About Empty Nestopia

Hello!

As any couple with kids knows, life sometimes gets in the way. It seems like there is always something going on that pulls you in different directions. The years go by and the ominous ‘graduation of the last child’ looms in the future.

This can be a scary time and an exciting time for both the child and the parents. All of a sudden the parents realize that their job is coming to an end. They will no longer be consumed with parenting responsibilities. They are about to become empty nesters.

This is our story about rediscovering ourselves without our children. Who we are as individuals and as a couple and not (childs name) mom or dad or parents.

Follow us in the world of Empty Nestopia as we explore this new chapter in our lives – the lighter side of being an adult through travel and culinary adventure. Whether we take an epic trip around the globe, a romantic weekend getaway or just a simple date night, its always something.

About the Empty Nesters

My husband and I are high school sweet hearts. We have been married for 26 years. We grew up in two very small neighboring  towns in the heart of Alaska.

I was in the mining, trapper and mountain climber town of Talkeetna with a population of about 500 in the winter which swelled to about 900 in the summer due to the climbers and tourists. My husband grew up in a town (really more of a village) north of Talkeetna about 40 miles with a population of less than 500. Neither one of us had running water, electricity or a phone until we were in our late teen years.

Our “adventures” consisted mostly of cutting, splitting, and hauling firewood, running dog sled teams, hunting for our dinner,  milking goats, or throwing bales of hay around the farm.

There was lots of opportunity for staying home. But not so much opportunity for traveling and experiencing how other people lived.

When we became adults we decided to change that.

Most of the time our funds were minimal, that meant a culinary adventure in our kitchen of recipes and ingredients that our mothers would not have done. We grew up on a regular Alaskan diet of moose, caribou, salmon, trout, rabbit, and from time to time, bear. These became normal and common place to us. We wanted to try something new and exotic like sushi, Thai, or even beef and pork!

Through The Years

Since those early days, we have had high tea in England with little cucumber sandwiches, escargot washed down with Moscow Mules in Seattle, stingray steaks in La Paz, Mexico, shepherds pie in Great Britain, anchovy pizza in Italy, and flaming bananas in Hawaii. We have swum with sea lions, crawled through caves and lava tubes, snorkeled with manta rays, explored castles, dungeons and Roman ruins.

Yes, our adventures have expanded substantially! One of the first things we do when we are planning a trip is to look for an unusual food that we have not had the opportunity to experience yet. Sometimes, we find something we love and bring home the recipe. Other times, I have to admit, one bite was PLENTY! One experience that comes to mind is when I sampled taro root. It had been made into a thick cream that almost looked like pudding. I said “looked like”…. when I took a bite it was so gooey it stuck to my teeth, tongue, the roof of my mouth. I could hardly swallow it! Now I know, I do not appreciate taro pudding, but, hey, I tried it. That is what exploring is all about!

Let’s Hear From You

I hope that by reading my blog it will encourage you to explore and broaden your horizons as well. Whether those horizons are in your neighborhood or halfway around the world, by yourself, with a group or even vicariously through my blog. If you enjoy the recounting of our adventures, let me know, I welcome the feed back!

Are you empty nesters? We would love to hear about your adventures and how you wrote that chapter in your life.

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” — Wilfred Peterson