Leaving on a jet plane . . .

For Christmas this year we flew down to Texas, where both of our families live. After moving to Oregon we started alternating Christmas in Texas with Christmas in Oregon. Although it makes more sense for us to just fly to Texas (where everyone else is) than to have everyone fly up here, we kinda like decorating for Christmas and we can only do that if we are the hosts. It helps that our house has such prime decorating potential, including a vaulted living room ceiling that can house a GIANT tree. Also, Oregon has the best Christmas trees around. Seriously, if you bought one of those fancy imported Fir trees this year it probably came from Oregon (or maybe Washington). But here in Oregon, you can just go cut one of those amazing trees down yourself and probably for under $30.

A few years ago we decided to go all out. We cut down a 13 foot Noble Fir. Decorating it required an extension ladder, 1400 lights,  120 feet of garland, and nearly 400 ornaments. Removing it from our house after Christmas required using an electric saw to cut it into more manageable pieces, just to get it out the front door. Totally worth it.

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This year we went to Texas. It was almost 80 degrees, which was not very Christmas-like but we had a wonderful time visiting with friends and family.

Our trip home was a whole different story.  Continue reading “Leaving on a jet plane . . .” →

Jeepin’ at Brown’s Camp

It’s been a while since our last post because it’s been a while since we had anything new and exciting to share. Our day to day lives as we prepare and wait patiently for our big adventure can be rather ordinary. We go to work, eat dinner, do dishes, walk the dog, repeat.

Since our last post we have taken the RV out once, again to Champoeg State Park, mostly because that is the closest park to our house. I didn’t write anything about that trip because it was pouring rain the entire time and we hardly even left the RV. Not exactly inspiring.

But I am definitely not complaining. After all, all of our work and waiting is in preparation for something awesome. And even when it seems far away, I know we will be on the road very soon. I just noticed the other day that my countdown clock had made it to double digits!

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Our lack of big weekend plans has also given us time to tackle some of the projects that need to be completed before we leave. One of these projects was getting our Jeep “Adventure Worthy”.

Continue reading “Jeepin’ at Brown’s Camp” →

The IrieJoe

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My parents are currently on a fantastic adventure of their own! They recently purchased a MaineCat 41, a forty-one foot catamaran sailboat. The boat was built in Maine by boat designer and builder Dick Vermuelen. They flew from Texas to Maine to pick up the new boat, named the IrieJoe, and are currently sailing the boat down the East coast to its permanent home in the Bahamas. The boat will be part of the charter fleet at MaineCat Charters in the Bahamas.

They are documenting their trip on their blog http://theiriejoe.wordpress.com. Check it out!  Continue reading “The IrieJoe” →

Small House Big World

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I’ve been reading travel blogs for years. These stories of people dropping everything to take off and see the world were a big inspiration for this trip. Reading stories of exploration and adventure allowed me to live vicariously through others while I was stuck at home studying (and planning my own big escape).

Continue reading “Small House Big World” →

Home Away From Home

The very first place we took the Alpha Uno was Champoeg State Park. It was our very first time camping together in an RV and also our first visit trip to an Oregon State Park (law school ruined our weekends for a few years). That trip was the beginning of this crazy plan, though we had no idea at the time. We still have a fondness for Champoeg because of that first trip. The park is also ridiculously close to our house and Brandon’s job. He can get to the park from his office in about 15 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes from our house. Bottom line, even with shorter days and less light, we were still able to get to our spot and set up before dark. And even without the nostalgia factor, Champoeg is a beautiful park that is very well laid out so that everyone has enough space and privacy. It is also very close to wine country and the town of Newberg (in case you forgot some necessity, like coffee or wine). Continue reading “Home Away From Home” →

Recent RV Projects

When we can’t get out camping in the RV we like to spend time working on it. RVs are a bit like boats in that there is always something to fix or something that needs improvement. It’s essentially a big hole you throw your time and money in. Thankfully, we both enjoy fixing things and DIY projects so we do the majority of the work ourselves. Continue reading “Recent RV Projects” →

Engagement Photos!

We had such a great time taking our engagement photos and we love how they turned out. We hope you love them as much as we do. We hired Katy Weaver, a local photographer in Portland, and she was absolutely fantastic. The three of us drove out to the Columbia River Gorge, knowing that it was probably going to rain on us. It did rain and the resulting double rainbow was more that we could have ever hoped for. It made for epic photos and a wonderful day. We ditched our shoes to play in a freezing mountain stream, nearly ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and climbed over boulders to get the perfect view. A little adventure right in our own backyard. Enjoy!

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Continue reading “Engagement Photos!” →

Work Weekend at Detroit Lake

Once we finally had the RV out of the repair shop we were really itching to get it out camping again. Since we purchased it a few months ago we have only been able to take it on one camping trip (America’s Birthday). We decided to check out a place we had heard a lot about but had not been able to see yet, Detroit lake. Detroit Lake is a dam lake about an hour and half outside of Portland and on the way to Bend. Continue reading “Work Weekend at Detroit Lake” →

How many mechanics does it take to change a light bulb?

When we bought the new Alpha 1 we knew that it was going to need to go into the repair shop to fix a few things that we just can’t do ourselves. We also just wanted to have it looked over really well to be sure it was in good condition for our trip, and to give us time to address any problems that might come up. Continue reading “How many mechanics does it take to change a light bulb?” →

The Grand Scheme of Things

When we first bought the Alpha 1 we only intended to go on weekend trips around Oregon. Maybe we would take a longer trip once a year when we had some vacation time. We are reasonable, responsible adults with jobs, but we also like to have a little fun now and then. It made perfect sense. We were just going to be weekend warriors and cram as much as we could into our 48 hour blocks of freedom. Continue reading “The Grand Scheme of Things” →