In which a theoretically responsible middle-aged husband and father of two (lovely) young girls decides to quit his job and leave his Brooklyn apartment in order to travel to the ends of the earth whilst living out of a little red Toyota pickup truck…
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rovingbugs 
Fantastic work! I have already begun re-assembling this blog as paper handouts to share with my computer-fearful parents. We’re all looking forward to reading about your continuing adventures!
Loving catching up on your adventures! Keep updating often – we need our Goffin fix 🙂 Hope you are warm and happy. Safe travels! xoxo
I think we can all appreciate exactly what you’ve done. Bien hecho, amigo.
Good luck on your adventure! We look forward to following the journey.
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Hey i see your truck in mexicali in Mexico to cross border calexico ca.
Love the writing and that we get to fillow the journey here. Great to talk to hear from you guys before you head over the border again. So excited for this trip and cheering you on every day. Wishing you sunshine and great adventures!!! Much love!
Hey, sounds like you’re in or near SoCal. I’ll be in San Diego from Jan 29 through Feb 4 for my annual week of waves. Be happy to meet up with you and show you and the fam around, help the kids catch some waves, whatev.
David Primeau
Keep the fresh air flowing… Loving the updates,fabulous stuff.
One more for today…if you go through Santa Roaslia again, check out the church there designed by Gustav Eiffel. Word: it was designed and built in France. It was disassembled (it’s made of steel) and shipped to Mulege. But the boat oveshot Mulege and the church now lives in Santa Rosalia.
Nice to meet you in town today. You are a smart and noble man. To decide to go ‘live the dream’ with your family, exploring and really living life instead of staying in the city at a job that was grinding away at your soul.. There are many all over the western world who sit at their office cubicle and daydream about doing what you have chosen to actually DO. And the message your (beautiful) daughters will take from this will be exponentially rewarding and encouraging for their future concepts of what life is and can be. This journey will imprint them with “Adventure is akin to REAL LIFE, Nature is our playground and nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it” ; concepts that are all but extinct for most children growing up in an urban reality. What to do when the money runs out however is another story… I have a pretty good feeling that, after adventures like these with your (lovely) wife and kids, and seeing how easy it is to be happy, fed, warm and entertained without 24/7 wifi, without the big screen tv, without all the ‘technological advancements” upon which western man has become so sadly dependent.. After you go months and months feeling the fullness of life that can so easily exists without all these things, after you fall asleep to the sounds of nature every night and see the sun rise in such beautiful settings every morning… you will be loathe to just return to “business as usual”, back in the city, in another apartment, to find another job, as if your journey had all been but a dream and now you had to return to “reality”.
Mark my words, brother. Once you get a taste for this lifestyle, you (and your family) will always hunger for it when you are away from it.
You are crossing a bit of a point of no return…or at least beginning courses of action that will have you all seriously contemplating a different “reality” to which to return.
There is a natural, sustainable, often rural middle ground between where you are and when you are doing and where you were and what you were doing..
I encourage you to consider it real and possible and to find it when you are ready.
It will be there waiting for you…
“Whoever uses the spirit that is in him creatively is an artist. To make living itself an art, that is
the goal.” .. Oddly the man who wrote that, also wrote “Death of a Salesman”. Coincidence ? I think not.
Aaaah, Stiv. If only you were here right now you’d get a kick out of my beard. Great to hear from you, and hope all is well up in That Place Up North. Get that other kid of yours into college, sell the house, get a truck and come meet us.
it was really nice to meet you and your family. We hope Valerie is feeling better now, and that you made it to Aqua Verde. Let us know how you guys are doing once in a while. Its always fun to follow people we have met, who stop in here on their way to more adventures.
Hi Ruth, and thanks so much for checking in with us! All is well, now that we’ve survived a windstorm I feel like we can tackle just about anything the peninsula choses to throw at us. Thanks again to you and George for your hospitality, and Val is indeed once again racing about like a madwoman, tiring the rest of us. We’ll be in touch and you can keep an eye on us here… R.
Nice to met y’all at Agua Verde. Hope the girls are enjoying that tube. Heading north I lost my alternator above Santa Rosalia. Got it replaced in San Ignacio. Used one out of a Taco. Wish Sylvie a happy BD for me. Vaya con dios.
It looks like you guys are having a wonderful time. Keep it up. The updates are great!
Robbie, It’s so fun to read about your adventures! We miss you here in Brooklyn, and only begrudge you ever-so-slightly that you have missed out on this winter. The girls look wonderful; please give them hugs from us. Much love from Kate, Kabir, Lola, Kiran and Henry
Hello all you bugs! My husband Dean and I met you at Santa Helena Canyon in Big Bend National Park last Thanksgiving. Many years ago, when our children were 3 and 5 we sold our house and traveled around the country. We discussed this with you when we met, perhaps you will recall some of the conversation.
We are so happy to read your blogs and to see that you continue to move along and enjoy your freedom of “life” in the conventional manner.
Our children are currently 45 and 48 – they still talk about our travels and the fun times we experienced. Dean and I are still roaming around the country, just returned home after a 3 month trip (which included a return to Big Bend during the cactus blooming season. Oo
Hola Val, Robbie, Sylvie and Leonie!
We are still here (my husband finally arrived about three weeks ago.), but we plan to leave in a few days. I went back to the RV park to say good bye and I must have just missed you. THANK YOU for the sweet note and the GREAT drawing. I have both of them on my refrigerator. I am so impressed with your adventurous spirit and the girls will have incredible memories to last a lifetime (and you too!)
I read your recent post about your granny ..beautifully put and very touching. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Indi and Lucky are doing great and we are all looking forward to our next adventure. Perhaps our paths will cross again in Baja.
take care,
B
Hi guys – just wanted to say thanks so much for your hospitality the other night, it was greatly appreciated! I’ve made it to Moab & I think I may have even seen you driving through Torrey on the way over. Have greatly enjoyed looking through your updates (particularly the transformation of the Red Beauty). I’ve managed to get some photos of my own up, and there one of you guys around day 15 I think. They’re at onthe.bike
Again, thanks for the beer & chocolate – hope our paths cross again sometime & I can repay the hospitality.
Best
Ed
Hola Robbie, Val, Sylvie and Leonie!
Hoping you are all well and wondering where you are these days. We are still in Santa Barbara, broken down and awaiting a new differential from Indiana. Hoping to head up to Truckee by the end of this week. We think of, and speak of, you all often while recounting our unforgettable memories of Mexico of which you all played such a big part in. Please stay in touch!
Love,
Marshall and Julie Lewis
Hi, have been meaning to drop you a line. Your blog has been a bit of an inspiration to me. I am a father of two wonderful children and this summer is my big push to start getting out with them more. Unfortunaly we are not quite in a place to go on a full time adventure just yet, we are planning. Last year was the truck ( the white whale) and camper, this year is saving and next will be a good adventure.
I was just leaving the take out at the library ( I was able to get a quick run down the Yampa) in Steamboat and I almost crashed the truck. I saw a red Toyota. I wanted to stop and say hi at least but I also didn’t want to seem like some kind of creepy internet fanboy ( and I had a baby girl in dire need of a snack). Then my wife pointed out it might be a little weird to stop and bother you guys. It’s pretty funny how small this world really is sometimes.
So thanks for the wonderful stories and inspiration. Keep up the adventuring.