Live Lightly Tour

When we were in Milwaukee, we met Katie Wied…who encouraged us to stop in Brattleboro, VT. She had attended the School for International Training and is now interning in Milwaukee at Alterra Coffee. As we got closer to Vermont, she put us in touch with the right people, and we landed on the SIT campus for the afternoon. They have just started a new environmental group on campus, and Megan (our contact there) is leading that group.

It was dreary and raining the entire day, but the students we met were like a little ray of sunshine! There are students from more than 35 countries at SIT…and we had fun talking with people from all over the world. We’re spreading the love internationally! Woo! The school is small (around 200-300 students)…but the programs are amazing (check out their masters program in sustainable development and another in socially responsible management). The campus sits on 200 acres of beautiful Vermont countryside. If you’re looking for a great grad school…definitely check them out.

Here is their mission statement:

The mission of the School for International Training is to prepare students to be interculturally effective leaders, professionals, and citizens. In so doing, SIT fosters a worldwide network of individuals and organizations committed to responsible global citizenship. SIT fulfills this mission with field-based academic study abroad programs for undergraduates and degree and certificate programs for graduates and professionals.

Thanks to all of you that stopped to see us at SIT…keep livin’ lightly!

Edited to add: Later on that evening, I went into town to find a wi-fi connection and ran into Megan at the Twilight Tea Lounge. We sat and sipped tea while I blogged and she wrote a paper. She has beautiful dreads…she’s had them for 6 years. It was fun that our paths crossed again!

Photo album here.

We were so excited to be able to meet up with some fellow travelers in upstate New York! We have watched Jim and Rene’s journey for quite awhile and when we discovered our paths would cross in Albany, we jumped at the chance to meet them! They came over this morning and we gave them the grand tour of the RV. After that, we headed out for coffee and we had so much fun talking about full-time RV’ing, veggie oil and biodiesel, and where this journey of life has taken each of us. Jim and Rene sold their business in California and are taking a year off to travel and discover the best community to start a new business in! They also have a dog named Jerry, who is a “tri-pawd” (a dog with only 3 legs!). He’s super friendly and even has his own website! Bella loved walking him around on the leash and talking to him. Safe travels Jim and Rene!

Photo album here.

As we headed up the hills outside of Ithaca, the RV was chugging along at 35 mph…then barely 30…chug chug chug…those hills in New York are HUGE! Wow. Can you tell we started in Iowa? RV’s like roads that are really flat.

The rained had stopped and it was a gorgeous day. We followed a windy gravel road a couple miles outside of town…past an organic farm…and a few people walking. We came to a stop at the EcoVillage at Ithaca. This was a stop I was particularly looking forward to…because I have done so much research on intentional communities, co-housing groups, and things of that sort. When we arrived, we met Courtney and her partner Adam…and they directed us where to park. We chatted with them for quite awhile, and then we were on our own to talk with curious onlookers. It was a quiet day and we enjoyed the view from where we were parked. We could see for miles and miles! Bella enjoyed riding her bike around their basketball court which was located right behind our RV.

While we were there, Bella and I ventured around the property a bit. It’s a beautiful setting…with homes so close together, and a gravel walking path connecting the different neighborhoods and common buildings. The view from the homes is indescribable…so many colors and textures woven into the scene. The homes are all very unique and charming…most with gardens out front or in back. There was laundry hanging to dry, kittens running around, people out reading books, children chasing. We hung out at the central playground area for quite awhile and Bella got her fix of kids for the day. It was wonderful to see such a diverse, eco-minded community thriving and also teaching their children to live lightly on the earth. What a dramatic change from some neighborhoods I’ve seen where people rarely come outside to meet the neighbors! They have meals together several nights a week…and of course, there is much more going on there. Be sure to check out their website for more information!

Photo album here.

It poured down rain nearly the entire way to Ithaca…but even with the thunder, lightning, and haze, the drive was more beautiful than anything on our trip so far! Wow. As we neared the outskirts of the city…we started our descent, past a stunning lake. Ithaca lies in a valley, surrounded by beautiful forests of trees changing colors…I felt like we were back in Bozeman, but with trees instead of mountains!

We pulled into WalMart to park for the night, unhooked the car, and headed into town with our laundry in tow. We found a nice, quiet little laundromat and quickly went to work. Before too long, more kids came in, and Bella made friends with them immediately. There was an adorable little girl her same age and they had fun running in circles and playing “school”.

The next morning, we headed way up the hill to Cornell University to look around. What an amazing campus with incredible views of the the city! After that, we went down to “The Commons”…which is Ithaca’s downtown pedestrian mall. There are all kinds of fun shops and restaurants…very similar to Pearl Street in Boulder, CO (but smaller). As we tried to find a parking spot…we realized that everything was completely blocked off and there were police everywhere…on every corner and everywhere in between. We thought maybe something really bad had happened! It turns out that the Dalai Lama was in town for three days giving talks…and that was his security detail. Whew!

We stopped in at the Mate Factor and had the most delicious belgian waffle…ooooh so yummy. The cafe was very enchanting…carved trees for beams and railings…hand drawn menu boards, etc. We finished up, walked around a bit more and then checked out the Greenstar Cooperative Market…well known for their number of local products they stock. It was lovely.

Then it was back to the RV…we were due to be at The EcoVillage at 1:00 p.m. for an afternoon demo. So off we went…

Photo album here.

We pulled into Rochester around 7:30 p.m., not really knowing where we were going to park that night (a very common thing for us!). We ended up going on a wild goose chase from one place to the next for an hour and a half. We finally decided to just go straight to the Abundance Food Coop and stay there overnight…we had to be there in the morning for a demo anyway.

Luckily, it was in a semi-decent neighborhood (or at least it looked that way). I only woke up once to screaming, swearing people outside my window…and once when the garbage truck arrived about 10 feet from my pillow at 5am…beep….beep…beep. Ahhhhh….the joys of living in an RV.

We set up in their parking lot, met our contact, Amy…and immediately had people start showing up for tours and asking questions. We remained busy throughout our demo…talking to a variety of people who were interested in eco-living and alternative fuels. I’m always amazed at how diverse our crowds are…from students to retirees. Transportation issues affect all of us…whether you consider yourself “green” or not!

The coop provided us with a delicious lunch and snacks for the road…and we headed off to Canandaigua and Geneva, NY to see the Finger Lakes.

We packed up and left The Pinery…taking back roads all the way back to the U.S./Canadian border. As we came into Niagara Falls on the Canadian side, we were so overwhelmed by the HUGE crowds of people there for the holiday (Canadian Thanksgiving) and the weekend…that we missed our turn and unknowingly headed into the biggest tourist trap ever. There was absolutely no where to turn around, so we crept our way through the traffic and crowds to a turn around point, and headed back. Along the way, we had the most breathtaking view of the waterfalls across on the U.S. side. Holy Moly. If you’re never experienced it, there is just no way to describe the beauty! I was enthralled. It was fun to people watch as we drove along…I think there must have been people from every part of the world there that day. Such diversity and energy…wonderful.

Getting back into the U.S. was unbelievably easy compared to our exit. The official asked us where were were born, looked at our I.D. and opened the gate. Whew!! We wanted to try to park the RV there at the Falls, but couldn’t find a spot anywhere. After going around in circles for awhile, we ended up heading into town and parked it at a grocery store…unhooked the car, and headed back to the Falls right at sunset.

I had no idea that Niagara Falls attracted to many people from all over the world. I knew it would be big and beautiful, but it was so much more. Seeing a “wonder of the world”…and watching so many people stand in awe of God’s creation (whether they acknowledge Him or not)…was so awesome.

Make it a point in your lifetime to get to Niagara Falls…you won’t be sorry!

Photo album here.

After leaving Ann Arbor, we had a few days before we needed to be in Rochester…so we headed through Detroit and into Canada. As you may expect, getting a huge RV across the border was a little time consuming. After we made it through the HUGE line…they wanted to search the RV and asked us a million questions. They didn’t seem to understand why Matt’s “occupation” was “driver of the RV”. Or why we didn’t really have an “end” destination. But, we told them what they wanted to hear and they let us into their beloved country. We were in Canada baby! Wooooo!

On the recommendation of Jeff and Kristin, we stayed at The Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend, Ontario. This was a HUGE park…6,330 acres. With over 1,000 campsites, a restaurant (yes, we got grease!), a rare Oak Savanna ecosystem, freshwater coastal dunes, nature centers, trails, huge beaches, and more…you could never run out of things to do. They are even open in the winter and have yurt camping as well.

We pulled in and got settled. The campsites were semi-private…but definitely not private enough to keep gawkers from making comments on our glowing blue spaceship. We decided a trip to the beach was in order. After driving along dark, tree-lined roads for what seemed like forever…we came to a bright open clearing and TA DA!!! There it was. Lake Huron. Huge. Breath-taking. Wow. We walked down some lovely wooden steps, crossed the super soft sand and headed for the water. Bella and Matt entertained each other making sand castles and I started on a new book. We met a lovely homeschooling family from near Toronto…Bella played with their kids while the adults talked about the unseasonably warm weather, the Canadian Thanksgiving (that weekend), and veggie oil.

Back at the campsite later, we built a roaring campfire and made s’mores together. We called and talked with each of our families and shared about our day. It was truly relaxing…and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. It was a bit more costly than “camping” in a parking lot like we normally do in between stops, but definitely worth it. Thank you Canada!

Photo album here.

Six years ago, I discovered a little gem on the internet called Mothering. It was the beginning of my entire journey towards all things natural, granola, hippy, and the sort. So when fellow Mothering Dot Commune mama, Jenn, invited us to her house for a potluck…we just HAD to go!

We arrived at Jenn and Lon’s beautiful home in Ypsilanti and met three other MDC families who live in the area. When Jenn was introducing me to one mama in particular…Claire…I looked at her and thought “wow…she looks really familiar!” After she told me her screen name, I knew exactly who she was because I had read MANY of her posts on Mothering years ago and have never laughed so hard in my life. She’s a funny lady and we had a fun time talking.

Jenn is equally amazing…having birthed twin boys naturally (and carrying them over 40 weeks), each weighing in at nearly 9 lbs a PIECE!! Wow. She broke all kinds of records at that hospital! She also has a daughter who is Bella’s age…they had a really fun time playing together. Her home is welcoming, bright and cheery…and so “kid-centered”. There were A LOT of kids there. The adults were definitely out-numbered.

The potluck offerings were out of this world…I just couldn’t get enough of a certain butternut squash, cream cheese, burrito concoction. I’m still dreaming of it. We gave tours of the RV…the mamas hung out inside with the kiddos playing “doctor” on the bed, while the daddies learned more about veggie oil.

It was a really fun night of fellowship and connections…once again, the internet proved to be an amazing tool for bringing together like-minded people!

Photo album here.

We had been warned by many people about the parking in Ann Arbor…it’s non-existent. Everyone walks, bikes, or rides the bus…which is GREAT! However, it makes it very hard to park a 32 foot RV on a busy day in the middle of the Farmer’s Market rush. Luckily…Kevin at People’s Food Coop knew what he was doing, and he masterfully had enough spots blocked off with employee cars and we stealthily replaced them with the RV and then plugged meters. Whew! It was definitely one of the more harrowing parking episodes on the tour so far

The People’s Food Coop is a busy place…especially over the lunch hour. Along with a fancy little fair trade coffee bar, they also have a hot bar and salad bar…delicious eats abound! Homemade soups, rice and beans, sloppy joe tempeh, steamed kale….the list could go on and on. It was great.

We had the RV open for tours…and talked with an interesting mixture of people who were on their way back to work, out with kids, or just in town as tourists. We even met another greaser with a Golden Fuel Systems setup…awwwww just like family

Photo album here.

Ann Arbor almost got postponed due to some engine quirkiness in Grand Rapids…but at the last minute, we got the blue beast roaring back down the road towards the home of Jeff and Kristin. We pulled in and parked in their perfectly smooth and flat driveway…it’s like it was made for our RV After all was settled, we decided to head downtown to get pizza…but first, we made a quick stop at Camping World. What could be more fun than Camping World?! It’s crazy the things you can get excited about when you live in an RV. The little rubber flowers that go in between your bowls in the cupboard so they don’t jingle when you drive nearly sent me into a tizzy.

After stocking up on some necessities, we arrived at Silvio’s Organic Pizza near the University of Michigan campus. Now this was some pizza! It was totally fresh and delicious…everything was made right there in the store. We had fun walking around and seeing the sights…including an alley completely full of graffiti art, the first ever Borders bookstore, and lots of college students busily bustling about. Upon arriving back at their house, we stayed up way too late chatting playing with Ellie, the dog. Both Jeff and Kristin are photographers as well…so we had fun sharing our passion for Flickr and our lens obsessions.

Kristin stayed home in the morning from work…and made us some delicious scones and Vietnamese coffee. Speaking of Vietnam…Jeff and Kristin are in the final stages of adopting a baby girl from there. They are going to make awesome parents and we cannot WAIT to hear about her arrival! Kristin has set up the cutest nursery for her…it was even featured on Apartment Therapy. I could have just stayed in there all day looking at her sweet slings, softer than soft cloth diapers, and that amazing slipcover on the IKEA chair. I just still can’t get over it.

We had several things happen in Ann Arbor that can only be described as “God sightings”…where we saw God’s hand at work in the very details of our daily lives. The first was Bella’s bike.

Kristin and I had been randomly talking about bikes and how Bella didn’t have one, but wanted one…etc. I had told her that we were having trouble finding a good used one that was her size. The next day, she told us about one that she had found on Craigslist in Ann Arbor…it was the perfect size, hardly used, and only $20. We couldn’t believe it! Matt went the next morning and picked it up…and we surprised Bella with it. She was (and still is) sooooo excited and rode it every minute she could while we were there.

The other cool thing was that I had given Kristin a little mini quilt pattern/set that I had purchased but never got around to making…and I thought it would be perfect for their daughter. It turns out that Kristin had wanted that EXACT same set, but had decided not to get it at the last minute. How crazy!? We were both so encouraged to watch God use us to bless each other!

On the last night we were there, we went back down to the University of Michigan campus and walked around. We talked with some interesting folks and had pizza with about 50 sorority girls. It’s so fun to be “on campus”…I love the energy.

Other things we did with Jeff and Kristin:
*They introduced us to the phenomenon that is….The Office. We don’t really ever watch TV, so we hadn’t seen it. That is some funny stuff.
*We had a picnic in the park…and Bella got to play with other kids with bikes. Wooooo Bella!
*Met several of their friends…and their kids. Good times.
*Kristin and I went thrifting…and found big bargains. We also went out for coffee….yum.

Overall…we had a great time and it was so hard to leave!! As I went back through the photos I took…I had such sadness because we had so much fun and we miss them already. It’s amazing how connected you can become and how much fun you can have in a short time…with people you just met.

On a cool & foggy Michigan morning, we pulled away from their home and headed East…but we will never forget their warm hospitality and their contagious smiles. We’ll be back someday!

Photo album here.
Kristin’s photo album of our visit here.