As someone who has a strong dislike of hot weather, experiencing a winter in Florida has been a rather strange one. I keep expecting it to be cold, but it's not. Outside is a balmy 80 F day with sunshine and a few clouds. I miss crisp, chilly days where I can wrap myself up in a warm sweater and scarf and drink a cup of hot tea without breaking into a sweat. But now that we're in the full swing of winter, it hasn't been that bad.

I've come to appreciate the beautiful weather and the calm days. Back in the Bay Area, a visit to the beach in winter would have been an insanely cold, grey affair complete with aching fingers, wind-bitten ears, and no thought of going anywhere near the water. Here, a walk along the beach is quite pleasant and relaxing. Even the water is warm enough to enjoy. 

We're heading down to the Keys pretty soon, and I have no doubt that there will be a few more beautiful beach days ahead of us. Wherever you are, I hope you're finding ways to stay warm and cozy. 

Florida has these amazing pockets of forests, called hammocks. They're densely packed with hardwood trees and ferns. Here are a few photos that I took in the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island, which is near Cape Canaveral. There was a boardwalk built over the swampy parts, so we were able to get a good look at trees growing up out of the water. We saw plenty of zebra longwing butterflies, which is Florida's state butterfly. I'm looking forward to walking around more hammocks as we travel through Florida. 

We're on our way our next spot. But I thought I would share that I'm doing my best to take photos every day. Luckily the spot we were in had a sweet little pond full of reeds and lily pads. I've always enjoyed using creative, artistic lenses rather than the standard camera lenses. The first two photos were taken with an old Russian lens, the Helios 44. I love this lens since it's so easy to use in low light and gives a beautiful bokeh and velvety focus.

The second set of photos were taken with a Lensbaby Composer Pro with a Edge 80 optic, which you can find out more about here. I love this lens for its creativity, but there can be a bit of a learning curve in using it. Every time I put it on my camera, I have to get reacquainted with it. But it's so worth it for the blurry edgework and unique look. I'm planning on using these two lenses a lot more in my travels. 

Happy New Year! It's about time that we sent 2020 out and welcome in 2021, which I sincerely hope will bring in better things for all of us. 

We first started exploring the idea of traveling across the country in an RV this past year, the last thought on any of our minds would have been a pandemic that shut down various parts of the country. All the events we planned on going to were cancelled, one by one. The reality set in that we would need to shift our focus and adjust our plans. We delayed picking up our RV for several months. Instead of planning on going to events, we decided to keep to ourselves and look for activities that allow for safer social distancing. Instead of exploring downtowns, we now go to nature parks and wildlife preserves, with the occasional visit to an art museum, if health safety protocols are in effect. Instead of going out to eat, we are cooking with the occasional splurge on take out or outdoor dining.  

Traveling in an RV allows us to travel in a way that keeps ourselves and others safe. Our home is mobile and we created a lifestyle that thrives on self-isolation. We deliberately made a choice to spend the travel time working on personal projects rather than looking for events and doing the more typical touristy activities. But I will admit that I deeply miss walking through downtowns, browsing through bookstores, going to concerts, and eating out at that cute cafe. I can only continue to hope eventually these dark days will be over soon if we continue to care for each other by social distancing and wearing a mask. 
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Traveling as a slow quiet journey, without any particular destination in mind is the kind of travel I've been longing to do for years. Most of my past trips where all about seeing as much as possible, cramming in as many activities and sights before rushing off to the next spot, only to return completely exhausted with a haze of travel memories and a longing for more. Our 5th Wheel Travel Trailer makes slow travel easy - we find an RV camp ground to stay out for a few weeks or even up to a month before moving on to another location. We spend days thinking about where to go and what to see. Occasionally, we can even take a leisurely drive to explore the area, allowing us to really explore and get to know the spot we're staying at. We're surrounded by other travelers, which makes the neighborhood temporary. Our lives briefly touch with short conversations and exchanges of advice on where to go and how to get there.  

We don't have much contact with others, save for a few video visits or online rounds of Among Us with friends.  With less social obligations, I have time to work on myself. There's a huge list of books I want to spend time reading and absorbing, some photography skills I want to brush up on, and several creative projects I want to pursue, including rediscovering the comforts of writing. I used to enjoy writing or journaling on a regular basis, but a long career in writing and editing technical software manuals and a stint in grad school hammered all the enjoyment out of it. I think it's about time to reclaim writing as a tool for self-discovery. 

I'm looking forward to sharing more. Welcome to my journey. ​