If anyone had told me even a handful of years ago that going vegan would be part of my life plan, I would have been torn between laughing hysterically and passing out from shock. While we are still primarily only vegetarian and flexitarian on the road, over the past two years, David and I have transitioned to a mainly plant-based diet here at home. We’ve researched lentil recipes, come up with some fun ideas for vegan sandwiches and even discovered some helpful tips for vegan baking. Seriously, who would have thought?

Other cool developments include my own internationally-syndicated travel column with McClatchy-Tribune News Services, a best-selling book I co-wrote with the writers of Wise Bread called 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget and finally being able to make a full-time living as a writer, blogger and travel photographer.

While we’ve been based here in Florida for a few years while my husband completed his science teaching degree, we’re now getting itchy feet to hit the road again. We knew it would happen, and have been downsizing diligently for quite some time. We’ve moved before, but always assumed (for whatever reason) that we’d have a permanent home base, and that with that home base would come the space to store all of the items we’d accumulated over the years.

While we’re still hanging on to a few of our treasures, the truth is we don’t want the headache of moving them every few years as “permanent” just doesn’t seem suit our lifestyle or be part of the universe’s plan for us. Sure, we like to feel at home whenever we put down roots for a period of time, but the dug-in, having enough belongings to service a small village plan no longer fits who we’ve become as people.

Where are we going? We have no idea. Maybe it’ll be overseas for some short-term contract work. Or maybe we’ll tour North America with our dog Maggie. Or perhaps she’ll spend some time with her favorite long-term caregiver and auntie while we snag a house sit in a destination we want to write about. However it all pans out, packing up will be part of the process. So we are moving forward on that front with precision, trusting that the proper plan will unveil itself when the time is right.

In the meantime, writing, blogging, photography and speaking gigs are all still on the table and taking place. They are projects well-suited to our nomadic hearts, and part of our long-term business plan. Stay tuned for more updates as our situation unfolds. Thanks so much for your readership and support!

Photo Credit: Trek Hound photographers snapped this image while traveling in Saquisili, Ecuador. It is available for creative commons use along with other travel images on Pictures of Travel Places.