At this time last year, we were finishing up our two-month project of clearing out my parents’ home and preparing it for sale. And we were happily anticipating resuming our travels. Instead, we’ve been stranded in Florida for more than a year. After much (exhausting) discussion, we’ve decided to stay here for a while longer. […]
Archive for Florida
When Eric and I contemplated taking to the road full-time eight years ago, we had a cat. Spot was eighteen years old, highly opinionated, and her only outings in a vehicle had been visits to the vet. Much to our surprise, Spot adapted extremely well to traveling life. But when she passed away a year-and-a-half […]
Thank you, dear friends, for your condolences on the loss of my mom. Reading your words of support and kindness helps me as I adjust to the reality of life without my mom and dad. Helping my folks navigate the last years of their lives was hard. Still, it’s painful to realize that I will […]
As of Wednesday, almost everything has been ticked off the ‘to do’ list on the remodel. Well, not everything—but enough so that the house is comfortable and the contractors are gone. We had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, including being back in the house, the weather cooling off, and the fact that […]
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 […]
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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!