On an Expedition

First off, we are apologizing in advance for the delay in getting the latest blogs up on the board. Between traveling, contacting campgrounds, packing up & all the other daily details involved in living on the road, sometimes there just isn't enough time to blog. Sometimes there isn't even an internet connection where we're staying for the night. It is what it is.

Continuing onward - it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and we feel like we're witnessing Moses with the mass exodus.  The long holiday weekend is over. Everyone has to go back to school and work on Monday.  The motor-home beside us is warming up. A lady across the way is sweeping their fire dome. The showers and facilities are in high usage. The office worker upon hearing the bit about a problem with the bathroom toilet responded, "People are pigs."

We were at a bonfire the night before (Saturday), where Brian instructed Rick (two people who work here) on what to say to people today: to the men say, "...Mourning" with a sad face, and to the women say, "Good Morning" all cheerful and smiling.  Brian then continued to expound on the rituals of camping life as they prepare to leave.  "The women will be running all around eagerly cleaning their site and packing, while the men will dawdle trying to extend their stay as long as possible.  After a break from work they want to prolong their stay as much as possible. I even heard one lady yell at her husband, "HURRY UP! YOU'RE MOVING TOO SLOW!"  He laughed at the memory of it.

Websters dictionary defines an expedition is a journey with a particular purpose.  Our goal was to go south until April.  We have succeeded in the go south part.  Our challenge now is to be able to sustain ourselves and make money to go back north.  Part of that process is to obtain a job and/or an income.  To continue from our previous "Escapades" blog-
I returned to the day care center on the Monday after Thanksgiving.  The sun was bright as well as my outlook until I walked in and had the following conversation with the owner:
 - "Is LaShawna here?"
 - "No, she was fired," she replied while swaying with a sleeping child in her arms.
 - "My name is Jill Langdon and I've left my resume here with LaShawna two weeks ago."
 - "Do you have any early childhood certifications?"
 - "No."
She turned out the door and walked away down the hallway.

There we have it - no job - and no upcoming phone call from LaShawna.  The good news is that I found out instead of waiting.  The bad news is that I felt kicked in the stomach and couldn't breathe.  Fear enveloped me - darkness clouded my thoughts - Now what?

Dave had a lead on a job at a KOA campground out on Cape Hatteras North Carolina. The manager of that

campground suddenly back-peddled and reversed on his offer. We were pretty ticked at the time, but realize now that we were being taken care of. Turns out, a few days ago on December 3rd, the state closed the Bonner Bridge (which is the only way to get from the upper Outer Banks to Hatteras Island) without warning due to the discovery of extreme erosion problems with the sand that surrounds the bridge columns. No one knows how long the bridge will be closed. The only way off that section of the Outer Banks is by emergency ferry. The Nomad is too big & heavy for the ferry. We would have been stuck out there... for who knows how long.

Also that week, for a day or so, Dave and I toyed with the idea of staying here in New Bern because the campground manager strongly hinted that one of the workers would get fired. However, time passed and again nothing. With two days to spare before our paid up site is done, David found two companies that might work for his personality.  One is a good campground in Georgia, the other is a sales position where we can choose where we want to go and stay for two weeks. Dave is an excellent manager and salesman when he believes in the product or company.  He'd be on his game, and he seemed pretty excited when he told me about it.

I don't mind traveling, but having the cash to do it helps!  The goal of being a happy camper is to be happy at what you are doing.  On the 9th of December we are hitting the road for Georgia to my friend Cindy's house.  This other campground is very close by where we'll be landing again, so either way David can begin a new job and I will have the peace and quiet to paint and write.  We later saw a t-shirt with a stick figure reclining in front of a camper that said, "Life is good." Yes - life can be good.

I truly believe that it is.  Life is what you make it.  Choices abound to live in misery or to soar.  We choose to make the most out of the opportunities presented to us.  I am reminded of movies like: The Traveling Salesman, and The Music Man where he had the kids use the THINK method to learn songs -- Think money flowing into our pockets.

David has been told, "You can sell anything to a chair," and "even ice to an Eskimo".  Dave has many fine qualities, talents and interests.  To name them all is to write a book. When he puts his whole heart and soul into it, his talents shine. We'll let you know how things work out.

The purpose of this expedition is to improve the quality of our lives.
The Happy Campers,
Jill and Dave