OK, so I can get a bit philosophical when discussing Henry David Thoreau and the implications of travel, home office and family life. Listen as I chat with Rich Roffman and Wanda Myles of The Rich Roffman Show.

“The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.”

American author, essayist, poet, naturalist, transcendentalist, civil anarchist, abolitionist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote this sentence in the mid 1800s, from a place not far from where I’m writing these words today. I’m in Littleton, Massachusetts, less than 10 miles from Walden Pond.

I’ve long read and followed Mr. Thoreau’s work. That passage hangs on my wall and is a central piece of my work-at-home philosophy — and that I espouse when speaking to fellow entrepreneurs. In modern speak, it’s akin to, “Work smart, not hard.”

Yet I’ll admit: I had no idea how close we’d come to the place where he lived, worked and died, from 1817 to 1862. We’re less than five miles from Concord, his home — that is, when he wasn’t in the vast woods nearby.

Seeing the sign for Walden Pond State Recreation Area yesterday, I nearly had to pull over and explore. Yet the hour was late, and we needed to pitch camp (OK, so we’re in a camper – “pitching” camp means plugging in the power, water and cable)… Read More »

Two weeks in, and we’ve seen and done so much. I’ve logged early morning work sessions in the RV and in the woods, and watched as my family journaled about our adventures. I’ve shared times with new friends (“Hey Col. Sanders, I always imagined you a bit taller”), and discovered how productive you can be with a laptop, an internet connection and clients and family who get it.

One more week. Plenty of places to explore and experiences to be had…

Today was my birthday. It’s the 19th such event enjoyed from a home office.

This time around, my home office was an RV, and my “cake” was ambrosia. I love that stuff — a Southern favorite made of mini marshmallows, mandarin oranges, shredded coconut and sour cream (among other ingredients, depending on the maker).

No candles were lit. No songs were sung (except for my sister-in-law and nephew, who sang it via cell). Just a plastic fork from Panda Express at Carowinds — the Carolinas theme park where we spent the day.

I haven’t had ambrosia in a dozen years — and certainly not as a birthday dish. But more to the point, I never would have enjoyed this delicacy if we hadn’t gotten off Interstate 85 to spend two nights at Paynes Creek Campground. Sure, there were a dozen RV parks we could have chosen along the interstate. But Paynes Creek seemed cool at the time. And it lived up to its billing. And then some… Read More »