Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Author: Liesbet (page 65 of 66)

A Wonderful Christmas in The Villages

December 26, 2015 / / 3 Comments

Just like in many other places of the world, Christmas had been highly anticipated in The Villages, Florida, with decorated squares, benches, golf carts and houses.

Mark and I went to a “sound and light” spectacle in one of the neighborhoods in The Villages. The Christmas light display was a riot: humorous, beautiful and very popular. Colorful lights in the yards of many different houses “danced” to the music of the local radio station. One could walk by the several displays or take a golf cart tour. Continue reading

The Villages – What’s the Story?

December 25, 2015 / / 4 Comments

It is a friendly place!

I had seen a few house sits listed in an area called The Villages over the past months. Until recently, I thought it was just another town in central Florida, nothing special about it. I was wrong. This place is special, and in more than one way!

Mark and I took this two-week house and pet sitting assignment, because the ad sounded attractive and we wanted a break from the New England scene and its cold-ish weather. When we started telling people that we would be going to The Villages, the reactions were interesting and made our venture more exciting. Statements like “I didn’t know you guys played golf.” “Make sure you don’t get in trouble!” “I hear that people show their marital status and sexual desires with certain flags displayed on their golf cart.” “There is a black market for Viagra, and STDs are widespread.” “Did you know children are not allowed?” and “Watch out for those old men, they might try to steal you away from Mark!” peaked our curiosity… Continue reading

Border Hopping from State to State

December 19, 2015 / / 1 Comment

On our recent road trip to Florida I thought it was a brilliant idea to take photos of the signs welcoming us into each new state, through the car window. This notion occurred to me when we approached the “Welcome to Pennsylvania” sign. I was too late to grab my camera out of my backpack on the back seat by the time we crossed the state border. Connecticut and New York had been old news as well, so I prepared for Maryland, camera in hand and turned on… There was no welcome sign! Maybe Virginia would work out?

“Maryland Veterans Memorial Highway”, instead of “Welcome to Maryland” sign

Continue reading

Hitting the Road to… Florida!

December 18, 2015 / / 1 Comment

It all came about rather quickly. I saw an appealing house sitting job in Florida. It was only for two weeks. Mark and I had seen more of these before and “ignored” them, because moving all our belongings and electronics for a time period of only two weeks is not ideal for us. Especially if the house sit is 1500+ miles away… But, we had not found any other attractive sitting opportunities for December yet, we could use some sunshine before our next (three month) house sit in cold Connecticut, and we needed a change of scenery. Still, it was a long drive to enjoy our favorite weather…

Continue reading

Rockport, Massachusetts

December 11, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Posing on T-Wharf

I am catching up on a few places that we have visited while house sitting. I guess you can call these posts “photo blogs”, since I am mainly wanting to share some sites we enjoyed on our days off. Rockport is a cute town, very close to Gloucester. It was the first time for Mark and I (so was Gloucester) to explore this little gem on the water; the day coincided with their “Harvest Fest”. Many buildings are historical, the store, cafe and restaurant fronts are attractive and the harbor area is a pleasant place to be. Continue reading

Gloucester, Massachusetts

December 8, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Fisherman's memorial

A big advantage of house sitting is that you can move around the state, the country and even the world to check out new areas while performing house and pet sitting duties. The thought of immersing ourselves in these new places by staying for prolonged periods of time is one of the main reasons for Mark and me to commit to this exciting lifestyle. Continue reading

A Special Birthday in Maine

December 1, 2015 / / 2 Comments

One thing can be said about my birthday this year. Well, two things actually… It was a big one: number 40! (Ouch) And, it was the coldest one I have ever experienced in my life.

My 40th celebration of walking around on this amazing planet had to be somewhat special. None of that profusely sweating, staring at pretty beaches, lounging in the shade of a palm tree or futilely trying to find a decent restaurant for dinner, as was the case in previous years. Continue reading

A Typical Thanksgiving

November 27, 2015 / / 2 Comments

During our eight years of sailing around on Irie, there was one day every year when Mark wished he could be in the United States with his family: Thanksgiving. This no-nonsense event has always been his favorite holiday; a relaxed one with heaps of yummy food, without the madness and obligations of Christmas. In the past, we always hoped there would be some fun cruisers around with whom we could celebrate and share a somewhat special meal (chicken or duck instead of turkey, but always heaps of stuffing!). Continue reading

8 Month House Sit in Hawaii!?

November 24, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Image Big Island Coast, Hawaii

Mark and I have lived in a very pleasant climate for the last eight years. Longer, if you count our yearlong overland adventure in Mexico and Central America prior to that. We love blue skies. We love to hang out in little more than a bathing suit. We love small piles of laundry. We love to jump in the ocean to cool off or sit in the shade with a good book. We cherished that part of our previous life, forgetting the times that we melted away from heat and humidity during the summer time… But the winters in the tropics were so very comfortable! We listened to the “horrifying” stories from land-based friends and family in the US and Europe and we smiled.

Now, we have our temporary base in New England, USA. We are in the Boston area, a region with record snow and cold temperatures last year. And, winter is coming… Continue reading

Greenwich, CT: October 27th – November 13th 2015

November 20, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Living large!

Mark and I are spreading the word about our inclination and availability to house sit for people needing to leave their home and pet(s) for a little while, either for pleasure or for work. When we brought this up to our brother-in-law a little while ago, he agreed it would be a good idea for us to move into his cottage while he went on a two week vacation. He is the caretaker of a beautiful property in Greenwich, Connecticut and lives on-site. The Manhattan-based owners of the domain were equally pleased with our suggestion to watch the cottage (the main house is set back on the property), the dog and the two cockatiels.  We were not in charge of the property by any means, but kept an eye on things, taking action whenever something would go amiss. It would be our second house sitting position, not too long after the Gloucester one. Continue reading

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