The Rv has sold, and the adventure continues

Hello, friend! How are you? How is life in your neck of the woods? Are you safe, and healthy, and happy most of the time? We sure hope so.

Since our last update, so much has happened. Read on for updates on where we are, what we’ve been up to, and what’s next in the life of Ross and Jamie.

We moved to Canada! To be honest, it happened six or so days later than planned, because in our rush to get everything complete, we managed to initially take the wrong COVID test! It then took multiple tries taking the PCR test in northern Maine to get our results back in enough time (within 72 hours) to cross over the border, but the pluses were that we got to enjoy some vacation time in Bangor (a much more fun, progressive, and affordable city than we’d realized) and got a tiny taste of Moncton, NB too, where we spent our first successful night in Canada. Once (hopefully) COVID is behind us, Moncton will be close enough to us for a day trip or easy overnight stay, so we were excited to get a little preview of it.

Though we’ve had a ton to do since we arrived, from coordinating the sale of our RV (thank you to everyone who assisted with that!) to purchasing some furniture, from learning where to buy groceries to setting up a bank account (still working on that one this week), to learning how to see doctors and mental health professionals here (there’s a big wait list for primary care physicians here, but having access to free mental health clinics a truly beautiful thing).

At the same time, Ross has gotten started at the university and has already played a few concerts on acoustic guitar (while simultaneously continuing his ukulele teaching and podcast editing), and I’ve started singing again (apparently I’m a soprano 1?) and will be the director of Island A Cappella, a barbershop singing group affiliated with Harmony, Inc., beginning in January of 2022. I also sang at a church this summer, so it’s been fun to get back into the arts, and the extra income doesn’t hurt either.

Thanks to school and the music ensembles respectively, we are each making friends and dipping our toes into having a social life and community here on the island. After five years of travel, it’s exciting to set down roots and really invest our time, energy, and money in a community.

Of course we both have supportive friends and family back in the US, and we’re thankful for Zoom and cell phones to keep us connected with them. Social media helps too, and we’ve been scheduling time to connect virtually with loved ones.

We’ve both had our struggles in adjusting to things, but we still wake up every day thankful to be here and eager to keep doing the work to grow and thrive here. We know how privileged we are, and we don’t take it for granted.

After a much-needed social media and blog pause, I’m looking forward to growing my coaching business and our music business in 2022. If you’d like support in creating the life of your dreams too, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to offer you a free session to help you get clarity on your priorities and find your path forward.

Thanks for reading, and have a beautiful day!

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Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums! 
  • Take Ross’ online ukulele course!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
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  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

Summer on the Outer Banks

Ross and I are spending the summer on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. If you’re not already aware, this popular vacation destination is an extremely unique geographical phenomenon. It’s a series of very long islands, with the sound on one side and the beach on the other. From above, it looks like one very long and tiny landing strip.


We’ve been here since May 1, which has given us lots of time to explore these beautiful and still generally remote (if not entirely isolated) islands during our stay. 

We will continue to share our favorite must-dos for the area, but for today, I thought we could share our top 5 positives and negatives for our visit so far. 

Two Months In: The Best About Living On The Outer Banks

1. The beach is always a couple of minutes’ walk away. 

2. The sound (and its glorious sunsets) are always a couple of minutes’ walk away. 

3. There’s almost always a nice breeze. 

4. The pace of life is relaxed here as people do their best to enjoy themselves. 

5. Not relevant to all, but we have the best co-workers and management we could imagine. Also, wild horses! 

Two Months In: The Worst About Living On The Outer Banks 

1. Sand in everything, including your shoes and your bed. 

2. Worrying about hurricanes and other bad weather. 

3. Ditto the crazy wind sometimes, messing up activities and keeping you awake. 

4. Some of the people we interact with take for granted how lucky they are to be here and ask the impossible (fix the weather, etc.). 

5. There isn’t really a great downtown for when you want to get your city fix – Manteo is fun but small, and that’s about it!

Overall we highly recommend a visit to the Outer Banks. I’m sure we’ll have more thoughts to share soon. Thanks for following our crazy adventure!