On the Road Again!
Oh dear readers where do I begin. I think when we last left you we had returned home from our South American adventure and were busy visiting with friends and family. I was covered in poison ivy and we were trying to settle on our next adventure.
Our original plan when we left Buenos Aires was to come home for a few weeks and then head out in May or early June to Indonesia and spend some time traveling in Asia.
Now here we sit in Jackson, Mississippi in the heat of August and oh how our plans have changed! So, what happened?
When we returned home we realized that our property was too much to keep up with while we were traveling. We loved our home but we realized that we loved our independence and the opportunity to travel more. So, we made the difficult decision to sell our home. Also, our children prefer an urban lifestyle to our farm in the country.
So after spending a few weeks getting the property into tip top shape, we listed our home for sale. The average home in our market and price range is usually on the market for over 400 days, so imagine our surprise when it sold in thirteen days! Sorry HomeAway guests!
We had less than a month to figure out where to go and what to do. I was in a panic. With our youngest still in college and our oldest still working on her professional degree we decided they each needed a base while we needed to downsize to a home that was smaller with no maintenance (i.e., no poison ivy).
So off we went house shopping. In just a couple of days we were able to find a condo in Oxford, MS and a patio home in Jackson, MS that met everyone’s criteria. I now have lots of empty walls to fill with Ol’s photographs.
It was a blessing to have a family friend adopt our horses (thanks Brian and James)! Now, after a few hectic months, we have completed our move and are finishing up our remodel in Oxford.
After a quick family trip to New York (thanks Maryam and Matt) and getting everyone settled, including a new puppy who will live in Oxford (say hello to Freddie!) we are ready to be on our way once more. Today, we leave for our next adventure!
So where are we going? Once again, we know where we are flying into and where we are flying out of, but everything else we will decide day to day. We have planned a rough daily budget based on the countries we will visit and we have planned one major trek, but cities, dates, etc., we will leave open.
I feel like we need a drum roll …… to celebrate 30 years of marriage we will spend September through December in France (Eduardo and Flo), Spain (Sonya and Paula), Portugal (Maryam and Paulo) and Morocco. We fly into Paris and out of Marakesh with a brief stop in London and will be home for Christmas (Mam and Pop).
We plan to hike for over 1000 miles through France and Spain as we experience the pilgrimage that is the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James). We will have plenty of time to immerse ourselves in the culture and meet people as we walk through villages, towns and cities across both countries.
Because this is a long distance trek we have spent the past few weeks loading up on calories. We have both gone crazy on pancakes, peanut butter and biscuits and are completely out of shape (I blame the stress of moving and the fact that we can get food delivered to our door for the first time in our married life). Ol told me not to worry, if it takes us a month or six weeks we can train on our walk. No worries! I guess that is why I love trekking.
Since this is a pilgrimage please feel free to send us your prayers, intentions, totems (with instructions) and we will be sure to carry them out. If you would like to join us for a week or two, drop us a note and we will let you know our plans.
I am excited to get back on the trail and am looking forward to a new adventure. I am thankful that we have a beautiful home to return to, our children are happy and excited for us, and we continue our journey Olaroundtheworld.
Look forward to regular blog updates and don’t forget to subscribe!