An Anniversary & a Break Up

We started our nomadic life on November 4th 2014 and these past two years have given us both freedom and challenges.  Epiphanies and uncomfortable realizations.  I think it is the reaction to our vehicle that has surprised us the most.  We cannot put a dollar amount on what it is worth to have people honk and give us the thumbs up, or yell out their car windows “that is the coolest thing I have ever seen!”  Our truck is a conversation starter, it makes it so much easier to meet people.  And the people we have met have been nothing but kind, friendly, helpful and generous.

We get asked a lot what is the hardest part of living this way and initially I thought it was going to be the tiny space but that has been relatively easy.    Although, those little things that used to only slightly annoy me in a big house, get amplified in a tiny space.  No, the biggest challenge has been both of us being retired and spending 24-7 together.  I underestimated how much easier it was to be with someone when you both work and only spend about four hours a day together.  I now have a greater understanding of why some couples as they age start to take separate vacations and even sleep in separate bedrooms, everybody needs their personal space.  I believe marrying for life is perfectly natural and wonderful but spending 24 hours a day together, seven days a week?  NOT natural.  So, I do see this kind of lifestyle as a short term phase of our life.  We look forward to having a home again and being part of a community and most importantly spending time with the people we love.  I have come to realize just how important my relationships are to me.  We will always travel but at some point in the not too distant future we also want a home to come back to, one that does not have wheels!

Now for the Break Up, in October I entered the Civic Hospital in Ottawa to end a very toxic relationship with my Uterus.  Since the age of 14 my Uterus has given me nothing but problems starting with Endometriosis (very painful periods) and in the last two years Fibroids “in the worst possible place in your uterus” according to my Gynecologist.  I have almost fully recovered and I cannot express the freedom I have knowing that I will never menstruate again, think about this I never have to spend money on ‘feminine products” and the environmentally conscious part of me is jumping up and down for joy not having to consume all those”feminine products.”

In addition to all those benefits my Gyno informed me after the surgery that my uterus was 10x the normal size thanks to those Fibriods, 10x!!!  Instead of 40 grams it weighed 400, that is almost half a kilogram and that was after being on a drug for three months which had shrunk the Fiboids and my uterus.  My Gyno also told me that I will physically feel the difference of not having my uterus, maybe I can finally have that flat stomach I have always dreamt of but never been able to achieve!

 

A Tale of Two Companies

Vasque vs Ahnu: a Customer Service Story.

Joe and I left for Canada’s East Coast in May of 2015.  We had just purchased a new pair of Vasque hiking boots for Joe and within one month of leaving Ottawa and doing only a handful of hikes Joe noticed that the sole and mid sole had started to separate.  Once our pace had slowed and we had good wifi Joe fired off an email with photos of the boot and receipt of purchase.  Vasque replied quickly saying they would replace the boots free of charge.  A few more emails were sent to sort out the logistics of where to send them, with our nomadic lifestyle we told them to send them home to Ottawa and meanwhile Joe would keep using the pair he had and repair the sole as best he could.

On the other hand I had a pair of Ahnu hiking shoes that I wore regularly and within one year the seam came apart at my big toe and there was a hole in the material rendering them no longer waterproof.  I was disappointed needless to say because I used to put a lot of wear and tear on my running shoes and I had never had a pair of shoes start to fall apart so quickly.  I contacted Ahnu in early September 2016 with an email including a photo of the problem.  I did not have the receipt with me but I knew I had it in Ottawa.  Ahnu replied quickly asking me to fill out a form describing the shoes and the problem (in my initial email I had already described the issue with a photo).  Within one week Ahnu sent another email saying my case was being reviewed.  Five weeks pass and I finally send an email asking on progress of my case, Ahnu responds by explaining that since I did not have the receipt they would date the purchase at time of manufacture which put the shoes outside of their one year warranty.  We were back in Ottawa by now and I found the receipt, which confirmed that the shoes were still within the one year warranty so I sent an email with a photo of the receipt.  Ahnu responds by asking me to fill out the same form I filled in back in September, so I do and request my preferred color choice for a replacement pair of shoes.  I will end this quickly now but several more emails were sent back and forth, keep in mind this is now about replacing shoes within their warranty period.  They asked me for a US mailing address ?!  I live in Canada and I bought the shoes in Canada, ship them to Canada!  Then they were going to send me the wrong color, which I had specified in TWO previous emails and finally when the shoes arrived on Nov 17th, I had to pay import fees because THEY DID NOT SPECIFY ON THE PACKAGE THAT IT WAS A WARRANTY REPLACEMENT, luckily UPS came through and refunded most of the fee.  Why did I have to jump through so many hoops to replace a pair of shoes that started to fall apart within one year AND were still under warranty?!  No matter how much I like a company’s product, if their customer service is bad I will not support that company, PERIOD.  Case in point, I needed to buy a new pair of hiking boots…I bought Vasque even though six months ago I was planning on buying a pair from Ahnu.

Alberta-Sept 2016

Joe did a lot of driving to get us from Fairbanks to Hyder.  After five days of driving we were both really looking forward to being parked in Hyder and taking a few days to watch the bears.  Sadly we only saw two but it was interesting to see how much the fish had changed since our first visit.  In July we saw lots of Chum but in September the Chum were pretty much all dead and there were now plenty of Pinks.

After brief stops in Dawson City and Whitehorse we arrived in Drumheller, Alberta on Sept 8th.  Joe and I are big Dinosaur buffs so the Royal Tyrrell Museum was a “must see” for us and we were not disappointed.  From there we drove to Dinosaur Provincial Park where we did a guided tour into the park to see and touch dinosaur fossils.  A M A Z I N G.  Once you get your “eyes in” you can see the fossils all around you, it is quite remarkable.

Touching a dinosaur fossil

As we were making our back to Ottawa we decided  to cross the border and drive along the southern shore of Lake Superior through Wisconsin and Minnesota.  In Wisconsin we stopped at the North American Bear Center where they keep several black bears.  Joe was keen to take more photos but we were disappointed with the enclosures especially when we compare them to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  However, the exhibit hall was fantastic!!!  We regretted not getting their sooner because we easily could have spent all day there learning about bears.  If you want to learn more about bears, all species of bears, this is the place to visit, I have yet to see a better exhibit on animal behaviour.

We then spent two beautiful sunny days in the charming town of Bayfield where we did a boat tour of the Apostle Islands . Joe did some marathon driving and just three days later we arrived in Ottawa just in time to enjoy the spectacular colors of Fall.

Please click here to view our September Flickr album.