Ocala Life is Slower Than We Are Used To...

No offense Ocala, but I can see why some call you Slocala. There really isn't a ton to do here. While you have beautiful horse farms and lots of acreage, there really isn't much to do besides going out to eat, seeing a movie, swimming... 

Keith and I have been trying to stay busy these last few days while getting a lot of errands checked off our list. Get trailer registered, check. Get car registered, almost checked. Oil change, check. Car inspected, check. Get hair done, check. Spend time with Mom, check. Get out of the house and move, check. Watching a puppy, check.

We still have several items on the list not completed and we are hoping to get a few more checked off today before we head to Ft.Myers to see friends.

I have been an avid Groupon user these last few days trying to find a few fun things for us to do next week and not spend much money. Right now we have a winery visit, golfing and massage scheduled. 

Yesterday, we went to the RV show here in Ocala that runs through the weekend. Being that we went during the week and on the first day it was just $5. For 3 hours we looked at tons of RV's trying to see if we could finding something that would work better for our little family since our current RV is a wee bit too small for all of us. We are actually thinking of leaving the dogs in Ocala for the 2 month journey so they won't be uncomfortable/we won't be uncomfortable. I made a video... of course.

So yeah, Ocala is a bit more on the slow pace side and more errand driven but only a few more days till we hit the road again and head to Myrtle Beach. Adventure awaits!!

The Maiden Voyage

Making Our Travel Trailer Cozy is My Jam

Here’s how I spent my Valentine’s Day! ❤️

Lights, Camera, Action - Our Opportunity to be TV Stars!

We recently had the pleasure of being a part of a pilot for a new potential expat show that is being pitched to the networks. They came to our home and filmed us answering questions and talking about our move to Mexico. We also had the opportunity to check out a local cenote we hadn't been to before where they filmed us jumping off the rocks and swimming. The crew was so much fun to meet and work with. We can't wait to see the final result and we hope the show gets picked up!

We had no idea when we moved down here that we'd have the chance to be on TV talking about this new life of ours. Funny thing is, a few weeks later, we were picked to be on a popular TV show that has to do with moving abroad. Not sure how much we can really say about that right now but we are really excited for this opportunity - more info to come!

We are trying to post videos of our adventures so our family and friends can see what we've been up to. Check out our YouTube Channel, we try and update it often.

Our Scuba Obsession!

Recently, I received my scuba certification and let me tell you it was the best, most exciting thing I've ever done. The class took about 2-4 hours for 4-5 days (not including the homework), but it was well worth it. Tarah has been certified for a long time, but it's been several years since she's gone diving. This has given us an opportunity to share a wonderful experience we both enjoy. Attached are a couple videos documenting our experience. Thank you Rob and Kris King for your drone video.

https://youtu.be/t-6PjfuBHHo
https://youtu.be/fNGZtcwYzoI

We Officially Moved to Mexico

Sorry, we aren't all that great at updating this page... We are trying..

We officially made the move to Mexico on November 5th and were there for 5 weeks working on our visas, getting furniture, making friends, exploring and just enjoying our time there.

We managed to get our place almost fully furnished thanks to some great sales, especially Buen Fin. We hired a company to screen in our main deck so we can turn that into our "dining area" and free up some space in our condo. We comissioned a few items for the condo, like more cabinets, wine rack, shelving and a bar to be built but those items aren't completed yet. Keith was most excited to furnish our top deck, just in time for our first pizza party with 20 of our neighbors!! 

The people here have been amazing and we have met so many great friends - we feel very thankful to be doing this. To say we are in love with our new home is an understatement. 

At the end of the 5 weeks we had to fly back to the US where we spent the holidays with family, went on a cruise to the Caribbean (that Keith won last year) and are now preparing for another cruise to Fiji.

Currently we are still in FL, where it is ridiculously cold! We are very fortunate to have so many great travels ahead of us but we are very excited to finally get to cross Fiji off our travel list. It's funny really... We are heading to this amazing part of the world that we have both wanted to go to yet we are anxious to get back to Mexico. We miss it terribly!! It feels silly to complain but the reality is we are so in love with our new home that it makes all these other places pale in comparison... Nevertheless, we are thanful for the opportunities given to us and will go and enjoy ourselves.

Mexico, we miss you. We will see you at the end of January... Just in time for me to turn 41.

Our Roadtrip Across the US

Our roadtrip started September 9th from Seattle to FL last 32 days and was over 6500 miles. We visited 25 States.  Weleft Seattle on September 9th with all we could fit in our Hyundai Santa Fe along with our two dogs, Lionel and Chance.

I won't bore you with details of each stop but I will lay out where we went:

Seattle, WA - (drove through Idaho) - Montana - Wyoming - South Dakota (we drove by Mt. Rushmore) - (drove through Minnesota and Wisconsin (we stopped for cheese and a pink elephant!)) - Illinois (we went to see our friend Jessie and to see a Cubs game) - (drove through Indiana and stopped at our favorite candy company) - Ohio (we stayed here for 10 days with my folks - we went to a Reds game, drove to KY for a day, went to a beer festival and spent lots of time with the fam) - Pennsylvania (Stayed in Hershey and then stopped to see the Flight 93 Memorial) - Connecticut (Lunch with Keith's Coast Guard buddy, Bill, and then dinner at Mystic Pizza) - New Hampshire (stayed in Salem by accident, apparently there is more than one Salem in that area. Either way we still visited Salem, MA. We also made a day trip to Portland, Maine where we had the BEST lobster roll and oysters. On our way back to the hotel we spent a few hours in Kennebunkport. We spent one day in Boston as well where we went to a Red Sox game. One the way to RI, we drove through Cape Cod so I could see it.) - Rhode Island (We went to the Coast Guard base to look for the Willow, but it wasn't there... We had dinner at one of Keith's old hangouts when he lived there.) - New Jersey (We had breakfast with our friend Bonnie and lunch with Keith's Uncle, we drove through NY and saw Manhattan from a distance) - Pennsylvania (We stayed in Philly but had dinner with one of Keith's friends) - (drove through Maryland and Delaware)  - Virginia (We stayed in an airbnb in a cute house on the water and we visited with friends in the area) - Tennessee (we stayed here several days so I could show Keith where I grew up, my college, high school and my friends threw a BBQ for us) -  (drove through Gerogia, planned to stop in Savannah for a night but hurricane Irma was happening so we skipped it and went through) - Florida (our final stop in Ocala at my Mom's)

Cubs game with Jessie!

Red's game with my dad!

BBQ in Nashville with friends!

BB

18 Days & Counting...

It's insane, but we only have 18 days until we leave our home in WA and start this new adventure. 

We plan to start our U.S. Tour on the 9th and stop in atleast 21 states (over 5,000 miles) to see friends and family before the big move to Mexico on Dec 28th.

If you'd like to follow us on the tour, check out this link.

Stay tuned for updates - we plan to blog more so we will have a record of our adventure.

-Tarah & Keith

Funny How Life Works...

I found a draft post from many months ago talking about how we were planning to move abroad in 2 years... I had to post it as we decided to move much sooner than that. This whole blog started at my 40th birthday trip and life has changed since then...

Since my birthday, Keith and I have decided we don't want to live the life we were living anymore. We want more! In the time since my birthday we have decided to move to Mexico full time. We found a place to live, got our temperary visa's started and have started selling all of our belongings.

We sold our business, the boat, Keith's car, my house and are working on selling the house we live in. OfferUp has become a staple of our life as we have sold so many of our belongings. It's quite a process to sell your whole life... The weirdest and saddest thing is seeing all the hard work you have done to have all these nice things and then have strangers offer you $10 for those memories. At the end of the day, it's just stuff. It's rather liberating to get rid of your belongings and makes you look at things more as "do I need this". I'm finding the answer tends to be "no". ;)

Where We Are Going

Keith and I have been researching places to move since we met as retiring early has been a goal. Ecuador was high on the list until they had a huge earthquake and are still recovering. Mexico presented itself and we started researching areas. We stumbled upon an expat couple, Two Expats Living in Mexico, and we were hooked! They gave so much great info we had to go check out the area and see if it really was as great as they said. After my birthday trip we knew we wanted to be on the Caribbean so traveling south to Mexico to check out Akumal seemed like it may be a great fit.

Paul & Linda, of Two Expats, met with us when we arrived and introduced us to several other people while there - everyone was so great! We checked out the area, asked a lot of questions and then, like magic, found the perfect place for us to live. It was the best and craziest week ever and has been quite the adventure ever since. Not even 2 months has passed and we are only 3 months from moving out of Washington. When we set our minds to something, we don't mess around!

The Plan

We officially leave WA on Sept 30th, unless something crazy happens... We plan to drive my car with a small u-haul and our two dogs across the US through about 18 states. We are hoping to see Mt. Rushmore, Chicago, Cape Cod, Boston, Hershey factory tour, Mystic Pizza in CT, My family in OH, Many friends, and whatever else we find along the way.

I'll keep a log of our travels - mainly for us so we can look back years from now and re-live it all. We are both really excited for the drive!

Keep us in your prayers and thoughts - we have a ton of change coming our way!

Love,
Tarah & Keith

Turning 40 in the Caribbean

This year I turned the big 4-0. We decided awhile ago that we would take a trip for both of our birthdays as they are close to 6 months apart.  So, for my 40th we took a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Caribbean for 7 nights. We took a red eye and flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico and boarded the ship - it was NOT a short flight.

Our cruise plan for the week:

- San Juan, Puert Rico
- St. Croix, U.S.V.I.
- Philipsburgh, St. Maarten
- Roseau, Dominica
- Bridgetown, Barbados
- St. George's, Grenada
- Cruising
- San Juan, Puert Rico

I won't bore you with all the details as you really had to be there to experience it firsthand. We did enjoy an excursion in each port, except St. Croix. We opted to hire a cab driver and to just explore the island. He charged us $25 a person and drove us to see a beer drinking pig, the rain forest, the beach where Christopher Columbus first landed, where Captain Morgan rum is made (we opted to just hit up the gift shop as it's an hour long tour), had lunch at a local stop and then returned back to the port where we arrived. St.Croix was nice but not the best of the island - it's an island the US should put more money into as it could be a lovely destination but it felt more like a run down New Orleans ward.

St. Maarten was our favorite. We opted for a day out on the Golden Eagle catamaran where we snorkeled and drank rum punch for many hours - the crew was amazing.  It was Keith's first time snorkeling and it seems to have open up a love for him as he couldn't wait to go again. We checked out the French and the Dutch side of the island.  After arriving back to land we grabbed some burgers and beer and Keith found a local cigar shop and enjoyed a few hours of relaxing before having to board the ship.

Dominica was next on the agenda - we booked a river tubing adventure, which was a TON of fun. More rum punch was involved, along with hours of fun floating down a river with other tourists and our guides. We did stop at the Emerald Falls on the way up, which were beautiful! We would do it again!


In Barbados we did a 4x4 island safari and Harrison's cave expedition - seeing the island by 4x4 was fun but the cave wasn't as exciting as we had hoped. We had to ride in a tram so you aren't really getting to explore the cave as we had hoped. The highlight for me was holding a monkey... Barbados was beautiful - we would go back here to explore!

Grenada was the island we visited on the day I actually turn 40 - we opted to take another catamaran ride where we snorkeled an underwater sculpture park and then traveled to a small island where we ate local lobster and drank champagne while relaxing and chatting with other tourists. 

On our last day at sea we had a tour of the ships kitchens and had a delicious brunch from the 4 on-board restaurants. We went to an art auction, played bingo where we won another 7-9 day Caribbean cruise and then had a lovely dinner in the dining room with the staff we came to love.

That's the quick run down of our cruise - we can't wait till our next one in July to the Mediterranean and then again in Dec to the Caribbean. We do love cruising!!