About Us
Playing the part of ski instructors at Beaver Creek
This chronicle tracks the adventures of Kent and Heather (“Dr. and Mrs. Vacation”) as we take the first of hopefully many Unexcused Absences. The seed for this break from reality was planted a few years ago when Heather turned to Kent and said “Last year we had 14 weeks of vacation – was that enough?” (2009 was a slow year for work). And he said, without hesitation, “No.”
So, we jumped. We rented out our house (in the DC area) for a year, got seasonal jobs at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado (as ski instructors), and started this online journal. After the resort closed in mid April, we drove back to DC, put in a few weeks of work, then flew to the south of France to begin a ten-week cruise on our “new” 20-year-old canal boat, Après Ski. We finalized the purchase and took possession of the boat in St. Gilles, near where the Rhône River empties into the Med, and then cruised slowly westward on the Canal du Rhône à Sète, then the Canal du Midi, and finally to the western terminus of the Canal de la Garonne.
Après Ski made the trip to Bourgogne (Burgundy) on the back of a truck during the summer of 2011. We now cruise regularly through central France, typically for 10-15 weeks per year. And the house is still rented several years later, so no need for us to return to “real” life just yet!
For a look at past vacations, please visit our vacation resume at DoctorVacation.com.
Our boat, Après Ski, in the south of France
We started this website mostly as a way to document our travels for ourselves and our friends and family, and have now acquired a small but enthusiastic readership. Please continue to send us your comments/suggestions/questions either in the comments section or by email, we love hearing from our readers, and we hope you enjoy hearing about our adventures!
For those who are curious, Kent took the banner photos at the top of the site. A new one appears each month, so be sure to check back for more panoramic views from around the world!
