On August 25 we hit an anniversary – one year of traveling with our RV on the road! We reached this date while staying at Boston Minuteman Campground, located in Massachusetts. I thought it was interesting that Massachusetts was our 25th state to visit, so we are now halfway through our goal of visiting all the states. To clarify, we won’t be able to visit them all – Hawaii is out of reach and at this time we don’t have the desire to make the long trek to Alaska, but the remaining 23 seem to be doable. It has been quite a year – we have stayed in 49 different campgrounds, visited many historical sites, museums, National Parks, State Parks, towns, cities and attractions. Below is another picture of our anniversary site, with perhaps the tallest and densest trees we have camped under!
During this past year we visited the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota, listened to folk music in Arkansas and Cajun music in Louisiana. We saw the swamps and bayous of the South and antebellum mansions in Mississippi. In Alabama we camped right next to the waters of Mobile Bay and enjoyed the turquoise ocean and white sands of the Florida Panhandle. We walked the historic streets and sat in the squares of Savannah, Georgia. While in South Carolina we visited the only tea plantation in America and discovered lots of history in the narrow streets of Charleston. While traveling through Virginia we saw the homes of former presidents and the first colony at Jamestown. We explored Philadelphia with family and camped in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. In Maine we visited a new National Park and on scenic drives admired miles of rocky coastline. We discovered beautiful waterfalls in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and traveled up to the tallest mountain in the Northeast. These are just a few of the many highlights during a year of exploring and learning much about this wonderful country we are blessed to call home. In the picture below, we got a warm welcome when arriving to our park near Mobile, Alabama.
I was thinking recently how different each state is as they each have their own look, “feel” and culture. I can just tell I am in a different state and not because of the welcome sign on the road. They really have their own uniqueness and that is one of the things that makes exploring such an adventure. There is always that anticipation of what the next state will be like and what we will find there. During our year of travel, a few of the states we had visited before, but most were new to us and there has been much to appreciate in every state we have been. Some touched a special place in my heart and I found myself a little sad when leaving. But I always reminded myself that there would be more memorable and special places to come and this has truly happened. It can be hard to leave a great place behind, but without moving on, we would not have explored 25 remarkable states. Below is a picture of the park we stayed at in Louisiana, one of our favorite states and the place where we experienced a surprise snow storm in December.
So, traveling and sightseeing aside, how has it been living in a 21-foot trailer? It can certainly be a challenge. The lack of space for all our things is probably the biggest challenge but there are others. The ability to move around freely inside and spread out is tough. Our comfort is compromised, my days of lounging on the couch like I did at home while watching a movie or reading a book are a thing of the past. Trying to prepare food and cook in a small kitchen area can at times elicit some groans from me as I struggle to manage the ingredients I am cutting up or finding space for a dish or pot. Since our refrigerator is small we can only fit limited amounts of food so grocery shopping has to be more frequent. When trying to find something in our long, deep food pantry, I often have to take stuff out and stack it on our bed, as I reach my arm into the dark space trying to feel for that can or box.
Above is a picture of a scene that awaited us when we arrived in Vermont, another challenge we have dealt with from time to time. Although we try to secure everything when moving the trailer from one campsite to another, a few times we have found frozen food items on the floor or even one time a cabbage that somehow popped out from the refrigerator and ended up near our bed. On one stop we found our large glass mixing bowl in pieces on the stovetop. The shattered dishes pictured above we discovered after arriving in Vermont. I didn’t expect Corelle Ware to break into so many tiny pieces. We do use paper plates and bowls from time to time, but for some things dishes are better.
For the most part we have tried to stay at least a week or more every where we have been, but that time goes by so fast and it seems before we know it, it is time to pack up and move on to the next spot. The life of a nomad is certainly an interesting one. There are always new places and situations to become accustomed to. We have been fortunate to find quiet and pleasant neighbors at every place we have stayed. It has been nice to talk to other travelers and find out about their experiences, where they have come from and where they are traveling next. Some have had some good tips on places to camp or attractions to visit. It is always great to share expertise on the road! We have met a few full time travelers, but most are seasonal who are only RVing for part of the year or taking a short vacation from their home. The RV park owners and staff have also been kind and helpful and have never lost our reservations! I have to admit that as we drove to each new location, I would wonder if this would be the time that we would be told, “Sorry, we don’t have a spot for you!” We were blessed with few issues along the way that have hampered our progress. Below is a picture from our last campground in Maine which featured a lovely area to sit and walk along the waterfront.
Where do we go from here? Although I had good intentions, my blog has continued to be so behind, because I always have much I want to write about making it hard to keep up. Although we left Maine the first part of August, I still have more to write about our time in that wonderful state. We have since had shorter stays in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and our current spot in Rhode Island. We will be visiting Connecticut next and then start making our way to the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountain states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. We plan to visit those states through the rest of September, October and into early November. We will then begin our trek back to California where we look forward to spending the holiday season. Below is a sunset picture at our campground in New Hampshire.
We thank you for taking the time this past year to check out the blog and for the comments you have made. It can get lonely on the road so it is much appreciated to hear from you!