A year in recap ~ Major changes ~ What will we do next?

What's that? An update from your Candid CaRavaners? 😊

No, you aren't dreaming! Yes, we are still around. Yes, we are fine. No, we aren't forgetting about our blog, our RV, our travels, our followers! Yes, that was a long break without posting. 

Why? Lots of reasons why!

1. The summer of 2019: too busy working 40+ hours per week. 
2. The winter of 2019: too busy enjoying a slower pace! 
3. Now? We aren't travelling due to many reasons (the ongoing pandemic situation being one of them). When we aren't travelling, inspiration to write seems to be in short supply. and perhaps We just haven't had the time, the will, the drive or the energy for it all.

But we hope all of you are doing well and keeping healthy! We haven't written in a while and a lot has happened since our last post.

Our summer job in Squamish BC - at Paradise Valley campground - came to an end mid-September 2019. We packed up the RV, said our goodbyes to our friends and headed to the Okanagan Valley to enjoy some vacation time. We could have spent a month there but if you know us, you know there's a schedule to follow and places to be! 😉 

One of our happy places: the forest among the trees! ❤

So we returned to our first BC home, where we workamped in the summer of 2018 (the Columbia River Wetlands) for a few weeks. We did a lot during those 2 weeks! If you have a chance to visit this part of the Rockies, the wetlands of the Columbia River are a must for any wildlife and bird lover, and it's an easy drive to 5 National Parks!  e said goodbye to our friends Karen and Gary, then headed East towards Montreal, QC. This time, we had the fifth wheel with us.

As you read this, our plans have changed quite drastically from what was supposed to be. Obviously, the entire world has seen its plans change in a matter of days... 

After storing the RV in a storage location up in the Laurentians, we headed to our house-sitting on the lake (we posted a few pictures of that on our Facebook group -> join if you haven't already).  In November2019, we secured a seasonal spot for summer 2020 in a campground not too far. Our plan was to live at the campground while I (Chantal) worked part-time. We were also supposed to decide on our next house-sitting or a trip to Southern USA for the winter of 2019-20.

After just over 4 months in our snowy winter wonderland, taking care of a cat (aka Queen Miou), spring finally started and we were looking forward to having coffee on the deck while the snow melts on the ground, knowing our camping season was near.

Queen Miou is on top of things!

Foggy morning on the lake, spring is right around the corner

But, COVID-19 happened.

The homeowners listened to our government's advice to come back home six weeks early. Like many house sitters around the world and like many RVers, we found ourselves without a "normal" home to go back to. Thankfully, my parents took us in. The house is big enough for the 4 of us to cook together, have privacy, go for walks, practice physical distancing, watch movies and catch up. Never before has our living space changed so often under so many circumstances beyond our control. 

While Chantal's part-time job at a real estate office was put on hold, we focused on our work-from-home jobs of writing and translating. 

Finally, we say goodbye to paying for storage!

Luckily, and blessed with good timing, we also bought a place, just before the pandemic? Oh yes, we did! Our first brick and mortar home bought together, a condo. We found our latest home in February 2020, and signed just in the nick of time before business began to close under government order and sending the province into lockdown. So this summer of 2020 has been really busy with moving into our campground and moving into our new place. Interesting side question: is a condo an apartment, a house, or neither?

In spite of all that has happened (and is happening), we continue to travel, only in smaller spaces, even if it is just in our imagination. But we continue to camp when we can, and explore other campgrounds and parks for future use. No pandemic can get rid of the spirit of adventure. Social distancing has, of course, limited or removed certain amenities we took for granted, but "alternate route" is our way of life and our middle name, which we believe is the same for all travellers at heart. 

Our 2020 summer campground, Pin D`Erable, Mirabel, Quebec.

We still talk about exploration and taking our home on wheels for a spin down the Maritimes in the summer of 2021. And maybe, just maybe one of these days we will be heading back to the USA for our Midwestern trip!

Beautiful summer sky at the condo!

Thank you for reading,

Chantal & Rob