Traveling to American Destinations
Hiking to Alum Cave Bluff in the Smoky Mountains was an adventure, just like many of our hikes. The beginning of this trail is flat and goes through and old hardwood forest. Following the Alum Cave Creek for about a mile, we bragged about how easy the trail was and how fast we were going […]
Read More
When we started our Van Life By Design website and blog, our mission was to write about and photograph our travels in our Sprinter van Alice and other travel related topics. This is still true. Gail is also interested in writing about exercise and fitness, healthy eating and other lifestyle topics so we have launched […]
Read More
“The really happy person is the one who can enjoy the scenery, even when they have to take a detour.” ~ Sir James Jeans
Read More
The Van Life culture is a growing movement that lures in people of all ages and income levels. The free spirit mindset that this lifestyle embraces is an indicator that people want freedom and simplicity in their lives. The inevitable question everyone asks is, “how can we do this”? There are many things to consider […]
Read More
Gail and I generally hike somewhere every day. Granted, if we are going through the neighborhood on our 3-mile route, we will call it a walk. Some might say it’s an Urban Hike. I call it putting one foot in front of the other. Getting outside and trekking makes me feel happy. It’s good for […]
Read More
Gail and I have been bicyclists throughout our marriage. We have always liked riding together but we don’t always agree on what constitutes an excellent riding experience. For the past 15-years we have each owned 2 bikes (total of 4). We both have road bikes for tooling around the streets of Kansas City and cruising […]
Read More
As I have mentioned before, I LOVE to run. I also love to eat scones. When we lived in McFarland, Wisconsin, I would run many days with my amazing friend and runner Anne. (Anne is a wonderful running coach, you can find her at Pace Perfect). On the weekends when Anne and her family would […]
Read More
Last summer, we visited the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and spent a couple days in the Porcupine Mountains. This rustic forested area is located on the shores of Lake Superior and offers many scenic hikes and vista overlooks. No matter where we are, one of our favorite things to do when we travel is get […]
Read More
Where do we store Alice when we are not using her? Alice is big and tiny at the same time. She is about 7 feet wide which is about the width of a large pickup truck. She is 24 feet long so she is too long for many normal parking spaces and about 11 feet […]
Read More
With the exception of Christmas season I’m generally a 70’s rock-n-roll listener. I also like some singer songwriter, folk and soul music mixed into my routine when I want to change life’s tempo. The interesting thing is Christmas season is the only time of the year when I prefer to listen to classical music. The […]
Read More
I’m not really a wine guy. I like wine, but I don’t understand all the blends or subtle variances from bottle to bottle. For example, I can’t taste the difference between a Merlot, Shiraz or Pinot Nino. The Challenge Occasionally when out for dinner, my wife and I will decide to buy a bottle of […]
Read More
A year ago, we were discussing our lives as boaters as we seemed to be at a crossroad. Twenty eight years earlier we had purchased our first boat when our kids were young and the new boat was something all of us enjoyed doing together. The question at hand a year ago was, what should […]
Read More