Along with looking back, my attention is being pulled far into the future as we plan yet another year of travel. With a dozen windows open on my laptop—including campground reviews, route maps, word docs, and my photo library—it’s no wonder that my computer is overheating and making a distressing whirring sound (for that matter, so is my brain).
A Note From The Present Moment
We’re back in Florida, and we’ll be here for several months as we embrace the new reality of my parents in assisted living (hallelujah! tinged with sadness) and deal with their home and possessions.
At times, I am overwhelmed by the task ahead. There are no estate sale companies willing to make the trek to this remote part of Florida (aka ‘The Forgotten Coast’), so we’re on our own. Wish us luck. Along with months of rooting through closets, cabinets, the garage, and attic, my plan is to get our blog caught up on our summer and fall travels. I’m hoping it will be a welcome distraction.
Looking Back At 2019
Meanwhile, I’ve been browsing through our 2019 photos. Even though we lived all of these experiences, it still catches me by surprise to scroll through the year. Remembering the beautiful places we’ve been, the interesting adventures we’ve had, and the family and friends we’ve met up with along the way makes me happy and grateful.
Looking back at our photos is a sure way of renewing my enthusiasm for continuing on in this lifestyle. Obviously, this is a very small window into the past year. I finally had to rein myself in and randomly select a handful of photos. Otherwise, I would be lost in last year until sometime next July.
The truth is that had we not embarked on this fulltime journey six-and-a-half years ago, we would never have experienced a fraction of all that we’ve experienced. With that in mind, we look ahead to 2020!
Six-and-a-half years on the road, and still trucking
Looking Toward 2020
Just last week, we made the decision to stay east for another year. This was a BIG decision. But it makes sense, given that we have so much work to do dealing with my parents’ estate. We have plans to leave Florida behind in the hot and humid summer months, heading for Michigan and other new-to-us places before returning to Florida next winter.
I hope this year is off to a good beginning for all of you. May this be a year of well-being, finding moments of joy in every day, and peace for all of us.
All in all tis a wonderful life. I can imagine how much time you spent looking through pictures to come up with your 2019 retrospective! They’re all stunning and evoke wonderful and (knowing you) probably some funny memories!
Pretty soon you’ll be finished with your sad job and be back on the road, exploring and finding joy.
Nice to finally make a decision about what side of the country you’ll be in for 2020, sorry we’ve chosen the other and that we probably won’t cross paths in the near future but….I’ll follow along on your travels.
I tried to not get too lost in 2019, Sue. But still, as you suspected, I spent an inordinate amount of time browsing through photos. Time to move along, LOL!
We’re bummed that our paths won’t cross this year. We won’t make that mistake again. Part of our wonderful memories from 2019 include our times with you guys! Thanks for the laughter and encouragement all along the way.
Love following your travels, and that we actually crossed paths for a few short days. Life is filled with adventure, and our eternal hope is that health allows you those blessings as well.
Our adventure right now is Guatemala and Panama, a few extra days at the end to explore the canal and Panama City. Then on the road this summer, Yellowstone and parts west we haven’t explored for 40+ years…perhaps loons, loons and more loons as we try to stay out of the heat of the south in summer..
Blessings for attacking the daunting project of a parent’s years of collecting. Perhaps Habitat would come when enough has been collected…..oh, thinking of you. We had a 95 year old home with 4 floors and 3 generations to dispose of….not fun!
Thank you for the good wishes for our project of dealing with my folks’ lifetime collection, Julie. Our memories of last year’s travels (including our visit with you and Martin!) will sustain us through the months of drudgery ahead.
Your travel plans for the year sound fabulous (as always!). We wish you both good health and grand adventures, as well. And perhaps we’ll see you in the fall as we make our way back to Florida??
Your loving, compassionate hearts are facing the daunting tasks with such grace. Be gentle with yourselves. 💗
Karen, we appreciate so much your kind and loving thoughts. It’s a challenging time, for sure, and it helps to have good friends offering encouragement. We’re hoping we’ll get to see you and Krash this summer in Michigan!
We found putting on some music from the past while tackling the task you are diving into brings back great memories.
What a year you have had. We look forward to more of 2019.
Deb, we did have quite a year, both in our travels and in our journey emotionally with my folks. I like your idea of using music to help us with the task of sorting through their lifetime accumulation—along with everything else, they have an epic collection of music!
Enjoy your lifestyles by traveling and taking pictures and posting to this site.
My lifestyle is with Jeep and Motorhome & hotels covering 100% of California, Nevada & Arizona. Since retirement I have made DVD’s.
Make about 500 DVD’s each year and all are given away free to people I meet and to the parks. If you have a DVD in trailer or later at home…I’ll mail them to you guys.
Thanks for your offer, Bob. It’s very cool that you’ve been documenting your travels by creating DVDs. Hope you have another wonderful year of adventures!
Your computer sounds like mine! I have RV Trip Wizard, Campendium, Campground Reviews, Campsite Photos and yes, Raven & Chickadee, all open in tabs as I plan our spring trip. Oregon (home) to San Diego (again!) to Joshua Tree, then over to the southwest portion of Utah, and back to Oregon through Bend & Sisters. Isn’t the planning stage fun (and a wee bit stressful)?!
Good luck with the sorting and removal of your folks’ possessions. What a daunting task, especially since you won’t be able to utilize an estate sale service. I’m sure blogging about past trips will help take your mind off that chore and give you time to pause and reflect on your wonderful travels. I love looking through my photos as I compose each new blog entry. I typically wait until I begin writing a post to look through that day’s folder of images, so I am often surprised by whatever caught my eye on that particular day of travel. You have some stunning photos from your adventures this past year and my favorites are those of the beautiful birds, as well as the ones you took in Nova Scotia. Have I mentioned how much I love your blog?!
I wish you peace as you tackle the chore ahead of you and look forward to reading about your journeys later this summer. Be safe and happy travels (and reading!).
Aww, thank you so much for your kindness and support, Les. I’m so glad that you find our blog helpful in planning your travels, and I really appreciate how appreciative you are! As you said, the planning is fun, but there are definitely stressful aspects—especially trying to book campsites so far ahead.
Your excellent book reviews are so helpful for me…I’ve found so many great reads, thanks to you! I’ll always have a good book to look forward to at the end of a long day of cleaning out closets. :-)
Had to laugh when you referred to Michigan as staying east. Loved the recap photos! While taking care of your parents home and belongings, I know it must be a relief to have them moved into assisted living. Take care of yourselves as you go through this period of transition.
Haha, yeah—Michigan is kind of ‘east’ to us West Coasters, Janie! Thank you for your good wishes for this transition period with my folks. It is definitely a relief to have them in a safe place now, but it feels very sad to be here at their home without them. :-(
Beautiful retrospective! I know this eases your mind, and soon we will all be enjoying the more in-depth travelogues of each stop in your amazing year.
Route-planning can be a supreme pain in the arse, but (butt!) hopefully you find some fun in it as I do. It’s like a giant logic problem but with anticipation and excitement built in!
At first, I was sad that you weren’t coming west, but then I was happy because staying further east greatly increases the possibility of an in-person sighting!!
All our love to you both as you move to the head of the line to board that big roller coaster. <3 <3
Joodie, a big benefit of staying in this ‘half’ of the country involves seeing YOU guys this summer! Yay! I’m still deep in the logistics of plotting our spring/summer/fall travels, but we already have our reservations for the Apostle Islands, so we’ll be next-door neighbors. :-) I find the planning exciting and mind-boggling, and I’m thrilled when it all comes together.
Thanks for the love, dear friends! And the fun texts that come at just the right time, LOL.
It is amazing how much perspective you can get from taking a look at your past photos. It’s a nice reminder of how much awesome stuff you get to see and do. And what a year you had! I love your photo gallery – just the right mix of cities and towns and nature and animal sightings, and the occasional perfect sunset mixed in for good luck!
I think your plan of cleaning out your parents’ place while also catching up on your travel blogs will be just the ticket for getting you through the upcoming slog. You need to have that balance, in general, and it will be good motivation to keep going so you can get back to what you truly love.
I think your plan for 2020 is perfect. Michigan in the summer will be a blast and it really is hard to beat Florida in the winter. All this craziness will be over before you know it. You’ve got this. Onward!!
Laura, looking back at our photos makes me realize how much we really do like variety in our adventures! I know you enjoy the same.. which is why your blog is such a great resource for me as I plan our Michigan travels. So, thanks!!
I appreciate, too, your support and encouragement throughout this long saga of dealing with my parents (and laughing with me about the craziness). There’s a huge mountain of stuff to deal with here, but the sunsets are spectacular! So glad we started off the new year celebrating with you three. :-)
Hi Folks- always good to hear of your adventures and see your photos. We have a light dusting of snow in Portland, Lopez got a few inches. Will miss you on the Islands this summer, but it sounds like Fate has other plans for you. We’re glad you are able to be there for your parents. Hope that continues to go well . Will see you when it is time for our paths to cross. Until then, Peace and Love, Tom & Georgina
So good to hear from you, dear friends! We’re sad to be missing another summer on Lopez and to not be seeing you. It’s hard to make choices in life—and also such a gift that we have so much good to choose between. But we will be back!
Stay cozy, keep on creating your music and art, and we’ll have a grand reunion down the road!
I love the photo retrospective, since it has such varied scenery and experiences, so I am eagerly awaiting the full write-ups. Writing those will be a nice change from sorting out closet junk, I suspect.
Sometimes travel has to be put on hold to deal with life stuff, and your family is fortunate that you have the ability to remain at your parent’s place for an extended period of time to address the accumulation of a lifetime. I predict you will emerge from the experience with renewed energy and enthusiasm for seeing fresh places!
Shannon, I wish I could hire you to catch our blog up to date, haha! I’m really hoping I can get our blog current while we’re here in Apalachicola. It’s going to be fun reliving our summer and fall adventures, as long as I don’t get lost in the weeds.
As you said, we are so fortunate that we have the flexibility to be at my folks’ home for an extended period of time to deal with their estate. And I’m eternally grateful that it is in such a beautiful place and that we can stay in our RV on their property. Otherwise, I would probably just light a match…
Love all your photos showcasing your year. I know the task at hand is not a fun one, but hopefully you’ll take time out to enjoy the Florida winter. If you make it into the U.P. be sure and let me know. We’ll once again be spending our summer in Hayward, Wi with occasional jaunts into MN and MI (upper).
Thanks, Ingrid. We will definitely take breaks every day for enjoyment and sanity while we deal with my parents’ lifetime accumulation of stuff! We really are lucky that we’re in such a beautiful place, and that we’re able to stay in our own home. And we can enjoy daily sunsets by bay, which is always soothing. Small blessings!
I’ll be in touch about our summer plans…it would be great to finally meet up in person!
Happy memories of 2019 although with some stressful moments on the side. But with a huge task ahead of you it does make more sense to stay east!At first, i thought you will be there for the summer too, but reading on you will be in Pure Michigan by then.
I know exactly the feeling of route planning and what comes with it :) Whew we are so glad we are no longer on that kind of mode.
So maybe on your way back west in 2021 we will have a close encounter!
ML, I know you’re happy to be enjoying a leisurely break from route planning and reservations! A four-month cruise sounds perfect to me right now, LOL!
We’re really looking forward to our summer in Michigan—it’s the treat that awaits us after our months of dealing with my folks’ house. We were just reminiscing about our fun time with you and Steve last winter in Apalachicola. We’ll have to make more memories together somewhere in 2021!
Choosing life on the road is such a wonderful way to retire. Your photos are all beautiful. You had another year full adventures. Sorry you couldn’t find anyone to do the estate sale. We’ll be thinking of you as you start the process on your parents home. Staying east for another year makes all the sense in the world. Our country is so darn large and take so long to cross that seeing all you can one area is a wise decision. Enjoy your time exploring more of Florida before the work starts.
Pam, we know you and John understand about making those long cross-country trips, year-after-year. It’s a wonderful way to see the country and have all kinds of adventures, but we need a break from it. Plus, as you said, staying east is giving us an opportunity to explore at a more leisurely pace.
Thanks for your good thoughts and friendship…we miss seeing you guys and can’t wait to catch up with you in 2021! Or maybe next winter, if you decide to spend the holidays in Florida??
Wishing you a great year making many more travel memories as you deal with your parents’ home and possessions. We hope to get some short motorhome trips in this summer in Colorado to break in our new-to-us baby rig.
How fun that you have a new little rig, Erin! Colorado is a place we haven’t spent a lot of time exploring, so it’s on our list…and it would be wonderful to meet up with you two there when we make our way back west. Meanwhile, thanks for checking in on us!
Might be time to join Facebook —locally based selling groups are a great way to reach people. We sold our car on it! Hugs!
Thanks for the suggestion, Leah. Eric has a Facebook account, so we’ll check into it. We have SO MUCH STUFF to sell. And donate. Hope you two are doing well! Hugs back!
I so understand everything you’re going through with your parents. We’ve been through it once already, and there were so many ups and downs…the move to assisted living, clearing out the house. Sadness and joy, positives and negatives. I hope your summer travels give you the release and freedom to move, so the winter in Florida becomes a pleasant stop.
Nina
Nina, you’re right—this is a time of mixed emotions. I’m trying my best to just ride the waves while making steady progress on all that needs to be accomplished. Sigh. At least we’re in a beautiful location while we’re sorting stuff. I appreciate your good thoughts. :-)
I hope your parents are adjusting well to assisted living, I know it is a relief for you to know they are cared for. 2019 looked to be a wonderful travel year, but I can tell you that Michigan was one of our very favorite places in all our travels. I know you will enjoy it too, especially with all you will have accomplished! Safe travels in 2020!
Linda, it’s such a huge relief to have my parents in assisted living. They’re adjusting reasonably well. My dad still thinks he is capable of returning home and bringing my mom with him. Umm…no. No way. It’s a terrible thing, to lose one’s mind. I’m trying to hold onto mine.
We’re super excited about Michigan! Fingers crossed, this will not be a mosquito year. I’m looking forward to reading about your next exotic adventure!
Starting last year in that frozen fog was certainly unique – it will always be a special memory for us too.
Having months to purge the house is likely both a blessing and a curse. Memories are delightful, but eventually exhausting. Physically and emotionally. Take care of each other during the arduous process and focus on the goal :-)
We love Michigan and it is definitely “east side of the country” to us as well. And definitely somewhere we’ll return for further exploration. I’m excited to see what you get up to. We’re back up to the PNW for most of the summer, but are aiming for our remaining states in the early fall – Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa.
Happy New Year hugs to you both!
Ha! None of us will ever forget that freezing New Year’s in West Texas, Jodee! It’s so interesting to think that we celebrated New Year’s Day last year with you guys in Marfa…and of all that has happened since then for all of us.
How wonderful that you’ll be returning to the PNW for the summer! There’s no more perfect place to be in July and August…although last summer in the Maritimes was also pretty darned perfect.
Thanks so much for your good thoughts for us as we navigate this particular life challenge. Hugs to you three, as well!
I can imagine the task you have ahead of you. It is good to read that your parents are in a place where they will be taken care of and you won’t have so much constant worry about them. Wishing you peace of mind and a strong constitution in the months ahead!
Oh, Lisa—I know you understand what we’re going through. We’re incredibly relieved to have my parents in a safe place, receiving the care they need. And it’s also sad to be here at their home without them. Such a strange time. Meanwhile, my enormous to-do list gives me a focus.
I definitely need strength to carry me through, and I’ve decided that peace of mind is my primary goal. Thanks for your good wishes.