Oasis Found at Pelican Lake

This month marks our 3 year anniversary of living "on wheels" and today marks (perhaps) the close of our Big Adventure! We've become "homeowners" once again... well, sort of. Today we closed on a property at Pelican Lake Motorcoach Resort in Naples, Florida!  Yahooo!!!

In January, we came to Naples (south Florida on the Gulf Coast) for the first time and loved this spot so much, we began looking to buy a property within a couple of weeks. This resort has just under 300 RV lots -- all privately owned.  It looks and feels just like a subdivision for motorhomes! All of the lots are built around a beautiful man-made lake and there's a clubhouse, pool and super-friendly residents! They all make you feel like their long-lost buddy! There are tons of activities and neighborhood gatherings. All in all, this spot has everything we've been wanting in a "home base", and once again... God smiled on us and made it so.

Here's a little tour...

Home Sweet Home
We will likely "sit" in our lot from mid-December through April or May each year and then continue to travel to our favorite spots all during the rest of the year.  We still plan to spend time in Denver every June and in Destin, FL in the fall.

Here's Steve finishing a couple laps around the lake (2 laps = about 3 miles).  He's been on a health kick and looking good! We normally start out together with Harley on the first lap. And we're not alone... a good percentage of the super-cheery residents walk their dogs each morning between 8 and 9 am.  What a great way to start the day!!

We love the palms and dense vegetation on either side of us that provide lots of privacy for our motorcoach.  There are about 7 mature (huge) Royal Palms on our lot and so many places to plant pretties! We can get our hands dirty gardening again... but the HOA takes care of all mowing & maintenance.  Hallelujah!  

Our lot stays shady most of the day.  It's been roughly in the mid 70's throughout the winter.  

We'll need to acquire some additional patio furniture.  Dining outdoors is divine!  

Love the clean area for the hookups!

The previous owner (who bought another lot here) lets
Steve use his golf cart while they're away, which is most
of the time!  Super nice couple we bought the lot from.

Be still my heart!!!  We now have a coach house with some little luxuries -- an extra
bathroom and a full-size washer/dryer area.  Some extra storage space too!  

It's super hard to see here, but our "back yard" is a green belt (about 10 ft wide) behind the Carary palm plants pictured here. It's a great place to play frisbee with Harley. And little Willie, the mighty hunter -- caught a tiny lizard back there too.
Now he thinks he has to make a daily trek out there to hunt for more. Cats!

 Inside the coach house...

BEFORE (didn't love the color scheme)

AFTER (a lot of work but pleased w/result)

We plan to stack the washer & dryer and then install more cabinets & a countertop/folding area under the window. Also, we'll add some shelves or tall storage cabinets across from the washer/dryer.

Here is Steve at South Beach on Marco Island, just south of us about 12 minutes away. 

Beautiful day!  The beaches are similar to Destin's, but have lots more seashells.

Feeling Goofy

Happy Happy Happy

May God Bless all our Friends and Family! 

Happy Trails, everyone! 

Still Living the Dream

Time flies so fast... can't even believe summer is here & almost gone! Since our last post, we've moved on from Charlotte and moseyed through Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and of course -- Colorado.

Our "front yard" in a lovely RV park close to Sevierville, TN

Our annual visit to Denver during the month of June now seems like a blur. But we had a fabulous time seeing our family, dear friends and of course all of our doctors, dentists and veterinarians. Whew! Seems like we always need a vacation after leaving Denver.  It's always great to see all the "folks" but amazingly, Denver no longer feels like home.  As beautiful as it is there, we are still thrilled to be on the road exploring the rest of this magnificent land. And the best part - it seems like we're on a permanent vacation and yet wherever we go, we are always home!

Currently we're just about to leave Bayfield, CO (just east of Durango) where we've spent the month of July. This is our 3rd visit to this lovely little spot and we continue to find new treasures - good restaurants & activities. It's a great place to relax after leaving the hustle and bustle of the city.

Beautiful meadows to explore

A nice view from Bayfield Riverside RV Park

Harley found his long-lost twin -- good times!

Who let the cows out???

Nice neighbors

I (Debbie) took the narrow gage railroad from Durango to Silverton with Chris & Jeanne while Steve enjoyed a long, quiet day at home with the kids.

No shortage of beautiful landscapes between Durango and Silverton

Silverton, Colorado

We've been full-time RV-ing now for almost 2 1/2 years and people often ask us if we still enjoy it. Well... in a word... YESSSSSS!!!!!  Like anything else in life, there are plus's and minus's but all in all, we cannot think of a more pleasant way to spend our time. The tranquility of this stress-free life is just amazing. Each and every day, we give thanks to God for our rich blessings. We feel so fortunate to be on this extended journey through such a beautiful land. All creation declares His majesty!

Although we feel like we're living in our own little ideal world, we can't help but pay close attention to all of the growing turmoil in the world and especially in the Middle East. It's crystal clear to me that we are headed toward WWIII and ultimately to the battle of Armageddon (in the valley of Megiddo near Jerusalem). If only people were more literate about the Bible and Bible prophecy in particular. Just read Psalm 83 for a quick example of how it describes what is happening right now in Israel. (Also Ezekiel 38 & 39 foretells of the end-time wars in Russia and throughout the entire Middle East). But there's good news! There's a very happy ending for believers -- even the persecuted Christians.

Below is a link to my favorite online resource - the Blue Letter Bible. It has every translation of the Bible (for quick comparisons & clarity) and has great search features. You can also download the free app from iTunes. The NLT (New Living Translation) is in my opinion, the easiest to read.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/

But I digress... next, we are headed to the small town of Ruidoso in the mountains of New Mexico for a visit with friends and a golf tournament for Steve.  Then we're headed to the great state of Texas -- our very first visit to this state. We'll go to San Angelo for a week and then we'll be staying in Austin from mid-August to mid-September.  After that - a month in Foley (near Gulf Shores) Alabama and then on to our winter home -- Destin, FL for our annual 3-month stay (mid-Oct thru mid-Jan). We are really enjoying the longer stays at each location.

Until next time...  you are all in our prayers. Wishing you sunshine, blessings and all good things.

A Sunny & Warm Florida Winter

They say once you've spent a winter in Florida... you're hooked.  (They are right!) We spent a fun week in December with Jeanne & Chris (sister & brother-in-law) just before Christmas.  What a great way to spend the holiday - with family and sunshine!

Sisters Debbie & Jeanne just outside the condo & our RV spot on Miramar Beach
(Destin, FL)

A beautiful view from Jeanne & Chris' 14th floor
hotel room (condo)

Chris & Jeanne at one of our favorite
Destin restaurants - "The Back Porch"

In January, we headed south to Clermont, Florida just outside of Orlando for a few weeks (chasing the warm temps & visiting with friends Joe & Carolyn) and then continued south to The Glades RV park in central Florida near Lake Okeechobee. We hadn't ventured that far south before. Pretty nice! Not very far from either the Gulf or Atlantic coasts. While there, we took a day trip over to Sanibel Island. Beautiful spot but traffic was horrendous. We're definitely becoming fonder of the smaller, more rural communities where the living is slow and easy!

Harley's not sure what to think of the
huge Sandhill Cranes (Clermont, FL)

The rat race - Steve & Harley down by the
river & marina near Lake Okeechobee, FL

Next we headed over to Ft Lauderdale. We'd heard about a huge Calvary Chapel church there and wanted to visit.  Most of the Calvary Chapel's we've been to across the nation have been very small so it was intriguing to find a large one. We stayed at the Aztec RV Resort which turned out to be an interesting experience. Almost everyone there were French Canadians who spoke little-to-no English so it cut down a bit on our socializing. But what a beautiful spot! It felt like we were living inside the Botanic Gardens! Too bad about the crime rate in south Florida, though.... seemed like there was a murder every night on the 10 o'clock news. We'd heard that about Miami, but it seems it's not much better in Ft Lauderdale.

Aztec RV Resort in Ft Lauderdale, FL

From there we headed back north again to Kissimmee (also near Orlando) to meet up again with sister Jeanne for the 3-day "Orlando Prophecy Summit." In addition to being students of the Bible, we spend a good deal of time specifically studying Bible prophecy & end-time events. Our favorite cable TV program is "Prophecy in the News" hosted by Gary Stearman who also hosted the summit. It was a fabulous conference with 24 "rock star" speakers. It was a who's who of prophecy scholars! The days were long (early morning to 10:30 at night) but we were riveted by all the information presented. We were familiar with most of the topics, but with this lengthy of an event, we felt like sponges absorbing a huge data dump. Fabulous!

Just arriving at the spectacular SeaWorld Renaissance Hotel

Host Gary Stearman (on the right) from the weekly TV
show "Prophecy in the News"

Jeanne at the book table with speaker, author and
researcher L.A. Marzulli

Steve enjoying a conversation with a fellow attendee before
one of the presentations 

Debbie & Steve with front row seats!  More than 2,000
people attended the conference.  Multiple presentations ran
concurrently which sometimes made it hard to choose!  

You can read more about the conference by going to www.prophecyinthenews.com

On April 1st, we arrived in St. Augustine, Florida on the Atlantic coast. It was our first time there as well. We'd only booked two nights but it was love at first sight... it's a place we definitely want to come back to and spend more time. Our campsite was right on the beach and dogs are allowed!!!  A slice of heaven!

These pics are from a walk in the woods in Canadys
(near Charleston) South Carolina.  

Springtime in the South!

Harley, Willie and Jimi are still loving life on the road!

We are currently in Charlotte, North Carolina for 3 weeks and looking forward to heading westward for our annual visit to Denver in June.

Until next time... we send our LOVE to all and hope to see you soon!