It’s no secret that I love mountains. I’ll go out of my way to look at one, walk around one, climb to the top, or just sit on a ledge and stare. I’m rarely happier than after an above-treeline hike that leaves me with sore feet, aching thighs, and a black line of dirt right… Continue reading Campervan Chronicles – Kosciuszko

Once you get south of Jervis Bay, the Sapphire Coast begins. It’s basically beach after amazing beach, all long and golden, some studded by morning and evening surfers, some essentially deserted. They’re so lovely that you’d wonder why they’d be deserted, until you remember that with 22,000 miles of coastline and a population a little… Continue reading Australia By Campervan – the Sapphire Coast

Hey, we like food. In a past life, I was an honest-to-goodness food blogger. That’s done, but I still love to find great things and chow down, so… here’s a list of the great things we had in Australia. Mary’s Burger, Sydney. Good enough for its own post! Pizza, pasta, and salad at Next Door… Continue reading Australia – The Best Stuff We Ate

We left Wollongong on a gorgeous day (later than we’d planned, because campervan) and made our way to Boodaree National Park on Jervis Bay. Call it an hour and a half in a normal car, two for us. My confidence in driving Mist slowly grew as we drove, and we were pretty excited to see… Continue reading Australia by Campervan – Jervis Bay

Folks, we are #vanlifing it, currently posting on a weak connection from Bright, Victoria. There is a lot to write about but…well, there hasn’t been a lot of downtime to write this week, for reasons that will be clear when we get to writing about it! We are fine and happy. More soon.

It was 2013 the last time we were in Sydney. We were younger, childless, and there ostensibly for work. That time around we went to cool places: speakeasy-style bars where you hit a few keys on an old typewriter to open a secret door, restaurants with giant barn doors to enormous open kitchens, and a… Continue reading A Tale of Two Marys

Malolo Island Malolo Island is in the Mamanucas, about an hour and a half from the mainland on a fast ferry. You leave Denarau marina and do drop-offs and pickups at several different islands. We have been able to stay at some lovely beaches in our lives, but this place… imagine if the gods of… Continue reading Fiji – Things We Loved

Planning a trip like this is an exercise in constant anxiety. Figuring out plane tickets, reservations, schedules, international eSIM card etc. is a chunk of work. Add COVID in, and there’s another level of uncertainty and (necessary) bureaucracy to going anywhere. Throw in leaving jobs for a while, getting things ready for people to stay… Continue reading When the small stuff sweats you

We made it to the airport, and I’m writing from Gott’s SFO post-security. The staff here is the best. Why? Comping a mocktail for a happy 5 year old… wonderful. Thanks so much! Next stop is Fiji. Expect some radio silence for a bit.