We are having a lovely time with Andy's mum and dad in Cornwall. Cornwall is the southwestern-most county in England, and it is absolutely stunning with green rolling countryside, steep cliffs dropping into the sea, and beautiful sandy beaches.
We are staying in the village of St. Agnes which is very nice and less touristy than many of the surrounding villages. This isn't to say there are no tourists, just that it is a bit quieter here than elsewhere.
We have seen the busy but historic and attractive town of St. Ives, the party town of Newquay, the legendary city of Penzance (there were actually never pirates here), and many, many surfer filled villages in between. We've seen (and climbed to) a castle, and we explored the amazing Eden project; this is a huge garden experiment of sorts with "biomes" (huge climate controlled domes)as well as outdoor gardens, cafes, and environmental education projects- a definite must if one is in Cornwall.
All the experiences are brilliant, but best of all is having some time away with Andy's parents to visit and catch up (and it certainly doesn't hurt to be able to do so over a Cornish cream tea).
Photos coming soon!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Finally .... Iceland and UK (part 1)
Well finally having some time and some internet access at the same time to make an entry. We are currently west of London in a small town/village called Twyford visiting Helen and Pete, catching up and sampling some cracking home made curries. All is well.
Quick update to this point - had a fabulous 3 days in Iceland. 24 hour sunlight was odd but also seemed to give us a bit more energy and get up and go. Arrived late first night; first day we went puffin spotting on a little boat (saw many!) and then took off in our very expensive rental car to the Blue Lagoon - a huge area of volcanic rock and heated mineral waters (a strange milky blue color) where we soaked and steamed and covered ourselves in white silica mud. Felt very good after that. Spent some time travelling the roads around Reyjavik; some gravel where our rental car got a bit cracked up (oops). Fines on return.... Next day, after smoked and pickled fish for breakfast, we were off to waterfalls, geysirs and to walk in between the American and European continental divide and see the site of the (reported) first parliament in the world (Viking). Our time in Iceland was over too quick, and we were back at the airport heading for the UK.
In the UK we've been busy too - exploring Southend and the coast (Andy's parent's new home), travelling to Hull (Andy's old home), visiting Aunt Shiela and Uncle Alf in Newcastle, visiting the old cities of Lincoln and Durham on the way, and stopping at Sherwood Forest on the trail of Robin Hood. One of the highlights was visiting a group of prehistoric caves (Creswell Scrags) where they hve recently discovered the first prehistoric (caveman) cave art in the UK - we were really lucky to get on a tour at the last minute to see it very upclose and personal. 15,000 year old cave art of bison, birds, and deer! Awesome. Another highlight was the open air concert Boogie Nights in the Park, a retro event of 80' and 90's acts in a park next to Ely Cathedral, which included a performance by none other than Bananarama (Andy was (as we say here) well chuffed).
Next we're off to Cornwall to spend a few days there with Andy's mum and dad, and some more time with friends and family. Before that (tomorrow) we're off to a Tudor festival! So getting a lot of culture too.
Having a good time and it is very nice to be back in the summer. All the work is getting finished up at the house while we're away and while we've had quite a bit of interest, no offers just yet. Missing Colorado of course - more so as Helen and Pete are dogsitting an energetic and sweet german shepherd at the moment.
More soon.
Quick update to this point - had a fabulous 3 days in Iceland. 24 hour sunlight was odd but also seemed to give us a bit more energy and get up and go. Arrived late first night; first day we went puffin spotting on a little boat (saw many!) and then took off in our very expensive rental car to the Blue Lagoon - a huge area of volcanic rock and heated mineral waters (a strange milky blue color) where we soaked and steamed and covered ourselves in white silica mud. Felt very good after that. Spent some time travelling the roads around Reyjavik; some gravel where our rental car got a bit cracked up (oops). Fines on return.... Next day, after smoked and pickled fish for breakfast, we were off to waterfalls, geysirs and to walk in between the American and European continental divide and see the site of the (reported) first parliament in the world (Viking). Our time in Iceland was over too quick, and we were back at the airport heading for the UK.
In the UK we've been busy too - exploring Southend and the coast (Andy's parent's new home), travelling to Hull (Andy's old home), visiting Aunt Shiela and Uncle Alf in Newcastle, visiting the old cities of Lincoln and Durham on the way, and stopping at Sherwood Forest on the trail of Robin Hood. One of the highlights was visiting a group of prehistoric caves (Creswell Scrags) where they hve recently discovered the first prehistoric (caveman) cave art in the UK - we were really lucky to get on a tour at the last minute to see it very upclose and personal. 15,000 year old cave art of bison, birds, and deer! Awesome. Another highlight was the open air concert Boogie Nights in the Park, a retro event of 80' and 90's acts in a park next to Ely Cathedral, which included a performance by none other than Bananarama (Andy was (as we say here) well chuffed).
Next we're off to Cornwall to spend a few days there with Andy's mum and dad, and some more time with friends and family. Before that (tomorrow) we're off to a Tudor festival! So getting a lot of culture too.
Having a good time and it is very nice to be back in the summer. All the work is getting finished up at the house while we're away and while we've had quite a bit of interest, no offers just yet. Missing Colorado of course - more so as Helen and Pete are dogsitting an energetic and sweet german shepherd at the moment.
More soon.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Boston, Reykjavik, and Beyond
Here we are in Boston after a brilliant time exploring the city! We are on our way to Reykjavik, Iceland before ending up back in England for a visit with family and friends there. Boston is lovely, and we are looking forward to exploring Reykjavik and surrounds.
Our plan continues as last posted. Our house is once again up for sale so that we can downsize to a condo and make our 'snowbird' life more manageable. We have both applied for (and Andy has recieved) our Hawaii licenses, so that will be a 'go' for later this year. The majority of our time has been spent preparing for this trip and, even more so, getting organized to move house and head for Hawaii... some home repairs and lots of upkeep so it is 'pristine' as advertised.
We will, of course, post news from our trip at some time in the not-to-far-away future, but, for now, we simply continue with what we believe to be a very exciting lifestyle change!
Our plan continues as last posted. Our house is once again up for sale so that we can downsize to a condo and make our 'snowbird' life more manageable. We have both applied for (and Andy has recieved) our Hawaii licenses, so that will be a 'go' for later this year. The majority of our time has been spent preparing for this trip and, even more so, getting organized to move house and head for Hawaii... some home repairs and lots of upkeep so it is 'pristine' as advertised.
We will, of course, post news from our trip at some time in the not-to-far-away future, but, for now, we simply continue with what we believe to be a very exciting lifestyle change!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Updates
Well, still busy!
The house is back on the market - and we're aggressively trying to sell it - mainly to make it so much easier to take off and travel. So, send us best wishes to sell it. Whether we sell it soon or not, we're still pursuing our plans, as shared last entry.
Lots of occupational therapy job opportunities in Hawaii for Andy, and lots more massage therapy jobs for Evan. It was easy for Andy to get an OT licence. Ev will have to apply to take the state boards, and has that application under way. We are looking at Oahu. This is partly because we like being in/near cities; partly because we are not planning to take a car there, but to rely on rental cars and public transport (therefore Oahu is best), and partly because we want to be able to get there and back as easily as possible. One opportunity we are looking into is Andy getting work through the Army (yeah yeah yeah!...) as there are many opportunities world wide ... we'll see. We plan on being there for 6-9 months.
In the mean time, we're also getting ready for our UK and Iceland trip. UK plans include a few days in an old old hotel on the coast of Cornwall with mum and dad, a visit back up to Newcastle, this time with a car with stops on the way to Lincoln and Hull (Andy's old home) and Nottingham and Sherwood Forest on the drive back to London. We have also secured tickets to a summer festival featuring none other than ... Bananarama! Andy IS excited! plus the usual visits with friends and family.
Iceland plans include a lazy half day at the Blue Lagoon hot water springs resort and a morning puffin spotting; we decided to bite the bullet and rent a car (very expensive) to really make the most of our time and see the island.
And crazy though it is, those Alsaka cruises are getting cheaper and cheaper .... oh, maybe!!!
Anyway, hopefully we'll be moving and downsizing some more to make it all a bit easier.
More later.
The house is back on the market - and we're aggressively trying to sell it - mainly to make it so much easier to take off and travel. So, send us best wishes to sell it. Whether we sell it soon or not, we're still pursuing our plans, as shared last entry.
Lots of occupational therapy job opportunities in Hawaii for Andy, and lots more massage therapy jobs for Evan. It was easy for Andy to get an OT licence. Ev will have to apply to take the state boards, and has that application under way. We are looking at Oahu. This is partly because we like being in/near cities; partly because we are not planning to take a car there, but to rely on rental cars and public transport (therefore Oahu is best), and partly because we want to be able to get there and back as easily as possible. One opportunity we are looking into is Andy getting work through the Army (yeah yeah yeah!...) as there are many opportunities world wide ... we'll see. We plan on being there for 6-9 months.
In the mean time, we're also getting ready for our UK and Iceland trip. UK plans include a few days in an old old hotel on the coast of Cornwall with mum and dad, a visit back up to Newcastle, this time with a car with stops on the way to Lincoln and Hull (Andy's old home) and Nottingham and Sherwood Forest on the drive back to London. We have also secured tickets to a summer festival featuring none other than ... Bananarama! Andy IS excited! plus the usual visits with friends and family.
Iceland plans include a lazy half day at the Blue Lagoon hot water springs resort and a morning puffin spotting; we decided to bite the bullet and rent a car (very expensive) to really make the most of our time and see the island.
And crazy though it is, those Alsaka cruises are getting cheaper and cheaper .... oh, maybe!!!
Anyway, hopefully we'll be moving and downsizing some more to make it all a bit easier.
More later.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Plan
Finally … we can now get some news out there. As we have been posting, there has been some planning and dreaming going on here. We’ve also been enjoying living in Washington in the summer, and have been off and about – last weekend we camped in Leavenworth, Spokane and Winthrop. We thought we should see some more of Washington before we ….
Firstly, we are putting the house back on the market – we have chosen our agent and will be getting all the things finalized to list again in the next couple of days. The reasons are the same as last time – that while we love our house, it makes it much harder to travel and leave for extended periods of time. So, hopefully, we will sell soon and move into a condo locally, from where we can …
So we have a 4 year plan, and this is how is goes – we’re planning an interim move to Hawaii in the not too distant future – time to do something new – and we have both wanted to experience living on a tropical island for a while. We plan on doing this for 6-9 months while keeping our ties and home base in Bellingham. This will give Ev the time to finish his degree (which he has to do in the USA)( … unless Andy gets a job with the army as a therapist then we can go anywhere) as well as giving us the chance to earn our TEFL certificates (teaching English as a foreign language). After our Hawaii and degree completion stint, we are going to move to New Zealand for a year to work and travel. Lots of job opportunities and options for us. Then, year 3 will see us heading to Asia (China?) to teach English for a year; before settling down in the Caribbean to set up our overseas charity project. We plan to keep our USA base in Bellingham, as we love it here so much and have many friends and work prospects, but to be our version of snow-birds !.....
So that’s the plan – it’s taken quite a bit of planning and organizing – wish us luck and stay tuned – we’ll be updating again more regularly.
In the meantime, we’re off to the UK and Iceland next month for a few weeks!!!
……
“Life is either nothing or a daring adventure” (Helen Keller)
Firstly, we are putting the house back on the market – we have chosen our agent and will be getting all the things finalized to list again in the next couple of days. The reasons are the same as last time – that while we love our house, it makes it much harder to travel and leave for extended periods of time. So, hopefully, we will sell soon and move into a condo locally, from where we can …
So we have a 4 year plan, and this is how is goes – we’re planning an interim move to Hawaii in the not too distant future – time to do something new – and we have both wanted to experience living on a tropical island for a while. We plan on doing this for 6-9 months while keeping our ties and home base in Bellingham. This will give Ev the time to finish his degree (which he has to do in the USA)( … unless Andy gets a job with the army as a therapist then we can go anywhere) as well as giving us the chance to earn our TEFL certificates (teaching English as a foreign language). After our Hawaii and degree completion stint, we are going to move to New Zealand for a year to work and travel. Lots of job opportunities and options for us. Then, year 3 will see us heading to Asia (China?) to teach English for a year; before settling down in the Caribbean to set up our overseas charity project. We plan to keep our USA base in Bellingham, as we love it here so much and have many friends and work prospects, but to be our version of snow-birds !.....
So that’s the plan – it’s taken quite a bit of planning and organizing – wish us luck and stay tuned – we’ll be updating again more regularly.
In the meantime, we’re off to the UK and Iceland next month for a few weeks!!!
……
“Life is either nothing or a daring adventure” (Helen Keller)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Not Yet
Sorry to disappoint, but we're still not letting the cat out of the bag regarding the changes mentioned in the last couple of posts. The reason is timeline related. We can't make it known until the timeline is definite, and the timeline is very dependent on a lot of variables... so....
We spent 1/2 the weekend getting the house spruced up for a potential re-visit to the real estate market; up on the roof, touch up painting, cleaning, gardening, etc., etc. Still a bit more to do before we contact an agent, but it looks as though we will attempt to sell again.
The second 1/2 of the weekend consisted of a trip to Seattle yesterday. Coffee at a favorite spot we spent much time at while Ev was in massage school, a trip to volunteer park, then on to the Rhododendron garden, and we finished up with a look around the shops at University Village and a lovely bowl of noodles at Zao.
We realize the posts aren't as exciting as of late, but hang tight, we will be ramping it up in the not too far away future!
"The day you decide to do it is your lucky day." (Japanese Proverb)
We spent 1/2 the weekend getting the house spruced up for a potential re-visit to the real estate market; up on the roof, touch up painting, cleaning, gardening, etc., etc. Still a bit more to do before we contact an agent, but it looks as though we will attempt to sell again.
The second 1/2 of the weekend consisted of a trip to Seattle yesterday. Coffee at a favorite spot we spent much time at while Ev was in massage school, a trip to volunteer park, then on to the Rhododendron garden, and we finished up with a look around the shops at University Village and a lovely bowl of noodles at Zao.
We realize the posts aren't as exciting as of late, but hang tight, we will be ramping it up in the not too far away future!
"The day you decide to do it is your lucky day." (Japanese Proverb)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Post DR - update
Since we’ve been back from the Dominican Republic we’ve been plotting some more. Can’t say too much at the moment, but we’re getting ready to make some pretty big changes…. Stay tuned – we’ll write about it as soon as we can let the cat out of the bag.
In the meantime we’re getting ready for our next trip to the UK and Iceland this summer. Plans already made or in the making include a summertime festival by a cathedral, a trip to Cornwall with Andy’s mum and dad, and a trip up to northern England to see Aunt Shiela and Uncle Alf, stopping on route in Hull (where Andy used to live) and Nottingham (to visit Nottingham Forest). Iceland plans include visiting some of the un-spoilt wilderness there (maybe skipping the volcanoes), a trip to the world’s oldest parliament and Viking remains, and the highlight, puffin spotting!
We’re also seriously considering another try at selling the house and moving into town and to somewhere smaller, to make life and our future plans a little easier.
That’s all for now. We hope to post some of our Dominican Republic pictures soon.
….
“We choose to give up something we want for something we want more” (Unknown)
In the meantime we’re getting ready for our next trip to the UK and Iceland this summer. Plans already made or in the making include a summertime festival by a cathedral, a trip to Cornwall with Andy’s mum and dad, and a trip up to northern England to see Aunt Shiela and Uncle Alf, stopping on route in Hull (where Andy used to live) and Nottingham (to visit Nottingham Forest). Iceland plans include visiting some of the un-spoilt wilderness there (maybe skipping the volcanoes), a trip to the world’s oldest parliament and Viking remains, and the highlight, puffin spotting!
We’re also seriously considering another try at selling the house and moving into town and to somewhere smaller, to make life and our future plans a little easier.
That’s all for now. We hope to post some of our Dominican Republic pictures soon.
….
“We choose to give up something we want for something we want more” (Unknown)
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