Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Places (page 16 of 24)

Highlights in Southern New Mexico – A Long Weekend Away

May 9, 2018 / / 64 Comments

Mark and I finally did it! After months of frustration, stress, and dealing with atrocities out of our control – from having both our websites hacked, to rude Wirie customers, to issues with Blue Host, to incapable Mass Health employees messing up our health plans six times – we pulled ourselves away for a long weekend. Our destination: White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park into warm weather. Both New Mexican highlights had been on the mental list since last summer, when we first house sat in Santa Fe for four weeks, but remained in the area.

So, we packed up Zesty, filled the water and diesel tanks, and drove south for about four hours. Lake Holloman became our free campsite for two nights, merely 3 miles away from the National Monument.

Free camping at Lake Holloman Military Base

White Sands National Monument

The scenic drive brought us smack in the middle of dunes, created by the brightest, whitest of sand. Where is the ocean? Continue reading

Day Trips around Santa Fe, NM – The Turquoise Trail

April 18, 2018 / / 53 Comments

Some readers might remember that when Mark and I did a one-month house sit in Santa Fe last summer, every Saturday morning, we would jump in Zesty for a weekend away. We visited a national park or interesting attraction in the area. It was our first prolonged time in New Mexico, and the state has a lot to offer. Due to the windy weather, among other things, we haven’t been able to go on weekend trips this time around. Luckily, we are here for two months, so stay tuned!

Mark and I passed by Galisteo – and its cute church – to cut off part of the trail and pick it up closer to home

A few days ago, we went for a Sunday drive, to follow the Turquoise Trail, a scenic byway between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The route is named after the turquoise gemstones that used to be mined in this area, and is 54 miles long. While we’ve seen more impressive landscapes on road trips, the stops along the trail were worthwhile.

Cerillos

Cerrillos is an old mining town…
… resembling a ghost town
The two bars are the busiest places in town
The church is scenic
The movie Young Guns was filmed here

Madrid Continue reading

Completed House Sits – Albuquerque, NM (February 18th, 2018 to March 28th, 2018)

April 11, 2018 / / 52 Comments

Every house sit is different – the house, the owners, the area, the pets, the tasks, the climate – and provides us with new experiences and routines. I always enjoy arriving at the next place and settling in.

Cuddles with Beck and Gunner

As mentioned in an earlier post, our most recent house sit was a last-minute decision. Mark and I had nothing lined up after our 3.5-month house sit in San Diego, CA (with a three-week visit back East), because we wanted to be flexible. We faced six weeks in Zesty, until our current 2-month house sit in Santa Fe started. Without jobs, the prospect of exploring the American West in our camper van and soaking up the sun in Arizona (with the idea of meeting up with my brother on a business trip in Phoenix, and RV blogging friends in that area) sounds perfect. But, since we need decent internet and two offices, our preference goes out to more comfortable and reliable quarters. So, when this house sit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, appeared, we jumped on it.

Our home for six weeks
Gunner and Beck hanging out with us in the kitchen
Snuggling with Mark
Gunner hoarding a toy
The pups after their bath. Yes, they have their own spa towels. 🙂
Resting with a new toy

Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – Behind the Scenes

March 28, 2018 / / 54 Comments

Mark and I never had the amount of money or the required connections to ever go behind the scenes of anything. That was until we reconnected with our friend Amy this past winter. As a recently graduated zoologist and no-nonsense environmentalist, she has friends in the right places, namely the renowned San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. So, on our last weekend house and pet sitting in San Diego, California, she treated us to a return visit at the Safari Park, where we came up-close with tigers and elephants, and learned a bunch more about those species and the zoo’s conservation efforts.

The two tiger cubs we first saw in November 2017 had grown substantially!
The “mother” of all tigers
The tigers take turns at the exhibits, and rest, eat and are given “enrichments” (like toys and smells) in their “chambers” when not outside.
One of the cubs was seized during a border smuggling attempt from Mexico, and the other was brought from Washington, D.C., to provide companionship.

Continue reading

Truth or Consequences – A 5-Day Road Trip

March 21, 2018 / / 50 Comments

No Plans

Up until our last week of house and pet sitting in San Diego, Mark and I had no concrete idea of what was next. Because the unpredictable condition of my mother-in-law in New England earlier this year, we had not booked another sit, in case we’d have to fly back. Flexibility has been an important part of our lifestyle. Luckily, the situation back east was stable, mid-February, so we could remain “out west”. Since we had no house sit to get to, and we own this amazing little camper van, our plan was to bridge the seven-week gap between sits in the desert, being warm. Baja California in Mexico was dismissed, after we discovered our favorite beach spot there has no cell service, so we mentally aimed for four different boondocking areas in Arizona to split our time and work from the van. It would be tricky.

Free camping in the Sonoran Desert

A New Plan

Continue reading

Completed House Sits – San Diego, CA (October 31st, 2017 to February 11th, 2018)

February 28, 2018 / / 53 Comments

After every house sit, I post an overview of it on my blog. Here’s the one about our time in San Diego.

When Mark and I were selected for this recent fall/winter house and pet sit in San Diego (this was the ad), we were very excited. We love San Diego – the climate, the sights, the activities, the friends we have there – and looked forward to a healthy balance of restful, exciting, social and productive times. For three full months (later extended by two weeks)! It seemed like a nice, long time to settle in and get things done. Suddenly, it was all over. 3.5 months… gone in a jiffy.

Christmas with Alex and Dave
Visit from Johnny Coconut and his brother
Unexpected visit from our cruising friend Patti and her rescued Mexican puppy
With Kathy and Thom on New Year’s Day
Visit from Amy and Skylos

This house sit was unusual in many ways. We arrived four days earlier, as Mark was scheduled to fly back east for health check-ups the end of October. I became a roommate of Diana, the owner, for a few days before she left. It was a perfect transition for both of us, and for the two sweet Italian Greyhounds, Frida (12) and Elvis (10). The following ten days, I took care of them, the house, the yard and the mail by myself, while working on my book and exploring the area by bike on weekends.

San Diego skyline from Harbor Island

Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – Joshua Tree National Park

January 31, 2018 / / 45 Comments

It has been a long time since I posted a Wordless Wednesday blog; since the spring of last year to be precise. I frequently used Wednesdays to showcase a gallery of colorful mementos, collected during our travels on water and on land, in an “almost wordless” fashion. The weekly Daily Post photo challenge acted as a theme. This week, I am joining those ranks once again.

Joshua trees can be found in the Mojave Desert part of the park, which is higher and cooler than the Colorado Desert section
The perfect Joshua tree 🙂
Free campsite for two nights
One of the hikes in the desert revealed old and abandoned automobiles

Continue reading

Roaming About in 2017 – Our Year in Review

January 4, 2018 / / 50 Comments

The end of the year is a good time for reflection. In the past, Mark and I would do so by recalling the islands visited, the people met, or the countries explored. The last two years, we look back at the house sits we fulfilled; new places we discovered in the US and animals we took care of. To give this review of 2017 a bit more depth, I am combining Donna’s and Peta’s idea of breaking the post down in months and Janis’ end-of-the-year focus by incorporating what I am grateful for.

January 2017 – Hospitality of others

In the beginning of the year, Mark and I finished a three-month dog sit with Herk in the Sacramento area, California. After that, we faced a short gap between house sits. Thanks to the home owner, who let us stay a few extra days, and a blogging friend offering up her guest room, we did not become homeless. Friends happily hosted us at other times during the month as well, keeping our accommodation free. During our 2+ years of house and pet sitting, Mark and I never paid for a hotel room.

Dinner with our hospitable home owner
Cuddling with Pixel, while staying at our friends Kathy and Steve’s house in the SF Bay Area for the night
Walk with Terri and Aero in Sacramento, where she and husband Hans housed us for two nights

February 2017 – The warmth of Southern California Continue reading

Things to See and Do in San Diego, California

December 16, 2017 / / 71 Comments

When Mark and I started our current three-month house sit in San Diego, we knew we couldn’t go on weekend trips with our camper van like other times. Frida and Elvis, the two Italian Greyhounds we are taking care of, are relatively old – 12 and 10 years respectively – and home buddies; their owner prefers them to remain nearby. In a city like San Diego, that is not a problem at all! There is so much to do and see in this area that we could spend many weekends exploring and discovering. Here is a selection of what we visited over the last six weeks.

San Diego skyline with moored boats

San Diego Safari Park

We contemplated a visit to the safari park in Escondido, about 20 minutes north of the city, for my birthday (November 28), when our friend Amy (who recently graduated as a zoologist) gave us four free tickets that expired within a week. So, one Saturday, Mark and I set out to the park earlier than planned and had a fantastic time. Not as fascinating as the real thing in Africa, of course, but not a bad alternative! We were especially intrigued about the relationship between cheetahs and dogs. Every young cheetah is paired up with a dog and they become buddies for life.

Expansive safari park
You can take a free “tram” ride around the park
Can you find the baby cheetah among the teddy bears?
Tiger cubs
Having a (pricey) drink overlooking the rhinos. Cheers!
Dog and cheetah: companions for life – the cheetah run was impressive to watch

Continue reading

From Maupiti to San Diego and Other Reunions

December 1, 2017 / / 41 Comments

It was November 2014. Mark and I were anchored in the remote, but beautiful atoll Maupiti in the South Pacific. Bora Bora’s sister island stole our heart and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there aboard Irie, in the lagoon waters, and on shore.

Mark and Liesbet on top of Maupiti

One day, a booming voice startled us.

“Hello! Are you American?” A man on a panga had seen our American flag and investigated. Continue reading

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