Yes, it’s been forever but now I have downloaded the app to update and also the amazing video app so I intend to do a lot more updates!
Here is where I encapsulate the last year in a paragraph…..
Living in Spain was great but it came with some unforseen challenges regarding my visa so I left in June with a goal of getting an Irish passport which is available because my grandmother was born in Ireland. In order to do this I had to be back in the states.
This process has proven to be an ongoing saga which has gone far longer than I ever thought and it has hardly started but that is only relevant because I chose to head to the west coast for a road trip in the Rialta….
And the Rialta blew up once again…. In Oregon. The only qualified Rialta mechanic couldnt get to it for 3 weeks and this changed everything. After a lot of confusion and a visit with my friend Daryl in Florida I realized that it was time to say goodbye to my old friend (or abusive relationship, not sure which) and get a new RV.
The search was a challenge. I didn’t want a typical RV – big, clunky, hard to park; but all of the smaller “van” style rvs seemed cramped. The Rialta is pretty special in bridging the gap between size and “homey-Ness”. Cost was an issue too. A lot of the new vans cost as much as 120,000!!!!!!! I don’t own a house, I don’t plan to own a van that costs as much as a starter house (in a cheap market)
In the search I found the Winnebego Travato which was built with the perfect layout but new ones are much too costly…. And then one appeared which looked perfect. 2016 and a reasonable price, looking extremely well maintained and relatively low miles!!!?
….. In Alaska.
Why not? How far can Alaska really be? What a great adventure!!!!!!
Well, Alaska to Florida is actually really, really far. Probably it will add 6000 miles to the vehicle but they will be 6000 curious and adventurous and amazing miles.
That’s the story for now but I will be posting much more now that I have the tech!
Until next time.
A Curious Adventure 
Glad to hear from you. Your info finally arrived last Thursday.
I spoke to Paul yesterday ad we had a laugh about your not realizing the extent of your undertaking,.
Hope to hear from you sn.
Love Mom
That is a long drive. Worth it though I’m sure, because of the great van. Glad to know you’re coming back through San Diego. I’d love to take you to the zoo or somewhere and hear more about your travels. What I’ve read so far is so fascinating, only have about 5-7 more sections on your blog until I’m done. Madagascar is next to read, I’ve been looking forward to it since you mentioned it was a planned stop. Lemurs are awesome! The zoo has these stools you can sit on with a long, striped lemur tail coming up from the back, so it looks like you have a lemur tail in a photo. 😁
I’m so glad you are enjoying the reading! Yes, the van is really amazing and it makes it not evening daunting to do the drive especially because I limit myself to probably max 5 hours actual driving a day and lots of getting out for walks, etc. Some people do it in as little as 4 days (to Seattle) which I think would be horrible.
I actually went to Madagascar mainly to see lemurs – well, no, that’s not true but it was a primary goal and I definitely achieved that goal as you will see! Lemurs are so cute and funny and they have no fear of humans in their own environment. That said, Madagascar is a sad story for many reasons (the island has never been properly governed since the French got there). Anyhow, gotta run!