Our Second Anniversary

Today marks two years that we have been on the road. Just a few stats on the years:


YEAR ONE......... YEAR TWO
Motorhome Miles..........................10,666............8,481
Average Miles Per Day........................29.14..............23.23
Average Trip.......................................142.21............160
Gallons of Diesel Fuel.......................1375.21..........1083.27
Average Cost Per Gallon........................3.80..............2.79
CRV Miles.......................................11,792..........12,834
Bicycle Miles.......................................405.................91
Camp Sites............................................75.................53
Average Nights in Each.........................4.9................6.9
Number of Frosty Nights......................5.........too many
Number of Windy Days.........................?................120++
Number of States................................23...................19
National Parks & Monuments...........30+................23+
Blog Posts............................................105.................77
Days of Exercise (Jim).......................200..............195
Days of Exercise (Nanc).....................243..............261
Number of haircuts (Jim).................0......................0
Old & New Friends & Family..........Priceless

As we finish our second year on the road this lifestyle continues to exceed all our expectations. We have seen so many fantastic things that it sometimes defies the imagination. We have been from the mountains, to the desert and along the coast. We have slowed down a bit this year, staying in 53 parks in 52 weeks so we can spend more time exploring each location. The longer stays have lowered our daily cost for campgrounds by over $3.00 per day. People often ask what has been the best thing and seeing so many places makes it hard to pick the best, but that said, walking among the redwoods, hiking in the Grand Canyon and seeing Mt. St. Helens has to rank near the top. It does seem that the natural beauty trumps the man made when it comes to spectacular sights even though Vegas was glitzy beyond belief and Taliesin awe inspiring. We have met old friends and family several times while on the road and stayed in Wash, PA for a month last fall. We have made new friends who, like us, are vagabonds and we have crossed paths often. This was the first time we did not spend the holidays with old friends and family but having Thanksgiving at Betty's in Abbeville, LA was great. For Christmas and New Years we had a grand time with all the people who made us feel right at home at the Watersedge RV Park in Rockport, TX. Tom and Georgie Ridge, friends who do our mail for us, came to South Texas for a week in February and Mike and Sherri Sharp stayed with us for five days in Las Vegas. We just got to spend a week with Nanc's brother Dave and his family in Lacey, WA and we are meeting my brother Rick and his wife Denise in Vancouver, BC this weekend. We also visited former colleagues in Austin, TX and Mesa, AZ. We got together with members of the Class of 07 at the Gypsy Journal Rally in Celina, OH, for lunch in the Rio Grande Valley, at the class reunion in Boerne, TX and just yesterday we had lunch and spent the afternoon with six 07 mates who are summering in the Pacific Northwest. These extended visits with friends and family are another bonus of this traveling lifestyle.

The biggest thing that happened in year two was selling the stix and brix and paying off the motorhome. This relieved us of a major burden and the worry of having the house sit empty. Another big deal was turning 62 and starting to get Social Security. It is sure nice having my Uncle Sam put money in the bank each month. Being 62 also means I get a Senior Pass that gets us into all federal parks for FREE (which we have used often) and gets us half price camping at most federal campgrounds. We were very glad to see the price of fuel come down on average just over a dollar a gallon. We actually paid less than two dollars a gallon a couple of times this winter.

As we start year three we will be meeting Rick and Denise in Vancouver, BC which will be the first time taking the motorhome into a foreign country. We intend to stay in the Northwest into September and will be heading to the Olympic Peninsula after we return from Canada. We will stop to see Dave and Kazuko on the return trip and then travel down the interior of Oregon with plans to stop at Crater Lake. We may hook up with Allan & Sharon Frey and Mark & Renita Brackin at Mono Lake. We want to return to California wine country and stop in San Francisco to see Erin Jones who biked with us in Europe 25 years ago when he was thirteen. Then we will explore more of California with the only definite plan to be at the Rose Parade Escapees HOP over Christmas and New Years with Richard and Valerie Frayer. It looks like winter will be in Arizona with a stop at Quartzite and Yuma. In the spring we will go East and intend to be in Wash, PA then and in the fall. Next summer we hope to do New England and the Canadian Maritimes, including Newfoundland. We want to revisit the Outer Banks and then winter 10/11 in Florida. Another goal is to do more cycling. As I am writing this, I really can't believe we can accomplish it all but the great part is we can change plans any time we like since none are written in stone and the other great part is there is always next year. What a wonderful life we have living on the road.