We love Ashland. But as we entered the gravitational pull of the Rogue Valley, I felt a disquieting mix of excitement and anxiety.
Returning Home
It was odd to be returning to our hometown, but to not have our home to return to. I wondered what it would be like to drop back into our lives, trying to pick up the threads of relationships after a year’s absence. I questioned whether I would still even like Ashland. Our last memories of Ashland were of the dreadful two weeks we spent trying to wrap up loose ends a year ago—including countless hours in a tiny storage unit in a relentless heat wave. Those are not pleasant memories.
As we wound through the high mountains of the Siskiyou Pass and dropped down into the golden hills of the Rogue Valley—a journey that we’ve made countless times—we both remarked that even after a year away and all of the gorgeous landscapes and places we’ve seen, we still know why we chose Ashland as our home so many years ago—twenty for me, and more than thirty for Eric.
Friends Are The Best Part
That’s a long time to live somewhere, and our roots run deep. We were most definitely looking forward to seeing friends. As much as we’ve enjoyed our year of travels—and the new friends that we’ve made on the road—we’ve missed our friends in Ashland. Leaving behind our community of fun-loving and loving friends was the most difficult part for us in making the decision to travel full-time.
Tucked into our spot at our dear friends Ted and Kath’s farmstead
As it turns out, I didn’t have to worry about reconnecting with friends. It was as almost as though we had never left. We had numerous invitations to park our little trailer at the homes of various friends and almost daily invites for dinners, music gatherings, hikes, and other get-togethers. We visited many of our favorite places—hiking Mt. Ashland, Grizzly Peak, and Lithia Park; kayaking at Rocky Point; wine tasting at local vineyards; a concert at the Britt Festival. Ashland is a wonderful town, and we had a fabulous homecoming.
An Unanswerable Question
A bit overwhelming were the dozens upon dozens of chance encounters with acquaintances in the food co-op, at the farmer’s market, in the park, or on the street. Invariably, people said, “Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while!” We got to the point of just smiling and saying, “Nice to see you!” unless we were prepared for a lengthy conversation. If we said, “We’ve been traveling for a year,” then people naturally asked what we were doing, why, where, how, and what was our favorite place that we’ve visited. Which is a very good question, but one that we can’t seem to answer.
We couldn’t even muster a coherent response when someone said, “Okay then, so what were your top three favorite places?” Eric and I just looked helplessly at each other. “How about your top ten?” At that point, we just rattled off a bunch of places we’ve been in the past year that we loved—Lopez Island, Yellowstone, Santa Fe, Apalachicola, Cedar Key, Gulf Shores, Breaux Bridge, New Orleans, Sierra Vista, Great Basin…and left out at least as many as we named.
So Many Appointments
Undoubtedly, part of my resistance to returning to Ashland had to do with the myriad of appointments awaiting us, none of which were fun, unless you happen to enjoy visiting the dentist/doctor/accountant. (I don’t.) We also had thrice weekly veterinarian appointments for our kitty, who at 19 is making up for all of her years as a cheap date.
We had planned on spending two weeks in Ashland; instead, we were there for five weeks, mostly because I unhappily discovered that I had a poorly behaved tooth that had to be extracted. (I’m now in the long, expensive process of a tooth implant.)
Laundry Day
So, What’s The Plan?
When we embarked on our full-time traveling lifestyle in June of 2013, we weren’t sure how it was going to play out. So we rented our home for a year (to a wonderful couple) and put our personal belongings in storage. Friends ask if we miss our home. There are times that I miss having more space (after all, we’re living in a 21’ trailer).
I miss having a place for friends to gather, our cozy fireplace in winter, our gardens, our big kitchen for cooking. And sometimes I miss seeing our “stuff”—the interesting things we’ve collected over the years in our travels that are now squirreled away in boxes. But overall, we are very happy that we made the decision to travel full-time.
In fact, we’re so certain that this is the right choice (for now, at least) that we’ve rented our home for another year to the same wonderful couple and are starting another round of adventures. This next year looks a bit different than we had planned. We need to stick pretty close to the West Coast because of my many upcoming dental appointments. But that’s life, on or off the road. We’ve learned that traveling fulltime isn’t one big long vacation. It’s simply real life, albeit in a very small living space with a much bigger backyard and frequent changes of scenery.
So much still to discover!
We’re happy you’ve accompanied us thus far on our journey. It has been a delight hearing from friends, old and new, both via comments and emails. We look forward to many more shared adventures—virtually and in person—down the road.
It’s so easy to get used to life on the road…
It certainly is an interesting life, with ever-changing vistas and lots of opportunity for photography. Looks like you’re doing a lot of wonderful photography, Jack. Nice to hear from you.
Ah… it was too swift and fleeting…when you getting back to party and play? We’re here waiting for your excited giggles and Eric’s smile!
It was way too swift and fleeting, but we’ll be back soon! We’re looking forward to lots more fun times with you and John. xo
Such a wonderful post and I so enjoyed the slideshow of all your good times with friends, and of course your sweet kitty. As mother to an 18year old, I know how those last years can be, but I wouldn’t trade it for fewer years, as I am sure you would not. Ashland is an incredible place, but we opted for Grants Pass for our winter digs and a place to store the MoHo so we can travel out of the basin in winter. I have no idea when we will leave Rocky Point…the years come and go. Full timing is wonderful, and yet half timing works for us because of so many of those things that you mentioned. Either way, you have a beautiful life on the road and another wonderful year waiting. Congrats!
Thanks, Sue! There were a few factors that made full-timing more appealing at this point in our lives, but it wasn’t an easy decision. Our aging kitty was one of the challenges, but she has adjusted remarkably well, and we’re committed to providing her the best care possible so that she lives out her life in comfort. I can certainly see why you love Rocky Point — it’s one of our favorite places for kayaking.
Spotty at Nineteen! Gorgeous.
Hope you’ll keep your blog going for the next year – hopefully we’ll see a bit more of you as you have to “stick close to the west coast”.
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I’ll definitely keep the blog going, Nancy — I just counted up and see that I wrote more than 70 posts last year! It makes it all the more rewarding when I hear from friends. We’re looking forward to spending more time with you and Bryan — I’d love to get a music video of you guys for the blog! xo
Sounds like a wonderful homecoming Laurel except for the appointments. I’ve just been through a round of dental work myself so wish you all the best with that. Best to kitty with the pretty eyes as well. Love the photo of the purple shirts!
Thanks, Carol. Hope your dental work went well, too. Spotty does have pretty green eyes, doesn’t she? I’ve been accused of having a purple addiction — when I saw my laundry all lined up, I thought, “Hmmm…might be something to that…”
Although a bit overwhelming, what a wonderful homecoming you received from friends. We have always wanted to visit Ashland and I still feel that Oregon is very high on the list of places where we may settle down when our wandering days are through. Thanks for the lovely tour of your hometown Laurel.
Our homecoming was wonderful, LuAnn. Don’t know when you and Terry will be visiting Oregon next, but we would love to meet up with you. We could show you around Ashland and give you the insiders tour!
Well that first picture looks like a painting. I know the feeling of looking forward to and dreading going back to a place you’ve lived more than 30 years. Sadly for us, ours is a University town and our friends come and now mostly go. Back to their families. So we don’t have the never ending dinners. envy…envy. Love that laundry picture. I think you are quite smart to have everything in similar colors. Then you can have fewer things and they all go together. Purple is my favorite color. But I look best in blue. SO sorry to hear we won’t be seeing you in Florida. That tooth thing sounds terrible! Surely they will have it fixed in a couple of months? No?
Sherry, yes, I can get dressed in the dark!! I’m so bummed that we most likely won’t be traveling to Florida this winter — my tooth ordeal is going to stretch out into March. Definitely not what we had planned, but we’ll make the best of it. At least we’re not going to be stuck in the far freezing north somewhere. Ashland will be cold enough in the winter!
How well I remember our first visit back to our hometown after only a few months on the road. It felt so weird. Subsequent visits not so bad. But always we knew it was only a visit and were happy to continue our life on the road.
It’s so helpful to hear stories from long-time full timing friends! :-)
Ah, the “favorite” question. That one stumps us too. Besides the fact that there have been too many places to remember each year, there have been multiple places we loved. For many different reasons. Not a subject for a 5 minute conversation!
I find when we go back to San Diego each holiday season the amount of social time is overwhelming…but that’s just me. Hans could be social all day every day. One year I’ll figure out how to strike the balance just right!
Lisa, it was a bit overwhelming on many levels being back in Ashland — I’m really social, as well, but adding in all of those necessary appointments put me over the edge a few times. I hope to do better when we return this fall. We’ll start things off in a good way by meeting up with you and Hans!
Your post made us smile…. We can’t answer that question either so we just say Santa Fe. It’s three years for us this month. The chance meeting with you guys stands out as one of the best moments along our journey.
Haha, Santa Fe always is right up at the top of our list, no matter how many times we’ve been there! Congratulations on your three year anniversary! Meeting you two is also one of our finest memories of the past year — we’re looking forward to meeting up with you this fall in Ashland. Lots of stories to share. :-)
So glad you enjoyed your first year on the road and decided to do another. We are into year five and don’t see an end. There is just too much we haven’t seen and so much we want to revisit. What a country!
Good luck with your tooth. I had to do the whole root canal, cap thing during our last visit “home” so I was glad we were having an extended visit do to our daughter’s running races.
I am excited to return to Oregon just for the amazing farmers markets.
Pam, it’s so inspiring that you guys are into your fifth year of full-time travel. We also feel that there’s so much still to see (and so many things to revisit!). Do you know when you’ll be in Oregon? Would be fun to meet up with you. :-)
Geez, Ted and Kathy’s place looks incredible!! Sure wish I would have seen you to at least give you a hug. Maybe next time around. And since WHEN is it not fun to visit one’s accountant?? :)
Well, I take that back — if you were my accountant then an appointment would be something to look forward to! I’m really sorry that I didn’t get to see you while we were in Ashland. We’ll be back in October, and I’d love to get together then! And yes, Ted and Kath’s place is gorgeous. :-)
So sorry we missed seeing your sweet faces when you were in town. I wanted to tell you in person how very much I enjoy your blog. You truly can make anywhere beautiful and find the good in all kinds of places. Thank you for sharing and I will look forward to seeing you one of these times you are in the valley.
Thank you so much, Sue. I appreciate your kind words and it makes me happy to know that you’re still enjoying our blog. We definitely want to see you and Doug when we return to Ashland — how about a fall camping trip on the Rogue?
It sounds like we won’t have that rendezvous in TX because of your damn tooth! So where is winter this time?
Although we have a little storage of the last place we lived,we don’t have a town to call home for now .
We always stammer or look at each other every time we are asked that question. Although our ready answer is Alaska, to visit not to live…there is always a qualifier for every place.
Good luck on your dental saga, I can relate I have a few of those, not fun but …
ML, I’m so bummed that we won’t be making it to Texas this winter to meet up with you! We’re not sure where we’re going to be — somewhere warmer than Ashland, that’s for sure — we’re thinking southern California and Arizona. Close enough so that we can get back to Ashland as needed for the dental work.
Yup, that favorite question stumps me every time! There’s no way I could pick a favorite place. Which is exactly why we continue to travel :) I am glad to hear that you’re home coming was a success. We’ll be heading back to our hometown for a visit next summer after 3 years away, and I’m already having some anxiety about how I will feel returning to a place I once loved so much. It’s nice to hear that you reconnected with friends so easily. I am hoping to have the same experience. Sorry to hear about the dentist work, that it never a fun experience! But how great that you decided to travel for another year. Too bad we’re headed east this fall because that means there’s no chance we’ll run into you. Someday…
Wow, heading back after three years away — that’s bound to bring up a mix of feelings! We’re nowhere near done traveling either, so we’ll definitely be meeting up with you somewhere on the road. We need to get to Colorado — your adventures there have been spectacular.
Loved seeing you guys if only for a fleeting moment & so happy you share this amazing blog to keep up with you.Beautiful pictures as always…so glad you had a blast in-between the other stuff. Definitely want to have you & the gang over for a salmon & halibut harvest dinner when you return to Ashland. John’s catching it in Alaska right now!I bet you’re in Lopez heaven… you’re so lucky to be in such a beautiful place!
We loved seeing you, too — and can’t wait for more adventures when we return to Ashland! Oh yummy, one of your fresh salmon and halibut dinners — you’re reeling us in. Wish you could come visit us on Lopez right now. Miss you! xoxo