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The website promises no trees, grass, lakes, or anything else that you typically associate with camping. They weren’t exaggerating. Campus Park and Ride is a parking lot where commuters to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and surrounding areas can park their cars and take a shuttle bus. A typical park and ride… except that this park and……
Christmas 2016 will forever be remembered as our first camper Christmas. Many people have wondered how we celebrated Christmas now that we’re living in a camper, and the short answer is much the same way as we celebrated when we lived in an apartment. Admittedly, it does take a little bit of extra planning and creativity. At least it did……
Once again, it’s been much too long between blog posts. We appreciate your patience and understanding. This transition has been intense and demanding on our time and our energy. It seems there hasn’t been enough of either left at the end of the day to sit down and put it all into words. Today isn’t the day for that either…….
Writing today from the United States, for the first time in a long time. Our last post was about waiting. And when our period of waiting was finally over, there was little time left over for writing. To call the last two months intense is a bit of an understatement. But it has, for the most part, been a happy……
They say a watched pot never boils. We all know that this is scientifically untrue. The water in that pot will boil when it reaches 100C whether you’re watching it happen or not. All the same, we all know what the expression means and have felt its truth over and over again. The time we spend waiting seems to move……
When I first moved to Sweden at the beginning of fall 2006, I started language school almost right away. One of our early lessons centered around a well-known song. As I sat with my dictionary and translated the words to English, I was filled with a sadness and sense of dread that did not suit the upbeat, happy feeling of……
I’ve been promising to write and share pictures of our “new normal” life in the camper without an apartment or other form of “permanent” residence. The problem is that the last few weeks since we moved out have been full, intense, and more than a bit overwhelming. It’s been hard to find time to write. And when I have sat……
This morning we handed over the all the keys… the keys to the apartment, to the storage closet, to the laundry room, to the outlet on our parking space. After months of working to shed our belongings and a very intense last week of moving out what was left and cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, it’s almost difficult to understand……
I am married to an eternal optimist. Most of the time, this is an endearing quality, and his voice is absolutely one that I need in my life. There are also times when he needs a dose of my realism (as I call it), though most of the time we’re able to agree that the reality is probably somewhere in……
At the end of January, we passed our first “point of no-return” as we pursue our dream of a location independent lifestyle: we gave our 3 month’s notice on our apartment. While we still aren’t planning to leave this area until the fall, we will be out of our apartment by April 30. From May 1 until we are ready……
It’s a strange feeling to stand at midnight on New Year’s Eve and toast the arrival of a year you’ve looked forward to and planned for but which has, up until now, remained stubbornly and elusively in the future as though it may actually be imaginary. But then suddenly there we stand, glasses in hand. And on TV, a stagehand……
This week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a favorite of mine. Here in Sweden, there’s even a word for this week: mellandagarna, the “in between days”. Even before I had a word for them, I’ve loved these days. There’s no school, many people are off from work, and there isn’t much going on except for gatherings of family……
This post is a follow up to our two previous posts explaining our plans for a new season for our family. If you haven’t read The Dream, The Plan part one and part two, you might want to click over to those first. Then this post will make a lot more sense to you. Frequently Asked Questions Q: What will……
If you missed reading The Dream, The Plan (Part 1), please follow the link and read that post first… And there, by the river on our 11th wedding anniversary, the dream became a plan… Let’s get back on the road. Indefinitely. What if traveling wasn’t just for vacations or a 4-month gap between jobs, but a lifestyle where the world……
Sometimes a dream is a delicate thing, like a soap bubble floating on the breeze. If you try to grasp it, it will burst, so you keep it hidden away in your heart and whisper about it only to yourself. But sometimes it’s like a seedling, fragile but with enormous potential to grow strong and bloom bright if properly nurtured…….
