Back in the USSA

It’s been a month since my last post, and I’m starting to get those “Are you still alive??” emails from my dear friends and followers — at least what friends and followers I have left after diverting the blog to Portugal for two months. 😉 Thanks to those who have written to inquire.

I still have about 10 glorious places visited in Portugal that I had planned for the blog – lighthouses toured, fortresses explored, beaches adored, wine poured, seafood devoured, etc. etc. And I still plan to post them. I must after all, substantiate my claim that I write the blog to preserve the memories and not for the comments, right?

But I must also be honest with myself in saying that when the followers of the blog seem to lose interest, so do I. And nothing seems to have caused my followers to lose interest like a few months of slow travel through a foreign country.  So if in the Portugal updates you plan to “unsubscribe” please do so now in order to rip the Band-Aid off my tender ego quickly, rather than one hair at a time. 😉 Otherwise, as the road signs say more often than not, “Expect Delays” as I go back and relive my favorite memories of Portugal.

I left the coolness of the Portuguese coast to fly back to triple digit Texas temps, or as is commonly known, “The Hinges of Hell” in mid-July – way earlier than I would have liked for several reasons, not the least of which was a one day opening for a discount ticket before my Schengen Visa was up. I seized the opportunity rather than risk paying over a thousand bucks for a one way ticket to get back.

So I got caught up on my farm chores, spent some quality time with the family, got the Winnie roadworthy again, and cracked the whip to get the wheels rolling with the GPS pointed in a “North by Northwest” direction…

29 thoughts on “Back in the USSA

  1. I was about to be one of those wondering if you were OK. Glad to see all is well. I started following you because the notion of full time RV travel was interesting to me and my husband, recent retirees. Could we do the same? We love your blog for the great photography and ideas about where to roam, but also for your literary and musical references to your experiences on the road. Not sure if we’ll ever get around to full time RV travel – we like having a home base. But, we are looking forward to more travel, so we also LOVE your travel to Mexico and Portugal because we hope to go to those places, too. We have NOT lost interest. Love your blog! Thank you!

  2. I have read your blog starting at the beginning – please never stop. The beautiful pictures, the stories, and the facts make me feel like I am experiencing some of the joys and challenges and views of places that I will never see in person. When I found that you had posted today, I was delighted! Looking forward to the next adventure from Portugal and Texas.

    • Totally agree Christine! And Suzanne, I’m one of those travelers who’s been smitten by all things European and South American so I love your posts done overseas . In fact, feeling a bit like a traitor to my native country which is beginning to feel more and more like an alien country to me.

  3. Are you kidding, Suzanne. I cannot believe that there is a single person who doesn’t lose themselves in the pictures you paint with your words and your photos. You really take us to all those special places! Thank you for sharing your stories, your spirit, and yourself.

  4. I just e-mailed Deb yesterday asking about you. I was wondering what happened and if you were OK. I love every one of your blogs ! Don’t stop !

  5. Ditto exactly what Sharon Warren said, except that we also full time in our RV, but don’t have the luxury of going to all the places you go. Please don’t stop writing!

  6. LOL, I was one of those readers that was about to send you an “Are you alright?” email. Thanks for alleviating our fears and look forward to continuing on….

  7. Good to see you are back. My imagination went wild but said to myself “give Suzanne one month” and here you are! Thanks for the time you spend taking photo to share and writing your blog posts.

  8. I surmised you were back in the Hinges of Hell when you stopped writing. Glad to hear you’re on the road again! Sunny and 75 at our house! I loved your Portugal stories so keep posting!

  9. Suzanne, I don’t subscribe to blogs, but I check about 20 every day, twice a day for updates. We are still working, but have traveled with you all over the world and would terribly miss you if you quit writing.

    However, when the time comes for you to quit writing, we will be happy for you and grateful that you shared your travels with us.

    Thanks, Keith

  10. “And nothing seems to have caused my followers to lose interest like a few months of slow travel through a foreign country.” Really? I was wondering if I had screwed up my settings . Loved the posts from Portugal and look forward to more!

  11. You have made me want to go to Portugal.A number of years ago we bought a RV in Europe and saw most countries,although missing Spain and Portugal.You are very brave to go to some of the places that you’ve been as a single person.Look forward to reading what your doing next..
    Happy travels
    Carolyn Kidd

  12. I knew that you were just taking a break, and a well deserved one too. We have enjoyed the trip to Portugal and will enjoy the ones coming when you are ready to publish them. Please do not stop writing and photographing, we enjoy what and how you do both. We look forward to your trip northwestward. Enjoy, and stay mellow. You are fulfilling our unmet plans to travel in our dotage. (not intended as anything but admiration of your blog)

  13. Ditto, double and triple, what everyone has written up there. You…well, this blog written from your heart and soul…are my salvation for a dreamer’s longing of adventure and saving grace of the narrow view from this lazy girl chair looking out over a hundred acre corn field. When I sits, I dreams. And I dream big with every word and photo you share. As I open up each post with happy anticipation, Lou Reed’s words echo in my brain: “Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.” Thanks for continuing to share your walking path from the wild side. 🙂

  14. Well, now I feel guilty for not writing to ask if you’re okay! But I’ve thought about you lots of times and wondered, where in the word is Suzanne!

    I loved this post…no band-aid ripping here. I loved hearing about Portugal and look forward to the rest. I plan to send you an email soon. It’s been a newsworthy summer here.

  15. I started to post a picture I have of you with the red bandanna with sweat dripping off it as you drove the lawn tractor across Mom’s yard in 100 degree heat and say “I am not worried because I know where she’s been!” Then my wisdom got a hold of me. LOL.

    I am so thankful that you are not “popular” because all I have to do is go to Instagram, Facebook or Youtube and see all the likes and followers and “influencers”, selfie stick face-o-grams, ego promoters to find any popularity I might be looking for. So for your contents I have to say that I “Love you Just the Way you Are” (Billy Joel).

    From my perspective your blog serves as a “previous national geographic like offering” (before the Murdoch by-out) serving as an anchor point to log adventure and historic spots all over the world and I love seeing the straight-up interpretation that you present and I also know that the thousands of people who have landed on this blog from searches appreciate your work as well. And while your offering over the years is getting to be a smaller and smaller pebble in the growing pile of rocks (or other debris LOL) that seem to grow in almost pandemic proportions as we encounter more and more of the fluff, the often slap-stick and made-up travel reality shows, and as we view so many faces plastered over tiny glimpses of historic sites on social media, your offering certainly remains an oasis in a vast desert wasteland.

    So keep up the good work and be thankful on days with no comments that you are doing the best job possible LOL. (Else consider the alternative … oh awesome, cool like, like, like, like, like, thumbs up, like, rad, etc.)

  16. Ditto to all the above comments. Your thoughtful and beautiful blog is always enjoyed. I love your adventures in and out of the rv. I spent a couple of weeks in November sometime in the 90’s in Portugal when my husband spent a few months working in Porto. It’s been great seeing places we missed and those we did see.

    It has been exceedingly hot here in N. Texas while we moved out of our house in August and ended up with no place to move to. House shopping this time of year it’s not for the faint hearted.

  17. Love to read about all your adventures in and out of the RV and no matter where you travel. Thank you for sharing your amazing photos of your varied explorations.

Leave a Reply to Don Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *