It’s official. Since launching OlsensTravels, this is the longest we’ve gone without a post – nine months! (To be fair, we did say in the last post that we were putting our own plans on hold for a bit.)

So, now that you mention it, how’d that go?

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! That’s how.

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Now, for the tricky task of summing up what we’ve been up to while Kayla pursued her classes.

Todd decided to give up another “spare part” – appendix this time, and Susie tried to focus on staying upright with PT-based balance training (with almost complete success, but that’s a story we’d like to forget). We also watched in frustration as our Falcons played another terrible season.

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In late November of 2025 🙂 , we hit the road!

(Albeit temporarily…)

We were Virginia-bound for an upcoming very important celebration. First up, however, a wide-spread Thanksgiving weekend spent with far apart family. It began in East Palatka, Florida enjoying dinner with the Olsen side of our blended family.

On Black Friday, we skipped the sales and instead took our full bellies on the long drive from Florida to Virginia to join the Williams half of our children in Mechanicsville. It was time to deck some halls!

As vagabonds, it’s been several years since we decorated a tree, especially a fragrant fresh-cut fir. That was truly a fun way to get the Christmas spirit ready. More egg nog, please!

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Hang on a second. Before Christmas, there was the not-so-small matter of that aforementioned very important celebration. Back in February of 2025, our multi-tasking, planner extraordinaire (not Todd) began planning another Top-Secret mission, booking a location and pulling together a surprise party. Shhh

Mom had no lack of plans on her big day. There was bunco with the ladies in the afternoon, a quick change of clothes, dinner out, and the cantata that night. Little did she know, the B-I-G surprise was coming the next afternoon.

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After that monumental celebration, time flew by in a flurry of routine medical appointments, last-minute shopping, wrapping of gifts, and baking.

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The next step in the plan was to join the Williams family in Mechanicsville for Christmas (Part VI…?) on New Year’s Eve, the last of the Virginia holiday gatherings.

Screech! All hard stop! Enter…C-O-V-I-D. It took Susie down first, a day after we drove out of Chesapeake, and Todd a couple days later.

Obviously, the remaining gatherings had to be postponed for a later date.

There’s a logistical challenge to not owning a home, just where do you go when you’re sick? We spent the ten days of isolation, very slowly making our way back down the coast a few hours at a time, explaining and apologizing to hosts along the way and doing a lot of cleaning…

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We finally made it back to the apartment in Largo, exhausted but safely clear of cooties, and waited another week before driving back across Florida for a delayed Christmas gathering with the Olsens.

OOPS. Hold the phone. Make that the MITCHELLS / Olsens. While we were away, daughter Tracee and her beau Royce gathered their children and quietly tied the knot!

More festivities!

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And finally, a Very Merry Christ Happy New Birth Valentine’s Year Day Mas!

Or something like that. Ha!

Having to postpone that anticipated Virginia celebration disappointed Susie, of course, but it also meant another thousand-mile drive back up the coast a month or so later. If you’re keeping track, that makes FOUR THOUSAND miles – FL to VA, VA to FL, FL to VA, and VA to FL. Not to mention the hundreds of miles during each stay. Whew. Time for an oil change.