Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Places (page 23 of 24)

A Weekend of Camping and Hiking in Vermont; and a Visit Beyond

June 20, 2016 / / 14 Comments

I can’t quite remember the last time Mark and I went camping for pleasure, as in when we really wanted to go camping. My recollections go back ten years ago or so, when our dogs, the Grand Canyon and loads of insect bites were part of the experience. I mention the “for pleasure” part, because the previous time we seriously camped was for two months in 2007, when a tent and a car were all we owned, so camping was our lifestyle. It wasn’t necessarily our preferred way to live, but the cheapest option in between other adventures. We had just moved out of our truck camper and were in the process of searching and eventually buying our sailboat.

Trying to set up the tent at home - check. All parts are present.

Trying to set up the tent at home – check. All parts are present.

The tent we had for ages was finally traded for some local handicrafts in the San Blas Islands, Panama, a few years ago and a new tent recently became ours through a promotion online. It was time to test it out in earnest. Continue reading

Visit to Northampton, MA

June 13, 2016 / / 18 Comments

One of the big advantages of a house and pet sitting lifestyle is that you have the chance to live in different places with every assignment. While we primarily prefer longer term sits for our own comfort, sense of settling in and being able to concentrate on work projects without having to move constantly, we also enjoy being immersed in a new area and having plenty of opportunity and time to explore its surroundings during the weekends.

Recently, our temporary dog Jenny needed new food from a pet food store quite a drive from here.  Dave’s Soda and Pet City (interesting name for a pet food store) has a location in the city of Northampton, where other chores could be accomplished, and where neither of us had been before. We decided to combine the necessary with the pleasant and explored the college town around noon on a Saturday.

Continue reading

Walk through Luik/Liège/Lüttich in Belgium

June 7, 2016 / / 13 Comments

On my final day in Belgium, I did not pack my bags, raid the grocery store for chocolate and pay a last visit to my 96-year-old grandma, like I usually do. I had squeezed all that into the previous day. No, this year, my final day was spent with my mom, going on a daytrip to Luik by train.

Luik might be better known as Liège, since it is located in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. The Germans of our country call it Lüttich. Yes, we have three official languages in this tiny country, none of which is English. This can cause some confusion with visitors, who have no idea that these three names actually are the same city.

Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – Spring in the Hills of New England

June 1, 2016 / / 14 Comments
Flowers around Pelham Lake, MA
Spring has finally arrived in this neck of the woods!
Fun walk around Lake Pelham

Submitted to Wordless Wednesday

Spring Break in Belgium

May 26, 2016 / / 15 Comments

To many it came as a surprise that, all of a sudden, I showed up in Belgium. It was only May, and I had “just” been there, eight months prior. At times, it even felt as if I never left. Usually, I visit my home country once a year, or every other year, based on my current location. Why was I going back so soon? Because I craved spring and it refused to arrive in Heath, MA! 🙂

I love the spring colors in the countryside
Spring in my parents’ yard 1
Spring in my parents’ yard 2

In the past, visiting Belgium had multiple purposes, ranging from special events (like weddings and birthdays) to medical reasons to having been away too long already, in combination with needing a break from the challenging boat life. And, I always preferred to go to Europe during the summer for the nicer weather and delightful atmosphere of high-spirited people, fun festivals and sunny café patios. Continue reading

A Walk in Housatonic Meadows State Park

March 28, 2016 / / 6 Comments

It was a cold Saturday in March. Since it was the weekend, Mark and I wanted to take the dogs we are pet sitting for a decent walk in nature, as usual. An area we had not checked out yet since being here for almost three months, was Lake Waramaug.

Only a 15 minute drive away, we found what some call the prettiest lake in Connecticut. Continue reading

A Walk in Lover’s Leap State Park, CT

March 14, 2016 / / 6 Comments

A little while ago, last year’s sitters of our current house and pet sitting assignment in Kent sent me a list of their favorite parks and hikes in the area. One destination Mark and I had not checked out yet was Lover’s Leap State Park.

Map of Lover's Leap SP

On Saturday, the weather was right (a sunny 50°F) and Henry and Mickey were in the mood to join us (when are they not?) for another walk. We followed the GPS directions to Lover’s Leap in New Milford. Of course, I had forgotten to write the address down from my research on the computer, so we blindly trusted the computer voice in our car. My laid-back mentality about things like this will get me in trouble one day, but not yet. Continue reading

The Town Center of Kent, CT

March 4, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Kent sits in a valley of the Berkshire Mountains

After two months of living in a comfortable home, house sitting and taking care of four pets, near a small town called Kent, it is about time that I show you why I think it is pretty quaint here. Kent is the closest village to us (technically we live in South Kent, which has no town center at all). It takes about ten minutes to drive there from “our” house in the hills. With a population of barely 3000 people, not much is going on in town. The main buildings and businesses are scattered along Main Street/Route 7 and within five minutes, you’ve seen it all on foot. It is one of those cute Connecticut towns in a valley of the Berkshires. Continue reading

From Bottom to Top

March 2, 2016 / / 5 Comments
At the bottom of Kent Falls

At the bottom of Kent Falls

On the top of Kent Falls

On the top of Kent Falls

Shared with Wordless Wednesday, Water World Wednesday, Wednesday Waters, and Outdoor Wednesday.

Walking and Seeing the Real Berkshires in Connecticut

February 29, 2016 / / 10 Comments
The Berkshire Mountains in Connecticut

The Berkshire Mountains in Connecticut

Mark and I had been living in the “foothills of the Berkshires” for almost two months, barely noticing those geography defining Berkshire Mountains. Sure, each time we drive from our house sit to the town of Kent to run errands, our ears pop and we don’t need any fuel to reach the bottom of the road, but the cold weather, sometimes gray, sometimes snowy had not allowed us to walk up to any viewpoints during our weekend outings with the dogs. When the sun set, I could often spot what I thought to be a purple hued hill top in the distance, through the barren trees around the house. I wanted to stand on top of one of those hills… Continue reading

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