Nearly every person we meet in the North Maine Woods spews off something along these lines: “You don’t have a spare tire??” No, we don’t. First of all, we had no idea what the roads were like in northern Maine (to be fair, our AWD car is delicate). Second of all, we actually didn’t realize…
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I turn 37 on Friday and thought it would be fun to pay respects to my 36th year! Home: I (we) called 6 places “home” this year. We started in Oregon (running RimRock Inn), went to Colorado for a few weeks, then flew to New Zealand for 6 months, returned to Colorado in April, spent…
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Today we are coming to you with a review of the gear we used on Te Araroa in New Zealand. We realize it’s been 4 months since our trek ended, but there are lots of people prepping for the TA right now and asking questions in the forums, so we thought no better time to…
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Hope you enjoyed our first batch of pictures, because I have a second batch! Our life is still full of peace and quiet, but we’ve had more guest activity lately, which, of course, is good. However, our moose count is still higher than our guest count. Moose number 5, 6 and 7 reporting for duty:…
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It’s been 1 week since we’ve been up here and we are getting more and more acquainted. Rainy days have outnumbered sunny days, so we’ve been doing more indoor than outdoor activities, like experimenting with baking bread (want to get it right before guests get here), making granola, and reading (J finished TWO books already!).…
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“The first time that you begin moving in an unconventional direction is the hardest beginning,” according to modern-day adventurer Alastair Humphreys. “After that, you can’t imagine moving in any other way.” Since J & I returned from New Zealand, we had a dilemma and were at another crossroads. We have challenged ourselves to live differently…
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Currently just departed from: New Jersey. We were in NJ from July 1-17, with a few brief side trips, like for the high points and HCA reunion. Once again, it was great to visit with so many friends and family, celebrate birthdays, see our niece’s first play and just enjoy everyone’s company. Current plan: this deserves…
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Last weekend, J & I met 3 other couples and their kids in Beckley, West Virginia, for our 15-year reunion as Holy Cross Associates (more on that later). The Holy Cross Associates, minus 2 members The Holy Cross Associates, plus spouses and kids I know you are wondering why in the world we would end…
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Our goal of reaching all 50 high points has really taken a back seat to some other adventures of lately. We didn’t bag any high points in 2014. But being we had a little more flexibility this summer, we thought we’d put it back on our agenda. We took a little road trip last week…
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The U.S. manufacturing sector may appear to be shrinking, but it’s making a comeback at the same time. American production remains as hip as recycling and microbrews, particularly in the outdoor industry. We are proud that a few of our preferred gear companies produce homegrown gear. We visited our first stateside factory in April 2013, when…
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Currently spending time with/where: We are down to the wire with our time in Danville. We close on the house today in less than 3 hours!!! Current plan: Wouldn’t you like to know??? Better yet, wouldn’t we like to know? Current mood: Bittersweet about saying goodbye to our house and our friends in Danville one more time.…
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J & I engage in plenty of outdoor sports–hiking, paddling, biking, rock climbing, XC skiing, etc. Our participation in them depends on the area where we live and how much time we have. Mountain biking has never really been in our rotation of activities. J has done it a few times, but is definitely a…
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We stayed in 25+ different hostels/holiday parks along Te Araroa and most of them were great, but they do vary. We thought a review post might be helpful for anyone planning to hike the trail, or just visiting New Zealand. A general observation is that hostels are more crowded on the South Island than on…
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We hopped over the state line this weekend to go camping and paddling with some Danville peeps. Now that we’ve been back in the good ol’ South for almost 2 months, it really just feels like we never left. Which is probably why when I didn’t flinch when one of our group members said, “Oh…
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Not many extended families can really say they all get along, but J’s family can. As such, they have maintained a great tradition of family reunions. A first family reunion took place in 2012 in Virginia Beach, where his grandmother and some other family live. With 6 grandkids, plus 6 significant others, and now 5…
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I am behind on blogging. I mean, I am blogging here for Big Agnes and Gregory, but I am neglecting my own blog. My excuse is just being consumed by a major case of purging, going through our house and possessions with a fine-toothed comb. Also, we are trying to figure out our next move…
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We are back in Danville and I must say, we had a great time in Jersey. It was jam-packed, as usual, but we got to see a bunch of folks. I previously mentioned that our last visit to Jersey was March 2014, so this was a long time to stay away. All of my family…
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Currently spending time with/where: I added this “currently” label because we bounce around so much! This past week/weekend, I took a break from Danville and spent time in dirty Jersey visiting family and friends (won’t hit everyone this time around … next time!). I mostly have been having some summer fun with the niece &…
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I promised I’d balance out my Debbie Downer posts, so here are some happy scenes from Danville! As I said, we have some really awesome friends here and have been squeezing every droplet out of our free time for some fun, despite the surrounding drama. There’s been lots of outdoor recreation, weekly 1/2 priced Sushi…
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