If you are a regular reader, you will probably remember most of our journey through 2019. If you are new to our site, I invite you to browse and click around a bit for stories and photos about our past adventures. The links in this post give you a glimpse into some of those experiences.
Driving part of historic route 66, AZ
January
Mark and I explored the Borrego Springs area in the California desert, flew to Newburyport, Massachusetts to see doctors, friends, and family, and did a short repeat house sit in San Diego.
February
We returned to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and boondocked at several other Southern California and Southern Arizona sites in an attempt to be warm. We failed.
March
We hopped over the border with Mexico to celebrate Mark’s birthday in Puerto Peñasco, explored a chunk of beautiful Arizona, and swore we’d spend the following winter in Florida.
April
We had an amazing few days in Southern Utah and Arizona, planned to be back a couple of months later, and headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
May
Three big labs had our undivided attention in Albuquerque, NM, where I finished writing my memoir (for now), before we stopped at more sites in Arizona and returned to Kanab, Utah to volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for two weeks.
June
We adopted Maya, lingered a bit longer in Southern Utah, and had a fantastic summer road trip adventure in Colorado and the Midwest.
July
The three of us melted in Canada’s southern cities, had a fun stopover in Vermont, and spent time with family and friends in Massachusetts, where our camper, Zesty, and our dog were introduced to loved ones.
August
After a successful citizenship interview for me, our little family hopped in Zesty again and headed north. We explored parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada.
September
More explorations took place in Canada: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (where we sat out hurricane Dorian), New Brunswick, and Quebec, where we picked up my parents. They joined us into Maine and back to Newburyport, MA.
October
We visited a few sights in our home state with my parents, had a productive working-from-home period, and I became a US citizen.
November
Our one-week road trip to Campbellsville, Kentucky was filled with interesting stops, before we settled in an RV park for seven weeks to work at night.
December
Three more weeks of working hard and little time off, during which we ran errands and hiked with Maya. The last week of the month was spent on the road again, visiting different places as we headed south… to Florida.
The Highlights
Every day we can explore a little bit more of the world and this country is a highlight, but our biggest changes in 2019 were without doubt adding a furry family member to our life less ordinary and becoming a US citizen for me. The first one restricts our freedom, while the latter enhances it.
Nashville by night – we boondocked across the river with this view!
Goals for 2019 – Partly Successful
In my end-of-the-year blog of 2018, I wished for three things in 2019: finish writing my memoir, becoming a US citizen, and going on a real vacation. Well, I met two of those goals, while the last one won’t happen for at least another ten years, now that we have Maya as our fulltime companion.
Goals for 2020
Which brings me to our hopes for the new year… I should probably discuss this with Mark first, but my personal interests contain: reading more, publishing my memoir, and traveling beyond North America again.
Perfect boondocking spot in Sedona, looking out over the famous red rock
End Note
I would like to thank every one of you for reading our Roaming About blog, commenting when inclined, encouraging me with my writing, and being a treasured part of my online community of friends. I hope our wonderful relationship will continue to grow and that our lifestyle remains inspiring.
Happy Holidays and may your 2020 be filled with joy, good health, adventure, love, friendship, and purpose!
Liesbet, Mark, and Maya
Hiking in Gunnison National Forest with Maya, Colorado
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December 30, 2019 at 05:02
A beautiful review of the year Liesbet and Zesty has taken you to to so many interesting places. The Utahs were my favourite landscapes and I could have happily stayed there in another lifetime to paint, write and help the animals. We’re so happy you adopted Maya and for 2020 we wish you the happiest times continuing your journey together. Cheers to a New Year filled with joy, love, good health and adventure! ???????????? xxx
December 30, 2019 at 11:38
Thanks for reading, commenting, and your wonderful wishes, Xenia. Utah constantly draws us back as well and we are contemplating returning there in the spring, as we speak. 🙂 The scenery is awe-inspiring and never gets old! And, Maya likes the open spaces as well! We could go say hi to all her old friends…
December 30, 2019 at 05:42
You and Mark have certainly had a jammed packed year, Liesbet. Thank you for taking us along. I’ve enjoyed your travels and getting to know you better. Wishing you, Mark and Maya a peaceful New Year.
December 30, 2019 at 11:41
Thank you, Jill. While I was rereading this post, I all of a sudden realized it has been a busy year, with few breaks to sit in the same place and focus on work. Of course, we prefer life on the road, but it gets very exhausting. We will see what 2020 brings. You never know where we will be a year from now, or even a month from now! My best wishes for you and yours as well. I hope you’ll get to enjoy lots of peaceful moments writing and hummingbird watching, among other lovely experiences. 🙂
December 30, 2019 at 06:57
That’s what I call a Full Fun Year! Best wishes to all three of you for a healthy and happy 2020!
December 30, 2019 at 11:43
Thanks, Denzil. I initially thought it was a pretty average year for us, but we seemed to have been pretty much all over the place, when I reflect back on 2019. 🙂 Happy New Year to you too and I hope it will be a fantastic 2020 with lots of walks and discoveries – and writing/photography successes.
December 30, 2019 at 11:37
Congrats, Liesbet, on your achievements this year! I may be in southern California at the end of May 2020. Hope to see you there if our paths cross. Best wishes to you, Mark and Maya for a healthy and happy New Year 2020!
December 31, 2019 at 10:34
Hi Natalie! Thanks. I’ll keep your travel plans in mind! Not sure whether we will go all the way to California again if we decide to head west in the spring, but you never know. 🙂 Have a fantastic 2020 with lots of travel, explorations, art, friendship, fitness, and good health!
December 30, 2019 at 13:43
What a repository of memories stored for you and your readers to review. That’s the magic of blogging.
Yes, you took me along (figuratively, of course) on most of your excursions this year. I hope you can add Florida to your itinerary in January. 🙂
Happy New Year, with fresh vision for 2020!
December 31, 2019 at 10:39
Hi Marian! I was debating doing this post, as it’s mostly a recap of my exploration and destination blogs of 2019, but – despite it taking the longest of all my posts, due to locating, captioning, and remembering all the photos – it’s nice to have “everything” on one page.
We made it to Florida and it’s still 2019! 🙂 Thank you for your wishes, which remind me I need new prescription glasses.
December 30, 2019 at 13:56
That’s an amazing list of destinations and activities! Wishing the three of you a wonderful 2020.
December 31, 2019 at 10:42
Thank you, Anabel! Yes, recounting our year and adding the photos made me realize it’s been quite an eventful year in regards to sites seen and distances covered. Our “relaxing and settled” house sitting days are over!
December 30, 2019 at 16:27
I’d say you had a pretty productive and eventful year. Wishing you and Mark a very happy and healthy New Year filled with fun and exciting adventures!
December 31, 2019 at 10:45
Thank you, Ingrid! Now that we’ve experienced an RV Park (in Kentucky, while working), we know what we will miss and what you get to cherish this winter. 🙂 We’ve had a busy year indeed, with not much rest, so I shouldn’t be too upset about not achieving as much as other years when it comes to my writing or blogging. As we’ve discussed before: sightseeing and adventuring beat everything else. Have a fabulous end of the year and a fantastic, healthy, and fun 2020.
December 30, 2019 at 17:02
What a wonderful and exciting year you’ve had Liesbet. I wish you and Mark a beautiful new year filled with fun and adventure and your published book!. Happy New Year! <3
December 31, 2019 at 10:49
Thank you, my friend! I so hope your wishes for us come true! And, for you both, I wish you a trip to the sun soon (I’m cheating here), lots of writing and blogging pleasure and success (yep, that’s bound to happen as well), eternal love (I’m pretty sure you both have that for each other), fun adventures (likely), and good health and few customer service annoyances. Those last two are out of our hands, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed… Happy 2020!
December 31, 2019 at 11:24
Lol on customer service. But you and I shall continue battling them as the warrior women we are! Cheers to a wonderful new year!! xx
December 31, 2019 at 11:31
🙂
December 30, 2019 at 18:25
Hi Liesbet! Wow! Seeing your recap showed just how much you have traveled during 2019. So much has happened! And while you didn’t take a “formal” vacation, from the looks of it you’ve managed to see and do far more than most people would on any type of a vacation–so there’s that. Good luck on managing all your goals for 2020 and don’t give up on a proper vacation–once Maya settles down you might find that she is a far easier pet to travel with…or I could recommend some awesome people to pet sit for her while you are traveling elsewhere. 🙂 Happy New Year and I can’t wait to see where you go in the year ahead. ~Kathy
December 31, 2019 at 10:54
Haha! You’re so right, Kathy! It has been a crazy year for us when it comes to traveling and sightseeing and being all over the place. I actually didn’t realize that until I finished this blog post. What’s missing from a “real” vacation is a bit of splurging and lots of rest. I guess we will try to add that to this year’s goals. It’s all about the mindset and priorities. 🙂
We might find a pet sitter who is willing to live in our van for a while… but we’re pretty sure that Maya won’t have anything to do with that. She is so attached to Mark and has separation anxiety. Maybe we’ll just get a house first.
Happy 2020 to you and Thom and keep up the good, rightsized life!
December 30, 2019 at 20:28
What a great year! You’ve achieved so much. Wishing you all the best and many adventures in the first year of the new decade.
December 31, 2019 at 11:00
Looking back, it’s been an eventful 2019 for us, mostly on the go-go-go, or at the computer trying to catch up on work and life outside the “go”. 🙂 Happy New Decade with lots of wonder and travel to you both as well!
December 30, 2019 at 22:32
2019 was quite a year! Congratulations on your writing success and achieving your citizenship. I also think you have now seen more of Eastern Canada than I have. Wishing you and Mark all the very best 2020 has to offer. I hope one day our paths will cross again.
December 31, 2019 at 11:03
Hello Sue! We can’t wait to meet you and Dave again as well. There’s a slight chance in 2020 if we decide to drive up to Alaska in Zesty for the summer. But, based on all the distance we covered (and camper issues we’ve fixed) in 2019, we might take it a tad easier next year, which is tomorrow. 🙂 Have a wonderful New Year with lots of adventures and playtime in the snow, plus precious moments with the family – Old and young – and great health!
December 31, 2019 at 15:28
What a year you’ve had. Fun to look back on. Keep it up! All the best to you and Mark in the new year.
January 4, 2020 at 22:58
Thanks, Leslie! You and Al sure expanded your Westy horizons as well in 2019! We will try to keep it up, but without too much effort. Let’s see what 2020 brings. Your guess is as good as ours. 🙂
December 31, 2019 at 21:10
What an amazing 2019 you had, Liesbet! Full of adventures, change and successes, all to be proud of and full of memories as you enter 2020. We are ushering in 2020 in our pjs enjoying some downloaded movies in our trailer in North Phoenix. Cheers to a fab 2020. Let’s both get our books published this year!
January 4, 2020 at 23:02
Hi Terri!
I’m so glad that you and Hans managed to get somewhat of a repeat – but better – of your road trip last winter and that you had a comfy NYE. And, I’m excited you finally made it to the Grand Canyon. What a fantastic start to the new year (or was it end of the last year?)!
Yes! Let’s get both our books published this year. Focus, determination, priorities, and time – that’s “all” we need. 🙂
January 1, 2020 at 00:31
Your 2019 adventures were certainly wide-ranging! Congrats again on the citizenship, and I’m so happy for you guys and Maya that you found each other this year. Hope to cross paths on one of your (or my) trips in 2020!
January 4, 2020 at 23:04
Hello Lexie! Thank you so much for following along with our adventures in 2019 and congratulations with all your own achievements last year!! If we head west again in 2020, I will do my best to find you. Or, if we end up back in Massachusetts for the summer, a meet-up is bound to happen…
January 1, 2020 at 17:23
Happy New Year! You had some pretty big life changes in 2019 – adopting Maya and becoming a US citizen. And you visited 3 countries! Zesty had quite a year too. I wonder how many miles you put on her?
I hope your 2020 is full amazing new adventures, good friends, good food, good camping, and long walks with Maya.
January 4, 2020 at 23:09
Hi Duwan!
Good question about the miles we put on Zesty in 2019… I should do a numbers post one of these weeks. You’re so much better at that. We do keep track of everything, but I never think about posting any interesting statistics about our life. Our “log” has the answer. 🙂
Thank you for your lovely wishes. I hope our paths cross again in 2020 and then we can enjoy all those wishes together! Have an incredible new year yourself – the open road is finally open-ended. Such awesome prospects for you and Greg.
January 1, 2020 at 21:12
Happy New Year! You crammed a lot into 2019, and I hope 2020 is good to you. Now… go read a book (just trying to help). 😉
January 4, 2020 at 23:11
You are helping, Diane! And, I plan to start a new book (reading) this month! Baby steps. 🙂 2020 has been really good so far and it will be hard to stay that way. Thanks for coming along for the ride in 2019. I’ll see you on the other side of the blogosphere!
January 3, 2020 at 19:34
Hi Liesbet,
While I’ve read all year about your adventures, I really enjoyed the “year in review.” It’s interesting that you are spending this winter in Florida (where we are for our winter, too) as next year we will be leaving this area and doing some exploring of the dessert southwest in the winter, and then we will begin some touring of the west…along with some of our National Parks. Can’t wait! Was it just not warm enough for you? Curious what we might encounter.
Happy and healthy New Year to the 3 of you.
January 4, 2020 at 23:19
Hello Nancy!
Your future travel adventures sound appealing. The west is pulling us back already, but we figured we’d give Florida a try this winter. We will see how it (the boondocking) goes in this state.
Mark and I are spoiled when it comes to not being cold, spending ten years in the tropics. After selling our sailboat in Tahiti, we lived through one winter in New England (I’d never shoveled snow and Mark wanted me to experience that :-)), before heading west to find warmer climes over the winter.
The last two winters, we spent in Southern California (house sitting) and Southern Arizona (in the van) and it was chilly. Last spring in particular, it didn’t get much warmer than 50 during the day. When you live in a small space and you are barely able to be outside, life gets more challenging. Also, spring 2019 was a notoriously cool and wet one out west, so this year might be better. But, we won’t risk it.
It’s all about preferences and perception! 🙂
January 3, 2020 at 22:27
Love your photos and your journey. Thanks for sharing!
January 4, 2020 at 23:12
Hi Janet! Happy New Year and thank you for reading and sticking around. 🙂
January 6, 2020 at 17:45
Happy New Year Liesbet! May 2020 be filled with joy and delight in your new adventures. Thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments and wise friendship over the years. I’m so grateful for our continued connection as curious wanderers.
January 6, 2020 at 21:06
Happy New Year to you as well, Atreyee! It is indeed nice to remain connected through our blogs and comments and to both explore this amazing earth of ours, on our own terms. I wish you many stories to write and experience in 2020. Enjoy what you like best and keep a good health!
January 10, 2020 at 20:43
Liesbet, I have enjoyed your journey through 2019 in the comfort of my home. The huge smiles always warm my heart. I love all of your photos! Some of my favourites are in Utah and Arizona. I can feel the energy from your post when you discuss becoming a US citizen and adding Maya to your family. Yes, a highlight. I look forward to all in 2020!
January 13, 2020 at 20:45
When I put this overview post for 2019 in place, I realized we’d had a pretty eventful year and covered quite a bit of distance, compared to other years. Funny that I never thought about that during the year. Who knows what 2020 brings for us… Hopefully enough adventures to keep you and ourselves entertained! 🙂 Nothing planned outside of January yet.
January 16, 2020 at 13:47
Liesbet, I’ve read all your posts in 2019 (using my typically blog binge reading approach ????) but when your whole year of travels is compiled in one post, I really can see what an amazing amount of ground you covered last year! I hope you have a warm and enjoyable winter in Florida.
Jude
January 16, 2020 at 16:16
Hi Jude! Thank you for being such a faithful reader of the blog. Based on your comments coming in, I have noticed the binge reading. 🙂 Like you, the same thing happened to me when I compiled the post: I had little idea about how much distance and territory we actually covered until I put this blog together. When I put my last blog together (the yearly expense one), I actually only wrote that we drove from Utah to Florida, forgetting about California, Arizona, and Mexico. Haha. And, only yesterday, I checked our logbook and noticed the actual distance we covered in 2019: 14,000 miles. That seemed high, but totally makes sense.