A Long Overdue Post...Where In the World Are We Now?

With apologies to anyone who may have been checking on this blog over the last year plus and wondering where the heck we had gone, I should have written this post a long time ago.

I'm pleased to report that the Twosome is just fine!  But after Paisley's diagnosis of congestive heart failure and heart valve disease last year, we knew we weren't going to be able to travel the way we had been, which was the main purpose of the blog, to share our adventures with friends and family.  We would need to stay closer to a good veterinarian for Paisley, not out in some remote campground (sometimes without cell signal and internet), possibly miles from a vet, without a car.  

Additionally, the rear tire blowout we had on I-95 in our motorhome, Pearl, took the wind of out of our sails and made us less interested in driving a large RV around.  We also realized that we'd have to replace the other five tires (not a low-cost proposition in a rig of her size) to feel comfortable doing any further traveling, and we just didn't want to sink that much more money into a motorhome if we weren't going to be traveling much in the future.

So, after much discussion and soul-searching, we decided to sell Pearl back to the dealer where we bought her, right down the road from where we'd spent fourteen months while I completed my orthodontia, in Winter Garden RV Resort in Florida.  We'd taken great care of her and made a lot of upgrades, so even though they didn't usually take back rigs of her age (eleven years old by then), they were happy to buy her back from us.  Of course we could have made a lot more money by selling her privately, but with our time constraints, we really couldn't do that.  She was our full-time home, and we needed to live in her until the a couple of days before our next move, so we needed to sell her on a tight deadline, as we donated, gave away, or sold most of our accumulated possessions in the week before the sale.  We're getting pretty good at downsizing!

So, we sold Pearl, moved into a local Winter Garden hotel for a couple of days, and two days after getting my braces off (a couple of months behind schedule!) we flew down to Mexico for the winter and beyond.  We had a friend in the area and knew there was a good vet there, and I'd already checked with her to make sure Paisley's medications would be available.  So we felt fine taking Paisley on the plane trip and then staying put for awhile, at least until she was no longer with us.  With her condition, she could last a couple more years or until tomorrow; we never know.

Fortunately, Paisley has done well here in Mexico and is still alive and kicking nearly fifteen months after her initial diagnosis, much to our surprise and delight.  And we love it here as well!  We are renting an oceanfront place on the Yucatan gulf coast, enjoying our bicycling (but of course!), walks, frequent outings to the wonderful city of Merida, and have reconnected with our friend Shelby, whom we met when we all lived in Belize and also had a chance to get together with when we lived in Playa del Carmen and she lived on the nearby island of Cozumel.  We've also met lots of friendly new folks here.   The lifestyle is laid back, the cost of living is reasonable, and the climate is warm and balmy -- admittedly often hot and humid, but being used to Florida, not that much of a change for us!   We had been waiting for a chance to get back to Mexico, and it just worked out to be the perfect time.

For now, because of Paisley, we're not doing any travel other than day trips.  She needs to wear a diaper indoors because of the diuretic she takes, and because of her heart condition cannot undergo anesthesia, so we have to brush her teeth daily to help keep periodontal disease at bay.  And she requires several medications and special low-sodium food.  Given her care requirements we feel more comfortable not leaving her with anyone or having a dog sitter.  We never know how long we'll have her in our lives, so we're enjoying every day she has left -- there will be more time for traveling later.
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And so, since we aren't traveling these days, there didn't seem to be much reason to keep up with this blog.  For the most part, our life here, while fulfilling, is not particularly blog-worthy, except for the fact that we are based in the Yucatan state of Mexico!  Someday, if we start traveling again, we may return to blogging, but for now we're enjoying the break.  

Again, I apologize for waiting so long to put this post up and hope no one was worried about us!  

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Paisley having a nap, Mexican style!