A huge thanks to all who followed us along the way with your support and kind comments!!
We spent the last couple days sifting through all our photos and videos from the adventure to compile the following montage. It’s something special that we can save for years to come!
Well, we are getting settled back in Jax and it feels good to reunite with the wonderful friends that we have here. One of the things I realized while traveling is how important our friends and family are and how much I missed spending time with them! I have accepted a part time dietitian position with Walgreens Take Care Clinic for Johnson & Johnson Vistakon with a tentative start date of October 28. I think it is going to be a great fit for me!
It has been such a great thing to step away from the day-to-day hectic schedule of working these past 16 months. I have been working or in school (or both) since I was 16 years old, and it felt so good to take a real break, to slow down, and to live each day for whatever it brings. So, here are some things that I have learned during our career break:
While I love to travel and have visited an array of amazingly beautiful places, I realize that Florida is my place in the world. It is where I began and there is nowhere else I have found that I would want to live. I can’t imagine my life without Florida’s warm ocean waters, sandy beaches, salt water breezes, gentle waves for surfing, salt-water fishing, mild winters (which are still sometimes too cold for me:), and even the humidity (yeah, maybe I’m crazy but I like it!).
Taking 16 months off of work also made me realize how happy I am that I studied nutrition and became a dietitian. I truly love what I do and actually missed it! I feel that this break has given me more confidence in my career. It has given me time to reflect on my philosophy of nutrition and I feel that I will be a better dietitian for it.
And, saving the best part for last, this break has strengthened my relationship with Chris in the best way. I always felt that we have a great relationship, but it’s been so awesome to get to share these amazing experiences together, and to just spend our days together. I actually have missed him during the day this week as he went back to work. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to spend the best part of our days together for 16 months. You definitely get to know someone inside and out when you live in a 15 foot trailer for 4 months!
So, to sum it up, here is a quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, one of my favorite movies, which I think is something important to remember as we go on: “Live moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.”
Well it’s been a week back into the working world. Not much changed at the office the last 16 months, which is both intriguing and comforting. Some folks have used the term ” returning to the real world”, but that seems incorrect. I think we have been in the real world the last 16 months! It feels good to settle down, visit our friends and explore new things in the old neighborhood. I do miss spending entire days together with Cindy..
Spent some time over the last week thinking about our adventure. Below is a summary of my current thoughts about the entire career break:
In the next week or so, look for one last video which should nicely summarize our adventure the past 16 months!
Since Jalapeno joined us for a good amount of our career break, she would like to provide her top highlights of the adventure.
1. Long periods of lap time during road trips.
2. Taking my aggression out on Chris’s suitcase with my nails.
3. Yelling at semi trucks as they pass by.
4. Checking out the scenery and the people from the truck window as we drive through new towns.
5. Watching the squirrels and talking to the birds from the trailer screen door.
6. Napping by the warm campfire.
7. Taking mom and dad on walks.
8. My first walk in the snow (wasn’t my favorite, but a new experience anyway!).
9. Walking through the biggest litter box ever at White Sand Dunes National Park in New Mexico.
10. And last but not least, snuggling between mom and dad under the covers each night in the trailer!!
Our friends have been kind enough to take us in again for a few nights while we spent the last couple days searching for a place to stay. Been focused on the Beaches and Riverside neighborhoods of Jacksonville.
Success on both the job searching and house hunting! Cindy accepted a part-time dietitian job and we followed that up with signing a short term lease for a fully furnished condo in Riverside. The place works perfectly for us since we currently don’t own any furniture or housewares after our 2012 liquidation. Everything seems to be falling into place so far!
A great place to call home
Made a trip up to Jacksonville on Wednesday so Cindy could attend an interview and we could check out some rentals for a place to live. We still rent out our house, so we get to find a new place to reside in town. Exciting to be able to shop around in different areas of town for the best place. Hopefully find something in the next couple days.
Haircut for us both was on the to-do list this week
This one summarizes another spectacular Florida Keys trip!
The career break is coming to an end this week! We have both been interviewing for jobs over the last month in preparation for returning to the workforce. I successfully landed a job back in Jacksonville and it starts on October 14th, so we are preparing this week to move back and get started.
Recently went shopping at a mall for the first time since we left, as we both needed new business clothing. My old work clothes had become unwearable after losing 20 pounds, so I donated it all. I likely looked a bit unkept during the last couple months of employment in 2012. Cindy just needed a new wardrobe after wearing them for a couple years and donating most of it.
A lot of folks have been asking if we are sad to be going back to work, but surprisingly not. We are not happy about ending an exciting chapter in our lives, but we are both reinvigorated and looking forward to new challenges at work, settling down in one place and some positive cash flow 🙂
This experience has been amazing and even lasted a few extra months than we originally planned. Our break lasted 16 months versus a year. We plan on summarizing our thoughts, lessons learned and best-of lists in the next couple weeks, then shutting down this travel blog after we export it to a hard copy for reminiscing in the future.
The weather turned a bit windy the last few days of our trip here in Marathon. Luckily the rain never appeared as forecasted, so we were still able to get out on the boat each day. Spent Thursday checking out some nearshore gulf spots. Ended up finding some decent spots and managed to pull out a handful of lobsters. A large amount of small lobsters in these shallow spots, as compared to the deeper spots we visited earlier in the week. Friday had similar windy conditions, so we took the opportunity to dive around the seven mile bridge at the noontime slack high tide. Saw some beautiful ledges, but no lobster to be seen. Came across an immense goliath grouper, which appeared to be at least 6′ long. The outgoing tide started picking up around 1pm, so we consulted with the other group and decided to utilize our last day to the fullest and head back out deeper for big lobsters. Ended the day with 16 nice ones before driving back towards the house. Stopped at the other group’s house along the way, enjoying a Pina Colada, dip in the pool and the amazing view of the atlantic ocean at sunset.
Another spectacular Keys trip for us this year with great friends, an amazing amount of seafood and good weather.
Able to pull out 13 lobsters from shallow spots and windy conditions
Finally accomplished another goal of mine. Landing a tarpon at the boat. Had a few on the line over the last year, but never got one to the boat.
Chris, Cindy, Charlie and Cecily’s Adventure Blog 