Next up: savannah!

We said goodbye to the Cape

On the day of our departure from Chatham, we rose early; we had to get to Wilmington, Delaware in time for me to make a couple of video calls. We used Waze instead of our car’s integrated GPS and were able to avoid the “lost time” in the D.C. area that we’d experienced on our way to the Cape. I finished my calls and we headed to a socially distanced dinner at the Columbus Inn. Highly recommended! The next morning, a Saturday, our destination was downtown Raleigh. We spent a delightful evening wandering the streets, admiring the art, both in galleries and on the streets, and revisiting the Raleigh Times for dinner; but the best part was an outdoor cocktail/dessert experience at Bittersweet, where we had quite a wait due to a wedding reception. The bride and groom wore matching gold sneakers and their small group had almost as much fun as we had watching them!

Happy couple!

Amazing Raleigh street art; lots of support for Black Lives Matter here!

We arrived in Savannah on Sunday afternoon, just in time to get settled and make a quick grocery run (we’re directly behind Kroger!). Our home for the next month is our favorite so far–a roomy two-bedroom with a dear little balcony and plenty of work space, just two blocks from Forsyth Park!

Finally, room for my monitor!

Our first order of business was of course finding a great cocktail lunch. Treylor Park was the perfect place (we’d discovered it on our first Savannah visit in 2017). We sat outside and shared a wonderful low country flatbread, which came with an assortment of hot sauces. We happily sat out a brief rainstorm, partially sheltered in the beer garden.

Treylor Park hot sauces

One of our first day trips was to Charleston, about a two-hour drive from Savannah. We had a wonderful lunch at Rodney Scott’s BBQ before heading to the Public Market area. We walked all over Charleston without an agenda, just enjoying the sights. We headed home determined to make another visit to Charleston before our time here is over.

 So much for a miniature reindeer!

Charleston: making ordinary, utilitarian objects into art.

We really love Savannah. There is beauty everywhere, lots of fun people-watching, and more interesting restaurants than we could ever visit. So far, in addition to walking many miles around the city, we’ve visited Tybee Island, enjoyed a walking food tour (combining favorite things!), and spent an afternoon in HIlton Head. More to come!

Savannah symbiosis

Peeking through iron railings into private gardens is one of my favorite things in Savannah.

One of the sights during our walking food tour. Fancy dress!

There is so much beauty in ordinary things.

Today we’ll visit the farmers’ market in Forsythe Park, walk the city, and begin shopping for special holiday meals. Stay tuned for more Savannah fun!

cape cod II

Counting down to Georgia

We’ve now been on the Cape almost a month, and we’ll be leaving soon. The time has flown, but we’ve been able to do most of the things we’d hoped for despite the pandemic. I took vacation our first week here, and we had the four-day Thanksgiving holiday, so we’ve had plenty of flexibility.

The wild Atlantic coast. This was one of the views on a walk this week.

We did manage to spend a day in Boston. We parked in our old neighborhood, the Leather District, and walked to the North End, enjoying all the sites along our “regular” path. We loved the familiarity and noted the changes since we lived here. We enjoyed strolling the Rose Kennedy Greenway, outdoor cocktails and appetizers at our favorite North End restaurant, Bricco, and of course we hit Mike’s Pastry (how could we miss that?!). We took an Uber back to our car and were impressed with the car’s cleanliness, masked driver, and open windows. I still long to stroll the Common and Public Garden, but the crowds scared us off.

Phil drinking French wine in an Italian restaurant

And suddenly the holidays arrived. We were lucky to spend Thanksgiving with our dear friends the Cummings, part of our “family by choice.” We’d planned to dine on their deck, and they even bought an outdoor heater. Alas, it poured rain all day, so we had a masked, indoor celebration. It actually worked out well, with separate dining rooms that allowed conversation between them. The feast was fabulous, featuring a gorgeous spatchcocked turkey with a maple glaze by our host Sandy.

I may do this turkey for Christmas!

We had visited Martha’s Vineyard a couple of times when we lived in Massachusetts, but never with a car. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I managed reservations on the ferry and off we went. This time we were determined to see the whole island!

The Vineyard cliffs in Aquinna–breathtaking!

After grabbing a socially distanced lunch overlooking the ocean (crabcakes!) in Oak Bluffs, we set off for Edgartown. What a beautiful little downtown! We parked by the docks and proceeded to walk the area, getting slightly lost in the process. I love the quirky things we see on our adventures–those unexpected, unusual, strange, and beautiful things easily overlooked–like a pianist sculpture among all the Christmas decorations.

Piano Man, just hanging out in someone’s yard

Gayhead Light

From Edgartown we headed on to Chilmark, Aquinnah, and then back to Tisbury, where we had a fabulous dinner at La Soffitta. We were seated at a cozy table surrounded by palms, well distanced from the two other occupied tables (We hit restaurants at odd times to avoid crowds). Our waiter, who was also the bartender, made fabulous cocktails and served us the best grilled focaccia we’ve ever had. Stuffed but happy, we headed back to the ferry and home.

We have just over a week left on the Cape. I’m working, so we won’t be doing much aside from almost-daily walks. I’d like to hit P-town one more time if possible, and we plan to stroll the downtown Chatham area, which is charming. Then it will be on to Savannah for a month. We’ll be on our own for Christmas, since we don’t know anyone there, and we’re looking forward to learning how to create holiday without a tree or family gatherings. Stay tuned!

Just before sunset at Gayhead Light

And we’re off!

Phil and Sandy have left the building.

Wow!  It’s been a very hectic and exciting few weeks.  After our house closing date was confirmed, our next task was to get rid of almost everything we owned, empty the house, confirm our initial roaming plans, and prepare to embark on this big adventure.  We had three weeks to get all this done.

Empty bedroom

I tried to be organized about it, I really did.  I set up my office closet for the “keep in storage” items and the guest room closet for the “take” items.  I made to-do lists and checklists, sometimes adding items just for the pleasure of crossing them off.  But as the date drew closer, all bets were off.  Every spare tote bag was filled with partly organized/partly random stuff.  We sold our two cars and bought a slightly newer hybrid.  I sold most of our furniture on Nextdoor and Facebook Marketplace.  We engaged our son, aka our car butler, to help us figure it all out.  In the end, we managed to store all our remaining worldly goods in a 5×5 storage unit and our new hybrid sedan–the latter due entirely to our son’s Tetris prowess.  We closed on our house, made a final visit to Baxter, who was so happy in his new home he hardly noticed us, and we were off.

Sunset on the road

We spent our first night in Houston with our dear friend Patricia, who treated us to adult beverages and an elegant dinner.  Early the next morning we headed to our first stop–Laurel, Mississippi, of “Home Town” fame.  We wanted to see the charming town Erin and Ben Napier had shared on their hit home renovation show.

 Laurel!  Ben and Erin’s store!  Cute old pickup!

After exploring the quaint downtown and taking a drive to see some of the beautiful homes in Laurel, we were starving.  As so often happens when we’re on the road, we happened into a restaurant that turned into a memorable experience.  The local Italian and pizza joint made the BEST bruschetta we’ve ever had!  We celebrated with a toast, of course.

Prosecco toast

After a night of tossing and turning in our hotel bed, we grabbed giant coffees and headed to our next stop, Atlanta.  

I thought this random side-of-the-road graffiti was beautiful.

There we had a wonderful dinner with our friends Philip and Erin, who were the most charming hosts.  They served a fabulous salmon (topped with a mix of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and lemon and roasted in the oven–I’m totally copying it!), followed by chocolate cake and ice cream.  What a treat, both the dinner and the company!

The next morning we headed to our much-anticipated, first temporary home in Raleigh.  How we ever got all this stuff in our car is a mystery.  Instead of fully unpacking, we headed to the grocery store!  Our first dinner started with heirloom tomatoes and buratta.  And wine.  Always wine.

First dinner in our little (let’s be honest, it’s tiny) apartment in Raleigh

What a mess!

So here we are, on the road, settling in to our temporary home, and enjoying our new neighborhood.  It doesn’t hurt that there’s a wonderful bakery just a ten minute walk away!  We hope to see a few friends while we’re here, socially distanced of course, but mostly we’re just excited to explore our new surroundings and see what we’ll discover on this first part of our journey.  We packed our optimism, openmindedness, and excitement for what will come.  Stay tuned!

. . .and now it’s real!

Things are moving FAST!

My head is spinning, but I’m taking a break to provide this update.  We never imagined things would proceed at such a pace!  Our realtor met with us on September 10, we signed the listing agreement the next day, and on 9/12 the photos were taken.  The listing was set to go live on September 14.  Then came the big surprise:  on September 13 we received a full price offer!  We chose to interpret that as a sign from the universe and signed the contract.  Now we had to figure out how to dispose of a lifetime’s accumulation of stuff!

Our buyer’s last name starts with an S so we’re leaving this “S” stone!

We decided that we would not keep any furniture, instead only keeping things that were truly important to us:  my mother’s china, a few of Phil’s paintings, off-season clothes and shoes we would need while roaming, important papers, memorabilia, and some beloved works of art.  We limited ourselves to two boxes each of books; I dedicated one box to fiction and poetry and the other to cookbooks.

One of Phil’s paintings that I can’t part with

The next thing, the really, really hard thing, was finding a new family for Baxter.  I made a bio with his photo and we shared it with friends and family.  Our friends network came through!  Baxter is now the CEO of Silo, a local fused glass studio, and the beloved pet of owners Elissa and Chester.  They loved Baxter on sight, and he warmed up to them right away.  Elissa kindly sent us pictures to show us how well Baxter was adjusting.  He will love going to work with them every day, greeting customers, soaking up attention, and observing activity from his kitty condo that went with him.  I cried most of the day he left, but after several days I feel ok and know it was the right decision for him.

Baxter exploring his new office

You might be wondering how we’re managing to dispose of everything that won’t fit into a 5′ x 5′ storage unit.  Just in case you ever have to do this, here are the steps we’re taking:

1. Had our kids identify what they wanted.  We’re shipping a number of items to our daughter in Europe, and our son who lives close will pick up his things.  We also gave away a number of things to friends in the area. 
2. Made a list of everything to be sold, with information and pricing.  We gave this to our realtor, and the person buying our home ended up buying a lot!
3. Listed the rest on Nextdoor.  This resulted in several sales to people in our immediate neighborhood.
4. Listed on Facebook Marketplace.  I’ve been surprised at how much has sold on this site!
5. Donations, donations, donations.  We’ll donate primarily to Habitat’s Restore, where they sell items to raise money for home building.

Our home buyer bought almost everything you see in this picture!

We decided against an estate sale due to COVID risk, and we were pleased that everyone who has purchased items has masked up.  The big learning from this experience is that selling all your stuff can be almost a full-time job!  Good thing it doesn’t go on very long.  Also, we priced everything at about 40% of retail, and most buyers paid full price.  We discount things that don’t sell quickly, as our goal is to sell as much as possible.

And now we have 2 1/2 weeks to wind up everything and hit the road.  We’ve decided on Cape Cod for our first destination, with a three-week stop in Raleigh.  We’ve booked AirBnBs in both locations, with a few hotel stops along the way.  I’ll be working, aside from a few vacation days, so we won’t be spending long driving days.  We’ve been pleased to see the extra cleaning our hosts (both AirBnB and Marriott) are doing to protect guests from COVID, but we’ll be bringing along plenty of disinfectant supplies and masks.  

The cozy cottage that will be our temporary home on the Cape

Seeing our house emptying a little each day feels weird–not bad, just strange.  And of course we miss Baxter (I haven’t broken my habit of closing the bathroom doors to prevent him from playing with the toilet paper rolls!).  And it’s definitely stressful handling inquiries, keeping track of everything, and managing transactions with strangers (all of whom have been lovely so far!).  But mostly?  We’re excited about this new experience.  We’re so glad we’re taking this step.  Here’s to the next adventure!

we’re selling the house!

This is getting real. . .

The pandemic experience has caused us to look at just about everything differently.  We’ve always believed that life is short and moments are not to be wasted, but recently we’ve come to realize that our time on this planet is limited and we must not wait to start our next adventure.  So. . .we decided to sell the house we love.

 Our little piece of heaven

A real estate agent came over this morning to look at the house and discuss the listing.  She sold us this house and was eager to see all the improvements we’ve made in our three years here.  No major remodeling was needed, but we added a large patio and pergola, installed custom window treatments, had all the cabinetry painted, installed new lighting, and had a lot of landscaping work done.  This is our favorite house (keep in mind, we’ve moved 18 times in our marriage!) and it will be hard to leave.

My raised bed garden.  The sign cracks me up!

But the pangs of giving up our house are coupled with excitement about this next adventure.  Since Americans are not allowed into France, where we plan to begin our roaming, we’ve decided to take this opportunity to roam the U.S.  My job allows me to work from anywhere in the country, which is a huge privilege.  So we’re planning to spend some extended time in some of our favorite places, and to discover some new ones.

• Since it’s likely that our in-country roaming will begin in late fall or early winter, we’re looking at some warmer locations to start.  We love Savannah, Asheville, Charleston, and Raleigh-Durham, so one or more of those locations might be first on our list.  We’ve started researching AirBnB options and would plan to spend several weeks or a month in each locale.
• Our son had the brilliant suggestion to spend some time in Dallas, where many of our oldest and dearest friends live.  That’s where we raised our kids and where we lived the longest (including our record:  11 years in one house!).  The COVID situation will likely dictate when we do that, as we’ll want to see our friends and not be isolated there.
• Our original idea, before we decided on roaming, was to do a “grand retirement tour” in a couple of years, visiting friends and family throughout the country and making stops in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and New Mexico.  We’ll incorporate those locations into our U.S. roaming–at least we could have some socially distanced visits with dear ones.
• And, assuming we have sufficient time, we’ll want to visit our beloved New England, where we spent eight wonderful years.  Moving to Boston in 2008 was the best adventure of our lives so far, and it’s where we learned that home can be anywhere as long as we’re together.  We love the entire area and look forward to returning to Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as well as Massachussets, where we’ll also see dear friends.

We are going to miss this adjustable bed!  But not as much as Baxter. . .

So, these are exciting plans.  But a major obstacle remains, one that almost brings me to tears every time I think about it:  Baxter.  We love him and don’t want to give him up.  We debated bringing him with us, especially since he’s very chill and has even done a road trip with us.  But we know cats hate change, and putting him through constant changes, moving every time he gets comfortable somewhere, would be selfish.  So we’re going to have to find him new humans.  That will be the hardest part of this.

 How can we part with this fellow?

So the first part of our adventure is about to begin.  We’re excited, anxious, sad, and frankly a bit stressed.  But mostly?  We know that now is the time to do new things.  We’re ready.