Acouple of years ago, we discovered the French Quarter Festival—a four-day celebration that takes place the second weekend in April in New Orleans. With more than 20 stages scattered throughout the Quarter, upwards of 1,700 local musicians performing throughout the day and evening, and small plates offered by the best neighborhood restaurants in lovely outdoor […]
We’ve been talking for a long time about slowing down our travels. In a couple of months, we’ll have been on the road fulltime for three years. Since we pulled out of our hometown of Ashland, Oregon in June of 2013, we’ve put 52,000 miles on our truck. At least half of that has been […]
Tucked into the crook of the Florida Panhandle on the Gulf of Mexico, a two-lane highway meanders along 130 miles of laid-back coastal Old Florida. This is the Forgotten Coast, an area of small fishing towns, pristine wilderness, and rustic beauty. Here, southern accents are as thick as the Spanish moss dripping from the cypress […]
“There’s one!” I call out to Eric. An enormous grey blob rises slowly to the surface of the crystal clear river, exhales loudly, and sinks again to the sandy bottom. It’s a West Indian manatee, a roly-poly aquatic mammal that seeks the warmth of Florida springs in the winter. We’re kayaking the Ichetucknee River in […]
There are a handful of places we’ve discovered in our travels that immediately feel like home. Cedar Key is one of them. A cluster of tiny islands on the Nature Coast of northwest Florida, Cedar Key is an unpolished gem. And that’s just the way we like it. (Although a good grocery store would be […]
In our Florida travels we generally avoid the east coast, preferring the more laid-back “Old Florida” vibe of the Gulf coast. But I’ve long been intrigued by the history and architecture of St. Augustine, and getting there obviously involves a trip to the Atlantic coast. In February, we managed to snag a site at Anastasia […]
I don’t think there’s any more beautiful place to kayak and swim than the spring-fed rivers of Florida. Crystal clear waters—often an astonishing hue of aquamarine—wind through stands of palms and cypress festooned with Spanish moss. Herons and egrets pick their way across watery fields of lily pads; turtles sun themselves on ancient logs; osprey […]
Shhhh….don’t tell my other feathered friends, but I think the wading birds are my favorite of all. Well, at least while we’re in Florida, the wading bird capital of America. Florida boasts 18 varieties of these intriguing creatures, including the showy pink Roseate Spoonbill and the awkwardly endearing Wood Stork. Not only are the wading […]
See that fancy fan dancer? She’s a Purple Gallinule, and she’s been on my list of most-want-to-see-birds for several years. Every year I come up with a few birds that I’d like to find in our travels—kind of a treasure hunt, of the feathered variety. My most recent list included Purple Gallinules (because they’re so […]
For years, I’ve seduced Eric with tales of the Florida Keys. I tell him of days spent snorkeling over coral reefs, paddling lazily through gin clear waters while lemon yellow and neon blue tropical fish dart through an undersea forest of staghorn coral and swaying purple sea fans. I paint images of cerulean skies and […]
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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!