Better late than never, right?!
Well, I am finally putting our travel adventures down in writing, and although it feels tedious to recount the last 4 years of travel, I am actually very excited about it. Not only is it going to hopefully inspire people to get out and explore this magnificent country/world, but it will also serve as a diary for Chris and I who, quite frankly, often lose track of where we have been and what we have done. He will have to assist me in this process because, good lord, there is a lot to backlog.
Quick synopsis of what you should eventually be able to explore in its entirety here under the blog section: our camping travels (both travel trailer and van life), some of our family vacation destinations, hacks we use when planning, or when we more often than not do not plan our landing spots, and some of our favorite restaurants or meals made when on the road.
This story of travel, like so many others, all began while we were soaking in our jacuzzi during the lockdown of Covid. Our son, Nolan, who was a freshman at the University of Utah, was sent home, which did not break this aching Mama's heart because I had been missing him like crazy. Our daughter, Katie, on the other hand, was pretty sad about losing her last few months of her senior year of high school, understandably. As Chris and I were soaking, I had yet another bright idea (because I have so many...Chris may or may not agree with this statement depending on the day). Although there was so much that was lost during Covid, we were also granted this unexpected gift of time together. I thought what better use of our time than to rent a camper and take off and explore the national parks that we had always wanted to visit, but in the craziness of the kids' schedules during high school, had been impossible. Chris thought I was nuts. He was not opposed to traveling if we could, but thought staying at hotels/motels was the way to go. Long story short, travel by either mode was not possible because all national parks were closed, as well as hotels/motels. BUT... I did plant a seed in Chris' mind, and he took some proactive measures to distract this soon-to-be empty nester Mama who was about to have a really hard time with no kids at home.
Shortly after this discussion, while on our way to Bear Brook to do some trail running/mountain bike riding, Chris nonchalantly mentions that we are going to stop at an RV dealership to check out a small camper he had started to research. Although we agreed that the campers we checked out were not a great match for us, we got an idea of what we might want in a camper. Chris, being in the boat business, has a pretty high standard for what the fit and finish of a product should look like. After many hours (which during COVID we had nothing but time), Chris found a company that he felt produced a quality product that aligned with the standard he felt was comparable to the line of boats that he stocks at the marina. Apparently, we were not the only people considering traveling via campers because once we settled on the make and model, it was impossible to find any that would be available once our kids had headed to college. It was pretty exciting when we found one that would be finished production literally around the same time we would be moving Katie down to South Carolina, and it was located in Orange, Virginia. Hence, the start of 4 really incredible years of travel. It is absolutely crazy to think that Chris and I had never camped a day in our 30 years together (unless sleeping in the back of his Jeep Cherokee counts) prior to purchasing this first camper.
This first maiden voyage actually deserves its own post because, as you can imagine, having never lived out of a camper, we had some pretty laugh-out-loud "first experiences" that were, at times, a bit of a sh*t show...quite literally. It still makes me laugh.
So buckle up as I slowly but surely share our last 4 years on the road, approximately 100,000 miles across the country and Canada (including Alaska). My plan is to regularly go back and post our earliest trips as well as blog about our most recent ones since those are still fresh and easier to recall. Be prepared for some back and forth time travel.
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