"Water Wonderland" Michigan

Michigan snuck up on us like a cool summer breeze. One minute we were seeing family and friends in Ohio and the next we were relaxing poolside at a vacation rental in Mirror Lake with Chip's family. We spent six lazy days here going on bike rides, hunting for mulberries with grandpa, swimming in the pool, fishing, and plumping ourselves up with a lot of wonderful food. But, as always, all good things must come to an end and after a week we had to say goodbye to the comforts of a big, cozy home and help from family. We hopped back in Spud and ugly-cried out of the vacation rental driveway. It is always hard leaving family but after giving my cheek a swift slap of the hand, I snapped out of it and immediately grew eager to explore the rest of Michigan.

USA, Road Trip, Family Travel, State ParksLindsay KellerJuly 28, 2017Michigan, midwest, beaches, family travel, state parkComment

The Number$

Since we decided to take this journey a year and a half ago, we've had the good fortune to talk with a massive amount of people. We get a lot of questions, but, far and away, people want to know about money. Some will disguise it a bit and ask us what we "do". Others are more forthright and just ask how we can afford to take what they perceive to be a perpetual vacation. Most are just honestly curious about how we'll make ends meet. Good questions, everyone. They're ones we worried ourselves with at the beginning.

Staying Connected in Lake of the Ozarks

About a week into our road trip I started having nagging thoughts indicating something wasn't quite right. The intrusive feeling would hit me like an ocean wave, take hold of my brain for a few seconds, and then wash ashore as I'd forget about it for awhile. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that was making me feel a little uneasy. Finally, though, on our last morning at a random Missouri State Park I was able to connect the dots.

Embark

I'm sitting in the passenger seat of our '86 Westy staring out the window at the endless wheat fields, towering windmills, and straight, flat roads of Kansas. It is dead silent in Spud (well, as silent as he gets at 65 mph), which is rare with jabbering twin boys. But it's naptime. Hallelujah! I unbuckle my seatbelt and like a flight attendant head to the back and sneak out two M&M ice cream bars from our mini freezer. I deliver one to Chip, then we cackle while waving them in the air at the boys' sleeping faces and scarf them down in celebration of quiet time. If only they knew what we did when they were asleep. I digress...

The Top 6 Reasons Why We Chose To "Hit Pause"

Some of you think this idea is crazy. Some of you might think it's crazy awesome. It's a mixed bag and we totally get that. We are still surprised we both had the guts to say 'let's go for it' and then actually make it happen. It's definitely dramatically easier when both people in a relationship are on the same page. We have been answering a lot of very legitimate questions about why we are doing this. To get inside our heads a bit, we have compiled six reasons why we decided to quit our day jobs, rent out our house, and travel for the next year (or two?):

Honey, I'm home...For good.

As I write this, I'm staring out our front window watching snowflakes fall on budding trees and green grass sprinkled with bright yellow dandelions. My eyes and mind are playing tricks on me though. It can't be winter anymore. I'm in denial that in one day it will be May 1st. It feels like just yesterday, on a random December evening, that we were eagerly waiting for Chip to come home from work.

Part III: CAN we have MORE?

When we last wrote, we had officially traveled 186 miles from Whistler to Kamloops and landed in Nick and Erika's place in the late afternoon. It was definitely one of the bigger cities we've seen while being in Canada so we figured a night on the town would be great. For dinner, we located the main drag and asked a local where she recommended we eat. Her three choices... 1) "This sushi place" - she pointed to an empty restaurant behind her, 2) Denny's (really? Denny's), 3) She couldn't think of a third so I think she defaulted to the Mexican place across the street. So we ate at Qdoba. When in doubt, eat a burrito.

Canada, Family Travel, National Parks, Previous Trips, Road TripLindsay KellerSeptember 30, 2013Canmore, CanadaCanadian Rockies, CanadaComment

Part II: Whistler Wanderings

We got our first taste of road tripping on our hour and a half long drive from Vancouver to Whistler. It was clear we were all very excited (to be traveling by mini-van, of course) and to explore a new area of Canada because we were singing, laughing, and screaming almost the whole way. I think Chauffeur Chip was a little worried for our upcoming (5 hour long) trip we would be taking in 4 days. We joked on our drive, saying wouldn't it be funny if by the end of the trip we were all sick of each other and the car was conversationless. Don't worry...it doesn't happen. It's hard not to mention the drive from Vancouver to Whistler. Stunning, really. We followed the ocean much of the way, going up and over mountain passes.

Canada, Family Travel, Previous Trips, VacationLindsay KellerSeptember 28, 2013Whistler, BC, CanadaCanadian Rockies, Canada, WhistlerComment

Part I: Reuniting With Friends In Vancouver, Canada

Chip and I were overcome with joy to be heading to Canada...and for many reasons! First, we've always wanted to explore Canada. We thought it was a little odd to be saying we were from the US but had never actually step foot into Canada (driving across the border when you're 19 to get booze doesn't count. And neither does seeing Niagara Falls from the Canadian side). Second, we wanted to run the half marathon in Vancouver. Third, and most exciting, we were reuniting with our awesome friends that we met a year earlier in New Zealand. There is Nick and Erika, our Canadian roommates that lived with us in Queenstown, and the Kennedy's, our favorite family of 5 who welcomed us while living in their home country. The plan for the trip was to all meet up in Vancouver, run either the half or full marathon (Jeff was the only one who had the guts to run the full), and then take off via mini-van with the Kennedy's for a week-long road trip from Vancouver to Whistler then Kamloops to Banff.

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