Merry Merry

For most of our 13 years together, J & I have spent Christmas mornings with my family at my sister’s house in Connecticut. Sure we celebrated with his family either later that day or another day (depending on where they lived) and there were a few exceptions over the years, but Christmas mornings were typically…

Wilderness First Responder

Before anyone freaks out with these pictures, know it is all makeup!! It was all part of Wilderness First Responder training and certification we achieved last week.  J & I have both been Wilderness First Aid certified, but becoming a Wilderness First Responder (WFR – pronounced “woofer”) has always been a goal of ours for personal and…

Currently: December

Currently living/working in: Well, we made it to Colorado! And right now, we are in the midst of getting our Wilderness First Responder Certification (more on that in another post) Current mood: Busy and tired! Who knew a daily schedule of 8am to 5pm (our 10-day class schedule) could be so brutal???  Currently excited about: Winter…

Midwest Tour Recap/Visits

Our Te Araroa speaking tour took us through the Midwest, somehow magically without any winter weather. All 4 stops–Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Kansas City–were awesome. We both love, love, love standing up in front of people and educating them about our passions and adventures. But I think the thing I enjoy even more is…

Island Life Wrap-up

We said goodbye to our 2-month caretaking gig on that secret island today, but want wholeheartedly to come back someday. We are mountain people through and through, but there was something magical about seeing the golden honey and grapefruit sky sink into the ocean every single night. And, we never tired of watching and listening to…

Currently: November

Currently living/working in: In the homestretch of island life … unbelievably, there are only 9 days left in our caretaking gig! Current mood: Sad to leave the island, but excited for our winter full of personal development and mountain training in Colorado! Currently excited about: Our New Zealand Speaking Tour!!!! And the fact that our first 3…

Island Life – Part 3

With less than 25 days left in our island gig, I’m already dreaming about how we will do this again in the future. Every caretaking gig we take has been unique and we’ve loved all of them (except for maybe one), but this one, this one is really making me gush.  I do understand that…

9 Years

We celebrate 9 years of marriage today. And when I say celebrate, I mean it is like any other day because, well, we are on an island with no restaurants or other services. Not that we would do anything different if we weren’t on the island … but I digress. Recently, Backpacker Magazine wrote an article…

Currently: October

Currently living/working in: Caretaking an island off the coast of New England and loving it!  Current mood: Happy! Currently thankful for: A simple and uncomplicated life on an island.  Currently proud of: A new venture for our “Wandering La Vignes” brand that will be announced shortly …  Currently excited about: Upcoming projects and job opportunities (one with…

Island Life – Part 2

All the islanders are gone. Well, 1-2 will come back here and there, but for the most part, we are alone (aside from the hawks, herons and owls who haven’t migrated).  The outhauls and dinghies are almost all pulled. The sumac and maple trees have turned their brilliant shades of color and are loosing more…

Island Life

We have settled in for our 2-month caretaking job on an island off the coast of New England.  Some of you have been quite curious about this gig! There is only so much I will reveal on the blog and it is merely to protect the privacy of the island’s residents. They have entrusted us…

And The Winner Is …

John Miller!!!!! John, please e-mail us your mailing address at gearandgo@hotmail.com so we can send you the awesome Princeton Tec Helix Basecamp lantern!!! Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks to Princeton Tec for providing the great prize! Oh, and happiest of birthdays to this guy who likes to GIVE presents away on his birthday…

Interim Visits

We start our new (secret) caretaking gig on Monday, so we’ve been bouncing all over the place these last few weeks since we left Maine. J even took a quick trip out to Colorado to see family while I helped my sister out in CT after she had a minor surgery with a major recovery. …

Currently: September

Currently living/working in: transitioning from one caretaking gig to another!!! I know, I know, you are getting dizzy trying to keep up with us. We finished up our season in Maine and are in route to a 2-month (possibly longer) stint to watch a small, private, residential island somewhere off the coast in New England. Location…

Denali Bid 2016

You might have heard the big news. President Obama changed the name of North America’s highest peak from “Mount McKinley” back to “Denali.” You also might have heard that Denali shrunk from 20,320 feet to 20,310 feet.  Denali sure is making the news a lot lately, huh? We are going to add to it.  J…