What if retirement isn't about stopping work but creating a life you truly want to live? From financial realities and changing careers to finding purpose and exploring new possibilities, here's how Paul and I are rethinking retirement and planning for life beyond work.

Fall in Montrose, Colorado, brings a corn maze outing in Olathe with a reluctant Paul, five pumpkins, and cooler walks with Gibby. While looking ahead to travel and retirement, I’m finding reasons to be present right here.

A fall road trip from Montrose to Boulder brings back decades of memories at CU Boulder’s Folsom Field, from Ralphie and Buff football to concerts, old friends, and the realization that some places will always feel like home.

Meet Gibby, a 13-year-old chocolate Lab whose joyful life offers ten Blue Zones-inspired lessons for helping senior dogs live longer and happier lives.

Two nights of JRAD, old friends, Colorado mountain towns, incredible scenery and a road trip through Eagle and Summit Counties. Sometimes the music is only part of the magic.

Three months into our Big New Life in Montrose, force majeure has struck more than once. There’s been a broken wrist, a sick cat, a leaky Labrador, a Cactus Housing Crisis, and the growing realization that perhaps we still don’t have this whole thing under control.

The first 24 hours in a new place can set the tone for your entire trip. Here are five simple ways to get oriented, settle in, and become comfortable enough to actually notice where you are.

Montrose wasn't supposed to be the destination. It was simply where the job happened to be. But after one month of hiking, music, glamping, mountain towns, and planning our ski season, we realized we'd stumbled onto one of Colorado's best places to call home.

Portugal is still one of Europe's most popular retirement destinations, but rising costs and changing priorities have us asking a different question: Has Portugal changed, or have we? Here's what we learned after trying to buy a home there.

Could Spain be the retirement destination you've been looking for? From vibrant plazas and Mediterranean cafés to mountain villages and coastal towns, Spain offers a lifestyle centered on community, walkability, and enjoying everyday life. In this second article of my retirement series, I explore what makes Spain such an appealing place to consider for the next chapter.

We almost retired in Portugal. Then France unexpectedly entered the conversation. From healthcare and quality of life to charming villages, château renovations, and retirement visas, here's why France may deserve a place on your shortlist.

When do you finally get "there?" After years of chasing jobs, identities, and expectations, I realized the destination wasn't what I thought it was. This is the story of how I stopped looking for the next job and started building my next There.

From mountain lakes and rivers he insists are actually lakes to one very large "ocean lake" in California, Gibby Stieg-Lampe ranks his favorite swimming destinations across the American West. Featuring sticks, cat food, questionable math, and expert aquatic analysis from a senior Labrador.

I thought I needed a complete plan before I could begin. Building Best of Both Worlds taught me something different: some of the most meaningful things in life reveal themselves only after we take the first step.

After seven months of booking luxury vacations, I came away with an unexpected lesson: meaningful travel isn't always about spending more money. From guesthouses in Portugal to neighborhood cafés in New Orleans, here's what luxury travel taught me about traveling with intention.

What the photos don't show is often the most important part of the story. A picnic, an annoyed husband, a published travel journal, and a reminder that the biggest moments in life are often built one small step at a time.

Airfare isn't getting any cheaper, but that doesn't mean you have to let it dictate your travel plans. In this article, I explore why the cheapest flight isn't always the best value and share several ways to think differently about airfare, travel time, routing, and the overall experience. The goal isn't to find the cheapest flight. The goal is to find the best flight for your trip.

Somewhere between Cortez and Montrose, Paul and I are beginning to realize our Corps of Questionable Decisions may have been a voyage of discovery all along.

It may be time to question the stories we’ve been told about overworking, productivity, and success. What happens when the rules you followed faithfully no longer lead where you hoped they would?

Resigning as the Assistant Giant Cactus Mover was the best career move I ever made. Navigating "Paul-Land" requires grit, a chariot for a 7-foot succulent, and a total "no math" manifesto. From 4 AM managerial crises to the "Positivity Paradox" of moving day, this is what it actually takes to move a desert across the Four Corners.