The Jet Set Betties – We are here to ROCK!

Island-Hopping (Scotland, Pt 2)

Editor’s Note: Did our last post show up in your inbox truncated or with messy text? There were a lot of photos … we might have blown up the internet. You can always (re)read our posts direct on our website: jetsetbetties.com

June 17-27 – we visited five Scottish islands (Mull, Staff, Iona, Islay, and Arran) plus one sweet river town (Peebles). Come along with us to relive the fun!

MULL, STAFFA, IONA
While we were in Oban, we took a 10-hour, 3-island day trip via boat and bus. Highlights were visiting Fingal’s Cave on Staffa (inspiration for Mendelssohn’s “The Hebrides” overture) and the Iona Monastery.

The Mull portion was just a bus tour across the southern part, from Lochdon to Fionnphort.
Riding a very big bus on a single-lane road created some exciting moments!
Yield to the coos!
Then we boarded a boat for the sea portion of our tour.
Seals!
Cormorants!
Happy friends!
We approached the Isle of Staffa for a close look at the beautiful basalt columns …
… and several minutes of witnessing the mighty Atlantic swell boom against the back wall of Fingal’s Cave.
Puffins! These sweet birds only live in community during breeding season, and lucky us – they were all at home when we stopped by!
Next stop: Iona, home to Iona Nunnery and Monastery.
This island has housed a spiritual community for nearly 2,000 years, starting with a monastery founded by St Columbo in 563.
There is still an active faith and social justice community …
… in a peaceful, inspiring setting.
Very grateful for the opportunity to visit this beautiful place.
At the end of the day, the bus took us back across Mull and we hopped on a ferry back to Oban.
A view of our Airbnb house as we came back to town.

ISLAY
Our favorite island of the five we visited was Islay, where we had a charming beach house, perfect weather, and plenty of peaty whisky!

Scotland has regular, reliable ferries connecting all their islands. We took good notes to share our recommendations with Alaska.
Islay is home to NINE distilleries; we passed three of them on approach, including Caol Ila, one of my favorites.
We were delighted to arrive at our beach house, absolutely as idyllic as it looked in the photos .
We had a lucky weather streak to enjoy this great spot!
When we weren’t on the beach, we were looking at it …
… or we were tasting whisky!
Three distilleries are within a two-mile stretch, and there’s a nice walking path to meander between tastings.
So you stroll along and come upon a new destination,
where you visit with your mates and appreciate the varietals of barley and peat.
Then you wander a bit further …
…. maybe you stop and sing to some cows (they were thoroughly unimpressed, btw) …
… and arrive at another destination.
At Lagavulin we took a tour and had a guided tasting.
The fourth distillery we visited was on the other side of the island and totally worth the drive.
The only fully independent distillery on Islay, Kilchoman employs more people than the other 8 combined, and makes one whisky from 100% ingredients and labor on Islay.
Nice picnic lunch in Port Ellen rounded out our Islay experience.

ARRAN
After a thoroughly delightful 11 days together, we parted ways with Tom and Sarah after Islay and hopped another ferry to Arran.

I’m not kidding about the ferries – they’re so nice!
Also, very clever car deck – the upper level is a ramp and once they’ve loaded it, the ramp raises up to load another level of cars below.
We had some time to kill before we could catch a bus; fortunately the Lochranza Country Inn was nearby to provide lunch and a beer.
Bus stop troubadour.
Saturday afternoon on the bus to Brodick – what a party!
It was pretty rainy during our three days on Arran, which was OK because we needed some rest anyway.
But we did manage to get out for a wonderful afternoon walk …
… along the beach …
… to Brodick Castle.
These giant rhubarb plants make Devil’s Club dwarf in comparison!
On our return walk, we found a place to rest for a spell.
Best cocktails we had in Scotland!
There was foxglove everywhere,
and we even found salmonberries!
Dinner one night at Ormidale Hotel.
Dinner MANY nights consisted of meat pie, peas, and tatties.
There’s a jam session every Sunday at Ormidale, with the most welcoming set of regulars.
We played for at least 2 hours, and had a ball with these folks. The guy with his back to the camera really hollered out some Johnny Cash for the Americans.

PEEBLES
When we told people we were going to Peebles, most of them said “WHY??” We had a hunch, and we were right – it’s a charming little town along the River Tweed, about 25 miles south of Edinburgh.

We stayed right downtown, at the Cross Keys Inn.
In addition to a full restaurant/bar space inside, there is plenty of outdoor seating in the back …
… and in the front!
Plus the art in the rooms was provided by local children. Charming!
These few days were pretty laid-back.
We took long walks along the river.
We saw black sheep,
white sheep,
and black & white sheep.
We also visited Traquair House, the oldest continually-inhabited residence in Scotland.
It’s not a castle, it’s a “fortified mansion.”
Backyard goats.
This place is a-MAZE-ing!
But seriously, we had fun trying to find our way through the maze. (It’s not a labyrinth!)
Whaddya know, they have a brewery also! Originally built in the 17th century, it was revived in 1965 and still uses the 200-year-old oak tuns.

COMING UP NEXT:
Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll take to to Germany!

Bonnie Scotland (Part 1)

We are excited to share tales of our European adventures! It’s impossible to believe it’s already been 2 months since we embarked on this journey, and also pretty wild that we’ve already been back in Michigan for three weeks. How do the days disappear so quickly!?

We had SUCH a wonderful time for the entirety of our trip, but especially in Scotland. We loved Scotland so much, in fact, that we’re going to split those stories into two posts. Today we’ll cover June 10-18, our time in Edinburgh, Pitlochry, and part of Oban.

Edinburgh

After a couple of long flights and being too tired to read local maps well (we took a couple of wrong turns while trying to find our apartment), we finally stumbled into our dear friends Tom and Sarah, just as they were coming out of our place! Thank goodness, because they had rested up enough to help us haul our bags and instruments up the 5 flights of stairs! We dropped our stuff, took much-needed showers, and then immediately went out for a fun and delicious evening.

The view from our apartment on the Royal Mile …
… and the stairs we had to climb to get there.
We visited Edinburgh Castle, of course!
Big bleacher seating at the gate, maybe some jousting later?
The buildings on this site date back to Medieval times, including Edinburgh’s oldest building: St Margaret’s Chapel, built in 1093.
Tom gave us a pretty impressive and succinct Scottish history while we were here, which naturally included endless defense of this fortress.
We did NOT stand in the hours-long line to see the Crown Jewels, however.
We took a bus tour to rest our feet and see more things!
Like the Sir Walter Scott monument.
We also visited the National Museum of Scotland.
Oh yes, there was whisky tasting! This was a nice sampling of Edinburgh distilleries.
We loved exploring the charming streets.
You never know what you might run into!
Including this filming crew. Turns out they were filming JJ Abrams’ upcoming film, tentatively titled “Ghostwriter”, starring Samuel L Jackson.
We also found a hidden garden bar.

But a true highlight of Edinburgh was the music tour we took. We hired a guide (“an actual Edinburgh musician!”) to take us to three music bars and tell us about the local music scene. In the tour description he mentioned that there could be opportunities for us to join the jams, so we brought our instruments along. And whaddya know, we played in two Edinburgh pubs!

We started at The Jazz Club, a noted jazz/blues/swing venue.
It’s a cool cellar bar, and pretty relaxed on a Thursday evening, so we sat right up by the stage.
John Hunt is a tremendous songwriter and artisan – check out his homemade guitar!
Next stop: Sandy Bell’s, “world-renowed folk bar”.
Sure enough, the place is packed, and there are a few musicians gathered around a small table, singing their songs.
And then we got to sing a couple of our songs! (Tom and Sarah also sang a couple of their songs.)
Finally, Captain’s Bar, a 200+-year-old pub with regular live music sessions.
Sure enough, we were once again invited to share a few tunes. First, Tom & Sarah …
… and then us!

PITLOCHRY

On June 13 we said goodbye to Edinburgh, and hopped in the car that Tom & Sarah rented (and Tom generously offered to drive!). Tom rewired his brain pretty quickly to drive on the left and we headed north. We stopped in Aberdour for a nice cafe lunch and walkabout the city, then on to Pitlochry, a beautiful little river town about 70 miles north of Edinburgh.

Within hours of arriving in Pitlochry, we were exploring the town and putting together a little garden picnic for later. As we were looking for a bottle of wine (or maybe whisky?) we were chatting with the shopkeeper at Robertson’s and revealed that we’re musicians. She practically begged us to come and play in the shop that evening — they were hosting an open house / tasting event and she hadn’t booked any music. We accepted! She paid us with a bottle of wine, and we played for an hour or so, mostly to an empty room (except for the shopkeeper who was VERY appreciative and enjoyed the music). It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes that people started to come in, but unfortunately we had to move on to get dinner before all the restaurants closed. (Note to future Scotland travelers: most restaurants close up by 9:00. Even in Edinburgh!)

The next couple of days were fairly rainy, and we were happy to take a slower pace. Matthew and I went on a nice long hike one day, and we found a couple other gems in the town. Very sweet!

Castles everywhere! The ruins of this one are in Aberdour.
Playing at Robertson’s, trying to help draw in some business for their open house.
The gardens at our B&B were lovely!
We had a nice evening picnic on the front lawn of our B&B.
Breakfast served every morning between 8-9:30. Slightly early for our vacation hours, but we stumbled downstairs to start the day right.
In true Southeast Alaska style, we braved the rain and took a wonderful long walk through the countryside.
We’re pretty sure that was a guard sheep. She just stared at us, making sure we weren’t going to molest the cows.
Just walking along a country lane.
And then next to the River Tummel.

TO OBAN, VIA KINGUSSIE

Our next stop was Oban, but we decided to take a meandering route to see a little of the highlands. Beautiful! We drove as far north as Kingussie, where we found a farmer’s market in action, a wonderful cheese shop, a very odd antiques/oddities store, and a scrummy lunch. All day we were on the quest for “hairy coos” (long-haired Shetland cows); lo-and-behold, there they were, near the Ruthven Barracks!

As soon as we arrived at Ruthven Barracks, we saw hairy coos from afar! (Spoiler alert: we manage to get much closer)
Ruthven Barracks are the ruins of an 18th century Jacobite fort.
Pretty interesting to explore …
… and some fun with portraiture!
HAIRY COOS!
Credit to Sarah for all these great photos.
Just look at ’em!
Happy traveling companions!
Yes, we bought meat out of the back of a van.

After saying goodbye to the hairy coos, we continued on to Oban, a nice seaside town. We rented a house less than a mile from downtown and enjoyed a couple of days exploring the area: Dunollie Castle, Fingal’s Dogstone, and McCaig Tower to name a few, plus Oban distillery of course! We also took a day trip to three neighboring islands, but I’m going to save that story for the next post.

View from McCaig’s Tower.
McCaig’s Tower – a crazy scheme around 1900 for a rich banker to build a family monument and keep masons employed through the winter.
Dunolie Castle in the background, and Fingal’s Dogstone, where Fingal the giant would tie up his dog, Bran, while he went hunting across the Hebrides. Bran was desperate to break free and you can see where he wore down the stone tugging on his leash near the bottom.
Sheep everywhere!
Great kitchen in our house (once we figured out how all the electric stuff worked!) and a fab homecooked dinner.
Another rainy stretch – we enjoyed hanging out in the living room and watching the boats come and go.
Oban, some of my favorites! We especially enjoyed the one aged in sherry casks.

OK, there’s some pictures and words to tide you over until our next post, wherein our heroes travel by sea, auto, and bus to some far off islands and to many more adventures.

We Got On Camp and Camera!

Hello dear friends. We jumped right from our trip to Europe and back into our lives in Glenn, Michigan. Matthew is deep in some home improvement work for Iris’ house here, and Kayla is back into the daily grind of her job at On-Ramps. We have great intention to start posting some stories of our time abroad, but in the meantime…

Remember our trip through Kentucky back in April, and our meet-up with the Bluegrass Chapter of the Tearjerkers? Remember how we (and quite a few other folks) were gushing because “The Guy from Camp and Camera” was there? As he does, Mike interviewed folks around the campground about their trailers, and we were part of that. He wasn’t sure if the sound was OK when he toured our camper, and we didn’t see a video on his channel in the weeks following the gathering, so we assumed it didn’t make the cut.

We were wrong! Here’s the video! (We highly recommend watching the whole video – you’ll get a feel for these Tearjerker gatherings and tour one other camper. But if you don’t have time for the full video, our part starts at 14:59.)

Six Weeks Away!

Hello dear friends! We are back from our travels and firmly planted in Glenn MI for the next month or so. It will take us a bit to compile a full tale of our travels, so here’s a quick note to let you know that, yes, it was a fabulous trip, wherein we:

Spent 17 days traveling about in beautiful Scotland:

Spent 13 days in Germany exploring Hamburg, Estebrugge, and Berlin:

Spent 6 days in Norway in Lillehammer:

And wrapped it up with 3 days in Wyandotte, Michigan helping our friends sort through a few things:

More to come!

Spring Into Scotland

Hello friends! It is a blustery day here on Lake Michigan as I type. The past months have been full, so much so that each week we procrastinate the blog seems to add ever more to the burden of getting one writ. But they say the best way to get going is to start, so here we are.

Do you ever feel like you just haven’t moved in a while?

In a couple weeks we head to Scotland (and Germany! and Norway!) for five weeks! We are joining dear friends Sarah and Tom for two weeks of Inn-to-Inn traveling in Scotland. Next we’ll head to Hamburg to check in on some German Boettchers, with dear niece Sophia joining us for some of that ride. We’ll close out with a trip to Lillehammer to visit some American friends who’ve tucked themselves up there for many years now. Whew!

But first we better do a little catching up on what’s been happening since our last post. Let’s see…

In March we took a quick trip to Chicago to celebrate Kayla’s birthday.

It was a beautiful weekend
we walked about 8 miles on Saturday!
admiring the architecture
and taking in all the sights. (can you find us in this picture?)
We enjoyed some fine dining …
…and some Chicago classics.

Then we headed down to Storm Lake with the Table Ease trailer to haul stuff, sell stuff, and give stuff away as the Boettcher Family prepares to sell Lloyd’s house.

We sorted through stuff …
made piles here …
and piles there …
then made new, more organized piles in the garage …
and a lot of that stuff found new homes!
It was a little chilly for this early-season garage sale.
And that garage ain’t heated!
But we left Dad’s house pretty tidy,
with just enough stuff to host one more family gathering,
which will happen later this summer.

In April we meandered our way back to Virginia (with the BettieMobile!) to help Matthew’s parents out with some projects there. This included getting the Turners’ boat trailer (which had been parked in a field for 10+ years) back into rolling condition.

Sorry for the blur. Here’s the target.
I like the composition of this shot.
There were some other things parked in the field as well.
Success!

From Coastal Virginia we drove to Kentucky to catch up with the Bluegrass Chapter of the TearJerkers at Big Bone Lick State Park. TearJerkers is a national “organization” (loosely defined!) for folks with teardrop campers. There are chapters across the US, and the active ones meet once a month somewhere in their area. They also have an online forum that mostly talks about meet-ups, but also serves as a place to ask questions and share advice on building campers, which Matthew took advantage of several times during our build. We’ve been talking about getting to one of these gatherings for two years now, and we finally found one that fit our route!

Another resource Matthew discovered while he was building our camper is a YouTube channel called Camp & Camera, where a guy goes around interviewing DIY camper builders and asking them about their special features and what they’d do differently. Matthew learned a lot from those interviews, and guess what!? That guy was at this gathering in KY and interviewed Matthew! He really liked Matthew’s custom-made awnings and curtain design. Unfortunately, the audio didn’t record very well, so that interview didn’t make it to the YouTube channel.

The TearJerkers host evening potlucks for all the teardrop campers. We won the day with our bahn mi sliders!
During the day, everyone wandered around the campground and admired the other trailers.
We were especially interested in other DIY – there were some amazing inventions!
Matthew being interviewed by Camp & Camera.
We took a sidetrip to historic Rabbit Hash, KY, right on the banks of the O-hi-o.

And that gets us to May! We’ve spent the whole month in Michigan, enjoying some on-again/off-again spring weather while working on more building projects.

Projects range from insulation & vapor barriers …
to replacing windows …
…and even creating new windows!
Now the garage/shop has a view of the lake too!
Big remodel being planned for the little cottage, which starts with a dumpster.
This bathroom will be redone this summer.
But the first project is building a murphy bed!
Matthew and Iris spent a week building the murphy bed frame …
…sanding it …
…and making it beautiful.
Just yesterday we installed it.
Voila!
In addition to the projects, we’re enjoying walks along the shore,
marveling at the trees that keep hanging on.
Spring blooms: irises, of course!
And lovely sunset porch times.

We also took two trips to northern Michigan – one to Traverse City and Leelanau, where we had a lovely combo of friends, family, and community theater; and a camping trip to Grand Marais, MI in the U.P.

In early May, we spent the weekend with Iris, our niece Hannah, and Iris’ dear friend David, who hosted us in his lovely home near Leland. We had some blustery dune walks …
some fun auto touring…
and nice reflective time enjoying the view of the Manitou Islands with Norman the wonder dog.
But the real highlight was seeing our friend Ed in his tremendous community theater performance.
Ed portrayed 9 characters in the show! It was magnificent,
and involved some splendid costuming!
Over Memorial Day weekend, we made the pilgrimage to Shorts Brewery in Elk Rapids, to pay homage to some of our favorite beers, notably: Psychedelic Cat Grass.
We camped 2 nights in a sweet township campground near Elk Rapids.
Not many pictures of our time in the UP because it was actually quite chilly! But we took a nice hike near Pictured Rocks,
caught some glimpses of Lake Superior,
and then managed to find a local watering hole.

Thanks as always for tuning in! Check back again in a couple of months for stories of our European escapades.

Around (the) Bend and Back Again

Hi Friends! So sorry it’s been so long. The alternative title for this post was Hi-brrrrrrr-nation. Get it?? Cuz we’ve kinda gone into hibernation, and the whole country was really cold for awhile???! Hahahahaaa (btw, this is Kayla, in case you didn’t guess that from this punchy goofy opening … but we’re sharing the writing below)

It all starts way back in mid-December, when we were in Michigan, packing to leave for five months (one in Bend, Oregon and four in Juneau for the Legislative Session). Even as we piled our suitcases in the back of Iris’ car to go to the airport, we were getting indications that maybe we were heading in the wrong direction. Kayla’s work folks were ready to let her go full time for several months, Matthew had yet to land a firm position for the session, and there were some needs and opportunities in the Lower 48 that were brewing. Kayla couldn’t work full time for an eastern time zone organization from Alaska (not without getting up at 4 am). The deciding factor was when we realized that we might have just one more year planned away from Sitka before returning to Alaska (for good?). While we were in Bend, we decided to buy a ticket back to Michigan instead of going on to Juneau.

That house sit in Bend was wonderful. We arrived mid-December and left a month later in mid-January. The folks that we were sitting for were taking a month being in (and getting to and from) Antarctica! We did a 2-week housesit for this couple back in March ’23, and received the best compliment we’ve ever gotten for pet sitting: “Our dogs were happy to see us, but clearly hadn’t missed us that much.” We were delighted to be invited back.

The kitchen at this place is amazing, so we really leaned in to cooking.

It was fun to lay out every ingredient for a meal, like on a cooking show.
The oven room. With another sink.
Christmas eve was seafood-based.
Mussels and champaign for starters.
Dungeness crab cakes on a red-pepper coulis served with warm kale and pomegranate salad.
For Christmas day we went the other way: beef filets with blue cheese and asparagus.

Now let’s take a look at those dogs. Here are Lizzie and Molly:

The trick is to get them thoroughly exhausted. Since they are in pretty good shape, that requires some steep climbs and acrobatics. (And, yes, they always chase the same stick.)

We also had the treat of spending time with our friend Natalie and her family. Kayla and Natalie met in Sitka and became fast friends – even though Natalie moved away from Sitka just a couple years later, this is a sweet, lasting friendship.

Sitka Soul Sisters!
Fun times with Natty’s fam

One afternoon we took Natalie’s daughters out with us and the dogs. Some folks were chatting with us about how great the dogs were, and we said, “Those aren’t our dogs!” [a curious look from the chatterers]. Then we said, “Come to think of it, these aren’t our kids, either!”

Just as our month in Bend was ending, we had a chance to participate in a wonderful open mic night at a downtown coffeehouse. Everyone was blown away by the harmonies.

One last sunset in Bend and a goodbye to the fabulous house…

And then it was off to Portland! Since we weren’t in a rush to get to AK anymore, we just had to have a visit with our dear friends Poppy and Bill.

Matt and Bill work on an amp.
The operation moved to the kitchen.
Who has the biggest guitar?
Riley prefers the biggun.

Finally our heroes return to Glenn, MI to settle in for the remainder of winter.

A frozen Lake Michigan.
A frozen Matthew.
One fun project we took on was insulating and drywalling the garage.
Fun fact: ceiling panels weigh 70+ lbs each.
Close to finished.
The ice on the lake changes daily.

In mid-Feb, we took an excursion – first to Detroit to visit Ed and David, and then a quick visit to Matthew’s folks in Virginia, where we grabbed the Table Ease trailer to do some hauling in the midwest.

In Detroit (Eddie is a native) we stepped inside some incredible 1920s architecture, including the stunning Fisher Building:

We had lunch at a great place called the Green Dot, which I guess used to be in the area of the city where one stabled their horses. We managed to find some parking.

They do nothing but sliders. There were like 30 different flavors to choose from.
A horse chair fits in well with any decor.

Next stop was Michigan Central Station. For decades, this building symbolized the decay and neglect of a once great city. Now it symbolizes a great rebirth. It had only recently re-opened to the public after it’s grand renovation. Even on a blustery winter day it was drawing crowds. You could really feel the joy in the air.

A picture of the station from darker days.

Here’s a few other highlights from Detroit. Third Man Records is a place that actually presses (and sells) vinyl records. It was founded by Detroit native rocker Jack White. (Photo credits for several of these plus the nice one of us at the top of the post are shared with David and Ed … but especially David. That guy sure takes some beautiful photos!)

Third Man sells guitar pedals, too.
A hidden doll furniture compartment in an amp really brings out the mid range.
Joe Lewis’ fist! This picture required a great deal of driving and patience to take. Please linger on it.
Corktown is Detroit’s Little Ireland!
A swanky cocktail bar in Corktown
inside

From Detroit we headed to Cobbs Creek Virginia to check in on Matthew’s folks, and to check out the venerable Table Ease trailer, which is heading back to Iowa to do some hauling. (If you’re unfamiliar with the Table Ease story, ask Kayla sometime about the patent her dad owns.) We had an icy week (in the 20’s!) there, and then got ourselves back to Glenn Michigan, which will be our base camp for the remainder of the year (give or take).

So, these days Kayla wakes up and works an honest full-time job (not forever, just these few months). Matthew is working too, doing renovations on the Glenn cottage. We have a big Europe trip coming up in June, additional trips to see family here and there, and a few other surprises in store. In a couple of hours, we are heading to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate Kayla’s birthday week!

If you’ve made it to the end of this giant post, thank you for sticking with us. Until next time!

Matthew wants to form a punk band solely to perform on the roof of this building.

Another Circle Completed

This post will show how our route this year brought us all the way back to where we started on May 24, and then we put the Bettie Mobile back into the garage.

You’ll see the annotated version of the map in our next quarterly report.

But first, let’s move on from Clemson.

November 5

Our next important stop is Matthew’s parents’ house in Mathews, Virginia. Not wanting to make the long ride in one day just to arrive tired and late, we head to Danville, Virginia for a cheap hotel and internet. On the drive out the next day we see the sign, “Y’all come back to the Last Capitol of the Southern Confederacy, DANVILLE.” Turns out in April 1865 it briefly served as the third and final capital of the Confederacy before its surrender later that year.

November 6 – 23

Kayla does some work at the Charles City Library, then we head to Mathews County. Matthew spends these days helping his folks do some major housing compound organization and fall cleaning. Kayla wants to check in with some of her folks in the midwest; we pair her trip with a couple days in Richmond (a 90-minute drive from Mathews) to visit some friends and experience that city’s fast-growing food scene. Matthew drops Kayla off at the airport and heads back to his parents while she goes to Chicago/Iowa for a week.

Making bread for the week.
There were a couple extra fishing rods to give to a local charity.
Decommissioning the boat.
Richmond, VA
We went to a bar that was so hip you couldn’t read the menu.

Meanwhile, in Chicago ….
…Kayla meets up with her sister Iris for a fun day of city views and delicious food …
… and a nighttime walk by the Chicago River.
Then we head to Iowa, to visit our dad …
…. and check out his new apartment.
Bridget and Kayla: besties since high school!

November 24-29

Hugs all around to the Turners, then we make the drive to Paoli, PA to visit Kayla’s brother Kevin and sis-in-law Kristi. One fabulous dinner and one night later we make the short hop to downtown Philadelphia to stay with niece Hannah and fully immerse ourselves into the Philly scene for two food-filled nights. Then it’s back to Paoli for a full family Thanksgiving, where niece Emma also joins the fun.

Bay Bridge over the Chesapeake
So much to eat in Philadelphia.
This is the line outside DiBruno’s …
…which led to another line inside!
Helpful tips for shopping in the Italian District.
Requisite Philadelphia tourism.
Remember when the Bell was outside?
A very Boettcher Thanksgiving.
Pie!
Games!
Emma and Hannah…
…at an old bottling operation.

November 30

Another good-bye and we hit the road one last time this year, this time for a solid 12-hour trip back to Glenn, Michigan. We take the turnpike, which feels strange after so many months of mostly driving on lesser-traveled roads. We’ve missed our favorite Glenn Store Pizza & Subs so much that we call in our order 20 minutes out so they are warm and ready when we finally pull in to the driveway.

The next day we will be socked in by a storm. We have two weeks to pack away clothes and gear from six months of travel, and to pack again for the next five months away – first to Bend for a month, then to Juneau for the Legislative session. Wheeeeeee!

(Spoiler alert: as we were settling into Bend, we made a change in our plans. Stay tuned for the next episode to see how we pivot!)

Seventh Quarter Report

Overview

Greetings from Bend, OR! The Betties have gone full circle across the country, paused in Michigan for a mere two weeks to unpack from six months of travel on the road and pack again for five more months of travel abroad, and then flew back to Oregon. We’ll catch up on that story soon, but let’s jump onto the Wayback machine and enjoy another installment of our Quarterly Report.

Those familiar with the Betties know the timeliness of quarterly reporting is not our strong suit, though one might argue that distance (in time and space) helps to sift the pearls of memory from the sands of travel (apparently metaphor also not a Bettie strong suit). So, in that spirit, let’s look back on an eventful three months that saw us travel from the northwest corner of the country almost all the way to the delta of the Mississippi river.

In summary: so many wonderful friends and beautiful places, but mostly too hot!

Here’s the honest truth: toward the end of this quarter, the Betties felt weary of life on the road. From one perspective, we’d “only” been on the road since the end of May. From another perspective, though, we have been un-rooted at least since January 15 of 2023, (when we took the camper on the road) or even September 1 of 2022 (when we left Sitka). From any perspective, we’ve been at it for a while.

Miles Travelled

2024 total mileage (thru 10/15) = 9,796

Route Travelled

We moved ourselves all the way from Portland, Oregon to Natchez, Mississippi during this quarter. We had some decent stretches in singular places, like our time in and around Portlandia, as well as a long stay in Monte Rio, CA. We were sure to take time to smell the roses with a handful of four-night stays, and many three-nighters. We cut one desert stay short in search of air conditioning, and one other stay short in search of something interesting to do.

We enjoyed two full weeks on the Pacific coast – mostly in Oregon, but also southwest Washington and northern California. AMAZING!! Because the coast is such a popular destination in the summer, these are popular campgrounds, and our reservations were secured 6 months prior! While nomadic life requires flexibility and spontaneity, the amount of planning required for this coastal time demonstrates the Betties’ abilities to get organized and plan ahead.

After 3 weeks taking care of the “geriatric zoo” on the Russian River in CA, we pointed Twyla eastward, traveling through Yosemite; the Extraterrestrial Highway and Area 51 in Nevada; and St George, UT, which was unbearably hot. We then pushed on to Colorado, where we travelled the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray, camped in a U-Pick farm near Paonia, met up with several Alaska friends in the Grand Junction area (including another quick visit to our friend’s 100,000-acre ranch in Western Colorado, and then high-tailed it across the state to Boulder and Longmont for a lovely few days with family and friends.

Leaving Colorado, we traced a route through Kansas (lovely friends and prairie explorations!), Osage County in Oklahoma, and western Arkansas. We ended this quarter with our arrival in Natchez, Mississippi.

Overnight Type

People

This quarter was happily filled with the beautiful faces of long-time friends from many different parts of our lives.

Our dear Portland-area music friends Bill & Poppy – we met them on a beach in Mexico in 2008!
Hiking around Kenyon’s ranch — we first met Kenyon when he lived in Sitka back in the mid-aughts.
We also had a crazy rock ‘n roll night on the ranch!
Camping in CO with Anchorage friends John & Becky. Our friendship with Becky grew out of professional ties that date back to 1998 (Kayla) and 2002 (Matthew).
Amazing hike in Rocky Mtn NP with Sonja — Kayla met Sonja at Holden Village in 1997!
We also really enjoyed Sonja’s family, and brought out the Betties gear for a music jam.
Kayla’s niece Kristina is a grad student at UC Boulder. There are some wealthy Boettchers in the Denver area who support education and the arts.
More Holden Village friends from the late 90s: Bob & Cheryl, who gave us a delightful prairie tour of Kansas.

Diversions

Wow, we sure enjoyed some beautiful places this quarter! A few photos to highlight what we saw and did during these three months:

Portland! We took several bike trips that gave us different views of the city.
We visited MANY more McMenamin’s – the Boiler Room at Kennedy School is especially fantastic.
We saw the Portland Pickles play baseball!
And Twyla had brain surgery in Portland. She’s doing much better now!
Lots of views like this during our two weeks on the coast.
A beach labyrinth in Bandon, OR was a special highlight …
And then some rocky coastline in northern California.
We looked at some really big trees.
And then spent 3 weeks taking care of this crew …
….and sweet Nanook …
… and, of course, Salt the Alpaca.
Yosemite was our first stop as we headed back east.
And then four nights in beautiful Snow Canyon State Park in St George UT.
Snow Canyon is gorgeous, but our ability to explore was limited by the 100+ degree temps!
By the time we got to Colorado, the trees were starting to turn.
Kayla created a work environment no matter where we were.
Ouray Colorado is a pretty spectacular town wedged between two mountains.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is incredible! But the 2000-ft drop gave us the heebie-jeebies.
Hiking on Kenyon’s ranch in western CO.
We got to sit in on niece Kristina’s opera rehearsal.
This is not a painting. It’s a real moment we experienced in Rocky Mtn National Park!
I spy the Bettiemobile parked in Oklahoma prairie grass.
Kansas has some unexpected geological features …
…. especially Monument Rocks near Oakley in western KS.

Bonus

Here’s a great picture of the hot springs at Ouray that didn’t find it’s way into our blog post. Plus one of twilight prairie grass in Oklahoma.

Selma to Clemson

Happy Thanksgiving from Pennsylvania! High on the list of the blessings we’re counting this week are all of YOU, our friends and family — thank you for following along and supporting us in this crazy dream we’re living. We’ll catch you up on our adventures in Virginia and Pennsylvania soon, but first, what happened after New Orleans?

Oct 27 – 29

From New Orleans we headed north to Selma, Alabama. Well, to Prairie Creek State Park, actually, about 20 minutes outside the city. Great park! Kayla had to lean into some work, so we gave ourselves three days here. And, for the first time since Durango, we experience less-than-80-degree weather!

Selma was once a thriving city, but these days is mostly in ruins. At the height of slavery it was an important cotton port. In the 40’s it was home to Craig Air Force Base. It was the site of the Freedom March, and the violence that ensued. Folks we talked to in Selma told us that the Air Force Base was closed in 1977 by the U.S. Congress as punishment for those uprisings. That closure began a steady decline in Selma’s population. COVID didn’t help, and then on January 12, 2023 a terrible tornado went through the center of town, destroying much of what was left.

Here’s a graph showing Selma’s population.

Cotton is still a major crop.
Scenes from downtown Selma.
The streets are mostly empty.
Looking in to an abandoned restaurant
This is the back of the buildings in the previous photograph.
Some attempt had been made to make a park, but it seemed closed and empty.
The bridge where the Freedom Marchers were attacked.

One place that was thriving in town was the Public Library. It was staffed by so many helpful folks, and is clearly well loved and used by its citizens. Particularly inspiring was the teen/children’s section, which was a FANTASTIC room that took about a quarter of the space, and had a dedicated staff person preparing after school activities.

We spent a late afternoon at the Old Cahawba Village, which was once a functional town and the capital of Alabama during the Civil War. On a brochure it was billed as a “City of Mystery” and we thought we would see lots of old buildings, but it was mostly interpretive signage about some building that used to be there.

The old church is one of the few buildings still standing.
Still an “Old South” take on the history here.
The foundations of an old house in the foreground, and a not-so-old house in the background.
The primary residents of Old Cahawba.

Oct 30 – Nov 2

We need to hit the road, and Kayla has a noon meeting, so we head to Montgomery. Kayla sets up shop at a city park shelter, and Matthew does some exploring. Then it is all the way to Athens, GA, where Matthew lived for a spell after getting his graduate degree from Clemson. We camped at Watson’s Mill State Park (again about 20 minutes from town) where Matthew and his ex used to go to escape the heat in the summer.

Athens has grown a great deal since his time there in the mid 1990’s. So many more apartment buildings have replaced the empty factories he remembers being there. Matthew gets the feeling that the music scene has also waned from the fabled times of REM and the B-52s.

Montgomery. Can you find Kayla?
The house on Habersham where Matthew used to live.
A great new cocktail bar in Normaltown.
Watson’s Mill Bridge
Kayla works on the UGA campus.
One of the great music spots in Athens.
Inside the Georgia Theater.
We saw this band.
And then this one.
Games at the Globe
Railroad trestles in downtown Athens.
The famous 40 Watt. Nothing was happening when we were there.
Music walk of fame. Can you link the next two pictures to this band?

Nov 3

We head to Clemson. We are staying in a hotel “resort” for this leg of the journey -there aren’t any viable campgrounds near campus. It works out well since there is heavy rain in the forecast (rain: another thing we haven’t experienced since Durango). Matthew went to Clemson as an undergrad from 86-90, then came back to get his master’s in 92. Just like Athens, Clemson has grown considerably since his time there.

Nick’s Bar was MT’s favorite watering hole.
And one of the few things that hasn’t changed.
A hawk eats a squirrel on the path Matthew walked many days from dorms to classes.

Why aren’t there more pictures of Clemson, a place where Matthew spent six busy years of his life? Hmmm. Maybe because the buildings of this campus are etched in the brain by repetitive viewing? Maybe because so much of the time spent there happened in a classroom? It could also be because our weary travelers are near the end of a long run, and have become careless in the documentation of their journey…

Into NOLA

That’s New Orleans LouisianA to the uninitiated.

[But first, a quick note about Process. Some of you might wonder why this blog is usually 3-4 weeks behind present day. “How hard can it be?” True, it should be as easy as picking some photos and writing a few quick reflections and stories. But on any given day, we’re also trying our darndest to live in the present, and usually there’s also some element of planning for the future. So, balancing time and space is the first hurdle. Then, we have photos on three different cameras, so those need to be reviewed and consolidated. In terms of writing – one of us will start the post and eventually the other will come in and elaborate. Then it goes back and forth a couple times to polish the photo captions or embellish the stories. And then you run into things like long travel days, or the roller coaster of daily news, or Kayla’s job gets really busy, or we’re just trying to stay on top of things like laundry and personal hygiene … and then we wonder why our top fans haven’t commented on our new post and then we realize that five days have gone by and we haven’t actually hit “Publish” on the draft yet. So, yeah. There ya have it. And now: here’s a story from three weeks ago.]

Ever since we hatched this NOLA plan many months ago, we had been holding out our trip to New Orleans – and meeting up with Grace and Charlie (Sitka friends) there – as one of the highpoints of this chapter of the adventure. It also marks an important waypoint: after New Orleans we will be heading north and beginning the last leg of our road travels for the year.

Though we certainly don’t know the city well, we’ve had the opportunity to wander beyond the French Quarter boundaries in previous trips, and were very much looking forward to getting to explore even deeper this round.

October 19 – 26: We bridge the 23 miles of Lake Pontchartrain to arrive at Grace’s nephew’s guest house in “uptown” NOLA not far off St. Charles Street. Darren and his wife own many of the classic dive bars in town, and were so generous to let all four of us stay in their wonderful guest space.

We endeavored to visit each of their bars during our week there.

The BettieMobile behind bars.
Inside the guest house.
On the back porch in the cool of the evening.
Pictures along some walks.
Old oaks vs sidewalks.
Oaks are winning.
This car is parked outside of Sandra Bullock’s house. Maybe hers?
Highways vs swamp.

We went to the City Park sculpture garden. It was the end of October and it was hot. Like, upper-80s hot.

At City Park Sculpture Gaarden
City Park – look for the beads.

We took an airboat tour. It was hot as well, unless the boat was moving, in which case we had a breeze. However, our captain was more interested in talking than boating, so we spent plenty of time drifting in the hot sun. Plus there was the time we got stuck.