The odyssey in the Odyssey: Domestic Adventures on Paramount Court

“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” --Frederick Buechner

Although we are nearly six weeks in to our trip, it's only now that I feel like we are really traveling, with no place to call home but our beloved Desy. Something surprising happened in our first month of the trip--I started to feel like the Vanberg home was our home. It was incredible how instantly we fell into sync with Leah (my sister) and Ben's routines, habits, inside jokes and found our place in their lives. And of course there's the little mister, Isaac Michael. That little guy will steal your heart in two seconds flat and make you wonder how you ever lived a day without seeing him. (sigh) It's safe to say we miss the Vanbergs.

The little mister, Isaac.

Truth be told, we may not even be on this trip if not for the generosity of my sister and her family. When Dave and I were contemplating giving up our jobs, apartment, normal lives for a bit, we had to consider a safety net. What if we ran out of money? Got injured? Couldn't find jobs? Of course none of our family members would let us become destitute, but we needed to know that we'd have a real, not theoretical, place to go. As I talked with Leah about this little dream we had of taking a break from the grind for a while and traveling, she immediately promised (after a short consultation with Ben) that we would have a place to stay in the Vanberg home if we needed it. Hopefully she hasn't regretted that promise, because we took her up on it! We felt most comfortable having a home base somehwere, as we've discussed, while Dave studied and waited to take his boards at the end of June. Living out of our van didn't seem like the best location for studying for the most important exam of Dave's adult life. Since our lease was up at the end of May and we didn't really want to wait around La Crosse for our travels to begin, Colorado seemed like a great choice.

I was surprised how quickly our month with the Vanbergs went by and even more surprised at how much I missed them when we left for each of our mini-trips around Colorado. On our first trip to Aspen, I found myself becoming emotional in the car on our way up the mountain, almost wishing that we had just decided to stay in Louisville with Ben, Leah and Isaac. (Did I mention this was going to be a sappy blog post?) "Home" sickness aside, we went on each of our Colorado excursions and had a blast. We've written blog posts about each of those mountain adventures, so today we'd like to dedicate this blog entry to our domestic adventures on Paramount Court. Leah, Ben and Isaac, we adore you guys and can't wait until we see you again! We had so much fun at movie night in the park, our sweet cow outing, nerdy board game nights, and grilling out. You made it very hard to leave the cozy home you welcomed us into!

Mr. Higgins

Neighborhood Streaker

Strider love.

Isaac was OBSESSED with the van and wanted to hang out in there all the time. I think he loves the Desy more than we do!

We went on some lovely hikes near Shanahan Ridge, near Leah and Ben's old neighborhood. One thing I love about Boulder is the accessibility to the outdoors right within the city.