A new adventure about to begin...

Well, we're finally on our way to Tampa to begin our new adventure; a "winter" in a warm climate and a return to the workforce (in a seasonal capacity) in a new and different place.  After doing another round of visiting in Rhode Island and a few last trips to our storage unit to put away our camping and hiking gear and switch it up for what we will need in Florida (including actual work clothes!), we packed up the van and headed south toward Tampa and my seasonal job with PwC that begins on November 4th.

On our way we had a great stopover in DC for a few days to visit Andre's sister Rose and her family. As always, their hospitality was fantastic and the accommodations in their beautiful home superb! We had a great visit, enjoying the city during the day and watching the Capital's hockey and of course, Red Sox baseball in the evenings.  Their home is only a short walk from the National Zoo, so we spent he first afternoon walking around the zoo, enjoying the exhibits (especially the big cats and the playful otters) and reminiscing about all the previous visits to the zoo when our kids were very small.



Cheetah Pacing

 Quite an impressive Lion

Otters Playing

The next day, we rode our bikes down to the White House and the National Mall and enjoyed many of the monuments and museums before heading back to Rose & Terry's for a nice dinner and Game 1 of the World Series.

Andre in front of the White House

The Lincoln Memorial - one of my favorites

After a great couple of days with the Audette-Lynch's in DC, we packed it up once more and continued south into the Carolina's, stopping at the Duck-Rabbit Brewery tasting room in North Carolina for some free sampling of their high quality dark beers, before continuing on to Myrtle Beach where we stayed for two nights before finally making our way into Florida, where we spent a night in Jacksonville, Florida.

Duck-Rabbit Brewery Tasting Room

Lots of Great Choices

 

Today we are in the van heading to Tampa to do some early "scouting" of the area we will be temporarily relocating to and then we will head to New Port Richey to visit Mom for a few days before heading back to down-town Tampa for the weekend and the start of my work week next week.

 

We are excited about being in a new place for a while and I am excited about starting a new job and enjoying some of the benefits of being in the workforce again, albeit temporarily. There are some aspects of work that I have missed and I will enjoy revisiting them for a short while. Of course the money doesn't hurt either.  Not sure how I will feel once I am working steadily without much free time, but it will be a good test for determining if this makes sense for us to do every winter or every few winters.

 

Whatever the outcome, I love new experiences, so this will be one more under my belt. And then in the Spring it will be time to figure out what's next on this adventure... 



Enjoying New England - but off the Trail

Well, Andre and I have spent the last few days enjoying Fall in Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts, but are not on the trail anymore. About two weeks into the Long Trail hike, I felt that I just couldn't do it physically anymore and we ended our thru-hike.  Andre could have and certainly would have completed the journey, had I not encountered such difficulty with the physical demands of the terrain, but as we got on together, we got off together and settled for two weeks of Long Trail memories rather than four.

Since then, we have spent the time unpacking and re-organizing, camping at a variety of places, and driving around the beautiful Berkshires and surrounding area, as well as starting to make plans for our winter in Florida. We spent a few nights in Brattleboro, VT at a hotel, giving us the opportunity to revisit one of our favorite old haunts, McNeill's Brewery. We also spent a few nights at a wonderful old campground in Savoy Mountain State Forest in Western Massachusetts. The campground was full of apple trees - it was obviously an orchard at one time - so we have been eating fresh apples to our hearts content as we contemplate our next steps.

So although all did not go exactly as planned, we are doing fine as always and finding interesting things to do each day.  This afternoon we are going to a Music, Barbecue and Brews outdoor festival in Greenfield, MA and we will also enjoy listening to the Red Sox game and hanging out tomorrow watching the Patriot's game. We will enjoy our remaining time in New England, appreciating all it has to offer before we leave these parts once more. And although I am sad that I was not able to complete the trail (and in not doing so, prevented Andre from doing so either), we did come away with many wonderful memories from the two weeks we did spend hiking over 90 miles from the Canadian Border through beautiful Vermont. 

More Long Trail Photos

Classic Autumn in Vermont

The Power of Water....

A few more "Homes for the Night"

Mount Mansfield (5 photos)

 

Crossing another Beaver Pond

 A Friend on the Trail...

 

Getting Started & Week One

Well, we made it through week one and are just packing back up from our first night off the trail at a beautiful bed and breakfast close to the trail in Jeffersonville, VT. I will say that for me, the first week was both enjoyable and also grueling and at times very very physically challenging. The night off the trail was extremely recuperative (showers, clean sheets, pizza & lounging around) and I'm hoping to carry that "good will" into the next few days as we go over some pretty challenging terrain, including Mt Mansfield and Camel's Hump. Here are those promised photos from the first week.

Final Pack up of our Packs before being picked up by the shuttle

 

Our Home for the first night (Journey's End Camp) at the Canadian Border

 

 

The U.S. Canadian Border (A cleared, mowed line in the

woods) 

 

International Border Marker (at the Northern Terminus of the Long Trail)

 

 

 Climbing Jay Peak (The LT goes up the ski slopes!)

Posing for a photo in the TramWay Building & Snack Bar at the top of Jay Peak

(We had a great lunch, dried out, and charged our phone and laptop)

Lunch Stop atop Mt Belvidere

(Also drying out our sweaty hiking clothes)

A gorgeous day to hang the clothes!

 

 A Stunning Beaver Pond in the Early Morning

Climbing Through Devil's Gulch

Looking down at VT-15 and the Towns of Johnson & Jefferson  

 

A Last Rest on Prospect Rock before heading down into Town

 

Crossing the Lamoille River via Suspension Bridge

 

 

After crossing the bridge it was just another .4 mile to get to the road crossing at Vermont Route 15, where the innkeeper from the Bed & Breakfast (Nye's) in Jeffersonville was picking us up from the trail. With the first 50 miles behind us, we are taking a much deserved break!