Chris and Debbi's Adventure

Last year when Chris and I described our plans to sell most of our possessions and travel for a year, the most common reaction we received was “You’re so brave!”. We didn’t feel that we needed extra bravery for our venture, but after our first day of wandering around Marrakech, Morocco on our own, I definitely felt like we had been brave. So much was unfamiliar – not just the language, the currency and the clothing, but the mix of animals and people on the street, the sounds of calls to prayer, the unfamiliar products and the endless narrow, winding alleys and streets. We felt like we had accomplished a heroic feat when we arrived back at our family run riad hotel at the end of the day. One of our first sights after arriving in Marrakech, Morocco. One of our first experiences at a Morocco medina market. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but after visiting similar markets in nine more communities we felt we had seen it all - local markets with everything from food and fabric to nail s...

We’ve had a series of happy accidents while traveling the last few months. One of them is our recent discovery of the “English Riviera”.  We had a gap to fill between scheduled stops and found an opportunity to spend a few days in Torquay, a seaside town in southwest England. It’s one of a series of towns along the four-mile-wide Tor Bay that faces the English Channel. Our first impression was that Torquay is a cross between Doc Martin’s Portwenn and a slightly depressed Florida beach town. Charming, family friendly and full of fun and conveniences, just a little bedraggled. Still, a place we would definitely recommend for a visit. The area is considered warm and sunny – by English standards. The average July high is 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the coldest months are January and February with an average low of 40. We were instructed to never trust the weather forecast, and we found that to be good advice. Look outside and across the bay, then bring your umbrella or rain jacket an...