Retiredat63, we did a fair bit of travelling in earlier years; for us the novelty and excitement are about really connecting with the land we live on. A woodstove has transformed my relationship with winter, and I teach, so the winter is work time anyway. But, we have a sailboat and love to get away. Our chickens are pretty low maintenance most of the time; getting away overnight is no more issue than a cat, for instance. For a longer trip, we have neighbours homesteading beside us that we trade farm-sitting duties with, and other friends have pinch-hit for us as the system is pretty simple.
My mother has a place in Mexico because she very much wants to escape Vancouver winters--the grey, the rain, the damp cold, the colds and flus that go around...so it's not all happiness and roses! :) But i've really come to love being in one place year-round and learning its nuances through the seasons, so short escapes are keeping me pretty happy for now.
Good luck with your house sale! And yes, come visit the garden in the summer if you're out scouting. It will be much prettier then!