Where Have We Been For the Past Six Months?

We have been in Washington State for six months! We have met great people and are in awe at every incredible view! Our cats, Nemo and Cleo, are still travel champions and have been enjoying their Catio View which currently includes many delicious-looking chipmunks.

Campground Hosting

When we started our nomadic life, we never considered volunteering in exchange for a free campsite. It was not on our radar at all. But we instantly fell in love with the huge, peaceful trees, mountain views around every corner, quirky mushrooms, delicious blueberries, eagles, Douglas Squirrels, whales, tree frogs, the Puget Sound, Hood Canal, Salish Sea, aircraft carriers, rhododendrons, ferries as daily transportation, incredible sunsets, banana slugs, spits, lighthouses, the close proximity to our daughter…We wanted to stay in the area awhile! Here are several photos for you. More blog below!

For five of the six months we have been here we have been volunteer hosts. We work about 30 hours/week as a couple in exchange for a free full hookup campsite plus the loss of 30 pounds between the two of us which means we can pack 30 more pounds of stuff in the back of our truck! (CCC, if you know, you know.) Our days include cleaning and raking the campsites, writing and hanging reservation tags, selling firewood when there is no fire ban, answering questions and overall keeping the campground lovely. We love being active and helping people, so it has been nearly perfect. We definitely have the volunteering bug now, so we are going to pursue opportunities away from campgrounds. It should be exciting and super interesting! (Side note: We have been a bit saddened by the number of people who rely on state parks as a residence and the ensuing issues revolving around shortening the stay limits for all campers. It is no surprise to most that homelessness is more than simply being house-less. It’s complex and way outside of our wheelhouse.)

Whidbey Island

Having never been to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and being a horrible geography student, I didn’t realize that Washington State has a big crack down the middle called the Puget Sound. And within that there are several inhabited islands. And there is a big lake just to the east of Seattle called Lake Washington that also has another inhabited island! (Ferries are a big part of life in this area.) Greg is great at geography and I’m sure was well aware of all this…

We spent a month on Whidbey Island which is far north in the state. We could actually see Victoria, British Columbia, the Olympic Mountains and the San Juan Islands from our campsite at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. When the tide is out you feel like you can walk to Canada. The radio station we liked caused me confusion before I realized it was Canadian when they kept telling me the temperature was 20 degrees in July. It was cool on Whidbey, but 20? Yup, it was 20 degrees…Celsius.

While on the NAS we took full advantage of the track and fitness center. We enjoyed lovely walks on the beach and the most beautiful sunsets we have seen anywhere, even more stunning than Key West! The resident park host at Cliffside RV Park is a masterful gardener and so creative with rocks and driftwood. We were also able to visit Anacortes, Bellingham, Mount Vernon and beyond. What an amazing area. The farmers markets are lovely and the people are wonderful.

It’s Called a Travel Trailer, Not a Sitting Trailer

We are hitting the road in a couple of weeks to see some things we missed when we came up from California last spring. After the holidays we plan on heading east to see friends, family and volunteer at some really cool places before returning to the PNW to regroup. Yes, we have made Washington State our home state. We like it THAT much!

Blog Changes

I have switched to a (hopefully) better blog platform. I am in the very beginning stages of learning how it works, so please be patient as the format morphs into adulthood over time. And thank you to everyone who has shared how much they enjoy reading about our adventures. I am sorry to have been offline for so long! 🙂