WELCOME TO SAVING TIME IN A BOTTLE

Hi there! We’re Curtis and Jess, and we use this site as a way to document the memories we’ve made together, and to share our adventures with family & friends. After 10 years in the Navy and moving all over the US, we started our journey as nomads, living in a self-built van, working remotely, and traveling wherever work takes us. We most enjoy spending time in the outdoors along with our basset hound, Charlotte, doing things like hiking, kayaking, camping, and more. Thanks for visiting, feel free to stick around!

RECENT POSTS

  • Hennepin Canal Trail / Sylvan Island
    Ottawa, IL to Davenport, IA | Hiking a Section of the Hennepin Canal Trail | First 2 Days in Davenport, IA | Hiking Around Sylvan Island | Hiking a Section of Duck Creek Trail | March 2024 Curtis’ third assignment this spring brought us to Davenport, IA and the greater Quad Cities area. We were…
  • French Canyon / February 2024 in Ottawa, IL
    Hiking to French Canyon in Starved Rock State Park | Spending 2 Weeks in Ottawa, IL | February 2024 Returning to Ottawa, Illinois this spring felt a little bit like returning to a home, a place we once lived, even though it had only been for a month. We arrived at the same hotel as…
  • GA to IL / Ferne Clyffe State Park
    Driving from Vidalia, GA to Ottawa, IL | Camping in Land Between the Lakes, KY | Hiking in Ferne Clyffe State Park, IL | February 2024 When our time in Georgia was coming to a close, we were so excited and ready to move on and return to a place we knew we loved. The…
  • Two Weeks in Southeastern Georgia
    Spending Two Weeks in Alma and Vidalia, GA | February 2024 When Curtis first accepted his job, we were told that we would usually know his schedule about 6-9 months in advance. Coming from the military where it seemed like we had several last minute changes to our plans, whether that be with the submarine’s…
  • Hiking Scaly Mountain
    Hiking Scaly Mountain | Highlands, NC | Nantahala National Forest to Oconee National Forest, GA | February 2024 This morning, we packed up and set off for our last hike in the Appalachians for this trip. We had 2 days before Curtis needed to show up for his next assignment, which was about 6 hours…
  • King Falls / Spoonauger Falls
    Hiking to King Falls & Spoonauger Falls in Sumter National Forest, South Carolina | Camping on the Chattooga River | February 2024 After things hadn’t gone according to plan the night before, we weren’t sure how we wanted to spend our day. We also didn’t have phone service at our campsite, so we couldn’t do…