Florida

I'm baaaaaack!

Okay, so technically I got back yesterday. But I had been riding since noon the day before, with the exception of a heavy-downpour-nap and a too-foggy-to-see nap. (btw, never nap on a rest stop bench or beside a closed gas station during wee hours. Nothing happened to me, but it's still dangerous. Don't try it at home)

So I got in yesterday around 11am, and walked down to visit my mother on her lunch break around 12. The sight of her squealing and running toward me was priceless. I went back to her place and napped, though it was so weird being back that I didn't fall asleep intil after 1pm. Then my mother got home around 4pm, and I got back up. I hadn't eaten since the night before, so I made some cheese quesadillas, took a hot soak, and went to bed. This was after showing my mother my postcards and the pics that are on my computer but not my LJ. So I went to sleep around 9pm. My internet wasn't online yesterday, so I had to call them this morning about it. Apparently there was a glitch that they straightened out. I'm thinking that nearly two months inactive caused it to miss some updates or something.

I felt so very happy and peaceful once I got to the watery parts of Florida. How on earth am I going to live landlocked?

Okay. So the ideal plan is to work a bit here, and move to Austin before all the college kids get back and take all the housing and jobs. But I still have to get work done on the van before it will make it that far. I'm getting two used tires today, to replace some pretty worn ones. I also need new brakes, and to fix the overheating problem. I also need to replace my bike's headlight, since it went out on me that foggy morning. x_x That's when I pulled over and napped until daybreak. And there's an oil leak; granted, a rather small one. But if there's a crack where I think there may be one...that's an expensive fix.

I would like to move with $2,000. I've known people who have done it, and I have a few contacts in Austin to crash with until I find a place. I have about 1,200 right now, and the stimulus check will make it 1,800. But with all of the vehicle repairs, any money that I make by mid-july (when I need to leave) will probably all go toward that. Not to mention the internet, car insurance, and bike insurance that come out every month. And groceries. And gas to and from work. Considering the price of brake replacement, and any radiator problems, I have a feeling that I'm going to fall short. But I'm going to try, and if I don't have enough by then, I'll just keep working and keep fixing until I do. Then I'm going to call my contacts and the apartment finder agencies, and see if there's still work and housing available for my budget. One woman said that her sister works for a whole foods corporation, and would be able to get me a job in the Austin store. Of course, this is just the word of a new friend, and that's one of the things that I would want to make sure of before heading out if the college kids are already back.

If there isn't any housing or jobs by the time that I have the money to move, then I guess I'm staying in Fl for another year. Unless winter break is a good time to move. I'll have to call the apartment finder agencies, and talk to some other people about work.

But the trip is over! I would still be out there if it weren't for time and money. Gosh, I could live like that all year.

...I want to live like that all year. Just travel around, meet new people, see new places. I'm a wanderer at heart. 

But time was against me, considering my desire to make it out to Austin. I had wanted to meet an online friend in Minnesota, as well as stop by Alabama and see Woody again. Instead, I just drove straight through.

I want to travel, dammit!

*Sigh* There's so much I need to do. I got the internet thing fixed, but I still need to get the tires and put in a few applications and call the Speedway administrations office to see if they're hiring temps for the july events, and I need to call the guy who does my mechanic work to see if he can look at a few things or recommend someone who can, and I need to pick up some spring water (Volusia county tap water is a no-no) and some food stuffs...and that's just today.

I also need to do a couple of loads of laundry and get to storage soon to sort through what I want to keep and what I want to sell. I also need to get the number for the Port Orange flea market and see about setting up a couple of tables one weekend. And I need to work. And I miss my cat, but I can't have her if I stay with my mother. And I won't be saving anything if I have to move within Florida. The woman that she's staying with reports that she's doing very well. She acts like a crazy cat and darts around as usual, and she's even taken to sitting on the edge of the tub when the mother gives the baby his bath.

Well, I should go get the tires taken care of. And get to work on the other things as well. I'm also taking my mother out to eat for 'Father's Day,' so I may not be online tonight. Sorry.

Also, I'll get around to posting more (and pics!) about Iowa later.