the highlights.

since we left santa fe, we've visited bandalier national monument, spent two days exploring mesa verde national park, stayed two nights in telluride, popped into [ & very quickly out of ] garden of the gods, wandered through red rock canyon, spent the afternoon at rocky mountain national park & we're now in larimer, in a starbucks, drinking coffee, catching up & planning our next stop.

mesa verde national park, telluride, red rock canyon & rocky mountain national park were, by far, the highlights of the past week.

mesa verde is famed for its cliff dwellings & a destination that had been high on my must-see list. & let me tell you, it did not disappoint. we spent two solid days taking it all in. we loved it so much from the moment we arrived that we opted to pay to stay in the park campground rather than drive back out to a free spot. we did the tourist thing by driving the loop & taking the cliff dwelling tours [ that's the only option if you want to see them ] & actually really enjoyed ourselves.

telluride is one of the most beautiful places we've ever been. it is surrounded by mountains. like, surrounded. there are waterfalls in the distance. the main street has the most incredible views. there is a river running through it. we took the ski lift up the mountain. we hiked at elevation [ our poor lungs! ]. we slept at the side of the road, waking to stunning views.

visiting red rock canyon was pure luck. we had intended to visit garden of the gods but were told by the campground host in woodland park that it was overrun with tourists & not nearly as beautiful as red rock canyon. well, he was right. we spent about fifteen minutes in g.o.t.g. before hightailing it out of there, straight to red rock canyon where we wandered through, climbed on & were awed by the red canyon walls. it was quiet & there was plenty of space.

rocky mountain national park. wow. we had lunch, hiked & drove the trail ridge road. the views from the drive were mind blowing. snow. tundra. huge elevation. we loved it.

ok, that brings me back to right now.

you'll note that we're only spending a day or two at most places. well, you may [ or may not ] remember that we have to be back in canada by 9 august to renew my passport. unfortunately, that means we are not able to spend nearly as much time in each park or town as we'd like BUT we're making the most of it & not letting that get us down. we've got ten days left & we're going to enjoy them.

follow our journey at www.instagram.com/openheartsopenroad

grief.

i haven't written in a while because i haven't known what to say. though i've been humbled & awed by the extent of the earth's beauty, i continually struggle with the fact that my mom is no longer here to share it with. & i've started to feel like a fraud writing as if i'm not drowning in sadness. as if i don't wake in the middle of the night, overwhelmed, chest tight from crying as i slept. as if i don't stare out the window, tears streaming down my face as we drive. because i am. & i do.

i don't write about my grief because it hurts too much. & don't talk much about my grief because when i say it out loud i have to acknowledge it. & i am not strong enough to carry the full weight of it.

so, until i am, i hope you'll understand that, for now, i must continue to tell our story as i have been. i will share the highs & lows of our adventure. i will post photos of smiling faces & stunning views. & i will continue to hold my grief close to my chest because until i'm ready to share my grief - MY grief - this is all i'm able to share.

land of entrapment.

we have truly, madly, deeply fallen for new mexico. it is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. the landscape is not at all comparable to anywhere we've been. if i didn't have to be out of the country in twenty one days we'd stay a month.

we spent our first full day in albuquerque. we trail ran in rio grande state park & drove an hour up to sandia peak for views of the city. on a clear day you can see as far as colorado. to say it was awe inspiring would be an understatement. at 10,678 feet it is by far the the highest either of us have been.

in the evening we visited a few local breweries. marble, tractor & dialogue. we were very impressed with the beer selection at each & even more impressed with the enthusiasm, generosity & kindness the bartenders showed us. instead of treating us like patrons they treated us like new friends.

as i mentioned in my last post, we met a couple of kindred spirits on tuesday night. luke sparked a conversation with sarah & nathan by making a joke that sarah was almost canadian [ she is from alaska ]. & that's all it took. by the time i came back from the food truck they were in full blown conversation. it turned out we had a lot in common, & after an hour they were extending an invitation to spend a night at the casita on their property. they didn't strike us as axe murders so we took them up on it. we followed them home, stayed up until the wee hours looking over maps, regaling each other with travel tales, discussing routes we could take & sharing stories about ourselves & our families [ & drinking japanese whiskey ]. the next morning we [ groggily ] said goodbye & promised to stay in touch. & i know we will. these two are keepers. in fact, we hope to convince them to join us for part of the second leg of our journey.

wednesday morning we made our way out of town. it was difficult to leave albuquerque, but, at the same time, we were excited to be heading to santa fe. it was only a fifty mile drive & it was along the historic turquoise trail. we knew it would be beautiful & we wanted to take our time to do it.

well, the one hour trip took all night. after a few hours we'd only made it as far as madrid [ about 30 miles. because we stopped a half dozen times to take photos ] & decided then & there that we would boondock in the baseball diamond parking lot [ just, just outside of town & with bathrooms ] instead of making our way to santa fe, just to sleep in a walmart parking lot. so, we spent a bit of time exploring the area around madrid [ absolutely breathtaking ] then settled into a spot on a patio overlooking the main road so we could catch up on work [ aka, download documentaries from netflix, charge our phones & write the blog ] & watch the comings & goings of the townies & the tourists. it was relaxing & lovely. by 9 o'clock we were pulling into the parking lot, settling in & watching netflix. by 10 0'clock it was pitch black. & i mean PITCH BLACK. there are no lights in the area except the light coming from the bathroom. we were the only people for a mile. there are rattlesnakes & bunnies & who-knows-what, & we thought of all of this just as we were trying to fall asleep. needless to say neither of us slept. i had ten nightmares, all visions of the horrible things that could happen to us out there.

when we woke though, things were different. though it was 6 o'clock & neither of us had slept, we weren't tired. the view from our van was stunning. the temperature was cool [ i'd even pulled out the blanket in the middle of the night. if i was able to sleep it would have been so cozy ] & we only had a forty minute drive ahead of us. yesterday started better than i'd expected.

we arrived at starbucks on the outskirts of santa fe just after 7 o'clock. we did our normal morning routine - check emails, read the news [ luke does. i just find it depressing ], charge our phones, write the blog, check insta, facebook, etc. ], go to walmart for breakfast [ greek yogurt & granola for me, potato salad for luke ] & went to the gym.

once energized & showered we made our way into santa fe proper. though it was beautiful; it has an historic downtown with a square & a church, which we loved, it felt congested & touristy compared to albuquerque. it had shi-shi restaurants & tourist-trap like shops. we wandered for a while, i admired some hand made bracelets [ i regret not buying one. the woman selling them was lovely & all jewellery is made from scratch. the government requires the artist make everything, including the beads - i may have to convince luke it's worth a quick stop in town on the way out of here today ] then climbed up to cross of the martyrs for views of the city. by then our parking meter was expiring so we made our way back to the car & back to walmart to grab lunch [ pre made salad - $3.50 each ]. after lunch we made our way back to starbucks to finalize today's plans & drink iced tea. it was hot out & our lack of sleep was catching up to us.

but we still managed to visit the three breweries we had on our list - second street brewing [ it was just ok ], new mexico hard cider [ delicious - rhubarb, blueberry, sour cherry & cranberry just to name a few of their flavours ] & santa fe brewing company [this place kicked ass. it was out of the city on a huge property. kids & dogs were running around. it had cornhole ( luke beat me two of three games ). people were cheering other people on. it was a great atmosphere.

by the time we finished the brewery tour it was time to head home [ the walmart parking lot ]. it was 8 o'clock. time for dinner, time for a netflix documentary, time to relax. by the time we finished eating [ home made salad with black beans, peppers, kale, spinach, tomatillo guacamole & salsa ] we were exhausted. we couldn't keep our eyes open long enough to watch the film. we were fast asleep by 9:30.

now it's friday morning, 9:38. i'm writing & posting this in REAL TIME. we're at starbucks [ we had greek yogurt & granola for breakfast ], we're screenshotting the directions to today's destination [ will fill you in later ], charging our phones, sipping our iced coffees & i'm writing this blog post. in a minute i'll go into the bathroom with my backpack full of dishes & i'll wash them. then we'll hit the road. we're heading out of the city & into the desert & we can't wait [ ok, i can't wait. luke's a little nervous about rattlesnakes & black bears ].

talk soon.

follow our journey at www.instagram.com/openheartsopenroad

something spiritual.

there's something spiritual about this part of the country. you can sense it as soon as you cross the border. there's room to breathe here. the mountains provide perspective. the expansiveness of the sky a reminder that life can be as tremendous as you want to make it.

though the last ten weeks have been wonderful, i believe this is where our journey begins. this is where the soft moments start. this is where the world will teach us something. this is where we could find what we are looking for. new mexico, colorado, wyoming, montana, utah, idaho, arizona. ideal for contemplation, for soul searching, for learning to live in the moment.

unfortunately, two things have the potential to derail the trip. one, we have to make our way back to canada by 9 august to renew my passport, which could keep us in canada for weeks. & two, we will more than likely be out of funds by the time i receive my passport.

though we've been conscious about our spending, we decided fairly early on that we weren't willing to miss an opportunity simply because it cost money. we've met so many wonderful people over a beer [ just last night we met a couple of kindred spirits at marble brewing in albequerque. they very kindly - & very generously - invited us to spend the night at their home. we shared stories, beers, japanese whiskey & our hearts. it was the best $30USD we've ever spent ]. & we've spent hundreds on a national park pass & state park entry fees. & we wouldn't take any of it back.

needless to say, we've got a plan. once we've crossed the border we hope to find work. we'll scrub toilets. we'll ask customers if they want fries with that. we'll do whatever we have to do to continue. we'll look into a loan. we'll borrow money. we'll make it happen. we've got open hearts & there's always an open road.

follow us on instagram: instagram.com/openheartsopenroad

on the road again.

since we left west palm beach on 9th july we've gone down to key west & back up again, made a two night pit stop in tallahassee to visit friends, drove through georgia & alabama to mississippi to see the birthplace of elvis. we then spent the night in oxford [ ole miss' football stadium ] & from there drove through clarksdale to see crossroads, birthplace of the blues. we then flew through arkansas to oklahoma where we spent the night in oklahoma city. phew. that's a lot of driving. just ask luke.

the keys were stunning. all beaches & bridges & large, aggressive lizards. it's also where we cashed in our KOA camping gift certificate [ mega shoutout to steve & stacy- you two are legends ] & pitched our tent for the first time. it's also the first place we've pitched a tent together, full stop. & we didn't even argue [ much ]. the most difficult part of pitching the tent was actually my being chased onto a picnic table by a four foot iguana. it legit chased me. it legit jumped onto the picnic table after i did. & i legit jumped off, ran to the van, hopped in & locked the fucking door. & i didn't come out until the iguana finally made its way back to the mangrove trees where he hid waiting to scare the complete living shit out of me again. [ i know he did. i speak iguana ]

other stories of note from the keys are as follows:
1: we swam in the ocean on the side of the highway. it was incredible. & warm [ about 85 degrees ]. & like, awesome, cause we were swimming. at. the. side. of. a. highway. [ gulf side ]
2: we walked out half a mile on anne's beach where [ bloodline spoiler alert! ] mr. rayburn died [ atlantic side ]
3: key west was fun. & the tip of the tip of the southern states. it was beautiful & we had a good time until the guy working at the strip joint said to us 'come on in. couples that play together, stay together'. that was gross.
4: mosquitos still love luke. his bites blew up & he looked like he had chicken pox. again.
5: our tent has a skylight so we went to bed bathed in moonlight. it was magnificent. [ & the tent was only like, $50 at canadian tire. we are VERY happy with our purchase ]
6. we rented a motel room for the second night. $60USD for a double bed in a room that smelled like old cigarette smoke. BUT it was a block away from a very cool waterfront bar/restaurant that had a great band that luke ended up getting up on stage with, so that kind of helped to cancel out the smell of the room.

stories from tallahassee are as follows:
1. we stayed with friends i met while walking the camino in 2014. they very kindly put us up, stayed up late chatting & showed us around town. we swam in a natural spring, saw gators & manatees [ like, just outside the swimming zone ] & slept much better than we had in a while.
2. we visited two breweries on our list. both were great [ good beer & uber friendly beer tenders ]. one even gifted us a one-off bottle of beer [ being a bartender at a brewery has its perks . it's like i'm a member of a club. i love it ].
3. we enjoyed the penis & balls building [ we didn't give it the name ]. legendary.

stories from the road are as follows:
1. luke crossed off 3 bucket list items - elvis' birthplace, ole miss football stadium & crossroads.
2. we learned that arakansas is all gas stations, farms & nothing [ no offense arkansas, we were just going through & put in zero effort - it wasn't you, it was us ].

stories from oklahoma city:
1. we saw the texas two step at a country bar.

stories from amarillo:
1. the drive in was terrifying. we thought we saw tornados forming. it was raining so fierce people were pulling off the highway which eventually started to flood. not fun.
2. google big texan steak ranch. right now. it's epic.
3. we found ourselves at a dive bar playing aggressive hip hop, full of locals & one random golfer.
4. the bartender at said dive bar pointed us to the second largest canyon in america.
5. we visited the second largest canyon in america, palo duro canyon state park. we hiked from rim to floor [ 1.5 miles ] & back up again. the scenery was like nothing we'd ever seen.

stories from the road to new mexico [ which is where we are now! i've finally caught up! ]:
1. we stopped at cadillac ranch in texas. it is a public statue art installation & statue created in 1974. the ground surrounding it is littered with used cans of spray paint which people pick through in hopes of finding one with paint left in it. it was actually very cool. we brought some with us, left our mark, & tossed the can into the mix.

respite from the heat & some friendly faces.

west palm beach florida wasn't originally on our radar but when friends from ottawa offered us an air conditioned room & their company we took them up on it. for three reasons.

firstly, florida is hot. like, stifling hot. & the van has no a/c, which means we hadn't slept in for-ever. secondly, florida is ass backwards. you can carry a concealed weapon but you can't sleep in your car. & thirdly, seeing a couple of familiar faces after a few weeks on the road sounded wonderful.

so we went & we spent a total of seven days [ five before ireland, two after ] relaxing with the four of them [ they have two young children ]. we went to breweries & to the beach. we had sit down dinners. we drank cold beer & swam in their [ bath water warm ] pool. we slept in. we did twice daily perimeter checks for snakes & alligators. needless to say, it was a huge departure from what we'd been getting used to.

we had a wonderful time [ hard not to with friends like them ] but by the time we were back in the van it had been over three weeks & we were more than ready to get back on the road.

* we'd like to say a big thank you to jayna & jay. not only did they welcome us into their home for an extended period of time, but they cared for van while we were out of the country, thank you, thank you, thank you. *

that time we were busted by the police.

picture this.

we're in st. augustine, florida & we find the perfect beach parking lot. no 'no parking' signs, clean bathrooms, central location.

we park, take a short walk for mexican food [ it was incredible ], hop back into the van & make our way to a brewery.

we drive back, park again, take a short walk to a dive bar [ which has a special on - every time you order a drink, the bartender flips a coin. if your side comes up, your drink is free ], enjoy the company of some locals & head back to van for a good night sleep.

& then it happens. the sound that every van dweller dreads. 'rap, rap, rap' on the window, followed by a 'st. augustine police. open up.' [ or something similar to that ].

we are startled & sleepy & scrambling to make sure we are dressed appropriately but somehow i manage a calm 'yes officer'. we slide the side door open & are greeted by two officers, holding two flashlights, both pointed directly at us. 

the police have no idea what to expect when we open the door, so are ready for anything, but as soon as they see us & realize we were fast asleep just seconds prior, the male officer relaxes, asks us what we are doing, explains that due to a meth problem in the county it is illegal to sleep in your car, asks for our id & makes his way to the cruiser to look us up. the female officer, however, continues to stand guard, flashlight still pointed directly in our faces, unrelaxed af.

ten minutes later, just as we are accepting our fate [ that we'll be ticketed & sent packing ], the male officer returns to the car with our id & says 'clearly all you two are doing is sleeping so i'm not going to write you a ticket. how long do you plan to stay in st. augustine?'. we reply, 'thank you officer, until tomorrow morning'. 'what time will you leave?', he asks. 'by 7 o'clock', we say.

& then he says something completely unexpected. he says, 'ok, it's late. stay here & get a few more hours of sleep but i don't want to see you here tomorrow.' then he shakes luke's hand, bids us good night & they get back into their vehicle.

we went back to sleep & were out of there by 9 o'clock.

to... well shit, we're in the florida keys.

yep, we know. it's been weeks since we posted. heck, it may even have been a month. & we promised there'd be a new post by last friday. & there wasn't. we're sorry. please don't hate us, & please don't take it personally. it's us, not you.

though it may not be a very good one, i do have a reason for not posting. up to now our laptop has had to be plugged in when in use [ it was free & the battery has never worked ] so we have to be somewhere with electricty for me to write. & when you live in a van the only access to electricity is either a coffee shop or a pub. while writing at a coffee shop is cool - we can do it when we have our morning iced coffee [ the most budget friendly coffee beverage on the starbucks menu ], writing at a pub is anti-social, & i don't like to be anti-social, so i don't do it. so there you go.

ok, so since i last wrote we've driven from charleston, south carolina, to west palm beach, florida, flown out to ireland, flown back to west palm beach & now we're in the keys. [ phew. that's a lot of travelling ].

in my last post i was telling you that while in charleston we stumbled upon folly beach, a seaside surf town just a short drive from the city. well, i'll tell you now that within fifteen minutes of arriving we fell so in love with it's vibe we decided to spend a few days living the beach life. this spot was so laid back that, like, ninety six percent of it's establishments didn't require we wear either a shirt or shoes for service. once stripped down to the minimum amount of clothing we could get away with there was no way we were going back to the city where we'd have to cover up & dress 'appropriately.' [ for our age, for our [ my ] weight, for our surroundings. no way ]

i'll also tell you that it was in folly beach that we stealth parked for the first time. like, truly stealth parked [ we'd always parked at the beach or in a mall parking lot, never on a city street ]. one of three nights we stayed in the area we slept in the van, directly in front of a woman's house. i mean, we were just a step away from her front door for twenty four hours, changing from street clothes to swimsuits to pj's [ shout out to the homeowner. she said hello to us the afternoon we arrived & good morning to us as we climbed out of the van at nine o'clock the next day. she wasn't at all bothered or surprised by our being there ]. the spot was perfect - a block away from a twenty four hour supermarket [ with a bathroom for those middle-of-the-night pees ] & two blocks from the beach. we would have stayed all three nights but the bugs were something awful. & they loved luke. so we spent the other two nights in a walmart parking lot [ luke's favourite. for real. he's become a parking lot connoisseur. whenever we drive by or into a parking lot that has palm trees or a view or shady spots he'll say 'now that's a beautiful parking lot'. i find it highly entertaining ].

the first two days were spent at the beach swimming, napping & beach combing [ you know, the usual stuff ], but our third & last day in town was spent at [ i never, ever thought i'd ever be lucky enough to type these words ] a crawfish festival. yep. a crawfish festival. we acquired two free passes from a band that invited luke on stage to play harmonica the previous night & excitedly cashed them in the following day for an afternoon of crawfish eating, alligator holding & cold draft beer. swoon.

our next destination was savannah, ga, & though it was only a six hour drive we opted to make an overight stop in the quaint town [ village? ] of beaufort to break it up. this stop was also scheduled to enable us to make a trip to palmetto bluff [ recommended by friends ]. it was stunning. while there we saw dolphins [ ! ], used the bathroom of one of the most beautiful churches we've seen [ it was simple & bright & had a stunning view of the water ] & had a a glimpse into how the other half live [ estates, yachts, fancy restaurants, oh my ].

like charleston, we found savannah to be a city for those that have money to burn [ or at least a holiday budget instead of a vanlife budget ]. & while we got a kick out of the open container law [ we took a walk with a couple cans of beer just because we could ] & thoroughly enjoyed walking down bull street [ picture park after park with fountains, spanish moss & benches for people watching ], the main strip, river street, along the waterfront, was, well, a shit show. a tourist trap. it reminded us of new orleans, lined with bars full of rowdy tourists, tacky souveniers shop & restaurants that advertise with photos of their food [ never a good sign ].

we spent one sleepless night [ it was, like, 40c & humid ], woke the next morning, walked the city for a couple of hours, decided it was time to move on, scanned google maps, selected our next destination, packed up & headed out of town.

the destination we chose that morning was fernandina beach, right at the tippy top of the A1A & we made it there with a few sunlight hours left to enjoy the scenery.

fernandina beach was a small seaside town, similar to the outer banks in that it ran along a main road, with holiday homes, beach access points & local establishments on either side. upon arrival we stopped at one particular beach access point that had a public restroom, boardwalks running through a protected tortoise nesting ground & a covered area with picnic tables perfect for a couple of van dwellers like ourselves to make & eat dinner al fresco.

after dinner we checked out the local watering holes. the first was a dive bar with buckets of beer so inexpensive it was like they were giving it away & homemade chili two [ very inebriated ] local woman were actually giving away. from there we made our way to the tiki bar on the beach. we couldn't resist - it had swings in place of every second stool at the bar [ ! ] & a parking lot we could spend the night in [ ! ].

as we go to bed well before the bars close we didn't fall asleep quickly, but the view from van the following morning was well worth the lack of sleep. lucky for me i woke at 5 o'clock to a stunning sunrise, enjoyed that for a time, & was able to walk a mile to the local starbucks for iced coffee [ lucky for luke as well because that kept me occupied, meaning i didn't wake him ]. when i arrived back with the coffee, luke was stirring so we tidied up, had a little breakfast, did a workout on the beach, hopped in van & headed toward west palm beach.

to be continued....

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