Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Firsts (page 3 of 4)

Another first for me.

Welcome, Westy! – The New Development

July 30, 2017 / / 107 Comments

The past weeks I have been insinuating a new development in our lives. It is time to reveal what we have been up to! Let me introduce our newest “family member”, Zesty. He is a 2005 Sprinter Airstream Westfalia camper, endearingly called a Westy. Ingeniously built in Germany and known as a Westfalia James Cook in Europe, only 250 of these campers were imported into the US. Airstream did those honors and “Americanized” them by adding an air conditioner and a generator, and swapping the cassette toilet for one with a holding tank. The Mercedes engine was re-branded as a Dodge for the American market. Confusing? The main thing is that Mark and I now own one of these unique, compact and decked-out camper vans! Indirectly, this plan has been brewing for a couple of years.

Second night, in Oklahoma

“I think our next adventure should be in a camper again.” I share with Mark something that has been on my mind for a while. It is March 2015 and we are anchored in beautiful Huahine, French Polynesia. Continue reading

Amtrak Antics – From Appealing Idea to Ridiculous Reality

July 22, 2017 / / 48 Comments

About two months ago, something in Arkansas required our attention, in the form of a visit. We were in Massachusetts at the time sticking to an extremely busy schedule with a month-long stay in Belgium and a three-week house sit in Oakland after that. The trip to Harrison, AR would have to wait until our house sit was finished, but the planning occurred right then and there.

The distance from Oakland to Harrison is 2000 miles (3000 km), not something we wanted to drive twice with limited time, despite the good fuel economy of our Prius. Flights to the middle of Arkansas were expensive and still required other transportation to get to the airport and to Harrison. A one-way rental was also quite pricey and meant extra costs for fuel and accommodation. And, unsurprisingly, nobody needed an RV relocation to Arkansas.

“Why don’t we take the train?” Mark suggested and a plan was born. We booked two legs on Amtrak, leaving from Jack London Square in Oakland at 9am on Friday, July 14th and arriving in Little Rock, Arkansas, at 11:30pm on Sunday, July 16th. The first leg – on the Coast Starlight – would bring us to Los Angeles in 12 hours, where we had a one-hour layover. The second leg – on the Texas Eagle – would take us the rest of the way in about 50 hours. We reserved coach seats for $350 in total. We would not have a shower, a bed and a warm meal for three days. Mark and I love train rides, so we faced an exciting adventure; an epic train journey.

Our train for 50 hours – well, part of it

Day 1:

“We have a problem!” Mark utters, as he barges into the bathroom, where I’m just pulling up my pants. Our friend Eric would give us a ride to the metro in a few minutes. From there, we would continue to the train station, well in time for our 9am departure.

“What do you mean?” I ask. Continue reading

Stopover in Reykjavik, Iceland

June 22, 2017 / / 56 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, when creating an update about my writing progress (or digress), I am baffled by how quick another month has passed. Today, back in Northern California, I wonder how two months have disappeared, since we watched Lola in Sebastopol. Of course, I know what happened. Time didn’t just dissolve; it decided to go crazy fast while Mark and I were occupied by a million things! So much so, that I didn’t even post my weekly Wednesday blog, yesterday. Besides being exhausted beyond belief and unable to concentrate on writing a post, Mark and I got settled at our current three-week house and pet sit in a great neighborhood of Oakland, CA. We organized our life, caught up on two missed workdays of Wirie work, went on a massive grocery shopping spree (we had no food left, since we stored our car and belongings for two months) and both took our new pets for two decent walks. Full disclosure: we did split up the chore parts.  🙂

Being good puppies, not begging at the breakfast table

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Ironies of Life – The US Driver’s License

May 17, 2017 / / 55 Comments

When Mark and I were cruising full-time on our 35’ catamaran Irie, we made yearly visits to Massachusetts for family and health reasons. Mark was usually the designated driver in his mom’s SUV. For short stints, I would drive, either to get to an appointment myself or to help his mom out. As a visitor to the US, my Belgian driver’s license was sufficient. I did purchase an international driver’s license eventually, only to learn that is doesn’t mean anything. It must be used in combination with a valid license of one’s home country and its main goal is to offer a translation in different languages, like English, which is not one of my native tongues. I happily handed the car keys to Mark in any situation, because, frankly, I hate driving in the US, especially on highways. Particularly driving into Boston is a major hassle, full of annoyances and crazy drivers.

My Belgian driver’s license from 1997

In 2015, we “moved” to the States, bought a Toyota Prius and started a lifestyle as house and pet sitters. Now, we were part of the system and part of the road gang. For the first time in my life, I experienced a prolonged feeling of anxiety and distrust. I’d cross an ocean any time. We were never scared or in danger on the Pacific, but on a US highway… I often fear for our lives. Drivers in general are unpredictable, easily distracted (by their phone or other activities), oblivious to their surroundings, and rarely follow the rules – if they even realize or remember these rules. Contrary to Belgian road etiquette, drivers here don’t like to move over to the right lane of freeways, but happily crawl along in the middle lanes. Tailgaters don’t have the patience to let you get out of the way safely. Cars pass anywhere, on any side, at any time. Drivers are often unaware of bikes and pedestrians in towns. And, did you know that indicating is optional? At least, that’s what it looks like when cars enter the highway, change lanes, turn corners or pull into parking spots. Especially as a pedestrian, this can be deceiving and dangerous.

Driving Carol’s SUV

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Expense Report 2016

January 9, 2017 / / 16 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting and relatively adventurous life without being rich. Or even without owning/earning a lot of money. 2016 is the first full year that Mark and I have been living on land as house and pet sitters. This is therefore my first yearly expense overview.

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce and non-alcoholic drinks (100% orange juice, oat milk for Mark and organic 1% milk for me) predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits starting in 2017. Since December 2016, I have to pay for health insurance in the US. I still contribute in Belgium for health care as well (required to keep my citizenship), which is a small three-monthly fee only reported here. Utilities are always Skype-related, since that is how we make phone calls.  Accommodation is our best category, because we live totally rent-free and in comfort, wherever we end up. 🙂

Here is an overview of our expenses in 2016. I am surprised at how high our grocery costs are and that owning a car - even a small and efficient hybrid one like ours - is relatively pricey. That being said, we spend way less money on our Prius than we did on our 35' catamaran those eight years. Parts,  maintenance and insurance were sometimes six fold that every year, but living costs when cruising were much lower than on land. While we spent between $12,000 and $20,000 yearly on Irie (2007-2015), traveling all over the Caribbean and French Polynesia, 2016 had us part with $14,614, living a semi-settled life, without having to pay for utilities or rent. It seems like a lot. This year, we hope to do better in the grocery and computer category!

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The Annapolis Sailboat Show as Vendors

October 17, 2016 / / 11 Comments
Part of The Wirie team at the Annapolis Sailboat Show

Part of The Wirie team at the Annapolis Sailboat Show

What is that “Wirie business” I regularly mention on my blog, you might wonder. I don’t usually promote our products and try to keep my writing and our business separate, but since the second weekend of October was solely about that part of our lives and I have never explained The Wirie principles in a Roaming About blog, I figured I will give you a little bit of information about our “baby”, our business, what keeps us up at night and busy during the day… Continue reading

In the Heat of the Kiln

July 11, 2016 / / 12 Comments

This past weekend, the weather was miserable and all but summery. It rained, it was cold for the time of the year and the sky was a permanent grey… perfect conditions for the activities we had planned!

Earlier this year, Mark and I did a three month house sit in Kent, CT, where we took care of two great dogs, Henry and Mickey, and two cheeky parrots, Tutu and Kookoo. The owners of the house are both respected and acclaimed artists, who we enjoyed meeting and getting to know. Steve Katz is a founder of the famous band Blood, Sweat and Tears who recently wrote a book and is touring again. His wife Alison Palmer is a very accomplished and talented ceramics artist. When we said our goodbyes the end of March, we promised to pay them a visit over the summer. What better time than the day of an exciting “pottery event”?

The wood burning kiln when not in use
The door of the kiln was open when we house sat here over the winter

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Blogging from A to Z Challenge

March 21, 2016 / / 31 Comments

A to Z Blogging Challenge

“Are you going to join the A to Z Challenge this year?” my best friend Rosie asked me on the phone a few weeks ago, “I’d love to take it on, but I don’t’ think I will have time in April with all the sailing we plan to do.” The what challenge? And, why would this take so much time? I had never heard about the A to Z Blogging Challenge, so I looked it up online. The idea peaked my interest and a few days later, I signed up. Continue reading

A Crisp and Tick-free Walk Today!

February 27, 2016 / / 8 Comments

I have been known to write long blog posts. The Six Word Saturday initiative  conflicts that habit: in six words, you describe your life. The perfect posts for blog visitors who don’t like long stories, but do appreciate a quick update. This is my first try – hence the quick explanation – and I might make it a habit, if readers like it. As a bonus, I’ll throw in a few photos to brighten the words up a bit! 🙂

Pond in winter
Rock ledge
Frozen pond
Henry on the trail
Scott, Mark and Mickey

First Snow in Umpteen Years

January 15, 2016 / / 4 Comments

I look up from my book “The Art of the Book Proposal”. My eyes venture to the bird cages. It is pleasantly quiet in the room. Mickey and Henry rest at my feet. Tutu and Koo Koo are well-behaved. They like to have company and to feel part of the family. Then, my gaze rests on the window. Small, white particles are falling down. Is it snowing? Soon, the flakes multiply and a white layer covers the balcony, grill and outside furniture. How exciting…

1/8 inch

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