Saturday, January 16, 2021
Carlsbad, NM
ODOMETER: 83,078 | MILES TRAVELED: 5,133
by Grant
Today was catch up and recovery day. We have been traveling a lot in the last 16 days. Starting off in New Orleans for Jack’s 16th birthday on New Year’s Eve, we went through Lafayette, LA, Lake Livingston in Onalaska, TX, Choke Canyon, TX, Rough Canyon, TX, Big Bend National Park in Terlingua, TX and now Carlsbad, NM. Combined, we’ve traveled 1,448 miles and are currently at our 8th RV park in 16 days. This does not represent our intended pace of travel, but sometimes we get to a place and don’t see value in staying for more than a day. With the full-time traveling lifestyle, flexibility is key.
Today, I spent time planning the next leg of our trip and researching the weather and availability of different places. Thelma the RV is 18 years old and can’t withstand sustained freezing temperatures. After my research, we have decided to head to Tucson, AZ next.
It was quite a chilly day and we all spent the majority of it inside with Jana catching up on the blog and Jack and Ellie doing schoolwork. Jana is adamant about getting everyone off the bus and outside every day, so today we decided to take the dogs for a longer walk through the desert near the campground.
It was nearing sunset and it was frigid, but there was magic in the air nonetheless.
We ordered BBQ takeout from the campground kitchen again because we enjoyed it so much last night. The staff here is very friendly and we like to support their business.
Combined, we’ve traveled 1,448 miles and are currently at our 8th RV park in 16 days.
Travel with us:
Travel Diary
Travel
This is a daily log and photos of what we’re up to.
Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 4: Fiji to Brisbane Passage
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Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 3: Bora Bora to Fiji Passage
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Sailing Tahiti to Australia | Leg 2: Mo’orea to Bora Bora
It took us about 24 hours to get from Mo’orea to Bora Bora on August 28 2021. Like the rest of French Polynesia, Bora Bora was in COVID lockdown, and we spent a week there waiting for our departure paperwork to go through all the requisite bureaucratic channels. This required multiple trips to the local gendarmerie (police station), where Grant quickly befriended the two kind and helpful officers, Alex and Bruno.
We made trips to get water, fuel and provisions, but apart from that we had to stay on the boat. We passed the time snorkeling (saw a giant moray eel!) and inventing new water sports.
Once we received our exit paperwork, we were finally free to leave for Fiji.
Reflections
Reflections
These are our personal thoughts on some of our experiences.
How Big Is Too Big?
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My 10 Favorite Books of 2020
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Warm season’s greetings from our family to yours. May your holidays be peaceful, healthy, and full of love and laughter. ♥️
Christchurch, New Zealand
Geraldine, New Zealand
Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Milford Sound, New Zealand
Lake Pukaki, New Zealand
Ferry from Wellington to Pickton, South Island, New Zealand
Our Trip
Trip
Our Trip
Trip
TRAVEL WITH US!
We are currently sailing the South Pacific to Australia.
Thank you for joining us, have a great day!