It's Time for Workampers to Say Goodbye and Migrate North!

It's that horrible time of year again (no I don't mean Tax Season), when  Workampers say goodbye to new friends, pack up their campers, and head north for their summer jobs.  Just like the flock of geese and the other Snowbirds there is a constant flow from Florida, Texas, and Arizona to all points north.

Even the Kitty doesn't want to say goodbye!

It is always great to head out to new exciting places to explore and meet new people, but of course the inevitable and most difficult part of workamping has to happen first - saying goodbye.  We always seem to meet great friends with every job. But not knowing if and when we will see them again is really hard to accept. Whether it is other workampers, co-workers, or the boss, you just never know what the future holds. This time instead of saying goodbye to our good friends we just went with "See You Soon" knowing that we will make plans for our paths to cross and definitely work with them again someday soon. (But it still was awful!)  It really helps to have a card with your phone numbers, email addresses, etc. to share with your new friends. Of course Facebook and all the social media makes a huge difference in keeping in touch!

 

Doug getting the camper ready to go! All the spots around us are empty.

Getting the camper all packed up feels like the New Year or Spring Cleaning as we go through all of the closets, cupboards, and bunks to clean out and rearrange things. We make a pile of things we don't need or haven't used in a long time to go to Goodwill, a pile of clothes to pack away in the bunk that may not be right for the next job (won't need our swimsuits and probably need to get out the jeans for Colorado!) and also just a general reorganization.  How do things get so messed up in such a small space?

Going to a new workamper job, you can be whoever you want! Want to make a change in your lifestyle - maybe more exercise, better eating, less alcohol, or a new haircut? Your new employer and new coworkers probably don't know your "habits" so its a great time to make a change! Within the last year or so I have let my hair go gray after coloring it for 25+ years. It just seemed right for our lifestyle and attitude of clearing our life of clutter and being free! Having short hair helped in the growing out process but it still was a scary step. Yikes - it was a big change for me! But once I had it all gray my new coworkers did not know me any other way! Now it is just one less thing for me to think about as we are travel. So whether it is letting go of a bad habit or starting a new good habit - Go ahead reinvent yourself!





This time I'm ready to start over with better eating and more exercise.  We will be going to Colorado and at a higher altitude so it will definitely be an adjustment! It will take a few weeks for our bodies to acclimate to the altitude but then we plan on doing lots of hiking. It's the "better eating" part I have the most trouble with.  I like to eat healthy but I also have a major weakness for sweets! When we are in Florida, it seems fairly easy to stay active and eat well since you have fresh veggies, fruits, and seafood available in the winter months. I guess its mostly about developing habits to keep you healthy.

I was recently reading Clean Eating magazine and that really got me motivated again! So I decided to try the recipe for Cinnamon Banana Pancakes. It is fairly simple using just 1 banana, 2 eggs and cinnamon! You just beat all the ingredients together and fry like a pancake in coconut oil. (Yes, we do actually have coconut oil!) I also added ground flax seeds on top as they were frying. They were very thin and didn't taste much like a pancake but they were still good! (Doug was not impressed, however.) Instead of loading them up with butter and syrup, like I normally would, I put a smear of peanut butter on them and rolled them up. Yummy! I really felt like I had eaten a healthy breakfast!

We will continue to try new healthy recipes - some will be good and some not so good.  The main point is keep trying new things and add those that you love into your diet on a regular basis. We also recently discovered Kale and will be sharing some recipes for that also in the future.  Making changes slowly will help you maintain them longer!

So we are off, ready to head north for new adventures! Safe travels to you all! We would love to meet you on the road!

 



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