Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

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WW – Morning Scenes

August 10, 2016 / / 13 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t do completely “wordless”, but I try my best with “almost wordless”. 🙂

This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “morning”.  Since Mark and I live everywhere and nowhere, our morning looks quite different depending on which place we call home for the time being. Here are some morning photos of the past and the present…

A morning along the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway), heading south to Florida with Irie

A morning along the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway),  taking the dogs ashore

A typical morning from Irie in Huahine, FP - front view

A typical morning from Irie in Huahine, FP – front view

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Monthly Expenses – July 2016

August 8, 2016 / / 7 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting and relatively adventurous life without being rich. Or even without owning/earning a lot of money. That being said, Mark and I seem to manage one big expense a month for some reason, whether it is car, plane, travel or computer-related. Luckily, we live totally rent-free and in comfort, wherever we end up. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce and non-alcoholic drinks (100% orange juice, oat milk for Mark and organic 2% milk for me) predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. I read somewhere that "dining out" is meant to happen in fancy places. Not here! But, I do like the term "dining out" better than "eating out", so I'm keeping it. The health category covers medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements. Utilities are always Skype-related, now that our internet is free and our phone costs are business-deductible.  You don't see heath care costs, because Mark and I are eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts, since our income is  in the lowest bracket. I still pay a small three-monthly fee in Belgium for health care (required to keep my citizenship), which I will report on at the end of the year.

Here is an overview of our expenses in July.  After months of trying to stay under $1000, we finally succeeded! Still, our daily expenses while traveling on our sailboat or our camper were much lower.  Blame it on all the seducing and endless choices of and in US stores... Consumerism is slowly getting to us. Help!

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IWSG – Writing Articles

August 3, 2016 / / 21 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) encourages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing.  Last month, I gave a summary of my book project. The question IWSG would like to see answered this month is “What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer and where is it now?” Since my only success as a freelance writer is getting articles published in boating magazines, I would like to share some insights about article writing.

Caribbean boating magazines

Caribbean boating magazines

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WW – A Narrow Path to Safety

August 3, 2016 / / 18 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t do completely “wordless”, but I try my best with “almost wordless”. 🙂

This week’s Daily Post photography theme is “narrow”.  My mind wandered back to all those times we snorkeled in between tight coral alleys to enjoy the underwater animal world. More stressful were the moments we had to find a way to the beach or to open water through a maze of shallow coral heads in our dinghy (or our “big” boat).  These are photos of enjoyable coral encounters… Tunnels are also relatively narrow.

How to get to the beach without hitting precious reefs?

How to get to the beach without hitting precious reefs?

Narrow paths in between coral heads for amazing snorkeling experiences.

Narrow paths in between coral heads offer amazing snorkeling experiences.

Have you had narrow escapes? Do you know narrow-minded people? What narrow objects have you photographed in the past? What comes to mind when you think about “narrow”?

The Art of Being Flexible (and Realistic)

August 1, 2016 / / 7 Comments

One of the greatest perks about house and pet sitting in different states (or countries) is that you can explore new areas at will. If you decide to take on longer term sits, like us, these explorations can be done in-depth with destinations galore for weekends away. Mark and I only have about one month left of our 4.5-month house sit in Heath, MA and I feel that we are running out of time for my “to visit” list. Of course, this list is so extensive that it is humanly impossible to actually do it all, unless we could devote ourselves to our roaming ways every single day of the week, which we can’t, because of our business.

Town Hall in Great Barrington

Town Hall in Great Barrington

I had a few “to do” things planned for our weekend in SW Massachusetts: climbing two mountains, Mt. Everett (partly) and Monument Mountain (wholly), strolling around two historical towns, Stockbridge and Great Barrington, hiking to three sets of waterfalls, Bash Bish Falls, Bear Rock and the cascades of Race Brook, visiting Guilder Pond and driving back from Great Barrington to Lee on a scenic road, before heading home on Sunday. Oh, and as a back-up or if we had extra time, I had more waterfall destinations up my sleeve.

View from Mt. Everett

View over the Berkshires

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My Most Cherished Object; My Daily Companion

July 29, 2016 / / 28 Comments

As a frugal, down-to-the-basics kind of girl, I don’t own much and I don’t value material goods like most people do. This has been a trend my whole life and allows me to be free. I love downsizing – from not much to even less – to keep things organized and manageable. I enjoy making my life as simple (and cheap) as possible. Decent health, love from (and for) my husband, enough money to put food on the table and live a relatively comfortable life, and the right dose of excitement and adventure is all I need. Of course, I have some clothes as well, even though most of them are 10+ years old. At the moment, we have a car which holds everything we need, and we each have a computer, which is required to make money (and post blogs :-)). My camera is my most important gadget, with my iPad coming in second. Oh, and I do have a Fitbit, but don’t tell anyone! When asked about my most cherished object, however, the answer is the one thing I have held onto and used every single day for over 25 years. It is my most intimate and valuable companion, the only one that knows me through and through, contains all my secrets and has been by my side from the age of 14 forward, for better or for worse, for richer, but mostly for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I am talking about my diary.

Diary old and new

Diary old and new

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WW – Cherry on Top While Traveling

July 27, 2016 / / 9 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t do completely “wordless”, but I try my best with “almost wordless”. 🙂

My theme “Cherry on Top” for this week comes from The Daily Post. While I am totally passionate about traveling and enjoy many aspects of it, my highlights remain wildlife encounters. Therefore, “meeting” and interacting with animals is the cherry on top of my explorations, in the world or in the back yard!

The biggest cherry: swimming with wild manta rays next to our boat in the Marquesas, FP
Snorkeling with a spotted eagle ray nearby our boat
Really close (and startling) encounter with a nurse shark in the San Blas, Panama
Sloth in Panama
Visiting sea lion in the Galapagos
Monkey in Costa Rica
Black tip reef shark in Fakarava, Tuamotus, FP
Howler monkey in Costa Rica (or was it Panama?)
Dolphins in the anchorage love to play with the dinghy
Free dolphin show in an anchorage in Tahuata, Marquesas, FP

For more “Cherry on Top” shots of nature, check out this gallery post, which was part of my A-Z Blogging challenge this year.

Who or what is your cherry on top, in the day-to-day life or on vacation?

Do I have a Condition or Do I Waste Away?

July 25, 2016 / / 10 Comments

I hate waste. I hate wasting. And, most of all, I hate wastefulness. Is it just me?

When I walk in nature (or in town) and I see garbage lingering in the woods or along the curbs, I am appalled. What is so hard about throwing trash in a provided bin – even if it is placed a few steps away – or carrying it back out of a park or forest and dispose of it at home? Why does anyone have the need to throw empty cans, wrappers or plastic bottles through open car windows, while any gas station (or your own house) has a trash can? Do these ignorant soilers really prefer to drive or walk in a littered environment instead of a pristine one? Do they not care that their neighbors or fellow citizens have to roam amongst trash?

Some people do not care where they dump trash... This photo was taken near the Western Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel

Some people do not care where they dump trash… This photo was taken near the Western Portal of the Hoosac Tunnel

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WW – Details on a Walk to a Viewpoint: Morning Dew

July 20, 2016 / / 15 Comments

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them.

My theme “Details” for this week comes from The Daily Post. From the moment I saw the prompt, this photo came to mind. I rarely take photos of details. Maybe I should in the future?

Morning dew

Morning dew

The walk to the lookout revealed this view (the details all blurred together :-)):

On top of Takaka Hill, South Island, New Zealand

On top of Takaka Hill, South Island, New Zealand

Or was it this view (where all details are pushed out of sight)? I can’t quite remember…

Another view from Takaka Hill

Another view from Takaka Hill

Do you prefer photographing landscapes, wildlife, portraits or details? Or, anything that strikes your fancy (but mostly nice views), like me?

(Super) Natural Wonders around Us

July 18, 2016 / / 24 Comments

Hoosac Tunnel

“We have to look for ghosts in the Hoosac Tunnel while we are in this area,” Mark said, out of the blue, during one of our drives to North Adams, the closest real city to us, about 40 minutes away. As we climbed Whitcomb Hill and mentally prepared for the steep descend, I gave him a puzzled look, “Ghosts? Where?” “Have you never heard of the haunted Hoosac Tunnel?” he asked. How would I? I am not familiar with local legends and folklore anywhere, let alone in Massachusetts. Of course, the notion peaked my curiosity. How could it not?  So, yesterday, I added the tunnel to our sightseeing itinerary.

Approaching Hoosac Tunnel from the east

Approaching Hoosac Tunnel from the east

The digging of the 4.75 mile Hoosac Tunnel in the Berkshire Hills started in 1851 and wasn’t finished until 1875. At its completion, the railroad tunnel was the longest in North America and the second longest in the world, after the Mont Cenis Tunnel in the French Alps. To this day, it remains the longest active transportation tunnel (for freight) east of the Rocky Mountains and operates without a schedule. The building of the tunnel, however, was a nightmare of blood, sweat and tears. Continue reading

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