Still Counting
January 1, 2020 marks day 1,250 of having no permanent residence, and yes, we still love it! We started 2019 in Australia, cruised around New Zealand then spent 2 weeks in BC before heading to California, Nevada and an epic trip to Mexico. We started our first long-stay with Easter in Kelowna, followed by three months in North Vancouver, a terrific wedding in Kamloops and then it was back in the car to Winnipeg and South to North and South Carolina before spending the last 40 days of the year in Sandestin, Florida at the village of Baytowne Wharf.
2019 Lesson #1
We learned in 2019 that for us to continue a life of location independent living a few stays of 40 days throughout the year gives us time to settle in, complete some big work projects, get some exercise, eat some home-cooking and recharge for the next adventure. We had stays of 30+ days three times in 2019 – Kelowna, North Vancouver and Sandestin. We found our sweet spot at 40 days, 30 is not quite enough and at more than 40 routines and bad habits start to take over. So 40 it is!
2019 Lesson # 2
Less is absolutely more! Both the scariest and most comforting moment of 2019 was the day we got rid of everything in our storage space. The last truck load went to Union Gospel Mission including our bed, couch and TV’s, a few boxes of keepsakes (yes we still have a few of those) were dropped off in Winnipeg and our bikes and golf clubs found homes in the storage lockers of friends. Thanks Everyone! We now only have what is in our SUV, which gets to be less and less every time we unpack and re-pack. We would love to impart the value of less stuff to everyone reading this. Minimalism is not sacrificing, it actually means less stress and more time for just living. #freedom
Onward to 2020
We have a lot of travels planned in the first three months of 2020 to some new to us places and some favorites as we starting heading West in February. April will bring us back into Canada for client visits all the way from Saskatchewan to BC. We’ve booked another 40 days in Kelowna for spring, this time downtown instead of on the lake. Summer is still TBA, but likely the Lower Mainland somewhere. We have started the planning for a big fall trip to Europe including some beer and wine drinking in Germany. #oktoberfest
Thank You Apple and Air Travel
People ask us if we miss seeing our family and friends, and yes at times we do, but technology still keep us in touch. We have spent hours in people’s living rooms opening presents and drinking cocktails thanks to Facetime. We have plans to meet our closest friends and families in various locations over the next 4 months in Canada and the US – for some they will travel to us and for others we will travel to them. Either way, the few days spent together will be awesome! The world is not really that big.
Key Counts
With more long stays we only added about 30 new keys to the collection in 2019. Just enough to keep our Marriott status. 😉
Who knows what 2021 will bring but for now it’s travel as usual.
We, Jeff and Tara Ciecko of CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other an Industry Blog where we comment on general business and internet marketing best practices, sales strategies and give golf industry related opinions. We have owned CK Golf for 11 years and provide business services to the golf and other industries. As of July 31, 2016 our life and our business became ‘location independent’. Our 19th Hole Blog is about the places we visit and the things we do. If you have any questions or comments, or happen to be in the same location as us please reach out and contact us anytime.
Travel is not something you are good at, it’s something you do, like breathing. ~ Gayle Foreman
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