I'm just trying to walk myself home.
The Cotswold Way 110 Miles from Chipping Campden to Bath: Day 2 Stanton to Cleeve Hill (15 miles) After eating the cereal and yogurts left for us in our darling kitchen, we set out early. We walked out of adorable Stanton and into even more adorable Church Stanway. After passing several cottages covered in wisteria, …
A Wee Walking Update: 2022 has already been an amazing year of walking! In addition to the gorgeous walks we do around here on the weekends, I have walked The Cotswold Way in England and The Portuguese Camino in Portugal and Spain! And the year of walking is not over yet. Next week we are …
The Uncertainty of Travel: A Crash Course in Dealing With the Unknown The willingness to relinquish control and open ourselves to the mysterious unknown is at the heart of every great spiritual tradition. -Douglas Christie Imagine you and I were having chats together over pints and the conversation turned to travel. …
Walking the Jurassic Coast from Lyme Regis to Exmouth on the South West Coastal Path in England Recently we had the happy occurrence of my brother and nephew coming to visit while Taido and Simon were off for Easter Holidays. Visitors don’t always coincide with time off from school for the rest of us, so …
Snapshots of Rainy Siena, Italy: A Few Days in the Heart of Tuscany It’s been three years since I wandered a hilltown in Italy by myself. My trip to Orvieto and Assisi was well before I watched with the rest of the world as Italy was ravaged by a pandemic, a memory that is clearly …
We have spent a couple of our last two big walking days in an area I had never before heard of. The Mendip Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. (The AONB designation is the British equivalent of protected natural area.) When you head south from Bristol you will soon hit the Mendip Hills, which are actually gorgeous.
The first time I visited the Lake District with my family, it rained for almost all of the three days we were there, and I still drove away madly in love and scheming about when I could get back. The bright green, grass-covered trails and lakes surrounded by autumn colors left me wanting more, despite …
A Hike from Windrush to Great Barrington and Sherborne and back again to Windrush. Another beautiful loop walk in the Cotswolds! As you might imagine, we went back to the Cotswolds for more hiking just as soon as possible. This time, we hiked out of a tiny little village called Windrush. We parked along a …
Castle Combe Circular Walk Our First Walk In The Cotswolds!! As we walked from the car park into Castle Combe early on a Saturday morning, I turned to Taido and said: This is the exact moment I have been anticipating since we decided we were moving back to England. I’ve been stalking photos of …
One Month in Bristol, England We moved to Bristol on December 31st, our 27th wedding anniversary. So we have been here for about a month now, which is not really that long, but we have unpacked our stuff and we’ve purchased some second hand furniture. Our house feels less like a sparsely furnished airbnb and …
The End of OT: Lunsford Crossing to Pinnacle Mountain The Final 10 Miles! (Plus info + packing list for a Winter OT hike of your own) We had several folks who were planning to meet up with us for the end of the OT, but the weather turned so cold that we were just a …
Snow on the Ouachita Trail: Highway 7 Trailhead to Lundsford Crossing 3 days (+ 1 zero day) This is a continuation of my Ouachita Trail trip log. Read the rest my Ouachita Trail notes here. Starting Point Hwy 7 Trailhead (MM 160.8) Day 13: Hiked 13 miles to Forest Service Road 132 (MM 173.7) My dad …
2021 Favorites Happy New Year from our new home! We ended 2021 by moving back to the UK. It’s been a bit of a flurry, but now we are in our new home in Bristol, quarantining and waiting for our shipment of stuff to arrive. Our house is currently empty except for a couple of …
Trail Support on the Ouachita Trail: Foran Gap Shelter to Ouachita Pinnacle ~80 miles 5 days Alternative title for this section of the OT: We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You, Dad Seriously, from the moment my dad join us, we plowed through the miles every day. He would move all the gear in his …
The Ouachita Trail: Queen Wilhelmina to Foran Gap Shelter 17 miles 2 days Sunshine and Trail Angels DAY 6 6.3 miles to Black Fork Mountain Shelter. (Mile Marker 57.8) Kandace and I both slept hard at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge. It was amazing to wake up and be able to go to the bathroom without …
The Ouachita Trail: Winding Stair to Queen Wilhelmina State Park 26.5 miles 2 days Some rain, some sun and… Many River Crossings DAY 4 14 miles to a spot in the woods where we collapsed. (close to Mile Marker 39) We woke up to a gorgeous fog covering the whole world around us. Thankfully, it …
White Bean Chili Between daylight savings and colder temperatures arriving, it’s SOUP season at our house. We have had soup for dinner every night this week I think. Tomato and Potato Cheddar Soup. French Peasant Soup, Winter Veggie Curry. Last night I made a White Bean Chili that I have made often in the last …
Part 1 of the Ouachita Trail: Talimena State Park to Winding Stair Mountain 25 miles 3 days Sun, Rain, Wind and Fire DAY 1 9.3 Miles to Rock Garden Shelter On the last day of November, on the Beaver Full Moon, my friend Kandace and I loaded up in my parents’ car and drove from …
Hiking The Ouachita Trail in Winter or The Hardest Hike I’ve Ever Done The three weeks I hiked on the Camino in September was the longest distance I have ever hiked at one time…266 miles. But it was for sure not the hardest hike I have ever done. Hiking the Coast to Coast across England …
The Camino Will Always Be With You It’s normal to have post Camino blues. Coming home from any grand adventure is a big mix of feelings. I found myself both glad to be home and constantly missing the trail. And of course, I missed my trail sisters! I wrote them a letter a few days …