Shirley is seriously invested in the philosophy of SlowTrav.
She’s my aunt – my mother’s baby sister. But it feels weird calling her “aunt” since she is only a year older than me and we grew up together. I much prefer to just call her my best friend, because that is what she really is.
When she isn’t traveling, Shirley lives on a ranch in the Sierra foothills. She just recently turned a chunk of that property into a culinary grade lavender farm.
Anyway, back to the subject of her investment in Slow. Shirley has this habit of going to the same places for the same reasons every year. She goes to Cody, WY for an annual cowboy art festival. She goes to Clarksdale, Mississippi for a Blues Festival. She goes to Lake Tahoe so her dogs can play in the snow.
Now, If you know Shirley, you know she just doesn’t like to stay in hotels. She likes the convenience of having an entire house to herself. She’s also a pretty shrewd business woman.
So what does she do when she wants to keep going back to the same place at least once a year? Is she a regular at some cute little B & B? Does she find a favorite vacation rental?
HECK NO! She just buys a house.
She fixes it up to suit herself; blocks the dates she wants to use it every year and then lists it with vacation rental companies. She puts that sucker to work paying for itself.
Here are her three places here in the US. She has all of them listed on VRBO so I will just post the photo along with the listing number if anyone is interested in looking at them.
Tahoe VRBO #146495

Clarksdale, MS VRBO #146407

Cody, WY VRBO #69995

I’m just waiting to find out what will be her next new place to go, since that means another house will join the VRBO list.
Evidently there is a hotbed of lavender farming in Sequim, Washington. That’s where the Lavender Festival is held in July every year.
SO, my bet is on the northeastern corner of the Olympic Peninsula.