Stories & Stays · from the ranch & the sea

Come in, and stay a while.

This is where I write about a fuller, more intentional family life — and where we open our homes to families who want to live it. Letters, stories, and stays.

the good stuff.
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Why families come back

We believe a full life can be simpler — made of presence, open space, and the people you love.

That's what we write about, and it's what we've built into every home we open.

Our story

Two writers who became hosts.

We met in 1996 — I was tutoring Spanish, John was a young trader with a map of the world pinned to his wall. Thirty years of marriage, two books, three children, and a handful of homes later, we still love the same thing — a life with breathing room in it.

We never set out to be hosts. We just couldn't keep these places to ourselves. So, as fellow travelers in this one life, we leave the porch light on and open the door to friends new and old.

— Maria & John
Where you'll stay

Homes & Hospitality

Vesper Lodge

The hill country lodge with a view
Wimberley · sleeps 10 · Airbnb
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Wimberley Valley Lodge

Room for the whole crowd
Wimberley · sleeps 30 · Vrbo
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Casa Sirena

The casa by the sea
South Padre Island · sleeps 15 · by invitation
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From our guests
“We came as guests and left feeling like family. Everything was thought of — right down to the note on the letter board.”
— a Wimberley Valley Lodge family
The writing

Stories

All stories →
The Table

The Truth in Tamales

Four generations of women, one kitchen, and the secrets folded into masa and cornhusk — what a tamalada taught me about the people who made me.

Continue reading

Join the family

Stories, letters, and first word when a stay opens up.