Walking and Riding With Crocs

It seemed like a grand idea to fix a previous mistake. Walking and bike riding are important to me. I may not get very far with either one, but having the ability to walk and ride my bicycle is wonderful for attempting to improve my health situation as well as plain old fashioned mobility.

I don't own a car, just this old motorhome and that's the way it's probably going to be for the foreseeable feature. Comfortable shoes that resemble walking barefoot are the best all around shoes one can have for the healthiest feet. When I discovered this style of Candace Crocs, I found out the new Croc owners had no intentions of reproducing the styles people loved. I know this makes no sense, but it seems that big corporations often fail to listen to the lowly customers.

Crocs are produced in a variety of styles. just that this particular popular one is no longer produced.

For me having these lightweight shoes that molded perfectly to my feet, with the ability to slip them on and off, no buckles, no zippers, no laces was heaven on earth. Eventually I bought them in the only colors I could find, before the end of the supply in my size vanished. There are still some available on the market in smaller sizes, but to date,  the new Croc owners have refused to manufacture any more in this particular popular timeless style.

The colors I found were black, espresso, fushia and white. Customer reviews reveal that thousands of consumers who bothered to write one, wanted this style in a multitude of colors, but Croc refuses to make them. I eventually found and mail ordered all 4 colors, thinking my walking, biking, daily living  shoes were now taken care of for years to come. Another hidden bonus of Crocs is the ability to scrub them up like new with just some warm water and dish soap.

However, the white ones turned out to be a mistake. They just didn't look right on me and I wore them maybe twice a year. Silly to keep something so frivolous in a tiny motorhome, as shoes worn only twice a year.

An angel told me about this newfangled Krylon Fusion For Plastic Spray Paint in a can. One day I bought some in screaming red, thinking I would paint my white Crocs. I cleaned them up perfectly, then cleaned them again in plain alcohol. When they dried, I began putting multiple thin layers of spray paint on my Crocs. Then I let them sit up for over a week, before wearing them. I figured this would give the paint plenty of time to fully cure and harden tough as nails.

When I began wearing my new red Crocs, I was thrilled. They looked beautiful and red goes with my sunny lifestyle and many of my clothes.

Sadly as time went on, I found out Krylon paint for plastic is possibly only workable on non flexible plastics. Within weeks, the paint began chipping off the shoes. I kept wearing them anyhow. But then one day when I was feeling very poorly, I came back from walking the doggy. I slipped off my shoes, to o barefoot inside the motorhome. That's when I noticed that the paint had rubbed off the shoe and onto my feet. This alarmed me as my immune system is compromised from an extremely rare disorder. Knowing that paint isn't made for human consumption and my skin was apparently soaking up the paint, I threw the shoes out while I furiously scrubbed away at my feet to remove all traces of paint.

I felt like a complete idiot. I had worn the shoes for a few weeks before this strange phenomenon happened.

Even worse, waste not want not, but I couldn't see myself finding the time, energy and chemicals to safely remove all the paint and end up with white Crocs again. I just had to face facts.

I had made a monumental mistake!

I still love the Croc brand and they do offer lots of other styles, just not the style I prefer. All Crocs brand shoes feature Crocs' proprietary closed-cell resin, Croslite, which represents a substantial innovation in footwear. The Croslite material enables Crocs to produce soft, comfortable, lightweight, superior-gripping, non-marking and odor-resistant shoes.

Apparently, they just aren't made for painting.

Harley dog looks good in red too!

While walking down to the Crooked River, we (Harley dawg and I) found this curious sign on the dock in progress. Who knows how many thousands of dollars (or millions?) were issued for the dock repair, but nothing in the budget for a temporary sign that made sense. Life is goofy.

The birds love their new perches while the dock is waiting to be rebuilt.

Beautiful flowers in bloom.

This has been my temporary home for about 11 weeks while I cooled my heels to allow my shattered wrist more time to heal. It's been a lovely spot and a fabulous RV park called "A Big Wheel RV Park" located in St Marys, Georgia.

Nearby is the Crooked River State Park in Georgia, which also offers camping. Matter of fact I have camped there before. I often walk or ride my bicycle to the state park.

Tempting fate.

I snapped a picture of me riding my bicycle with the little doggy up front in his basket. Sadly, I decided my wrist could heal with a lot less pain if I temporarily stopped riding with the pooch. He has thrown a few temper tantrums over this. Sometimes when I try to leave on my bicycle without him, he sets up wailing and crying in the motorhome as if he is severely injured. I have to make a U-turn then go back to hush him up and try to make it clear to his tiny little brain that he must stay home and stay QUIETLY. No barking, no wailing, no singing, no crying. No to everything!

I sneak around the RV park to hide behind some trees and bushes where he can't see me, so I can listen for his antics. If he is making a commotion, I go right back to correct him. Some days this took three tries before he understood this! What a spoiled brat. I've asked my neighbors to let me know if he is making a ruckus because I don't want to be an irresponsible dog owner. It seems after my 3rd attempt to shut him up, he remained quietly. I know because I asked the neighbors as soon as I returned from bike riding. Once I leave the RV park to go riding, I obviously can't hear him, but I don't want him disturbing others either.

He is used to waiting in the motorhome alone and quietly when I am grocery shopping without him. But seeing his beloved bicycle take off without him, well that is more than my little monkey wanted to put up with. Poor baby.

My bundle of cantankerous fur will be thrilled when I start taking him on rides again.

Doggy and I are super grateful we are fed out of this tiny roving galley. It always looks busy. I feel super lucky my tiny kitchen is L-shaped so I can stand in one tiny spot to reach the stove, sink, microwave, coffee pot, crockpot and

Another view of my little garden at my campsite the past 2 months.

My Crocs before I tossed them out. Once the paint started soaking into my skin, I became very alarmed. I was happy enough wearing them all cracked up, reminded me of my addled brain some days.

Another wild experiment has held up beautifully. When my broken shower door had to be replaced, the beautiful brass frame had to go too. There was no way to incorporate the old brass trim with the new door. I hated to throw it out, but found a way to recycle some of it into a laundry drying rack that attached to the rear of the motorhome. Holes were drilled into the brass frame to hold clothing hangers. Some days I have towels pinned to the hangers instead of clothing. One day recently the winds were ferocious, but my laundry stayed in it's assigned hole. I often do use clothes pins to keep the shirts from blowing off the hangers in stiff breezes. So far this laundry rack has worked beautifully! It saves me money, not having to pay for a dryer. Not all parks I camp in have laundry facilities. I travel with a compact washing machine that does magic.

Life is BEAUTIFUL!

I woke up alive, I wrote this blog and I have many angels like YOU reading this right now to thank.

THANK YOU!

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