Two Suitcases: A traveling retirement. Our new book is out!

Today is the launch of our new ebook, Two Suitcases: A Traveling Retirement. I’ve taken the first five years of this blog, distilled the most important travel-related advice and stories from it, and turned it into a book. Jonathan is my co-author, adding in the nuts and bolts of finding our homes via Airbnb or VRBO. He’s also in charge of the kitchen, with how-tos and recipes.

We share the process of planning for travel during retirement, from assembling a wish list of places, to moving into an apartment in Barcelona. The first five years of our travels explore the planning and downsizing process, along with experiences and lessons from life in motion around the world.

We’ve enjoyed every minute of our travels. Maybe not every minute, but most of them. We are waiting for the pandemic to ebb so we can go back on the road. On the other hand, I’m now wondering what will be different when international travel resumes. Regular readers of llywindatravels.com will have seen my post on disaster books. I hope none of the things that happened in them come to pass in the next few years and that we really will be able to visit other countries the way we have in the past.

Two Suitcases is both memoir and how-to. When I started writing, I thought that turning all those blog posts into a book would be a breeze. I did read many advice emphasizing that blogs are not books, and can’t just be sandwiched between covers. I spent about a year and a half laying out our story. I then recruited Jonathan and we spent another year, and then some, rewriting it. My Christmas letter two years ago mentions the book that I hoped to have out “shortly.” I am delighted that we’ve gotten to the finished book, and I’m looking forward to continuing the blog and writing about our second five years of retirement and travel. Whether you are an armchair traveler or someone who keeps a packed suitcase by the door, I hope you will enjoy sharing our travels. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the book, your travels, your future travel plans, your thoughts about travel in the future, or whatever is on your mind.