Why and What

A number of our followers have expressed concern that we've not posted to the blog in a week. We have returned to Massachusetts to have our annual check-ups with doctors and dentist, as well as to catch up with friends we left behind. We are now ready to resume blogging.

Our trip started more than two years ago. It was in August of 2014 that we sold our Brockton, Massachusetts house. Finding a new house in Georgia or South Carolina,seemed to be fruitless. We just couldn't find a place that appealed to the two of us. One of our children suggested that we travel for awhile, perhaps for a few months, just to give ourselves some processing time. Since we were homeless and jobless (retired), this seemed like a great idea! That travel time has turned into 26 months and still counting. Who wouldn't enjoy what we are doing? We have no responsibilities, a steady income (our pensions), and all the time in the world to persue our interests. We go when and where we want, with no worries nor constraints. It is a great way to live. Many times we have to do a reality check to remind ourselves of the day, month, or even the hour ( as there are no clocks nor calendars in our apartments.

When he asked me to marry him, Carl said " Marry me and I'll give you the world." Well, 47 years later, he did just that. We have traveled to 16 countries and 38 cities all over the globe. Meeting many people along the way has opened our eyes to how much alike the different cultures are, as well as our glorious differences.
We keep a blog. On it, our memories are recorded, both in text and photos. Weebly tells us that we have many thousands of readers following our adventures and it could produce an income if we wanted it to. We don't want it to. Our pensions provide a steady income of funds, without the responsibility of time lines and rewrites, nor the need to please editors. Things are just fine the way they are. Why upset the apple cart?

There are many languages on our Facebook page now - Croatian, Spanish, French, Portugese, Mandarin, German, Icelandic, Italian, etc - which represents the varied nationalities we've met along the way. I can tell you the people with whom we've interacted are very interested and concerned about the upcoming U.S. Election. These citizens are convinced the outcome (whatever it is) will affect their lives financially, as well as on a security level. Many times we're asked for our our opinions on the debates or on the latest statement and/or accusation from either side. We never realized how much the U.S. influenced the people of other countries and the impact we have on their daily lives.

As mentioned before, we live on our pensions. They aren't extravagant, but rather adequate. And for us, just perfect. All of our bills are on automatic pay; but there are very few of them - Carl's cellphone, my Social Security, both credit cards, and our internet account. Our mail goes to one of our children's house. Just the important mail is kept for us, as we see it only once per year.

Federal taxes are paid, but since we have no residence, there is no state tax. Should there be any issues that require legal documents, one of our children has our power of attorney, and of course wills, and a living trust are in place. We come into the U.S. for annual doctor and dentist appointments, as well as having our federal taxes prepared. We visit our children and their families at this time ( we also stay in touch with them by phone or the Internet as we travel).

The sequence utilized to choose a new country and city depends upon the season of year, availability of one bed-room apartments and, of course, expenses. We have no winter clothes, as a result, we always try to follow the sun. The winter of 2014 was spent in Rome, Istanbul, Bangkok, Zagreb (two weeks) and Dubrovnik (two weeks). Last winter (2015) we spent in the sun belt of the U.S., visiting San Francisco, San Diego, San Antonio, New Orleans, Savannah, Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, and Miami - two weeks in each city. This winter (2016), we will be in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia (for a month each), and one month in New Zealand. Carl spends a few nights co-ordinating the arrangements. non-citizens of the Shengen area (30 European countries) are allowed to spend only 90 days out of any 180 days in these countries. Thus, we only enter Shengen Europe for the warm Spring or Summer months. Those 90 days seem to go by too quickly. This is a big consideration in deciding "where to next?."

Carl makes all of our arrangements at least two months in advance. This way, there are no surprises. We try very hard to avoid checking our bags, as it wastes time, and the luggage could possibly be lost.

There you have it - the "why and what" of our adventures. In a later posting, we'll discuss all of the "how's" - how to pack a suitcase, save money, choose apartments, and solve problems, etc.).