Ft. Pierce Florida: HAPPY NEW YEAR

And here's to 2013!!! The Sparkle DReSs!

Ft. Pierce, FL: Finishing up 2012

It's been a few weeks since our last post, but we've got some news of things we've been doing, plans we've been making and overall sunshine that has been SHINING!

We're in that time right after Christmas and right before the New Years. The time that feels like you should be done eating all those cookies but then telling yourself "I'll stop after New Years". Everyone knows what we're talking about and don't try and tell us otherwise- We think about it everytime we break a cookie in half only to walk back to it and finish it seconds later. But alas, Tuesday will be here soon enough and that means no more even LOOKING at the cookies, because we're looking at Vegetables!!! And in our case, that is going to be true. We'll be starting to volunteer at another farm January 12th- February 11th: Cold Water Gardens. Their business idea is: 

"To develop a sustainable agri-tourism program while running a viable agriculture business where tourists can come and enjoy the land/wildlife, and also participate in sustainable farming and craft activities."

And we're excited to go and see what it's all about!

In other news, We've just locked down a couchsurf'ing place to stay at February 11 and 12th in New Orleans for MARDI GRAS!!!!! This will be an exciting adventure and we can't wait to meet Heather, our host who will point us in the right direction of where to go, what to eat, and experience while in New Orleans! Any of our blog followers with any Mardi Gras advice...?!?! From there, we'll be heading to Texas (hopefully to visit some friends in Houston and Austin), then New Mexico (Santa Fe), Arizona (Grand Canyon), and California (starting south and heading north- but should be ending our time here by the end of May)! Specifics are being modified daily and anyone with recommendations are encouraged to comment. We've made a great U.S. map out of the Welcome sign Jamie Depalma made us as a going away present that we can't wait to draw more dots on as we continue our journey!! 

As for our Sailing story, it was definitely full of SUNshine and adventure. Grandpa Chuck's neighbor Dwight and his wife invited us out on their boat for a short sail and a try at catching some Grouper! We left at 10:00 am as the weather was chilly in the early morning. We sailed around till noon and decided it was about time to haul back inland. We were about 10 minutes away from the dock when we tried to skirt around a boat that was going much slower than us, and THEN: **insert feeling and noise of a minor earthquake**, one of the keels got stuck in the sand. OOOPS! It was low tide and we wedged right into the sand so good that we were stuck there until 6:30 p.m. when the tide came back in!  It was a good thing Dwight and Laurie had some good stories of their lives full of travel and even some insight to the Burning Man festival their son had been to! We were lucky too that it was a clear day, the dolphins were swimming around us, and we got to enjoy a sunset and a moonrise all at the same time!

New Years eve will be here on Monday night! Kim will put on her sparkly dress that Curt made her buy (only $10) and we will bring in the NEW YEAR with Maggie and Grandpa Chuck, and some tasty Alligator Tail we got at the Saturday Farmers Market!  We hope everyone has a happy New Year's and feel free to spend your evening celebrating by looking at some of our latest pictures on Facebook! 

****ATTENTION: A CALL OUT TO OUR FOLLOWERS!!! We'd love to hear about personal stories involving Christmas, New Years, Mardi Gras, Traveling, Farming, Gardening, Sailing, or any other fun story you have! Sometimes it gets boring just talking about ourselves! And there's always a postcard that could have your name on it!!!**** 

Ft. Pierce, FL: A Monday Update

Well as you can see we're getting into the Christmas spirit down here in Florida, which is strange when it's 80˚ degrees out but hey whatever! We went on a nature hike, are continuing to run and eat healthy (still searching for some good yogurt) and reading interesting/educational books.  The roof coating project is complete and the ceiling is up.  Yesterday we scored a good haul of free food at Winn Dixie and nailed down our next farm starting mid-January.  We'll be heading north (Northern Florida) to Coldwater Gardens and we're pretty excited!  And it's pretty crazy to think that Christmas Eve is next Monday, boy time flies!  There's a few new pictures on Facebook and we've also updated the 'Maps' and 'Videos' pages (at the top of this blog) so check em' out and enjoy the Holiday season!

* P.S. - The View From The Van Witty Comment Challenge (or TVFTVWCC for short) has officially concluded.  We appreciated and enjoyed all the great comments and encourage everyone to continue to comment whenever they feel compelled to do so (which we hope is often!)  But alas there can only be one winner and to that lucky person let us just say that somewhere there is a postcard in the mail with your name on it that will hopefully reach you.  If you don't receive a postcard you were probably the winner but your postcard must have just got lost in the mail or something!

Ft. Pierce, FL: Update

We're still at Curt's Grandpa's house in Ft. Pierce, Florida and apparently the 'Ft.' is short for 'free time!'  We've got lots of it so we're trying to be productive while we're here.  We've been continuing our odd-job house projects which include putting up a new ceiling in the outdoor patio room, cleaning out the gutters, and sealing off a leaky section of roof.

We checked out a cool Farmer's market that runs every Saturday (pictures to come of that) and have been going on grocery runs looking for cheap deals, and free deals (with mixed results).  We've even started jogging.  That's right... jogging! That's how much free time we have here!  As awesome as it may be, we're already getting excited for the next leg of our journey.  We've contacted a few nearby farms and have made a loose itinerary that takes us through New Orleans during Mardi Gras and into Texas, New Mexico, and California.  We're even trying to link up with Sid's (Simonton Farms) sister in California and WWOOF on her farm as well!

And now that we have fancy fast DSL internet, check out some Facebook pics of Ft. Pierce here and see the final pics from the Simonton Farm here.

Ft. Pierce, FL: Arrival

Hi everyone! After spending 5 exciting weeks on the Simonton Farm we've now moved on to our next destination, Ft. Pierce, FL. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends on the farm (both human and canine) but we know someday we'll return to see how things have progressed in our absence. From raising puppies to cloning tropical plants to building new WWOOFer homes, there were many projects that we never got to see the conclusion of. But it seems like we've left the farm better off than when we found it which feels good.

We'll now be staying with Curt's grandpa Chuck for the foreseeable future as we help him with odd jobs around the house and avoid the cold winter weather for the first time in our lives. Every now and then we miss not seeing snow but when the weather is now consistently in the upper 70's it's hard to complain!

Our friends Danny and Kristel came along with us so they could catch a flight north later this week. We got busy right away with the satisfying and exciting job of tearing down a sheet rock ceiling. We also tested out one of the strangest (but potentially most valuable) skills we learned at the farm- dumpster diving. There's actually a pretty cool documentary called Dive (check Netflix) that does a good job of explaining this somewhat controversial activity. Aside from that there's been lots of lounging, book reading, and Billin' it.* We also just got Grandpa Chuck upgraded from dial-up to wireless internet so once the modem arrives we'll be able to upload some new pictures to Facebook. Until then it's 'thank goodness for that smart phone!' Talk to you soon!

* 'Billin' it' is a Delaware slang term which refers to watching long stretches of television and/or generally pursuing the pastime of couch potatoism.

Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm Final Night

It's the final night the kids have the farm to themselves and we're having BBQ pulled pork! While Sid and Susan were cruisin' the Bahamas we had a successful week here on the farm. We even got to go see the new James Bond movie (which was awesome!). On Saturday we'll be heading south to Ft. Pierce, FL to stay with Curt's grandpa Chuck. We're sad to leave the farm but looking forward to the next leg of our journey. And we'll be bringing our friends Danny and Kristel along for a few days until they catch a flight north. Let the adventures continue! Thanks to everyone who's been commenting, we love reading them all! Talk to you soon!

Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm, Final Week

A View from the Top of the Pond While Feeding the fish

pecan, pumpkin, apple OHH YEA

Hey everyone, we hope you had a good Thanksgiving!  Even though Curt was really missing his family's traditional day of eating, we ended up having a great dinner here on the farm.  As always there were lots of people and LOTS of food.  8 different pies, 2 turkeys, some BBQ hog, stuffing, 2 types of rolls, homemade mac and cheese, cranberry sauce (homemade and out of the can), and soo much more! It was the first time we had leftovers for days!   The fact that we shared this traditional American holiday with some international friends who were experiencing Thanksgiving for the first time made it all the more special!  

Tomorrow, our hosts Sid and Susan are leaving for the same 4 day cruise that they convinced us to take. They must have talked it up so much that they convinced themselves too!  We're obviously very excited for them because cruises are so awesome, and we now get a chance to try our hand at managing the farm in their absence.  The farm will be left in the capable hands of Sid and Susan's 4 children; Linea, Sunne, Rowan, and Sidney and the WWOOFers Jesse, Adam, Peter, Kristel, Danny, Rafael, and ourselves.

Happy Chickens

We'll be leaving the farm next weekend after Sid and Susan return and we will miss all of our friends that we've made in the past few weeks.  There was certainly a lot going on while we were here and we can't wait to hear about all the other adventures and projects that happen to other Wwoofers with the opportunity to come live and work at Simonton Farm!

In a short synopsis of the tasks we were involved with, here is a little breakdown:

• We've had fun getting the garden into winter mode with the planting of potatoes, collard greens, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, and more! 
• We were able to get the garden greenhouses full of new tree cuttings (cuttings of trees that will then grow roots and be able to be potted for later sale in the tree nursery), planted date palms sprouts, re-potted older tree cuttings that had sprouted roots, and organized a puzzle of loose pots and planting material! 
• We helped with the maintenance of the pigs, chickens, goats, and puppy kennels: Feeding, puppy-poopy-scooping, bedding changes, playing/cuddling, etc.!
• We helped Peter with his ultimate A-Frame construction project and learned about some of his tricks-and-tips of the trade!
• We learned a lot about communal living involving a wide range of characters and personalities (6 Family member, 7-9 Wwoofers at a time, and a revolving door of friends). Cooking, cleaning, and conversations!
• And to finish things up, going back to a quote from our first blog post of Simonton Farm:

"Day to day life on the Simonton Farm manages to strike a harmonious balance between chaos and organization, planning and spontaneity, and work and relaxation."

Goats love hay

One side up on the A-Frame

The pig will eat almost ANYTHING and love it

COMMENTS welcome- Are people really out there reading this? If so, let us know!

We would like to propose a contest...the person with the most witty comment wins a postcard from our next location!

New pics on Facebook as well!

Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm Picture Update

We've got some pictures from the cruise right here and there's also some pre-cruise farm pics that just got uploaded as well.  And for our ACW friends back in Vermont, below is an example of some terrible Caribbean screen printing!

And speaking of our friends, if you're out there in Internetland and are reading this right now we happily encourage you to leave us a comment.  Serious or silly, it'd be cool to know who's out there following us!  Thanks in advance to Teri Prestash and Fred Krawley!

Bahamas Cruise

We arrived home yesterday from 4 days of stuffing ourselves, sun bathing, exploring islands, and cruising on a big big boat! One of our favorite adventures was going to the royal carribean's private island in the Bahamas: Cococay, where we bushwhacked a little and found an awesome natural pool which we were able to enjoy all by ourselves in the sun! We also stopped for a day in Nassau Bahamas and had a day of lounging pool side on the cruise ship! More picture to come soon so keep an eye out!

We are back on the farm now in Micanopy and are excited for our hosts who also booked a cruise in a week! It's just that easy when you live so close to the ports!

Wait, WHAT? A Bahamas Cruise TODAY!

That's right, we're going on a cruise on THIS boat (the Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas)!!!  Our farm host Sid talked the cruises up so much that we decided we had to do it!  We're going for four nights to the Bahamas with our Dutch friends Danny and Kristel!  We got a reallllllllly GOOD deal because it was so last minute and Sid, Susan, and Adam have been giving us tips and tricks for the past week (ways to say no to all the extra things we get offered) ie: shampoo bottles filled with rum haha.  We're probably not going to have Internet on the boat so we may not get any blog updates until we get back but you can bet there will be a lot of pictures of us lounging around in paradise! Woohoo!!! Alright, here we go- a three hour drive to Port Canaveral then it's highs of 80's lows of 70's for the rest of the week! 

Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm, Good afternoon

Just a little update today... There are now 9 Wwoof'rs on the farm which gets a little hectic trying to figure out what project we all need to get on! It also makes dinner time a large production having a total of 15 mouths to feed! There are two French boys now who don't speak much English but love to swing on the rope swing. Hopefully they'll get the swing of things (pun intended) in a couple days even with the language barrier. Well time to finish our weeding project now that lunch is over!

Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm First Week Update

Well we've been here on the farm for a little over a week now with no updates which we know has made a few of you out there in Internetland a little nervous.  Don't worry, we haven't been abducted into a cult or sweatshop or anything like that, in fact quite the opposite, but we've been having so much fun that the time just keeps flying past us!  Day to day life on the Simonton Farm manages to strike a harmonious balance between chaos and organization, planning and spontaneity, and work and relaxation.  It seems to be the way life should be lived, work getting done in a timely but casual fashion.  And all this takes place in a tropical paradise that has a very temperate climate (at least while we'll be staying here) with little to no rain.  The only negative consequence of this climate are the 'creatures' that also live here; mosquitos, spiders, roaches, snakes, and frogs (among other things) but none of these have been as bothersome as we originally thought.  There are also plenty of friendly creatures too.  Chickens, quail, goats, a pig, and dogs, dogs, and more dogs!  

There's a pack of about 15 dogs that almost exclusively hang out on the porch of the main house, there's a smaller group of dogs that usually hang out down by the WWOOFer's area and then of course there's the puppies who live in several group pens in between the house and WWOOFer area.  The dogs certainly outnumber the people and that's no easy feat because there's always lots of people around too!  Our hosts, Sid and Susan, and their four children, Linnea, Rowan, Sunne, and Sidney have been welcoming, friendly, helpful, and entertaining!  The other WWOOFers and residents of the farm have been great too!  Jesse, Janet, and Adam are all from various parts of Florida, but Crystal and Danny are from the Netherlands, and Peter is from Oregon.  We hope we spelled everyone's names correctly!  It has been fascinating being around so many cultures and backgrounds, sharing experiences and stories.  We're even trying to learn a few Dutch swear words!

A typical day on the farm begins around 8:30 when people make their way up to the main house for breakfast.  When there's upwards of 15 people to feed, every meal needs to be BIG! And when big meals need to be made lots of coffee needs to be consumed!  By the time all the breakfast stuff and morning socializing has been taken care of it's usually around 10:30 or so and Sid and Susan discuss the day's projects.  Except for daily chores and long-term projects, daily work schedules can vary greatly which keeps things interesting.  The daily chores include feeding all the animals, milking the goats, watering plants, and cleaning out the puppy pens.  The big project currently being worked on is construction of a new building for WWOOFers.  Lunch usually occurs around 2 or 3 o'clock and is also usually a large communal event.  After lunch the work is either very casual or nonexistent depending on how much was accomplished during the morning.  Evenings are spent hanging out, relaxing, and preparing dinner which usually takes place somewhere between 8 and 9PM. The main house is always open and available to hang out in but the WWOOFers also have their own separate house down near the pond.  A short walk through Florida jungle connects the two houses.  It's been such an amazing time here that we can already tell it's going to be hard to leave.  Luckily we still have plenty of time left.  We'll try to keep the posts coming and get into some more of the specifics of what we're up to!  Until then, here's some pictures from the farm!

Micanopy, FL: Simonton Farm ARRIVAL

After a whirlwind month on the road we've settled down again for another month long farm stay. We're now in Micanopy, FL at the Simonton Farm. There's lots of dogs, frogs, and people and it seems like it's going to be a very interesting month!

In other farm related news, Chris and Christy from our last farm stay at White Barn Farm, had their baby! Congratulations you guys we're excited to come back next year and see how things have grown! But for now we'll keep everyone posted on how things unfold down here in the jungle!

New Facebook pics too of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia! Check em' out!

Valdosta, Georgia: Broke down/Fixed up at BUG BARN

Well, just as we posted about getting past our 3,000 mile mark... We've had a little run of bad luck. Last night we pulled off the highway thinking things didn't feel quite right and sure enough the van just sputtered and shut off.

After a nice guy named Cody spent 2 hrs giving us correct terminology of how to explain what was going on, and some good conversation as well-we were pooped! We had had a long day on the road so we decided to treat ourselves to a $40 motel, some tv and a shower!

Early this morning we went back to the van parked in a mall parking lot to find a flat tire! And to top it off, the jack hole was all bent so we couldn't fit the jack in to jack it up and change the tire! That's when Cory came (a very talkative troubled kid)- he figured out the jack situation and changed the tire! 2 1/2 hours and many slightly disturbing stories later we were all set to find a spot to check out our van!

So, here we are sitting at the bug barn where it looks like we are in GREAT hands! We've got all day and Jesse (like Jesse James) and Chris are just fueling up on some food before they dig in and start figuring our mess out!!
The best part is that they're VW bus friendly and it's a nice sunny day!!

ALABAMA: Sweet Home Alabama! 2 nights at Talladega National Forest to be precise!

Following the advice of a Burlington local, Pops, who we met after he motioned us into a museum for the worlds largest collection of arrowheads at Cheaha State Park- we are currently driving down scenic 49south towards Florida! But, let's backtrack...

We arrived at Talladega National Forest on Tuesday night (night driving is spooky) at a very primitive campground (even spookier) and hit the hay (all while hearing spooky things)!

The next day, we had an amazing but strenuous 7 mile hike which pushed us to find Cheaha lake and take a swim! We cooked up a modified Annie's lasagne (substituting ground beef and water with beans and beef stock) which after such a hike and only oatmeal for breakfast tasted like heaven!

Since we were without our "connection" to the outside world (aka smart phone) we used our atlas and Pops advice to plan our next route down to Florida!

What a pleasant surprise you were Alabama!

Memphis, Tennessee: Graceland, Peabody, Wedding

We left Memphis Tennessee Tuesday morning. We had a great time listening to Elvis music 24/7, being able to celebrate a friends wedding at the famous Peabody hotel, and although we didn't go inside Elvis's Graceland we feel closer to the king then ever before! Ladies and gentlemen, the Zinger has left the campground!

We were able to get curt a spiffy outfit for the wedding thanks to park st thrift and especially guys tuxedo (a little shout out to Stephanie!!!) for the bow tie!

We would also like to make a note that we have reached over 3,000 miles since leaving VT (and yes, we got an oil change in Memphis- then had to return to them because they didn't screw the thing on tight enough only to hear the guy admit he was out of his element with our rig!! But he was very nice and things look good to go!)

Good bye Memphis!

Memphis, Tennessee: Old pictures Blog Update!

Howdy everybody! We're currently relaxing in Memphis, TN, right next to the home of Elvis, Graceland.  We've been having tons of fun and haven't been able to update the blog much but now that we have some downtime we've been able to post some pics:

Maryland & Washington DC

Virginia & Kentucky

We've also created a new page to upload video clips that we've taken.  Check out the new section at the top of the blog!  We're trying to get caught up with old clips right now but eventually we'll up to date and we'll let you know as new videos are added.

Nashville, Tennessee: Couchsurf for a night

After checking out mammoth caves, we headed to Nashville! We were there less than 24 hours but were able to see a little taste of the"music city"!! We Couchsurfed again with some pretty rad folks, Heather, Tyler, and their son Johnny! And today we have the pleasure of a travel companion as their friend Kody was looking to take the Megabus back down to Memphis..we quickly pointed out that our bus might not be mega but it's Awesome!

Here's a picture of Gaylord! He's exactly what you might think he is, a pet pig!! Nashville was awesome!

Kentucky: Mammoth Caves National Park

We're in deep now! The caves are amazing and we even gained an unexpected hour due to a time zone shift! Kentucky is great! We got to go on a tour and a little hike before heading down to Nashville Tenn. for the night!!

Lexington, Kentucky: Bourbon And Hot Browns

After being introduced to some real southern food, our new friend Wesley took us to the Woodford Reserve Distillery for an informative and intoxicating tour. We may not have hit all the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail but it seems like we found the best one!