool and then sat chatting over coffee until it was time for me to go.

The drive to the ferry was pleasant and there was little by way of traffic to slow us down. The website asked that folks arrive at least a half hour before departure or else they consider you to be late. I had ten minutes to spare according to their guidelines and ended up having a ferry that delayed it's boarding but I didn't mind one bit. Another friend of mine recently said, "Never hurry. Never worry."

Having a van like this always encourages folks to start some delightful conversation. Even on the ferry there were folks stopping by to talk about this "cool old VW" or how they owned a "73 squareback" or how this reminded them of their "old bus that they had years ago." One older gentleman who was called Grampa by a younger woman, brought his sister by for a while. We chatted about the features and she told me she really wanted to buy a van to live in. She assured me "I could do it." Anyone can really. They just have to be willing to adjust and make the necessary changes. Sometimes though the struggle is real!

So, after arriving at the island, where my friends were waiting in the parking lot to greet me, we drove a few blocks to a restaurant to have some dinner. (All the food for the entire weekend was incredibly delicious.)

After dinner we took the dogs to the beach and we walked along the edge of where the ocean meets the land. The sand, stone and shells gently tapped and danced on our feet and our ankles as we stood there: the rhythmic swooshing and crashing of the waves soothing our tired bodies and minds.

The crabs were also out dancing and darting from one place to another. The dogs chased after them playfully and we ended up catching a few them. One was able to grab on and "bite" the tip of my finger before I let him go. Ouch! It was also really fun to see all the animals eyes reflecting in light of our headlamps. It was as if all the crabs on the beach were coming out to say "You're welcome. Thanks for stopping by."

On the walk back my friend, she's adorable, she really is, "This place is so incredible and you are going to absolutely love it, but you have to put up with the bugs in order to enjoy the rest of what the island has to offer." Now I was just in Florida where the mosquitoes come out in swarms during the evening hours. They mostly fly around near the ground and make a meal out of your legs and ankles. They are kind of small and have these little black and white striped legs, but their most memorable quality is that they are a real pain in the ass for a few hours every night.

The mosquitoes on the island are a very different breed. They are slightly larger and they are all black. When we got back to the campground, I kind of sat there on the picnic table expecting to just sit around chatting over a beer, but that's not how the mosquitoes want it to be. They drove us into our respective vehicles. We bid each other good night knowing that a long restful night's sleep would energize us for the full day of fun and adventure the next day.

The mosquitoes had other plans. They were not like the crabs. They had a very different tune to sing. It was more like reading the map from the Goonies...

"Ye intruders beware! Crushing death and grief, soaked with blood of the trespassing thief."