The first of May, we spent a relaxing and fun-filled week in Bluffton, South Carolina. Our friends Ed and Diana moved there three years ago, and enticed us with photos and tales of their life in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. They treated us so well that I asked them if they would adopt us. We’re still […]
Author Archive for Laurel (AKA chickadee) – Page 2
My friend Laura recently informed me that it is my destiny to clean my way across the Southeast, one Airbnb at a time. I don’t know how I ended up with this job. It was certainly not intentional. After our most recent Airbnb experience—six long weeks in a “quaint” farm cottage in South Carolina—I have […]
We returned to Apalachicola in mid-March, just long enough to pack up our belongings from our storage unit before heading north on our new life adventure. Driving along the Gulf on Highway 98, we felt the tug to make the turn onto Magnolia Bluff, toward our former sweet home on the bay. That’s when the […]
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 […]
Last week, we spent a day kayaking on the Itchetucknee River. The past several months have been chaotic, to say the least. A day on this beautiful, peaceful river was exactly what we needed. We’ve kayaked all over North America, but this spring-fed river is our favorite paddle of all. The crystal clear water is […]
For the next five months, we will be living in Airbnbs while we’re waiting for our tiny home to be built in North Carolina. On February 1st, we arrived at our first Airbnb in Gainesville. It’s a cool little mid-century modern gem located walking distance to downtown and close to our favorite nature preserve. We […]
We pulled out of the driveway last Friday, after a nostalgic final wander through the house that my parents built 40 years ago and that has been our home for the past three years. For a few minutes, I was immersed in a cascade of memories, made more poignant by the knowledge that we will […]
Happy New Year, dear friends! I was reading over my New Year’s post from last January (The Sacred and the Profane), and I can’t come up with anything better than that. Mary Oliver’s beautiful poem about mindfulness and the hilarious sentiment about bucket lists holds just as true this year as last. And honestly, I […]
In my last post, I left you and myself with the delusion that the transition from our home on the bay in Florida to our new tiny house in North Carolina was going to be relatively painless. Well, our buyers reneged, just before the inspection. It turns out that the woman was overwhelmed by 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!