We're on the Move Again!

Well, it was an interesting 6 months in Tampa, to say the least. We will likely both post our retrospectives on this winter's Tampa experience over the coming weeks, but suffice it to say there is much to reflect upon and that that reflection is probably best done when we put some miles behind us. Which brings us to the happy declaration...

WE'RE ON THE ROAD AGAIN !!!




Check out our new back window decal

We left Tampa last Saturday and have had a jam-packed week of fun and frivolity and getting back to what we love most - travel, exploration, music and adventure.I finished up my job on Friday, April 18th after a few extensions that put me well over the 3-4 months I'd been expecting my "seasonal" job to last. Andre's seasonal position has been winding down for a few weeks, and he has just a few remaining 1-day work obligations that we are fitting in during our travels. Here are some highlights from week one.

WE BRAVED VULTURES (And Mosquitoes) TO CAMP IN THE EVERGLADES ON NIGHT ONE!

These folks didn't heed the warning and put tarps on their vehicles...

After a gorgeous drive up the keys, we spent three days in Key West

 

 

After a great couple of days in Key West visiting favorite haunts and soaking in the hot sun, we enjoyed the gorgeous drive back through the lower keys and stopped at Biscayne National Park where we spent an hour or two talking to the Park Ranger, exploring the visitor center and taking a walk along the shore, where we spotted this cool Spotted Eagle Ray in the water.

Then it was back through Alligator Alley and another night camping in the Everglades, this time stopping to hike (and even bike) on a number of trails within the National Park.

  

 

 

After a enjoying our five days in the Keys and the Everglades, we headed back to New Port Richey to spend a last night in Florida at my Mom's before heading out to Tampa International Airport to get on a plane to Chicago for a few days. Andre had a one day business obligation in a suburban Chicago school on Friday, so we decided to extend the trip to include a weekend visit to my brother and his family in nearby Naperville.

Spent a few hours walking around Wrigley Field and visiting Goose Island Brewing Co. across the street!

 

On Friday afternoon we took drive out to another much-revered brewing institution, New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin.  It was an awe-inspiring (and tasty) experience. On our way there, we stopped for lunch at a local favorite, home of the Butterburger!

In addition to amazing beer, New Glarus had a beautiful bell tower and courtyard at their Hilltop Brewery

 

 

After a great afternoon we drove the 2 1/2 hours back to Naperville, Illinois to meet up with the family and begin our visit.  It was an amazing first week on the road!!

Planet Tampa

 

Well, we are finally starting to settle in here in Tampa so I thought I'd check in and catch you up on our first couple of weeks here. While we are here working for the winter (and not traveling & exploring) I likely will only post blog entries occasionally, but I did want to share some details from our first two weeks in Tampa Bay and assure folks that we haven't dropped off the face of the earth!

No, we haven't become Tampa Bay Bucs fans yet (or Ray's for that matter), and are not likely to do so - but it has been rather neat to work right across from the Buc's stadium and right near the Yankee's Spring Training Camp. Should be interesting when Feb/March roll around. For now, we are getting acclimated to being in a City again, a warm climate in November, and yet another new existence. We are getting good at new experiences and flying by the seat of our pants, but it does come with an elevated level of stress while all of the logistics are being worked out.

Just last Friday we finally moved out of the extended stay hotel where we had been staying for the first few weeks, and into a short term condo rental that feels more like an actual home.

It's only about 5 miles from my new workplace and is right on the bus line. Yes, I said bus. One of the challenges for us here right from the start has been not having a commuter vehicle to zip around in.  As our schedules grow more complex, we often find ourselves heading in opposite directions with just one vehicle - and a vehicle that is not particularly fond of all the idling in traffic. Got my bus pass today and hopefully we'll be able to give the van a much-needed break from daily commuting.

We have managed to have some fun here in Florida while working out the logistics of our temporary foray onto planet Tampa. The first weekend we were here, we spent some time checking out St. Petersburg, including a downtown arts and music festival and a quick re-visit to Tropicana Field, where we'd been once before with the boys and our nephew Bo to see a Red Sox/Devil Ray's game many many years ago. And this past Friday night, we snuck off to historic Ybor City to see one our favorite bands, American Aquarium, playing at the Old World Brewery.

American Aquarium put on a fantastic show!

 

Not the Red Sox - but hey, these folks seem to like their Rays too!

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!