Deb, that was beautiful!

It is never too early or too late to realize one's dreams. And this world is full of wonderful things and visiting different places gives a deeper understanding.

The more that you think about executing your plan, the better it will be. Never be afraid of anything but be very cautious.

I am looking forward to hear all about your new adventures and keep my address if you decide to come this way, best of luck for you!

Silvia

Thanks, Silvia. I will definitely have you on my list to visits when I return to FL for the winter. Starting out in July, my aim will be to get to somewhere cooler, but I'll never abandon Florida. I love it too much.

Be sure to plan a stop in Huntsville, AL. We have a nice Botanical Garden and Monte Sano state park.

Hi Sherry! Huntsville is one of my favorite towns. I used to have relatives there, but they're all dead or moved away now. I'll put that on my list.

Good for you, Deb! I hope you love it as much as the people I know who are doing it now do.

DG, I'm excited for you! You're going to have a GREAT adventure and I think you will never look back. Enjoy every single minute! I can't wait to read and follow your travel blog.

Carol in Jacksonville

Deb, I'm happy for you! Please let me know when you're back in FL and you can cone to visit me. I hope you plan to keep posting here too or if not give us the blog address so we can follow your adventures.

I still plan to see you this fall and maybe I can give some of your plants a new home.

Wishing you luck and a lot of joy, Deb! We sold our first NP home this summer, so some of the plants you gave me are still there (banana, ginger, crown of thorns, crinum) but I took a COT cutting and crinum bulbs with me to new NP home in a gated community. Not a lot of room to grow a big garden there but I think of you when I see the plants you shared with me.

Marcia

writersblock, Carol and Bea, thanks, and of course I will still hang out here! I'll be back in FL at least for a few months a year during the fall/winter, because let's face it, there's no better place for gardeners that time of year.

Marcia, glad you got to carry a couple of those plants with you. I remember what a time I had digging up those crinums! LOL I didn't realize they'd be so difficult to dig. Can't remember which COT you got a cutting from, but I think it was the huge one by the front door. It was so beautiful, but it was completely out of control! You had such a beautiful yard, but I know at some point, we have to scale back on our gardens.

I wish you mucho good luck as well Deb. Having roots in the gorgeous state of
South Carolina, specifically the Atlantic coast area, I assume you will
also visit one place that has been high on my Bucket List for a long
time,...Bernard Baruch's old Hobcaw Barony,...up near Georgetown. I actually met Bernie at a park bench, in Central Park, in Manhattan, NY, along with a few other grammar school kids, and many newspaper photographers,..a loonnngggg time ago ! :o)

I hope you will also continue your posts here. Hasta la vista !

I had a hard time digging out those crinum starts, too, Deb! I have the red COT from you. The plant got big, so I planted it in the ground before we sold the house.

jofus - I've never been there, so I guess I'll put that on my bucket list. Actually, those of us from the real lowcountry don't consider Georgetown to be part of the lowcountry. Don't ask me why. I didn't ask questions. When my grandmother said something was so, I just accepted it.

Marcia - yes, that's the one! That thing was a monster! Someone offered me a cutting of hers when I was in Venice, and I said "No thank you!" I like my yellow one. It seems to be a smaller variety that doesn't get out of control. I'm thinking I can root a tiny piece of it to carry with me in my van. Maybe if I keep it in a tiny pot, it won't get too big. I bought the one you had for $7 at WalMart. I got one for myself and one for my friend. We both stupidly planted them next to our front doors, and both cursed them later.

Florida_Joes - I hope you can get back to your traveling one day. Everyone I know in the nomad community says it's not the easiest life, but it's the happiest they've ever been.

DG, I am very happy and excited for you!!! I wish you all the luck in the world in your adventure. Having over a year to prepare should help a lot. Looking forward to updates :o)

Thanks, puglvr1. Yep, that's why I signed the lease. If I come up with the money beforehand, fine, but if not, I have a good long time to get everything done.

Deb, I'm so happy for you! It would be so cool to travel on your own schedule and visit gardens, parks and historic spots. I'm looking forward to your posts and photos. Have fun!

DG - I was just reading the other day that one of the things that people regret most toward the end of their life is not pursuing their dream (whatever that may be). If travelling and visiting gardens everywhere you go is your dream, then I am very happy for you that you have decided to pursue it. I hope you have the most amazing adventure and I look forward to reading about your experiences on your blog.

Your plans are very, very interesting! I look forward to following your blog.

Hi Deb, Just want to relate that wifey and I have just decided to finally visit South Carolina, a week or so after Labor Day. I was mentally energized by your post about touring around the US next year. Google Maps says it's a drive of 9 1/2 hrs from my front door in Englewood to the front gate of Hobcaw Barony. Not wanting to limit our visit to only
one stop in the " high country " , we will also, on the way back,
stop off for a day in Charleston, then another one day visit to
Edisto Island before trekking back here !

Will in the meantime be practicing my southern drawl,..diligently trying to eliminate " youse guys " from my vocabulary ! :o)

Have to say " thank you " as it was your post that got me to finally eliminate one of my major, old & rusty Bucket List items ! LOL

Congratulations. You've made a life changing (literally) decision and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

As for your wonderful plants, I am willing to bet that there are many here that will help you out on your endeavor, and even be willing to share back should your road ever take you back to a more permanent settlement again.

Watching from afar is wonderful. I am counting the days (years- 7 of them) myself until I can afford to pack up and travel the country. RV style for me, please. :-) I will gladly use your experiences along the way to help determine my must see/must do's.

Enjoy the life you live, where you live it. Much love, Barb

Joe, my mother was born and raised on Ediso Island, but all the old family property is gone now. Our family was there for 300 years. It's really sad that it's come to having to sell it all off, but none of us have the money to keep the old place. It's a beautiful island, if you go back up into the real Edisto. Go down some dirt roads and see what it's really all about. Call me before you go and I'll tell you some places to go.

Thanks, Barb. It's a scary proposition, but better scared than bored. I don't think I'm going to be as adventurous as some, and I do wish I could afford an RV, but if I could, I'd end up sitting inside it all the time, so better to have something I need to not live IN, but live OUT OF. I know for a fact that if I ever settle down again, my garden will be full before I know it. I had 5 plants when I came back to Gainesville, and what with trades, gifts, "rescues," and growing from seed, I have much more than I need now. I'll enjoy sharing them with others when I go.

Rhonda, now that Joe has the travel bug, maybe we'll meet up somewhere along the way. Of course, you'll be one of the first people I'll visit. You know how much I love Englewood!

vml68, yes, I have a lot of regrets from things I didn't do. I don't want to die wishing I had taken a chance. My life has not really been very adventurous, so why not now before it's too late?

irma, thanks, hon. "Interesting" is putting it mildly! "Insane" might be a better word, but other ladies my age are doing it, so why not?

DG - I was in Jacksonville a few months ago and started chatting with a lady in her mid 80s while we were both in the hotel elevator. She told me that she was on the last leg of her journey driving the perimeter of the entire US. She started out in Maine and headed west, then south, then east and now she was headed back up north to Maine, where she started. I was truly impressed!

Deb, do you know about "Open Days"?

https://www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days

When I was driving around in the NE a few years ago, it was much fun to find online what private (and public) gardens were open that week and track them down. In western NY, it was a 30 minute drive in hilly, rural country to wander land featuring native plant gardens and massive sculptures by the resident owner. In Connecticut, it was a massive daylily spread and picturesque cottage. The $10 cost, paid upon arrival, was small compared to my memories of how pleasant it was to leave the world of commercial tourist attractions and enter another gardener's personal world of joy. (Apparently the cost now is $7.)

That sounds amazing!!! From roots to wings!

Best of luck!

Deb,

Yep, Joe and I are getting excited and are finding more places that we want to visit on the way to or from Hobcaw Barony.

Whenever you're down this way, we'd love to see you!

Your post reminded me of a really old saying by one of my pals !!

Henry David Thoreau Quotes:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

SweetMonkeyCheese, I didn't think of it like that, but YES! Thanks for the well wishes. I'm getting more and more excited about it.

Rhonda - I'm going to do a few short trips before I move from here, so I'll definitely be coming down there to camp in your driveway.

Joe - My mother gave me a paperback copy of Walden when I was 15. I've read it about 100 times since then. My favorite book in the entire world. I just read it again not long ago, and that very phrase is what convinced me to just go for it!

Life isn't about the destination, it's about the journey.

I love going on road trips. Although, I've never got up and just left everything behind, so to speak, I've often dreamed about it. People often get caught up in the mundane, working 9 to 5, busy, day-to-day routine that they lose sight of what truly matters. Before they know it, they look back on everything and wonder where all of the time went. Life isn't about existing, it's about living. It's about experiencing new things and having no regrets.

If you don't already have an Instagram account, this sounds like the perfect time to create one. For both you, and for those that wish you follow you.

Thank you. Don't worry. I'm a picture taking fool! I have rubbermaid tubs full of pictures I've taken over the years, back when you have to have them developed. I sometimes look back through them and remember the good times I had.