Monthly Archives: January 2018

Onto our new adventure out west

After the action-packed events in Europe, we took the month of November to relax from discussions about future plans.  Starting in December, Cindy and I began conversations about what to do next.  We rolled around the following ideas for quite awhile:

  • Travel to a new destination
  • Settle down somewhere and locate jobs

We spent a good share of December and January mulling over the pros and cons to each.

  • After spending a few months here in Cape Coral, settling down here wasn’t an appealing choice.  The winter weather here has definitely spoiled us compared to prior winters in Jacksonville.  But the offshore fishing isn’t great for Chris’ charter business, the people aren’t generally as friendly as what we’re used to, and the congestion of winter residents is frustrating.
  • Settling down in Stuart, Florida seemed like a better choice with warmer weather than North Florida, good fishing opportunities and a good public school system.  We have spent a few days in Stuart the past couple years and really enjoyed the experiences.  But the job market is smaller than Jacksonville unless you are willing to commute further south.
  • Weekly flight deals via email appeared to various countries, but nothing was really appealing us as to a destination we wanted to go.  Nothing was hitting us like the idea for Europe where we knew we wanted to visit that area of the world.

No decisions occurred and with family in town for holidays the time flew by.  Once the festivities ended, then we restarted our discussions about what to do next.  The topic of a ski trip started with some friends but as the planning got underway we noticed it would be a challenging option for us based on budget for only a week trip.

We were both still interested in a way to get out skiing this year, so we continued exploring options.  This led us to start looking at seasonal job listings near Breckenridge (a favorite ski destination of ours with many memorable trips over the years).

Cindy and I both applied for jobs which aligned with our prior experience (albeit with some resume updates to reflect jobs from many, many years ago).  The whole process started a couple weeks ago and has moved swiftly towards a job offer, locating a place to live for 3 months in Breckenridge and booking one-way flights for each of us.

We are really excited to pack up and depart for Breckenridge, Colorado on February 1st to spend the next 3 months working, teaching Charlie to ski and enjoying the Rocky Mountain high.

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Home for the holidays

Hard to believe it’s been 3 months since our last blog update, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time with friends and family over the holidays.

Here’s some pictures highlighting our activities since we returned from Europe at the end of October.

Pumpkin patch in Cocoa Beach with grandma and grandpa

A monkey on the search for candy on Halloween in Cocoa Beach

First day of school in Cape Coral!

Surprised the family in Chicago for a quick trip in November

Beautiful Cape Coral sunsets along the Caloosahatchee River

Loving the warmer southwest Florida weather in winter for tons of time at the parks

Turkey Trot success at the Cocoa Beach 5k

Thanksgiving dinner extravaganza

Low country boils are always a favorite

Checking out the parks in Stuart, Florida as a potential for our next place to settle down.

Cape Coral boat parade on a beautiful evening

Christmas event at Charlie’s school with grandpa and grandma

The Chicagoans in Cape Coral for a warm-weather Christmas

Cousin bubble hugs!

Bike rides around town

Group dinner’s at various restaurants around Cape Coral

Exploring the mangroves at a sanctuary on the north end of Cape Coral

Brushing up on skills at a cooking class in Fort Myers

Some chores to do each week

An impressive model train display at a retirement community in Fort Myers

Birthday lunch for Cindy!

Bingo winner two times at Fins restaurant

Cindy’s birthday dinner with our uncle and Charlie’s great grandpa

Driving the big RV while visiting friends in St Pete

Checking out the latest Rpod’s at the RV show in Tampa. Brought back good memories of our road trip with an Rpod from 2013.

Coloring with a new friend at Thai Temple in Tampa. (Delicious home cooked Thai food for anyone in the area on a Sunday)

Transplanting a Charlie palm tree out in the yard

Freshwater fishing while camping near Palmdale, Florida

Group camping with beautiful winter weather

Camping and playing in the dirt is so tiring!

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