The Trek West

RV purchased?  Check.

Personal property sold, donated, or stored?  Check.

House rented?  Check.

Leisurely plan to spend fall in the Northeast?  Check.

Flood in newly-rented home and insane number of repairs in the RV that prevent travel?  Check.

Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned. While we had anticipated journeying our great land at a relaxing pace through the summer and into the fall, life threw us some curveballs that delayed our departure by four months and set us to launch just as a hurricane was approaching our first destination.

So what did we do? We outran the hurricane and made the most of our abbreviated stays in cities across the nation. After a quick jaunt to the Florida Keys, we headed to South Carolina to help my parents move. On November 2nd, we began our westward travels, determined to arrive in San Diego, California, within three weeks to make good on a promise to spend Thanksgiving with family.

Three weeks may seem like plenty of time to make it across the country, but Ali still works full-time during the week.  That left six weekend days for traveling. And Sunday mornings were reserved for church. Additionally, we hoped to make the most of our trip. After all, we passed innumerable places of interest along the way, and it felt a shame not to stop in and visit at least a few. This meant we had to cut short our travel days. We made up for it by cramming in a few hours of travel on Wednesday and Friday nights after Ali wrapped up his workday.

So what can be accomplished with anywhere from a few hours to a few days at a given location? Quite a bit, as it turns out. Here are some of our unique experiences at each destination:

Weston, FL
We had an opportunity to visit with friends from the nine years we lived in South Florida, and our older three children participated in Saints, an awesome homeschool athletic program our oldest enjoyed as a kindergartner. Evacuations of the state park were issued just as we were checking out due to Hurricane Matthew.

It was a joy to see Coach Rick Andreassen again and watch our children be inspired under his leadership in the Saints athletic program.

The Florida Keys
Sunshine Key RV Resort boasts an enviable location on Ohio Key (in the middle of the Florida Keys). It also happened to be just south of the tropical storm cone surrounding Hurricane Matthew. While coastal areas further north were being ravaged, we were attending ice cream socials and lounging at the pool alongside iguanas as big as cats (yes, we enjoy reptilian friends). Bahia Honda State Park was only a mile and a half away, and a drive into Key West afforded us an opportunity to dine on fresh fish, snap a photo at the Southernmost point of the U.S.A., peek into Ernest Hemingway’s gardens to catch a glimpse of a six-toed cat, explore Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Park, swim and snorkel in warm, coastal waters, and taste a few varieties of Key Lime pie.

Only 90 miles to Cuba!  Sunny Key West is brimming with opportunities to enjoy interesting activities like snorkeling or touring historical sites.

St.Augustine, FL
With only one night in town, we were still able to visit historic St. Augustine. Much was closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, which had passed through a couple of days before our arrival.

The Castillo de San Marcos and  many St. Augustine businesses were closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Strong winds and waves still battered this charming little town during our visit.

Jacksonville, FL
Friends stationed there with the Navy gave us a tour of the Naval Air Station, which had several aircraft on display for visitors to see up close and personal.

Savannah, GA
Our beautiful campground with horses, goats, and a fishing pond was worthy of exploration in itself. We also spent much time in historic Savannah, strolling through well-manicured town squares (with some fallen trees due to Hurricane Matthew), discovering a gourmet chocolate shop, touring the landmark Sorrel-Weed House, and dining at Paula Deen’s “The Lady and Sons” restaurant (we highly recommend the buffet to taste a little bit of everything).

The quaint city squares of Savannah were not exempt from the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

Grace inside a specialty chocolate shop in Savannah

Greenville, SC
Though our stay in Greenville centered around helping my parents move, we celebrated our son Jonah’s 9th birthday there and went trick-or-treating with family. Visits with friends in the area and a trip to the Greenville Zoo were other highlights of our stay.

Cousins in costume

Atlanta, GA
After a morning spent at the Governor’s Mansion and meeting First Lady Sandra Deal, the kids and I rode over to the other side of town for a somber history lesson in the Civil Rights Movement at the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site. We saw King’s birth home and burial site and learned much from the interactive displays in the museum. Our children also earned their Junior Ranger badges there.

The Georgia Governor’s Mansion

Tuscaloosa, AL
Much of my extended family on my mother’s side lives near Tuscaloosa, so we visited special people and places with my cousin Terry, who served as tour guide during our time there.

Could anything capture the essence of Alabama better than a red vintage tractor tucked away in a modern barn?

Memphis, TN
We were walking in Memphis…. and our feet were on Beale Street just after snagging some world famous barbecue at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous restaurant and just before getting a flat tire. I mean, our minivan tire was TOTALLY flat, flatter than a flitter. But we were on our way quickly with the help of some kind bell hops at a local hotel.

Staying on Graceland property, we were also able to simply walk over to Graceland, view the mansion and some of the grounds, and visit the graves of Elvis, his parents, and his twin, who died at birth. As a happy surprise, our AZA membership offered discounted admission to the spectacular Memphis Zoo!

Graceland offers free admission to the meditation garden every morning between 7:30-8:30 a.m.

Little Rock, AR
Never have we had such a large, beautiful campsite as the one we had in Little Rock. Better yet, we were near friends who had moved there from Winter Garden, FL. Would you believe they had fifteen gorgeous Morkies? It’s nice to visit friends who are breeders! Being a cat person, it’s the first time in my life I ever desired a dog as a pet. I still dream of the little one named Cookie….

Morkies Galore (and Grace)

Oklahoma City, OK
With only a few hours in Oklahoma City, we used our ASTC membership to visit Science Museum Oklahoma. It marked the first time our children rode Segways or experienced a planetarium show. Our only disappointment was that we did not have several more hours to explore the exhibits. If ever in Oklahoma City, make it a point to stop in at this museum!

Science Museum Oklahoma presents explosive demonstrations.

The usual suspects line up!

Amarillo, TX
Staying only one night in Amarillo, we really didn’t expect to find much to fit into our timeframe there. As it turns out, First Baptist Church in Amarillo was structurally beautiful inside and out and characterized by a welcoming congregation. Unfortunately, while the kids and I attended church, Ali was stuck in a Home Depot parking lot fixing a water leak that developed behind a sofabed. We returned from church to find the couch unbolted and on its side in the middle of the coach. Ali has become a jack of all trades by now, though, and had it fixed fairly quickly after our return. Before leaving town that afternoon, we stopped at Cadillac Ranch, a display of colorfully-painted Cadillacs half-buried in a cow pasture off I-40.

The family at Cadillac Ranch

Ethan poses with Jenni at Cadillac Ranch

Albuquerque, NM
What fun we had in Albuquerque! It was the first place we noticed drastically different scenery from what we are used to in Florida. Tumbleweeds blew across roads. Vegetation was scarce but beautiful in its own way. Mountains loomed in the distance and were set afire by the sunset. It was as if we had stepped onto the set of a movie. Old Town Albuquerque reminded us of the many town squares found in Mexican pueblos. We even discovered a delicious Mexican diner frequented by locals. Our children especially loved their cheeseburgers.  Yes, despite all the delicious Mexican dishes available, they chose cheeseburgers.

Explora is an incredible hands-on museum for children; we went twice using our reciprocal ASTC membership, and the kids couldn’t get enough. But our favorite activity was visiting Petroglyph National Monument. Our first real hike since launch, the trail led us past volcanic rocks with 400-700 year-old Spanish and Native American designs carved into them. Almost equally fascinating were the large jackrabbits hopping around in all directions.

Petroglyphs at Petroglyph National Monument

Ali and I in front of some petroglyphs

Winslow, AZ
Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, we nearly froze our tails off. It gets cold in the high desert! But we did it to say we did it, and there’s a really cute display set up on a corner there to reflect the lyrics of the popular Eagles song.

Meteor Crater was a few miles down the road from our RV resort, and we visited it a couple of times. There is a nice museum there as well as an impressive crater one mile in diameter caused by a meteor half the size of a football field crashing to Earth at a speed of around 26,000 mph. Talk about breaking the speed limit!

Standin’ on a Corner in Winslow, Arizona!

Sedona, AZ
If you have to break down on the side of the road, Sedona’s a pretty good place to do it. Our serpentine belt snapped at the top of a 17-mile descent down the freeway. I took the kids to Wendy’s to safely wait out the arrival of help. After Good Sam tried unsuccessfully for over eight hours to get a tow truck for us, I checked into a hotel with the kids with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Ali finally turned on the coach around midnight, put it in neutral to prevent overheating, and coasted 10 miles downhill to Distant Drums RV Resort, owned by a local Native American tribe. What a blessing that it was right off the highway! In the end, breaking down was a costly issue, as the belt took out a wiring harness when it snapped. But it afforded us time to cruise SR-179, a highway considered a destination in itself for the scenic views it offers, and to stop at Bell Rock.

Posing in front of Bell Rock

Sedona, Arizona hosts spectacular views.

Yuma, AZ
We didn’t get to do much in Yuma, but we awoke to jets speeding through the air, often in formation, and heard them several times throughout the day. It was exhilarating to witness!

San Diego, CA
We arrived on November 23d, just in time to celebrate a birthday and get a good night’s rest prior to Thanksgiving! Our time in San Diego was mainly focused on spending time with family, but we still ventured out a few times to see local sites. Being there at Christmas, we got to drive down Christmas Card Lane, Candy Cane Lane, and see the “Christmas house” on Knob Hill as well as volunteer with the Salvation Army near our resort in Escondido. We also saw seals in their natural habitat on the beach in La Jolla, visited the Fleet Science Center, strolled Balboa Park, watched the sunset at Seaport Village, and discovered all sorts of little museums in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park (our favorite S.D. destination by far).

San Diego meant a lot of time with family and great fun for cousins!

We managed to sneak in a quick trip to Disneyland while in Southern California. It exceeded our expectations in every way!

We have experienced so much so far, yet our adventure has only just begun.  Honestly, I really thought I would hate living in an RV.  Instead, I feel alive and excited about life.  Not only have I found living in a small space to be enjoyable, but every day brings unique opportunities to enjoy life in a way we had never imagined.  So here’s to the future!