Pilgrimage to Dog Mountain

One of the cool things about being an RV Nomad is learning about places that call out to you.  Places that you have to see, explore and experience.  Dog Mountain has been one of those places for me.  I’m not sure how I found out about it, I think I read an article years ago, but it has stuck with me.  When I lost my big Yellow Labrador Dillon, I knew someday I’d make the pilgrimage to Dog Mountain.

 

In June as we traveled from Missouri to Maine, I looked up Dog Mountain and put St. Johnsbury, VT on our travel map.

Many of our adventures start with a place, but often leads to people. I am eager to learn more about their lives, their missions and their hearts.  To introduce Dog Mountain, we must first introduce Stephen Huneck.  Stephen grew up in New England.  A great article from the Boston Magazine describes him leaving his Massachusetts home at 17 with only 32 cents in his pocket.  He hitchhiked to San Francisco for the “summer of love”.  Wanting to pursue his art, he moved back to attend Massachusetts College of Art and this is where he met his wife, Gwen.  Together they moved to rural Vermont.

 

Snowed in one day in 1984, Stephen was inspired to carve an angel from a block of wood.  It was in the back of his pickup truck when a Madison Avenue dealer saw the angel and offered to buy it.  The art dealer called Stephen repeatedly asking for more.  He had no more.  That was the first and only carving.  But that didn’t stop him, he carved like crazy for six weeks.  He learned his craft from doing and that was the start of his new career.

 

Stephen’s philosophy was “Do what makes you happy.”  He loved his dogs so he portrayed them in his art.  Take a close look and you might recognize Stephen’s work.

 

The Dog Chapel’s Mission Statement is hanging prominently in the Chapel.  It tells the story of how the Chapel came to be and I’m going to share it as written by Stephen Huneck below:

“Several years ago, I became seriously ill.  It came out of the blue – Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome, an often fatal illness.  I was in a coma for two months, and the doctors gave me little chance of survival.  My wife Gwen refused to believe that I was not going to make it.  They were very concerned for her.  She slept on the floor of the hospital to be close to me at night, and spoke to me while I was in the coma.  This made a deep impression on the doctors and nurses.

Once the doctors told her I was passing away and doubted I would make it through the night.  They told her they were very sorry and had tried everything.  Well, that night I did stop living for about five minutes.  I had a profound experience.  I came out of the coma about two weeks later, to everyone’s surprise, except Gwen’s.

I had an amazingly strong recover – I was 45 years old and had to learn to walk again (quite a humbling experience).  But I must say the near-death experience, combined with what my wife taught me about love, and the appreciated I felt toward the most basic things we take for granted all had a profound effect on me.  As an artist, I share the feelings I have with others through my art.

One day, not long after I was back home with my wife and three dogs, a wild idea just popped into my head (a frequent thing, but after several weeks had gone by, this one was still there).  I have found that in the case of a wild idea popping into my mind, then building a sort of next made of twigs of supporting ideas, I should give it some serious thought.  And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was something I simply had to do.

I wanted to build a chapel, one that celebrated the spiritual bond we have with our dogs, and that would be open to dogs and people.  People of my faith or belief system.

I am building that chapel.  I am building it on Dog Mountain, our mountaintop farm in St Johnsbury, VT.  I have styled it in the manner of a small village church built in Vermont around 1820.  It is important to me that the chapel looks like it belongs with its setting of rolling mountains and pasture.  The white steeple points up to the heavens, and on the top is a Lab with wings that turns in the wind and proclaims this place has a special affinity with dogs.

As you walk inside the chapel you will be bathed in the light of my stain glass windows.  Dog carvings surround you, music plays, all reaffirming the connection between art, nature, and spirituality.  I look at this chapel as the largest artwork of my life, and my most personal.  It is my desire to make this a place both magical and transforming.

When you visit us, walk the land and enjoy the spectacular views yourself.  This is a very private spot.  Being on the end of a dead-end road where all land on both sides of the road are part of Dog Mountain.  The 150-acre mountain-top farm is rich with wild life and trout filled ponds.

Yet we find ourselves only a short distance (less than 2 miles from the junction of Interstates 93 and 91(, a comfortable drive from Boston or New York.  And we are only ½ mile from Rte 2, the main travel road to and from Maine.

I am currently installing a sculpture garden.  It is wonderful to exhibit my artwork in such a breathtaking setting.  I have created a beautiful light-filled gallery, where of course, dogs are always welcome.

There will always be a good supply of treats on hand, a small gesture to thank dogs for all they give us and for connecting us to nature, something that is getting more difficult in our high tech, paved over world.

Everyone is welcome at Dog Mountain, but it is my hope that dog owners will bring their dogs with them.  It is a wonderful experience to go on a walk with your dog through an old forest, you will see how the dog becomes fully alert, your guide and protector.  They have no doubt who is the leader.”                            Stephen Huneck

I wonder if he wrote this Mission Statement when Dog Chapel was complete, or if it were written as an Affirmation for him to Visualize the beautiful space he wanted to create, with every detail, just waiting to come to life.  In fact, it is today as he describes.

When we pulled up, we could see the sign that said Dog Mountain with the beautiful buildings up a driveway on the hill.  The spring flowers were in full bloom and the yards and pastures were green and lush.  I think Beau sensed what an amazing place this is too.

We arrived early to beat the crowd, and were the only people (and dog) on property (it’s always open).  I wanted to head immediately to the Chapel.  I had prepared pictures and dedications for our RV Travel companions that we have lost – Dillon (12/1/1999 – 1/1/2013) and Chewy (10/4/2006 – 11/22/2017).    There are 3 doors leading into the Chapel – 2 “human doors” and 1 “dog door”.  As soon as we opened the door, it took my breath away.  The stained glass windows softly reflect colored light on the walls that are totally covered with pictures and letters from people like us, who have lost the Pets that they loved dearly and welcomed as part of their families.  We probably could have spent a week just reading all the notes and letters.  So much love filled that Chapel.  I must have lingered for an hour.  Pat took Beau outside and up the hill to one of the many “dog ponds”.  She loves to tell the story that he was very anxious, wanting to find me, continually looking back.  But then he looked into the pond, and to his amazement saw NUMEROUS balls floating in the water.  He must have thought he was in heaven!  And he probably was.  Needless to say, he enjoyed his swimming time.

There are multiple trails that adorn the property.  The Yellow trail is a loop trail that climbs the hill into the woods and goes for about 1.7 miles.  It traverses multiple springs and streams so there was even more water for Beau to play in (and mud).  It is a beautiful hike so if you go, plan to spend some time there.

 

The gallery contains much of Stephens artwork.  Dog Mountains and Dog Capel are solely supported through purchases from the Stephen Huneck Gallery and donations from their visitors.  The gallery features a collection of original woodcuts, prints, carvings, furniture, gifts and NY Times best-selling series of children’s books (many about Sally, Stephen’s Black Labrador).  If you’d like to plan your visit, learn more or support Dog Mountain, go to www.dogmt.com.

Stephen and Gwen’s story does have a sad ending.  Stephen and Gwen bought the Dog Mountain property in 1995.  Dog Chapel was built by hand shortly after and opened it’s doors Memorial Day of 2000.  A few years later, Stephen suffered from depression and was having financial challenges.    He was devastated that he had to lay off almost all the employees at his art gallery.  On January 7, 2010 at the age of 61 Stephen took his life.  Gwen was devastated.  Her mission became to keep Stephen’s art and vision of Dog Mountain alive.  She passed away 3 years later June 2, 2013, also at the age of 61, and it was also deemed a suicide.

While in the area I made several trips to Dog Mountain.  I had some troubling things on my mind and heart, and I found this quiet sanctuary the perfect place to pray, meditate and listen.  I received the messages I needed.  The last few months have been a Spiritual Journey – I may write more about that in a future blog.  After just losing Buck, my brother-in-law to suicide 3 months ago, I could feel his presence here.  Ever since our visit to Dog Mountain – I get unexpected daily reminders of him.  RIP Buck, the Huneck’s and all the very loved pets remembered here.

      In 1997 Stephen told the Chicago Tribune, “I’ve learned so much more about love from my dogs than I ever did from my parents or the church.  They’re really great teachers.  They love you with their whole heart.”  Stephen Huneck accomplished his mission creating this sacred space where dogs, art and nature connect us with Spirituality, which I choose to call God.  Do you think it’s a coincidence that GOD spelled backwards is dog?

 

 

 

 

 

RIP Chewbacca (10/4/2006- 11/22/2017)

It feels like a bad dream, one that I’ll wake up from soon.  On Wednesday (11/22/17), the day before Thanksgiving, we said good-bye to our 11-year old Cairn Terrier, Chewy.  That will be a date I forever remember and mourn – just like 1/1/13 – Dillon and 8/28/14 – Mom.  A part of me just wants to crawl in bed and sleep.  I know those I loved and lost wouldn’t want that – they’d want the journey to continue.

So today I want to remember our grumpy little guy, and share lessons we’ve learned from him.

We brought Chewy home early December, 2006.  It wasn’t planned.  Pat had a Cairn Terrier that she adored, Maggie who she lost to kidney disease at 13.  It had been quite a few years since Maggie passed.  We had 2 Labradors at home, a 2 dog family was enough.  One Saturday morning we were driving home to Lakeway, TX and saw a trailer parked at a Car Wash parking lot with a sign – “Puppies For Sale”.  We learned the hard way, you never just stop to LOOK at puppies.   There he was, this tiny, cute tan puppy with black tips – he almost looked like a baby fox – and the puppy breath…..  We were smitten, but a 2 dog family was enough.  We got into the car and were ready to drive away.  I said to Pat, you know we can take him home if you want to.  She slammed on the brakes and the rest is history.

We were worried the big Labradors would hurt our new puppy.  The first 10 minutes Chewy entered the house, he claimed his place – in our home and in our hearts.  He wanted to be the boss, and for the next 11 years, he was.

Chewy looked like the Star Wars Wookiee “Chewbacca” — how many of these pictures can you see the resemblance?

Chewy loved his pack.  He’d follow Izzy our chocolate Labrador around the yard – they were always on patrol.  Izzy was already an old girl at this time so her bonding with Chewy was exploring and laying in sun beams.  He was heart-broken when Izzy left us in the Spring of 2007.  It wasn’t long after that we bought our first RV and the dogs loved the adventures on the road.

Chewy adored our yellow Labrador Dillon.  They’d run and play, chasing each other around the house and yard.  They were play mates, but I do believe Dillon was alpha.  When Dillon was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, our world started to totally revolve around Dillon and his treatment.  We were all lost when Dillon passed.  Chewy would have loved to have been an only dog at that point, but another Labrador entered his world – Beau.  Chewy had a hate/love relationship with Beau.  They would play occasionally, but Chewy felt the need to scold Beau frequently and make sure the newcomer knew his place at the bottom of the pack.

Some of the lessons we learned from this little terror (terrier):

• Have Confidence — Chewy always pranced and skipped.  Walk like you own the place.
• Appreciate gifts from friends — Our friend Suzanne was the dogs Pet Sitter for years.  One of Chewy’s first toys was a gift from Suzanne, a stuffed Eeyore.  Chewy loved this toy and it’s still in perfect condition in the toy box.  
• Love Everyone and believe Everyone loves you — Chewy LOVED people and he would approach everyone he met as a long lost friend.  He acted as though everyone LOVED him.  All was well in his world.
• Take the time to bask in a sunbeam every day.  Chewy loved to lay in the sun, and would do so for hours.

• Always be ready for an adventure.  Chewy was easy going and always ready to go on a new adventure.  He even learned to love playing in water.
• Roll with the punches.  Chewy traveled with us in the RV for 7 years — on the road stuff always comes up.  He was always chill and just rolled with it.

Wednesday, 11/22/17 I was taking him to a Specialty clinic in Tallahassee, FL.  As we headed out I saw this rainbow.  The sky was clear and it had not rained.  I knew those that we had loved and lost were with us, and our little man’s time was near.  Fly free Chewy — we love you!

 

Heading South (1/22/17 – 2/22/17)re the to the

After leaving Missouri for Christmas, we quickly headed south.  We stopped for a bit in Lakeway, TX to downsize and organize our storage unit.  Now that we are coming upon our 1^st Year Anniversary as Full-Timers, we wish we would have sold more things.  That will be a future project to eliminate the storage unit.

Our next stop was Mason, TX.  We stayed a few days at Dos Rios RV Park on the Llano River.   This is the type of campground I love–remote feel, beautiful scenery and close to nature and wildlife.  Beau also loved it, he had a great time swimming in the Llano River.

I’m a rock hound and always looking for cool finds.  One of my bucket-list items was to look for the beautiful Texas Topaz, only found in Mason, TX.  I enjoyed a day digging in the dirt at The Seaquist Family Ranch.  Unfortunately, I came home empty handed, but enjoyed a great hike on a beautiful Texas Hill Country ranch!  If you’re interested in topaz hunting, learn more here.

We had an appointment to have the roof sealed on the Itasca Horizon and we were going to meet our Technician in Fort Stockton, TX to have it done.  Due to some scheduling changes, we had a few extra days so we ventured over to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.    We stayed at the Carlsbad RV Park and Campground.  It was cold while we were there so we didn’t explore the campground, but they did have 2 dog runs which was nice.

We are so grateful to our Realtor Extraordinaire, Teresa Ward for gifting us with a Senior National Park pass.  What a cool gift.  The National Park Pass is now $80, but it is a lifetime pass and will allow the holder and 3 guests to enter all of our National Parks and Federal Recreation sites at no cost.

The day we visited Carlsbad the elevator was down.  We entered the cave at the historic natural entrance where the bats fly out.  Unfortunately, the bats hadn’t arrived yet, they live in the caverns from April to October.  Carlsbad is home to about 17 bat species.

We did the Big Room self-guided tour.  The Big Room is the largest underground chamber in the United States.  We trekked about a 1.5 miles down to a depth of about 1,000 feet (and back upJ).  The Big Room is approximately 8.2 acres, to put that into perspective, it is about 6.2 football fields.  We loved Carlsbad and would absolutely go again!

While in Carlsbad, we also visited the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens.  All the animals are either rescue or captive born and cannot be released into the wild.  The Zoo does a nice job with humane care of their animals and education.

Beau enjoyed swimming in the Pecos River.  It had to be one of the cleanest, most beautiful rivers we have ever seen.  Carlsbad does an awesome job maintaining the Lake Carlsbad Recreation Area and Park along the Pecos.

We’ve been through Fort Stockton, TX many times on I-10, but have never explored.  While getting the RV roof sealed, we were here for 4 days.  We stayed at the Hilltop RV Park.  Beau loved the roomy dog park.  They also had a desert hiking trail right from the campground that we enjoyed.  A nice bonus is an onsite restaurant serving dinner and breakfast.  Very handy for travelers to get off I-10 and not have to worry about cooking or finding a restaurant for an overnight stay.

Fort Stockton’s most photographed resident is Paisano Pete.  Pete is a giant Roadrunner statue, standing 11 feet tall and 22 feet long.  Until 1993 Pete was the largest Roadrunner statue until one was erected in Las Cruces, NM taking the title.

If you ever wanted to visit a true old west water hole, you’ll have to stop by the Grey Mule Saloon.  The Saloon was built in the 1880’s as a watering hole for cowboys.  Today it is owned by Mesa Vineyards who is the largest winemaker in the state (I was surprised by this).  It’s now a very quaint tasting room for Ste. Genevieve, Mesa Vineyard’s most popular brand.

We also did the Historic Self Guided Driving Tour of Fort Stockton.  During our travels we are love finding information about the areas we are visiting online.  We often find self-guided tours and even podcasts with a wealth of information.

Lift Off (11/29/16-1/21/17)

Good-bye Playa del Dragon!

On November 29, 2016 we sold our home – leaving Playa del Dragon for the last time–It was very bitter sweet.  We loved our house, but we were excited to start our new nomadic life.

 

The first couple weeks we stayed very close to “home”, camping at Pecan Park Riverside RV Park in San Marcos, TX.  We were parked facing the San Marcos River – a beautiful sight to wake up to every morning.   This was a smart move.

As we moved out of Playa del Dragon we decided to rent a 10×10 storage space.  When we were doing our final move-out – we had to rent a 2^nd storage unit.  Due to lack of time, we just threw many things in without purging or optimizing space.  While at Pecan Park we started organizing the RV, being close to our store unit gave us flexibility to purge more things in the RV, and grab a few more things we thought we must have.

I asked Pat what she remembers about this very important “transitional” time in our lives.  Here’s what she shared with me:

         “I didn’t think.  I purposefully stayed present.  If my mind wondered I focused on the beautiful sky, the wind on my skin, the smell of fresh air.  I had everything I needed and wanted.  If I would have stopped to think, I would have said “holly shit – what have we done”.  I know if I’m feeling depressed I’m thinking in the past.  If I fell anxious I’m focused on the future.  When I stay present I feel happy.”

One of the things I love so much about “home is where we park it” is spending quality time with family and friends.  We were ready to head to my hometown of Chillicothe, MO, home of sliced bread to spend Christmas.  We stay in my sisters driveway or McBee RV Park and Resort as we call it.  It’s awesome – we have 50 amp plug in, there are plenty of activities and the “owners” are great cooks.

On our way from Texas the weather forecast in Missouri had a snow storm during our planned travel days.  So we decided to stop in Waco, TX and get our fill of Fixer Upper!  We stayed at the I-35 RV Park and Resort.  There were a few things we really liked about this campground.

• It’s situated on quite a few acres and we were able to let Beau run and play ball.
• They serve a free, home cooked breakfast every morning which was delicious!
• Very easy to get on and off the Interstate, and close to Waco.

We visited Magnolia Market and the Silos all decked out for Christmas!  We had a blast driving by several of the Fixer Upper Houses.  I was able to do Google searches to find quite a few addresses.  We would drive by and take pictures – I felt like we were on a sting operation.

 

We really enjoyed the Waco Mammoth National Monument.   During the spring of 1978 Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin were searching for arrowheads and artifacts along the Bosque River.  I can only imagine their delight when they stumbled upon the humongous mammoth bones.  They took the bone to Baylor University where it was identified from a Columbian mammoth.  Baylor’s Strecker Museum staff began excavation of the site.  For the next 20 years they discovered what appears to be a nursery herd that died in a flood.  It’s a nice hike to get to the excavation site.

We were getting into the Christmas spirit, so we were searching for the best Christmas light display in Waco – and we may have found the best Light Display in the entire Lone Star State!  Alice Tristand and her husband know how to attract a crowd at 2737 Proctor Ave.  The streets were packed getting to the quite neighborhood and the display of lights and scenes did not disappoint!

On our way to Missouri we stopped in Oklahoma to visit my Dad.  We enjoyed a nice meal out and some casino fun.  He walked out the big winner taking over $400 from the slots.

 

We had an amazing Christmas with family that I wrote about in And We’re Off.  We loved staying in Missouri until mid-January 2017.  Worked on several remodel projects (much harder work than I anticipated:) and enjoyed some snow on the ground.  Think we’re going to love this new life!

 

 

 

 

Count down…

It’s been awhile since I’ve created a Blog post — that is changing.  I’ll be recreating this site beginning the 1st of the year.

In 28 days we celebrate our “1 Year” On The Road Anniversary.  As we look back, I can’t believe all the adventures we’ve had, the things we’ve seen and done, and the awesome people we’ve met on the during our travels.

From now until the end of the year I’m going to capture our First Year Travels.  I hope to share our adventures with family and friends. Share with fellow RVer’s great Campgrounds and things to do, and also create a journal for us so we can go back and see where we’ve been and what we’ve done. Along the way we’ll also share some lessons learned.

Right now we’re in Charlotte, MI attending Spartan Chasis training to learn how to care for our Coach. Next week we’re onto Entegra in Middlebury, IN for our 2 year PDI. Our Coach comes with a 2-year warranty and we go to the factory to get several little things fixes.  Then heading South to Florida until we head toward Missouri for Christmas.

Stay tuned and follow along on our adventures.

For The Birds

If you’re new to Adventure Toward Freedom, you may not know we are owned by 2 small parrots and 2 dogs.  We live and travel full-time in our RV with all of them.  Needless to say, we have a soft spot for animals.

I have to be honest, if we had to do it over again, we would not own parrots.  It is a HUGE long term commitment.  The lifespan of a dog if you’re lucky is 10-15 years.  The lifespan of our little Green Cheek Conure is 30 years, and it goes up to 90 years for large parrot varieties like African Grey’s and Macaws.  I love ours dearly, and will make sure they are well taken care, if we are here or not.

The average parrot will live in 7 or more homes during it’s life.  Exotic birds are the 4^th most popular pets in the US.  There are about 16 million exotic birds kept as pets in the US, a good percentage of those are owned by folks over 50 years old.  Each year approx. 664,000 – 830,000 exotic birds are re-homed – many reasons including health/death of owner, parrots are too destructive, time consuming or owners relinquish due to moving, new job, baby, etc.  Thank goodness for Parrot Rescues and Sanctuaries!

When I started thinking about my “ideal life” – I wanted to spend some time contributing to animal charities and sanctuaries.  I’m not sure what that will look like long term, I imagine it will evolve like everything in life.  But for now – when we land somewhere new, I like to explore and see what Animal/Bird Sanctuaries are in the area.

We’ve been in Benson, AZ for the last couple of weeks and was thrilled to be able to visit The Oasis Sanctuary.  I’ve been following them for years, they are one of the larger parrot rescues in the United States.  The Oasis is outside of Benson, in the rugged Arizona high desert.  It is a beautiful setting and perfect for 800 parrots to call home.

The Oasis Sanctuary is a 503 (c)(3) nonprofit avian welfare organization.  They were established in 1997 and moved to their current 72 acre location in 2000.  They currently use about 14 acres, so they do have room to expand.  If you’re ever in the area — GOOOO, you’ll love the tour and have a ton of fun interacting with their almost 800 parrot residents, covering about 66 species.

The Oasis is dedicated to providing “permanent care”, shelter and rehabilitation to companion parrots.  Many birds in their care have special needs, and the staff at The Oasis takes great care of them.  There are 8 full-time staff members and several volunteers.  Just feeding the almost 800 parrots takes about 4 hours – all of their bowls and feeding stations are cleaned/sanitized and they are fed a high-quality Zupreem pellet in addition to fresh fruit and vegetables.  Approximately 7-8 gallons of fresh produce is fed PER DAY.

I find it’s a lot of work with my 2 guys – I can’t imagine 800.  The Oasis is funded by donations.  Their medical bill is approximately $70,000 each year, and food bill approximately $65,000.  They are raising money now to build a new commercial kitchen.

I’m looking forward to return to the Benson area next year and volunteer.  Many of the birds love attention and are happy to engage, while some just want to be left alone.  They all get what they need at The Oasis.

There are a few other residents at The Oasis – chickens, ducks, goats and even several watch dogs who keep everyone safe.

An interesting side note – have you ever seen the documentary “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” by Mark Bittner?  It’s a very interesting story of a homeless musician in San Francisco who formed a bond with the wild, cherry-headed conure parrots in Telegraph Hill.  Four of the parrots who were unable to live with the flock lived with Mark.  When he had to move, Mingus, Andi, Yosemite, and Ginsberg went to live at the Oasis.  (https://the-oasis.org/the-wild-parrots-from-telegraph-hill/)

If you’ve enjoyed the pictures of these beautiful feathered angels, I’d like to make a special request.  Skip a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s this week and donate $5 today to The Oasis, it’s for a great cause — it’s For the Birds.  https://the-oasis.org/donate/

 

 

 

And We’re Off….

I started this journey long ago, however, my first Blog Post on Adventure Toward Freedom was June 24, 2015.  I was stressed out, burned out and sick and tired of Corporate America – I wanted out.  It has been an interesting 18 months.  Toward the middle part of last year, I had an epiphany – Freedom to me isn’t about more – it was about letting go of stuff and LIVING more.  Less stuff and more adventures.  Pat and I decided to drastically downsize and hit the road.  At the end of November, we sold our house and are now living Full Time in our RV.  In the RV world, we’re now known as “Full Timers”!

With this new “Freedom” we spent a month at my sisters in Missouri over the Christmas Holiday.  We had a great time with family over the Holidays.  Thanks to my cousin Donna for some awesome pie!  I also had the opportunity and honor to help my sister redo her kitchen cabinets (I never would have had this opportunity working in Corporate America).  I think she was thrilled with the finished product, and I cherished the time I got to spend with her – day-to-day living, not just a visit – PRICELESS!

We’re now off heading toward warm weather-– Arizona.  We have a general direction – but no concrete plans.  I’m learning how to “slow down” and not live on adrenaline, and I must say I like it.

Follow along on our adventures – I’ll be posting about some of the awesome places we visit, the fascinating people that we meet along the way and lessons I learn on my Adventure Toward Freedom.

 

Off The Beaten Path

We hosted our last vacation renters this weekend at Playa del Dragon, it’s a slap and tickle.  I think our last group was perfect though.  A group of sisters, all coming from different parts of the country, coming to reconnect — and enjoy the magic that is sisterhood.  A perfect ending to a fun and rewarding venture.

We decided to “test drive” our new life style while our home was occupied one last time, so we ventured off to Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchanan.   We do love the Texas Hill Country — outcrops of granite, the cactus, the mesquite trees, and Big Sky!

Today we ventured over to Kingsland, TX for brunch — Grand Central Cafe at The Antlers Hotel (Pat said this was the best breakfast ever, and the prices are great).  It became even more interesting when we found out this was the house in the film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I’m not a scary movie fan, but couldn’t resist doing a little research.  This 1974 American Horror movie was actually filmed on Quick Hill Road, near Round Rock, TX (home of Dell Computer). Here are some other fun facts:

• This “low budget” film cost about $300,000
• The house was not cooled, and there was little ventilation. The crew covered its walls with drops of animal blood obtained from a local slaughterhouse.  
• The Art Director drove around the countryside and collected the remains of cattle and other animals in various stages of decomposition, with which he littered the floors of the house.  

I must say, they did a marvelous job renovating this old jewel.

The Antlers Hotel has it’s own interesting history, construction began in 1900 for this old gem.  It was built by the Austin and Northwestern Railroads, and was a thriving destination spot until the 1920’s when automobiles gained popularity.  An Austin couple purchased the hotel in 1993 and has restored this beautiful resort.  You can actually book a stay in any of the rail cars on the property.

Fall is almost as beautiful as Spring time in the Texas Hill Country — flowers and butterflies.

You never know what you’re going to find off the beaten path.

But I do love the adventure!

The Big Reveal

Call us crazy — but Pat and I are selling EVERYTHING!  Yes, you read that right, EVERYTHING; our house in Lakeway, all our rental properties, all our home furnishings, the Geo Tracker, years of accumulated STUFF — EVERYTHING (well not Beau:)!

The last few years we have been longing for something different in our lives — something more.  We longed for Freedom.  I had “ideas” in my head of what that looked like, but I kept doing the same thing – expecting different results (you know that’s the definition of insanity).

This last year has been an amazing journey and I will Blog more about experiences and lessons — but a couple months ago we had an epiphany — our journey to Freedom isn’t about more, it’s about less.  So we’ve made the decision to “Let Go” and things are just falling into place.

Facebook reminded me of a post I made, a year ago today.  It is coming true.

So what is my fondest dream and what are we going to do?  We’re going to load up in our RV with the pups and parrots and travel across the United States.  No definite plan on where we are going or timeline on how long we will travel.  Our “home” will be wherever we are.  We are going to live the adventure of a lifetime!  Look forward to see some of you along the way.

 

Celebrate Success

We’ve started a new ritual in my family. Every night at dinner we go around the table. Everyone takes turns sharing their biggest SUCCESS FOR THE DAY! We then celebrate and honor that success and ask what we can do to help with continued support. The next step of Celebrating Success is creating a compelling REWARD!

I don’t know why but this step of the Success formula has been hard for me. Last night was different. I shared my success (which I AM SO VERY PROUD OF, and will have to share in another blog). We’re in Destin, home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and because of rain the last few days, I haven’t had a chance to enjoy. So I felt excited to announce my reward as a relaxing stroll on the beach the next day.

I had a busy day today. On top of everything else, I’ve had a very sore and red eye the last few days, so I had to make time to go see a Doc in a Box. By the time I finished trading, Dr. appointment, etc – I felt a bit stressed and needless to say, behind… So much to do. I almost blew off going to the beach – but I remembered “It’s Important To Celebrate Our Successes”!

 At 3:30 I head over to the Gulf Island National Seashore – a beautiful, untarnished strip of beach and dunes. As soon as I crossed the boardwalk, I was breathless. The water was the most beautiful aqua blue, and emerald green I’ve ever seen. The ocean was very calm, almost like glass. The sky was robin egg blue with a few puffy clouds, and to my delight there were dolphins playing just out from the shore.

The stress of “I have so much to do” all just slipped away, I was in my happy place. I began walking up the empty white, powder sand beach- taking it all in. I’m a seashell collector, and after a week here in Destin, I hadn’t found any brag worthy shells. As I walked in the warm surf, I began seeing sand dollars – just floating in the tide. I couldn’t believe my eyes. After finding each sand dollar I’d say to myself, “How can it get any better than this”? I was totally present, trying to take it all in – the beautiful ocean, the magnificent dunes, the sea birds, and did I mention SAND DOLLARS!

This time of year, the sun sets before 5:00 pm in Destin. After about an hour down the beach, the sky toward the east began turning an amazing shade of pink – the sand even reflected pink as the sun was setting. To my delight a blue heron landed just ahead of me, I was so close, I could see the details in his feathers. After what seemed like an eternity standing an arms length next to this magnificent bird, he started meandering up the beach, into the pink sky. Again, I said to myself, “How can it get any better than this?”

I continued walking up the beach – I didn’t want this afternoon to end. I couldn’t believe my eyes – there in the tide were 4 sand dollars, all rolling gently next to each other. I stepped closer and leaned down to start picking them up – and out of the blue, something pinched my foot. I screamed, and stepped back to see a big crab meandering away. I said to myself again, “How can it get any better than this?”

I had to turn around if I was going to get back before it was completely dark. As the sun was setting, I was getting chilly. My wet hands that were clutching sand dollars were freezing. As I turned around toward the sunset to the West, I was amazed with the color show in the sky – beautiful shades of blues, reds, and oranges. It was spectacular. I stood at the boardwalk for the longest time, just soaking it all in.

I believe the Universe (God, Higher Power, etc) wants us to succeed. And when we are crystal clear on what we want, take the action to make it happen, and are open to receive – magic happens. My walk on the beach this afternoon was magical. In the back of my mind there is a lingering thought, “I wonder if I would have had the same experience if I hadn’t “declared” this as my REWARD!”

 What are you doing today to celebrate your success?  Comment below — I’d love to hear!