Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Places (page 12 of 22)

Arizona Adventure at a Glance

April 10, 2019 / / 44 Comments

Disclaimer: This post contains a lot of photographs!

Mark and I left San Diego – and our last (short) house sit – on February 1st. It’s been quite the 9-week adventure! The first month, we focused on work and staying warm in Southern California. Both with mixed results. Early March, we dipped into Mexico for a few days, after biking and hiking in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Southern Arizona), which I hope to post a photo gallery of this Saturday.

Organ pipe and saguaro cacti

By then, our list of chores had grown out of proportion. We chose Phoenix as the city to take care of laundry, a van problem, shopping, collecting packages, and catching up on internet chores. Our attractive boondocking spot on BLM land north of Phoenix offered views and hiking trails. (To enlarge photos and read captions, click on the images – or hover over them.)

Not a bad place to camp
Spring in the desert
Hiking on BLM land near Phoenix
Three different cacti in one photo: a barrel cactus, a teddy bear cholla cactus, and a saguaro.
We couldn’t read the trail marker…

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Winter at Palm Oases in the Desert

March 31, 2019 / / 49 Comments

Disclaimer: Mark and I are wimps when it comes to cold weather. We realize that a lot of people in North America have to deal with extreme winter conditions. To them, this post might come across as whiny and we might be called “spoiled brats”. We’ll take it, as long as we don’t have to move up north! 😊

The first winter Mark and I were back in the United States after sailing on Irie in the tropics for eight years, we decided to house and pet sit in Massachusetts and Connecticut. “Since you’ve never shoveled snow in your life, you have to experience it at least once,” my husband reasoned. Despite 2015-2016 being a “mild” winter, one of those in New England was enough. And, I did get to play in the snow

The following fall, we drove our little Prius across the country for a winter of house sitting in Northern California. Who would have guessed it’s actually chilly there during that period of the year? We needed to run the heat or start the wood fire every morning and the following spring was the coldest and wettest in ages. We seem to attract extremes, which put an end to the long drought in California. You’re welcome!

Our next plan to stay warm during the winter was a 3.5-month house sit in San Diego, CA. The days were alright, but the old house wasn’t insulated well. And, who turns the heat on in San Diego? It was another cold winter for us, followed by an extremely chilly and windy spring in New Mexico. Obviously, we were starting to run out of options.

Green desert in Borrego Springs, CA – yes, that’s snow on the hills

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Slab City, CA – Friend or Foe?

March 22, 2019 / / 51 Comments

If you live in California, you might have heard about Slab City, a free-for-all community of squatters – mostly in RVs (Recreational Vehicles) – in the middle of the Southeastern California desert. The area is an abandoned military base with leftover concrete “slabs,” where rules don’t exist. It has quite the bad reputation, especially by people who have never been there.

I first learned about Slab City when watching “Into the Wild” (directed by Sean Penn and released in 2007). This true story about 20-something Chris McCandless searching for freedom and the meaning of life, was written by Jon Krakauer in 1996 and later turned into a movie. Slab City was briefly featured in this tale, which resonates with me and has my favorite soundtrack (by Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam).

Boondocking on the edge of Slab City – the muddy hot springs here didn’t look appealing
Approaching Slab City
Slab City appears like a wasteland. The gloomy weather sure contributed to that.
Vendors along the side of the road
Slab City “city limits”
Church of Slab City

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Birthday Weekend Abroad

March 13, 2019 / / 69 Comments

When you live together 24/7 in a small space, it’s incredibly difficult to surprise your spouse. How do you sneak out and make your way to a nondescript store without your absence being noticed? What do you answer when asked “Where have you been?” Or, how do you order a gift online without an address? When we were house sitting, there was an opportunity to intercept the mailman and hide the package, but now that we travel full-time in Zesty again, I was at a loss about what to get or do for Mark’s birthday on March 1st. Believe it or not, but it was stressing me out. It’s one of the few events we celebrate, so it has to be done in style, despite my husband saying he didn’t care.

Before – Dodge
After – Mercedes

Ever since we’ve owned our Mercedes Sprinter Westfalia camper van, Mark has wanted to change the Dodge grill with the Mercedes one. These two engines are exactly the same, but for some reason, the van was “branded” as a Dodge when imported from Germany in 2005. The little Dodge emblem on the hood was immediately replaced, only costing a few dollars. But the grill replacement was vetoed by me. $70 for something cosmetic? That money would be better spent elsewhere on the van. After 1.5 years in our possession, Zesty was still driving around as a half Dodge/half Mercedes. Mark was getting antsy. He found the Mercedes grill on sale, and I said: ”Great! That’ll be your birthday gift.” I have to agree, our van looks much better now.

Installing the new Mercedes grill

Yet, a car part doesn’t constitute a good birthday gift. Continue reading

IWSG Writing Update March 2019 – My Road to Publication Step 2: Submitting to Agents

March 6, 2019 / / 51 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

My book progress

Last month, I decided to share my personal road to publication, starting with the non-fiction book proposal. You can read that post here. Such a proposal is needed to pitch a memoir to an agent or publisher. I’m pursuing the traditional publishing route first, since one can “always self-publish later.” Continue reading

Completed House Sits – San Diego, CA (December 7th to December 28th, 2018)

February 20, 2019 / / 55 Comments

Last winter, Mark and I did a 3.5-month house sit in San Diego, California with Italian Greyhounds Elvis and Frida. During that time, we met up frequently with our friend Amy, as she was a graduating zoologist/environmentalist. “You guys are so awesome with dogs,” she said. “If I ever need someone to take care of Skylos, I’ll get in touch.”

Cute Skylos
Mark and Skylos have had a strong connection for 13 years

In the summer, Amy secured a six-month position in Peru. Her best friend Cara moved in with her cat Casper to keep an eye on the place and care for the dog as well. At some point during our summer travels in Zesty, Cara and Amy inquired whether we could come to Ocean Beach (a funky neighborhood in San Diego) in December to take over Cara’s “duties” as she visited with friends and family over the holidays. She’d be gone for a long weekend early in the month and a week over Christmas later. The timing was perfect. We happily obliged, as long as we could stay the full three weeks. Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – The Madonna Inn

February 13, 2019 / / 52 Comments

Three months ago, Mark and I visited the Madonna Inn, which is a vintage hotel in San Luis Obispo (SLO), CA. Built and ran by the legendary businessman Alex Madonna, it has kept its fascinating late-fifties decor. Ready to travel back in time?

Sign along the highway
Main lodge
The bakery section is famous for its cakes.
Boots and bar stools
Restaurant area – yes, it was before Christmas
Little alleys and shops everywhere inside.
Banquet/dining room
Pink dominates!
The owner and builder Alex Madonna
The wine cellar
Women’s bathroom
Men’s bathroom

The history of this unique establishment can be found here.

This is my contribution for Wordless Wednesday.

Have you ever visited or stayed in a place like the Madonna Inn?

Wordless Wednesday – Ice Skating in Winter

January 23, 2019 / / 46 Comments

In Newburyport, Massachusetts

In San Diego, California

Spot the seven differences. 🙂

This post is my contribution for this week’s Wordless Wednesday.

I have not touched ice skates since I was a teenager. How about you? Do you ice skate these days? Indoors or outdoors? Only in winter or all year long?

California Desert Escape

January 13, 2019 / / 55 Comments

What do you do when you feel like you’re overstaying your welcome at a friend’s house in San Diego (and you have a husband antsy to return to nature and could use a little break from memoir work yourself)? You pack up, jump in your camper van, and head into the California desert for a couple of days. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is huge. You opt for the Borrego Springs area as an initiation to this region since you don’t have much time.

Zesty on desert roads

You boondock in solitude and under a million stars.

Hawk Canyon
First use of my selfie stick! 🙂
Spotting another Westy! Her name is Thistle and we chatted with the owners until nightfall.
Quiet spot in the desert
Sunrise in the desert

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The Yeasty Beasty Experience

December 19, 2018 / / 57 Comments

Today, I would like to introduce you to an incredible couple, who we are happy to call close friends. Some of our best friends are the ones we met when living on the road or on the water; there’s nothing like hanging out with kindred spirits, or visiting them again during our travels.

Our first “international” party on Irie happened in Green Turtle Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
It’s here that we met Tom
Irie anchored in Green Turtle Cay in 2008
Cute settlement of Green Turtle

Mark and I met Tom in Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas, in 2008. He was sailing his sturdy little Ellida and would meet up with his girlfriend further down the Caribbean island chain. In St. Martin, we caught up with him and Karmen, who is a chiropractor and aspiring photographer. Her traits came in handy, as Mark was suffering from a bad back one year and he and I had a romantic plan the next year.  Continue reading

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