#15.2 - "My take" - Lara

 [See post 15.1 for an explanation of our series of "My take"]

When we talk to family and friends about how this trip has been so far we get many of the same questions- How is it? Where have you been? Are you having fun/are you still enjoying it? How’s the weather been? Do you two still like each other?

I’m going to be honest, the close proximity to each other in a very small space all day everyday was a little intimidating before we left.  Typically when we’re eating dinner or writing in the journal or blog we’re usually in different places- one of us is sitting in the passenger seat that’s spun around and the other is on one of the benches.  There’s been a few times that we’ll jokingly ask “why are you so far away?” The first month has gone really well.  We have pretty seamlessly fallen into a routine that wasn’t planned or discussed, it developed pretty organically.  Depending on the overall plan for the day we’ll set an alarm, although we’ve rarely needed it.  Eric is usually out of bed first.  He’ll climb down from the bed first and I’ll hand him the pillows, blankets so they can be put into the stuff sack.  I’ll open the curtains if necessary/close the plastic windows and then climb down.  If we’re traveling we’ll get dressed and one of us will walk Rooney around while the other eats breakfast.  We’ll then switch and eat/get the van ready to travel.  Days that we’re not moving the van, we’ll hang the bed and pillows so we’re not hunched over or hitting or heads.  When we arrive to a new place we’ll park the van, pop the roof/put in the wood dowel supports and get the van situated for hanging out- turn the passenger seat, hang pillows up.

Cooking has been a team effort.  We will plan out meals 2 or 3 days in advance and have to go food shopping accordingly.  The fridge holds a lot, but there is definitely a difference in thought and food planning from being in a house with a large fridge and freezer.  While food shopping isn’t the most fun thing to be doing every few days, everything we buy is eaten and there is no food waste.  I’ve also noticed I look forward to the meals we’ve planned out.  Pasta or rice sides are in solid dinner rotation.  At home I’d cook enough for leftovers, but there isn’t enough room to have leftovers, so the packaged sides have been working out really well.  Our meals are pretty normal with pretty minimal repeating of what we’ve eaten. 

The places we’ve seen have left me in awe.  Old towns in New England, the swamps of the south, little towns in the ‘backwoods’, coastal towns, beaches, New Orleans, areas that were once the Mississippi River that is now a natural lake.  We’ve started a list in the handwritten journal of things that we want to learn more about.  I find that I am very interested in the history of the areas we are in or drive through.  What happened there?  What influences have shaped the culture there?  What has influenced the architecture?  What natural phenomena are in the area?  I don’t know that I have a favorite place that we’ve been to.  Being in Florida, especially the Keys felt like we were going on vacation. (Yes, I know that all of this is vacation) New Orleans, the Outer Banks, Fort Pickens really piqued my interest.  They are places with so much history- shipping ports, pirates, posts in the Civil War.  I want to learn more about everywhere we’ve been.

I don’t know that I can express how happy I am that we took the chance to leave everything that we know and love in Colorado to explore our country.  We live in a pretty diverse, beautiful place.  It’s refreshing to completely unplug from the negativity in the world and not have a clue what’s happening.  Life is a lot less stressful.  When we do check the news it’s a pretty quick check and I think creates anxiety in both of us knowing that life as we know it can very quickly change in one hasty decision. 

Weather has been incredible!  We’ve only had one washout of a day in Meredith, New Hampshire, which worked out well.  We worked on getting the blog up and running without feeling the pull to do something else.  New England was cold, the south east was warm and humid.  Mississippi and Arkansas had beautiful weather while we were there.  There have been a few times that it is obvious that we aren’t  locals because people either in the store or campground offices are in sweaters and we are in shorts and t-shirts.  60 and sunny is definitely warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt.  It makes more sense to those in sweaters when they find out we’re from Colorado. 

Finally and most importantly, yes, I still like Eric very much.  We’ve had some epic adventures together over the past 17 years.  This is clearly near the top of that list.  I hope that we can continue to have epic adventures together until we’re old and crotchety

#15.1 "My take" - Eric

Lara and I talked earlier this week that we should write an update every once and a while on our thoughts, feelings, impressions, (fill in the blank) of our recent time period on this little adventure of ours. We didn’t want to have one view on these posts so we will each be writing one. Our guess is we will write one about every month or so.  Sorry no photos on these, enjoy the text. 

At this point, we’ve been away from Golden about a month and a half and more officially in the van for just over a month.  I sit here in a 100-200 site campground along Lake Chicot, Arkansas with all of 3 other RV’ers nicely spread out over the distance of 3-4 football fields of leaves and tall trees.  The lake is unmistakably a 20 mile long C formed when the mighty Mississippi decided (some odd hundreds or thousands of years ago) it would take a tangent rather than meander its way to the Gulf.  Eventually the sediment filled in the edges of the new, more direct river and left behind a lake mirroring the huge bend of yesteryear.  It’s quiet, cooling off after a 75 degree day and a very dark sky is shaping up through the tall trees surrounding us.  I describe this because we’ve had a number of very empty campgrounds on this trip, mainly due to the time of year we are in places such as Assateague National Seashore, the Outer Banks or rural Arkansas.  We’ve also had some difficulties figuring out where we’d spend an evening because of both time of year (read: closed) or time of year (read: full).  I think one of our greatest lessons so far is how to plan to stay in a certain locale.  I fully expect my next update to sound drastically different in this respect because we will be out exploring the remote western deserts or hopping between back lots of ski areas.  What we learned since the new year is that along the east coast, Maine to Delaware to Florida and all points in between, it’s difficult to find a free and, more importantly, comfortable place to park Hobbes.  We resorted almost entirely to campgrounds to counteract this.  We have yet to stay in a Walmart parking lot because we haven’t had the nerve to try it yet and the campgrounds we’ve stayed in have been easy and sufficiently comfortable.  Now this has meant anywhere from $15-80 being shelled out many nights which will likely hurt the budget a little but what we’ve realized is our day exploring a new area is drastically improved when we have a $30 campsite reserved for the night.  Also due to the amount of daylight, we have very little time to roll into a new area in late afternoon and get a feel of a lengthy dirt road, how trafficked a Walmart is or if this national forest land is dotted with houses we may end up parking right in front of.  An example of this came in the Keys.  We knew it was high season for any of the RV parks in the Keys.  Many held back giggles when we called the day of asking if spots were available.  We settled on an expensive spot for two nights but it allowed us to explore freely, knowing we could roll into what most would consider a storage facility for high end RV’s rather than a campground.  Either way, the view was gorgeous from our site.

Beyond the “living” situation, I think the trip has worked out very much how I, personally, thought it would to this point.  The first couple of weeks felt a lot like driving around New England to visit family…well because it was.  We got some skiing in and some little bits of vast views and rolling ocean waves but it was more focused on catching up with family who we hadn’t seen in a long time.  I don’t think I gave enough credit to this aspect of the trip ahead of time but each new Aunt, Uncle, in-law, etc. we visited we were left chatting the next day about how great it was to catch up and how lucky we were to do it on such a free schedule.

Heading down the east coast was a nice surprise for us.  My initial thought was it would be quick and without much fanfare.  However, all along the sandy beaches of Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia we found one of our favorite times of year at one of our favorite place, winter on the beach.  When we were wee little kids dating in New Jersey, we would make regular drives down Route 18 to Route 34 and onward to Belmar and Point Pleasant during the winter.  All of the hustle and bustle of the shore in the summer was quiet, the waves themselves seems to crash with less tension.  When we sat at our completely empty campground and watched sunset over the bay with the full moon rising over the picturesque dunes directly behind us we had rekindled some of that past.  As similar the feel, the views and highlights were complete fresh.  Assateague and the Outer Banks felt more wild, with the rippled dunes making a march across the roadways.  Wild horses and pelicans told us we were definitely no longer in New Jersey.  We found the pleasure of bare feet in numbingly cold sand and down jackets.  In Georgia at Jekyll Island we found Spanish moss hanging dozens of feet down to the ground off massive trees only steps from the dark, hard sand of the driftwood beaches.  These were all new but felt very comfortable at the same time.

Of course we did have our fair share of “learning experiences”.  The broken drive shaft in North Carolina, learning how to ensure we don’t skewer someone’s bumper with the van and generally getting used to being in 70 odd square feet of living space.  We recently did a rearrange of the cubbies and pantry to better align with what we use frequently.  I’m sure there are still significant changes to be made along the way but we are definitely more dialed in when it comes to set up and break down of  our little rolling home.

Other random one-off thoughts:

• We look like “that couple” when we get to a brewery that has WiFi, heads buries in our phones.  What others don’t realize is that we have just spent the last 3 days within arms reach of each other, we’ve conversed, shared, laughed and all of those good things.  We get to WiFi and we nerd out on Instagram and look like the couple that can’t pull themselves away from the interwebs.  At least we know that we more than make up for it when we are sitting atop the van watching the sunset with our iPhone used only has a camera from time to time.
• I will speak for both of us that we are very likely going to adopt a ZERO NEWS rule.  We have checked into CNN or other news source maybe 5-10 times total in the last month or so.  Every time we spend 30 minutes griping and generally being dumpy about the state of the world.  Whether that be politics, the internet’s stranglehold on every aspect of our society or some shitty event that happened, we have no need for it.  We are going to continue to do what we are doing, we are going to be good people to those we meet, we are going to do fun things and stay in touch with those we are closest with.  The news will have zero impact on that. 
• The change of seasons has been kind of baffling.  We went from -20 degree sleeping bags AND a down comforter in Maine to being too hot at night to comfortably sleep in southern Florida.  I can see how much of the southern US can forget what time of year it is if there isn’t some holiday to remind you.  Don’t get me wrong, 75 degree turquoise blue water and 80 degree air temperatures are more than acceptable for our trip, just screws with your head a little. 
• I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Rooney’s every day routines.  We noticed quickly that Rooney has adapted to not caring about us bumping into him, dropping things on him or covering him in blankets while we dismantle the previous evening.  But more so, I’ve enjoyed watching much of his thought process that I probably didn’t see before.  “Do I want to eat this bowl of food now?”, “Huh, should I lay here or over there”, “I think I want to go out but I don’t really care that much”, “Ugh, I’ve got to stretch!”  Before much of this would happen in the other room or the backyard.  Now we’re front and center, and all up in each others’ grills.

Okay, that’s what I’ve got for now.  It’s been a blast exploring, seeing the open road roll underneath us, visiting family and friends, and breathing a lot of fresh ocean air.  I have to say, I was pretty confident that the trip would work out this way but it feels so good to be out exploring.  It’s one day at a time…very literally many days…not knowing where we’ll be sleeping that night.  But with Lara and Rooney along side, a strip of pavement (at least for this part of the trip) and some beautiful parts of the country, we can do just about anything. 

# 14 - Snowbirds

​1/23-26/17 - The Keys

Current location: Key West​

Monday morning we packed up the van and headed south to the Keys. As we got closer to the Keys, we noticed a steady stream of people heading north with their weekend toys, RV’s and motorhomes, boats, Jeeps, kayaks, all heading back to the real-world while we were heading further south with other snowbirds just starting their vacation. As we got onto the islands, we made a quick stop to pick up some groceries and do some fine-detailed searches for a campsite and brewery along the way. We were successful in finding both. First stop: a surprisingly busy for Tuesday afternoon Islamorada Brewery. The first of our Golden brewery stickers came out and were placed among the other stickers from around the country. Our second stop was to Floriday Keys Brewing, just a short 3 minutes away. The passing rain shower stopped, allowing us to sit on the deck with Rooney. We were not the only ones who were sampling the local beers, as we recognized several groups. Rooney made quite the impression on the other patrons who commented on him. Rooney on the other hand was hot and tired, and very happy to be stretched out on the deck, enjoying the cooler weather after the rains.

A few stops along the way to Key West included Anne’s beach and other unnamed pull offs on the side of the highway. Wandering along the waters edge was like stepping into a lukewarm bath. It felt amazing to finally have toes in the sand and the waves lapping at your ankles. Rooney also enjoyed it, although he hasn’t quite figured out how to distinguish between salt and freshwater without trying to drink it, only to quickly spit it out. We pulled into Boyd’s campground with enough time to set up the van for sleeping on the ‘first floor’ and watched the sunset.

Tuesday is a day of exploration around the Keys. We drove to Sugarloaf Key and found the bat tower. Across the street and down the road a bit, are some closed off roads you can walk a loop. We only made it partway around and then decided to wade in the water instead. Rooney was vey happy to cool off, although he still hasn’t figured out not to drink the saltwater, and quickly spits it out with a very disappointed look on his face. On our way back to the van we stopped at the Sugarloaf Bridge jump and hopped in from the banks. The water was a beautiful sea foam green and quite refreshing. We headed back to Key West to wander around town. We found a great spot along Higgs beach to park and pop the roof while we had lunch. Afterwards we drove around downtown Key West finding Bone Island brewery to stop and sample their beers. Swimming in the ocean sounded good, so we headed back to Higgs Beach and went for a quick swim. Dinner was happy hour at Kellie’s with a few small plates of fish tacos, tempura shrimp and wings.

Wednesday sunrise from the penthouse window was beautiful. We watched 6 pairs of Navy fighter jets take off shortly after the sun rose. By the time we were finishing breakfast and getting ready to head out, the fighter jets were coming in for a landing. Their flight path went right past the campground before heading slightly north back to base. Rooney was as interested in watching them as everyone in the campground.

On our way back to the mainland on Wednesday, we stopped at the famous 7 mile bridge for a quick walk and a fish market for some fresh snapper to make fish tacos at Dan and Megan’s on Thursday.  Destination: Everglades National Park.  We arrived mid afternoon and made our customary stop into the visitor center for park information and a stamp in our national park’s passport.  We drove through the park to the Flamingo Visitors Center where we walked along the marina and saw a few crocodiles basking in the sun.  Osprey flew around overhead as we snacked on our alligator bites and key lime pie from the restaurant and lounge located on the lower level of the visitors center.  We set up camp in the walk in area of the camp ground since it was closer to the water.  The campground was pretty quiet for being high season. 

Can you spot me? This guy was about 10' from a big manatee chomping away on sea grass.  

We woke up just before sunrise and listened intently to the noises in the dark, trying to determine what was out there.  When it got light enough, we put on our long sleeves and pants to try and brave the swarms of mosquitoes.  Walks along the water and Eco pond were in full speed walk mode while trying to swat away the bugs before they carried us off.  The drive out of the park was leisurely with stops at the pullouts to read signs and wander through some of the shorter boardwalk hikes. 

Back at Dan and Megan’s we prepared fish tacos with veggies we picked up from the farmers market.  Dinner did not disappoint!  Great food and even better company.  Many thanks to Dan, Megan, Laine and Libby for your hospitality and being our tour guides while we were with you.

Lara

#13 - The Florida D'Orvilliers

​1/21-22/17 - South Florida. 

Current location: Coral Springs, screened in patio/bedroom​

The drive from Jekyll Island to Coral Springs went smoothly. One of the highlights of the drive was singing Will Smith’s ‘Welcome to Miami’ when it cam on full shuffle. Yes, of course we listened it in it’s entirety, and sang along. We arrived late afternoon at Dan and Megan’s and quickly got into laughing and telling stories pool side in the backyard. Rooney and Derby became besties instantaneously and spent the weekend playing constantly with some breaks under the ceiling fans.

Saturday was spent being adventuring. We watched Libby’s soccer game in the morning (they won and were short a few players for most of their game) . After lunch, and Laine’s return from SAT’s we hopped on our bikes and rode over to the levy.We had the levy to ourselves, free to stop and watch the birds and alligators as we wished. After a few technical difficulties, (flats and temporary repairs) we made it to our destination- Sawgrass Recreation Park. While not a technical ride, it was about 15 miles from the house to the park. Dan and Eric rode back to the house to get the cars and drive back to pick the rest of us up. Eric also got a flat and rode the last 4 miles with it back to the house. After quick showers all around, we headed out to dinner at Big Bear Brewery.

We had a lazy Sunday morning, sleeping in and eating pancakes. After breakfast we piled into the car and went to find some manatees. There was only one hanging around at Manatee Lagoon at Riviera Beach, but it was still pretty cool to see. From there, it was off to see sea turtles at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, where they rehabilitate injured sea turtles. Once they are healed, they are released back into the wild. Lunch was spent watching the football game and sampling the libations at Funky Buddha, not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon! The remainder of the day was spent hanging out and discussing where we should go in the Keys.

L

#12 - Expected and unexpected stops

​1/16-20/17 - NC, Uncle Bill's house (VA), back to NC

​Current Location: I-95 South, RV capital of the world (Northern FL)

After arriving back on the ‘mainland’ we detoured northwest through North Carolina and Virginia to visit Uncle Bill and Aunt Rita, whom we hadn’t seen in almost 5 years and even longer before that. This drive was not exactly a key city to key city type drive so when we looked at the map (alright, I’ll admit, Google Maps on our phones) we saw a few options that avoided interstates all together. So we decided to take the scenic route, which was in fact much shorter in terms of distance and nearly the same on time.It was really interesting to see the backwoods parts of the beginning of the southeastern United States.We concluded that rural central NC seemed like it may have forgotten to turn the calendar from 1950 to 2017. The old houses, both well maintained and degrading beyond recognition were excellent company for half the drive.Virginia brought more rolling hills and mountain driving along with some fog and rain. We headed up an over the first bits of the Appalachians to Uncle Bill’s house.

Lara and I both commented on how even though you don’t know certain family or friends very well or haven’t connected in a long time the hello hug and stores still feel just as good as with anyone we’re visiting along the way. Having just come from some beautiful parts of the coast and quietly watched the fog roll up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway as we passed through, it was nice sharing stories with those that appreciate the same.

It was a quick stop as we headed down through western Virginia and North Carolina the next day. Or at least we thought we’d be through them. Just north of Charlotte a vibration in what we thought was the tires quickly turned to the side of I-77. The front drive shaft of Hobbes had decided to poop the preverbal bed. The hubs for the 4 wheel drive had been locked likely too long on open highway and there was also an aspect of overall age. We sorted out a tow and location to drop it off. The mechanic was no longer located at his google maps location and the two truck driver kindly drove us another 15 minutes to an obscure warehouse location. Now, that’s not entirely being fair because we had apparently broke down in the mechanic and performance vehicle capital of the world. Shop after shop of racing teams and high performance shops lined the roads, including this obscure set of warehouses outside Mooresville, NC. The mechanic was nice enough to pull the shaft for us and explain how we can just go about our business while he checks with his drive shaft guy. As a bit of a side note I should have probably realized that could have been done, dropping the front shaft and continuing on our way. Probably could have avoided the tow and made some calls while we kept moving. Ahh well, lesson learned.

We grabbed a hotel with points and snuck Rooney. I am all about a $10-20 fee for a pet but $75 for a pet when the room is only costs $100-150 is a bit excessive. We’re badasses, you can say it. Real rebels. We were out the next morning after some Wi-Fi’ing sessions and found a state park nearby to camp at and go for a run. We continued our streak of “ain’t nobody here” as we were the only people to camp there the next night. The weather was 70 degrees, trails were 20 yards away, a beach and little island to watch sunset and a silent campground. We lucked out completely in our “decision” to break down. After a few conversations with the 4x4 conversion company and our mechanic guy we decided to order a new drive shaft are mosey on down to Georgia the next day.

We stopped at Congaree National Park in South Carolina for a quick jaunt through the cypress forests, swamp land and boardwalks.  It is a pretty obscure National Park but worth half a day to stretch the legs.  The drive continued back to the Atlantic Ocean, ending up on Jekyll Island, GA, an island dating back to English and French ownership in the 1700’s.  We didn’t really know what we were in for but the island has a campground that was decently cheap and we knew we’d like to wander some beaches.  The island is a hamlet of a resort, gated and with some pretty high end parts.  Other sections feel remote and completely natural.  Thankfully the campground was on the far north end of the island and felt like we were taking a step back to colonization with giant trees draped in moss, dirt and shell roads and some of the original planation buildings from the first owners.  Plus we were greeted with a beautifully painted sunset along the bay and a sunrise on a beach filled with driftwood and framed by giant cypress trees. If it weren’t for the dozens of ticks we pulled off our little furry explorer, we’d definitely consider hanging out here again for some extended periods of time.  Now, onward and southward.  It’s getting warmer and warmer and, more noticeably, the water temperature of the Atlantic is getting toastier. 

#11 - The cold coast

1/11-1/15 - The eastern seaboard

Current Location: Ferry Pamlico Sound North Carolina

Our drive to Delaware was along the scenic route of Route 1, more lights yes, but no tolls, and only 10 minutes longer. We stopped along 295 to overlook the Delaware River and walk across the pedestrian bridge. A flock of snow geese invading a field caught our eye and we decided to sit and watch them for some time. This flock had to be at least 10,000 strong. We’d watch a group of them circle, and land in a new area of the field among others that were already devouring whatever cut greens were left from the fall harvest. The sound of that many birds in one area was impressive. As we were getting ready to leave the field, a photographer with much larger camera was pulling in. Guess we chose a good spot to stop and watch.

Beyond that, we've been living the island life the last few days… and it’s been awesome!

Sunset.... 

...and sunrise. Not too shabby.  

We spent 2 nights on Assateague Island with the wild horses and no one else. The day of our arrival we all enjoyed sitting at the picnic table and watching the birds, listening to the surf and just doing nothing at all. Sunset was incredible from the roof of Hobbes- Beer in hand we watched the sun set. The clouds were vibrant reds and oranges, slowly fading to purples and blues. This is what this trip is all about- sitting with the ones you love, enjoying the ‘simple’ things without a care in the world of what time it is, what day it is, or what’s happening anywhere else but the 72 square feet below us.

Our second day we wandered around the island, walking around the trails over the marsh and through the forest.  We spent some time on the Life of the Marsh Trail watching the birds an wandering out onto the little beach.  As we made our way back towards the trailhead, we heard the calls of some nearby horses. If only they’d show themselves.  Not a minute later, 2 horses wandered out from the brush to feed on the seahay below the elevated boardwalk to 10 feet from us.  They didn’t seem to notice the clicks of our cameras, or the whimpers from Rooney.  Rooney on the other hand was quite interested in them.

We rode bikes over to the boat launch to watch sunset. The birds were feverishly chirping in the tree behind us, zooming in and out of the branches, throwing little twigs down onto the table we were sitting.  As soon as the sun set, the birds were quiet, like they just got scolded to go to bed.  We sat and watched the colors begin to fade before heading back to camp and a quick detour to the raised boardwalk of the Life of the Marsh tail. Three horses were across the little inlet eating their seagrass dinner.  We watched them as the final colors faded from the sky and then turned dark.  Our ride back to camp was in darkness light of our headlamps the only light for miles.

Making our way south toward the Outer Banks we crossed the impressive Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel spanning twenty some odd miles of bridge and two tunnels dropping below huge tanker ships coming into the bay.  We stopped further along the way at Wheeping Radish Brewery for a flight and some catfish bites, and Outer Banks Brewing Station for a flight of their beer and some crab bisque and hushpuppies.  We also picked up a new ‘delicacy’ along the way- Southern biscuits and gravy Lays potato chips- not too bad. 

We pulled into Camp Hatteras for the night well after dark, set an alarm so we could get up with enough time to have some breakfast on the beach and stop at Bodie Island Lighthouse before going to the Wright Brothers National Monument and then continuing the adventure southbound.    Hobbes fit quite well on the open deck ferry from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke and then from Ocracoke to Cedar Island.  Rooney came to enjoy walking on the mostly empty deck of the ferry as we watched the sun sink into the water.  The ferry rides were a really nice surprise part of the trip that we had not even remotely planned, not that much of this is “planned”. 

We got to chatting with a guy who loved Hobbes, getting down on the deck to check out the undercarriage and asking about our trip plans.  About 2 seconds later offered us some shrimp that was fresh off the boat just a few hours before.  Hell yeah, I’ll take some shrimp!  Seafood risotto was already on our menu for tonight, but we can add more shrimp-  it’ll be seafood with a few rice grains…not a bad meal!

Having grown up going to the Jersey Shore and experiencing the shit-show that is the summer at the beach, we could only imagine what the Outer Banks and US12 is like.

There is something very special about the beach in winter when no-one else is around.  I’m glad that feeling translates so well through state lines.

L

#10 - NE hopping

​1/4-1/10/17 - RI; Walt/Trina (MA); Marissa (VT); D’Orvilliers (CT & NJ)

Current Location: Assateague Island National Seashore, Oceanside Campground, Site 26

One of the perks of traveling and not having a set schedule is we can visit with friends and family along the way. We had a great stretch of visiting with family for a week. I haven’t been in Massachusetts to visit with Walt and Trina in almost 15 years. As a kid we would go up for a long weekend every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can remember those weekends being filled with long chats that lasted well into the early morning hours. (around the kitchen table, drinking tea of course) shopping at The Christmas Tree Shoppes. This trip was much of the same- minus the shopping. Great conversation, great food, to accompany the many laughs and stories shared.

From there we headed up to Vermont to spend time with Marissa and Scott. Spending time with my sister and nephew is something that I cherish and with that I could do a lot more of. We spent several days giggling like little kids, sleigh riding, playing with dinosaurs, and going out to see the local hotspots. There haven’t been too many occasions we’ve spent time together as adults. I wish we lived closer because phone calls and texts just aren’t the same.

Rooney and Chunk loved playing together from the first light of day until they fell asleep. Rooney and Peanut on the other hand was not as successful as we hoped, although it was quite amusing to watch. Both cat and dog were confused and interested about each other, as long as there was a 3 foot perimeter… Rooney would be brave and walk past Peanut as she stared him down, hissing and swinging her little paws at him. Much to Rooney’s dismay, she never came around. Maybe next time.

We continued our trip south from Vermont to visit with the Connecticut D’Orvilliers. Following the common theme, we haven’t been there in many many years as well. We had a great dinner with Marc, Sue, Katherine, Aunt Ann and Pepere. After dinner Pepere, Eric and I sat together in Pepere’s living room as he shared stories of his childhood, raising his family, and of Memere. We truly enjoyed hearing these new-to-us stories! In the morning Pepere took us on a tour of the ol’ stomping grounds.

Back in New Jersey we got the two families together for a New Jersey delicacy, pizza. It’s not until you venture, not too far away, that you find that there are a few things NJ has nailed and other places just can’t figure out how to do the same way- Pizza, bagels, deli sandwiches. While there are many places that are good, they’re just not the same. We spent Wednesday morning working on small projects around the van that either got postponed or we decided needed to be added to the to-do list. We were able to spend some quality time. albeit short, with our parents as well as some family friends.

Thank you to everyone for having us in your homes, sharing stories and laughs over incredible meals. We originally said the pillars of our trip were trail running, skiing and breweries. However, we likely knew family/friends time would be high on that list. We probably took it for granted but these times have really made the trip for us so far.

Lara

#9 - New Hampshire

​1/1-1/3/17 - Apple Hill, NH; Loon Mountain; Meredith

Current Location: I-95 S at the GA/FL line (yeah, I know, a bit delayed)

​We may have gotten used to the cold (but where I’m writing this is 75 and bright sunshine so that’s easy for me to say). This segment of the trip involved a drive back across Maine, skirting directly past Sunday River and continuing on to New Hampshire. We actually only realized about halfway through the drive that we were on the exact same roads as a few days earlier. Snow was still piled high along the sides of these country roads but the lack of nearly any other vehicles made it an enjoyable drive. Due to the holiday and lack of daylight we had called head to a year-round campground and were directed to just take any site availably and stop by in the morning to pay. Arriving at dusk we were surprised to find this more of a mobile home park than a campground and there were only really two sites available. We backed into the snow covered site and chatted with “the locals” while we shoveled around the van for snow management purposes. All things considered it was easy and a quiet night.

The following day we drove the 30 minutes or so south to Loon Mountain to get some skiing in. Rooney and Hobbes were a big hit in the lot as we were parked near the steam train that transported guests around the base area. The skiing was fun, albeit slightly icy in sections. We kept busy wandering around the mountain and had some great views of Mount Washington on the gondola ride up. Lift lines were decently long in sections as it was still the holiday but overall the mountain had a lot of terrain to explore. We headed south after a quick stop in Lincoln NH for a One Love brewery. We ended up at Meredith Woods Campground which had a few departing seasonal people but otherwise really quiet. We fell asleep to a rain, sleet, freezing rain pattering on the roof. The following day we could have explored another ski area about 30-45 minutes away but a steady freezing rain allowed us to slow things down. We had a leisurely morning and partook in the hot tub/indoor pool at the campground. We finally created the website and generally lounged for most of the day. This kind of day is something we are going to have to consciously work into the schedule every week or so. 

Eric

#8-New Years

​12/31/16-1/1/17 - Location: Bar Harbor, ME

The drive east to Acadia National Park was beautiful! We arrived into Acadia at about 4:24, about 24 minutes after the visitor center closed. The lights were on and we could see that people were walking around inside so we decided to try our luck and pull on the door handle. Much to everyones surprise the door opened! (I don’t think the park rangers were happy that the door wasn’t locked) After a brief chat with the rangers, we realized we could be in for some real difficulties finding somewhere to sleep for the night. We called several places hoping they would be open.After resigning ourselves to the nearest Walmart parking lot, we got a phone call back from Hanscoms, a cabin rental property that is open year round on the outskirts of Bar Harbor. The decision to drive the 30 minutes back to Bar Harbor was an easy one, although we weren’t excited to be spending money on accommodations. The return to Bar Harbor meant that we could stick to our original plan of visiting the mostly closed Acadia National Park, something that was high on our list of places to visit.

We spent New Years Eve Day exploring the park. While most of the park was closed, it was a great time to sight see without more than a dozen cars driving around. The day was filled with hikes along the shoreline to sit and watch the surf on what will likely be our eastern most point. We decided to take the bikes off the roof and tour around the closed section of road near Otters Point. Added bonus- dogs are allowed in the park, so Rooney had his first run while we rode bikes experience. We had a great day in the sunshine with the park basically to ourselves.

We wandered around Bar Harbor for dinner and drinks with the locals on one of our quietest New Years Eves. No dice for January 1st sunrise atop Cadillac Mountain (first spot in the US to see sun) as the forecast is not cooperating. New Year, a whole new lifestyle!

Tomorrow’s destination: New Hampshire

#7-Sunday River, ME

​12/28-30 - Location: Sunday River

We’re off to a great start in Hobbes! We headed out of NJ on 12/28 for New England. Stopped along the way to Maine in Salisbury Recreation area on the border of MA and NH for a quick jaunt along the beach. I don’t know who was more excited to be out of the car and in the fresh ocean air- us or Rooney. The three of us had big smiles across our faces as we took in the views and ran along the water.

As we drove into Sunday River we caught the end of the fireworks display. It was pretty impressive! After Rooney won over the the security officer who did not like that we intended on camping out in one of the lots, we set up and watched the snow pile up. We woke up to 18” of freshies and quickly got up to the lifts. The windy weather forced the resort to close down the upper lifts, meaning lift lines got pretty long. Feeling like we fulfilled our east coast powder dreams, and not wanting to spend time in lift lines, we cooked up lunch in the van while packing up to move on.

Destination: Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park

#6-Christmas

December 28, 2016

Entry #6 12/22-28 - Location: Central New Jersey

Christmas in NJ

We arrived back to our hometown on December 21 and jumped right into family traditions. First task: make traditional Christmas Eve dinners. Lara’s family makes pierogies and mushroom soup, while Eric’s family makes shepherds pie. Thankfully we eat those on different days- too much good food for one sitting! The other big tradition is the annual D’Orvilliers Christmas Eve Ping-Pong tournament; running strong with over 20 years of fun family rivalry. Eric had the first three-peat in the history of the tournament…could be that he’s the ping-pong committee, or that he’s able to function better than others after drinking some Black Russians, the official Christmas Eve beverage.  

No Christmas trip home would be complete without a brothers (and sisters) night out in New York. That night is always a great time catching up with the family while wandering- this year through the Bowery District.

The bi-annual pilgrimage home to NJ is always a highlight of our year.

After the holiday festivities wind down, we get ready to head out for the next leg of our trip. Destination: Sunday River Maine

Lara

#5-First & second days on the road

Entry #5 - 12/20-21/16 - Location: Rural Ohio

First and second days

The beginning of a drive across the country does not necessarily feel like the beginning of our “grand adventure” so it’s been a little hard to reconcile the two.  Lara and I have done so many drives like this before that we are very methodical about it.  It’s fun seeing random parts of the country are enjoyable but also “boring”.  I put that in quote because I’m still quite content to do it but at the same time it’s not the most exciting thing in the world.  However, I was struck by the Midwest sunsets and sunrises.  Because the horizon lines are so distant (read: flat), the build up to sunrise and the exhaustion of the day at sunset tends to be slow and pretty gorgeous.  

We’ve been playing with the GoPro, listening to podcasts and generally in full road trip mode.  Nothing to groundbreaking to report.  We have realized that we need to better organize the cockpit.  We figure we need to balance the need to spend some time on the road to see what works/what doesn’t/etc. but also can’t just get into the habit of having a train wreck of a front seat filled with tissues, half eaten lunch, phones, cords, journal, on and on.  

Another state, another set of friends we haven’t seen in too long.  Hopefully we can spend more time in some of these places both so the trip can slow down but also to spend more time catching up with some great people in various parts of the country. 

#4-Going away shin dig & soirée

Entry #4 - 12/10/16 - Location:  17029 (home), 11pm

Going away shin dig & soirée

When you’re laying in bed counting on your fingers the people that came out to a going away shin dig/brewery afternoon and you forget if you’re on 10-15 or 15-20…you’ve got a good group of friends.  In the world of “social” media and “friends”, it makes me smile when you spent a few hours drinking a beer and sharing some laughs with a close group of people.  So let me start by saying thank you to those who did go, and those who wanted to go.  Friends (in the actual sense) are a special thing.  Days like today make it hard to leave those friends, but they’re also the biggest supporters of leaving what’s comfortable and exploring the world that you know that they are going to explore in their own way.  We have so much gratitude for the amount of help we received from our friends- whether it be ideas for the actual van build, helping to build the van, or ideas of places to see while on the trip, or places to check out in Seattle.   Somehow we spent 7 hours in one place, that time flew by laughing, reminiscing, and planning future trips together.  I have no doubt that we will spend many more afternoons doing the same thing in the future.  

It was incredible to share our project with all of you, and see the excitement in your eyes.  It was just this morning that it really hit that our van that we took down to metal is now very much a livable space.  I didn’t know that we had the skill set to build something like that from scratch.  Thank you for the encouragement to take on a project like this.  Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to help us build and use your skills that we don’t possess.  Without your help our humble home would not be what it is today.  

I look forward to exploring new places and sharing those experiences with you in a brewery as we loose track of time.  

“Alive is the pursuit of adventures unknown and territories unseen with an insatiable curiosity to explore… The unbounded journey exists for those who wonder.” - New Terrain Brewing

#3-The Van! [still to come]

Entry #3 - The Van! - TBD

Purchase

Design & build

Hobbes

#2-Work, will they care...and what if they do?

Entry #2 - 8/11/16 - Location:  SW Flight 3090 Nashville > Denver

Work, will they care…and what if they do?

I’ll admit that I probably sat on these discussions longer than I originally planed.  Because I had never heard of anyone in my career to this point having taken a “sabbatical” or “extended leave”, my hopes were not high.  Frankly one of my gripes or concerns about my career as a whole has always been the impression that your job takes over much of your life and personality.  Almost everyone I’ve worked with have been great, smart and hard working but in casual conversations will speak of how they’ve missed key life/family milestones because of some work commitment or another.  It’s never said with any smiling contentedness but it’s also not said with any particular sadness or reflection either.  And that may have been the most concerning part.  Do these people really not care that this is “the way it is”?  Do they even notice?  Will they someday come to some drastic realization?  Or does the money, lifestyle, future potential, etc. make up for missing so much?  With thatmany questions, what I did know was I didn’t want to be in a position to even have those questions posed to me down the road.

Even though I rambled off into that sidebar, those were really some of the considerations to approaching this subject with work, mainly because I really didn’t think anyone would even comprehend what I was saying, let along support it.  The approach I ended up taking, albeit unintentionally, was to float the idea with coworkers who knew me pretty well but were not in a position to give the thumbs up or down.  I took a test-the-waters plan.  The result was a surprisingly positive reaction.  I honed my approach with the logical argument supplement.  I knew I couldn’t just go full-bore, dirty vagabond story but including the concepts of once-in-a-career delineation of responsibilities and no debt, mortgage or kids appealed to the logical, in-his-shoes mindset.  

So far a few of these conversations I felt more confident but still held a healthy amount of skepticism.  As I progressed from one conversation to another, my finely-tuned (not really) talking points became less and less necessary.  Once I got up to the decisions makers, I didn’t even get a chance to present my case.  Much to my surprise, those in the leadership of my current role and office were quick to jump on board, saying that more people should be doing it and they wished they had done something like this.  I believe certain individuals had been tipped off by some of the test-the-water colleagues but either way, it turned out to be a really positive reception.  After getting some official thumbs up, including HR, I was just left with a very surprised and happy “huh!”

Current Thoughtfulness:

> I will save this for another entry down the road but:  With all these work discussions about taking an extended leave was also the “what’s next after you come back?” question.  I was also left with a “huh?”.

> Even beyond the where and what’s next, is this question (in my head) “what will it be like going back to a corporate, structured, demanding work environment after a trip like this?”  It’s something that I expect and look forward to contemplating and discussing with Lara during the trip with snow falling on the roof of the van or with the back doors wide open and a view for miles.

#1-The audacious idea & the decision

Entry #1 - 7/10/16 - Location: SW Flight 1400 Denver>New Orleans 10:00p MT

The audacious idea & the decision:

So I may be writing this in July but the idea feels just as fresh and wild as it did when Lara and I first approached the subject months ago.  I do, however, forget the first discussion…was it over a beer (where much of our planning takes place), did I even know what I was proposing at the time, what was Lara’s first reaction?  

All of that will someday be well in the past, as will the van build, the trip and the resulting lifestyle but that’s where this journal/blog/etc. comes in.  Hopefully anyone reading, namely Lara and I, will have some little insight into this exiting, bold and possibly crazy idea we’ve pursued.

Even though I don’t remember the very first foray into the subject, I do recall the many mental ping pong games we played, together and against a backboard known as our own skulls.  There was not really one driving tope that we were fixated on, rather we covered each key aspect on and off over the course of a few month.  These marital board meetings covered career, finances, exploration, personal preferences, our relationship, Rooney, family, adventure, mental state (both positive gains and if we were f’ing crazy).  With each discussion I, internally, became more attached to the idea of taking a grand adventure* involving months of freedom and a chance to explore so many of those places we know exist but hadn’t even heard of yet.  Externally, I felt like I tried to keep my interest level in check.  In fact, I particularly remember thinking we should hold off telling friends and family because I didn’t want to get my own hopes up.  When it did start to get blurted out on the phone, at family gatherings or grabbing a beer with friends, it was just that…a mini verbal explosion of potentially ill-advised giddiness.  I say that because at that point the idea of extended leave from work to live out of a van exploring the good ‘ol U.S of A. was a crap shoot on a cold table with high minimum bets.  What kept this crazy train rolling through was the draw of such a unique opportunity we have and highly supportive friends and family, no matter how out of our minds they thought (or should I use present tense?) we are.  

I have used the phrase “unique opportunity” dozens of times now, mainly in talking about our trip with work people.  I realized it was a much better introduction then, “yes, we really do think that life in a van, without a shower or crapper, is a hell of a great way to spend half a year.”  Not having a penny of debt (credit cards fully paid off each month, renting a house, car payments and, more importantly, student loans having been paid off, etc.), no children, and the end of a 3 year rotation at work all are easily digestible.  Thankfully all of those points are 1) valid and 2) true.  To many, or maybe it’s just more difficult to convey, the draw of true adventure, exploration and a wide open empty road is a concept less understood.  Even those that can appreciate it, in someone else or their own pull of adventure, the feeling may mean something completely different.  Friends that we may ski, camp, run, (insert ‘adventurous’ thing) with us may be interest in a similar sabbatical but their approach, length, style and/or daily activities could be drastically different.  Building a log home alone in the woods, reading a series of books on atropical beach, jet-stetting to all the world heritage sites, filling shopping bags at the fashion districts in the most visited cities in the world; the list goes on.  And they are all awesome.  But because of the diversity it’s really difficult to boil down your draw into an elevator speech soundbite.  One of my biggest hopes is that this trip and the manifestation of it here will help to clarify that inherent feel that we have.  

Back to the regularly scheduled programming… After sharing the idea with some close friends and family, mostly receiving “sweet”, “I’m jealous” or “you’re nuts but seems like you guys” we had unintentionally backed ourselves into a corner.  In that corner was Lara and I, Rooney, and our good old friend: Mr. Decision.  As mentioned, many of these discussions occurred over a local craft brew.  There were some during a trail run, drive to/from the slopes or falling asleep bu most were held while wearing puffy jackets & gloves around a fire pit, outdoors in winter at a Golden brewery.  After rounds of such back and forth, getting no closer to actually deciding something/anything, there was a particular weekend afternoon sitting at the bar at Mountain Toad where Lara asked “If we don’t pursue this, are we going to regret it for a long time?”  A lengthy pause followed and we both looked at each other realizing we had kicked Mr. Decision to the curb.  We even went as far as to conclude that if I got a big “hell no” from work that this chance was important enough to go for it anyway, paycheck be damned, at least for some period of time.  Stealing a phrase from a great outdoor podcast, our Big Hairy Audacious Goal (B-HAG) had been made.  

The only thing left to do was…well…everything, not the least of which was growing a pair to approach the subject with someone at work who could actually give the yay/nay.  

*Post script:  I feel odd even mentioning the interest in a grand adventure because we have already been so lucky to have traveled to and explored so many great placed around the world.  Even in our own backyard we have tried to take full advantage of nooks and crannies of the Rockies.  So in writing this the question that arises in my head is if this is just another grand adventure, a doorway to a more “permanent” adventure or what helps to clarify the lifestyle we’d like to pursue going forward.  Clearly it feels like much more than the next fun thing.  I guess time will tell.  

Current Thoughtfulness:

> Holy shit, are we really going to go through with this??

> I have never heard anyone at work doing this (meaning take 6 months off, let alone go hippie, vagabond, van lifer style) and what are they going to say?

> Lara loves her job and she will likely have to quit.  It means a ton to me and the trip that she’d be willing to give that up.  Is that really the best idea?

> Are we going to commit to 6 months and find out this is really what we want our life to be?  We have gotten pretty accustom to a speedy lifestyle and will we be able to operate on the cheap?

> Man, where should we go and what should we do?