I am 51, my husband, Derron, is 47. We have two dogs, Hazelnut and Nutella (the nuts), and a cat named Gracie. No kids, at least none with two legs. We need a new start. We need to be somewhere that speaks to us. We need to be somewhere that feels more like home. 

Three years ago we left an idyllic existence in Europe to move back to the States to be near old friends. We settled in Bush, LA, across the lake from New Orleans. It wasn't a mistake, things just haven't worked out. I've not been able to find employment - a huge concern for me - and Derron, a Yankee accustomed to seasonal changes, has never acclimated to the climate here. Additionally, the political and cultural climates haven't been good fits for us either. That's not to say the New Orleans area is not a vital, magical, fantastic place...it is, in so many ways. Nevertheless, we're in need of something else. 

So we're moving to the more progressive and seasonally spontaneous Northwest, specifically Corvallis, Oregon. We're hoping to find "home" there. We have family nearby in Portland and we're hoping that "small, college town Corvallis" and its proximity to "big Portland" will be just the right mix for us.

The trip will begin in five weeks. At the end of January 2014, we will leave our beautiful home and three acres in Bush in an RV we've dubbed, "Filbert". [FYI, Filbert is another name for hazelnuts...get it?]

This travelogue will detail that trip and, afterward, serve as a place for me to capture the resettling process and any bumps along the way.

Here's hoping it will be smooth sailing...or RVing.

"Nothing happens until the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change." Arthur Burt