The New Beginning--A Summer Of Camping!

I have been the very worst family historian ever.  This has been one of the most interesting and pivotal times ever in our family and I have failed to record much of it, except snippets over Facebook.  I have lots of reasons excuses which I think are very good ones, but it is time to remedy this before I lose more of the detail. 

There were parts I couldn't record via Facebook at the time things were occurring due to the personal nature and family stuff, but enough time has passed that I think it most will be okay to record in this fashion now. 

I am using my Facebook posts and my hard drive pictures as a guide and will elaborate more fully when I can for this yearbook. It may not exactly be chronological...we will see how things unfold and what feels right.

Phillip's new job with DuPont was to start Monday, June 3, 2013.  The weekend before, we held hands in the front yard, asked a blessing upon our new life venture and travels, got in the car with camper behind and migrated south. 

It was previously discussed that we 'go camping' during the uncertain period of time when we wouldn't have our own housing.  We are not good 'apartment people', as we love being outside.  Also, our three children klomping about in an apartment just isn't a good idea with neighbors sharing walls, floors and ceilings.  This would be their home too, and I didn't want to constantly be the noise police.  Phillip's thought was, "Why not make this like a vacation?"  So we decided upon a summer of camping.  Living at the beach like dirty hippies.  Until we find housing. 

Which was another whole issue.  We still owned (and still as of this writing, September 2014 own) the Cincinnati house.  We weren't able to get it on the market until July after we left.  We had much work to do on it which was all done about a month before we left, and bit-by-bit on our return trips.  Buying a house while still tethered to the mortgage in Cincinnati was not going to work.  Surely it would sell during the summer after we left the house, right? Right??

We stayed with parents until our camping adventure began on Thursday, June 6.  I pulled the popup camper into the campground with the help of my parents that afternoon while Phillip was at work.  I was grateful for my parents coming with me because I was feeling a bit nervous, as well as terribly excited about this new phase in our journey.  Excited kids, excited mama!  A whole month at the beach!  Holy Cow, the reality of it actually happening was exhilarating! 

I remember when Phillip came home that very first day.  I greeted him wearing beachwear--my sarong and swimsuit and the kids were playing on the playground and could hardly wait for him to get home so they could show him around our new 'camper home'.  He told me he was thinking as he was driving over the Dauphin Island bridge to camp, how great he felt about doing this, how great of an idea it was and that it would be an unforgettable time in our lives.    

Definitely.  When times were good, they were really, super, extraordinarily fantastic.  When times were bad, they were excruciatingly awful.  This is only my opinion, as Phillip apparently only remembers it being really great.  To each his own, I suppose.  But he spent about ten hours of his five days per week not with us, so what does he know after all???  

Here is a picture of our humble abode at Dauphin Island on that first day.

  

Archie makes fun of me for posting feet-up selfies on Facebook.  So here is one so he can have a little chuckle at my expense.  Relaxation feet pictures were taken during times that were extraordinarily fantastic.  Sarong and Swimsuit-type days.