Planning Your Road Trip

Since we've had so many people email us over the last 7 months with the comment of "You're living my dream", we thought it would be beneficial for many to share those things we've learned the hard way...  

CAMPING CLUBS AND MEMBERSHIPS - If you really want to save money, buy a camping membership. Of course you need to look at their locations to make sure you will be in those areas, but for us, if we would have bought even the basic membership we have now (1 zone of Thousand Trails), we could have saved at least $400. Yes, in just one zone! By the way, Scott bought the first one in his name only. If we wanted another one I would buy it. Seeing that we are currently in the Southwest, it makes no sense at all to buy one. There were a few in Arizona, but they were all 55+. Sorry, not there yet :-) Other camping clubs/memberships that will get you a discount AND are worth their costs: Passport America (50% off); Good Sam (10-20% off).
 
INSURANCE-  
Auto: you have to have car insurance. It's mandatory and wise. I'll share a little story with you ... we had one of our trucks parked at our farm with just basic coverage on it. Just a couple months ago our tenant called and told us a tree fell on it. My attitude, while probably not all together appropriate, was "who cares. It's insured." We ended up getting more than what we thought it was worth. We ended up with money to buy a replacement BECAUSE we had insurance.  
Health: OK, this one burns my behind! Unless you are of age to have the benefits of medicare, you have limited coverage while traveling out of your home state. Yes, you read that right. I ended up with a mild case of pneumonia on our trip. I had no idea what I had though and so ended up with a trip to the ER. We chose the Emergency Room because we had at least limited coverage (they'll cover as out of network after the deductible was paid). If we would have gone to a local doctor (by the way, if you are from out of town, they won't take you anyway) or an urgent care clinic, it would have been all out of pocket. Not knowing what kinds of tests they would want to perform, we opted for the ER. We checked with other insurance agents in other states and they said the same would apply with their coverages as well. Soooo ... look at your insurance carefully. Figure out what your deductibles will be and what kinds of coverage you have for out of state healthcare needs. I should add that we do have prescription coverage on our plan and that actually DID have coverage. We ended up at a Rite Aid and had only a $10 co-pay there.
 
GAS PRICES AND MEMBERSHIPS - Costco and Sams Club were the first to offer discounts on fuel to their members if memory serves correctly. Being on the road in an RV, we have absolutely no use for one of their memberships though. I can't even imagine where I would put just one purchase of toilet paper or paper towels! That said, many grocery stores now offer gas discounts. Walk in to the customer service area, apply for a new card and get your discounts (on gas and groceries!). Flying J / Pilot Travel centers have their own card for RV'ers. Boy, I sure wish I found out about this card 26,000 miles ago! Not only do they offer a discount on gas AND diesel but with the card you can also get free drinks! No, not cocktails, but coffee or for me, cocoa. :-)  

BUYING THINGS - I so hate to say this: We buy at Walmart and Best Buy. No, not because we think they have great service, products or even prices, but because if something does go wrong, you can return your purchase anywhere you go. And so we have done. Everything from bicycles and cameras to bakeware and clothing. I love buying local and we try and hit the "local" grocery stores, but for things that can break, we go to the big stores.  

BIGGEST RIG YOU CAN AFFORD - This was advice we heard after we were already on the road. It wouldn't have mattered, as that was what we did. We purchased a used, 30' 5th wheel with one slide and rear bunks. Although there are fancier models out there as well as bigger ones that our truck would have pulled, this one fit the bill for us. Motor home vs travel trailer/5th wheel: For us, with two trucks (and a prior motor home), a fifth wheel was the way to go. We had the two vehicle already and didn't really have any interest in towing one of our big trucks. Besides, we couldn't find a motor home in our price range with the options that we wanted...we did look! One of the most amazing creations to come out of the mid 2000 rigs is the rear bunks! Oh my goodness are they ever amazing. We found one with a double bunk  - a "room" for each of the boys. One more note - a full size spare tire is essential! 'Nuf said.
 
CELL PHONE PROVIDER, INTERNET and TV - OK, this may seem trivial, but it SO is not! Phone: If you want great service everywhere, go with Verizon. AT&;T, who we have is a very close second. T-Mobile? Nope. You'll be very limited with service in many areas. Sure there are lots of others and ALL of them claim they have "Nationwide" service, but the plain truth is, they have limited coverage across our great nation. Internet: We have had very good service, although slower at times, creating a hotspot from our phone and that's with a 3G iPhone. We've also had campgrounds with free WIFI (do NOT use the WIFI that you have to pay for at the campgrounds! It's horrible service IF you can get connected. There is no one that has written a good review about their service and good luck trying to get ahold of customer service). We've also used the free WIFI at Starbucks and other restaurants. If you are driving through Texas, their super-sized, super spectacular rest stops have free WIFI. There are lots of options out there, and we're not streaming any videos, so our phone has been good for us. TV: We weren't big TV watchers to begin with, so I'm not sure that we are the right people to ask, but there are a few options out there for you. For the basic of basics, go with an antenna. We use a round, omni-directional antenna that we connect up to our camper's antenna. Even though it's supposed to be able to get signals from any direction, we do notice a HUGE difference if we point towards the large city. We've had anywhere from 5 channels to 60+ channels on our digital TVs. Remember why you are doing this lifestyle - it's not for the TV watching experience. We paid $60 for it and that is our total expense for TV. Some of the campgrounds offer free cable and we'll hook up. Guess what the boys end up doing way too much of? Yep, TV watching. Without the "boob tube" as my folks used to call it, kids get the oppourtunity to explore their own creativity. Hmmm, sounds like a topic for another post.

SELL OR LEASE YOUR CURRENT HOME - a no brainer if you are now renting, but what if you own your home? For us, we tried selling our home. In a down market. Dropping the price more than $75K finally got to us and we opted to rent it out. We also have a farm, so we added into the lease agreement that we can come at any time without notice and stay in a specific area that we reserved. We also have family and friends that drive by occasionally to check on the place and so far so good. We also have really good tenants that have us their payment before the first of each month.  Coming from a family that was raised with rental properties, I knew a few things going into the process, but of course, you never have a 100% guarantee. You also need to make sure that you can rent out your home for a rate that is comfortable for you. It may be less than your payment, but you may be financially and emotionally OK with that to know that you do have a home to come back to eventually.  For others, the thought of renting out their most valuable possession just isn't even an option. In that case, find a VERY good Realtor and go with their assessment of a price. You can name your own price, but the value of a home is only as much as someone else is willing to pay for it.

I can't believe all the things that we headed out without even knowing. Truly, we thank God each day for His grace and mercy on our trip!

OK all you full timers - add in your two cents worth. I know I certainly haven't gotten it all right in here and I'm certain that there is a lot more information to be heard. Speak up and share!

Route 66 and Cars…the Movie

Life Is a Highway

Route 66. We've all heard of it, but our family actually got to enjoy it. Whoohoo!! What a beautiful, yet very small, part of the country. 

“Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see…” the song goes. Well, we had a fun stop in Winslow, Az overnight. Overnight because we were driving through in the darkness and there was just no way we could go through this famous town without stopping. 

This photo was actually taken in New Mexico on 66

Being the trip photographer, I had to take a picture of the guys, standing on a corner, in yes, Winslow, Arizona. Scott was grinning from ear to ear as the little store behind them played, yes, The Eagles and the music poured out onto the sidewalk. Too funny. Funnier still that I can't find the pictures!

Funny thing. We didn’t realize that Winslow was on Route 66. Did you know Route 66 will take you all the way from California to Chicago? We do now. A lot of it is 2 lanes, going through small, quaint little towns that are as charming as you can imagine. Interestingly enough, we were at the Pacific end of 66 back in January of this year...

End of Route 66 on the Santa Monica Pier in California

Have you seen the original movie, Cars? Oh my gosh! As you drive through on Rte 66, through the town of Winslow, there are parts of the road where I stopped, looked and thought, “OK, that was an inspiration for the movie Cars, for sure.” Really, all across the country, on drives through Route 66, we've seen inspirations for the movie. I wish that I could find the rest of the photos ... where have you gone??? 
If I find them, I'll update this page ...

This place looked like Luigi's place

Doc Hudson?

Just as an add on, we did go see the second one; Cars 2. We all agreed that while it was ok, the first was certainly the original and wasn’t topped by this new creation. I think we all left just a little disappointed that we had seen so much with our drive, that maybe we were expecting just a little more, not a little less.

Computer Malfunctions

Computer malfunction via the 12 year old using it as a seat cushion ...

Not being the computer guru, I took it in to Best Buy for their "Geek Squad" service as they are a national company. They can do the repairs but the laptop has to be shipped back to the same store you drop it off at. 2-3 weeks out. Hmmm, well that won't work. 

Any thoughts? And no, I've already decided against the boat anchor theory...

Civil War - Gettysburg and their horses

So much more than a time in history, visiting Gettysburg history comes to life and becomes real. 

Real men fought against each other. Friend against friend, brother against brother, to the death. 

We used the car audio tour that you can purchase in the Gettysburg book shop inside the Visitors Center. It directs you through on a driving tour to see specific sites that were marked in history. Some by bloody battles that made the river run red and others where famous speeches were given. 

The Calvary was a large part of the war and is attested to my the multitude of monuments to the men and their horses all across this country.

What made this more interesting for us, was learning about the details and studying more about the Civil War. Although the war will always be remembered for true freedom for all and the end of slavery as we are all taught in school, there is so much more to the Civil War than slavery though. Did you know slavery still existed in the North after the end of the Civil War and Lincoln himself owned slaves? Not long, but it was still there.

Much of it came to a difference of opinion over the Constitution and whether or not it was an evolving document, land rights, cotton and the desire for the south to succeed from the union. 

Gettysburg will go down for all of history as a battlefield of all battlefields. In 3 days of fighting, the Union lost 27% of their troops and the Confederates lost somewhere between 30-34%. Three days. Almost 50,000 lives gone. In the Visitors Center, they use those numbers and estimate if the war happened today, that 50,000 would be well over 1 million with today's population. 

I am saddened at the losses and the families that never happened or that were destroyed due to the war. I love this country. I hope that if given the chance, you will take time to drive the battlefields and see our countries history. 

the boys and their dog in the middle of a battlefield

Cotton Fields of the South

These are the first cotton fields we've seen on our trip. Actually, guess I should say these are the first cotton fields we've seen in bloom and ready for harvest. Don't know if we've actually seen them before.

Our Nation's Capital - Washington, DC

While we were traveling in the east, we would be remiss to not do a little touring in DC...the other Washington.


We enjoyed the sights and the architectural beauty that is bestowed on this great city. Some of the most amazing and wonderful buildings. We also went through the Museum of Natural History. Here are some of our photos.

Washington Cathedral. They were doing construction.

Happy Birthday Dakota and Jamestown

This is our second birthday on the road - this time for a 12 year old!

We actually started the day before in Jamestown, going back to 1607 when the very first settlers arrived (13 years before the Pilgrams arrived) in what would become these United States of America.

Scott and the boys on the Susan Constant

Here, Jamestown has been recreated back to the 17th century where we walked among the settlers in their daily lives, whether it be in the kitchen where they prepared one meal a day and the other two meals would have been leftovers and possibly some fruits or vegetables and cheese, to the forge where we watched as one man stood making nails. Yes, nails.

They did used a version of raised beds back in the 17th century.

And the chickens were allowed to roam and fertilize the dead beds

We also experienced a little of the life of the Powahtan Indians and walked through their homes. It was amazing to see all the actual animal rugs. If the men in your family were very good hunters, you would have made the very best hides into large coats to keep you warm through the winter. The rest would have been laid across the beds - both for comfort as well as warmth. The bones from the animals were used as well. Primarily as tools, animal bones were also filled and shaped into fishing hooks.

Boys trying on the gear

We ended the day by celebrating at Red Robin, one of D's favorite places - singing and all.

 

On his birthday, after a short school day, we headed out for an adventurous day of hands on learning.

We started out in Yorktown, went and played video games (talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum), went to a military surplus store for D to pick out some of his own gifts, and ended the night with a new Royal Rangers group where he found a new friend with very similar hobbies. 

Not being a big sugar eater, D opted out of cake and just wanted some ice cream, so day 3 of his birthday, ended with a trip to the local ice cream shop.

In the end, D said this was the best birthday he's had without having his friends around. Whatever that means, I'll take it he had a good time.

Fair Time! Virginia State Fair

One of the things we told the boys we would do along our trip, was to go to some fairs. We love fairs. Well, for the most part ... as a child, dad took the trailers every year to the fairs, to sell them. The first couple days were awesome. After 2 months at fairs, even the most dedicated rider and animal lover is completely exhausted from it. That was us kids. Year after year, although, to dad's credit, we only did "all" the fairs once. After that, it was the one local fair. Still, spending the last 2 weeks of summer at the fair was not necessarily our idea of a great time.

I wanted to change my apathetic attitude towards fairs and started taking my kids when they were young. Thrilling rides, cotton candy, "smelly" cows and all the other joys of the fair were new again seeing them through the eyes of my kiddos. Today I can truly say, I enjoy the fair again. I don't do the rides, but live vicariously through the boys.

My true joy at the fair though, is seeing the livestock. I love the smells of the barn. Even more so now, not having our own farm for the moment. It really makes my heart ache for our land and the animals.

This calf was born just 15 minutes ago!!!

I miss my little porkers

Virginia. What a smart bunch you are. Putting the folks in prison to work, learning new skills ...

It's not a great picture above, but I zoomed in on the board here:

Yes, you read that right. Virginia Dept of Corrections State Agri Business. How smart of you to actually work on rehabilitating your prisoners and giving them some skills they really can use when they are released. Who was the smart one who thought of that? I would really like to shake your hand and say thank you.

One of the most exciting parts of this fair was it's location. In a little town called Doswell, Virginia, sits the home of the Virginia State Fair at The Meadow Event Park. What makes it more exciting is that the land. See, it was once owned by the Chenery family. Penny Chenery. Sound familar? If you saw the movie, Secretariat, it should. The Meadow is the home and birthplace of Secretariat, the world famous, Triple Crown winner. Still today, the barns sit much as they were. They even had an exhibit with one of Secretariat's great grandsons there at the fair. Did you know Virginia is number 4 for horse populations? Me either until now.

More fun times. Here's Evan kickin' some tires on his new tractor...

And seeing if it's really the right size...

for a nap. Ahhh, the joy. It was a fabulous time at the fair and we had a great time as a family. And the sleeping children on the way home didn't hurt either.

What's your favorite experience at the fair?

Homeschooling ... in 240 sq ft. and in new states

Most homeschoolers already know, school at home is legal in all 50 states, but boy oh boy, do the laws around the country have their differences.

School in North Carolina starts August 25. I heard it became almost a bit of competition for the schools, a few years back, to see who could start the earliest. When schools started posting the first day of school at the beginning of August, the state legislators got involved and said NO SIR. No school until Aug. 25th, and so here we were ... kids all around us were starting school while we were still planning on an early September start. 

We scrambled to get the rest of our books - even though technically, we still call ourselves residents of Washington state - we didn't want the boys to feel like they were behind their local peers. Knowing we would have slower days with traveling, it really was time to start up again. We ended up starting August 30th and the boys have settled in pretty well.

I say pretty well because, heck, they are boys after all. The boys feed off of each other. Anyone know what I mean? One starts making faces, the other starts making, well, we'll call it "noises" and then before you know it, competition starts, laughing and then crying. Holy Cow! School work? OK, those are the moments where God is working on my patience. Not that I thought starting school in 240 square feet would be easy. I'm just not sure I thought it would be as hard as it is at moments.


Time to get back on track. Back to school. Stop the silly noises. ARGH!!  Since I don't really have any pictures of me going crazy while the boys do their "boy" stuff, I did get one sweet little picture of E at the library doing some schoolwork. I think it's a nice little outing and gets them both used to other people making lots of noises around them while they work. :-) 


What is your biggest challenge the kids give you? You know, the ones where you know God must be teaching you about patience.

Remember the Movie Bull Durham?

Road Trip! This is our one and only hotel stay of the entire trip so far ... when we started heading north east to Greensboro and then onto Raleigh-Durham area. No reservations, clothes or anything besides the boys swim trunks which were in the truck from a visit to the Y the day before. But in the end, it was so totally worth it. Thankfully, the hotel was gracious and offered us four toothbrushes!

So, sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. The Durham Bull's are alive and well. And not a fictional baseball team. Sometimes I feel like I've led a really sheltered life. Me: "Really? They are an actual team?" All I got was a look ... the look. Oh well. It's not just a little team either. 

It seems to be quite the city phenomenon - every where you go, it's Bull something or another. 

And oh what a stadium they have too. Big, beautiful and brick. There is a lot of brick in the south.

Look, there - it's the BULL! Isn't that the exact same one from the movie?   






It is just another one of those fiction follows reality kind of stories I guess. Don't know about all the players and the goings on behind the scenes, but yes, there really is a Durham Bull ball team. 


More of our life on the road as I continue to go through the photos we've taken. I had no idea that I hadn't gone through them all. Have an awesome day!!

OTR: Tennessee, Georgia, Tennessee ?

Maybe I'm just used to seeing "great" divides. The division between states having very specific and measurable lines. Such is not the case everywhere though. Specifically down in the area by Chattanooga, TN. 

Funny - our campground was the first place we saw this. Our campsite was in Tennessee, but the office where we paid was in Georgia. I know there have to be lines somewhere, but it was just so interesting that it was right there in the middle of a campground. Yes, I am very easily entertained. 


The next place we saw it was out and about along a back road. More strange was the fact that they kept putting up the signs - Welcome to Georgia. Welcome to Tennessee. Welcome to Georgia. I kept thinking how weird it would be to have my neighbor, 20' away from me, be in a completely different state and area code! Yes, VERY easily entertained.



4th of July in Chatanooga, Tennessee/Rossville, GA

We experienced the weirdest things ever for the 4th of July holiday. Apparently, in some parts of the country, this holiday is celebrated on July 3rd. Or 2nd. Or June 26th. REALLY? Yep, as serious as a heart attack. Which I almost had when I realized we missed a few community celebrations because we were ... on time. For the past decade (plus), we've celebrated with friends. Although the location has changed during the years, we've always had our friends to celebrate this great country with. Now the thought that we will totally and completely miss the holiday all together? I don't think so. 

We ended up at an amusement park called Lake Winnepesaukah.  Lake Winnie, as it is commonly referred to, has been around for 86 years. It was the only place around doing a celebration on the actual fourth of July. 

We did have a great time though getting to just enjoy some time with the boys goofing off. It is a cute amusement park. Not Disneyland, but certainly far more affordable and just as enjoyable.  They went on a variety of rides and ate far too much junk food. 

At the end of the day, we celebrated the birth of our county. Just the four of us.

Happy Birthday, America!

OTR: Oregon Caves

I know this is a little out of sequence for our road trip, but I was just looking through the photos and had to share a little about this fun destination for anyone heading to southern Oregon this summer.

The Chandeliers inside the cave

The Oregon Caves are located in Cave Junction, Oregon. Where is that you say? OK, better landmark: north of Medford, Oregon. The caves are actually part of the Siskyou Mountains and were discovered in  1874 by a man named Elijah Davidson. While the caves truly are amazing, the first thing that will amaze you is the last 10 mile drive up to the cave parking lot. My best guess is about a 2,500 foot drive UP the mountain with constant switchbacks. The boys thought it was very cool. Until they started feeling a little motion sickness from all the back and forth. The elevation at the top is 4,000'.

Dakota's not who they were talking about.

We had a 20 minute wait until our tours started - perfect for a quick lunch of fruit, cheese and crackers...I had to post this picture with the background of "please do not feed the animals". I just had to though - he was way to cute to not feed. Yes, Kashi, feel free to send me some of those amazing whole grain crackers :-)

A living tree room hundreds of feet underground in a pristine environment

The tour is not only worth the cost of admission ($8.50 adults/$6 for kids under 16) but was one of those things I would really put on my must recommend lists. You won't be disappointed. A little breathless from beauty, but certainly not disappointed.

The boys loving the inside of the caves

Additional notes: Because the caves remain a cool 44 degrees inside year-round - bring a jacket and a hat and you'll be fine. They post this on their website, but I'm guessing a lot of people think that during the summer, it will be warmer. It's not. I had a wool blend sweater and a hat and was very comfortable. Others on our tour were not.

It is an hour and a half walk and quite frankly, not for the faint of heart! It is quite a walk uphill with lots of stairs (over 500 to be more exact) along with narrow spots where you will be walking and will have to contort and twist your body to make it through without scraping your head along the cold, damp marble interior. That said, I made it!  Backpacks/purses are not allowed inside the caves, but they have lockers where you can store your things for a quarter (which you get back when you come for you stuff). Neither are dogs/pets, but they won't fit in the lockers :-).

If you make it to the Caves, or have been there, drop a note and let us know what you thought!