What's in a name?

    If you've wandered onto this blog page you may be wondering why we've landed on the name "The Unpredictable Blueberry" for our blog.  After all, what do blueberries have to do with our travels or our lives in general?

   The impetus for our name started many years ago when Annie and I were dating. As with all couples we were getting to know each other's likes and dislikes as well as trying to show off our best qualities. As it happened one morning we were sitting down to have breakfast together. One of Annie's many talents (she truly is a jack of all trades),  is that she is an excellent cook and she had prepared a breakfast of pancakes and blueberries. When she noticed that I was not eating the blueberries it sparked a conversation that went something like this:

Annie: "I see you aren't eating any blueberries, do you not like them?"

Me: "I like the good ones. Don't you find them so unpredictable? For every one that is ripe, firm, juicy, and tastes delicious, I feel like there are one or two that are mushy, bland, sour and feel slimy in my mouth. I'd rather not play Russian Roulette with my food."

Annie: "I know what you mean, but I still think its worth the risk. That's a funny name though, The Unpredictable Blueberry, it'd be a perfect title for a book."


    Since that time we have gone back and re-visited this conversation, always with the notion that one day we would use that line as the title to a book and now in keeping up with the times a blog seemed more practical. And while the past 15+ years have seen their share of ups and downs they have mostly been as unpredictable as the aforementioned blueberry, which has served as a useful metaphor. Some notable highs include getting married, buying our first home, the births of our children, and spending time with family and friends whenever possible. While lows have involved loss of loved ones and missed opportunities.

     As we prepare to make this journey as a family it occurs to us that most people, while encouraging us and supportive of the idea of our adventure, must believe it is a little bit crazy to sell your house, pack up your children and belongings, and live in tiny home travelling the country. We get it, and we often have that thought ourselves. We realize that this could be a huge mistake, like that mushy, slimy blueberry which leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, but we hope to find the sweetness in the freedom of our travels and experiences on the road.

   We invite you to join us on our adventure, weather in spirit or in person along the road, and encourage you to live a little outside your comfort zone, to experience living your dreams today instead of waiting for the opportune time, you can always start again. While I still don't particularly like the unpredictable nature of the blueberries I have found out over time it is worth the risk to get the ones you really want.