Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Three-week Stint Away from My Camper and Lifestyle – Where is Home?

“Where do you live?” someone would ask.

“In this camper,” I would say, pointing at our most recent house on wheels.

“Where’s home?” someone else would ask.

“Wherever our camper is parked,” I would say. (Or “Wherever our boat is anchored,” in the previous decade.)

“Where are you from?” yet another would ask, undoubtedly noticing an accent.

“From here, at the moment,” I would answer. Easy does it and simple is what I like.

Our current truck camper and home

Of course, the reality is a bit more complicated. I was born and raised and worked and lived in Belgium until the summer of 2003 arrived and a plane to the US was boarded and I “never looked back.” The harsh truth of this decision on a social, emotional, relational, and roots level only dawns on others when I mention that all my longtime friends and all my family members still live in Belgium. This nomadic lifestyle is not for anyone with homesickness or tight-knit family needs.

(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to see their captions.)

Ever since I met Mark, the end of 2004, my (second) residency address is in Newburyport, Massachusetts. While we never actually lived there other than short visits back from further afield and those two Covid springs and summers, I am extremely familiar with this town, our room above the garage, friends, acquaintances, and Mark’s family.

The waterfront in Newburyport

And then there’s our actual home. No matter in what form it comes, floating, driving, or being carried by a truck, it’s where I live fulltime and where my companions wait for me – whether this is in the United States or another country. It’s where my heart sings, what my soul craves, where my body relaxes, and where life makes sense. It’s my chosen lifestyle; it’s where I belong.

Mid-July, I took a (much delayed) plane from Portland, Oregon, to Frankfurt, Germany. My connecting flight to Brussels didn’t work out, so I had to jump on an international train for three hours (in a backwards-facing seat, which is hell for someone with motion sickness who had already been awake for 36 exhausting hours) and a local stop train (boemeltrein) for another hour, before I found the welcoming arms of my parents at a train station, twenty minutes away from “home.”

The two weeks in my home country went fast as always and were blissfully filled to the brim with visits to (and from) every family member and most of my friends, with plenty of quality time squeezed in with my parents.

I also had the pleasure watching and entertaining my eight-year-old nephew, Lenn, and thirteen-year-old niece, Lena, for an entire day. We walked along the lake, did a round of mini-golf, went out for lunch and ice cream, had some quiet time at home, and visited the petting zoo nearby.

Last year, when Mark joined me for two weeks (thanks to our friends Duwan and Greg, who took care of Maya in Newburyport), we moved from place to place, bed to bed, spending a night here and a couple more there. It was doable but exhausting and absent of privacy and time alone. The years before, my/our Belgian weeks originated from my childhood bedroom at my parents’ house, which they sold four years ago.

Goodbye, childhood home!

This summer, there was a major twist and improvement to my living conditions. My parents bought a small “summer” home near a lake in their town and I could move in immediately. An entire house – with a generous living room, small kitchen, separate toilet, spacious bathroom, and one bedroom – all to myself. This was comfort and luxury extraordinaire. As a matter of fact, I could get used to this. Plus, it offered privacy, independence, and a space to invite guests.

Every day, I walked the peaceful trail around the lake (about 2.5 miles long), most days I visited my parents by foot (40-minute walk through nature), electric bike (15 minutes one way), or car (10-minute drive), depending on what means of transportation I had available or how energetic I felt. It was a great base and perfect all around! Running water, unlimited electricity, reliable internet, a flush toilet, a comfortable bed, a couch to lounge on, different rooms to hang out in, and space to walk around.

The little house, as I’m calling it, also caused a major switch in my mindset and general wellbeing: I realized Mark and I now have a comfortable, spacious (by our terms) place where we can always return to or enjoy an extended break from the road. This revelation also created new and mixed feelings for my home country and evoked emotions I usually never dwell on due to lack of time and a frantic pace when here. The bottom line is that my me-time in this pleasant environment helped me reappreciate my town (Berlare) and my country as a whole. Needless to say, I enjoyed my stay and wish it could have lasted longer. But another, weeklong stop in Massachusetts was required on this trip.

If the first leg was long and exhausting, the second one was uncomfortable and therefore less enjoyable than the longer jaunt. I flew from Brussels to Reykjavik (Iceland) and then on to Boston, MA, with the budget airline Play. Since you have to pay for everything on these flights (even for water), I traveled with just one personal item and packed water, snacks, and sandwiches in a small paper bag. Let me tell you it was disappointing how little Belgian chocolate I could bring back to the US. And only after leaving some of my clothing at the little house.

A 15-minute car ride and hour-long train journey brought me to Brussels Airport. Rudimentary seats and service were all I received on those eight hours in the air and that two-hour layover, which was followed by 3.5 hours of shuttle bus, subway, and (delayed) train travel, plus a twenty-minute sweaty nighttime walk with a heavy pack and strapped-on rain jacket, pockets filled with chocolate, in high humidity to reach my room above the garage. It felt good to be home! With air conditioning, this time. The weather had been brutally hot in Oregon, Belgium, and now Massachusetts. 

Hot and humid weather awaited me in Newburyport, MA

The next six days were a jam-packed blur with barely a chance to breath: mammograms, bloodwork, dentist visits, eye doctor, choosing new eye glass frames, haircut, pharmacy calls and visits, shots (yellow and typhoid fever) as prep for South America, always loads of arrangements to be made, and – fortunately – a few visits with friends and family members and quality time with my mother-in-law. Phew!

The direct flight from Boston, MA, to Portland, Oregon (after the train, subway, and shuttle bus rides in reverse), was a comfortable six-hour breeze. And now, three weeks later, as if it was all a dream and I hopped between alternate realities – some of it surely felt surreal – I am happy to be home, with my loving, lovely, and loved companions.

Despite the dragging jetlag in Belgium (a nine-hour time difference is hard to adjust to, apparently), our life being “on hold” for another three weeks (Mark made fantastic progress on camper projects, working long hours each day), and the fact that I missed my Maya (and to some extend Mark and my computer as well :)), I had a lovely time in my alternate worlds, no matter how strange this might sound – or feel…

Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics, check out the travel memoir I wrote:

Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

Available on Amazon and elsewhere

eBook: US$ 5.99

Paperback: US$ 13.99

60 Comments

  1. Whew. I’m exhausted just reading this! A small getaway house sounds perfect.

    • Haha, Janis. Sorry my life is exhausting. Wait until I start writing about our camper projects. My time in Belgium and Massachusetts was “vacation.” 🙂

  2. Liesbet, I love the idea of the ‘little house’ and can see how it could help shape your future visits. It looks like you had lots of fun times with your friends and family. It’s always nice to go home, but equally nice to return. I love the concept of home being where your wheels are.

    • In general, I love my lifestyle and home on wheels. But, I always get a bit messed up – emotionally (because I allow myself to dwell on never having family and old friends around as a nomad), physically (because of the jetlag), and logistically (I swear those routes to friends and family came easy and without GPS before) – when I return to Belgium.

  3. I couldn’t move around as much as you do, but I love how you adapt to wherever you are. In my latest book, I discuss why earliest man left Africa. There are lots of reasons but one that scientists are now looking at is an allele on our genome–DRD4-7R–which they’ve dubbed the ‘wanderlust gene’. People who have it–20% or so of the population–like to see what’s beyond the other hill.

    I do a short article on it for my book launch. It might be perfect for your blog if you’re interested. Just let me know and I’ll reserve it for you.

    • Hi Jacqui,

      Isn’t it interesting, that wanderlust gene? I’ve mentioned it before on my blog and in interviews and finished a story in a travel anthology with it. I do believe it’s what I have. It’s how I explain my wanderlust, because nobody in my family has itchy feet like me. 🙂

      That being said, I’d love to support your newest release/launch and think having your article about the DRD4-7R gene will fit in perfectly on Roaming About. So, yes, please reserve it for me.

      • Somehow I didn’t see those articles–Darn! I’m going to do a search for them. This particular article is short–as are most of mine for this book launch–and focused on ‘wandering’ as a reason why man occupies all corners of the planet. The book launch is Oct. 20th so I’ll have that to you well before. I’m only giving one person each article so trying to find good fits for fellow authors. I’ll definitely save this for you! Hugs.

        • Jacqui, I was trying to find links to my mentioning the gene on Roaming About, but didn’t find them (yet). This makes me think that it has just been in interviews, articles, and guest posts that I brought it up… This is my final paragraph in the story I contributed to the Itchy Feet anthology:

          “I suspect my parents do miss me from time to time, but I am grateful that they’ve let me have it my way, ever since I turned eighteen. Especially since they did not instill “nomadism” in me. Yet, here I am. In Massachusetts, my freedom constrained until we find our next vehicle to discover another part of this splendid world. As far as the source of my itchy feet… I only have one explanation. I was born with this all-encompassing passion, disguised as the DRD4-7R wanderlust gene. And it is yearning to plunge into that South American chapter.”

          I’ll keep your October 20th launch date in mind. Thanks for reserving that piece for me!

  4. I haven’t been doing much reading lately, but this caught my eye. It was a perfect read for me tonight and my husband and I discuss rising food prices and what does or does not constitute a luxury. But this phrase especially is poetic, and speaks powerfully to your reality:” It’s where my heart sings, what my soul craves, where my body relaxes, and where life makes sense. It’s my chosen lifestyle; it’s where I belong.” so I copied it for the comment so I didn’t mangle it. Thank you for sharing. Blessings, Michele

    • Thank you, Michele. While we all have similar ideas what luxury items and luxury restaurant and luxury vacations are, individually, we might feel different about what we describe as wants and what as needs – what is luxurious, just comfortable, or only rudimentary. And, I’m sure my parents and grandparents thought even more differently about all this. I do believe that most of us, in our current western societies, have become spoiled. And a lot of those desires and gadgets that make us spoiled cost a lot of money. Since I’m not a fan of those, I save a lot of money, which allows me to travel non-stop. 🙂

  5. petespringerauthor

    August 11, 2022 at 21:29

    Well, you’ve been getting around. You probably have more tolerance for inconveniences than the average person because most of us are pretty spoiled. The longest I’ve ever been on a plane was six hours, and I was climbing the walls by then.

    • I feel that these trips across the country and the Atlantic Ocean are necessary, Pete. Some years, I have even felt resentful about them, because they cost money and they are never a vacation or even spiritually or culturally rewarding. I have not taken a plane for a holiday in over twenty years. But, these days I see the positives of these efforts and I am grateful I get to be with my friends and family almost every year. I also try to see these trips as my downtime and vacation. 🙂

  6. It was like you briefly lived another life for a while. It is odd when you go that many time zones away. Hard to fathom.

    • You get it, Alex. Maybe because you write about these alternative realities… 🙂 But that’s exactly how I feel every time I’m in Belgium, that I’m living another life. And, after I return to Mark and Maya, within a day, it feels like Belgium was a dream. It’s just so different!

  7. Hi Liesbet, how nice that your folks have a lovely place for future visits. I bet you loved seeing all of your family and friends in Belgium. Like you said it’s nice to be home too, and of course seeing sweet Maya. You have so many gorgeous scenery and family photos. Love the lake pictures and always dog photos.

    As I read about your choice to leave Belgium and travel my first thought was that you are most certainly comfortable in your own skin. You knew what you wanted and didn’t hesitate to follow (or make) your own path. Good for you!!

    • Hi Lea,

      You have no idea how excited Maya was when she and Mark picked me up at the airport a couple of days ago! We actually have never seen her this way, whining, whimpering, wagging, and licking non-stop. Not even when Mark returned after three weeks in MA did she act like this. We needed ten minutes to calm her down, before I could actually hug Mark and we could drive away! But it was so nice to be this loved by Maya. Especially since she is a daddy’s girl and infatuated by my husband.

      You nailed it with your last paragraph. And, you must have noticed in Plunge. But, yes, I usually know what I want instinctively and follow my own path. Yet, I do often have trouble with choices (on a smaller level).

  8. Lovely to see so many family reunion photos, and it’s great that you have a lovely base when you come over to Belgium! Enjoy the rest of the summer!

    • Thanks, Denzil. Usually, I don’t take many photos on my visits to Belgium as I just want to savor the moments of being with family and friends. In fact, I didn’t even take my camera on this trip (no space). Luckily, I had Mark’s old phone with me as, of course, this time around I wanted to take photos. 🙂

      Enjoy the rest of summer as well. I hope the heatwave eases soon!!

  9. Liesbet, I lack the wanderlust gene, but feel itching to getaway somewhere soon, being tied to my computer and housework for so long.

    What strikes me most is that no matter what continent you visit you have people who love you (Belgium) and then home base which you say is “where my heart sings, what my soul craves, where my body relaxes, and where life makes sense.”

    I think the summer house may call to you more often, especially as you grow older. I love the layout and the setting. Thanks for all this–WOW!

    • Hi Marian,

      From the moment I set foot in the little house, right after my arduous trip to get there, I realized that this place is a game changer for me, or for Mark, Maya, and me. Of course, Belgium is far away and it doesn’t do us any good to take an easy, short-term break from camper life there or focus on camper projects (which has been our main challenge this summer), but it sure offers us a comfortable option to get away from it all.

      I hope you and Cliff will be able to find your own getaway for a little while soon!

  10. Liesbet, so many things in this post has made me smile. I love how you make time to see so many friends and family when you visit your native country. I always struggled with visiting everyone whenever I made it back to my native country of Brazil. Often I just wanted to spend time with my parents.
    I feel a little envious of you and loved the photo of you and your parents. Unfortunately I have lost both my parents now.
    The little house by the lake is gorgeous, I can see why you would want to return there with Mark in the future.
    I can relate to your feelings of having so much space when you spend sometime in a bricks and mortar home, rather than your home-on-wheels. When we return home from our motorhome travelling, we can’t believe how big our house feels.
    Sounds like you got a great welcome home from Maya, she has certainly missed you.

    • Hi Gilda,

      I’m glad that you focused all of your Brazil visits on your parents in the past. That is super precious. And, your home country is so much bigger that it would be impossible to visit all your friends and family members in one go. Belgium is about 300 km (200 miles) long, at its widest. So, most places can be visited on a day trip. Especially if all the people you cared about are located in Flanders, which is the case for me.

      Sometimes, I wish we had a real house we could come “home” to after extensive travels – like you two – but the spaciousness, luxury, and amounts of stuff of such a place would soon be taken for granted or deemed unimportant and then the itchy feet would need to be satisfied again. I’m quite content living with less. 🙂

  11. You even look more relaxed in all the Belgium photos! I have some places like that, and our job in the coming months and years will be to figure out where exactly we should plunk ourselves down to feel our best as often as we can.

    • Now I’m curious about those places you have in mind to settle, Lexie. Colorado? Boston? 🙂 I selfishly hope you will remain in your current place just a bit longer, though, because there’s a good chance we will ship our vehicle from Galveston to Colombia and then we are pretty darn close to you for a visit – finally… 🙂

  12. You certainly are having a jam-packed summer! There’s nothing like spending time with people you love for lifting your spirits.

  13. What an exhausting few months you have al had, Liesbet. I’m glad you were able to return ‘home’ to see family and your closest friends there for 2 weeks. Lucky you having a small place to call your own while in Belgium – I can see why that was a game changer.

    Steven and I just spent several days in my hometown of Ottawa earlier on this 3-plus month road trip and while I loved being back ‘home’ this trip was more difficult than any past ones because two of my brothers are in a very different political space now so tensions were high. The dynamic is no longer the same or as positive as it was. Glad you didn’t experience that.

    • Hi Annie,

      Wow. I’m so sorry to hear about the political division in your family. The strive and divide this brings on a small and big scale is mind blowing and so very unfortunate. Now more than ever, talking politics seems to be unwise if good relationships need to prevail. My mother-in-law’s best friends are on a different level as her (which she told me all about). While I didn’t have to deal with these opinions in person, I do know how you feel and what you mean, as we have had conversations with the “other camp” before and it is tough!!

  14. I can certainly see why the space at your parents place will be such a game changer for you. It’s so nice to have your own comfortable space to claim, especially after such long flights and time adjustments. And it’s wonderful to be home and see everyone without feeling like you’re invading someone else’s space and time. All that being said, there’s just nothing better than coming home to your immediate family and getting allllll the love from sweet Maya! Dogs sure do know how to make us feel like rockstars, huh?

    • Hi Laura,

      Maya’s reaction when they picked me up at the airport is one of the highlights of my summer! You are very familiar with all the feelings and experiences I describe here. I wonder if you will feel the same (again) on your visits back to the US from Portugal. I do envy you two for soon having a comfy place of your own and am curious about how Thor integrates and what will happen to your itchy feet after six months. 🙂

  15. It sounds like a wonderful (albeit exhausting) trip. It’s very cool that despite all the spacious and comfortable places you’ve stayed, your camper is still your favourite home! 🙂

    • Hi Diane,

      I guess home is where Mark and Maya are. 🙂 And, it seems like I’m a minimalist by heart, who prefers good company and exciting adventures to the comfort, luxury, and familiarity of a conventional life. Although, it is a slippery slope once one gets used to these things again…

  16. Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers

    August 13, 2022 at 18:09

    We have to take a nap!

  17. I’ll bet your parents, other family, and friends really appreciated having you there in Belgium for a couple of weeks.

    This is one of the first summers in many years that we won’t be making a trip up north to visit my hometown.

    Jude

    • Hi Jude,

      How come you are not heading north this summer? Price of diesel/gas? Different plans?

      I feel a bit self-conscious to admit it, but I am truly treated like royalty when I’m back home in Belgium. Everybody loves to see me, invites me, and spoils me – “to make sure you’ll come back in the future,” my aunt used to say. Unfortunately, she is no longer with us. Otherwise, I would have had to add another day of being stuffed and splurged to my agenda. 🙂

  18. Liesbet, I smiled when reading about the concept of home. Having had that question posed to us on numerous times. Wonderful that you had a fun time with your loved ones back in Belgium.

    • I think people who have been nomadic in their lives, like you two, fully understand the scope of my sentiments, feelings, and experiences here. I’m glad that you and the Squire found a stable place to call home, though. Especially under certain circumstances, having stability, loved ones, western medicine, and comfort around makes all the difference.

  19. Wow, I’m exhausted too! But I love that little vacation home. So glad to read that you had a wonderful stay.

    • Thanks, Donna. The little house definitely adds an extra draw to my return visits home. Even Mark is now talking about the benefits of “moving” to Belgium for an extended period of time in the future. 🙂

  20. What an action-packed and relaxing time you had, Liesbet. It must have been brilliant catching up with family and friends in Belgium again. And I’m pleased you managed to get some Belgium chocolate back. And having the lakeside house all to yourself must have been a real treat. The walk around the lake is something I would have loved.

    I don’t know how you coped with the heatwave while in Belgium. Fortunately, it only lasted one day in Swansea in South Wales.

    It must be great to be back with Mark and Maya. I’m sure they missed you while you were away.

    • Hi Hugh,

      I sure had a nice time in Belgium, but, to be expected, it all feels like a dream, a distant memory already now, since my life in the States and in the camper is so very different – opposite, really – from being back in my home country. That being said, Mark and Maya were ecstatic upon my return. One with more wagging and kisses than the other. 🙂

      One thing I am certain of is that dealing with a heatwave when living in a house – even without an air conditioner – is much easier and more bearable than in a small camper parked in the beating sun with no shade or AC around… So, now that we have cut our “roots” with St. Helens in Oregon after 2.5 months and are kind of on the road again, it will be easier to deal with the hot and unseasonal weather. Soon, it will be too cold again…

      • Autumn can’t come quick enough for me, Liesbet. Good to hear you’re back on the road again.

        • It’s so annoying that all the comments on my site are showing as anonymous and they have to get moderated. Aargh. So, I think you are someone who is suffering from got summer right now…

          We are kind of back on the road. Still some projects left and hopping from friend to friend – Oregon, Utah, Colorado – to do them and receive parts. At least that’s the plan for now. 🙂

  21. OMG what an adventure! I couldn’t do it anymore. That’s just way too much crazy traveling in this crazy world. So glad you got home and enjoyed a beautiful guest home holiday. And glad you are back safely in your nomadic home <3

    • You know, Debby, after the leg from Belgium to Massachusetts (especially the hot 25-minute walk with my heavy chocolate-filled bag), the first thing I said to Mark on Skype that evening was “I don’t want to do this anymore.” The years where we could take a pricey shuttle bus right from Boston Airport to Newburyport where my in-laws lived now sound blissful! But then a year passes and I’ve forgotten all the hassles and discomfort of these international travels and am happy to see my friends and family again. But, yes, I am getting too old for certain experiences…

      • I know exactly what you mean. It’s like time passes and you think, no sweat, I can do it again. But after so many years, it will start to take its toll.
        And ugh, I hope all your chocolates didn’t melt! <3

  22. Liesbet, I’m glad you had a wonderful time in Belgium. The vacation home by the lake sounds ideal for an extended stay until you want to be on the go again. The concept of home moves with me. This summer I’ve been in two places every month. Wherever I land, I make myself ‘at home’ asap 🙂 I think people who like to travel a lot have this trait in their DNA.

    • Hi Natalie,

      It’s so nice that you manage to feel at home while you travel, just like me, but I bet that when you get home home (in Toronto), it always feels the best! 🙂 I sometimes wonder if I will ever have a “settled” home like most people, as right now, that “real home” is always moving and is not quite the same. I’d love to have a couch and a roomy, pressurized shower with an unlimited stream of water one day.

  23. Wow, what a whirlwind of activity, but it sounds like it was all worth it. Glad you’re back with Maya and Mark. Hopefully, things are a more comfortable pace right now.

    • Hi Deb,

      Yes, things are more comfortable right now for my little family here in Oregon. So much so, actually, that we have left the driveway of our friends in the Portland area to start making our way southeast. Kind of, as we are now on a friend’s property on the Oregon Coast. The fact that we left our stable place of the last 2.5 months means that we are comfortable with the way our camper behaves, that most projects have been performed successfully, and that we are fine finishing up our outstanding projects elsewhere, namely Colorado…

  24. Just got the time and bandwidth to look at all the pics. So nice to see all your friends and family – though I know it can be exhausting.

    It makes a big difference to have your own space. The tiny house looks super cute and comfortable.

    Since I have very little family, home is wherever the van is. I usually answer the question about where I live by pointing to the parkinglot and saying, in the parking lot right now.

    So many dog friends! Love the puppy!

    • Hi Duwan,

      For some reason, you show up as “Anonymous,” but I’m pretty sure it is you! 🙂

      Thanks for taking the time and the bandwidth to read and comment to my latest post. I’m so behind with everything. You know the feeling!! But, there are always more important things to do than blogging. Our focus is still on getting this camper in top shape and outfitted for our upcoming trip to SA.

      I hope you and Greg will make it to Belgium one year, while Mark, Maya, and I are staying at the little house. It would be so cool to show you around my home country one day.

  25. Fascinating to hear about your revelation about the ‘little house’ and how much you enjoyed it. Always great to have a place to call home if needed. sounds like a great deal accomplished emotionally and physically in that time Liesbet.

    • You are right on with the emotional and physical accomplishments for me in July and early August, Sue. Those were things that had to happen. I’m glad I wrote that post about my excitement regarding the “little house” in Belgium when I did, because now that I’m back here, it all seems like a distant memory and another life.

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