It was hard leaving paradise, but although we would have gladly stayed longer in the keys, we had to move on. Every campground in Florida books up about a year in advance during their winter season (I can’t imagine why!), so there is no wiggle room in schedules.
We arrived in at the Fort Pierce Road Runner after a short 4 hour drive, and realized after setting up that this is indeed back to reality. Shoved into the far back corner of the park and smashed together at odd angles to our neighbors, with overflowing community recycling bins parked out front, and very few hellos from any neighbors (which is not the norm for most parks…. And a something that I wonder is related to the fact that well over half of the population here is folks from Quebec. I’m not implying that people from that French speaking province of Canada aren’t friendly - I’m sure the much like anywhere else you run into all ends of the spectrum - but rather that with a language barrier, people may be less likely to greet and be friendly to others…? Still figuring this out!!), thus began our time on Florida’s treasure coast.
I’m not going to lie: school has been ugly. Tantrums have been the norm (from everyone in the family… ahem…), and we pick our way forward making changes and disciplining and forgiving each other. But it hasn’t been all bad. After about a week at most locations, we come to realize that it’s not as bad as we thought. The pool here is heated and beautiful. The pickle ball and shuffleboard courts are pristine and we’ve made use of them. An early birthday present came and we’ve been enjoying fires in our new gas fire pit. The weather has been hot and sunny while Michigan is pummeled with ice storms. The ocean is a short ten minute drive and is pristine and I crowded.
We’ve enjoyed our time here even as we’ve struggled through. And I’ve no doubt that when we leave, we’ll remember the good of this place more than our hard times. That’s just how it goes for us. It takes a week.
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