27 Jan

27Jan

Silver Spring Stay: Oct 9 2022 - Nov 11 2022
Fletcher Stay: Nov 11 2022 - Nov 22 2022

Our Story

Long story short, we sold almost all of our possessions including our home, dropped our youngest off at college, and are now wandering the country. We're staying at Airbnb's about a month at a time while working remotely. Turns out, there is a significant discount if you book an Airbnb for a month or more!

See our first post "How the heck did we pull this off?" for more details on how we got started. If you have any questions, post them in the comments or contact us directly and we'll be happy to answer them!

Please Comment!

We love to read your comments and answer your questions. You can comment on individual photos in the linked photo albums as well!

Travel Stats

Trips	Miles	Time
1. Winter Garden FL to Gulf Shores AL	496.3	8 h 23 m
2. Gulf Shores FL to Pensacola AL	36.2	1 h 03 m
3. Pensacola FL to Silver Springs MD via Charlotte	994.7	16 h 42 m
4. Silver Springs MD to Fletcher NC	492.5	10 h 21 m
5. Fletcher NC to Winter Park FL via Pensacola	966.4	17 h 06 m
6. WP FL to San Marcos TX via Pensacola & Beaumont	1144.6	23 h 41 m
Totals	4129.7	77 h 16 m

Where are we now?

We're in San Marcos, Texas which is about halfway between Austin and San Antonio. We'll be here until February 11th. New blog to follow.

Next Up

You never know what life will bring, so our itinerary is tentative. Our plans are to head west in 2023 and eventually make it up to Alaska. Hope to see you along the way!

Jan 9 - Feb 11: San Marcos, TX (between Austin & San Antonio)
Feb 12 - Mar 18: Sante Fe, NM
Mar 19 - May 13: Kanab, UT (near Zion, Bryce Canyon, & Grand Canyon NL Parks)
May 13 - Jun 17: Los Angeles, CA

Why Silver Spring and Fletcher?

Lots of friends and family near Silver Spring an it's just outside of D.C. So lots to do . Fletcher is just outside of Asheville. No brainer. Also, we were staying in the southeastern part of the country because we wanted to be back in Central Florida for the holidays.

The Airbnbs
Our Airbnb Non-Negotiables

Just like a home, there will never be a perfect Airbnb. As long as our non-negotiables are met, we'll book it.

Room for Kim to be able to get away from Dave
Within Budget
Room for our kids to visit/live with us
Good Reviews

Safe area verified in reviews
Reliable WiFi
Areas for us to work
Washer & Dryer
Functional Kitchen

Link to Silver Spring Airbnb Listing

The Airbnb unit was a basement apartment in this beautiful home.

Link to Fletcher Airbnb Listing

Stunning views in a charming mountain home. And two friendly dogs on the property! Can't say enough good things about this place.

Silver Spring & Fletcher Top 10-ish

Christopher's Visit

Always great to have your children visit. Christopher came up for a week to visit and explore the area. Pic below is us at a Navy football game.

Christopher is working remotely, so part of the reason he came up was to see if he'd like to move to the area. He's looking to relocate somewhere but he's not sure where just yet. So great he can live wherever he wants at such a young age.

Link to More Pics - Christopher's Visit

Lahnstons, Lyngs, & Libations

One of the best things about our journey is being able to reunite with friends and family.

Team Lahnston lives in the area and came through in a BIG way as hosts! The Lyngs came up for a long weekend and we all had a great time exploring the area. We went on a very cool hike, attended the Houston v. Navy game, and of course visited multiple breweries.

Ruth-bomb and Tony planned everything and the weekend was fabulous ... awesome locations all over the DC area and a top-notch tailgate before the Navy game!

Remarkably, law enforcement never had to intervene over the weekend.

An added bonus was that Abby, Tori, and Christopher were able to join us. So we had a recovering Laker reunion!

Outstanding job, Ruth and Tony. Thanks so much!

Link to More Pics - Lahnstons, Lyngs, & Libations

The Ostrowskis

We got to meet up with Kim's cousin Cheryl and her husband John! It had been about 20 years since we've seen them, so it was great to catch up. So nice of them to drive all that way to see us.

They drove about 2 hours to meet us for lunch at the Guinness brewery. It's a really cool brewery that also has food service.

Former Students Serena, CJ, & Madison

What a treat for Dave to be able to visit past students Serena, CJ, and Madison. All live in the D.C. area, so we were able to get together for lunch. Not to worry Laker friends--Madison and Serena are still as awesomely odd and weird as they were back in the day.

We were able to catch up and talk about old times at Windy P. Lots of laughter and great stories. It was also therapeutic for them to be able to confront Dave and begin to heal from the scarring he caused them at the Prep.

It's so gratifying to be able to talk with former students, particularly when they're as outstanding as these three. All are thriving and making their marks on the world. Comforting to see their generation getting it done!

Naval Academy Football Game & Annapolis

If you get the chance to attend a military academy football game, don't pass it up. From watching the midshipmen march onto the field in formation, to naval paratroopers landing on the field with the American flag in tow, to the awesome flyover, the pre-game traditions and pageantry gives you goose bumps and chokes you up.

Very little truth to the rumor that Ruth was escorted out of the stadium for her typical over the top rowdy behavior.

After the game we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring Annapolis. Really cool town with so many things to see and do. We would've returned for another day but couldn't fit it into our schedule.

Link to More Pics - Naval Academy Football Game & Annapolis

Breweries

Oh. My. Goodness.

All areas of the country have breweries. But you'd be hard-pressed to find any in more beautiful settings than in Virginia near D.C. Bear Chase and Dirt Farm were our favorites. If you're ever in the area, they're both a must see.

Link to More Pics - Breweries

Experiencing a Real Fall Season

Neither of us have experienced a real fall season since we were about 9 years old. Florida and fall do not know each other. So to be in the D.C. area for the fall was fabulous.

The changing weather ... cool to really cold temperatures ... vibrant colors ... breathtaking views ... awesome.

Link to More Pics - Experiencing a Real Fall Season

Our AirBnB Neighborhood

We loved being in an older and established neighborhood, particularly in the fall and for Halloween. Charming and beautiful, we enjoyed many walks around it.

Link to More Pics - Our Airbnb Neighborhood

Bears Den Hike in Bluemont VA

The Lahnstons took us on a hike promising the end reward would provide "the best view of Virginia." We don't disagree.

Link to More Pics - Bears Den Hike in Bluemont VA

Wheaton Regional Park

Easily the most beautiful park we've ever seen. It was about a 10-minute drive from our Airbnb and we went there for long walks about 5 or 6 times.

Link to More Pics - Wheaton Regional Park

Slido Creek Trail

Lots of trails and parks to explore. This one was right near our Airbnb.

Link to More Pics - Slido Creek Trail

UCF v. Memphis Road Trip

Dave took a roadtrip from our roadtrip and met Billy and Wally in Memphis to watch the mighty UCF Knights dismantle the Memphis Tigers.

All were concerned that Nino wasn't there in case someone obstructed our view of the game. Thankfully, there were no such incidents that required Nino's removal services.

One of several highlights was witnessing Stephen Martin's first touchdown as a UCF Knight! Stephen played HS football at Bishop Moore in Orlando. He was a UCF walk-on and is the son of our friends Steve and Char Martin. We celebrated with at the game and got a pic with the proud parents.

Link to More Pics - UCF v. Memphis Roadtrip

Views in Fletcher NC

We were in Fletcher for a relatively short time. The views from our Airbnb and along the Blue Ridge Parkway were beautiful. The picture and short video below are from the back porch of our Airbnb.

Link to More Pics - Views in Fletcher NC

When the Road Ends Keep Going

When those are the last part of the directions to get to your Airbnb, you pause. But with Dave's ruggedness and world class survival skills, we knew we had nothing to fear. Took a video of the drive up.

Click here to watch the video. The video file is too large to post directly on this free blog site.

Asheville

We booked the Fletcher Airbnb because of the view and it's proximity to Asheville. Loved exploring Asheville. It's a beautiful city.

Link to More Pics - Asheville

Parker and Lucy

The Airbnb owners lived just down a hill and they had two awesome dogs ... Parker and Lucy. Anytime we'd drive up they would run after us and greet us as we got out of the car.

Many times during our stay, we'd hear a scratch at the door and they'd be there wanting to come in. So we got some Beggin' Strips for their visits, and were even more popular. They'd hang with us for a while and then scratch the door to leave.

Link to More Pics - Parker and Lucy

Bar Tattoos

Asheville and Fletcher didn't disappoint. Sting 'em Scorps!

Link to More Pics - Bar Tattoos

Bars, Coffee Shops, & Restaurants

So many great ones during this visit. The pics are from two of our favorites were in Asheville ... The Bier Garden and a basement brewery, One World Brewing.