Artie has joined our family part-time (we share custody). As we designed our Life: Phase Next, we planned part of it as land-based (vs. flying hither and yon) so we could spend time re-exploring our beautiful country (Canada) and meandering through many parts of the US that we had yet to experience. We knew we... Continue Reading →
Oliver and the Okanagan: Land of plenty
Wine. If you enjoy it, then Oliver in late September/early October is a great place to be. Tourist season has slowed and temperatures have cooled, but the wineries, for the most part, are still open. It is also time for the fall Okanagan Wine Festival, a collection of wine-related events throughout the Okanagan Valley from wine-paired... Continue Reading →
Trestles and Tunnels
We are in the middle of a repeat house sit in Oliver, British Columbia. Vineyards and orchards cover the hills and valleys here, and accompanying wineries (and now cideries and distilleries) are abundant. The Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) trail offers easy cycling along the Okanagan River, but there is one section of this trail that... Continue Reading →
How we spent our summer vacation
It's odd to think of people who are living nomadically taking a vacation. Despite the title of this post, we don't think of it that way ourselves. But when we return to the familiar--our hometowns replete with family and friends--it feels a bit like a vacation. Though we posted about our comings and goings in... Continue Reading →
Oliver: Wine country
Oliver is a small town in the British Columbia Okanagan region, famous for hundreds of wineries in and between its towns (Oliver, Osoyoos, Kelowna, Penticton, Naramata, and Keremeos, among others). For 10 days in August, we lived in Oliver, taking care of two very friendly cats, Boots and Molly, and their tidy little bungalow. ... Continue Reading →
Calgary: Hugs, bugs, and puppy dogs
We managed to fit in a final trip to Calgary before heading overseas in September. It's about a 12-hour drive each way between Vancouver and Calgary, but we couldn't resist the opportunity for a few more grandson hugs. Since son and daughter-in-law Kyle and Candice are heading into a major home renovation, we couldn't stay... Continue Reading →
West Coast: The first time, again
What a summer we have had, and continue to have. We are still living nomadically, even though we are meandering in places that are somewhat familiar to us. In many cases, we're staying in communities or areas longer than we have before, which gives us the opportunity to explore them in new ways. Adventures we've... Continue Reading →
Victoria: A Boxer and a Poodle
We were very fortunate to be be chosen as house and pet sitters for a home in the Highlands area of Greater Victoria. All around us are public and private lakes and thick, West Coast forest full of walking trails and many surprises along the way. Large Douglas Firs, Arbutus, and Cedars create a canopy... Continue Reading →
Vancouver: Feels like home
Vancouver is where we say we are from, though we haven't lived in the city for almost a decade. We were both born and raised in suburbs, and owned homes and raised our own family on the outskirts of town. For our last three years in the area, we lived right in the city looking... Continue Reading →
House sit: Calgary (Flannel)
We left Calgary last August after an 8-year stay. We frequently met up with comments like "you're back" as we met up with friends and attended appointments here, but as far as we are concerned, being in Calgary is just part of our nomadic life. For the first few weeks we were in town, we... Continue Reading →
Money: The second 4 months
This post is a sequel to Money: The first 4 months. Please see the first post in order to understand the following information better. Here's what we spent for the second 4 months (120 days): Panama: Pedasi: 2 weeks (the first 2 weeks in Pedasi are captured in the previous 4-month period) Boquete: 1 month Nicaragua: Granada: 6... Continue Reading →