I Could Live Here

We're so excited to have Ellie, our youngest child, back with us for another episode!

If you remember, the last time we heard from her was WAY back in Episode 3: OreGONE. Emotions were raw back then, and she was dealing with something neither of our other two children had to face--she'd never come back to her childhood home, because her parents were leaving Los Angeles, too.

Fortunately, Ellie had an action-packed Fall and she's here to update us on all of the adjustments she had to make in college, what it's like being a D1 athlete and, most of all, how she's feeling now about our decision to travel and find a new hometown.

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Our travels are finally catching up to us... the waistline and the scale are both predicting heartache if our current eating patterns continue unabated. Between fried chicken in Savannah, holiday food in Los Angeles and not one but TWO rounds of resort food in Mexico over the last several months, we are a long way from the good habits we started back in Sedona last year. James is back to snacking and Denise's fried pound cake (from way back in Episode 34) is still a life decision for which she wishes she had a do-over.

Never fear, though, summer is coming and your favorite middle-agers are beginning to formulate their promises to themselves, each other--and to you our esteemed listeners--to do better starting NOW! From veggies to daily weigh-ins to James dragging a kettlebell everywhere we go, get ready to get trim and sexy with your favorite town-skippers!

You can find our social media and every place we ever crushed unhealthy food and beverages here!

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We've been ready to focus on our own future hometown, but had not even considered that maybe we weren't the only ones in our family who could take the plunge on a new home. Denise recently found a real estate agent to talk to us about Savannah. So we joined Isia Orr and her team at Fox Hollow Realty and got an education on everything that's happening in a city that's now on our Top 5 list. Isia gives us strategies for first-time buyers, the current state of the Savannah real estate market and post-pandemic buying and selling trends in cities across the country.

The result? We took Isia's advice and our daughter is now scouring Corpus Christi for her first home. Our "new favorite real estate agent" will give you tips and hacks as she reveals the truth about just how attainable your first home can be. People waste so much money on rent and cars thinking they can't afford a house of their own--and couldn't be more wrong!

Check out Isia and her team at https://foxhollowrealty.com/ and follow Isia's updates and advice on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/isiad/?hl=en or here on Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02FErfJWdVG7rrmxwQu22M393tLA4wLKBZjuT31wCgyYzQMzHguTVF4rZGBakpuGG4l&id=131105690291287&_rdr

And as always you can find all of our links, maps and socials here!

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Alright, we admit it. We've been holding out on you all this time. Turns out we have a secret weapon with over 25+ years of experience as a bona fide travel agent. Meet Cousin Judy!

We took a quick trip from Savannah down to see her in Jacksonville where she revealed top travel spots in the United States for both families and couples. Ranging from budget getaways to luxury stays, we guarantee Cousin Judy has some destinations you've never considered--Kohler Spa, anyone?

She also talks to us about how companies like TripAdvisor, Air BnB and other booking sites have changed the game for aspiring travel agents. So settle in and get acquainted with your new favorite cousin! We're starting with her in America the Beautiful but with her ability to create global expriences--from cruise ships to African safaris--she's going to be a recurring character in our own traveling circus.

Get at us on social media and find all of our maps and links here.

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THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY slysslidersandfries.com ! Check out what Savannahians already know... Sly's Sliders Rocks! Artisan sliders and dogs to match your taste, whatever your dietary preference. Go to slysslidersandfries.com and tell them The Skiptown All-Stars sent you.

Our adventure in The Hostess City of the South continues!

We went to Mrs. Wilkes for some down-home cooking, only to be intimidated by lines around the corner on mulltiple days. Eventually, we made it and well, ONE of us thought the country cookin' was worth the wait. It didn't matter, though... it was just one of a hundred stops we made as we continued to eat our way through every block of Savannah over a 3 week span.

We dig into the real story behind Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and unearth some of the more salacious details about it you might not know. In the end, we made every minute we spent in our Victorian house count... and even began to shop around for one of our own. More to come on that next week, too.

Finally, we come face-to-face with some of the most vile serial killers and cults at Graveface Musem. Were they more scary than Paula Dean's desserts? You gotta listen to find out.

Maps of our visits, links to YouTube clips and our social media all lives here.

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THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY bonniebluetours.com **Head over to Bonnie's site and get the absolute BEST tour of Savannah - and if you use the promo code SKIPTOWN you'll get 15% off your tour!

We FINALLY made our way to Savannah, GA! Our first TRUE "remote working" adventure as empty-nesters did not disappoint. From Denise's new favorite side dish to James' boys weekend with a new friend, this Georgia city gave us history, hauntings and... yellow baseballs. Go Bananas! 

We could've stuck to the usual sites--the Bird Girl, Leopold's and The Grey, to name a few--but why give you the same old peaches you could find with a quick Google search?

NO. We dug into everything that makes this city great, and it's not just Forsyth Park! So get ready for some rib-sticking content, because the Hostess City of the South gave us so much love that it wouldn't fit into one episode. This is Part 1 of 2 of Savannah. Enjoy!

Find all of our social media links and the map of EVERYWHERE we went in Savannah here.

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James was really over being in Florida, until one of our closest friends said he was coming to St. Pete (not to be confused with St. Petersburg, because as we’ve found out there IS a difference)! Suddenly, James was singing a different tune and we were strolling through the Dali Museum and exploring everything this little beach town had to offer. We also found ourselves arguing at-length over what impact remote work has truly had on St. Pete.

James wins that argument in the end.

Anyway, we weren’t done there. Naples was just a few hours south and Denise’s friends who left Chicago for the Paradise Coast showed us a roaring good time. We sipped champagne on a tiki boat, tried every restaurant we could on Fifth Ave. and Denise found beginner’s luck at Pelican Bay Country Club on her first golf outing, ever!

Finally, we wrapped up our road trip with a stop in Fort Myers to see James’ family in a visit that was long overdue. His aunt and uncle rolled out the red carpet and it had us feeling like WE were the kids, again!

Find our social media adventures, our maps and all our reviews about where we've been here.

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Denise mentioned being a former personal assistant on LeeAnn Kreischer's "Wife of the Party" Swapcast last month and you asked her for stories of working for the rich and famous... so here we go!

Denise also brings in one of her best friends, Gina Jackson, to help out. Together they recount the ups, downs and oddities of working for uber-wealthy families in Bel Air. They talk about what a personal assistant does, their adventures--and misadventures--working for these Beverly Hills families and how they handled this always challenging (and sometimes bizarre) occupation. Even better, Gina started out as a nanny so get ready for a fascinating inside look!

From being tasked to find obscure pieces of red carpet jewelry half a world away, to being asked to euthanize the family dog--wait, WHAT?--Denise and Gina spill the tea on the life of being a personal assistant for Hollywood royalty. Enjoy!

We have maps of everywhere we've been, social media insanity and all the ways you can reach us here.

Please check out our affiliate partner, Anytime Mailbox, too!

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Denise's hometown is truly a duality like no other. Northside vs. Southside. White Sox vs. Cubs fans. Lou Malnati's vs. Giordano's. Brutal winters pit themselves against unbearable summers... hell, even the Chicago River flows against itself!

Our house is no different. Denise begged James to move there for years but by the time he finally came around on it, she no longer felt its pull. In this episode we talk about The Windy City's sports, music scene, college life and--OF COURSE--the food that makes Chicago tick.

It's the most delicious, loving, knockdown-dragout fight of a city you've ever seen... and if you tell them Michael Jordan hasn't been relevant for over 25 years, you'll find out firsthand!

Find our reviews, maps and social media accounts here.

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Paging Dr. Nandi! We are HURTING right now. And by "hurting," we mean "sick as dogs." Denise has had 2 head colds just this month and James' flu from over the holidays turned into a slowly-fading pneumonia. We're doing better, but before we hit the road for Savannah, we needed to make sure we had a new strategy for staying healthy on the road.

That's where Dr. Partha Nandi, MD FACP comes in. He's a gastroenterologist, Chief Health Editor for Detroit's WXYZ News, the host of his own "Ask Dr. Nandi" show and has even given a TED Talk.

In this episode we talk about loading up on the right kind of preventative supplements BEFORE we even pack that overnight bag. We talk food, the importance of a good mental state, spirituality--basically every component that goes into a person being road-ready. Please show Dr. Nandi some love by finding him here: https://sociatap.com/DrParthaNandi/

And, as always, you can find us HERE.

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