Hello Everyone!

It has been my wish for the past 3 years, to have a place online where I could journal about my RV travels and add photos for my enjoyment and memories. So this is it! Thanks to my son, Mathew, I am now ready and able to do this! (He actually had it ready 3 years ago, it took me this long to take the time to actually do it!)

I am fortunate in that my family and many friends are also interested in my travels. So this site will make it easier to stay in touch with and update everyone. It won’t be a daily journal, but whenever I can write. I would think at a minimum…weekly. Often I stay at State Parks with minimal to no WiFi, so I may post a bunch at once when I’m able to get online.. We’ll figure it out as we go, right? (Boy I miss those emojis!!)

As I write this, I am planning to pull out with my RV on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, and head south to Louisiana. A much different destination for me this time. I have stayed in Louisiana State Parks in the past, and some are really beautiful. This year I plan to visit areas in Louisiana and Arkansas until December. Then I plan to put my RV in storage and drive home with my 2 cats for the Christmas Holiday. In the past I traveled home from Arizona by flight and by driving. It is just too far to drive and too hectic to fly. Especially now with Covid uncertainty. So driving home from Arkansas is doable. Then I will return to Arkansas and decide where to go from there. That’s the plan. We’ll see how it plays out….together.

Often people are curious how I came to decide to travel by myself, pulling a 30′ fifth wheel. Many of you already know the story, so you can skip the article below. If you don’t know the story, and are curious, you may enjoy reading this, I hope. I tried to present a short version.

I will begin journaling and updating below the background story soon! I hope you will enjoy my site!! Welcome!

A Dream – A Decision

Background

Traveling throughout the country after retirement seems to be a dream many people have. Wouldn’t it be great? There seems to be something about the freedom of being on the road, going where your whims or interests take you, no time frame, no expectations, no responsibilities. For many it is to escape from the northern winters. For others it is the freedom and adventure. For me, it is both. I crave the sun and warmth!!! But to travel for months, especially alone, takes a lot of planning over time and nerve to make it a reality.

In my situation, I was introduced to camping after I retried. In the winter of 2010-2011, a friend and I traveled for 4 months with a 26′ RV trailer. We traveled from Wisconsin to California and back. I enjoyed the sights, the mountains, the hiking and the camping. At that time we could book sites as we went. It was a wonderful and at times, overwhelming experience for someone who had never traveled in an RV before! After our return, I purchased a 30′ fifth wheel and with my friend’s truck hauling it, we continued to travel. Over time we made trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Yellowstone National Park and later to Glacier National Park. When we parted ways, he had the truck and I had the 5th wheel! ( And the hitch….which was important!) Into storage they went. RV camping was put on hold. Now what?

The decision on whether to keep the RV or not, was spurred on as my Toyota Celica was starting to show it’s age. Buy a truck with it’s benefits for travel but increased costs to use or buy a practical auto and forget the RV? I couldn’t afford both. Since I was already 66 at the time, you don’t get many do-overs or have the finances to make changes later.

I realized that RVing and traveling gave me life and spirit! It renewed my energy and interest in life. I loved waking up to nature at my door and the change of scenery. Need I say more?

So a truck it was!! I started out by taking short week-long camping trips to area parks. I re-learned how to hook-up, drive and unhook the RV. I learned and relearned all the set-up involved once there. My grandkids joined me for overnighters, and days at a time and we created memories together that are priceless! In addition, I was continuing to learn the ins and outs of RVing alone. I also learned that you are never really alone! RV campers are a community that reaches out, helps and offers advice. That helped me tremendously.

The year I was 69 was the year I decided to spread my wings and go farther than camping in Wisconsin. I wanted to hit the road for the winter. I couldn’t bear another winter. The dark days, the cold, the wind and being inside so much wore on my spirit. Knowing that sun, warmth and being outside and physically active were just a few days drive away, how could I ignore that? Do it! You are not getting any younger! So I did…

And I have never looked back or regretted the decision. I am now beginning my 3rd year of traveling to and throughout the South and Southwest for the winter months. I have looked out my RV door to mountains, deserts and oceans. I’ve met like-minded people who love to explore and travel. Are there challenges along the way? Absolutely. And traveling alone has it’s own challenges and responsibilities on top of that. And why alone? Initially, it was because this was something so important to me, I wanted to go where I wanted to whenever I wanted to!! I think we can all relate to that.

Then after doing that for a winter, I found there aren’t many like-minded individuals who could travel or wanted to travel like that. In addition, it’s petty tough to travel with and live with someone in a 30′ RV for months at a time! Remember family vacations? And those were only one or two weeks tops!! (insert laughing emoji here) So, I continue to travel solo and make friends along the way.

OK. Enough…. Below, are two photos from cool places I went to last year. Enjoy.

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Travel Days #1-#4

Hello, hello!

It’s hard to know where to begin when so much has happened since I left Waupaca at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and arrived at Fairview-Riverside State Park in Louisiana at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday! 1,000 miles later and 40 degrees warmer! But I’ll give it a try!

The drive: So for 2 1/2 days it was pretty much “drive-get diesel-drive-rest stop/eat-drive-diesel-drive-rest stop-eat and sleep” Next day, repeat. I managed to make it around all the big cities without any traffic back-ups. The worst construction was in southern Wisconsin, but I was able to cruise through that. You still don’t pay cash tolls in Illinois, but I better get on the website and pay. !! As “Suggested”.

The roads were a challenge for a fifth wheel, even the interstate. The rough patching on the concrete roads jars the RV terribly, and some things vibrate their way to the floor every day! {Nothing breakable} Mississippi construction companies do not seem to have the skill to make a smooth transition between their short bridges and the highway! The bridges have sections of concrete that each have bumps as well. To a car, no big deal. To a fifth wheel: it sets it rocking up with the first bump, and then each concrete section adds another bump, nearly picking up the back of the pick-up! Then 5 bumps later, you’re back onto smooth road. They had these short bridges within 1-3 miles of each other, over and over! I finally realized if I accelerated over the bridge, it straightened out some of the rocking. But not all! It was a nightmare.

The 4 lane highway lanes also get narrower the farther south you go. Semi traffic really picked up in Mississippi. Amazing the number of trucks on the move! It’s also interesting in that all Highway rest areas in Mississippi have 24 hour security. What you see is a booth with windows on 3 sides and an officer inside and police vehicle outside. Cool! Most of the time the semis/RVs and autos are on the same side of the restroom facilities, but separated by a meridian. The one time I saw the autos separated to the other side of the restrooms from the semis/RVs, the security booth was on the auto side. What does that tell you?!!

I had real nice Rest Stops to stay in overnight. I’m fortunate in that the hum of the semi generators puts me to sleep! On Thursday, it was a bright, sunny day in the 80s when I pulled in to register at the State Park. I’ll fill you in on my experiences here next time!