My throat swelled as the ferry pulled away from my beloved Okracoke Island, but Jim pumped his arm in triumph, "Cha-ching! We're going to Shenandoah National Park." Snagging a one-week reservation for a prime spot at a highly coveted National Park during peak season, a month in advance, as the pandemic plods on is Classic Jim The Superlative Admin. Though covid put the kibosh on our laid-back no-reservations travel style, the nationwide run for them thar' hills didn't even muss up Jim's ponytail. The post Campground Review: Shenandoah National Park, Big Meadows Campground – Virginia appeared first on Living In Beauty.

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Campground Review: Shenandoah National Park, Big Meadows Campground – Virginia

Mid-morning, July 18, 2016. The key turned in the ignition and the Beast eagerly rolled over, launching into a full and satisfying purr. Jim adjusted his seat and mirrors, powered up the air-conditioning and activated “Tow Haul.”  All systems were go. He paused, ceremoniously, for the command. After adjusting my sunglasses, I flipped up the visor and holding my gaze on the sparkling San Diego Bay. "Engage," I said Jim grinned, responding "Aye, Captain" and pulled the rig south onto the Silver Strand toward the city of Imperial Beach, where we caught Interstate 5 North. Thus, the first moments of the first day of our five-year mission to explore the world of No Fake Deadlines – Jim's appellation for retirement, Airstream style – had begun at last. The post The Road, Home appeared first on Living In Beauty.

The Road, Home

Rehoboth Beach and Cape May The LIB Eastern Seaboard Tour ended with our first-ever stop in Delaware and our second visit to New Jersey. In 2019, we only explored a few blocks of Jersey City, in our campground across the Hudson from Manhattan. So, even though we felt Summer 2021 was our first real visit to New Jersey, this was technically our second. We were relieved to see for ourselves that South Jersey is nothing like Jersey City, where a turtle's safe crossing on I-78 would require National Guard assistance. We arrived in Delaware in late Spring with four weeks remaining before we had to turn west. Thus began our long good-bye to the Atlantic ocean – the beaches, breweries, the fresh seafood. After three weeks of farewelling The Eastern Seaboard, it seemed like way too much work to hitch up. The post Back At Ya’ New Jersey appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Back At Ya’ New Jersey

It was April 23, 2016 A knock at the door... I peeked out from behind the curtains. The concerned faces of two police officers waited to speak with me, their attention momentarily diverted to another police officer as he apparently instructed an idling tow truck driver to circle the block so the vehicle would be properly positioned to haul Beauty, our Airstream, away. Okay. Let’s flashback. Big playgrounds come to those who sacrifice. The post Making Room For Play appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Making Room For Play

For the most part, the wildlife we see is printed on road signs ... As feral free-ranging seniors, living in the great outdoors of North America, one would think that by now we'd have spotted a real live moose in the wild. Nope. Not a one. Grand Teton's, Canada, Indian Lake, New York, home of the Moose Festival ... and still no moose. Bears? Okay, we've seen two juvenile brown bears foraging for wild apples near the road in the Canadian Rockies. But, for all the months we stayed in The Florida Keys, we never spotted a single Key Deer – not even when we drove thirty miles out of our way on Key Deer Boulevard to a sanctuary. Yup, we couldn't even spot a Key Deer in a Key Deer Refuge. It's all about priorities. The post Assateague Island: Horses of Course appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Assateague Island: Horses of Course

Captain’s Log: Stardate 2021.0718 – This log entry documents the completion of our five-year mission to boldly explore where no Beaubeaux has gone before. We hope Starfleet Command will grant us a continuance so LIB (Living in Beauty) may formally begin Year Six. Though successful beyond our wildest dreams, the assignment is not complete. We’ve yet to drop stabilizers in hundreds of parks and many places where the neutral zone remains closed as of this writing: Alaska, Baja California, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Our mission statement on this voyage has been and always shall be… “… to explore strange old worlds, to seek out new life in old civilizations … The post Captain’s Log: Stardate 2021.0718 – Five-Year Mission Update appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Captain’s Log: Stardate 2021.0718 – Five-Year Mission Update

Real islands don't have bridges. In mid-Spring, Living in Beauty's ongoing search for alone time took us, by free vehicular ferry, to Ocracoke Island where it is still possible to camp in the dunes with a private path to the seashore and walk for hours in solitude on a natural beach. On The Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina – where the north-flowing Gulf Stream and south-flowing Labrador currents are constantly shifting the ocean floor around like two kids in a sandbox – shorelines, and even islands appear and disappear over night. There, we found an adventurous place to test our dry-camping mettle and relax into an extravagant two-week island vacation. The post It’s The Real Thing: Ocracoke appeared first on Living In Beauty.

It’s The Real Thing: Ocracoke

This six-part monthly series, From Beauty's Doorstep, is based on five-years of full-timing, aka LIB (Living in Beauty) This felt different, thrilling, and just slightly criminal – like being on the other side of the law, but in the right. Light reflections from the sun-drenched alley streamed across the floor of the open four-car garage newly emptied of our lifetime accumulation. The ghosts of our old stuff lingered, reluctant to move on – the ladder, the old dog stroller, the pinecone wreath. Yet, within moments, the house keys would change hands and our get-away plan would be complete. We would walk away from our island bungalow, into the bright April afternoon to begin a new life, in Beauty. The post Beauty: Our Retirement Un-Plan appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Beauty: Our Retirement Un-Plan

The Carolinas are puzzling, especially the coastal areas along the barrier islands. Everything is shifting, impermanent – even the things that are set in stone. Every aspect of the weather, culture and geography has a flip-side. For every expanse of glistening turquoise beach, there's an impenetrable mysterious swamp; for every perfectly cinematic picnic beneath a blooming saucer magnolia, there's the threat of a tornado, copperhead or tick; and for every outrageous hissy-fit there's an earnest casserole apology. And when that dense, muscular summer heat takes up residence, backing you into the cool corner of the porch where you and your computer submit to a cane lounger to try to attend to some urgent work ... the ceiling fan, with that low thrum, conspires with the booms of a distant thunderstorm to lull you off into the best nap of your life. Then, you wake up, wipe the drool off your chin and mumble, "I needed that" to no one in particular. But that's what I'm talking about. Contradictions abound. The post Carolinas: The Whole Biscuit appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Carolinas: The Whole Biscuit

This post – Part 3 of 3 – wraps up The Navy Brat Tour of 2021. In the interest of nostalgic self-care which the experts say is actually good for us these days, Jim wants to watch me rediscover the places I lived as a child. I'm supportive, but not much help. At fourteen years-old I had already moved sixteen times. Memories of those first eight years are mostly learned from my sister Deborah and from Dad, and also from Mama who passed on several years ago. And, as they say, "Time is like the Mississippi. It flows in one direction and never takes you back." My early childhood is like a sweet southern ambrosia – a slurry of innocent moments, suspended in heaps of that fluffy stuff dreams are made of – absent of schema, montage or terra firma. Which brings me to Jekyll Island! The post Campground Review – Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Campground Review – Jekyll Island State Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia

"I don't ever say a final goodbye. I always say, "I'll see you down the road." - Bob Wells, Nomadland This is Part II of Navy Brat Tour 2021. And, yes ... It was still raining, raining, raining like the opening scene in Rashomon. On a wet and foggy Monday morn we pulled out of Presnell’s RV Resort and Marina. We would navigate across the Panhandle in two days with plans for some serious driveway camping at my cousin's house in Middleburg. Driving along the historic and scenic 30-A, we passed through the sweet town of Carrabelle and pulled off at Ho-Hum RV Park. The post Friendship Found appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Friendship Found

Welcome to Part One of The Navy Brat Tour 2020-21: From Jacksonville, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia, this 4-3-2 galavant through my itinerant childhood is about visiting places I remember and have not seen in more than 55 years. It was all Jim's idea and I'm loving it. Besides seeing the places I have described to him for decades, Jim also included a prelude – a bonus side-trip – along The Gulf of Mexico, the seashore most fluent in our favorite southern dialect, Shrimp n' Oysters. We'd originally planned to spend winter on the Pacific coast, but with the border of Mexico closed and La Niña pushing cold, wet weather into Southern California, we took our chances on the panhandle, or as the board of tourism calls it, Where Florida Begins. But we should have consulted with our friend and weather guru Dr. David Titley on RV Weather – esteemed expert in climate, tropical meteorology, oceanography, and a retired Rear Admiral, USN. The post Where Florida Begins appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Where Florida Begins

We should get out more. In five years we have stayed in 325 places and only three campgrounds have percolated to the top of our 5-Bambi Rating system: Chula Vista RV and Marina in San Diego County, which is closing soon; Maumee Bay State Park in Ohio; and Fort Wilderness at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida ... Until now. (Drum roll please) We are thrilled to announce that Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama is the 4th LIB 5-Bambi Park. The post Campground Review: Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, Alabama appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Campground Review: Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, Alabama

It's time to get down to business, the business we all doo. As a retired Chief Financial Officer, I find that recreational vehicle black water tank maintenance is better understood from a financial perspective. Risk Aversion is understandable and every RVers' Risk Tolerance is personal. Me? I'm low risk. Why else would I be talking dollars and cents about fecal matter. So, RVing Friends, let's come to Terms. Our business with business deserves serious Appreciation, and it is our Fiduciary Responsibility to evaluate our Back-End Load and its Current Yield. So take a moment to slip on a pair of gloves and draw a deep breath before we dive into the Fluid Economy of Gross Capital Flows. The post Business is Business appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Business is Business

Even as full-time, free-ranging homo sapiens sapiens, these cross-country treks to beat the weather are a challenge. Leaving Point A with the goal of reaching Point B has all the thrill of a footrace with the starting-line excitement and the finish-line euphoria. But the real drama is in the unknown developments – the tension between A and B. Generally speaking, travelers prefer the known to the unknown. That's why cruise ships and airlines provide distractions – movies, booze, magic shows, contests and gambling – to relieve the tension of that ever-present hum of travel which most passengers find unnerving. The post Road Candy appeared first on Living In Beauty.

Road Candy

Full-time Airstreaming with Jim and Carmen Beaubeaux. This is the podcast version of our blog posts on www.LivingInBeauty.net.

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