Monday, October 7, 2013

The "World Is My Oyster"-Style Travel

I am visiting my boyfriend in Seattle this week. Last night while enjoying sitting on the back deck in the cool breeze drinking a beer he asked me a question I really didn't have an answer for. He asked me:

“Once you are moved to the tiny house in the boonies, what will you do to vacation? It seems like you will be permanently camping, in a way.” 

I took a long drink of my beer, turned to look at him and replied:

“Dammed if I know.” 

That man is forever asking me questions I have no answer for, but then they bug me until I find an answer. Today I have been considering travel once I am living my dream.

Part of building a tiny house is that there is an expectation of traveling around for a time offering “Open House” travel tours to those who would like to learn about tiny house living. I will, for a period of time, travel from Arizona, through California, and up into Oregon, stopping at prearranged sites to set out the welcome mat. I will be offering information on the benefits of living in a smaller, greener footprint. But, ultimately, my house is not for traveling, but for living. So, once it reaches Oregon, onto my property it will be parked. It won’t really move unless there is a forest fire or I decide to buy land somewhere else and relocate it.

Since camping is such a popular activity for those of us trapped in the city or suburb setting, and I will, indeed, be living where I would typically love to camp, I think most would think I will have to go the opposite way when I travel. Being from Philadelphia I am used to large cities. I lived in Chicago for a time as well. No, I think theme vacations are the way I am going to go.

Here are some themes I would like to try: 
  • I adore Early American History, so I could plan a series of trips to historical sites. Revolutionary War battle sites, Underground Railroad Tours, Plantation Tours, Salem, MA Witch Trial tours, etc. would all make for interesting vacations. Famous Civil War sites would be good as well. 
  • I could also go on tours that focus on animals, such as bird or whale watching. Following the butterfly migration might be cool too. 
  • I could take an Amtrak from the west coast to the east coast to see the landscape the comfort of my own sleeping birth private car, writing as I go along. 
  • I could try to travel as much of the old Route 66 as I can, photographing vintage motels and tourist traps along the way. 
  • I could finally travel overseas and take the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Mongolia clear to London, stopping to see places such as St. Petersburg along the way and enjoy meeting people and exploring the local culture.


The fact is that restrictions on my money will be less and that will open many more doors when it comes to travel. I am limited by my budget now, but won’t be so much in the future (if all things go as planned). I can write anywhere I go and that will allow me to continue “working” even when I thousands of miles from home. Right now all my travel is limited as my life revolves around family and this tiny house project. However, the future is my oyster. 

So, in response to the question of last night, I plant to crack open that oyster and find a great big theme-style pearl inside!

6 comments:

  1. That's so interesting...I remember thinking that when we first moved from Canada down to Arizona... :-) now where will we go? since we used to go somewhere sunny with palm trees every winter...but we still manage to find fun places to go ;-)

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    1. Arizona is so boring with its two seasons: Hot and Hotter, lol. I can't wait to see seasonal change again. Although there are lots of places to see and things to do, I still crave seasonal change.

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  2. Fabulous post! I love that you are getting involved in the "small" home lifestyle. I've been doing a lot of reading on Simple Living...including reading a fabulous book You Can Buy Happiness (And It's Cheap) by Tammy Strobel all about how she simplified her life by reducing her living expenses by building a "small" home on wheels.
    I look forward to reading more on your blog.

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    1. I have read Tammy's book as well. Excellent read and so interesting. Thanks for your kind words stopping by!

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  3. I am a total lover of American History as well!!! When I visited the U.S, one of my must see sites was Cahokia in St Louis. I fell in love with the site and the people there who fight so hard to keep it maintained. I love your blog. I also use blogger. How did you get the neat little row of options at the top of your blog (Home, what is Rancho Danero, DIY, etc) Thank you. Amanda HelmiBM

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    1. Hi there, Amanda. We are kindred spirits. I got the tabs on the top of the page by moving the page "gadget" under the header. It will automatically arrange them into tabs. Thanks for stopping by!

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