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My husband and I were both born and raised in Chicago and the suburbs of Chicago. We loved all of the wonderful museums, stores, restaurants, great school systems and programs and all of the opportunities that they provided to us and our family.
After our two children were out on the nest, with families of their own. We decided that maybe it was time for us to leave the nest also - stretch our wings - and try something different for the 2nd part of our lives.
We have always been Midwesterners - and so that is where we always felt the most comfortable and at 'Home". We were familiar with all of the seasonal changes and that was what was "Normal" for us. We have vacationed in many parts of the United States and also to other countries, always thinking about possibly retiring there - but the Midwest would always call us "Home.
My husband is a contractor and I have always worked in the Human Services field. We have purchased and remodeled, lived in and sold several homes during our working years. So, living in a home during renovation is not new to us - and certainly packing up a great deal of things and moving quite a few times is not something we are unaccustomed to - but this move was the largest renovation and move that we had made to date. Our last move before the "Big Move" was to a hobby farm in need of a lot of TLC. So, we renovated it and loved it very much. After moving to this hobby farm, we acquired many animals - horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, llamas, peacocks, chickens and all kinds of ducks and waterfowl. It was paradise. This hobby farm ended up being on 15 acres (we started with 70 acres and sold off). The area was still agricultural but was becoming more suburban than we liked. So, we decided that we wanted to move everyone and everything to more of a rural, isolated area.
My husband saw a listing for 40 acres with a 100 yr. old cabin, a mobile home and several dilapidated buildings on it - in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So, we took a ride.
We were both mesmerized by the beauty of the woodlands, the pond and the area. The log cabin had been a 'camp' for hunters and was basically a dumpster. The log cabin stood strong while people filled it to the brim with junk and the most useless garbage I have ever seen. There was a KEEP OUT sign on the log cabin - we laughed - And then, WE BOUGHT IT. But what we also did was buy a turn of the century Victorian home in a nearby town where we would live until we could make the log cabin more comfortable. Thank goodness we did - our hobby farm sold in days - and we needed to start moving north to start our new adventure.
And, so, begins our next adventure - probably the biggest to date - all of this was even a bit much for us seasoned adventurers - but, we felt we were up for it. Our hope was to become as self-sufficient as possible on this beautiful piece of land with our sweet animals and hearts and minds full of hope.
Several years have passed since we moved to the Northwoods and we want to share all of the stories of how we got here - and also about future plans for our 40 acres and where we are headed.
