It was over a year ago that we finished clearing out the house in Colorado. Selling, giving away, and discarding 99% of our possessions to fit in the trailer. And a year ago, we moved the remainders and ourselves into the trailer and moved out to the Boulder County Fairgrounds on a “shakedown cruise” for a week, after which we set sail for South Dakota to shift our residency over the Fourth Of July weekend in 2018.
In the 52 weeks since, ending on the Fourth Of July weekend in 2019, we have moved to 57 campgrounds, traveling about 9,000 miles or so. We circumnavigated the United States, heading from South Dakota back to Colorado, then out to Seattle. From there, we moved southward down the west coast to San Diego, where we spent Christmas 2018. Then, in a fast 5-day binge, we dashed across the desert from San Diego to San Antonio, and from there worked our way east along the Gulf coast to Jacksonville.
From Jacksonville, we then turned north along the east coast, eventually stopping in New Jersey near Philadelphia, because it was still March and we had no desire to find out how a 42 ft long RV handled in snow and ice. So, from New Jersey, we turned west, dipping southward toward Nashville and Memphis, then from Memphis and Little Rock, heading almost due north back to South Dakota.
It is now August 2019, and we are back in Gig Harbor WA, which feels very much like home. For the rest of 2019 and into 2020, we’re going to be moving a lot less, staying longer in places, exploring more, and (above all) staying in the West. The most important thing we learned on our trip around the USA is that, while there are wonderful and beautiful places in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, and the Midwest, the landscape and the people in the American West is where we feel most comfortable.
Later on, next year in 2020, we have tentative plans to work our way eastward through Canada, during the brief period when winter is less noticeable (a.k.a. “summer” a.k.a. black-fly season). We’d love to reach Nova Scotia and Newfoundlan, and along the way stop in Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto, as well as Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
But for now, we relax a bit and enjoy where we are, where ever we are.
Our kids have been using this opportunity of our travel to thrive and to live their own lives. We’re still in very close contact with them, but now it is contact by phone, by email, by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. We’ve been able to meet face-to-face numerous times during the year. Last October, Marika intersected with us during her own travels while we were visiting Joan and Jim in Oregon. In January, Doris, Peter, and Marika met us in San Antonio, and then Doris and Lilly met us a few weeks later in Jacksonville while we were visiting Pam and Harry. We visited Sam and Charlie in Charleston in March, and also brought Rhys and Josh out for a family reunion. For Doris’s birthday in June, we flew out to Colorado to meet Josh, Rhys, Marika, Peter, Lilly, Pam, and Harry, and in July Josh came to visit while we were in Spokane, Peter just visited us in Gig Harbor a few days ago, Marika will visit while we’re in Portland in September, and Rhys will visit while we’re in San Diego next January.
We miss all these wonderful people deeply, but change is part of life and we’re going to use every opportunity to share our travels and our good fortune.
