So it begins...

On 8 November 2016, after 117 days on market, our house in northern Virginia sold. Two and a half weeks later, we quit our jobs, and we've been on the move ever since. Is there a plan? Yes, but it's squishy despite being two years in the making.

See, when we met and married 17 years ago, we agreed to retire overseas. Our previous travel had convinced us that multi/intercultural experiences were right for us, so a few years ago we made a list of countries to visit as possible retirement locations. If i remember correctly: Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Spain, and Portugal. At the last minute, we added Belize. It is only two hours from the US where we would still have family and friends.

We ended up visiting Belize first because we met a colleague who had lived there and still visited often; she gave us all the information we needed to start exploring! In April 2012, we went to Orange Walk Town and San Pedro (yeah, yeah, i'll post a map eventually). In October 2012,  we visited San Ignacio and San Pedro... and our hearts were lost to Belize. 

Since then:
June 2013: San Pedro and Placencia
May 2014: Corozal and Hopkins
April 2015: Corozal and San Ignacio
November 2015: Corozal and Caye Caulker
October 2016: Corozal and San Pedro

Sadly, this isn't a blog about those trips because there were some wild adventures and a lot of mistakes. Many great stories and new friends... and if you know me at all, lots of good eating.

So, what's the plan? To quit after i hit a particular milestone at work and the house sells. (Done) Move to Texas and renovate a house we've owned and rented out for 20 years. (This is where the story begins) We'll put it back on the rental market and move to Belize to build a retirement nest and enjoy sunshine, coconuts, and tropical breezes. (Let's see how that works out)

Had i started this blog when we left northern Virginia on 11 December 2016, you'd be regaled with well-written and riveting stories about harrowing traffic incidents, tasty food (mis)adventures, the challenges of traveling with an elderly dog with kidney problems who can't get in and out of a car without help (but heavens forbid you should pick her up!)

Here's my little car-girl 💕:

 As it stands, i'm just now able to maintain a blog, so we'll begin with the trip from San Antonio, TX (where we visited my [Sonja's] dad for three weeks) to San Angelo and seeing the house empty and ready for renovation for the first time.

The drive into west Texas:

And

Pics of the house:

Back of the house:

The back yard, carport, and

 shed (garage on the far right):

Door to the garage on the right, 

straight through to the carport gate:

The carport (and dog):

Next, we'll see what's inside.