Only 2500 Miles to Go

Outside the R&R Hall of Fame

Every trip, vacation, or conference has what I call a mindset arc.  The first two-thirds are filled with anticipation and excitement.  The last part is often filled by thoughts of closure, going home, and memories of the first part.  And so it is with us.  Like a horse heading to the barn, we’re on our way home.

Today is perhaps our last layover day, where we enjoyed revisiting the fun Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.  Unless something really catches our interest, we have five to seven days of straight driving across the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest and home. 

Red = eastbound; blue = return trip so far

It’s been over three weeks since our last post.  Since then, we’ve traveled hundreds of miles, explored the colonial Williamsburg area, visited our friends Nati and Jasmine in Pittsburgh, spent 11 days in the Berkshires with daughter Skyler, and camped and biked on an island on Lake Champlain.  We were either too tired, too busy, having too much fun, or didn’t have a decent cell phone connection to post more frequently.  So, here are just a thoughts and photos with captions. 

The highlight of our trip was spending time in Becket, MA with daughter Skyler, her partner Spencer, dog Ry-Ry, daughter Feruza, and their friends.  We got lots of projects done on the house and trailer but also chilled, hiked, biked, swam, paddle boarded, hot tubbed, and above all, ate. Her friends are so fun!  The only low point was saying goodbye to Lucy, Spencer's 14-year old adorable Jack Russell shortly after we arrived.  

The Becket homestead, and the
mother of all 200-foot back ins.

Dinner on the back screened
porch with Spencer and Skyler

Playing on Little Robinhood Lake
with Feruza and Skyler 

Hazel,  just before chickenpox

Hazel, Shanti and Alan from London couldn’t join us due to British Covid travel restrictions.  And as it turned out, Hazel came down with chickenpox about the time they were originally planning to fly to the States.  Fortunately, we get to see them for six weeks, staring in late July when we fly to London.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was so worth a second visit.  We last saw it in 2016, and many of the exhibits have changed. While other museums we have visited also are educational and interesting, this one is downright fun and high energy.  No need for morning coffee before entering!

The back side of the R&R Hall of Fame

 

The front and two wannabe rockers

With over 5,700 trailer miles on the odometer so far, we still have 2500 miles to go, and so we haven’t completed the arc.  Even though we have a lot of boring terrain to cover, we enjoy the process and our time together on the road and in camp. The cicadas hatch and fireflies at night have been a special treat. It’s fascinating to see how the landscape changes.  We’re definitely out of the dense East Coast forests, and now have better vistas of farms and horizons.   Before long, we’ll be enjoying very expansive vistas of the dry American west.

 

A rails-to-trails on a causeway on Grand
Isle to Burlington VT.  A bicycle ferry shuttles
cyclists around the gap, but we couldn't take it
due to predicted high waves and winds

Grad students Nati Zavala and Jasmine Williams (newly
married last week) in Pittsburgh. The city was a very
pleasant surprise.

Historic Jamestown settlement near
Newport News, VA.

PS:  Today marks our 10th anniversary of owning an Airstream.  Other than a home, no other purchase has changed our lives and circle of friends so much.  We bought it for our 34th wedding anniversary.  Tomorrow marks our 44th.  What a fun ride!

Thunderstorm on Grand Isle State Park, VT

What We Can, While We Can!