Our ordinarily neat and cozy apartment is scattered with boxes and dust bunnies. The disarray is both discomforting and exciting- it means that it's finally time to start our grand adventure. We're not "moving" in the traditional sense; neither of us were offered a stellar job, or decided to go back to school, or even wanted a different living space. It's more like moving on with no particular place in mind.
We're whittling down our possessions, packing our camping gear and some comfy dirt-colored clothes, and setting off in early November to WWOOF across the country. For those of you who haven't heard, WWOOF stands for World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Essentially how it works is willing workers exchange labor for housing and food at participating locations, for any given amount of time. You could stay anywhere from a grass-fed beef ranch, to a permaculture homestead, to a tropical fruit orchard. Can you think of a better way to satisfy a travel bug and gain valuable agricultural work experience? Nope.
Our first stop is Oregon in November, and we'll be working our way down the West coast, across the southwest, and back up the East coast staying at a different farm each month. So far we've planned for California in December, Arizona in January, New Mexico in February, and Texas in March, and North Carolina in April. There are also plenty of National Parks to visit along the way in between farm stays!
It's going to be a complete change of lifestyle, living out of our car, meeting new people, exploring strange cities, and growing together as we overcome challenges and witness the raw beauty of the American landscape. I hope you'll be able to join us on the journey, if my writing and photography will do it justice, and participate through this blog.
Thanks for all the love and support that made this adventure possible,
Haley & Reilly
