It’s been a winter for introverts and extroverts, with little in-between.
It’s a rainy, windy, stay indoors sort of day - so I thought I’d throw an update on the blog with details about how we’ve been filling our days in this new year.
Goats to Cattle
Just before the holidays we wrapped up our WWOOFing stay at the goat farm. It was a good six weeks and the girls both learned a lot. MsBoyink put together a wrap up post if you want to know more of the specifics.
Once done there we moved the RV 30 miles south to an organic dairy farm that sells both grass-fed beef and raw milk.
This isn’t a WWOOFing gig. Instead we pay a modest nightly fee for a full hookup site and then can choose what farm activities to get involved with.
Surf and Turf
We met the Gifford family of Sailing Totem. They’ve been on their boat for over 8 years - the surf to our turf. Their winter route put them in Jacksonville - just a couple hours from where we are parked.
Behan is one of the co-authors of Voyaging With Kids - A Guide to Family Life Afloat - which is a great reference for any family looking into the cruising lifestyle.
We drove over three times to spend the day with SailingTotem. We:
- Attended a local presentation they gave at a Marine school
- Hung out on Totem
- Had fun comparing and contrasting RV and Boat life
- Commiserated and rejoiced over raising traveling teens
- Played games
- Went used book shopping
- Met lots of other boat folks
If you are an RV family we’d highly suggest making connections to the sailing world - we’re much more similar than we are different.
Vintage Tech Revisions
I’ve had that magic combination of time, weather, and outdoor table space to take up working on my hobby of re-working vintage tech gear into something new.
This time it’s a portable reel-to-reel tape deck from 1968. I’ve:
- Gutted it
- Re-worked how it opens and latches
- Added a shoulder strap
- Added a Bluetooth speaker
Once finished with a lined interior it’ll be an unusual retro-style purse. It will be for sale (price TBD).
Where To Go Map
I’ve often wished I could find blog posts by starting with a map. I wanted to click a destination on the map and be able to link through to read about the experience a family had at that location.
So we used some of our introvert time to build just that on DitchingSuburbia.com, We call it our Where To Go Map.
We love to promote other family travel blogs and the map is also a great way to do that. Each destination on the map is an opportunity to link to your blog and get a traffic boost from us.
We’re putting together a blogger outreach program to let others know about the map and invite them to become contributors.
Ludington is the best! I am also from Northern Michigan and the best days of summer was when Mom agreed to drive over there to play in the sand and check out the lighthouse.
I love how much time you spent with Totem. Oh, how I would love to live on a sailboat… Too bad my husband gets wicked sick. I suppose the RV will do.
We’re not sure we could do the boat either! It’s not that sailing families don’t get seasick..they just deal with it as part of the experience.
Hello to you all. I met Miranda on a recent flight to Texas to visit a friend that I worked with in Iraq. I mentioned to her that I have a small hobby farm in upstate New York. She shared with me her experiences working on a goat farm. I told her that I may be looking for a farm hand to help with the workings of the farm. Miranda stated that she might be interested in joining our teem. If she is still interested, I would love to talk to her further. My cell is (***)***-****, or you have my email address. Wishing you all well in your future endeavors. And may God continue to bless you all. Bill