Any long term traveler knows that if you have been on the road for any length of time, standards shift. Standards in hotel rooms, safety concerns and, well, it has to be said, personal hygiene. While we have never been particularly fussy regarding our accommodations, by the time we arrived in Goa, India, we were simply thrilled to have a beachfront room, even if it was of questionable design.
As I stepped out of the camper, I saw Jim already had a warming fire roaring. Porter, luxuriating in the warmth of his new coat, lay curled up on his camp pad asleep. Aspen inched closer to my chair, ever the lap Lab, wanting to be as close as possible.
Australia, that enchanting land down under, where everyone has a great accent, looks like Hugh Jackman, and life is a beach. Or is it? I only recently realized in the 190-plus blogs I have posted on Next Big Adventure, only one has been about Australia, and that was simply a foto-Friday of Whitehaven Beach. Why, after spending over six weeks driving the East Coast of the country, did I feel compelled to write nothing???~
We are not shy about proclaiming our great love for off-season camping. Nearly empty campgrounds and open beaches bring a smile to our face and joy to our heart. Add in a full moon, mid-50’s temps and no rain (in Oregon in January!) and we were in. For the first time in nearly two years we were joined by Jim’s sister Wendy, her husband and Jim’s best friend, Ken, and their two furbabies, Jenny and Lexi. Ken had recently returned from his second deployment in two years and also included a few of people in his unit, who joined in with their families.
India, a magical, life changing place. For months, everywhere we went, we were mobbed by Indians wanting to take their photo with us, invite us to dinner, and chat with us while we tried to take in a serene sunset. What to do? Surrender to the power of India and embrace the chaos!
BALANCE – We all search for it in our lives. The ancient Indian principles of Ayurveda focuses on finding it. In Eat,Pray,Love, Liz Gilbert travels to three continents in search for it. Most of the time, I feel relatively balanced, but the last couple of months I’ve been struggling.
Oh, the joy of a sunset. A sundowner is one of the favorite part of any day of ours, and we have experienced thousands of spectacular ones throughout the world. The end of one day, transforming into the night before the cycle begins again is consistently magical. This one, from the scenic coast of Oregon.
We have a fairly substantial shell collection from our travels around the world, but this partially damaged sand dollar was particularly appealing to me.
We have spent more time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico than anywhere else on earth, except home. Our most recent trip showed that, in spite of some inevitable changes, much of the city retains the charm and culture that we so appreciate.
You Sing! You Sing! The karaoke microphone was thrust into Jim’s hand by the cheering crowd. Thick smoke circled the room, becoming increasingly worse as the passing tobacco bong was alternated by chain smoking cigarettes.. I sat silently, waiting to see what he would do. Singers we are not, but faced with such enthusiasm, it would be hard to resist.
