Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: holidays

Happy Holidays & May Your 2023 Be Amazing!


Mark, Maya, and I wish you all a fabulous end of the year and a healthy, adventurous, satisfying, productive, and inspiring 2023. Thank you so much for following along on our journeys and leaving comments throughout the years.

The three of us had an eventful and relatively challenging 2022, with most of our focus, effort, dedication, and expenses going towards equipping our Lance 830 truck camper Thirsty Bella for extensive travels in South America. The year started with explorations, fun, and relaxation in Baja, Mexico, and is ending in Colombia. We were reunited with our home on wheels in mid-December, are back in travel mode, and can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us.

Already, there are many stories to share – good ones and bad ones – and I hope to resume a more regular blogging schedule in the near future, as much as our life on the road allows. This will depend on my time, energy, interest, and internet availability. Follow us on Facebook (see right column or click here) for more frequent updates and photos.

Season’s greetings from the mountain region of Colombia!

Bye, Bye 2020 – Welcome 2021!

A lot has been written and discussed about this past year. Jokes were made at the start of it. 2020. It looked interesting; sounded promising. New in so many ways. Now, it’s almost over. And it still went fast, despite the dreadful circumstances.

Santa in the cauldron, Tubac, Arizona

The pandemic messed things up for all of us. Nobody was immune to it. Yet, some people struggled more than others. Financially, mentally, physically, socially. In our circles, the lack of hugs, social interaction with friends and family, gatherings for special events (from celebrations to a funeral), and being able to go out for a meal or a chat seemed to be the extent of the “suffering.”

Christmas tree in the American old west

Continue reading

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

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.”

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

Christmas Time is upon Us Once More

When I grew up in Belgium, New Year’s Day was more important than Christmas. Yes, we had a live Christmas tree with colorful balls and twinkling lights in the living room, but the presents underneath would be distributed on the first day of the new year. On Christmas Eve, my brother and I would have a quiet dinner at home with my parents. Sometimes, my dear oma would join us. My dad retrieved the “gourmet set” from the cellar and my mom picked up trays of bite-sized, raw meat and vegetables (and not to forget, pancake dough) at the butcher. For hours, we would each cook our own dinner in tiny pans and on top of the “communal” electric grill plate in the middle of the table. This food experience was called “gourmetten”. We all loved it and finished the meal off with mini-crepes. Then, we would play board games until bedtime. Continue reading

© 2024 Roaming About

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑