First Things First

We don’t want the announcement to get eclipsed (see what I did there?) so let’s start with the reveal. No, we didn’t get a dog. Sorry to disappoint. Our announcement is that Tom’s starting e-learning development work again on a contract basis. We’re extremely excited about this because it’s the first big step in making this new lifestyle sustainable for the longer-term.

So what does this mean for the blog? Well, I’m going to take over more of the blogging fun since Tom’s going to be busy bringing home the bacon. Sorry guys, looks like you’re going to be seeing a lot more bad puns;) Not to worry though, you won’t be completely without Tom’s witty antidotes! He’ll still write posts periodically. In fact we have an even more exciting announcement…we’re starting our first blog series—The Work-Vanlife Balance!

Tom will be writing this series based on his experiences working from the road. This is new territory for us—and in general a non-tradition office set-up—so we want to share this journey with our readers. We’ll be letting you know about the challenges and solutions (hopefully more of the later) as we explore this whole digital nomad thing. We hope to shed some light on this alternative work style.

Eclipse

Okay enough about work. Let’s talk about the incredible recent show that nature put on for us, shall we? The recent solar eclipse was the most stunning natural phenomenon either of us has yet to see! We were fortunate enough to watch the eclipse from the path of totality. After spending a week in Portland, we headed to the Prineville area where a friend was hosting an eclipse party. We want to take a moment to thank all of our Oregon friends and family! We’re so grateful to all of you for sharing your homes, your time, your food, your cooking, your mixology skills, and your laundry rooms with us. 🙂

If you were in the path of totality, you know what I’m talking about, but it was like nothing else ever. Leading up to 100%, the temperature started to drop dramatically and quickly. The wind picked up for awhile and it was cold even though the sun was glistening down brighter than ever. Then the sky opposite the sun started to darken to a deeper blue. Shadows elongated in a way that made no sense with the position of the sun. Shortly before totality all the animals in the area went eerily quiet. There was no traffic. At least not in central OR (I’m sure there was traffic in Portland, there’s always traffic in Portland). The only sounds we heard were the repeated hoots of an owl and ourselves saying “wow”, “wow”, “wow” over and over.

When totality hit, the sky went dark enough that stars came out in droves. The wind suddenly died and the air seemed both still and charged with electric current at the same time. It held an energy that isn’t like anything I’ve ever experienced. I know I was covered in goosebumps and I’m pretty sure everyone else was too. The 1 minute, 7 seconds of totality went by in the blink of an eye, yet I remember looking around and thinking, what if the sky was always like this? I wonder if there are planets with a sun that is constantly eclipsed? So yes, I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy books lately.

Needless to say I think we had a slight case of the eclipse blues afterward. When you witness something so extraordinary, the next day seems a bit dull. How do you follow that? Well, we figure that volcanoes are good next move so we’re making our way down toward Northern California to one of the few places in the world that has all four types of volcanoes. That story coming up next on the blog.

Who watched the eclipse? Where did you watch it from? And what was your experience there? We’re so curious to hear everyone’s eclipse stories!

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