Darrell and Penelope Pennington made good on their goal to travel the world, as detailed in the July/August 2024 issue. Since listing their home and selling most of their belongings, the couple have visited 44 cities in 14 countries across Europe. After their first visit home in 14 months, the couple has embarked on Round 2 of their global adventures. In this monthly series, Penelope — who quips she’s “a broad abroad” — shares missives from the road. Read the inaugural column here.
Hello, Evansville Living readers! Music has been an important part of my life since I can remember, so it was no surprise that Willie Nelson’s iconic song “On The Road Again” floated through my mind as the plane I was sitting in achieved liftoff at 6 a.m. Jan 12, and Darrell and I once again departed the United States for a year on the road.
We had such a pleasant and refreshing visit home for the holidays. It was an interesting dynamic adjusting to being around familiar faces and places and identifying changes that had occurred in our hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, since we first set out in October 2024. And while we already miss so many people (and Sam, my parents’ husky), by January, I was feeling restless and ready to return to what had actually become my most familiar routine: being on the road.
Early on, Darrell and I decided that Central and South America would be our Year Two destination. We selected Europe for Year One because we knew that we would have budget shortfalls but did not want to miss out on the adventures we had dreamed about. Based on that assumption, we identified Central and South America for Year Two, as we fully expect it to provide a significant budget surplus. After some debate and discussion, we moved forward with that plan despite an increase in geopolitical tensions in that area. Our approach has always been to pick our initial destination and then make further plans from there. After some research, we selected Morelia, Mexico, as our initial stop because it fit well within our budget, has a population of more than two million people, and includes an airport to fly into.
In just our first week back abroad, it was exhilarating to be in such a different culture than we had experienced in Year 1. Although Mexico is much closer to the U.S. than the places we visited last year, our experience here reminds us of Morocco in feeling much more foreign to our lives and previous experiences. The poverty can feel overwhelming, and the communities within Morelia are very isolated and distinct from one another. The cartel has a significant presence in the town.
It also has been surprising to discover that so few people speak English in Morelia despite its close proximity to the U.S. There was no country or city we visited in Europe where most people we encountered did not speak conversational or fluent English. Because of this, we have met and interacted with fewer people. Despite that, we love everything about it so far. The weather is PERFECT, the local restaurants are a treat, and the street art is among some of the most amazing I’ve encountered yet. While we have not socialized as much here as we did in Europe, the people we have encountered have been incredibly welcoming and helpful. I suspect (and hope) this will repeat itself throughout Year Two.
Feel free to follow along and reach out as often as you’d like — we love hearing from all of you.
Follow the Penningtons on YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook @penelopepennington.
Editor’s note: This story is an extended version of the column appearing in March/April 2026 Evansville Living.
