A devastating wildfire raged two miles from our home in Ashland, Oregon last week. A swath of burned rubble extends almost 20 miles north, smoke still blankets the valley, and some of our closest friends are displaced. In Portland and Bend, our family and friends are suffering from the effects of nearby wildfires and are […]
I‘ve had big plans of writing about our last summer’s adventures for many months now. But life keeps getting in the way. Every day, I look at an index card propped up by my computer. It says, “How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives. ~Annie Dillard.” As I push […]
Thank you, dear friends, for your great kindness in the loving and supportive comments you left in honor of my dad. During this time when we’ve not been able to gather with family and friends to celebrate my dad’s life and mourn his passing, your words have brought me comfort and lifted my spirits. I […]
I lost my beloved father on May 1st. He was 91 years old, but I wasn’t ready for him to go. If you had known my dad, you wouldn’t have wanted to lose him, either. The past few weeks have been hard. Harder than I imagined. From the moment of my sister’s call—”Daddy’s gone“—I feel […]
Several nights ago, Eric called me outside. A gentle breeze from the bay rustled through the palmettos, the intoxicating scent of jasmine filled the air, and the woods were alive with hundreds of tiny dancing lights. I haven’t seen fireflies in such numbers since I was a kid. Ordinarily, we hightail it out of here […]
Never in a million years did I think I would be writing a blog post about surviving a pandemic. But here we are. And although I’m an optimist by nature (and determination), I fear that we’re in for a long ride. We’re one week into our stay-at-home orders in Florida, but we started our own […]
This morning, my first thought upon awakening was, “Wow, THAT was a wild nightmare.” And then I remembered that this is reality—the world, as we know it, has essentially come to a standstill. The Best Laid Plans… If all had gone according to plan, we would have been on the road last week. We would […]
These are difficult times. Surreal. Like everyone else we know, we’re trying to find balance in a world that has suddenly been turned upside down. Our travel plans have fallen prey to the pandemic, and we’re staying put in Apalachicola for who knows how long. Nature and poetry are two things that soothe my soul […]
I thought that I was going to enjoy writing about our summer and fall adventures and catch up on our blog while spending the winter in Florida dealing with my parents’ home and possessions. But in the past six weeks, I’ve only managed one post. My focus has been on clawing my way through decades […]
Every year, just for fun, I choose a few critters that I would like to see in our travels. In 2019, on my wishlist were Green Kingfishers (success in South Texas!), Atlantic Puffins, and moose. Our best bet for seeing Atlantic Puffins—and getting close enough to photograph them—was to head to the Maritimes. Of course, […]
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If you enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, birding, art, music, quirky towns, good food, and good friends—you'll enjoy traveling with us. Join us as we explore the backroads of North America—we love company and comments!