Our Story
We're Anthony and Nicole, former suburban homeowners who traded in our comfortable lives for the extraordinary. Ever since we began dating in 2012, adventures called to us. We took our first road trip six weeks after meeting, driving from Massachusetts up to Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario. After that, we went full-speed ahead with our road trips as well as our relationship, even opting to have a destination wedding in one of our favorite places, the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Our road trips have taken us on adventures small and large. We have covered New England from Acadia National Park to Southern CT and everywhere in between. We once rented a Camaro convertible and drove up and across Florida. We have traveled up and down both US coasts. We have even had once-in-a-lifetime foreign road trips in St. Maarten and Iceland!
We blogged our East and West Coast Road Trips as a way to document our travels for our friends and family. Later, we released the posts to the public, which you can find the archives of here on this website. In spring of 2017, we took a trip from Massachusetts to Key West and back, as a belated 30th birthday celebration for Anthony. Then in summer of 2018, it was time for Nicole's belated 30th birthday trip. We flew from Boston to San Diego, rented a car, and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway (making our way inland a few times too), up to Seattle, before flying back home.
Something special happens on road trips that always keeps us planning more. First off, you can see so much that you miss when flying to your destination. We have had some of our best experiences spontaneously pulling off the side of the road, being able to see wildlife, quirky rest stops, off-the-beaten-path locales, and more. Second, they say before you marry someone, take a road trip with them. Either you'll grow closer, or you'll end up biting each other's heads off. Thankfully, our road trips result in the former. Lastly, road trips allow the perfect balance of planning and flexibility. Both of us have science backgrounds, and so we're not very enthusiastic about flying by the seat of our pants...but we do like experimenting! So, road trips allow us to plan our important stops and stays, but give us the freedom to explore new places, too.
In 2020, we had big plans to road trip some more. On the agenda was a voyage up to Montreal and Quebec City, and later in the year, our biggest road trip to date, affectionately called the Canyon Road Trip, which would bring us from the Yellowstone region, down through the canyons of Utah and Arizona, and eventually into New Mexico and Texas. You can guess where those trip plans went! *Flushes toilet*
From ennui to on wheels!
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc not just on our travel plans, but also on our health and wellbeing. Our long months at home got us thinking hard about what we want out of life: our experiences, our traditions, our marriage, and our growth as human beings. We found ourselves reminiscing about the good old days. The most salient memories had us outdoors, exploring, being adventurous, and living simply. We took a hard look at our house and realized that it wasn't fitting our lives anymore. The main selling point was its proximity to the highway and Boston, but now, neither of us was commuting into the city. We also became hypersensitive to the sheer amount of noise, traffic, and intensity of living in a town so close to a major metropolitan area. Once proud urban dwellers, we found ourselves in need of a change. We wanted to enjoy a balance of activity and serenity. We wanted to travel without needing to leave our pets. We wanted to be present during those travels, without huge piles of work hanging over our heads when we got home. And most of all, we wanted to live life to the fullest, diving into new adventures that would help us grow.
After months of soul-searching and researching, we finally chose to take the biggest leap of faith. We bought an RV, sold our home and most of our belongings, and hit the road. We're documenting our experiences right here on this website. Follow along on our adventures going from ennui to on wheels!
