Who we are

We are Katherine and Tom (aka K&T) – the folks embracing the mentality of ‘Life in the Big Green Jolly’. We are oh-so-slowly moving towards our goal of long-term travelers. We aim to promote and use community-based or local tourism when we can. After years of bicycle tours and backpacking trips, we know we enjoy exploring cities but our true joy comes from smaller towns and quieter spots.

In spring of 2017, we bought the a 15 year old van, nicknamed it the ‘the big green jolly’ and began exploring ‘van life’ options.  Embracing the spirit of van life, we began making travel a priority (sorry neighbors… the crab grass is here to stay!).  We have a ways to go before we are truly (ever?) van life but it started the process of ‘what-if’.

During the spring of 2018, Katherine resigned her position as a database administrator as part of the ‘what-if’. This was an acceleration of the five year plan of a semi-retirement, but sometimes life gives you signs that its time for a BIG change. Many factors contributed to this switch but certainly our Antarctica trip in February/March of 2018 led to an inability to re-acclimate to life in a status-quo manner.

Katherine has a background in information technology and a masters in tourism. Her role in this jolly life is the planner and researcher of all things related to travel. On the road, her role is to point out when we’ll be ‘chasing the light’ and to chant the never-ending mantra of “let’s go… we’ve got places to be!”

Tom has a background and a masters in design engineering. He is still working full-time for a large corporation while utilizing every minute of his holidays and vacation to travel. His role in this jolly life is to figure out all the creative ways duct tape and an swiss-army knife can be used to solve 72% of all mechanical issues. He is also the creative one on the team who has the patience to actually wait for just the right moment for the great photos. As the chief of Serendipity, he proves again and again that a bit of procrastination can produce magical and unforgettable moments.

Join us as we explore and find the local even in the ‘big’!