Olympic Peninsula

For 5 1/2 weeks, we had neighbors who moved with us every few days. Then we spent Halloween with a friend I’ve known for 28 years and with whom I’ve both played in a funk band and climbed a big wall in Yosemite. This weekend, we lived in the driveway of a great family who we met on the Internet and hadn’t seen since an evening beside a lake in the Adirondacks 2 years ago. Today, we saw a bald eagle, did MadLibs on a beach and drove onto a boat. But somehow, it feels as normal as can be. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #mysocalledrivetedlife #airstreamwithkids #homeschool #roadschool #worldschool

Campfire talk among nomadic types often includes dreams of buying a secluded piece of property 10 miles up a dirt road, but honestly, I’ve always felt it was pretty easy to just drive our trailer into a National Forest or out onto BLM land to feel remote. What’s hard is finding a place to park our trailer in a little town, within walking distance of a coffee shop or two, a bar, a pizza place and some shops to poke around. That’s why when we decided to setup a part-time home base, we bought a little house in a town.
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Port Townsend is kinda the exception. Within a few minutes walk from the trailer, the kids were playing on the waterfront, and I had a coffee in my hand. We wandered around until we could justify a delicious lunch at the Owl Spirit Cafe, after which we played a while longer at another public water access area (yeah, and more coffee at Better Living through Coffee). Across the street, the woman making dresses in Seams to Last walked us through details on a few sewing projects we’d been planning and helped us choose some awesome fabric. Then a little more playing while Ann prowled the book stores and short walk back home, watching then docks for otters and looking at the sailboats (the *other* nomad campfire topic). Oh, and we even have awesome neighbors @professionalwanderers #porttownsend #airstream #pairstream

The spring cartridge that closes the ball valve on the toilet after it flushes broke last night, but the local RV shop had the replacement part in stock. While I contorted and swore trying to work behind the nasty toilet, Ann and the girls sewed drawstring backpacks. With the toilet fixed, I showered for the better part of an hour, and then we explored the old bunkers at Fort Worden and walked on the beach before gorging on Waterfront Pizza. #pottytalk #notall🌈and🦄 #stillprettygreattho

These big gray ships are stocked with provisions and spare parts that allow expeditionary units to carry out extended forays into both charted and uncharted territories. #navyoiler #airstream #pairstream #porttownsend

We didn’t really have a plan after our ROAMSchool gathering, just knew we wanted to wander back to Northern California by a few days before Thanksgiving. We went where we were interested and stayed as long as we felt like it; It’s been great.
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But, today I realized that Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away, and we’re 14 hours from home. For us, that’s about 5 days of driving plus some layover days smattered in. So, we gotta pick only 5 more places to stay between the northern end of Highway 101 and the Bay Area, preferably all about 3 hrs apart. Normally, I love planning, but this reality has me a little melancholy.
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#airstream #landyacht #mtbaker #halftimenomadproblems

The smart decision might have been to start making our way south, but there’s also a wisdom in spending as much time as possible in the places that are farthest from home. #travelwithkids #familytravel #kalaloch #olympicpeninsula

The girls had a GIANT amount of fun on the beach today while we sat in chairs and did nothing. Back to the Airstream for baths (in the bottom of the shower) and kids haircuts. Now pizza’s baking in the oven and bread is rising to go in right after as the sun sets outside. Tomorrow we roll a bit south. #travelwithkids #familytravel #beachwithkids #beachdrawingsvisiblefromspace #gluttonsforgluten #kalaloch #olympicpeninsula