The first month back

Once upon a time we were driving along rice paddies and rows and rows of tall palm trees on a palm oil plantation. It had been a good winter in Las Galeras, a little town at the end of the road in the Dominican Republic. We had adjusted to the heat and humidity and maybe even the mosquitos. We were happy with our decision to live closer to town this time. How fun to be able to walk into town each day - for groceries, for French pastries or just to walk the beach. Many days I made more than one trip to town and sometimes accomplished all of the above. But on that particular day we were enroute to the airport to fly home to the good ole’ USA - and had already turned our thoughts to the new happenings on our calendar and especially to our family. 

Once back in Michigan, the first week saw us both sick with whatever stomach bug was making the rounds and surviving an ice storm in our little RV but we also had time to hang out with our kids and grands and both of our moms. We also checked out an apartment that was immediately available to rent - and we decided to take it! Somewhere in there, life got  busy. Soon we were choosing a few things from the RV to take to the new place and moving things from our storage unit. Many of the bins and boxes have not been opened since we moved out of the big house four years ago. We succeeded in emptying the storage unit well before the deadline. Major accomplishment.

And THEN we cared for grand-kids for five days while Mom and Dad attended a conference out-of-state. That week brought great fun, much laughter, lots of hugs, AND total exhaustion for Gramp and Gram.

But, oh what fun to be available to do that! This is exactly why we made the decision to stay put for awhile - to help out with these little guys and just to be near enough to enjoy special occasions with them. Events like a super-hero race!

So here we are - entering a new phase of life. Looking forward to good times ahead. Enjoying the chance to settle down and stay in one place for awhile. Having fun exploring our new community. But no, we are not abandoning travel. To the contrary Bob has already been studying maps to plan the next adventure, but this time with a small home base to come back to in between.

And yes, we will continue to wander about here and there. Now and then.

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In many ways living in Las Galeras is quite different than living in Michigan. And yet some things are actually pretty similar.

• While in the tropics, I was always hot and sweaty; here I can enjoy wearing sleeves and extra layers.
• While there our schedule was pretty simple; here things can get hectic if we let them.
• Down there I could walk along the beach every morning. Not here.
• Down there we did not have a vehicle - so we walked wherever we needed to go. Here we can jump in our truck and drive pretty much anywhere.
• Down there; I missed my grand-kids badly. Now I can get to them within an hour or two.
• Down there I hauled the laundry down the stairs to wash it and then back up when it was clean. Here in our new apartment, I do pretty much the same routine.
• While in Las Galeras, we could seldom get ice cream; here we can find about any flavor we want.
• Down there we didn’t drink the water; here at our daughter’s house in Flint, Michigan, we don’t drink the water either. At least we try to remember not to…