On the Road Again

We took leave of Palacios today.  Always a little bittersweet when you’ve worked alongside these people for three weeks to leave.  We may not see them for a long time, some of them we may not see again on this side of glory, but we still count them as friends.

This project (probably like any project) had its high points and low points.  Definitely a low point was the weather.  It was a challenge.  We had a couple really great days, several OK days, and six days that were challenging.  Three of those days were marked by way colder than normal temperatures and the other three were inundated by rain. But we don’t control the weather and the work went on in spite of it, so we prevailed.

The location was great.  The camp sits on a point in the bay, allowing great views of both the sunrise and sunset.  It’s very walkable and bikeable, unfortunately the weather kept the bikes at home most of the time.  And the salty air was hard on the bikes, causing nearly instant rust in several locations.  It’s gonna take some clean-up when we get home.

Our group leader was outstanding.  He made sure there was adequate work by coordinating with the camp director every day, he encouraged us every morning in the group meetings, he pitched right in with the work; just above and beyond.  His wife made sure there was a table laden with snacks for break time.  She coordinated the women’s work.  Together they arranged the game nights and the potluck night.

The group leader for a project is simply the first person that signs up, so there is a real possibility that I would be group leader for a future project.  I’m taking notes...

The camp provided lunch every work day.  That was quite a treat to just come in and sit down and eat.  Plus there was the added benefit of additional shared time together.  Lunches would normally be taken in our individual RVs.  Here it was together in the dining hall.  It was kind-of like going to camp all over again.

It takes several days to get to know the people we are working with.  Especially some of the quieter ones.  One of the guys appeared to be just a more serious, quiet kind of guy.  By the end I was really appreciating his wicked sense of humor.  They all come from very different backgrounds.  Some (including one of the women) have military experience.  Several were farm boys.  One was an aeronautical engineer.  One was a school administrator.  One was a plumber. We had one familiar with office accounting.  A couple of homeschool moms. But we were all united with some common bonds: a love for Jesus, a love of travel, and a desire to work.

So now we have to figure out where the next project is going to be.

After a leisurely breakfast, including one of those Melogold grapefruits, we took off, heading south.  Our first stop was about two miles from camp, at the Donut Palace, where we picked up a cinnamon swirl and a cinnamon twist.  Really looking forward to snack time when we’ll eat these delectables.

Now that the project is done, we are going into slow-travel mode.  We ended up at Magnolia Beach, for a total travel distance today of 44 miles.  Magnolia Beach is one of the few places that allows camping on the beach, so here we are, gonna do the camping-on-the-beach thing again.  We parked the RV less than 10 feet from the water and took a long walk on the beach.

Today started out sunny but started to cloud over as the day went on.  By lunch time we had put the sunglasses away.  The forecast called for a chance of rain after 4pm so we decided to get a bike ride in before then.

I got the bikes all unpacked and we were less than a mile down the road when I started noticing water spattering my glasses.  It turned in to a light drizzle that was not going to go away so we finally turned around and rode back to the RV.

The drizzle turned into a heavier drizzle that lasted most of the afternoon.  So we didn’t get our bike ride in for the day.  We spent the time catching up on communication, doing Bible study, and planning.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.