Life of the Traveling Wife

Hey, friends! I’m kicking off this blog with an exciting announcement and then diving into our adventures during October. Bobby finished his second assignment at the very end of September! He was under lockdown in the hospital for his final days of the assignment when Hurricane Ian made an appearance. (You’ll get all the details on that soon!) But for the announcement!! We have signed our third travel nursing assignment in NASHVILLE, TN!! We are beyond excited to be back in Nashville, as that’s where we spent our honeymoon! We absolutely loved our time there and can’t wait to make so many more memories there living as a local. We will move from our apartment in Tampa on Nov. 9th to stay in Marietta GA, and finish the drive to Nashville on Nov. 10th. We will be living in a 3 bedroom 2 bath townhouse and welcome all who would like to come visit and stay with us to explore “Music City”. =) 

We are so beyond thankful for this time we have had in Tampa. Being outside in the sunshine everyday has been nothing but wonderful and enjoyable these last 9 months. NINE WHOLE MONTHS!! Who would have ever thought that we would live in Florida for this long, but God knew. We are so thankful for the area we have been placed in and all the provisions God has blessed us with in this time. We have truly seen His hand at work by surrounding us with familiar faces and feeling like we were at home from the moment we started this new journey. It made the unknown less daunting and more like a springboard into travel nursing. 

We can’t help but feel all the warm fuzzy feelings about having our family and friends support us. After all, this blog was created for just Bobby and I to have something to look back on in the future when we are old and gray and can’t remember where we put the remote or what reason we came into a certain room for; I guess that happens now anyways. But, opening up this little corner of the internet to our family and friends to follow along on our journey has helped us feel and stay connected to you while we are apart. Your texts, calls, and even emails in response to the blogs and our whereabouts have been so sweet and supportive. We truly feel the love from all over and I just wanted to say THANK YOU for reading along. ❤

October 2022

[October 2] Bobby and I waited for low tide to come in at the Courtney Campbell Causeway to find and collect mud crabs under the rocks near the shoreline. We use mud crabs as bait when we go fishing for Sheepshead or any fish that eats crustaceans. We collect as many good sized mud crabs, about an inch or so in diameter, and put them into our bucket to bring with us to different piers.

[October 3] Beach day at Fort De Soto! Bobby and I really wanted to get to the beach as soon as we could after everything with the hurricane had settled down so that we could see what the water in the Gulf looked like. We took a walk on the fishing pier and saw how muddied and seaweed ridden the once crystal clear water looked. Bobby decided to test his luck fishing for a while and I laid out on the beach watching Bobby fish from a nearby distance. Around 4pm, we made our way over to the St. Pete Pier. We both fished using the mud crabs we caught the previous day. A boy came over to us to check out the mud crabs we had gotten and asked if he could have some. Bobby opened up the top of the bucket for him, and as a 7 year old with no fear of the pinching claws, took the biggest mud crab that we had. To which Bobby replied, “wait, wait, wait, you can’t just take the biggest one!” The little boy said, “I promise I will bring him back, I just want to look at him over here”. We never saw the crab again and by the end of the day we had let him have two more that he was showing off to everyone on the pier.

[October 7] Bobby and I went fishing at the Skyway Bridge for the LAST time in Florida after grabbing live shrimp from our favorite tackle shop called Gator Jim’s. Our hearts were truly sad because we knew we had to pack up our fishing rods and equipment to bring back to put in storage in PA. We have loved every minute of fishing here in Florida. We can’t get over how amazing the sea life we witnessed down here is, from giant sea turtles, oversized dolphins to packs of dolphins, sharks, and every species of fish we have caught being so varied in color, length, and might. This day we caught Jacks, Blue Runners, a baby Cobia (new species) and Bobby caught a stingray (also a new species)! I have a video of a man getting out of the passenger side door of his friend’s car to follow Bobby as he was reeling in the stingray and hustling down the bridge fighting to tire the stingray out. This is just one example of the fishing culture in Florida!  After an exciting time, we decided to go back over to the St. Pete Pier to catch a few more fish from that spot. We caught a Spanish Mackerel and took it home for dinner as our last meal straight from the sea! ❤

[October 8] We embarked on our journey from Tampa to Asheville, NC as a midway point to spend the weekend on our way up to PA where Bobby’s parents live. We made a stop in Georgia for some Georgia peaches and sweet tea. After a long day of driving, we arrived in Asheville close to 10pm.

[October 9] Bobby and I woke up early to explore downtown Asheville. We started in the River Arts District. We talked to a few owners of new shops opening that weekend as they were still organizing but eager to tell us about what they make, sell, and import. We peeked into other shops and into the NC Glass Center and saw the murals all around this area of the city. Then we drove to the more populated downtown area of Asheville to park our car for a few hours so we could walk around all the streets and shops. Asheville’s community seemed to be deeply rich and plentiful with artisans of all sorts. If something could be made by hand with any medium of art, you could find it there, which made our maker hearts happy. We spent 3 ½ hours walking around downtown and then drove 40 minutes down to Chimney Rock State Park. This is a really great area for hiking for all abilities. If you don’t feel like hiking the trails, you can drive most of the way to the top parking lot, or halfway up the mountain to the overflow parking lot which offers a shuttle service to the base of Chimney Rock. There is even an elevator to use that goes through the rock if you’d like to take that way up, but the line for that looked more painful than the steps. If you know me, you know I have always loved stairs of any sort and this area did not disappoint! The stairs are intricately placed on parts of the mountain and in the rock face. Some areas of the rock were cut out so you could bend down and walk through it, they nicknamed that portion the “Subway”. The view from the top was beautiful. We looked at the mountains around us and out onto the still lush green trees. We took a peek through the gift shop located at the top as well before going back down. Bobby remembered that there was a cave at the bottom called the Gneiss Cave, so we walked the steps into that in hopes to see some bats that they had pictured out front. Then we waited to take the shuttle back down the mountain to the overflow parking lot. This shuttle was different from the first in that it was a long school bus whipping down and around sharp turns that the drivers must have memorized so down pat, but it made everyone on the filled bus nervously laugh the whole way down. Bobby and I drove back to downtown Asheville to have dinner at Strada Italiano. We can’t say enough about how delicious the food was from here. The burrata was out of this world, but so were the homemade raviolis and salad. For dessert, Bobby had a coffee, I had a cappuccino, and we split a tiramisu. We left feeling full, happy, and ready for a good night’s sleep before the long drive the following day.

[October 10] We left Asheville making one last stop in North Carolina at Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. We thought this might be another hike similar to Chimney Rock, but it was even easier because the parking lot that you drive to is only a couple hundred feet from the viewpoint at the top of the mountain. It was a super simple and very short walk to the top. We continued on our drive north and made a few more stops at some overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway to take in the beginning of the changing southern fall leaves. Then after another full day of driving we arrived at Bobby’s parents house to spend the week.

[October 11] Bobby and I went for a walk with his mom, Nina around a lake near their house. I was able to snap a few cute fall photos of pumpkin earrings that I made for my Etsy shop, Ooh Dolly. Then we took a drive down to Ohiopyle to see if the shops near them were open.

[October 12] Bobby and I both renewed our licenses at the DMV since they expire shortly after our birthdays, coming up. Then we took my car to get inspected since that was to expire in November also. Bobby’s mom was able to arrange a dinner at Black Bear Tacos in Morgantown, WV with some of the family that lives in that area. It was so great seeing them and being able to catch up after a few months away.

[October 13] Bobby and I took a drive to West Mifflin, PA to visit my former coworkers (all the more friends) at the school I worked in for 2 years while we lived in Pittsburgh. From the time I broke the news of us wanting to start our travel nurse journey and leaving the school that I found myself so deeply loving for its people and the enjoyment of the work I was doing, they were and have been so supportive in their words of encouragement and prayer. After spending some time at the school, Bobby and I grabbed lunch at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Squirrel Hill called Tan Lac Vien. Then we took a stroll down the street to Jerry’s Records, home to almost one million records in all music genres. We also had to stop by one of our favorite French bakeries called La Gourmandine in Hazelwood. If you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, give these places a try!

[October 14] Bobby and I went with his parents to Thomas, WV to a mostly-acoustic music venue and restaurant called the Purple Fiddle. This restaurant hosts a music performance every Friday and Saturday night by bands and artists from all over. We were able to see Arcadian Wild, a Nashville based quartet composed of a guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass. Funny enough, Bobby and I had one of their songs saved on our Spotify playlist, but after that night we were hooked on their music and the way that they composed and wrote their songs.

[October 15] Bobby’s uncle, Markie, came to Bobby’s parents house to hang out with us! We all also went over to Bobby’s grandparent’s, on his mom’s side, house to spend time with them as well! That night, Bobby and I took his cousins, Samantha and Ben out to dinner and to the Pittsburgh Zoo for its Asian Lantern festival. We loved having some family time while we were back in PA.

[October 16] Bobby and I had the intricate task of visiting our storage unit to swap out some of our summer clothes for the soon to be fall and winter clothes that we will need in Nashville. We found most of our clothes bins pretty easily since we put our clothes in clear containers. The only thing we couldn’t find were the majority of Bobby’s pants. Thankfully he brought some down to Florida when we first moved to Tampa.

[October 17] We left PA and drove down to Charleston, South Carolina. We used this town as our midway stopping point back to Tampa because my friend Hannah, from high school and college, is currently a travel nurse there.

[October 18] Bobby and I woke up early and drove from our hotel to walk around downtown Charleston. We started at Rainbow Row, a beautiful street full of pastel colored historic homes. Each home had a plaque from the Preservation Society of Charleston discussing its history of the home and the people who lived in them. Then we walked through the Charleston City Market that stretches through several buildings across 4 city blocks. We would exit a building and be surprised that it led right into another one full of different artisans, several of which were making their craft right in front of you. Then we met up with Hannah for brunch at the Daily. Her recommendation did not disappoint as their food was delicious. We went over to a record store called Record Stop. If you’re from Long Island reading this, you might recognize the store because the only other location is in Patchogue! After talking with the owner, he said that his son runs the shop in Patchogue, and that he moved down to Charleston a few years ago and opened this location. We were happily surprised and now we can say we have records from both locations! Hannah was a great tour guide and brought us to a few more streets with shops and bookstores that we looked into. We made a last stop together at Carmella’s Cafe for an afternoon cup of coffee, which was absolutely delicious and flavorful. Then we parted ways to drive back to Tampa.

[October 20] Back in Tampa! Bobby and I walked the Tampa Riverwalk starting at Armature Works. They had lots of fall photo areas set up along the river in preparation for their harvest festivities the following week.

[October 21] Bobby and I went to 2D Cafe in St. Pete. I’ve had this on my list to visit since we arrived in Tampa. Bobby did some work on the computer for his upcoming assignment and I was able to use the coffee shop to take photos of my earrings for my Etsy shop, Ooh Dolly. The artwork in the coffeeshop was all hand painted by a local artist too!

[October 22] Bobby and I drove from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale to meet up with my mom and her good friends, Dave and Denise, who have a condo there! Dave and Denise are from Long Island and hold Miami Dolphins season tickets. A few months ago, they invited us to come down for this weekend to see the Dolphins play the Pittsburgh Steelers! This was the third NFL stadium I have been in, but my first NFL game! After arriving at their condo, we changed and the five of us walked out to the beach to relax for a few hours before going to an early dinner at Patrizia’s. Before dinner, we walked the road near the restaurant to go into some of the shops and saw the boats in the inlet. At Patrizia’s we enjoyed a delicious family style meal together. Last year, my mom spent a very similar weekend with Dave and Denise for a Miami Dolphins game, and every restaurant they went to, Dave and Denise ordered a birthday platter for her even though it wasn’t her birthday. With that back story, this year, Dave and Denise made it my birthday at dinner and I was completely surprised! Denise caught a great picture of me when I realized what was happening. The restaurant cut the Italian music they had playing through the speakers and switched the music to their own birthday song and everyone inside and outside the restaurant clapped. It was such a funny moment. We all ended the night watching the Yankee game at the restaurant and then back at the condo.

[October 23] The five of us went to Oceans Grille for breakfast and then laid out on the beach, swam in the ocean, and relaxed before getting ready for the big Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers football game. Once we were all ready for the game, we went to a deli for sandwiches to bring with us. After we arrived at the stadium, we took a walk around the parking lot to see everyone’s tailgating set up! We saw tents with tables and grills, people using televisions and projection screens, and DJ booths with rap contests and dance parties. On the other side of the Hard Rock Stadium is an F1 racetrack which was really cool to see from above while standing on the stadium’s concourse. There was a really good split between the amount of Dolphins and Steelers fans there. The game was so much fun although both teams played really poorly. We all had a great time and ate so much food!

[October 24] Bobby and I drove back to Tampa after a fun-filled weekend with my mom, Dave, and Denise.

[October 25] We went to Craft Kafe in downtown St. Pete. We enjoyed people-watching while sipping our tea and coffee outside under the cafe’s veranda on the city block.

[October 26] Errands!! We caught up on so much today from grocery shopping to picking my car up from the mechanics, to cooking, and going to the post office.

[October 27] Bobby and I dropped his car off at the mechanics to get his AC fixed in the morning. Then we went to a park that is right around the corner from our apartment complex that has two football fields and several baseball fields. Bobby and I threw the football around and made our own plays together on the football field. Later that day, we swam in our pool and tried to soak up as much sun as we could before our move out of Florida! We ate the biggest lunch and took a nap, such a good day with my sweet guy!

[October 28] I went over to our friend Erica’s house who so graciously let me take over her whole kitchen so that I could make a smash cake for our friend’s baby’s first birthday party! The cake and its decorations came out awesome!

[October 29] Bobby and I drove to Miami for our friend’s baby’s first birthday party. We had a great time and enjoyed the company and the food! That night we stayed in Boynton Beach at Johanna, Steve, and Matthew’s house. I’m so glad that we got to stay at their house again before leaving Florida!

[October 30] We left Johanna and Steve’s early in the morning to go back down to Miami to meet our friends at VOUS Church. After church, Bobby and I went to Wynwood for lunch and to walk around to see all the murals, graffiti, and different shops. Our favorite shop that we went into was called Cars and Guitars. It is a unique gallery of investment grade cars and guitars, and everything you see is for sale! The staff was super knowledgeable when we asked them questions about certain pieces. The other shop we enjoyed was called Scooter Steve’s. They have gas and electric powered scooters with really fun designs. After getting lunch, we drove back to Tampa from Wynwood.

[October 31] Bobby and I went back to the park and football field near our apartment to do a workout and throw the football around some more. After we came home, Bobby took a test for his upcoming assignment. I made us a delicious meal of homemade pesto and farfalle pasta with cubed seasoned sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts on the side. Delish!

Let’s Get Connected

I’m not sure we could have fit any more into our crazy packed October if we tried. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading along and I’m so glad you are here! If it’s your first time reading about our adventures, subscribe below to get future emails! There are a few more really wonderful things we had the opportunity to do before leaving Tampa, so stay tuned! I usually end this portion of the blog saying, Signing out from the Sunshine State, but I’m currently typing out what I’ve written down into the computer from Nashville. So, HELLO from MUSIC CITY! 🎙️🤍

Madison Basile

Long Island, NY> Lynchburg, VA> Pittsburgh, PA> Tampa, FL> Nashville, TN