If we had to describe our travels in one sentence, it would be:
Slow down, go farther afield.
After three years of this nomadic life, we chose to spend more time in places we love, especially Colorado and the West Coast. We roamed around Colorado all summer, starting with what may be Andrew’s favorite Habitat for Humanity build in Pagosa Springs. In the fall, another Habitat build brought us to quirky and beautiful Port Townsend, WA, providing the perfect jumping off point for more time in the Pacific Northwest — including Portland, Bend, and Coos Bay. We took November and December to make our way from the northernmost to southernmost points of California, winding up at what is now our December/January home of San Diego.
Once again, circus helped us discover new places to love. Last winter, we stored the RV and BAT (Big Ass Truck) and made the long journey to Australia — stopping first in Sidney, then spending a month in Adelaide to see Chase perform with GOM at the Adelaide Fringe. Since we were already in that part of the world, we also visited Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hakone, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Krabi.
We both turned 60 in 2025 and made a serious commitment to eating healthier and working out more. After all, we want to be able to live this nomadic life as long as possible! That meant longer and steeper hikes and bike rides. It also meant finding healthier ways to take advantage of all the great food we discover in our travels.
In general, healthcare continues to be an interesting puzzle — for all three of us. In 2024, we made the decision that San Diego would be our healthcare home. We established relationships with doctors, dentists, etc. It felt really good to take care of all of that stuff when we arrived in early December. It felt less good to see our healthcare premiums double in early January! Still trying to figure out what to do in terms of health insurance, and what happens when Chase turns 26 and falls off our plan.
So, what’s in store for 2026?
The “slow down, go farther afield” strategy still holds.
For winter 2026, we have planned longer stays in places like Palm Springs, Houston, Dallas, and Austin. There are real benefits to sticking around longer. Those stays are cheaper on a per-night basis, sometimes significantly so. We also use much less gas, which really helps our budget. Perhaps most importantly, settling in for a bit allows us time to really get to know a place — vibe, landscape, people, arts and culture, and of course food!
We are fortunate to be taking a multigenerational trip to Copenhagen, Milan, and Florence for a week in April, and we can’t wait to see Chase perform in Montreal (end of April… join us!). June and July will find us back in Pagosa Springs for a few weeks of building with Habitat for Humanity. The summer 2026 plan is a bit up in the air — maybe more Colorado, maybe back to Utah for a bit. Next fall and winter, circus will bring us to some places we’ve been dreaming about revisiting — Edinburgh for the Fringe in August, Paris at Christmas.
We’re considering investing in a home base.
Last year also brought a question: Should we think about having a small home base somewhere? We know we still want to be nomads, but it might be nice to have a small condo or casita someplace. Doing so would allow us to become part of a local community again (volunteer, network, build friendships, etc). It would also mean that we could get our stuff out of storage in Waltham (and out of various friend and family basements!). Not sure we really want to invest in real estate right now (we’d rather spend the money traveling), but it’s still an intriguing idea. More to come in future posts — stay tuned!
The Caravan is evolving.
Not the personal one, the business one. The first half of 2025 was interesting for nonprofit organizations. Everyone was pretty much in suspended animation while they sorted out the possible impacts of a new administration and associated funding priorities. As a result, January – June were quiet on the consulting front, leading to lots of reflections about what’s next for the business. Is the universe subtly (or perhaps not so subtly) saying that it’s time to retire? The retirement account + travel plans are saying “absolutely not!” Is it time to explore other ways to fund our lives? What “other ways” would allow the flexibility + resources we need to live like this? Thankfully, work picked up again in July, and it became clear that there were some interesting ways to actually expand the business — more partnerships, diversified client base, larger projects.
We heard over the holidays that folks appreciate this blog (and that you missed the map of our travels… it’s back!). Let us know what you’re interested in knowing about, and please feel free to share with others who might be inspired or entertained by our travels.
