An Epic Trip to the Desert Southwest

In early April, we took a trip up to the Southwest US to visit Heidi’s parents, Jean & Pete, south of Tucson—with huge gratitude to our dear friends, Boni & John, who stepped up to catsit Tosh & Tikka when our other cat sitter fell through at the last minute. With four of their own…

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Summer Adventures in Vallarta + 2 Trips North

Puerto Vallarta Malecon in the rain.

Land ho! This summer we’ve embarked on another house-sitting gig in a brand-new house, just a mile upstream from Playa Holi Beach, in Puerto Vallarta. While we’ve loved our years of condo-sitting for our friends Judy & Paul at their beautiful ocean-front Grand Venetian condo at Playa Holi, new adventures await us as we explore…

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Family Adventures in the US

It’s been a minute (or four months!) since we last updated our Blog. Where does the time go? In this case, we’ve been busy traveling back to the US for a few different adventures.  Due West in Hurricane-prep mode. Everything strapped down, or down below, double lines to docks. After arriving in Puerto Vallarta in…

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Whirlwind: 6 Airports and 2 Countries in 3 Weeks

While Kirk stayed home aboard Due West in Barra, working on boat projects, holding down the fort, and feeding and playing with Tosh & Tikka… Heidi trekked to the US, first for a functional medicine conference and then to visit family. Packing for potential weather extremes ranging from 95° in Texas to freezing temperatures and…

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RIP Dad—The World Lost A Great River Man…

Verne Huser sailing on Due West

The world lost a great river man when Heidi’s Dad, Verne Carl Huser, left this planet on the night of the Beaver Full Moon, Nov. 18, 2021. Verne passed away peacefully in the presence of family in Salt Lake City, Utah, a few months shy of his 91st birthday. He was a longtime river runner,…

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PVR to SLC and Adios to Albuquerque

©stephanie-klepacki-unsplash, Rio Grande Bosque, Albuquerque

If you’ve ever been to Albuquerque (ABQ), New Mexico, you know it’s one of those places that’s hard to get to from anywhere… especially from Mexico! Heidi’s dad Verne and his wife Willa had lived on a ranchette along the Bosque of the Rio Grande (above photo). But Verne had to move into assisted living…

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Boats, Planes, and Electric Cars: A Visit to the US

If you read our last blog post you’ll know we got some bad news about our 27-year-old oil-leaking diesel, Michael P. Engine. (Yes, that’s Kirk with all that hair, 27-years ago when we first installed the engine!) So we were hoping the engine fairy would help us out… Well, we’re here to tell you that…

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