Niagara Falls

Our next house sit will be in Massachusetts, and we have a two-week gap between when it starts and when our Kentucky sit ended. Maricela’s brother will be joining us as we travel around upstate New York, Philadelphia, and New York City. Then we will part ways and complete our drive to Massachusetts.

After driving through the snowstorm in Kentucky and Ohio, our first stop was at Niagara Falls in New York. The weather was great in Niagara; the only bad weather was on the drive to get there, not while walking around the tourist sites.

Niagara was more impressive than I had anticipated. I was expecting to be a bit disappointed by another over-hyped site that didn’t live up to expectations. But that was not the case. The Falls carry a massive amount of water – 20% of the drinking water for the East Coast passes through the Falls!

The other surprising thing to me was the river itself. It makes sense that for such massive falls, there must be a substantial river leading up to the falls. And the river is very accessible – you drive along it, park right next to it, walk out to it and cross over it. Some stretches have powerful rapids; you can really sense the magnitude of water passing through.

We visited at an interesting time of year. It was early March, when it’s very cold, which made for some interesting landscapes. There was no ice in the river, except for a little along the shores, but at the Falls themselves, since the Falls generate a lot of spray, the frozen spray settles onto the nearby cliffs and rocks and gives the Falls a whole different look than if we had visited during a warmer season. There was so much ice as a result of the spray that the observation decks below the falls were closed – they were inaccessible because they were buried by many feet of ice.

Lots of ice below the falls, including on the observation deck

While there we made a brief trip across the border to the Canadian side. We walked across, figuring it would be easier than taking the van across and back. The Canadian side had a more touristy and commercialized feel – large casinos, expensive restaurants, flashy gift shops, and Ripley’s Believe it or Not types of places – a whole different vibe. There were some on the US side as well, but it was more low key. I like to say that my favorite part of our visit to Canada was crossing the border back into the US!

International border, in the middle of the river

Goodbye Kentucky

During our last couple of days in Kentucky we received one of our heaviest snows yet, probably around 4 inches. Apparently this is what’s common for the area, and it melts off quickly. Heavy snowfall beyond 6 inches or so is uncommon.

Our house sit in Kentucky is complete and we will miss the lovely home we stayed in and the friendly dog. We will miss the peaceful quiet by the lake, and the pleasant walks around the forest and pastures. We had a great experience and made some new friends in the process.

We had never experienced a “real” winter before, besides visiting the snow occasionally for a day or two. In Kentucky we got to live out the winter for two months, which gave us a much better idea of what real winter is like. Snow was never much of an issue, since we didn’t have anywhere that we had to be. The house was always comfortable due to the type of radiant heat in the floors. The only times we were uncomfortable were when we had to go out somewhere and the air was bitter cold (to us that’s anything under about 35 degrees!) Overall we actually enjoyed winter in Kentucky – maybe because we know we can return to California any time.

We had to drive through heavy snowfall on our way out of Kentucky. For three or four hours we were driving through falling snow on slushy roads in Kentucky and Ohio. The slush was very wet and had accumulated at least 3-4 inches on the road. That’s not what this Californian is used to driving in, but we took it slow and made it safely to our destination.

We undertook this journey to meet new people, visit new places, and have new experiences. Our stay in Kentucky more than accomplished all of these goals!

Kentucky

We are spending two months house- and pet-sitting in central Kentucky. We are in a rural part of the state near Lexington. The house is a 250-year old log house, which was recently remodeled. The interior has been fully modernized, and the exterior is well maintained.

The house sits about 50 feet from a lake, on a large property with few neighbors.

The pet is a 6-year old English Springer Spaniel, with a very easygoing personality.

Even though it’s winter, the weather is often pleasant enough to sit out by the lake.

All in all, we’re having a great time on our first long-term sit!

Life on the Lake

Our first long-term sit is at a house on a lake in rural, central Kentucky. The house is about half a mile off a main road, and about 50 feet from the lake. We are in a 250-year old log house. We have a dog to look after while we are here, and we need to keep a watch on the pipes to ensure they don’t freeze during the winter.

See link below for a 1-minute video of the lake.

Use the following link for a 25% discount when signing up for TrustedHousesitters: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF123171/

House Sitting

I heard an interview on a podcast a couple of years ago, of a guest who had spent several years traveling the world inexpensively by house sitting for others who were temporarily away from their homes. That led Maricela and me to look into it further.

We found there are several websites that connect house sitters with those needing the service. In about 99% of cases, the homeowner has one or more pets, which is the primary reason they need someone to stay at their house while they are away. A house itself can usually be left alone, but not so for pets that aren’t able to travel with their owners. The ability for the pet to stay at home in familiar surroundings is a much better experience for the pet than to leave them in a dog kennel, for example.

We also found there are a wide variety of sits available – short term (a weekend), long term (some are 6 months or even a year), domestic, international (Europe and Australia are popular), dogs, cats, even some with farm animals.

Maricela and I signed up on a website while we were still in California, and did a couple of house sits while we were working, to try it out. We wanted to get a feel for it while we were close to home.

Once we were in Mexico, we checked the listings occasionally. There aren’t as many listings in Mexico, but eventually we found one in Mexico City, about four hours away from where we were staying. So we traveled to Mexico City for ten days. While there we were responsible for taking care of three dogs and two cats. They could be left alone for several hours during the daytime, giving us ample time to explore the city. It worked out great for both us and the home/pet owners and the pets, and it reaffirmed the experience we had in California.

As mentioned in another post, we checked to see if there were any interesting listings in the US, since we had to leave Mexico at least briefly to renew our visas. We liked one we found in Kentucky, and that’s where we are currently.

The website we go through is TrustedHousesitters.com. There is an annual fee to join and to be able to see the full listings, although it does allow non-members to see some information. The last time I checked, the fee was $119 per year. If anyone is interested, use the following link for a 25% discount: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF123171/

Let us know if you try it out!

A Detour

Last summer we left Pleasanton to move to Mexico. Not necessarily permanently, but for several years at least. As a friend of ours put it, we’re not moving permanently, but we’re also not purchasing a return ticket.

Our first stint in Mexico lasted almost five months. Since we’re on a tourist visa, we are required to leave Mexico within 180 days. And since we drove, our vehicle also must cross the border within the same time frame. We can re-enter Mexico at any time, even the same day, and have another 180 days. The point is that we knew we were going to have to drive out of Mexico at some point within the first six months, we just had to figure out exactly when we would exit as well as when we would return.

As I’ve said to many people, our time in Mexico has been better than expected. We visit people often, we have plenty of time to spend with each other and by ourselves, we enjoy the slower pace, the food is amazing – the list goes on. However, as we started planning our trip to cross the border, we started considering other experiences we might pursue. One thing we had tried previously in both the US and Mexico is house/pet sitting. We said to each other, we don’t have any permanent commitments yet in Mexico – no chickens or goats, no gardens to take care of, etc. – so let’s see if there are any house sitting opportunities that sound interesting.

We looked toward the central US – our kids are on opposite coasts, and we’ve never spent time any further east than Colorado. The most interesting sit that came up was in Kentucky. We’ve never been there, so why not give it a try? We applied for the sit and were selected. Due to the needs of the home/pet owners, it meant we needed to return from Mexico a few weeks earlier than originally planned. We took care of affairs in Mexico, headed to California to visit family and friends, then drove on to Kentucky.

US-Mexico map with overview of our travels

We have not abandoned our plans to return to Mexico but, as the title of this post suggests, we are taking a detour before returning again. We want to make the most of our newfound freedom and explore other places. We are blessed by good health, and we are able to keep our expenses low, both of which help make this possible.

One anecdote about our travels – on our way to Kentucky we drove through the Petrified Forest National Park. As we were enjoying the winding roads and the amazing scenery, Maricela summed up our situation by saying, “Or, we could return to cubicle life!” Our minimalist lifestyle that makes our travels possible is not for everyone, but for us, it’s much more satisfying than the alternative!

Tree bridge in Petrified Forest National Park

Off-Roading in the Minivan

Before we left California we bought a used minivan with 90,000 miles on it. Since then, we’ve driven it about 12,000 miles across the US and Mexico. I have to say, despite all the abuse we’ve thrown at it, it has held up very well.

I’ve mentioned that the roads in some parts of Mexico are in poor condition. In some places we have to travel on dirt roads. One of them is up to our uncle’s house. Our uncle and aunt have lived there for over 40 years, and they and their neighbors have lobbied for years to get the road paved, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Here’s a short video of us driving up the road in the minivan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s0Q0CUNd34

Pyramids

A few miles north of Mexico City in Teotihuacan, an ancient civilization built several pyramids and other structures. This culture thrived between 100 BC – 550 AD. In it’s prime, this area supported an estimated 150,000 people. The largest pyramid is known as the Pyramid of the Sun, the third largest pyramid in the world.

A view from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun

A view of the Pyramid of the Moon as seen from the Pyramid of the Sun

Below is a view down what is called the Avenue of the Dead from the Pyramid of the Moon. This was seemingly a massive settlement at one time. The Pyramid of the Sun is on the left:

Interestingly, much of the area, especially underground, remains un-excavated, i.e., unexplored, with the likelihood of more artifacts to be discovered in the future.

Traveling Photographer

Documenting our Adventures

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