My New Year’s Day Tradition

My blog posts for New Year’s Day always revolve around food. As I’ve written over the years, I always eat black-eyed peas and collard greens, a traditional Southern meal on this day that is said to bring good luck.

Although this year’s dinner couldn’t compare to last year’s dinner party in a private dining room on Viking Sky during the World Cruise, Tim and I continued the tradition with just the two of us. Last year was filled with lots of good luck, and I am confident that we will continue to experience good luck in the following months.

My Traditional Southern New Year's Day Dinner

Merry Christmas

Tim and I would like to wish our friends and relatives a very Merry Christmas!

We returned from our trip on Sunday, December 20, 2025, after an awesome, but exhausting, few weeks of travel on land. We had no energy to decorate for Christmas, but I had thought to purchase a tiny tree from the Dollar Tree before we left in October. That had to suffice this year.

Our Little Christmas Tree

I did pull out the few ornaments I purchased during the trip, as well as the two that our wonderful driver Felipe gave to us as he dropped us off at the airport in Lima. Although I had no tree on which to hang them, unwrapping them brought back fond memories.

Ornaments from South America

My plan is to finish the blog posts for the last two days on Viking Octantis and then the posts for our five nights in Patagonia and our two weeks in Peru. I’m not promising how long it will take me to recreate this incredible journey, but I will get it done!

More Travel Planning Underway

While I continue with my research for our upcoming World Voyage, I have spent the last few weeks planning my next trip. This coming Wednesday, I am embarking on a 12-day road trip that I’m calling my Midwest National Parks Trip.

One of my long-term goals has been to visit as many national park units as possible. Originally, I had hoped to visit every one, all 429 of them. In the last year or so, I’ve become more realistic and have set a goal of visiting all units in the Continental United States. I’m not sure how many that might be, but I have been to 356 so far.

The Red Dots Indicate National Park Units I've Not Visited

Tim and I visited most of these parks while we were traveling in our RV, but several large gaps remain, mostly in the Northeast. However, there are also a number of parks in the Midwest, and I’ve been trying to get to those for quite some time. Now is the time!

It’s going to be a whirlwind trip, especially since I added on the two newer units in Missouri and the one in Kentucky. I’ve also included three state capitols that are on the way. In between these major stops, I’ll also visit several National Heritage Areas and National Historic Trails. If I can complete these visits, I’ll just have the two Chicago area parks to complete the Midwest. Tim has wisely decided to stay behind this time, since the hectic pace did not seem like fun to him! Smart man!

Here’s my planned route. 

My Midwest National Parks Trip - Planned Route

In the middle of all this planning, Tim and I also decided to book two Viking River cruises for 2026. Yes, we do plan ahead. I’ve wanted to see the tulips in bloom in Amsterdam, so we are taking the Tulips & Windmills itinerary. When we disembark from that one, we will embark on the European Sojourn itinerary. We have heard so many great things about sailing the Rhine River, so we decided to check it out.

Tulips & Windmills

European Sojourn

While I was reading one of my favorite blogs last night, I finally learned the condition that I am afflicted with – dromomania! Rose, a fellow traveler who will be on our World Voyage, discovered the word and did a little research. Here’s what she learned:

When I looked up the definition in Wikipedia, the entry said: “Dromomania was a historical psychiatric diagnosis whose primary symptom was an uncontrollable urge to walk or wander. Dromomania has also been referred to as traveling fugue. Non-clinically, the term has come to be used to describe a desire for frequent traveling or wanderlust." 

The Miriam Webster dictionary simply defines it as “an exaggerated desire to wander”, but the American Psychological Association defines it in a way that gave me pause: 

n. an abnormal drive or desire to travel that involves spending beyond one’s means and sacrificing job, partner, or security in the lust for new experiences. People with dromomania not only feel more alive when traveling but also start planning their next trip as soon as they arrive home. Fantasies about travel occupy many of their waking thoughts and some of their dreams. The condition was formerly referred to as vagabond neurosis. 

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Once I discovered the word, I had to know more. An article in Atlas Obscura talks about how the diagnosis was used in the late 19th century to put “wanderers” into asylums to prevent their “pathological tourism”. Then all of a sudden, with the outbreak of World War I in Europe and borders being closed, the “diagnosis” just disappeared. The article goes on to say that, “Today, occasionally dromomania is mentioned int he context of homelessness, or to refer to the disorientation associated with dementia. And it has splintered—as wanderlust it has been completely depathologized, and has become something desirable and attractive.”

BINGO! That’s me in a nutshell! Like Rose, though, I am not spending beyond our means, nor am I sacrificing Tim and our security. Wanderlust or dromomania, whatever the case may be, my condition has a name.

The End of an Era

Instead of catching up on blog posts from our cruise, I’ve been working with Tim to get our RV ready to be sold. Today was the day. No, the RV hasn’t yet been sold, but we did drop it off with a consigner who will handle the sale for us. Leaving the RV in the consigner’s lot was certainly bittersweet. While we knew it was time to let the RV go, we will miss having it available for any future volunteer projects at national parks.

Although Tim and I could have tried to sell the RV ourselves, neither one of us is good at selling things. When we downsized, for example, it was easier to donate the items we couldn’t use rather than have a garage sale. We certainly weren’t going to donate the RV, but neither one of us was willing to take on the task of selling it. A consignment arrangement is just better for us.

While we will miss the RV, we will still have the many memories we made with it. It was our home for five years, and we were able to visit 49 states and several Canadian provinces in it. Hopefully, someone will enjoy it as much as we have.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye 

Can It Really Be March Already?

I can’t believe that my last post was December 20, 2023, a few days before we disembarked the Viking Neptune in Fort Lauderdale. My plan for January was to finish updating the blog and complete the posts for those destinations that I had not had time to write about awhile on the ship.

I’m not sure what happened, but it is now March, and I am now just returning to the blog. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will now sit down, look back over my photos and notes, and “revisit” those wonderful places that were among my favorites.

I also have a few posts that I’d like to complete about what Tim and I have been up to in 2024. Wish me luck!

We Got New Phones

Over the years, Tim and I have been Verizon and then AT&T wireless customers. Our plan for some time, however, had been to switch to T-Mobile because of its free international roaming service. With AT&T, we have spent several hundred dollars on each cruise for internet access.

We would have switched to T-Mobile before our France’s Finest cruise but discovered that AT&T was the only service available at AGFO. Although we had free Wi-Fi there, we didn’t want to lose our ability to make and receive phone calls.

Yesterday, however, we finally made the switch to T-Mobile. Not only do we get unlimited data while traveling internationally, but our new plans are much cheaper than AT&Ts.

We also got new phones, and they are quite an upgrade from our old ones. Existing promotions made the costs extremely low. I decided on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which Tim had also picked. However, once he saw the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 at the T-Mobile store, he changed his mind. That is a very cool phone, and I’m a bit jealous. 

Our New Phones (images courtesy of T-Mobile)

I’ve transferred everything from my old phone to my new one. Now, I just need to learn how to take advantage of all the new features.

Posts for France’s Finest Are Complete

Yesterday morning, I finished the last blog post for our France’s Finest cruise. I’ve backdated all the posts to their actual dates to simplify things. All posts related to the cruise, including the planning for it, are included in the Categories listing for “Cruises – France’s Finest 2023.”

I posted the link to this blog on Cruise Critic’s Viking River Roll Calls forum for “All 2023 Viking France,” and I was happy to hear that several people who are planning to take the same cruise in a few months found the information helpful. I mainly write this blog for myself, but I’m happy if my first-hand accounts can help others. I know how much other people’s blogs have helped me.

The Blog Posts Seem to be Helpful to Others

It took me more than a month to finish writing the posts and editing the photographs, but I’m happy with the results. It was a good project to occupy my time, since it’s been raining almost every day since we’ve been home. So far this year, Loveland has seen more rain than in all of 2022. We’re not complaining, however, since rain was sorely needed, and the state is no longer in drought conditions. Luckily, we have not experienced any of the really severe weather that has hit other parts of the state.

I still plan to gather my thoughts and come up with my reflections on the cruise. Stay tuned.

Getting the RV in Shape

In less than one month, Tim and I will be heading to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument for our three-month volunteer assignment. Since we’ll be living in our RV, it was time to test out the systems and put it back in shape.

Tim and I are not campers, and we have used the RV only for volunteer projects at national park units since we stopped full-timing in 2019. As a result, we have not traveled in the RV since we returned from Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in March 2022. 

The RV has been sitting in our storage facility all this time, and it is still winterized. Yes, Tim has driven it since then, mostly to keep the battery charged, although it did require a jump-start a few times! Last month, we had the annual service performed, and everything was fine on that end.

The RV Has Spent the Last Year or So in This Storage Facility

In order to de-winterize and test out everything else, we made a reservation at a campground just a few blocks from our home and checked in yesterday. I was a bit nervous when we plugged into the campground pedestal and turned on the air conditioner, but it worked just fine. Amazingly, so did everything else.

We spent yesterday afternoon and this morning sorting and cleaning and making sure that everything is ready to go. We still have to finish loading the RV with food, supplies, and the rest of our gear, but that can wait until the end of the month.

While we were at the campground, we began talking to the gentleman parked next to us. He was interested in our RV and mentioned that he and his wife had been thinking of downsizing to a unit like ours. Tim and I had been seriously talking about selling the RV after we return from Agate Fossil Beds, so we gave him and his wife a tour. They seemed very interested, but who knows if anything will come of it.

Enjoying Our Fornesetti Lamp

The Fornasetti lamp that we purchased in Paris was shipped to us a month ago, but it wasn’t until today that we could finally plug it in and enjoy it. We knew when we purchased the lamp that we would need an adapter for the plug, since this one had a type C plug with two rounded prongs. What we didn’t realize until we were looking for an adapter is that European lamps are rated for 230 volts, whereas 120 volts is the standard in the US.

Tim and I read differing reports as to whether we would need a converter or if we would need to rewire the lamp. I contacted Fornasetti, but didn’t get a clear answer.

Finally, Tim took the lamp to a high-end lighting store and asked them. Thinking that the lamp would need to be rewired, we were so relieved when we were told that replacing the plug was all that was required. 

We picked up the lamp today, and it is now at home in our living room. Looking at it makes me smile.

Enjoying Our Fornasetti Lamp

A Little R&R

Some people say that jet lag is worse on the return flight after a long trip, and this time, I had to believe them. I was totally wiped out and was really a slug all day. The fact that my chronic cough seemed to be getting worse didn’t help.

I did manage to schedule a pickup order at King Soopers, and Tim offered to pick it up. At least we have a bit of food in the house now, although I’m thoroughly spoiled after not having had to cook for almost a month.

I guess we’ll slowly get back to normal!

I Closed on the Sale of My Miami Condo!

When we left for France earlier this month, I knew that the closing on the sale of my Miami condo would be taking place remotely. On May 5, I received an email from NotaryCam to complete my ID Credentials Analysis. Yesterday, Ivette, my closing agent, notified me that my ID had been verified, and she confirmed my e-signing appointment for 6:15 pm (my time) today.

Ivette has done many remote closings and has been so helpful in walking me through this process. My main concern has been the reliability of the ship’s Wi-Fi connection since I have not been able to use our cellular data. Luckily, today’s connection looked great.

At the appointed time, I was able to connect with Ivette remotely, and we began the process. Using remote online notarization, or RON, I held up my driver’s license and my passport in front of my computer screen, and the notary who had joined the video conference then confirmed my identity. The three of us signed all the documents electronically, and the closing was over. It’s amazing what can be done online these days!

I am officially free of Miami now! It was time to celebrate with a cocktail.

SOLD!

After dinner, I found an email from the buyer’s attorney. She asked me to call her so that I could provide a required verbal ok for the wire transfer. When I had trouble reaching her, Drago, the head of Guest Services, helped me out. Since I never make international calls, I had forgotten to use a +1 to call Florida. Drago tried to call her on my behalf, but there was no answer. While I was trying to figure out what to do next, she called me back. I verified my banking information, and the money was in my account almost immediately. I think that was the final step. Whew!

I later tried to open a CD account for the world cruise payment, but the new bank I was planning to use thought I lived in France and could not do so. I finally moved the funds to my Capital One savings account to get a fairly good interest rate until we could get home.

600 Days to Go!

While only three days remain before we depart for our France’s Finest cruise, I happened to notice that we now have 600 days to go before boarding our Viking World Voyage. That seems like a very long time to wait!

600 Days!

The good news is that the buyers for my condo in Miami have secured their financing, so the closing should happen quite soon, and I’ll be able to sever my last ties to Miami (except for my friends, of course). Once that happens, the funds for our world cruise will be in place.

The Blog Is Now Up To Date

I have been making periodic posts about my progress in bringing this blog up to date. I’m thrilled to report that I finished the final backdated post today! There’s not much more to say, so I’ll leave it at that.

My challenge now is to keep the blog up to date. That might be easier said than done.

Blog Posts for Our 2022 Viking Cruise Are Complete

Approximately one month ago, I mentioned that I was starting to write blog posts for the Viking Homelands-British Explorer cruise we had taken in May-June 2022. I knew it would be a challenge, since I had few notes and thousands of photographs, but it was a project I am so glad I undertook. When I finished the last post yesterday, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment, and relief. 

The process of preparing these posts was almost like reliving our wonderful cruise. For every post, I started by looking at each Viking Daily, which I had saved, as well as the descriptions for the excursions we took. Then, I started wading through the photographs. In many cases, I couldn’t remember what I was looking at. Did we really go there? Where was this view? What building was that?

Each Viking Daily and Excursion Description Was Helpful

I began to do a little research about each location and re-learned what our guides had explained on the tours. In the end, I likely acquired even more knowledge than was presented to us. I also discovered the value of Google Lens and couldn’t believe how it could help identify even the most obscure building or site. Even though I ended up deleting half the photos I had taken, the remaining ones did tell the story of each day’s adventures, and they proved to be invaluable in writing the posts.

Google Lens Was Amazing Resource

As I progressed through the days, I got into the process even more, and my later posts are much more thorough than the earlier ones. They likely have more photos as well, although I did combine many of them in collages.

There was so much to take in while we were touring almost every day, so reliving everything this last month has been a rewarding exercise. I certainly have a much better appreciation for and understanding of the amazing places we visited.

This project has kept me so busy this winter that I have not minded staying home. I guess traveling vicariously has satisfied my wanderlust for the time being.

I Accepted an Offer for My Condo

Two days ago, I received an offer for my condo in Miami. It was much lower than the listing price, although that was not unexpected. I countered with a price that split the difference and anxiously waited to see if the potential buyer would agree.

Today, I received a new counteroffer, and Herbert urged me to accept it because of the many uncertainties in the future of the building at this time. I was happy to do so. Unfortunately, the sale is dependent on securing financing, and closing is scheduled in 45 days, while Tim and I are in France.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone. We celebrated with food, as usual. I actually made corned beef and cabbage! If I say so myself, it was delicious!

Corned Beef and Cabbage - Yum!

An Update on Selling My Miami Condo

On January 26, I posed the question, “Might Selling the Condo Be this Easy?” My friend and real estate agent had just sent me a text stating that he might have a potential buyer with a May 1st closing.

Unfortunately, the answer is, “No, it won’t be this easy.” The potential buyer wasn’t interested, so the condo was officially listed yesterday after my tenant moved out. Hopefully, the unit won’t be on the market too long.

It's Listed

Two Negatives – Finally!

Tim and I both tested negative for COVID today. It’s about time! We still have lingering symptoms, such as cough, congestion, and fatigue, but we do feel much better.

It’s nice to be able to go places again. Tim’s going to his GIS class in person today, and I’m going back to the Loveland Museum tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed that life is returning to normal.

When Two Negatives Are a Positive

Bringing the Blog Up to Date

When I announced on January 19, 2023, that one of the things I had done this year was to start this blog, I had no idea where that would lead. The impetus for the blog was to document our upcoming World Cruise, starting with tossing the idea around, then planning for it, and finally taking the journey itself.

In the back of my mind I had wanted the blog to start in 2019, when Tim and I transitioned from living full-time in our RV to buying a condo and settling down. I knew, however, that going back that far would be a mammoth undertaking, and I doubted I was up for it.

Since I had no other projects of note to occupy my time, I nervously decided to see what I might be able to accomplish. I wrote posts for the end of 2022 when the idea for a World Cruise first raised its head, and then finished the posts for January 2023, when we booked the cruise.

I started reviewing the few notes I had made after buying our condo, and I looked at my photos. I even found a few mini journals that I had written about several of our trips. I slowly dipped my toes into blogging again and found that it was coming along much easier than I thought.

Tim helped me come up with a name for the blog, and I worked on the layout and other technical issues. I decided that I wanted this blog to follow the same format as the previous ones, so that made things somewhat easier.

I backdated all my posts to the date they occurred, and I often included only summaries when my memory and notes failed me. Occasionally, I would later remember something else that had occurred, and I would insert this post where it should fall into the timeline.

I soon found that I had finished the posts for 2019 and was almost through 2020. I was on a roll and really enjoying writing again. Posts for 2021 were even easier since that’s when I had journals to use. Writing blog entries while I had COVID was a perfect diversion and helped take my mind off of my symptoms.

I am now starting to write the posts for our Viking Homelands-British Isles Explorer cruise in 2022. These posts will challenge me since I took almost no notes, but thousands of photos. I am having fun though reliving that fabulous cruise.

I keep telling Tim that never in a million years did I think I would ever bring the blog up to date. But I’m so glad that I’ve found the resolve, or whatever it is, to keep going. I know that I will appreciate having a record of these years to look back on. Keeping memories alive will be so much easier.

Who knows, I may even be inspired to go back to my See Where the Road Leads blog and add entries to that one. Now that would really be a wonder!

Not Again!

It seems our recovery from COVID is going rather slowly. Neither Tim nor I ever had any of the severe symptoms, and the Paxlovid certainly lessened our other symptoms. However, we’re still dealing with coughing, congestion, and runny noses.

Tim was planning to attend his GIS class in person this evening and decided to take a COVID test just to make sure he was okay to be around other people. Can you believe that he tested positive again?!!! We had been warned about Paxlovid rebound, and I guess Tim was the unlucky recipient.

Surprisingly, I tested negative, but I’ll test again in a few days just to make sure.

Our Drug Store