"When I get to a place for the first time and know it like home, this is when I know my journey will be over"
– Unknown

'True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness'
~ Albert Einstein

Cindy's February 2010 Blog  
Every Miles A Memory

Feel Free to browse past blogs for plenty of travel ideas and many of the places we've been in our first 12 months on the road - Past Blog's

Photo Gear We Use

Solar Tips, Fact's and Trick's we've learned while on the road

Well-behaved women seldom make history

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If you haven't read any of the earlier blogs, you might want to start there to catch up on how we got here.

February 6th 2010 - My 1st Post of 2010...What is Wrong with Me?

Where has my time gone?  Who knew this idea of managing a small motel would be this demanding?  I want my little camper back, the comfort of not knowing what tomorrow will bring, those two lane roads and the amazing views out the windshield.  I miss our old lifestyle and I can tell my doggies do too.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not complaining and I'm definitely not ready to throw in the towel, but wow, this is more than I expected.

I had dreams of kicking back with guests at the Tiki Bar.  Paddling around the islands off our back deck.  Enjoying warm sunsets and tropical sunrises, yet here I am working beside Pat from sun-up to sun-down and barely being able to stay awake during those beautiful sunsets.

Then for some reason, I'm sure it has to do with my menopausal system, I'm wide awake around 3am either freezing or sweating like mad with my mind racing due to the things I've yet to complete.  Then I'm usually ready for a nap around 6am when Pat's waking up to start his day.

I know I've talked about it time and time again...the fact that I'm the money person in the relationship and Pat is the spender in our marriage.  But I'm amazed at his ability to rack up debt faster than we can even think about making it.

I had him on such a short leash for so many years while traveling on our adventure, that I honestly thought I had broke him of his bad spending habits.  Then yesterday I got our credit card statement and almost threw up.  I honestly screamed outloud when I opened the online statement.

This man has racked up every bit of money we could possibly make this year, and that's only if we're sold out for the next 4 months straight.  When I questioned him about it this morning at 3am, yep, I made sure he was up with me for this one, he just shrugged it off like it was nothing and said something like "Dont worry, I'll figure out a way to make it back within the next few months time."

Like he's going to pull $20,000 out of his pocket in a few months time!  What the hell is he thinking?  I've now went into his wallet and revoked his Credit Card from him.

Granted, we need the things he's buying.  It's not like he's out adding accessories to our truck or buying useless items, but I had planned on fixing the place up as we went.  Not just go out and buy it all at once and just hope some how we find a way to pay for it.

I mean what if this first season is a total bust?  We walk away from this endeavor with a huge loss and a ton of exhausting work wasted.  I'm freaking out and Mr. Laidback is just plugging away thinking "Build It and They Will Come!"

I'm about to dress him up in some sort of suit and have him start twirling a sign out on I-75 to attract guests our way.

Ok, sorry that this is my first post of the New Year and I'm ranting about like some crazy woman, but now you know what I've been losing sleep over and why I've yet to sit down in front of this Blog.

We did have a great visit from Pat's Sister Monica and our Brother-In-Law Sean who both came down to help us with the place.  Sean is amazing with his carpentry skills and helped Pat out so tremendously I dont know how we'll ever repay him.

Monica and I decorated and redecorated the rooms and it was great to have another woman around to bounce ideas off of.  We had a blast and ate like Queens each night after the boys would put in a full day of work around the Tiki Bar.

Then while Pat made his marathon trip up to Michigan to get a bunch of our junk we had in storage, I had one of the best visits with my mother that I've had in decades.

My family is a bit crazy and visits can be very stressful.  This one was different.  Maybe because it was just her and I, but it was great to have some alone time with her and we reconnected like a Mother and Daughter are supposed to when they visit.  Normally we'd see one another during the Holidays or some special event when the entire family would be around and trying to share time with all of them makes for a uncomfortable visit.

This time there was no arguing over stressful situations, something that neither of us have time for in our lives right now, just good talks, long walks with the dogs and serious one on one time which is something I haven't had with her in I cant remember when.

In the mean time, we've had some awesome guests here at the Low-Key Hideaway.  People who've followed us on our blogs stopping by to visit, new guests who are just visiting Cedar Key, and tons of other new friends we've made in the past month.

Last week I was working on a Valentine's Day Weekend Package that already has us sold out for that holiday....YEAH!!!  Maybe it will help pay for some of Pat's crazy spending sprees.  Guests will get a package deal which includes food from one of our two favorite restaurants in Cedar Key, a day of paddling or sight seeing via boat or a plane ride around the island. 

In order to see what the plane ride was like, Pat and I enjoyed an amazing flight above the Cedar Key's that got Pat's photos on the front page of the local newspaper (Cedar Key Beacon) and gave me a new found love for our little island home.  It's pretty from the ground, but to see it from the air was just jaw dropping.

I wrote up a little story for one of the other Cedar Key Newspapers (Cedar Key News) that wanted to do a story on their newest residents and in the same week, we were in both of the towns newspapers.  Pat wrote another article for the Cedar Key Beacon about the Tin Can Tourists that visited a few weeks back and they printed a bunch of his photos with the article.  Sort of fun, and we all know he really enjoys his writing.

Pat is almost finished with his rebuilding of the Tiki Bar and he's almost rebuilt the entire thing from salvaged materials found around the motel or so I thought till I noticed the stack of bills from Home Depot on his Desk this morning.

Who knew that stainless steel screws and hardware was so expensive?  I about blew my lid when I saw these prices, but apparently he has to use these because of the salt water since its right on the water.

Just to add to my never ending stress pile-up, we just received confirmation that we're going to be guest speakers at the Overland EXPO convention in Tucson Arizona in April.  We had been talking about this months and months ago before we knew anything was finalized with The Hideaway.

I had totally forgotten about it, but I guess Pat's been talking back and forth about the dates with them this entire time.  So yesterday he asks me "What do you want to talk about during our presentation?" like I know what he's even talking about!

I question what he's even asking me when he says that it's official, we're going to be giving a 50 minute presentation on our travels in front of a sold out audience.  Holy Butterflies Batman!  I'm not one to speak in public, so I'm guessing this is going to be Pat's gig, and I'll just be his support backup.

He tells me that we're both doing it together, but I'll have to work on this one a bit before I feel comfortable speaking in front of fellow travelers from all over the world who come in for this EXPO. 

I'm sure Pat will be talking a ton more about this on his blog since he's the one working on it and I just sort of proof read his work and add/subtract things that I think it important to talk about.  So stay tuned on this

Remember our good friends Fonda and Juergen who we stayed with in Georgia last March?  Well they're coming to visit us this week on their way down to visit family in South Florida.  I love having friends visit, and cant wait to see them.

Pat & I with Fonda and Juergen in Georgia Last March

Ok, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  I've been stressing out about not updating my blog for weeks now, not to mention the fact that Pat is on me like a school teacher after my lost homework.  Its not that I dont want to talk on here, its more about finding the time to do it when I'm not so crazy busy. 

Oh, by the way, did I mention that we got new software to keep track of our bookings and reservations on the computer and I'm teaching myself how to use it with the help of Pat's grunts and huffs because I cant seem to figure it out on my own?  Ahh the joys of business and doing it with a spouse.  Thank Goodness we get along so well, or I should say, thank goodness we know how to fight so well or we'd probably kill one another.

                                     Every Miles A Memory