Maya, Dixie, and Max cooling off in the lake of Island Pond, Vermont
Maya is still learning how to swim – awkwardly
Max LOVES retrieving balls – ashore and in the water
Maya, relaxing in the sand
Did I mention that Max is eager to play ball, all…the…time?
Practice makes perfect!
Wet and cooled off, but done playing with the ball
Just because I love sunsets, with or without dogs…
Until next time…
This is my contribution to this week’s (mostly) Wordless Wednesday.
We spotted a groundhog in the back yard.
Keeping an eye on her flock.
A family with five adolescents… and more individuals in the front yard. So cute!
Maya smells the groundhogs. They hide in tunnels behind the rocks of the retaining walls.
Pre-vanlife
Meet Kali (the white one) and Darwin (the grey pup). They “introduced” me to Mark in November 2004 and the rest is history. You’ll have to read my travel memoir for the details of that life altering situation, whenever it’s out. 😊
Important to note is that these Australian Shepherd mixes were one (two) of a kind! Mark adopted them as puppies, Kali first, on the West coast of the US, and Darwin two years later, on the East Coast. They were the perfect pair – cute, smart, obedient, healthy, travel-savvy, and happy to be with us. They chilled when left alone, which was never an issue, except for Darwin during his last year on earth, when separation anxiety emerged after his role model and lifelong partner passed away.
These two listened, were well-adjusted, behaved on leash and off leash, joined us everywhere, and had an extraordinary life. We sold our first sailboat because they didn’t like it. Then, traveled to Panama and back in a truck camper instead. And, when we bought our catamaran, Irie, it was with them in mind too. They joined us on our sailing adventures in the US, Bahamas, and Eastern Caribbean until they died.
Adopting Maya on June 4th, 2019
It took us a looooong time to get over the loss of Kali and Darwin. We love dogs, yet realized from the get-go that it would be nearly impossible replacing these two sweethearts. We also maximized our increased freedom and decreased responsibility level once they departed our world, by making longer sailing trips, transiting the Panama Canal, crossing the Pacific Ocean, and house and pet sitting once back in the US. At some point, we were open to adopting a new dog again; we just never planned on it. Two weeks of volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah last year, connected us with our newest family member. You can read about that event here.
Giving Maya her forever home was very different than starting out with a puppy, a clean slate. When you adopt an adult dog, you have no – or little – idea what happened in its “previous life” or “lives” in Maya’s case. A hurricane Harvey survivor from Texas, she experienced a turbulent eighteen months in different homes and shelters before joining our household at four-and-a-half years old. Adult dogs come with baggage, good and bad. We discovered intriguing attributes and skills as well as mental issues and health problems. Some revelations are funny or sweet; others frightening or frustrating.
What matters most is that we gave her a loving, caring, comfortable, and active home and watched her transform from a dog with a tucked-away tail to a ball of energy, tail curled towards the sky.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared some of our human encounters in Florida this past winter. Mark and I (and Maya) enjoy meeting old and new friends, but when it comes to my personal happiness level, animal observations and interactions – especially in the wild – always make me smile! Here are some of the creatures we came across on our walks.
Gopher tortoise
Jellyfish on the beach in Marineland
After three unusually rainy and/or cold winters out west in our 19ft camper van, Zesty, we had one objective for this last season: be warm. The only place in the lower 48s to assure that: Florida. Southern Florida. Since Mark and I always “bring” weird weather wherever we go, something would be amiss in the Sunshine State this winter as well. Firstly, Sunshine State is a misnomer better suited for California or Arizona, as the skies have been mostly cloudy (except on the days I take photos :-)). Secondly, we regularly had 40-degree weather (5 degrees Celsius) in January and, skipping spring all together, upper eighties from March on. Unseasonably hot.
Here’s what we’ve been up to the last three months…
(Hover over the photos to read the captions or click to enlarge.)
January 2020
The new year and new decade couldn’t have started better. After work and a bit of sightseeing in Kentucky, we drove to Florida to celebrate the arrival of 2020 with good sailing friends in Marineland. Even Maya liked her week-long visit to their refurbished catamaran, Sauvage. We were invited by a business owner in St. Augustine, who welcomed us with open arms and spoiled us with splendid company, food, and promises. Good times!
Join us for one of our walks near the Lake Panasoffkee Water Management District (WMD) campground, where we stayed for ten days – without ever seeing the lake. 🙂 The cows occupied the field two days before we left.
Our free campground for ten days!
Oh, hello!
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. Since June 2019 – we adopted Maya on June 4th – we have a dog section as well. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
The first three weeks of December, Mark, Maya, and I continued living in a campground and working in Campbellsville, Kentucky. We hit the road again in our camper van for the last week of the year. The entertainment category constitutes those travels, as I took a tour of Churchill Downs in Louisville, where the Kentucky Derby takes place, and Mark and I took a guided walk in Mammoth Caves, after hiking with Maya to wear her out.
We didn’t spend money on camping as we managed to boondock during our “migration south”. The three of us made stops in Frankfort, Louisville, and Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky (more about that another time) and found the most amazing free parking in Nashville, Tennessee, which allowed us to explore this vibrant music city and have drinks at night.
Mark bought a new SmartPhone at a very good price after doing lots of research and waiting for the right moment. The amount underneath includes a two-month data plan, a new SIM card, and a free tablet! While in Kentucky, we HAD to try Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and its competitor Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken. We took Maya to the vet to get another opinion about her itchiness. At the moment, we are giving CBD oil a try. This might help with her anxieties as well…
We couldn’t avoid buying more alcohol, as we planned a fun New Year’s Eve (and extended stay) with our sailing friends Karmen and Tom in St. Augustine, Florida. They put a feast together on the last day of the year and we enjoyed spending time with them and their friends on their refitted catamaran, Sauvage. More about that later as well.
Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. Since June 2019 – we adopted Maya on June 4th – we have a dog section as well. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
For the month of November, Mark, Maya, and I lived and traveled in our camper van, Zesty. The first week, we drove and explored from Connecticut to Kentucky and since then, we have been stationed at a campground in Campbellsville, KY. Mark’s current employer, Amazon, pays for our site and we are here until Christmas, to work. More about that later. By the way, this is the first time EVER that we are parked in an RV park with full-hookups and a building with hot showers and laundry!
Last month was different from other months in many ways, since we never camp in the same spot longer than a few days. This means less money spent on fuel (although we did have to get here) and more money spent on laundry as we can’t rely on the generosity of friends and family anymore to use their machines. We use the van once a week to grocery shop and take Maya on a hike. No more camper projects are lined up. Yay!
We had hoped to stay under $1,000 for November (and December), to stick to the same “budget” as last year. We failed. We had additional expenses in the form of my pricey passport application, the need for more prescription drugs for Maya (plus we bought extra dog food at a 60% discount on Black Friday), and a higher than normal grocery bill. We stocked up before arriving in Campbellsville and we splurged on a few favorite Trader Joe items. After extensive comparison of two GPS tracking systems for Maya, we decided to ship one of them back.
On top of all this, it was my birthday. On Thanksgiving. Mark and I never get each other gifts or celebrate anything, except for our birthdays. My three-year old laptop was falling apart “right in time” – I had been able to deal with a non-working mouse pad, its slowness, and a few other inconveniences for over a year, but when the battery didn’t work anymore (which meant I could only use my computer when plugged in – not ideal in a van), I was starting to despair. You see, not only is buying a new computer expensive, but it would also require me getting used to a new machine and a lot of work for Mark, who would need two days to delete everything useless and annoying and install what I needed, plus get it ready for my use. He didn’t have those extra days…
Once again, I was reminded of what an incredible, smart, resourceful, and anticipating husband I have. The day after my issues, an early birthday present showed up: a brand-new laptop! Mark knew what would make me happy before I knew! He managed to “snatch” a $500 computer for $250, and spent his only two evenings off to get the machine ready by my birthday. I love it (them)!
Oh, about that extremely high alcohol number… don’t despair. We have not become alcoholics. We stocked up on beer and wine before arriving at the campground and Mark threw an impromptu birthday party, inviting the friends we made here to enjoy new cases of beer and a decent box of wine. We have enough left for many weeks! The good thing about the last two months of 2019: we finally made/make more money than we spent/d. 🙂
I am honored to have been invited by Gabby from the travel blog Do More Be More to contribute a guest post about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. As a fellow traveler, photographer, and dog lover, she was curious about our lifestyle and interested in our volunteering experiences.
Gabby lives in beautiful and diverse Australia and has an adorable bulldog. In 2010, she hooked up with the Bali Animal Welfare Association to photograph and fund raise for the street dogs of Bali, Indonesia. She believes that many small acts by conscientious travelers can change the landscape of tourism for the future – and for the better – and is always on the lookout for ways we travelers can give back to the world we enjoy so much.
Comments are closed here, but feel free to share your thoughts on Gabby’s blog.
As the fur-less mum of an old lady bulldog and a supporter of street dog welfare in Bali, I was excited to talk to Liesbet Collaert, a fellow animal lover, about her experience volunteering at Best Friends in Utah.
I know from first hand experience that volunteers at any animal welfare organisation is hugely appreciated. There is never enough funding and there is always too much to do. Every spare hand is another step closer to better health or permanent homes for the dogs, cats and everything in between.
The best thing about volunteering, is that anyone can do it! You don’t need a qualification in most cases, just a big heart.
This was Liesbet’s first volunteering opportunity, one very close to her own heart.
I was born in Belgium with an oversized portion of wanderlust. Yearly family vacations to the Med didn’t satisfy my sense for adventure, so, at 16, I hitchhiked to Italy with a boyfriend.
In college, I traveled across Europe during holidays and avoided culture shock on a five-week trip to India. After graduation, I grabbed my backpack and explored Southeast Asia with friends for about a year. Two years later I headed back to SE Asia with a hop-over to New Zealand and Australia.
Then, I taught at the same school in Belgium once more, for two years, before I flew across the Atlantic Ocean for an open-ended journey in an RV with my then American boyfriend. I’d met him Down Under. Fate has a funny way, as I never moved back to Belgium after our 18-month-long travels throughout the lower 48, Canada, and Alaska.
Instead, I met another guy, obtained another truck camper, and adventured throughout Mexico and Central America with him and his two rescue dogs. This was preceded by a failed sailing attempt of ten months and followed by a two-month stint in a tent and a Toyota Tacoma. In 2007, we bought a 35ft sailing catamaran in Maryland and cruised down to Florida, before crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. The idea was to return in a year, but, eight years later, we found ourselves in Tahiti, in the Pacific Ocean.
A Dog with Separation Anxiety
Having a new dog – with anxiety issues – means you have to take it slow, so the dog gets used to different situations. In our camper, Maya seemed OK alone for up to three hours… that one evening in Iowa, pre-fireworks. During subsequent tries, she always got in trouble, somehow.
When we arrived at “our room above the garage” in Newburyport, Massachusetts a few weeks ago, it was another new situation for our dog. Leaving her downstairs on the porch while we ate three meals a day and cooked dinner, proved to be a non-issue after a few days. Once she was comfortable with the bedroom as our base, Mark and I increasingly left her alone, filming her behavior in real time with Skype. Whenever she jumped on the cabinet or scratched the door, we corrected her behavior, remotely.
While we saw improvement, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving her for longer than a couple of hours. That was an issue, as we had a fun evening with friends planned at a restaurant, two-hours away; four hours of just sitting in the car, without counting our social time. For days, we contemplated what to do. It would be too hot to leave her in the camper van on the parking lot and check in every hour or so. We’d be gone way too long to leave her home…
A Pet Sitter We Know
The solution: the three of us would drive to a friend’s place, join them to the gathering on Friday evening, and have teenagers (their responsible son and three friends) watch Maya. I even happened on a translation project that day, to tip our dog sitter. Before we left, we took Maya for a walk around the block and gave the kids instructions. I worried. Our small group of friends left to join the others. The plan was a good one… in theory.
Before leaving Maya to go out with friends.
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