Season’s Greetings Friends. 

Sitting down to write this letter feels overwhelming as we try to summarize the year. This year feels like a Full Cycle more than any other year. Does it feel that way to you too?

We started 2023 uprooting our lives in White Salmon, WA. Selling our house, putting things in storage, downsizing (not nearly enough) and planning our trip across the country and puzzling out the craziest things, like what do you do when you don’t have an actual residence address? Things that are totally based on where you live like health insurance, auto insurance, and business that require a physical address. Things you don’t really think about when you just live somewhere. Also what to actually bring on the road while we anticipated a whole host of temperatures and possible experiences from hiking & camping to fine dining.

Our travels across the country (literally back and forth 3 times this year) was such a mix of emotions. Grief for what we lost. Overwhelming uncertainty. Adventure. Delight. Disappointment. Discovery. Connection. Frustration. Gratitude. We got to see so many friends and family members which meant so much to us and was such a wonderful opportunity (Thank you everyone that met up, took care of us and gave us hospitality on our journey!). We met new people. We got to experience new places. We collected wild water, saw many national parks, soaked in hot springs, cooked in our outdoor kitchenette, and experienced RV culture (we didn’t quite fit in with our tiny trailer although we did get a lot of questions). Thinking back it feels like the macrocosm of our experience is folding itself into the microcosm our new adventure settling in on the East Coast (we are literally on the east coast, the water is 2 blocks away!).

We end this year starting a new life in Belfast, ME (that’s Maine for those of you who aren’t familiar with the postal abbreviation). We bought an old wooden post and beam building (built sometime in the 1870’s) that we are currently upgrading and turning it into Pulling Corks Wine Bar & Shop downstairs and our residence upstairs. We spend a lot of time there and are getting to know the building and slowly getting things up to code. We are doing most of the work ourselves with the help of some professionals and friends. The town is beloved in Maine with locals and tourists alike. We are quickly becoming part of the local community and loving Maine, the people, the natural beauty and even the crazy weather and culture. 

It’s definitely been a year to remember. Thank you for being a part of our adventure, for your support, your love, and just knowing you care about us.

With love from our whole hearts, 

Kristin, David and Bernie 

XOXO

We visited 33 States!

WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK, MO, TN, NC, GA, FL, SC, VA, PA, DC, MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT, MA, NH, ME, VT,  ID, UT, WY, NE, IA, IN, IL, OH

A Few Delights

Hiking down into Carlesbad Caverns! They are magnificent! This was NOT Bernie’s favorite moment - he HATED the small cage he had to stay in.