I’m a mother, wife, and owner of a 1987 Westfalia Vanagon and a home with a tiki bar.

I grew up in Ohio and worked as a newspaper reporter until I got married and moved to Philadelphia, where life would take a wonderful turn.

My writing career took off in a new direction when I started building websites and selling products online. Our son, Marco, was born during that time. I got a late start with motherhood, and marriage for that matter … if I’d known when I was younger how wonderful being a mom would be, I would have had six children! But I will settle for one really, really good one.

My husband Rich’s career has also had a few surprise twists. When the job we moved to Philly for turned out not to be his dream, he answered an ad for an auction house needing a strong set of hands to help prepare for an upcoming auction. Fast forward a few years, he became a vice president and is featured on The Antiques Roadshow.

Good things do happen in Philadelphia!

As a Midwestern transplant, I find one of the very best things about living here is that so many interesting places are just a short drive away. The beach, the mountains, New York City, Washington D.C. We even drove to Newport, Rhode Island, on a Friday afternoon and spent a lovely weekend there.

That’s one of the reasons we decided to buy a VW camper van. I had wanted one all my life. Living here, I can rationalize that owning a vintage money pit was actually a smart purchase. 🤷‍♀️

Two skills that have served me well in life are knowing how to type and how to drive a standard transmission vehicle.

I’ve been fortunate to have lived in some great places: Columbus, Ohio, San Francisco, Calif., Washington, D.C., a small island in Lake Erie called Put-In-Bay and several other small Ohio towns to which I paid some hard-earned journalism dues, and Malmo, Sweden, where I spent a gap year after high school and got to travel around Europe and ski the Alps.

Of all those places, Philadelphia is my favorite. No town can match the character, the grit, the nooks and crannies of history everywhere. Philadelphia is a blast. Loud, proud, full of surprises, and so much cheaper than New York.

I’m grateful to have you along for the ride. You can write me anytime at alice@huntandpeckblog.com or hitch a ride with me on Instagram, @hunt.peck.

Mahalo.

Alice