It doesn’t seem possible, but at the end of this month (technically a month later for Karen) we will have been retired for 5 years! What the hell have we done? Retirement, for those uninitiated, is when you shovel your driveway down to bare pavement two hours after a major storm. Being anal retentive helps. Retirement is… Read More 5 Years Post Retirement – Mar 2019
More accurately, this post could have been labeled “Everything Within 5 Miles of our House”. OK, so we haven’t done a lot of traveling in the last few months. Well, except for moving 1,200 miles north. So this post is really more about our November. The Airstream is winterized and tucked away in our yard for… Read More November in New England – Nov 2018
Four years ago I posted about our stay in Hampton, NH, but this time we have a little more of a story to tell. If you remember, only a few weeks ago we were in Bend, OR where we got an invitation to a cookout on the bay in Dover, NH with friends, and decided,… Read More Big Move in Our Future – Aug 2018
Two institutions. Niagara Falls. And Duff’’s. You weren’t expecting me to say the Buffalo Bills I hope. In further testimony to the travails of US Government, US Customs made the mistake of letting us back in the country. We departed the US earlier in the day from Port Huron, Michigan, and made the trek across Canada… Read More Western New York – Aug 2018
Imagine if you will – crossing the state of Nebraska (you know, the corn husker state). This will not be a photo expose; rather, you’re going to have to use your imagination. Imagine driving for hours (days really) and seeing rolling corn fields, train tracks running parallel to the road, and massive farm cooperative… Read More Nebraska – July 2018
Sometimes, the little things are the big things. Originally, we were going to continue heading north from Oregon into Washington State, but we got a better offer, and as a result are heading a bit east, and quickly found ourselves in southwest Wyoming. But not before first stopping in Garden City, UT just a hop,… Read More Rock Springs, WY – July 2018
We visited hell, devastation, chaos, and boiling mud. No, not the nightly news – Lassen Volcanic National Park, in northern California at the southern tip of the Cascade Range. We seem to be entering our “volcanic” period. I guess like volcanoes themselves, you don’t plan for this period. They just happen. Volcanoes happen, as the saying… Read More Lassen Volcanic NP – July 2018
We visited Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa, CA for the July 4th week. Nice!! Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz we visited with my niece and her family – always great to see them! We camped in a marina – there is a “campground” (about a dozen paved parking spaces with full hookup) in the Santa… Read More 4th of July Week – 2018
As the preeminent surfer dude (not), I think I can report to you on Pismo Beach on the California coast. Gnarly, dude. That’s my report. Clutched in a sliver of land between US 101 and the Pacific Ocean, and about 2 hours north of Santa Barbara, Pismo Beach is kind of a cool little town. Granted… Read More Pismo Beach (CA) – June 2018
I may have found my favorite shiny new object… the town of Lee Vining, CA! We camped here for about a week for a variety of reasons, but one the weather was so cool, as was the town (population 395 on the sign entering the town). The town just had a cool vibe – what… Read More Lee Vining (CA) – June 2018
Sequoia and King’s Canyon (SEKI) NP is a paradise of contradiction. Or maybe there is no contradiction; maybe it is just balance. One thing for which there is no dispute: this place is beautiful. We spent four nights camped at the Lodgepole campground in the park. There are no hookups in the campground, although water is… Read More Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP – June 2018
We continued our trek west. How shameless is it that we are heading to the west coast for a free meal at a wedding? I’ll have the chicken, please. We left Kansas and made the transit across eastern Colorado to Denver and stayed at Cherry Creek SP (highly recommend). Here is where the story goes a… Read More Westward Ho! – June 2018
As mentioned previously, we are headed west, the first meaningful stop being to visit our son (the poor thing) in Denver. From there we will head further west to Santa Barbara to torment the daughter of one of my best friends at her wedding. We headed west from our highly regarded (by me only) escapade… Read More Heading West – May 2018
Bang a gong, smoke a bong – let’s get this party started! Tell me I didn’t just write that! Jeez. I was recently re-reading some of my prior posts and was thinking – who writes this stuff? Some of my comments go careening off the guardrails, while others feel like an errant missile with a blindfold… Read More Summer Kickoff – May 2018
In today’s environment, it is hard not to talk about the goings on in Washington, our nation’s capitol, without some snarky comment. But the fact is this is a magnificent city! You need a month or two to do any justice to this city, touring neoclassical monuments, endless historic sites, and world-class museums. We visited… Read More Washington, DC – May 2018
Holy Crap – Frank is 80! I won’t lie – it gets more than a little weird when you actually know someone who turns 80 years old. How can that be? Like my father before me, I am still only 39. Along the Airstream road, we have met many incredible people. Of course Frank isn’t one of… Read More Frank turns 80! – Apr 2018
Not a big story here, just a few pictures from TCPC on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Spring has sprung! Or maybe not so much. On Monday (happy belated Patriots Day for my peeps in and around Boston) we had just a beautiful dusting of snow on our wonderful (sorry, Airstream only) campground…
If our stay in Palm Springs was sublime, then our very short stay in Austin was ridiculous. We LOVE Austin, although this time around we did not get to stay nearly long enough as we would like – practically an overnight. We traveled from Palm Springs and a campground (Outdoor Resort) that was very homogenous,… Read More Austin – Mar 2018
We did two things in February we have never done before: 1) stay in one place for more than two weeks, and 2) stay at an RV resort. OK, technically we did stay at an RV resort before (once), but never for this length of time. We essentially spent the month of February in Palm… Read More Palm Springs – Mar 2018
One of the big deals in Palm Springs during February is Modernism Week, which is all about mid-century modern architecture and design, which I would highly recommend attending (see my previous posts from 2015 on Modernism: A, B, C and D). If you haven’t been to Palm Springs, there really is some fabulous 50’s era… Read More Palm Springs Trailer Trash – Feb 2018
“Picture yourself in a boat on a river, With tangerine trees and marmalade skies. Someone calls you, you answer quite slowly, A girl with kaleidoscope eyes….” On our journey west, we stopped in Rodeo, NM, a place known (by astronomers) for its viewing potential into the deep, dark skies. Oddly enough, we showed up on… Read More Deep Skies – Feb 2018
Once again we have made the trek to the Florida Panhandle for the annual opening of Crazy Season – the Canopener! For those uninitiated, this Airforums rally, in its 11th year, is a gathering of Airstream-related craziness, food and fellowship. Held on the first weekend in January at Topsail State Park in Santa Rosa Beach,… Read More Canopener – Jan 2018
What a year. It is difficult to write a “year in review” for 2017 and not bear witness to the horrible political, judicial, and societal issues that have reared their heads. Watching this past year has been like watching your annoying Uncle Leo at a holiday party dancing with his zipper down; you don’t want… Read More 2017 – In Review!
AMANDA, TURN ON THE DAMN TV! Technology. Jeez. At home it takes me 4 remotes just to adjust the TV. I just turned 65 years old (how did HE make it to 65 you are saying to yourselves). I could be “that guy” on the SNL skit about Alexa. If you haven’t seen it, it… Read More Fort Desoto – Dec 2017
She thinks my tractor’s sexy. Those were the lyrics I was thinking about as I started to write this post. What can I tell you. So I said this post was about Ohio. I lied a little bit. This trip started in Romeo, Michigan, where I went to the manufacturing location for the Hensley Hitch… Read More Ohio – Nov 2017
The ‘60’s and ‘70’s was a unique period in this country – captured in its politics, war, art, resistance, culture, and arguably most notably, its music. This renaissance in music during this time (and beyond!) is captured at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Rock and roll hardly dried up after the ‘70’s, so… Read More Long Live Rock – Nov 2017
We had a blast (once again) at this year’s Alumalina! The Alumalina rally has become one of the most popular Airstream-related camping events held. Somehow Airstreaming ignites independence and an equally strong sense of community. The result? Food, fun and fellowship! Yes, this last weekend we and a couple hundred other Airstreams gathered in the… Read More Alumalina – Oct 2017
I won’t lie – I have dreaded doing this post. My problem is I expect people will want to find this post interesting, relevant, and useful, and it will likely be none of those. But since when has that stopped me. Here are some thoughts, suggestions, and wisdom (that could be a stretch) from our… Read More RVing Alaska – Sept 2017
We’ll get to Glacier in a moment; and you can see our previous visit in May on our way to Alaska. One of the nice things about being on the road is you meet cool people. The other day we were driving up the Going-To-The-Sun Road (hard not to in this park) and we saw… Read More Glacier NP – Aug 2017
Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. Yes, I know I have gushed about this park previously (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3), but we returned having left the Kenai Peninsula and a brief pause in Anchorage, and caught a break with some fabulous weather! We headed east from Anchorage on the Glenn Highway towards the park.… Read More Alaska (15) Nabesna Road – Aug 2017
Homer. If Cape Cod and Switzerland had a child, it would be Homer, AK. What a fabulous few days we have spent in Homer, and talk about drop dead gorgeous, sitting at the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. Even the ride down to Homer from Soldotna was unbelievable. As you make your way down… Read More Alaska (11) Homer – July 2017
Denali Highway. This will be a short post, but important just the same. Important you say? To whom? Well, not to you or me, but maybe someone with a lower threshold. Some of the questions I have received about our trip have been about about camping by the side of the road. My bride tells… Read More Alaska (6) Denali Highway – July 2017
Strap in. Denali. It has taken us 45 days and over 7,300 miles to get from TCPC in Crossville, TN to Denali. How can anyone come away from visiting Denali National Park and not feel… changed? Denali is just one of those special places that you could never appreciate without visiting. This post is intended… Read More Alaska (5) Denali NP – July 2017
Yukon. Does a bear shit in the woods? That, and other timeless questions answered in this post. Or not. You’ve heard of Ice Road Truckers? We’re calling this edition of the blog Ice Road Trailers. Yes, we took Wanda up the Dempster Highway and into the Artic Circle, but we’ll get to all of that.… Read More Yukon: Ice Road Trailers – June 2017
Yukon. We have barely touched the Yukon Territory so far, but it has touched us. This place is great; the views have been spectacular and interesting, and the people have been SOOO friendly and welcoming! We entered the Yukon at Watson Lake, coming out of British Columbia. You might be familiar with Watson Lake as… Read More Yukon – June 2017
British Columbia. You are now entering the world famous Alaska Highway! Yes indeed, we have crossed out of Alberta (which was unbelievable), and entered northern British Columbia (BC) just south of Dawson Creek. Now keep in mind that while I title this post British Columbia, that is inherently unfair to British Columbia because we have… Read More British Columbia – May 2017
Alberta. We exited Waterton Lakes, Banff and Jasper National Parks after four days, but we will be back; these are simply stunning parks that we have at this point only lightly touched. As we left the parks, we were not suddenly faced with unrestrained commercialism; in fact quite the opposite. We spent hours yesterday driving… Read More Road to Dawson Creek – May 2017
Alberta. We left Banff earlier today and traveled on the Icefields Parkway, through Banff National Park and then directly into Jasper National Park. I know this gets redundant, but this place is fantabulous! And, we are no longer virgins! Bear virgins, that is. We saw our first sighting of bears, and we have yet to… Read More Icefields Parkway – May 2017
Alberta. Banff, if you have never been here, is just crazy with views! I say Banff, but really mean the Banff National Park in Alberta (Canada), which area includes Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Banff, Canadian Rocky Mountains galore, and much more. The views almost seem to get silly, because around every turn is a simply… Read More Banff National Park – May 2017
Alberta. We exited the US at the Waterton crossing – in Glacier National Park, and across into the Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada – Alberta, to be more precise. After dutifully instructing my bride not to answer any questions at the border crossing, we were (surprisingly) admitted into Canada. What were they thinking!?! We… Read More O Canada – May 2017
This will be a short post. We are sitting in a campground in Glacier National Park in northwest Montana and about to transit across into Canada later today on our trip to Alaska. As available we will try to post chapters of our journey. But for now, let’s not forget how unbelievably beautiful Glacier National… Read More Glacier National Park – May 2017
Yup, we are prepping for a trip to Alaska, making our lists and getting things ready! Just call us preppers. I am not new to this; I used to be a preppie. Pressed khakis? Check. Pink, button down cotton shirt? Check. Penny loafers? Check. Izod sweater? Check. Honey, I think we are ready to go… Read More Alaska Prep – May 2017
Batter batter batter… We recently toured the brand new Atlanta Braves stadium (SunTrust Park), located OTP (outside the perimeter) in Cobb County, a very short drive from where we live. Very cool! Now this is not Wrigley Field or Fenway Park, but SunTrust Park and The Battery have been built for baseball and making the… Read More Home of the Braves – Apr 2017
Almost to the day for me, it has been 3 years since I (we) retired. Oh, how I miss those days of quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly forecasts… And who doesn’t love a well-placed flaming email distributed to the world. After retirement, one is forced to forego the joys and luxury of business travel: cramped… Read More 3 Years Post Retirement – Mar 2017
Let me just start by saying that on Monday morning I will be checking myself into the Betty Ford Detox Center for Barbecue Abuse. Grab a cold beer or two and sit back – this was quite a stop on our journey. We made Austin a destination on our trip for two very good reasons:… Read More Austin SXSW – Mar 2017
We have checked the Guadalupe Mountains National Park box. Typically when we visit a national park we say to ourselves that we will absolutely have to come back to visit stuff we weren’t able to see. There is much (let’s call that most) of the park we did not see. But for whatever reason I… Read More Guadalupe Mountains NP – Mar 2017
I don’t really do campground reviews, and this is not a campground review. BUT, the Cherry Creek State Park is a most excellent urban oasis near Denver, CO. We were here to act as sherpas evaluating apartments for our son – a freaking abysmal experience I might add; it has been a while since the… Read More Cherry Creek SP – Mar 2017
The real story about McDowell Mountain Regional Park is the beauty. Yes, there are a boatload of things to do here, miles and miles of hiking, mountain biking, and horseback trails. Since the park borders Scottsdale and is only 20 miles north of Phoenix, there are tons of other activities you can partake in. But… Read More McDowell Mountain RP – Feb 2017
Like Karen said to me, “beauty as far as the eyes can see.” That pretty much captures Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. If you don’t know where that is, you can be excused; it is located in the Sonoran Desert in southwest AZ on the border of Mexico. Over 95% of this 500+ square mile… Read More Organ Pipe – Feb 2017
I really deliberated whether to post on this visit to Lost Dutchman State Park, in Apache Junction, AZ (20 miles east of Phoenix). I have posted previously about this place and in spite of what you might think I try to keep the blog current but also interesting, and with new places. But Lost Dutchman… Read More Lost Dutchman SP – Feb 2017