ABOUT US
Hi, We're Brooke & Buddy … Welcome!
We are happy you enjoy our website enough to want to learn more about us. If you haven’t realized by now, we are constantly changing life directions, getting lost, and wandering away down a new path. It’s just how we do things around here. But – lucky for you – it makes for some damn good stories and life lessons to share.
Right now, we live full-time in Hawaii where we work, volunteer, and use any excuse to go to the beach. We moved in March 2021 after ten months in New Zealand (seven more than planned!). Before that, we were seeking out international travel through full-time house/pet sitting and loving it, but the pandemic made that too much of a hassle so we got a home base! However, we missed pet sitting, so we quickly started our own company offering Hawaii pet sits locally and across the islands.
Once travel becomes possible/easier, we look forward to traveling to the other islands of the Pacific, going to Asia for the first time, and finally getting to Australia!
Consider hopping over to our travel destinations page to start some trip dreaming or learn more about how house/pet sitting works. And don’t forget to sign up for our updates. They are random (like us), but it’s better than the spam those other bloggers send you!
About Trailing Away: Our Blog’s Origin Story
Trailing Away is a collection of our travel stories, life epiphanies, and unique nomadic experiences in amazing places around the world.
This collection of awesome hiking trails, epic adventures, unforgettable road trips, and travel lessons is meant to inspire you to get out and explore, to search near and far for beautiful places, make memories, and capture moments.
Sometimes we’ll make you tear up, other times you’ll laugh your ass off. But hopefully, you’ll always be inspired. (We try really hard not to suck at this whole content creation thing, so let us know if it ever begins to stink around here and we’ll shape up real fast – promise!)
We started this blog in 2015. At the time, we were living in Colorado in a big house, with 9-5 desk jobs, and just wanted to document our hikes and short trips.
Then, after a few years of occasional local and plane travel, a two-week camper van road trip through Iceland pushed us to quit life as we knew it and try full-time RVing! Once we got the hang of being digital nomads, we decided to ditch the wheels after only a year and find a way to travel much further than before!
In April 2018, we became full-time house sitters with TrustedHousesitters and absolutely love it! This new journey has already taken us to some amazing places (like Hawaii and Europe), and with so many international options, it is sure to lead us to plenty more unexpected and incredible destinations.
Since this blog chronicles our life as travelers and adventurers, you are sure to come across a wide variety of content – since we’ve followed many different trails since 2015. From micro-cations to RV life and our most recent dive into international travel. A lot has changed over the years.
Way back in its infancy, this blog was simply a hobby and some of the blog posts (that we haven’t gotten around to updating) reflect that. But as it has grown, we really wanted to turn it into a resource for other travelers – whether weekend warriors or nomads. Because we’re passionate about sharing what we’ve learned and experienced on this amazing planet we call home.
We really hope you enjoy this website and find our content helpful – or at the very least, entertaining!
And in case you were wondering (because it seems to be on everyone’s mind) … no, we don’t have any plans to ever quit traveling. Unless all the places we want to see start falling off the map, there’s still a lot of traveling we plan to do! So, in the words of Miley Cyrus: “We can’t stop. And we won’t stop.”
About Brooke & Buddy
We are a super silly couple, with a strong love for each other, animals, photography, nature, and exploration. When we aren’t outside or taking photos, most of our time is spent laughing, getting lost, snuggling pets we're sitting for, listening to old-school hip-hop, and debating what to eat (basically just deciding between pizza or tacos).
Although we are both originally from North Florida, we love the mountains. Which is what sparked our cross-country move to Colorado! However, as we travel, we've learned we also love beaches with rocky cliff-sides, old cities with stunning architecture, and anywhere with a scenic waterfall. We ended up choosing Hawaii as our long-term homebase because of the beauty, kind culture, and amazing weather!
We aren’t amazing athletes, death-defying adrenaline seekers or the perfect couple. But we do consider ourselves experts at just winging it. Thankfully, faith and patience go a long way! And we definitely have an adventurous side. (You just won’t see us flying around in one of those wingsuits anytime soon).
If you decide to follow along, there will be lots of hiking, many lessons to share, and countless adventures.
About Brooke: The Writer
Brooke loves to be in new places. Her desire to travel began at a young age when her Omi would tell her stories of life in Germany and about traveling across Europe. And as soon as she learned how to write, it was obvious that would be the outlet for her creativity. In addition to this blog, she is also Editor of Winnebago’s lifestyle blog, WinnebagoLife.com and does other various freelance work.
She loves being outside and fell in love with hiking after moving to Colorado. Although Brooke has never been the athletic type, she continues to push herself physically and mentally during outdoor adventures. Because the fresh air and views are totally worth it!
About Buddy: The Photographer
Buddy has been in love with photography ever since he picked up a crappy point-and-shoot over a decade ago. He is most excited to capture waterfalls, birds, and embarrassing photos of Brooke. He is the awesome eye behind the photography on this site.
Plus, he is super friggin’ smart! He spent almost 10 years as a self-taught data analyst. Now he works for a non-profit in Hawaii and takes care of all the behind-the-scenes tech stuff for the blog, plus helps run our pet sitting company.
It's worth noting his skills as an amazing navigator are without equal. Whether driving, figuring out train routes, or walking to our hotel, he has a talent for putting us on the right path.
