Road Trip 2021 - To Maine and Back

I started out this morning in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. I was there for the weekend for a friend from college's birthday. From there, I would be heading west, to officially start my trip back to Washington.  It was a long day of driving; my final destination was Akron, Ohio. I left around 8:30 a.m., and drove all the way from New Jersey through Pennsylvania and to Ohio. I stopped for lunch at a rest stop for a picnic. It was nothing special. It was slow going because the speed limit was about 70 or 75; however, I was only going about 60 or 65. Therefore, what Google maps claimed is an 8-hour drive was more like 11:00, with stops. I arrived at my boondocker post around 8:00 p.m., after getting gas and groceries. It was an elderly man's home with a few acres behind it. He had been there for 30 years, and had a lot of interesting things on his land. Such as an old school bus, a few vans, some go-karts, some trucks, and some old looking diesel gas tanks with pumps even!  He m...

Heading back to Washington was very different from when I  began my trip to Maine. Mostly for the preparations that I needed to do. It felt much more chaotic than the trip here. Before, I had spent six months planning and preparing for the trip. But once I arrived in Maine, nothing was planned! Yet alone, the return trip.   So in preparation, I had to pack up my storage unit, purchase and install a roof rack and box for my skis and snowboards, and plan the route back. I was also saying goodbye to friends - although it wasn't a goodbye, it was and I'll see you later - it was still momentous for me officially moving from Maine to Washington. The days leading up to leaving the east coast are what I'll call day zero. I stayed with a friend for my last week in Portland. Then, I headed south to begin my journey (and clean out my desk from work.) My last weekend on the east coast I spent in Long Beach Island, New Jersey to celebrate a friend's birthday.  Then, I officially ...

Hi to everyone who's been reading this - and thank you! I know that I'm a few days behind, so here's a quick update. I feel like I'm losing hours everyday and it's a time crunch to get to Maine now!! So I probably won't do any full day posts until after I arrive.  Friday 4/16/21:  Woke up at grocery store parking lot in somewhere in Virginia and drove 1.5 hours to Gettysburg. Did the movie, picture thing, and museum. Then drove the park tour. Headed out at 4pm north. Wanted to drive about 3 hours towards Watkins Glen. Got about 2 hours north and winds were strong so I stopped. Around 7pm. Went to a few pharmacies about my covid vaccine and got my second dose!!! Got late night good and went to sleep at grocery store.  Thursday 4/15/21  Shenandoah National Park  Left park at 6pm. Drove an hour north. Tried to get covid vaccine but pharmacy was closed. Slept in grocery store parking lot.  Wednesday 4/14/21 Drove kentucky to ...

This morning I woke up at the little mom and pop RV/cabin place, and got up early to get laundry done before meeting Hannah at Mammoth Cave. We were meeting at 9. So I got up and headed down to the local laundry mat. There were only two in town, and only one was open at 7:30. When I got there, a local was already there doing his own laundry. He was very kind and chatty, but didn't wear a mask (I wasn't surprised), but he was also giving me local advice. Such as how this laundromat was better than the "bougie" one next door. I did my laundry and another local came in. He also wasn't wearing a mask, but mentioned that he was because he's fully vaccinated so it would only be a courtesy to me. I put my laundry in and then went back into the camper to get ready for the day, make my breakfast, and do dishes. I went back in to get my clothes into the dryer and chatted with the second local a bit. We surprisingly (I try to avoid it) talked politics and I was pleasantl...

Today, I woke up at the cracker barrel. I woke up, got myself ready, made breakfast, and hit the road by 7am. Today I'm headed to Mammoth cave National Park!  On the road I stopped in Evansville, Indiana which is a little town on the river. I went for a short walk just to stretch my legs and breakup the drive. Then, I continued on. Kentucky was a beautiful state! I had no idea. There were rolling hills, lush green grass, and colorful trees.  As I was driving on this windy narrow hilly road through the back woods of Kentucky, it was quite the trip. All of a sudden as I'm going up a hill and around a corner, a pickup truck going towards me has a guy in the backseat behind the driver frantically waving a red flag out the window. So I (with like 5 cars behind me), slow down and start to pull over. My first thought was tractor? Animals? What on earth am I supposed to do? Does anyone else know what to do? What's everyone else doing? So i looked in my rear...

This mornin, I woke up in the Dillons store parking lot, got myself ready, went into the store to pick up a few inside forgotten the night before, and then hit the road again. I had another long day of driving ahead of me. However today, was the first day that I didn't know where I would end up tonight. Neither the city or my location of where I'd be sleeping. I was just trying to get as far as I could. So I was on my way and I made a few stops along the way.  I decided to go to the St Louis Arch as I passed through Saint Louis. Which I didn't know was also a national park! Driving into downtown Saint Louis is a little dodgy not knowing the city and driving this huge camper rig. Sometimes it feels small to me and other times it still feels giant. I found my way down to the arch; however, it was a two-way narrow road along the riverfront between the arch - and of course, there were horse-drawn carriages also walking down this little narrow parkway! Then, only to find at the ...

Today, mom and I woke up early at 3:50am! To be able to bring her to the airport on time for her flight. When we got to the Denver airport, I helped her bring her bags in and then I had to take off because I couldn't go to the parking garage (camper is too tall) but I also couldn't leave the truck sitting in the departure drop off area. I felt bad though because she had her skis plus all of her bags and was flying standby. So I waited in the cell phone lot until I could confirm that she was at least in line with her bags and checked it. Then, I hit the road. It was about 4:30 or 5:00 am at this point. It was pitch black out which made it hard to see, but as I kept driving east, it was beautiful to see the sunrise.  After the sun rose at about 6:30 or 7am, I was really tired so I decided to take a break at a truck stop. At the truck stop, I made some breakfast, then took a nap. After I woke up, I made coffee, got myself situated and hit the road. It was about 8:30 or...