T-minus 14 days 'til launch!

We are just 2 weeks out, so we thought we'd get this travel blog going since about 150 people have bugged us about it over the past couple of weeks.  Sorry y'all, we've been a little busy getting our lives sorted for the next 4 years.  : )  But, your gentle prodding has gotten our fingers moving...thanks!

For those of you who don't know what's up, we've included a bit about our plans below, as well as short video of the evolution of our lil' canned ham style camper, whom we have affectionately named "Hamlet."

Monday, Sept 3rd is our official launch date, which also happens to be our 12th wedding anniversary!  We consider this journey a gift to our marriage, friendship, and future.  Our first stop is Cortland, OH where our camper was manufactured a mere 55 years ago...then on to Sutton's Bay, MI for a visit with Hutch's parents and a long distance sailing adventure on Lake Michigan.  After that?  We think northeastern Canada & the US, so stay tuned...

A Major Life Decision
Travel.Serve.Learn.Sustain.

Dear friends and family,

After 35 collective years working in higher education, we have made a decision to take a new life path – one that has intrigued us for many years and will enhance our skills, experiences, and expertise.   Some would call it a sabbatical, a leap of faith….or maybe just a mid-life crisis?  Call it what you want, but we see it as a turning point for a new, more sustainable life and career.  We hope that it is a time of growth and change, and that new doors will open before us as we enter the next stage of our life together!  

Over the past couple of years, we have downsized our life, found ways to live more sustainably as well as teach others about the process, increased our savings, and purchased and completely renovated a 1957 Sportcraft Camper trailer (now running on solar power!) and 1999 Nissan Frontier truck -- both of which will serve as our home for the next year or so.  We have rented out our home in Todd, NC and have sold or donated many of our personal belongings.

What are our hopes, dreams, and plans for the next few years?  We will be leaving Boone in September 2012 and plan to spend 12-18 months traveling in the US and Canada  -- living “off grid” and “unplugged” as much of the time as possible.  We will utilize this time to work on a completing a Certificate in Environmental Education, visit and volunteer in many state and national parks, augment our outdoor skills, spend some time WWOOFing, further explore landscape photography and music, improve our Spanish language skills, get back to a book project begun in 2002, and develop a portable, sustainable jewelry business (made from 99% reclaimed jewelry).   

After completing this expedition, we hope to continue our journey abroad.  Our goal is to serve in the Peace Corps in Latin America, in a village that is struggling with food security, sustainability, could benefit from environmental education, needs assistance with community development, etc.   During this time, we hope to become fluent in Spanish and assist our new community with achieving its goals of sustainable social and/or environmental change.   The typical Peace Corps commitment is 27 months, but can be extended in certain situations. 

After the Peace Corps, our future is wide open, but we hope that our adventures, experiences, education, and new found skills will open many new doors for us.  We may consider using the Peace Corps Fellows program to return to school, we may come back to Boone, or we may find ourselves living in another country.   Four years from now is simply too far off to predict!

Some people have graciously asked how they can support us during this next stage of our lives.  You can send us good wishes, read our blog, open your homes to us as we pass through your area, donate old/broken jewelry, and purchase the things we make (jewelry, photographs, etc.) as this will be a source of income for us and our community development and environmental education projects in the Peace Corps.  No matter what you do, we can’t thank you enough for supporting our hopes, dreams, and crazy ideas!

Much love,
Shari & Hutch