I’m going on the road again.

This time, work is taking me to Arkansas for at least seven months, from September 2026 through May 2027.

An area that has actual seasons.

Winter may bring a little snow, but thankfully not the ungodly below-zero cold found farther north. And if the timing works out, I should arrive just as the first fall colors begin settling into the trees.

My home base will remain in Florida, where my husband and my mother will stay in the home we bought together, along with our animals. My travel package allows me to fly home about once a month if I choose, and we’re also making plans for them to occasionally come stay with me.

So I’m not moving away from home.

But for most of the next several months, Arkansas will be where I am.

And although I am not on vacation, I want to make a point to notice where I am.

I want to be intentional about exploring the town and the surrounding area instead of simply driving between work and wherever I happen to be staying.

Maybe that means finding a cozy local coffee shop.

Maybe it means wandering through a museum, visiting a historical site, finding an odd roadside attraction, or happily participating in whatever tourist-trap activity catches my attention.

I love that stuff.

And after spending almost the last two years commuting close to two hours every day, I suddenly won’t have that commute eating such a large piece of my life.

I want to do something with that time.

I want to explore the town I’m living in. Get back into hiking. Find some trails. Restart a regular yoga practice. Occasionally go somewhere simply because I saw a sign for it and wondered what was there.

As time and energy allow, anyway.

Because this still isn’t vacation.

There will be workdays, long days, tired days, grocery shopping, laundry, errands, and evenings when the only thing I explore is the couch.

But I don’t want to spend seven months somewhere and leave knowing nothing more about it than the route between my jobsite and my temporary home.

So I’m going to try to notice where I am.

And along the way, I’ll share some of what I find—good local spots, hiking trails, museums, historical sites, tourist attractions, travel tips, and probably a few things I never would have known to look for before I got there.

We’ll see what Arkansas has to show me.