Most mornings, Eric sits outside and drinks his coffee while observing the birds in our campsite at Spencer Spit State Park. Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Spotted Towhees, and Pacific Wrens are daily visitors to our site, along with frequent appearances by various woodpeckers, including the big beautiful Pileated. Overhead, ravens cavort in the tree canopy. We walk […]
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The pumpkins are ripening in the fields at Horse Drawn farm, and rose hips are plump on the beach roses on Spencer Spit. There’s a distinct shift in the angle of the sun, casting everything in a golden glow come late afternoon. It’s a lovely, and yet bittersweet time of year. The dawning of September […]
The Florida Keys are a tropical paradise—turquoise waters, endless blue skies, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, abundant fresh seafood, and a laid-back island lifestyle. The motto of the Keys is “Come As You Are,” and they mean it. We planned our visit for mid-November, when it’s still warm enough for swimming but the […]
Three mornings a week, we teach programs at the Nature Center at Spencer Spit State Park. The Nature Center is conveniently located right next door to our campsite; as a result, we have kids screeching to a halt on their bikes throughout the day to investigate. A sign out front advertises our programs: Plants and […]
Dear Friends, We are safe. Thank you, everyone, for your texts and emails and phone calls. We are buoyed by your support and concern. We’ve tried to respond, but our communication with the outside world has been minimal. We have no internet, with no ETA. (I’m sending this from the parking lot of our internet […]
The last half of January, we parked ourselves at a delightful Airbnb in Largo. No, not Key Largo, which everyone has heard of. This Largo is on the central Gulf Coast of Florida, in the Tampa Bay Area. How did we choose Largo? At some point last year when we were deciding where to go […]
On January 3rd, we packed up our Subaru, loaded our bikes and the cat, and headed south for the winter. We learned some valuable lessons last year after transitioning from RV travel to traveling via Airbnb. We learned to read between the lines in Airbnb listings so that we don’t end up with a dump. […]
We’ve been to Cedar Key many times in our travels. It’s one of our favorite low-key Florida towns, with a “come as you are” vibe that we find immensely appealing. Low-key and relaxing was just what we needed after our marathon five weeks of downsizing in Gainesville. As I’ve said before, simplifying is not a […]
I am delighted to report that our five-week stay Gainesville turned out to be all that we had hoped for, and more. From enjoying the historic neighborhoods, cultural offerings, springs, and wildlife of North Central Florida to reveling in the incredible array of delicious food offerings, we had a blast. Best of all, we even […]
As of last Sunday, we’re on the road again. We’re heading north to Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, which is pretty much all-new territory for us. As always, it required supreme effort to break free of the gravitational pull of home. It doesn’t matter how much planning we do, or how far ahead we start the […]
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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!