If we come, they'd better build it . . .
(The lessons are not in any kind of order. The numbers are just for fun.)
Coming up on six months on the road. The wedding is checked off our list. In preparation for tomorrow’s early morning start from Sashe cramento to Phoenix we started packing what could be left overnight in the van. Before we were halfway through the adrenaline-induced travel itch kicked in and we were talking about leaving today.
We left.
I’m sure all our fans and readers out there are eager for a new post. We’ve noticed that when we post daily we have more visitors to the site. When we’re settled in a bit and nothing new is posted, there’s no reason for you all to come stop by, visit and say hi. So here’s my post dedicated to all our loyal readers – thank you!
Merriam Webster defines reflection (one definition) as: consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose. Today I’m taking a bit of time to reflect, or consider, what we’ve been doing as nomads, the purpose of it and how we continue to adapt to our nomadic life.
When we left from home in California September 30, 2010, we had a destination in mind – Montreal (actually about an hour outside of the city). We knew we had friends graciously awaiting us to stay with them for a few weeks and we wanted to be sure we had time to get there, visit, and get out again before the snow stuck to the ground. As a result we had a rather hurried trip from California to Canada and did not get to spend much time along the way visiting with friends and neglected to spend as much time in our business as we needed.
Once we knew we had a few weeks in Quebec, we settled in and started reconnecting and got busy with work again. Now that we’re leaving Quebec in 6 days to head back to California, we’re planning to take more time visiting with people on the way back. We also need to spend time in our businesses each day. So to all our gracious hosts – thank you! We do plan to spend more time visiting with you. Please remember too that we will need time each day to get down to business as well. That’s how we’ll afford gas so we can make it to your place. :)
One reason we chose to live a nomadic life is that we love having control of our time and schedule. We love being able to work from anywhere, teaching Fiona along the way, connecting with new prospects and clients in person. Sometimes things come up that require us to adapt and that’s okay. I keep reminding myself to live this moment and not worry about the next.
What are some of the things we’ve been able to do and plan to do in the coming months? Remember, our goal is to continue to be able to work from wherever we’re at. It’s not our goal to be sight seeing adventurers. Of course we’d love to be able to see some sights. But getting to know people is so much more important to us.
We’ve connected with some great people as we’ve traveled. Some we knew from online business connections and other we’ve met in places we’ve stayed. It’s been great staying with Cristina Favreau and her family here in Quebec. Not only has Fiona made great friends with her children, Joel and I have been able to help her with her business ideas. Another new connection we made was with Sonja Stiefel. She’s an artist we met in New Mexico and has since become a client.
We’ll be staying for a bit with Joel’s mom again in Wisconsin during November. We’ll be back in Roseville, California for about a week the first part of December. Then we head down to San Diego to be with my mom since she needs knee surgery. We’ll be updating you soon with a complete itinerary.
You’ve heard that the Canfield family is going to travel and live a nomadic lifestyle. What does that mean? What are we really doing? Let me explain.
We are no longer renting a place to live. We’re packing our Kia Sedona minivan with our clothing, Joel’s musical instruments and equipment, important books and papers, Fiona’s books, toys and school books. The few important possessions we want to hold on to but don’t need on a daily basis are being stored by our close friends. They’ve also told us that anytime we’re back in the Sacramento area we have a place to stay with them.
We’re taking our packed van and we’re going to travel the U.S. and Canada for the next year or two. We’d like to spend extended periods of time in one area or location before moving on to another location. That would allow us time to get to know an area and the people. To accommodate that we have plans to house sit for people who need someone to care for their house and even their pets while they’re away for an extended period of time – perhaps vacationing or traveling themselves. Our house sitting service provides the homeowner with peace of mind and provides us a place to stay and work. So no, we do not charge a fee for this service.
How will we make money? The way we always do. We will continue to run our virtual businesses as we always have – creating and maintaining websites, running my virtual assistant business, coaching and training new and aspiring virtual assistants, writing books, helping people find their ‘why’.
Will this be a good thing for Fiona? We think so. Already she’s made new friends in British Columbia. And in October she’ll get to meet her great Uncle Denny and Grandma Mumsie who’s never seen her. She’ll learn about places, people, different cultures – not just from a book, but from real life experiences. We will continue to read the Bible with Fiona at bed time and teach her God’s values. She’s going to meet other members of our worldwide spiritual brotherhood and make new friends.
How long will we do this? Who knows. When we decide to stop, we’ll let you know.
I’m sure you have other questions. We’d love to answer them for you. So just post your question in the comment section and we’ll post our reply.