It’s been a long time since I’ve written here.
After nearly a decade on the road, we hung up our packs and have been living in one place for almost a year. There are also three of us now. Trin’s mom has moved in with us, and we’ve become caregivers.
We’re living in a house we bought in 2016 as a rental. Ten years of tenants later, it needs a renovation. Trin tore out the entire kitchen, rewired the electrical, and redesigned the layout, and we’re currently shopping for new countertops. In the middle of all that, he takes care of his mom’s medications, plays cards with her every night, and takes her for walks. It’s beautiful to watch the way he sees her and cares for her. She is happy and content for now.
While all of this has been happening, I’ve been writing my second book, No Home Address, and getting more involved with the local ChooseFI chapter. I’ll also be speaking at a Phoenix event October 31, if you are in the area, come check it out.
ChooseFI chapters bring together people who enjoy learning about money, sharing ideas about saving and investing, and figuring out how to make the most of what we have. It’s a comfortable place to ask questions, learn from one another, and talk about how to steward our money well. It’s also the kind of group that appreciates useful tools like the Firenum Planner.
Even if numbers aren’t your thing, the people are great.
About the book: No Home Address
No Home Address will be available October 20! It’s the story of Trin’s and my journey through Central and South America and on to Antarctica. We traveled slowly, mostly overland, and met so many wonderful people along the way.
In a strange way, writing it has been a wonderful way to transition from a life of travel to staying in one place and growing roots. I’ve been on a virtual journey back through those years, rereading the blog posts I wrote along the way, going through thousands of photographs, and digging into a spreadsheet where I tracked every expense. That spreadsheet turned out to be incredibly helpful. It let me verify when we arrived, how long we stayed, and when we booked certain things. It has been a lot of fun to relive the journey.
The book also holds the parts that never made it onto the blog: what was happening beneath the posts, the questions I was wrestling with, and the internal story unfolding alongside all those miles.
It begins with our story of selling everything and eating hot dogs for a month (yes, you read that right, but you’ll have to read the book to find out why.) It covers our first two years and 112 days on the road. Come along with us. I hope you’ll be entertained.
Since we last talked
One of our last travel posts was about the hiking route we followed through the Caucasus. It was a stunning place. After that, we continued through the Caucasus and Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. They were amazing places, too, and I’d love to share more about them someday, but life feels different when you’re no longer moving. Also all my time has been devoted to getting this book together!
The question
“Could a life with fewer things hold more than you imagined?” is on the back of the jacket cover for No Home Address. Life with only one backpack each did hold much more than we could have ever imagined. Now, here we are, collecting a few things. I’ve been resistant to complicating our lives, but it is rather nice to have a desk and a bigger screen. I’m still struggling to increase the number of items in my wardrobe. The simplicity of few outfits just makes life easier.
We’ve made new friends and established a few routines, even learning to schedule a day off each week. While traveling, we rarely knew what day it was, and sometimes I didn’t even know the month. The clock and the calendar didn’t dictate our lives. Now I keep a google calendar for lunch with friends and other self-imposed deadlines. More things on the schedule. It’s an adjustment for sure, but it’s still good, just in a different way.
Speaking of stuff…
In 2016, as we were selling everything my mom called to say we could place a few boxes of important and sentimental things in her basement. They’re still there. When we came home from Europe, we had to settle in quickly because full-time care was immediately needed. The boxes had to stay where we left them. I really don’t know what’s in most of them. I remember a few things, like my wedding rings, but the rest is a mystery. Someday, when we make that trip east, it will be interesting to open them and see what I thought was worth keeping ten years ago.
The next book is already tugging. Australia is calling. Realistically, I’m taking a little time off first. There’s a house to paint, and a few other projects to finish.
What early readers are saying
“I didn’t want this book to end.” — Tina Stephens
“…left me grinning (she’s clever!) and gasping at the dangers and difficulties they experienced!” — Jaqueline K.
More reviews on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/260498451-no-home-address
No Home Address will be available October 20. Just search for me on Amazon or go to my author page for the link that will be added on the 20th.
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Early Reviews are in!
