The Ocean and Friends Heal All Wounds

Well friends and followers I’ve honestly found it hard to sit down and write lately. The changes in my life over the last 6-8 months has challenged my normal resiliency to put things behind me. Since Cathy and I started this blog together. I have found it hard at times sit and write as it takes my mind to past posts, proofing each others work etc. It’s kinda the same way when I’m with friends there’s a lot of we, I mean me, we did this, Last year we. Cathy and I…etc. I can’t forget. Don’t want to forget, but I do have to forge a life that’s fun and interesting in my new paradigm.

The good news is that I’m less than two months from going out west on my first BIG adventure. Let me tell you, planning is time consuming and this has also affected my blog time. Yeah, yeah, time management…I know. I will be sharing some information about planning trips like this. But for now I want to recap the last few months and share some observations.

I left Chattanooga, TN just after Labor Day last year. I stopped for a weekend to paddle the Toccoa Canoe Trail in Blue Ridge, GA with friends. If you have never paddled this trail, I highly recommend it. It’s a long paddle, all day. I’ve paddled it 6 or 7 times and I’ll write a post specifically on the trail, including preparation.

Next I stopped in Talulah Gorge, near Clayton GA for a couple of weeks. I couldn’t get a spot in the park but did find a nice campground, River Campground in Lakemont, GA. The plan here was to hike the gorge. However, the weather didn’t co-operate. You can read about both trips in the post Feels Like Home.

From there I made my way down to Flagler Beach, FL. I stayed right on the ocean, Treasure by the Sea tells a little about the campground if you are interested. I have close friends in the area and between the ocean and fellowship. The fog that had invaded my mind over the last several months began to clear. And let me tell you. I was in a fog. I was never depressed. I wasn’t lonely in the sense that being alone specifically bothered me, but there was a huge void and longing for the amazing relationship that was lost. The million little things throughout the day that I missed. The stress of worrying about her and the grandkids. My mind just wouldn’t rest and it wouldn’t focus. Tasks at home and work took longer. I had to reread things to comprehend and stuff like that. Fog is the only way I know to describe it

Flagler Beach is where the fog started to dissipate. The void didn’t leave. The stress was still there but the fog lessened. Appetite and focus started to come back as I sat facing the beach at sunset with a nice craft beer. My friends would come sit and talk for hours. The laughter and fellowship a salve upon spirit. Never under estimate the power of ocean breezes and friendship.

Exercise was important too. I had started to run most days before we left our wintering spot in Foley. During June, most of my exercise was from hiking, July and August saw more running and kayaking. The 2 weeks in the Georgia mountains was all hiking and rain the last week impacted the amount I got in. Flagler was a great place to run. Several times I ran to dinner and walked back. Nice mostly deserted sidewalks for miles in either direction. I also got an amazing deal on a short term Orangetheory membership toward the end of my stay and got a couple of workouts in at my favorite gym.

If I’m being truthful. It was hard to leave Flagler. I was healing and finding a groove, but I had another amazing group of friends awaiting me at my next destination and my vagabond spirit was finding a small heartbeat again. So it was on to Palmetto Florida.

I chose Palmetto for two reasons. I was late booking so options were limited and it was less than 20 minutes from my friend’s house in Sarasota. This was a month long stay and I’m going to be honest. Initially, I wasn’t excited about the resort, but I was wrong. Frog Creek RV Resort turned out to be a great place. I will write a post about it and link here soon to share more about the resort itself. The best thing was the location. My gym was 15 minutes straight down the interstate. Bradenton Florida was 10-12 minutes, St. Pete and St. Pete beach were less than 20 minutes, Tampa was 35 minutes, Sarasota and Siesta Key Beach were about 20-25 minutes away. The resort itself was less than a quarter mile to I-75.

I was literally in the center of some of the best places south Florida has to offer. Food in this area was amazing. I actually gained weight while there even with an increased exercise regimen. Once again, sunshine, beach and friends continued to lift the fog in my brain. I was feeling close to normal by the time I left. I had a few friends from home visit. I went to a Florida State tailgate and game. Finally experienced the amazing sand at Siesta Key. I kayaked on my first gator infested waterway. So much in a short time. The month was over way too soon. If I could I would absolutely winter in this area.

But again the time to move on arrived. My next stop was a short week in Chiefland Florida. We had met a couple in Foley last winter that we really became good friends with. They had opted to go further south this year. So I planned a stop at their new resort. Southern Leisure RV Resort. It’s part of the Sun Outdoors franchise. The resort was super nice. I probably will not write a post about it as I was only there a week but I would recommend it if you want to be in that area and the yearly rates are really affordable.

The week there with the Coulters was so nice. They are fun and funny. The nights around the fire pit and warm sunny days, in November brought a lot of joy and uplifted my spirits further. Not a lot to do in Chiefland, especially in only a week. but it was a great stop and you are close enough to visit places like Cedar Key or Homosassa Springs.

One of if not my favorite area’s of Florida is St. George Island. The whole Forgotten Coast of Florida appeals to me. Carrabelle, Florida was my next stop. You can read my post Carrabelle Beach RV Resort for more on where I stayed. Carrabelle is where the fog finally lifted. No the void is there, always will be but my head finally cleared and my spirit found some longing.

No gym here but sunrise and sunset runs on the beach are good for the soul. My runs increased from 2 miles to 3-4 miles once I got there. My cardio fitness had dropped to “below average” which was not good considering my spring/summer plans. This is the primary reason for the running. It is now “above average” again by the way.

From this resort the forgotten coast including St. George and Apalachicola were short drives. Plenty of wilderness for hiking and kayaking. It was a great month and I probably would have stayed longer if I could. This was my last wandering stop before settling in for the winter in Foley, Alabama.

So, I want to say a big thank you to Florida, friends, salt and sea for restoring my spirit while I was dealing with the hardest thing in my life. Remember, the ocean and friends heal all wounds.