#192 Nomad Diary. 22-28 June 2024. Porto de Galinhas, Brazil. Flight Recife to Brasilia. Staying with Son Jeremy, Andrea and Quinn. Nomad Notes: 15 Ways I've Changed in 4 Years of Being a Nomad.

Beach Shore Pond at Porto de Galinhas

A Common Brazillian Lunch. This One Has Grilled Chicken Sausage, Beans in the Next Picture, Fries, Rice, Manioc Crunchy Yellow, Cooked Turnip and Carrot. This One was Near Our Resort and Cost about $6.

Beans Served with Brazillian Lunch.

Walk Along Beach to Porto de Galinhas

Andrea and Jeremy Walking Along the Beach to Porto de Galinhas Near the Natural Pools.

Quinn Burying His Mom in the Sand

Decorative Wood Carving at the Armacao Resort

Jeremy's Family Walking Toward Porto de Galinhas

Beautiful Moon Over the Southern Atlantic Ocean

Quinn, Andrea and Jeremy with the Beautiful Moon and Ocean at Armacao Resort

Andrea and Quinn by the Ocean at Armacao Resort

Jeremy's Family at Armacao Resort

On the Phone with Alabama Grandson Owen and Our Son Eric.

Alabama Granddaughter Esther on Phone Call

Eating at Recife Airport Before Our Flight to Brasilia.

Saturday-Sunday. 22-23. At Armacao beach resort. Darrell and I tuned into an church in eastern time zone to listen to the lessons,sing worship songs,pray, and to take our communion together. 

Monday. 24. We had our final breakfast buffet at Armacao Resort. Quinn played in the sand again and also in the pool. We all packed up and checked out around 11:30. Jeremy drove to Recife. We had a restaurant on google maps we were headed for. When we arrived to the lunch place it was closed. Jeremy kept on driving on to the car rental place and turned in our car. The shuttle took us to the airport and we checked our bags before heading to the food court to eat. After a late lunch we got to our airplane and then went on to Brasilia. Once we arrive to Brasilia, we each got an Uber to take us to the apartment. We were all tired and glad to be able to rest and recover from our beach vacation! lol!

Brasilia, Brazil Zoo with Jeremy, Quinn and Andrea

Quinn's Bedtime Stories with His Mom

Learning to Break Tiles with Renaldo

My First Tile Project, a Key Holder, with Renaldo is Begun

Darrell Playing with Quinn

Andrea and Quinn at Their Playground

Quinn Next to the Koi Pond at the Artist Colony

View of the Highway in Brasilia, Brazil from Inside the Car

Tuesday. 25. I went grocery shopping with Jeremy today. We went to Sam’s club and to another big store. Darrell had started the online Bible class that we do weekly with our UK and US friends. I got back in time to listen to the discussion about how the Judges showed faith. Quinn has been really great to play often. He likes to play Candyland, ball, go to the playground and dig in the sand, and more. Everyday I read him a book and usually tell him a Bible story with online illustrations. He’s a very sweet 3 year old. 

Wednesday. 26. Darrell kept Quinn all morning long. He plays constantly with Quinn. There are cars and trains and cards and more! While Darrell is playing with Quinn, Andrea and I go to her weekly tile class. I do a beginner tile project of a house shaped key holder. I get the tiles broken and glued on. Andrea is working on her 3rd project. We worked there for about 3 hours including a coffee break at the adjacent cafe. 

Thursday. 27.

Friday. 28.

Nomad Notes.

Every travel experience changes and grows us in some way. We call our moving around nomad life our game. Along the way we have met other nomads who play their game their way. Each nomad is unique in their approach, in their budget, in their objectives. I want to think about some of our travels and what has changed for me and for us as a couple. Together we decided to downsize, retire and travel without owning a house or renting any storage units except for sometimes storing our truck. Between August 2020 and March 2022 we reduced what we owned to our truck, items that we can carry in our truck, electronic storage of our pictures and documents, and a fireproof safe with a few items at one of our son’s houses.

We are coming up on four years of playing our nomad game. Here’s some of how I’ve changed through these 4 years.

1. We have 3 grandchildren under the age of 4. Jeremy and Andrea have son Quinn born in September 2020 the same month we sold our house in Madison, Alabama.

Eric and Erin have son Owen born in September 2021, and daughter Esther born in August 2023. These grandchildren have pulled at my heart and kept me coming to see them regularly. I think about how often I can visit each one within a year. The years seem to go by quickly as these little ones are under 5 years old. The video phone calls make staying in touch easier, but it is hard to see each other and not be in-person. It is a supreme pleasure to visit and be available as retired grandparents through visits in their homes.

2. Darrell’s parents are 90 years old this year. They live with his sister in north Texas. Darrell calls his Mom every week and visits for about an hour. She manages her husband through his forgetfulness and ongoing aging needs. She has her own issues, but seems to be holding up through her challenges with a kind and grateful attitude. She enjoys living with her daughter and granddaughter who is still in the home too. We have visited 1-2 times a year for a week or more each time. While there we are able to do some of the folk’s doctor appointments and Darrell also chips in to help his sister with household repairs and needs. We enjoy family meals at home or out together. 

3. My Dad passed away in 2022 just before we left for England. Our visits to see him ended.

4. I worked in a business with my two sisters before stopping work in 2021. Since I don’t see my sisters at work anymore, I have made annual times to get with them and visit for a few days together. 

5. My communications with friends and family is usually through Whatsapp or FB IM. We use the wifi video calling for weekly calls to our grandchildren. I also call a couple of my friends using whatsapp video calling about once a month. 

6. We share a small travel computer while out of the US. When we downsized our office documents and photographs were all scanned into electronic storage. We use electronic communications in most things that used to be paper. We have a postal service in South Dakota where we get most of our mail now and then look online to see what we have gotten. We are South Dakota residents because it is one of the best nomad states for electronic connections, receiving mail, paying low taxes, licensing our truck, showing up once every 5 years, and remote voting.

7. We search for our living situations generally 3-6 months in advance of living there. We pay some of our rents upfront and sometimes we can make a downpayment with a free cancelation date closer to the reservation date. We mostly use airbnb.com and booking.com for our stays. Darrell keeps a profile on trustedhousesitters.com while checking for housesits in areas of our travel up to a year in advance.

8. We share one truck in the US. Admittedly I miss having my own car and taking off on my own! Lol. When we are out of the US we either rent a car and share it or take public transportation. 

9. We have used month long repositioning cruises mostly with Princess Cruises to get between long destinations like the US to UK and Canada to Auckland. 

10. I do way less housework. Our airbnb’s include cleaning. If we stay one week then I don’t have any cleaning to do. When we stay 2 weeks or more I do simple house keeping each week. Not owning a home has taken this upkeep ritual out of my life. We also don’t maintain a lawn as we did with every house we have owned. We have weeded Eric and Erin’s flowerbed a few times, but overall we don’t do this chore anymore as nomads. I also stopped cooking Sunday dinner and having our local kids or friends over. This was another change in my typical routine while owning a home.

11. I own way less clothes now. I wear out my clothes. I purchase clothes that I want to wear now. I am partial to Smartwool socks and shop for replacement pairs when I can. In four years we have twice worn out our walking shoes. We both bought new shoes in Edinburgh,Scotland and in Queenstown, NZ. I’ve donated items and purchased items at thrift stores along the way too.

12. In these 4 years we have eaten out A LOT! We have gotten tired of eating out so much but we still enjoy a good meal out. We really like to fix our own breakfasts with items that we enjoy like good strong coffee. When we stay for a week or more we enjoy grocery shopping with our 1 week grocery list and making quick and simple meals for ourselves. We don't always buy every item on the grocery list. We have a stock for two basic breakfasts of either eggs and toast or Darrell's homemade pancakes with real maple syrup, fruit and nuts. We purchase salad items and my homemade salad dressing items for salad meals usually at lunch. For a couple of dinners we go for a chicken vegetable soup and a salmon and roasted vegetables or salad.

Our 1 Week Grocery List:

One Week Stay Dry Pantry:

Baking Soda

Sourdough Bread

Chicken Broth

Cinnamon

Coffee

Cookies, Crackers

Crushed Red Pepper

Dark Chocolate

Flour

Granola

Grape juice

Italian Seasoning

Jam

Kalmata olives

Maple syrup

Microwave popcorn

Extra virgin olive oil

Paper towels

Pumpkin seeds

Red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper shaker

Chicken noodle soup

Tea

Unsalted nuts

One Week Fresh Foods Grocery List:

Avocado

Bacon

Bananas

Berries

Bleu cheese

Butter

Buttermilk or yogurt

Carrots and soup veg

Cauliflower

Cheeses

Chicken for soup

Cucumber

Eggs

Feta cheese

Fresh garlic

Fruit juice

Fresh ginger

Lemon

Lettuce

Milk, pint

Mushrooms

Green onions

Radishes or turnips

Wild salmon

Spinach

Sweet potato

Tahini

Tomatoes

13. I absolutely love getting up and seeing sunrise while living on cruise ships! 

14. We work on what our travel tempo is and what it will be in our coming months. We decide together how long we will stay in one location. We also agree on what locations we are going to travel to. We discuss what our objectives are whether it is visiting family, friends or touring or a mix of both. We always try to build in down days where we have time to chill at our place, work on the computer, do laundry and plan for our upcoming travel. 

15. Establishing routine and consistency has always been one of our agreements. We do a morning exercise routine together. We usually go to bed and get up about the same times. This is easier on each other when we are living in smaller places and close together. Having a consistent breakfast together is another routine that we enjoy.