Walter Fri... @Farley 5 months ago Good thoughts about my mom and home. I agree with you about home and homesickness. If I were traveling full time like you guys, I'd need a few days every now and then to just hang out, decompress, and do nothing.
Megan
5 months ago
megan
Home
My cousin recently asked me if I ever feel homesick? She said she's gone a couple days and can't wait to get back home, but that maybe she's a homebody and I'm not.
I've been thinking about this feeling and I don't think I've gotten homesick much in my life, even though I consider myself a homebody too. Before we left when I traveled for work sometimes 3-4 weeks at a time I missed Gordon and Gus to the point that I would stare at photos of them every night before bed.
Gus sure has grown on this trip :)
I guess I get 'people and dog sick' instead of homesick. The adventure and novelty outweighs thinking about my own home as something to hurry home to. It will always be there.
We have been on the road since leaving our front door Oct 27, 2023. Sometimes moving at a quick pace not knowing where we will sleep each night. Sometimes moving at a slower pace of one place for a week. Sometimes camping, sometimes hostels or airbnbs. And switching between the two can quickly get exhausting as we don't have a packed suitcase or bag that we haul on our backs. Our things are scattered about the van, tucked into nooks and crannies and the places that they belong. Mostly buying and hauling from place to place our own groceries and cooking, but sometimes treating ourselves to typical 'Tico' food.
I knew at the beginning of the trip that we'd need a break from constant movement to avoid burn-out by about the time we reached Costa Rica. I also knew Costa Rica was expensive and full of ex-pats, so Gordon says I willed us the perfect house sit. I wanted something in the mountains for cooler temperatures, and with an easy amount of animals to care for so we could have small adventures away from the house too. Perfect weather break from 90's+.
And boy did we really get lucky with this sit, which could be the sit to ruin all other sits for us. It's thru a site called trusted housesitters and costs $159 a year for a membership but otherwise no other money is exchanged. It's a win win thing, the home owner gets peace of mind knowing their pets are cared for in their own home, and the traveler gets free accommodation to watch the host's animals.
For us it's truly an ideal exchange because living in someone else's home feels ten times better than any airbnb. This is our 4th sit together in the last 7 months. Before we left, we did a local one down the street from us for 3 nights to help build up references.
I drooled over this bathtub in the listing! And that leads me to things you can't do in a van, take a bath, bake, or do laundry - all things we've been doing in abundance the week we've been here. Thankfully our laundry is upgraded from this washing machine where we manually had to spin rinse ourselves.
Look at this dream kitchen. This home took 9 months to build, is on 7 acres, and the couple is originally from Florida and moved down two years ago.
First veggie lasagna in 203 days. Beggars line up! This is Smokey the 6 yr old Shepard Mix we get the pleasure to watch for 5 weeks.
Today we decided to make something I was missing a lot on the road: a good cinnamon roll. I am truly picky about mine, they are definitely a special treat to me that reminds me of my Grandma Helen every time I have one.
Wine bottle rolling pin to the rescue!
Whenever we'd visit Grandma Helen in Canada within moments of being there she'd have pulled out some cookies and cinnamon buns from the freezer stored waiting for us in their reused coffee tins with wax paper liners. Saying how good it was to see us as she spread that sickenly sweet icing over them, that dripped down the sides. When we'd decline her offer of seconds or thirds she'd say we ate like birds and surely we could just have one more. We'd then sit at the table with sugar coursing thru our veins while we'd grab each other’s hands and I'd feel her paper thin super soft skin. Oh a Grandma’s hands!
When I think of missing home, that's what comes to mind, not the place but the moments shared over coffee catching up. Thinking of my grandma now makes me think I should hold hands with more people as we lovingly share news and ask each other how we are. I do miss those times with people I love.
I've come to realize while being here that while I don't get home sick per say, I do get house sick on the road. I need to stop moving, stop navigating crazy roads and borders, stop sweating while exploring, and just be in a spot with 4 walls and a couch for a bit.
I'm excited to be in this beautiful comfortable home for 4 more weeks, quickly falling into a lovely routine of waking up around 5 or 530am, reading, putting the dogs outside, making breakfast and lunch with delicious veggies from the garden.
Doing a hike, a swim, some yoga, studying Spanish, baking and nesting, loading a dishwasher (gasp!), and just sitting watching the weather roll in my favorite porch chairs ever in bed by 9pm. Okay 9:10 after getting all the bugs out. 
The mornings are delightfully sunny here and then rain comes every afternoon. Gordon gets lots of 'nerd time' as he calls it which is how he feels grounded. He’s building a camera at this moment....
We search for frogs in the ponds, explore nearby restaurants and farmers markets, and generally reset while planning our next big steps on this journey. This morning it was nice to stop by 'home' with a cinnamon roll and an imaginary conversation with Grandma Helen.
Home is where the good food is, and I hope to hold hands and catch up with people (who can or can't make cinnamon rolls) soon to infuse 'home' back in. Home is a feeling not a place. What is home to you?
