Its been three years since we hit the road as of April 1, 2024. What a journey it has been thus far. And if you are wondering, we want to continue the nomadic life for as long as possible. It is such a joy having the change of scenery, exploring new places and revisiting familiar favorites. This is our third year spending the winter months in Florida and we both love being snow birds. We joke about having Florida blood. When it drops below 70 (F) you will find us reaching for a sweatshirt to warm up.
Over the course of three years, the first two summers were spent in the UP of Michigan and last summer exploring the northeast (a first for us). We certainly enjoyed that trip!
Many people have asked if we plan to go out west. For now it’s hard to say when that will happen. Back in 2014 we spent six weeks tent camping out west and loved that trip. We fell in love with the western US. It is truly so expansive. And that’s part of the reason we have no plans in the works to visit at this time. It takes awhile to get there and once you get there, it’s huge. So much to explore. If and when we make it out, we would want to spend a good amount of time there.
If you have been reading the blog for awhile, you know we visit our family and friends in Indiana/Michigan twice a year. In the spring and the fall we make the trek back to spend some quality time with them and work on any projects we need to tackle. With an RV that gets 7 miles to the gallon it is simply not in the cards to trek out west and back to Indiana. So for now we are content to continue our travels in the eastern portion of the US. At this time the furthest west we have traveled in the RV is Fort Worth, TX.
As I write this we are camped at an old favorite of ours, Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. We are on our slow trek back to Indiana. But first we are here to catch the Total Solar Eclipse. After traveling to Illinois to see the one in 2017, we knew we had to catch another. So we made our travel plans around the solar eclipse. Traveling through the Carolinas and Georgia to Florida in the fall and then traveling through the panhandle of Florida, Mississippi and now Arkansas for the spring and the eclipse.
What about our summer travel plans? Where will Shamy be this summer? Well to answer that I have news to announce.
We are going to be first time grandparents!! Our grandson is due to arrive the middle of July. Of course we are thrilled for the kids and to be grandparents. But it is going to put a kink in our summer travel plans and we are fine with that. We plan to be there for the birth and for some time after to help out any way we can. There might be a shorter trip planned to the UP of Michigan in late summer/early fall. For now we are going with the flow.
With us staying more stationary over the summer, I wanted to share some photos from last summer on our return trip from Maine back to Indiana. We took a similar but shorter route back. Staying at the same camping spots in both New Hampshire and Vermont.
New Hampshire
This time through New Hampshire no bodies were recovered during our stay. Yes we decided to go back to the same one as it was convenient. If you missed that post you can read it here. This time we had a chance to explore the nearby stream. It was beautiful.
Vermont
While traveling through Vermont we chose to stay at the same exact camp spot on the mountain. The Green Mountains (we stayed in the more northern section) were a favorite of ours. The view was gorgeous. I loved watching the clouds hover over the valley below. At times fog would obscure our view.
Day Trip to Benson, Vermont
This time through we set aside time to visit some of Shane’s family heritage. Benson, Vermont is a very small town but it was founded by his family way back in the day. I believe by his great great grandfather. We promised his dad we would do a day trip over to check it out. The drive over was beautiful with rolling green hills and nice views all around. The town museum was closed the day we visited.
But we managed to find the restaurant in town also had a bar. So in true Benson fashion we enjoyed beers with our lunch in Benson, Vermont!
Niagara Falls, New York
This was a stop we saved for the return trip. We wanted to miss the summer crowds. Lucky for us visiting on a weekday in the middle of September proved to be a smart move. There were people there but not nearly as crowded as I’m sure it can be on any given summer weekend.
We had the pleasure of a nice tour by some friends of ours. Shane has two racing buddies who live in the area. One of the guys and his wife met up with us for the day to show us around. We started with a hike in the canyon before taking an elevator back up to visit the falls. The second photo below is my first peek at the falls. It’s always been a place I wanted to visit and thanks to our nomadic lifestyle it finally happened.
Wow and wow is all I can say. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I was amazed at how close you were to the falls. What an experience! We skipped the two tours, Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds. I captured photos of both, #4 and #5 below. With Josie in tow we simply enjoyed walking the grounds and taking in the sites of the falls.
A short video from the falls.
Ohio
Our last stop before arriving back in Michigan. We stayed at East Harbor State Park on Lake Erie. This was a paid spot that allowed us to dump our tanks and do some laundry before landing at Shane’s dad’s house.
We managed to enjoy some yoga and Qi Qong lakeside.
In three years we have both grown and evolved. Each of us full of gratitude every day for this beautiful life we have the chance to live. Being immersed in nature is truly where we belong. My advice for all of you is to find some time to be in nature. It is a life changer. Stress levels decrease, happiness increases, and you will find yourself smiling at the beauty that surrounds you. Many thanks for this life on the road, it has its ups and downs. But the ups far outweigh the downs.
I wanted to end this post with a quote I came across. It sums up how I feel exactly. Lord Byron said it best.
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more…”
Lord Byron
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