Greetings from New Zealand! I am doing well … busy writing, practicing yoga, writing, writing, biking, hiking, writing, practicing yoga, writing … you get the picture. And if you don’t, this is what it looks like. In between the retreat, my fellow writers and I are enjoying grand adventures around Wanaka. I thought I’d give…
Hello from New Zealand! I didn’t want to make any promises about posting, but I thought I’d chronicle my time so far. My retreat starts Monday in Wanaka, but I planned my first 2 days to stay in Queenstown. Queenstown is a little crazy and I don’t get involved with the real hoopla, but I…
If you’ve been reading this blog for a long time, or if you are my “real-life” friend, you would know I am a writer. I have a degree in English and spent the better part of my traditional career as a medical writer. I do a lot of freelance writing, too, for magazines, blogs, and…
Our contest giveaway has ended and we have 2 winners!! The winner of the grand prize pack is … Sonya Bryer Sanderson!!! The winner of our second place prize pack is … Robert Debevoi!!! Sonya and Robert, we’ve sent you both e-mails, so please e-mail us back with your mailing address to receive your prize…
***Three days left!!! Don’t miss out on entering our giveaway contest three posts back*** Currently living/working in: “Unjobbing” in Colorado!! Unjobbing is a term I recently discovered that is apparently used by A LOT of people. It was first coined in a self-published book by Michael Fogler in 1996. It perfectly describes us: living the life we want…
***Don’t miss out on entering our giveaway contest two posts back*** J & I did our third 10th Mountain Division Hut trip in Colorado. Our first was to Polar Star Inn in 2012 and we did a second trip in 2013 to Shrine Mountain Inn. J’s sister Jamie (SILAdventure) and her partner Rachel (DocDoc) are all about…
***Don’t miss out on entering our giveaway contest one post back*** As we planned, we did a lot of snowshoeing and XC skiing this week while staying at the cabin. We mainly stuck to local trails in Pike and Arapaho National Forests. There was also one hut trip which will get a separate post. Thought…
We were so happy with the outcome of New Zealand’s Te Araroa Speaking Tour! We are so grateful to all our friends and family that came out to support us. We are also so appreciative of our sponsors for the support/giveaways. Thank you Hi-Tec, GSI Outdoors, Gregory, Superfeet, Big Agnes, Sawyer, Princeton Tec and Therm-a-rest. During…
Did you know that 9.5% of our U.S. population is practicing yoga? That’s up from 6.1% in 2007. This makes yoga roughly as popular as golf. J & I are part of that 9.5%. That’s right, J has been taking yoga!!! Believe it or not, nearly 28% of those practicing yoga are males. I…
We have wrapped up our Te Araroa Speaking Tour. I plan to do a full recap soon, but let me just say it was more successful than we ever imagined and we are trying to figure out how to launch a longer tour. With the presentations behind us, we intend to regroup, switch gears and…
J & I took our first snowshoeing trip of the season on Saturday. We headed to Echo Lake/Chicago Lakes in Arapaho National Forest with a friend (Grant) we met during our Wilderness First Responder course. The Echo Lake Trailhead is a little over an hour from Denver … except when you decide to go on…
Try to contain your excitement … our 8-stop New Zealand Te Araroa speaking tour is picking back up! We only have 3 stops left and they are here in Colorado (for now … future continuation of speaking tour is a possibility). These last 3 stops are pretty significant. The registrations show that 280+ people have…
After tucking 2015 into bed, J & I realized we’ve had quite a year. If you are a long-time reader, you know I love me some stats. I’m also quite wordy. For your benefit, I chose numbers over words for this post. 111 = Days we spent out of the US (mainly New Zealand,…
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…
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 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…
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…
In this past week, we went from the serene quiet of the island to the organized chaos of life on the road. We are officially on our Te Araroa Speaking Tour, making 8 stops at REI stores across the country between now and Jan. 13. We started in East Hanover, NJ, with an audience of…
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…
During the past 5 months, I read 15 books and J read 10. It may not seem like a lot for some people, but it was for us. We love to read, but when we’re on the road, we listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts. Our summer and fall caretaking gigs afforded us…