Driving 8500 Miles Around the USA

 

Touring a Gilded-Age mansion in Newport RI

We just completed an eight-week, 8500-mile road trip around the United States. This was our sixth cross-country trip with our 20’ Airstream since 2016. Those don’t include shorter trips in the West. So, what was it like this time? What has changed? What were the highlights? What’s it like being on the road and in campgrounds?

 We weren’t very enthused beforehand and thought it might be our last. We knew all too well how boring or stressful it can be getting through some stretches between Salem and the East Coast. And we always worry about accidents or breakdowns. But, even with a few minor incidents,  it turned out to be a very good trip, and we may do it again. 

Not straight to and from western MA this time. Some familiar,
but many new roads. And with Georgia, South Carolina, and
North Dakota we've been to all 50 states over past 49 years.

Partly what made it so good is that we traveled new routes and experienced new things. This time our goal was Savannah, GA, then north along some of the Atlantic’s barrier islands to Newport RI and the Berkshire Mountains where we co-own a home with one of our daughters. We drove down the beautiful east side of the Sierra Nevada range and then west across the South. Not a good idea in June! We just had to pay our dues and get through some big empty stretches in very hot weather as quickly as possible. How travelers survived without air conditioning as recently as 40 years ago is beyond us.

 What’s Changed over the years?

 

We caught this just in time!

Believe it or not, the roads are better! All the construction underway in the past is completed. Of course, we still had some construction delays here and there. And we still had some very rough roads in AZ, NM, PA, IN, the New Jersey Turnpike, and IL. In fact, the titanium attachment of our bicycle rack snapped off in a very rough patch in New Mexico, necessitating a three-day layover in Fort Worth to get it repaired. And some of those roads jarred our interior doors and cabinets loose. We soon ran out of duct tape!

Getting caffeinated for 
the after lunch drive. The
Red Bulls are for tomorrow

We saw many more charging stations, but they all have head-in parking, which wouldn't work for a trailer.

The traffic, especially truck traffic, is worse. In some stretches of I-40, I-20, I-80 and I-90, semi-trucks outnumbered cars four-to-one. And 25% of them were Amazon, UPS, FedEx or Walmart trucks. It wasn’t fun being wedged in with them at 70-80 mph. (We never went 80!) 

Somewhere between DC and New York City

But I guess we’re used to it by now, and it didn’t bother us like it used to. And truckers are generally more courteous to us than others.

We saw fewer RVs on the road, perhaps because of gas prices and schools in session until mid-June. The public campgrounds have even bigger RVs but very few tents these days. And in the commercial RV parks where we often stayed, we noticed a high percentage of sites occupied by “full-timers,” probably due to the high cost of housing. We also noted how much more expensive campgrounds cost compared to a few years ago or in off-season. They used to be an average of $25 per night; this time $40. A couple were over $100!

 A not so great stay, all to ourselves in Mobile, AL

A great stay at a city park in Sauk City, MN.
The hometown of Sinclair Lewis.

The Highlights?

 We had many, too many to list. The biggest one is simply the process of doing it and our time together. We (especially me) are

The bridge on Cape Hatteras Island

scenery geeks who love watching the landscape transform almost hourly behind the windshield. Sirius Radio and two historical and three novel audio books kept us company, as did the pleasant voice of our GPS system. We would drift off to sleep at night with her frequent “Route recalculation” phrase in our ears.

 

We are also history geeks, so we were in a high school history teacher’s heaven at so many historical places we had only read about: Vicksburg, Selma, Montgomery, Fort Sumpter, Yorktown, and Kitty Hawk, just to name a few.

A Union ironclad ship, the Cairo in Vicksburg, 
 Sunk by Confederates, but raised in 1963

The new Obama and Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Centers were top in this category. More about them below. 

6-week old Langston's first outing

As always, seeing friends and family is a highlight. This time was extra special because we got to see Nati and Jasmine Zavala’s their newborn, Langston, in DC. (Nati was our mentee since he was 7.) We also dropped by to visit Feruza, in Mt. Kisco, NY who is 8 months pregnant, and couldn't join us in Becket like she always does. As usual, we thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the Berkshires with my brother Neal, daughter Skyler, her partner Spencer, and their friends. Good food, good Tanglewood Festival, and good times floating or paddleboarding on Little Robin Lake.

The Becket home with an 
aluminum ADU

 

Visiting a sculpture garden at Edith Wharton's
estate on the 4th of July

Listening to Leonard Bernstein by the Boston
Symphony at the Tanglewood Festival

The Obama Presidential Center (“Library”)

 The Obama Presidential Center! What can we say, other than that it surpassed our expectations and left us feeling happy, but also wistful for an era of hope with presidential decency and dignity gone by. The architecture was stunning and much better in person than in photos. Chicago is a city of in-your-face big architecture, so in that sense the statement it makes fits right in. The inside was even better with stunning artwork and 6 of the 8 stories filled with the history of the Obama era.  (Two stories are their personal and work spaces).

The lettering at the top is an excerpt
from the speech Obama made at the
60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday
in Selma, AL

Like the five other presidential centers we have visited, it put the former president into a good light. But unlike the other centers, it was more about the future and political change than it was about the past. Also, unlike the others, it was highly interactive, relying on dynamic graphics and footage. The prevailing mood of the visitors (mostly from Chicago) was joyful. Of all the places we have been, we never had to wait 30 minutes to get into the museum store to buy swag, or to be photographed in front of a sculpture. 

Just some of the amazing art inside

Having fun being co-presidents

We stumbled upon tickets by luck. It’s sold out until January; but the library, commons, sky view, park, community garden, gymnasium and playground are free and already well-used. It seemed like half of South Chicago was there for a fun Sunday afternoon. I made a public post about our visit with a few photos on Facebook. Most (95%) comments and reactions were positive, but I still can't believe the vitriol, racist, and hateful comments and memes from people I don't know.

 

The Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Center 

Amazing views, lots of wildlife, and no crowds

After our visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in the beautiful dells of Wisconsin west of Madison, we pressed on through the end of the heat dome in North Dakota to the new Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Center and the surrounding national park named after him. The TR National Park gave us the beauty of Canyon Lands and the animals of Yellowstone, but without all the crowds and selfie sticks.

The TR Presidential Center was stunning, and quite a contrast from the Obama Center. We loved how it blended into the landscape and took advantage of it at the same time. 

Visitors can enjoy the view on top of the sod roof,
large enough to park two 747s

Because TR has been dead for over 100 years, this center offered perspective and objectivity on TR’s life and presidency. It focused much more on his pre-and post-presidential life. It was even more interactive than the Obama Center. Seeing an AI photo of yourself as TR in different stages of his life or asking him questions and getting AI generated answers from him at his oval office were novel and fun. 

The entry lobby. They used pressed
stone, to replicate the geological
formations at the TR National Park.

Whereas the mood in the Obama center was joyful and political, the mood here was downright fun and inspirational. It encouraged visitors to be their best selves and make the world better. It is definitely worth the visit! Interesting connection between the two centers: TR was a prolific writer, and the mockup of the Obama oval office contained many of his books.

 

Home Sweet Home!

North America, east to west, north to south is huge, varied, and beautiful.  We come back with more appreciation for this great land, the First Nation tribes that initially lived in it, the pioneers who settled it, and the people who inhabit it today.  No matter where we were, people were friendly, regardless of what their bumper stickers said.

 

We’ve been home for two weeks now, and it feels great!  Our life at home is such a contrast to the life we lived in a world of five-lane urban freeways, lonely two-lane roads, truck stops, semis, endless horizons and traffic jams, small towns, large cities, campgrounds, and dump stations. We didn’t realize it at the time, but in our air-conditioned cocoon with a good sound system buffeted by rough roads or crosswinds, we were almost always in a state of decision making and concerned about mechanical issues, safety, road conditions, tire pressure, wind, hills, route changes, the weather, and where we’ll sleep next. But that’s the allure, and that’s what made it an adventure we’ll always treasure.  As the saying goes, it’s the journey that counts. But with some of the destinations we experienced, we got the best of both worlds.

 

Sunset over the Columbia on our last night at
the Umatilla marina.

You can read about our previous cross-country trips on these Blogspot links:

From 2016; 

From 2019 (across Canada) and also a summary ;

From 2021(Route 66)  and also

From 2023 6 observations

 From our eclipse trip in 2024

 

West Junius NY, 241 miles from Beckett, MA

“What We Can, While We Can”

“What We Could, While We Could”

The whiteboard in our trailer. We had to 
refer to this often as the days
blended together. 

Why Do We Travel?

Camping in the Sahara Desert, Morocco 2017

As frequent presenters for the Mid Valley Travel Club meetings, we were asked to create a brief profile of ourselves as travelers over the years. That led us to the big question of why we travel. To answer that, we needed to reflect on our travel history and values.

 Modest Travel Roots

Kathy in Vienna, 1969

We grew up in modest middle-class families where money always seemed to be tight. Kathy’s family never traveled, but she took a big leap by becoming an AFS exchange student for her high school junior year in Vienna Austria. I grew up in Colorado, and we camped a lot, and even camped on our way to the West and East Coasts. Camping with the my family, Boy Scouts, or during a month with Colorado Outward Bound were among my happiest childhood memories.

Catching the Travel Bug During Our College Years

Both of us wanted to experience different places for college. Kathy went to Grinnell Iowa and spent her sophomore year at the University of Salzburg, traveled for a couple of months, then worked as a translator at the 72 Olympics in Munich. She became hooked on international travel.

Some kind Nepalese who took me in on a snowy night 
and fed me the only egg their chicken had laid that week

 I went to Lewis & Clark in Portland and had never been on an airplane until I was 19. It’s a very long story of serendipity, but I ended up traveling much of my junior year through South Asia for $2 per day. I trekked alone in Nepal for a month, explored much of India by 3^rd class train for two months, then to Pakistan and over the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan by third class bus. From there, Iran and Turkey. I could write many blog post about that big adventure. Looking back, I don’t know how I pulled it off. But it changed the trajectory of my life big time, just as Kathy’s overseas living had changed hers.

 1977—The Beginnings of Our Life and Travels Together

Thangboche Monastery Nepal, 1977

What initially attracted us to each other when we met in 1975 was our mutual love of travel and adventure. For our honeymoon, we backpacked to the base camp of Mt. Everest without porters or guides, spending the nights in villagers’ homes. We also explored some of northern India.

1978-80—Peace Corps and Travel

Life was never the same when we returned from Nepal and India. We joined the Peace Corps on a whim, and six months later found ourselves in Malaysia for the next 2 ¼ years. We had our challenges but stuck it out. It was a special bonding time in our 2nd and 3rd years of marriage. And we had some cheap travel opportunities with Thailand and Indonesia nearby. After our service we traveled four months, mostly in Burma and India.

Our Peace Corps home in
Northern Malaysia, 1979

 

Crossing a border from Southern Nepal into India.  Our "hotel" was a night in the 

jail because the policeman said he was too tired to process us. The three 

of us went out for dinner together at the night market, and we paid. 1980

Cruising, 1980 style. On our way  from
Goa to Bombay, where we caught a plane home

1981-2003—Travel Doldrums

We started a business, had kids, hosted exchange students, and served on civic committees and non-profit boards. Travel was limited by school schedules, work obligations, and money. But we camped and did short trips to Mexico, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Belize with the kids. They loved it, and so did we.

 

2004-2017—Empty Nesters

Bicycling in Vietnam with Shanti & Skyler 2013

We enjoyed our newfound freedom to choose our own friends and to travel, even though we still had work responsibilities. We started off by visiting Skyler and her Italian host family in southern Italy. Then we took Kathy’s parents to retrace her father’s WWII steps from Normandy to Nuremberg. We undertook Rotary projects abroad, took European bicycle trips, spent our 30^th wedding anniversary in southern India, and bicycled Vietnam with our adult kids. In 2011 we bought a small used Airstream and started exploring the States.

A life-changing acquisition. We've made many
Airstream friends and traveled to places all over
the USA we would never had visited otherwise.

 

2018-Now—Retired

Over half of the 53 countries we visited were during our retirement years, and only a few of them were part of an organized tour.  Our first year of retirement included a work project and safari in Tanzania, visiting Peace Corps volunteers in Nicaragua, hiking and bicycling in southern Japan, and driving around Scotland after our daughter’s London wedding.

 

Our 3rd photo of us arriving at
Santiago de Compolestela, Spain 2022.
 

But the most significant thing we did for our relationship since Peace Corps and having kids was to walk the 500-mile Camino de Santiago in 2018. We walked a shortened version in 2019 via Portugal, then the full version again in 2022. We loved savoring a European country step-by step at two miles per hour.

Since 2021, much of our retirement travel revolves around Hazel, our only grandchild, near London. We try to help out and go there about two-three times a year and travel another two-three months. London is a great jumping-off point.

 

Always a delightful arrival at Heathrow!

So, What Can We Learn from the Above?

 

1. Travel has become a part of our past and who we are. We’re comfortable with it. We’re always thinking about the next trip after the one we’re about to take. We identify as travelers, not tourists.

2. We love adventure and surprises, not knowing how the day will unfold. It keeps us alert and on our toes. The constant problem solving, language barriers, and decision-making can be tiring, but we think it helps keep us young at heart. However, as we age, we are starting to opt for more comfort and predictability.

 

Happening upon and enthusiastically participating in
a spray foam fight at Carnivale in Cuzco, Peru 2014

3. We’re curious about the world, its people, history, scenery, and architecture. We love meeting people and experiencing their food and culture. Some of our fondest memories are of interactions we had with people.

4. We love architecture and natural beauty. We never tire of the views as we walk, drive, or ride. 

5.  Travel gives us a perspective on so many things, and the best byproduct of that perspective is gratitude for just how good we and most Americans have it in so many ways. Coming home is always a delight.

 

How long can we keep this up? 

We’re not sure, but we’re hoping that as long as we can climb stairs with our luggage and lift it into the overhead bins, we’ll continue. Likewise with hitching and safely towing our trailer. Travel truly motivates us to stay in shape. 

A recent article we read by Dan Haylett sheds new light on this. Called 12-15 Good Years, it is one of the best retirement planning articles we’ve ever read.  The premise is that the average person at age 60 has about 12-15 years of active retirement before slowing down. At first we didn’t believe that. Then we started thinking about our last couple of years as the aches, pains, and diminished ambition started kicking in. 

Looking backward, we’re glad we did what we could, while we could, especially since some places are off limits or are no longer safe. And perhaps another 500-mile Camino next year may not be physically possible. But for the foreseeable future, our motto continues to be what we can, while we can. 

Turning 75 at our most favorite place in the world

“What We Can, While We Can”

“What We Could, While We Could”

New Zealand’s North Island—It’s Different Here

Cruising on the Bay of Islands Christmas Eve

We fell in love with New Zealand’s South Island, but were cautioned that the North Island won’t be the same. They were right. Similar, but distinctly different, kind of like two children. We love them each for themselves and their differences. 

We flew into Wellington, the nation’s capital. Once we hit the road after two days, the differences were apparent. It was more populous (76% of NZ’s population), more industrial, more logging and ranching, more pastoral, flatter, and volcanic. Fewer campervans, tourists, and national parks, also. But still very beautiful. There were parts where we expected to see Frodo, Sam, and Gandolf along the road. And the delightfully sweet smell of jasmine and manuka honey was everywhere.

Tattoos are common among the Maori.
Many, like the one above, tells stories about
both sides of one’s family.

We also noticed fewer guest workers and more ethnic Māori, who were the original settlers to this country in about 1250 before the British came in the late 1700’s. (Imagine, this big land was the last to be populated by humans only 800 years ago!)

The Māori are about 19% of the NZ’s 5.3 million population, but about 85% of them live on the North Island. It seemed like we saw more street signs, kiosks, and labels of things in Māori as well as English. We really got into learning more about their culture and NZ history.

A Maori war canoe, over 100 meters long,
similar to the ones the Maori used when crossing the
Pacific, but without sails and outriggers.

Kathy and a Maori in
a traditional greeting

For us, our South Island itinerary was almost all about rugged scenery and wildlife. On this island, it was more about specific things, such as geological wonders, an Art Deco city, glowworm caves, scenic beaches, and of course, Hobbiton. More about them below.

Even though we drove nearly 1000 miles over two weeks. There is so much we didn’t see or do.

So, enough about the differences. Let’s hit the road with just a few of the many highlights. And speaking of roads, the North Island is about the same size as England proper, but only 1/11th of the population. 

Wider and smoother than average.
Many surfaces are rough chip seal

The roads demand fully engaged driving. While wider than those in England, they are seldom straight, level, or have four lanes.

Wellington

In Wellington we spent an afternoon in its national museum. It contained perhaps the most moving war exhibit or war museum we have ever visited. The one-hour experience told the story from the perspective of the frontline soldiers in the WWI campaign in Gallipoli, Turkey. All for nothing.

A WWI memorial in Napier

Everywhere we went this past month, we noticed war monuments in most towns. It turns out that in both wars, New Zealanders had the highest per capita death and casualty rate of any country in the Commonwealth, and almost in the world. More than 10% of its small population served—mostly on the frontlines—making this per capita toll so high.

Napier

We loved Napier. In 1931 a devastating earthquake leveled much of this seaport town on the SE coast. The locals rebuilt it in Art Deco style. So classy and refreshing in an old/new way! Our hotel room was just two doors down from where Queen Elizabeth II stayed in 1954. (Just think, I could have sat on the Royal Throne!)

We loved this town! But then, we love the
Art Deco style.

Waitomo

And then there were the glowworm caves of Waitomo. Wow! Talk about something we’ve never experienced before! The whole area is full of sinkholes and creeks. Cadis fly larvae hatch after floating into the cave stream and, thinking they are flying into the stars at night, get ensnared in sticky strands of the glowworms. The drift along the small river through the cave was surreal.

The sticky webs that glow in the dark

A time exposure by our guide

Volcanos, Geysers, and Craters, Oh My!

From that geological/biological marvel we went to the Rotorua area, much like a condensed Yellowstone on steroids, minus the bears and large mammals. (See our previous blog post). In 1896, a massive volcanic eruption similar in nature to Mt. St. Helens created a vast wasteland and a new crater. Now, 129 years later, everything is green and beautiful, but with simmering geysers along the trail down to the lake.

The crater rim, before our hike down to the lake. 
There was absolutely nothing here in 1896

And not far from there we witnessed the 4th highest geyser in the world (after Old Faithful, and one in Iceland and Russia) and some boiling mudpots. As this was a sacred place for the Māori, we learned more about their culture and saw some rare and endangered kiwi birds.

The Shire

One of many Hobbit homes. The attention to
detail was astounding!

The shire, but much of the countryside looks like
this many miles away.

It’s hard to decide, but we think Hobbiton was our favorite. This was the site of the Shire in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. It was so magical, but educational at the same time. It’s our happy place. We spent 2.5 hours touring the set and expected to see a Hobbit at any time. The attention to detail was amazing. Yet, only 14 minutes of this set made it into all four movies! It took two years to build, and was torn down and returned to pasture after the Lord of Rings trilogy was over. It was rebuilt for The Hobbit. This time the farmer struck a deal with Peter Jackson to keep it and to add tourist infrastructure. Smart guy! The Shire countryside can be seen through much of the North Island.

Cathedral Cove, named by
Captain Cook in 1769

We spent the last week exploring the NE coastal areas and Auckland. Much of the country shuts down for Christmas and Boxing Day, so this was our cue to enjoy a subtropical Christmas, even with cloudy and rainy weather.

Although we noticed playground cricket games, rugby is New Zealand’s obsession. And the Kiwis have dominated the sport internationally for years.

The female version of the Haka dance before
A game.

So, on a whim in Aukland, we decided to improve upon our micro knowledge of rugby by going to an interactive experience. We stood on the line as an opposing team would while the Kiwis did their Haka dance, as they do before every game. Very interesting—and intimidating!

Overall, this was a most excellent adventure, and we’re grateful that we were able to undertake it. New Zealand is hard to get to and it takes a month to get just a taste of it. We would have preferred less driving. But the true gems of New Zealand are in its interior and the opportunities to meet so many truly nice people. We will cherish memories of our time exploring it together, the astounding scenery, and of everyone we met.

We have more fun facts at the bottom. Be sure to read our previous blog because these are new ones.

More photos from posts on this trip are on my Instagram account (or @KelemenRon.) Also on my public Facebook profile, (Posts) which doesn’t require you to be a friend to view them. Enjoy!

”What We Can, While We Can”

”What We Could, While We Could”

Shire-like countryside, even miles away from Hobbiton.

Odds and Ends & Fun Facts(In addition to those mentioned in our post about the South Island):

• New Zealand is often called Aotearoa, a Māori word meaning land of the long white cloud.

• Clean public restrooms with toilet paper are everywhere, 

  

  A super artistic one in Matakana

  Especially in the small towns, which are mostly linear and often have covered walkways. The one to the right is much fancier than most.

• Nearly every town, large or small has at least one book store, many are independent.

• Unlike in the flag-waving USA, we saw very few New Zealand flags. If we did, they were at a government building or monument.

• New Zealand gets about 85% of its energy from renewable sources, mostly from hydropower, but with geothermal, wind, and solar in supporting roles.

• Kiwis (the human ones) love beets. They are a common ingredient in burgers.

• Real kiwis and other flightless birds are rapidly becoming extinct.

  

  They are nocturnal, mate
  for life, and fight mating
  competitors to the death

  
  Thus, rodent traps are visible along hiking trails and dogs are generally banned in all national parks and reserves. 

• No matter the size of town, we could always find Thai, North Indian, or sushi, but not so with Chinese food. Olive oil is rare, but not so for deep fried everything or pastries.

• After currency conversion, prices for most things are about 56% of the States. However, gas costs about $6-7 US per gallon. American gas prices are a bargain! Speed limits are 60 mph sometimes 66 on four-lane divided highways (which are rare).

• 

  At the Zane Grey restaurant for
  Christmas Dinner

  Zane Grey, the American Western novelist, hung out frequently in the Bay of Islands in the NE. We had a Christmas dinner in a restaurant named after him.

  

  From a hilltop on one of the islands in the
  Bay of Islands in the NE