House on Abaco Island, Bahamas
While working in a bronze foundry in the Bahamas, they were also house sitting a small home. Regular maintenance and exterior painting are jobs they take on comfortably. Being a homeowner himself, Bret is especially adept at handling the various issues that may arise. Whether it is a problem with plumbing or grounds upkeep, Bret and Kristin can both be depended on for their competence and oversight. They take pride in their cleanliness and respectful presence in another’s living space.
Bret and Kristin have also been caretakers at Goldmyer Hotsprings, a remote wilderness property at the foot of the Cascade mountains in Washington. Living full-time in an off-grid cabin surrounded by such incredible beauty was an unforgettable experience for them.
Cabin at Goldmyer
Keeping the hotspring pools clean, maintaining the trails and campsites, as well as checking-in and managing visitors require flexibility and diligence, not to mention good people skills. Bret and Kristin continually strive to bring a positive and level-headed demeanor to their personal and professional interactions. In situations requiring such invested trust, they can be consistently relied upon– and will always try to leave a place better than they found it.
Hotspring Pools
After Goldmyer they took a short break from caretaking to do some volunteer work abroad but again returned to caretaking and property management in August of 2009. They had long been interested in finding a position in Central or South America, in order to improve their spanish, and found an incredible, unique situation on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico that met many of the criteria they desired including: developing a new rental program, off-grid and sustainable systems upkeep, extensive landscaping, and many opportunities to leave a lasting mark on a new property. The remote location of Casa Lunita in the Sian Ka’an Bio-reserve once again put Bret and Kristin in a position where safety-first, self-reliance and personal initiative was required.
Casa Lunita, Mexico
The dock at Casa Lunita
One never reaches home,
but wherever friendly paths intersect
the whole world looks like home for a time.
-Hermann Hesse-
