How it all started
In 2014, we found ourselves at a cross road in our lives, I was loosing interest and motivation in my work, I could tell Joe was getting bored with retirement, our big 10 year project of building our dream home was pretty much done.
We were both ready for a drastic change of lifestyle we just didn’t know what. After months of searching and thinking about all sorts of different options.
I came across a Video about a German couple that had originally left for an 18 month road trip through Africa and was still on the road 23 years later. At first I thought, wow what a cool way to live your life, but not much more. A few days later I couln’t stop thinking about it.
I shared it with Joe and said, are you in? Let’s do it, he said. That’s all it took, from that point on we started planning.
That’s when we discovered a new word that would open the doors to a whole new world:
Overlanding
“Overlanding is self-reliant overland travel to remote destinations where the journey is the principal goal. Typically, but not exclusively, it is accomplished with mechanized off-road capable transport (from bicycles to trucks) where the principal form of lodging is camping, often lasting for extended lenghts of time (months to years) and spanning international borders.“
Since Joe was already retired, I quit my job!
We put our dream home for sale, sold and gave everything we owned and registered for the OVERLAND EXPO in Asheville NC in September 2014. We took a bunch of classes, met wonderful people but mostly we got inspired and it confirmed that we were not crazy.
Our house sold in January 2015 and we put a deposit on an Overland vehicle, our new home on wheels, an XPCamper (now called Nimbl).
There was no turning back!
After 10 wonderful years of country living, it was time to pursue another dream: traveling the world!
It’s all about living your dreams!
5 years on the road
After selling our house in Canada, we based ourselves out of Florida, to get everything ready for the big trip.
After a year an a half of preparation, we left Florida on May 5, 2015. Our first journey took us through the Americas, driving, with as many detours as possible, the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Argentina from 2015 to 2020.
18 countries including side trips to the San Blas Islands, the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon, Easter Island and our grand finale, South Georgia Island and Antartica.
During these 5 years on the road, we also discovered the meaning of slow travel, which is what we identify with the most if you have to give a name to our style of travel.
And then the Corona virus Pandemic
In March 2020, when the Covid-19 Pandemic hit, we were in Brazil, we cut our South American journey short and shipped our truck camper back to the US.
Even before Silver was out of the shipping container we had a buyer. We took a last road trip with Silver, our trusted steed, but this time in the US, with our three grand children, driving from Florida to Colorado visiting National Parks along the way, to deliver Silver to it’s new owner.
We traded our overland vehicle for 2 carryons
In 2020, we traded our truck camper for two carryon suitcases and flew to Turkey where we stayed three months before moving on to Egypt for an additional three months …
In 2021, we traveled to no less than 16 countries during the pandemic. From Northern Africa to Europe and Asia.
We spent most of 2022 in Southeast Asia.
The first half of 2023 was all about discovering other parts of Asia, and in the second half we made it to Oceania, our 7th continent!
Let’s see where 2024 takes us …
About Joe
Joe
Back in my day if you lived in Philadelphia USA, you either got drafted or joined the military… I joined, USAF SPSq MWDS.
After a 37 year career in law enforment I needed the next chapter in my life to be more mellow, I knew I was on the right track when my friends offered me a bag of “locally grown herb” as a retirement gift!
When Josée came up with the idea of traveling full time I didn’t hesitate to embrace the change.
Little did I know that a Nomadic Lifestyle would open up a whole world that I barely knew existed.
Life on the road has opened my eyes to the true meaning of human kindness, making a happier and gentler person out of me.
Life is good 💙
About Josée
Josée
I was 12 years old when I traveled abroad for the first time, a summer in Spain was certainly the highlight of my year.
But I got the travel bug after a 3 month European road trip with my bff when I was just 21.
All I could think about while growing up in Quebec, Canada was my next adventure.
At 29 I had the opportunity to move to Miami and so glad I did because not only did I have a wonderful career in the Hospitality Industry, I met Joe.
25 years of property, hospitality and city management in the US and Canada, combine with a passion for change, logistics, adventure and travel turned out to be the perfect preparation for a Nomadic Lifestyle.
Travel has always been the one thing throughout my life that I could never get enough of, being able to fulfill a lifelong dream of traveling the world with the man I love has made me the happiest I have ever been.
I love my life 💜