Exploring the American Landscape From Our Airstream
Shannon 
Our builder pulled the permit for construction on our home the first week of July 2020, and it took almost a full year to receive our certificate of occupancy. It was a long year. We knew going in that this would be a long process given the challenges of coastal construction, like fabricating and installing … Read more
While our 6-month commitment to daily turtle patrolling is the most significant volunteer activity of our summer, we are also involved in another interesting citizen science project through ANERR (the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve). In our second gig, we are sampling Gulf of Mexico water and beach sand and analyzing it to determine the … Read more
Since we are not traveling this summer, we decided to volunteer with sea turtle patrol during nesting season, which runs from May 1 through October 31. Five species of sea turtles nest on Florida beaches, all of which are endangered or threatened. The most common are loggerheads, greens, and leatherbacks, while Kemp’s Ridley and hawsbill … Read more
We have turned the corner on our home construction in several ways. One is that our general attitude and patience level has moved from “Isn’t this all very fun and entertaining” to “When will this be over?” Another is that we actually know it will be over soon! We finally have a mostly-complete, mostly-functional house … Read more
A single family house is perhaps one of the most artisanal products most Americans will ever own. Despite the use of tilt-up, pre-fab, and even 3D printing in larger commercial applications, with single family homes it seems that just about every component is custom made by hand. And when you are anxiously awaiting completion, all … Read more