Making the Rounds and Crashing

We left our AirBnb so early in the morning that much of Madrid had not gone to sleep yet.  It was dark out and the night clubs were winding down. Over 24 hours of travel and we were back in New York.

What a great experience this trip has been.  We saw so much, had plenty of time to leave the tourist mode and get into everyday life.  I know we each took different things away from this experience, but I think at the end we were all happy to get back to our "norm" in the U.S.

Since leaving Madrid we have been in NJ getting our camper and storage stuff organized,

The girls are back together :)

Slugs, a Birthday, and Croquet

Left York/Breighton area and drove southwest to a town that was randomly picked called Burton-Upon-Trent.  It is one of the many strange names around this country.  I learned that it is referring to Burton that is "upon" the Trent River.  So a town along that river is called "Upon Trent."

If you find yourself in England you can skip that town.  It was like stopping in Pace for a visit.  No offense to Pace, but there was not a lot going on there.  We picked it to break up our drive towards the southern coast of England. 

We checked in and the place we rented was just okay.  Had a cute living and dining room area.  A room upstairs that smelled like cat pee.  A tolerable amount, but still.  Over grown grass and an untidy kitchen. This wasn't quite up to the standards we were expecting with Airbnb.  We could deal though.  

The day after we arrived was gonna be Luna's birthday, so we headed to the store, bought a cake and her meals of choice for that day.  Fast forward and girls are in bed, Diego and I are talking and walking towards the kitchen and "what is that?".......................flip on the lights................ahhh "slugs!!!"  All over the kitchen sink.  Diego collected them and put them in a bag, took it to the trash and thinking that they were coming from the sink drain we put the sink plug in place.  We were a little freaked out, but gonna talk to the owner the next day.  I wake up the next morning to find out that Diego went back down to the kitchen after I fell asleep and they were all over the place again.  Not just the sink, but the floor, the walls, the counters...........yuck.

He had already contacted Airbnb with pictures and they were in the process of refunding us. So we packed up the car and headed out to a new Airbnb that Diego found.  Stopped for a birthday breakfast.

On to Breighton and York

We are visiting a co-worker of Diego's, David, here south of York in a village called Breighton.

Back to the States

Our drive from Quebec down into Maine was very nice.  Lots of farm land and little towns to pass through.  We stopped by SAQ, Canadian liquor store to stock up on some things we discovered while visiting.  A whiskey made with maple syrup and a wine made with pear.  Both were delicious and I'm a tough sell.  

We had the most enjoyable border crossing ever when we came through at Sandy Bay Township.  It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere and then all of a sudden a border patrol station.  We had a girl and she was very nice.  Asked her questions and then chatted with us a little bit.  It doesn't have to be such a "jerky" experience after all.

Wyman Lake on the drive down.

French, French, Everywhere

Picked up the laptop in Watertown, NY, grabbed groceries and gas before heading back into Canada at the Thousand Islands crossing.  Food and gas are more expensive over there.
The border agents are not known for being friendly, but this one not only asked us if we were taking any weapons into Canada, but asked us if we owned any back in Florida.  Ummmm, I'm pretty sure what I own back in Florida is not the Canadian governments business.  Weird question.

We made it to Montreal that night and as of the moment of our crossing, Diego is on VACATION!!! No internet for him = no work.

We stayed with friends, Ana Cris and Martin.

Anacris, zoe and the girls

We're in the South, Ya'll

There was an imaginary line from St. Louis to Nashville where the accent kicked in.  We drove through some back roads and a few hours later emerged to "Go gechu un".  It felt warm and fuzzy.....We're close to home :)

Centennial Park

On the Road Again.....

It has been a while since I have written on the blog.  We had a very nice visit with family in Las Vegas.  Went to several Circque du Soleil show's, thanks to our local connections.  Saw Willie Nelson in concert at the Belagio.  Visited Red Rocks and spent lots of family time.

Cousins playing, no fighting, no playing....can't keep it straight :)

Reflections After One Year on the Road

I just caught up with a few weeks worth of blogs and was looking back on some of this past years entries and it's just so cool to see how much we have done and how many places that we have visited.

We had very little idea of what to expect when we set off last year.  We left on a cold December afternoon in New Jersey and literally had no idea where we were headed.  Spent our first night in a Walmart parking lot and then made a B-line for warmer weather.

We had so many "learning" experiences those first weeks, including almost pulling the front legs off of the fifth wheel.

We have made so many great memories, seen so many amazing places, and, I think I speak for all of us.........are so grateful to have had this opportunity.

I asked Diego and the girls to make a list of their favorite and least favorite things about traveling the country in a fifth wheel.  Some were more prompt with their responses than others.

The first to reply was Sofia.  She likes not being in one place all the time, getting to make so many new friends, and getting to see her family along the way.  She doesn't like that she doesn't see her other friends very often, that she has to share a small space with her sister, and that she can't run or jump in her "delicate" house :)

Luna says her favorite has been making new friends and seeing so many new places, but she doesn't like the days that we relocate because they can be long and she doesn't like that sometimes it's cold inside the camper.

For me, I love travel days.  I love the feeling of all of my "stuff" with me and I'm moving.  I remember that feeling in college driving down Interstate I10.  Everything I own in my trunk and I'm on the move. Freedom is my favorite and that moving down the road gives me such a sense of it.  I love passing through towns, seeing beautiful landscapes and getting to know new places.  I have loved meeting so many great people along the way too.

My least favorite things have been making reservations, making reservations, making reservations. Looking ahead, checking reviews, distances, Verizon coverage, etc. can be very time consuming and tiring.  My next least favorite has been when after doing all of that research, pulling into the place and it's not that great.  And lastly not having a mechanic, hair-cutter, or doctor at my fingertips that I know and trust.

As we get closer to Las Vegas we are all feeling excited to have some down time with family and rest up.  We're not sure what our next plans are, but we know that there are still a few places left that we want to see and are hoping to travel lighter this next leg of the trip.

Hallow Redding

Made the pass from California's coast inland toward Redding.  The drive was very scenic with a hint of fall colors.

The pass from Arcata to Redding.  Beautiful drive.

NPS Recreation area on our way into Redding.

Redding was a nice change of scenery.  Much drier conditions and lots of sunshine!  The laundry has become my humidity test.  There are so many things that we don't put in the dryer and when I hang them out to dry, depending on our where we are, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes up to 3 days to dry.  In the Coos Bay area I thought they would never dry.  This was a "30 minutes to dry" stop.

The Trail Ends with the Goonies

Beautiful drive from Port Ludlow to Astoria.

Bridge from Washington to Oregon

Our campsite was at Fort Stevens State Park, just over the bridge from Astoria, in Warrenton, OR.

The park was very nice.  Well maintained and the biggest state park I have ever seen.  It has over 400 sites and a very nice biking/hiking system that goes for miles.

Holy Toot!

The wildfires of Washington meant we had to make a last minute change in our route and skip the Winthrop stop.  It was a bummer, but with only one road open in that direction we were nervous that we might get stuck up there, not to mention the air quality was not good.

We rerouted to the Leavenworth area and stayed at Wenatchee County Park.  The air was okay the first day, but then, depending on which way the wind was blowing, was not great.  The campground was okay.  Next to a busy highway, but quite a few trees and was well maintained.

We started our week out with our first day back to a little book work for the school year.  We were testing our some of our new material and seeing how we liked it.  The afternoon of our first day we went to Cashmere, WA.  The town is very small and has a candy factory that has been around for generations, called Aplets and Cotlets.  We took a tour and picked out a couple of boxes to take home.

Heading behind the scene for our tour.

The Finger

Yup, we are in the finger... of Idaho.  From Flathead Lake we headed south and then west towards the "finger" of Idaho to Coeur d'Alene. We stayed at Coeur D'Alene RV Resort and it was okay.  Nothing special, but was fine for visiting the area.

Between preparing for a new school year, "can I have" requests, sisters arguing, and lots of other every day activities, here are some of the thing we did in Couer D'Alene, ID:

Downtown and Lake Coeur D'Alene:

Lake Coeur d'Alene

Lake Coeur d'Alene

The first full day in the area was Diego's birthday.  He got to choose the activities and they included: sleeping in, football, and sushi.  After the football game we went down to the lake and downtown area.  We walked and the weather was beautiful.  Warm with a great breeze.  Awesome playground with water splash pad.

Do You Like Ninjas?

From Missoula we headed north up to Flathead Lake.  We are staying at a state park called West Shore and it is about 10 minutes south of Lakeside, MT.

Our site at West Shore State Park

Our site is beautiful and just up the hill from the lake itself.  The water at the lake looks like the Caribbean.

The lake from the campground

It is so clear, but the water is fresh and a little chilly depending on how hot the day feels.

More Tiny Towns

I could probably write this blog entry with one sentence because we are in Palisades, ID and our campground is the only thing here :)  Just joking, but close.  Not sure of the population here, but I'm thinking it's in the teens.  The gas station here is the hardware store and the grocery store. :)



We drove up from Bear Lake with a dip back into Wyoming and returned to Idaho.  Country roads and small towns were again the theme of this drive.  Those are my favorite kind.

The Incline

Heading north and avoiding interstates when we can, we took the pass through the mountains on our way to Manitou, Springs (just outside of Colorado Springs, CO).  Beautiful drive through the mountains and following the Arkansas River part of the way.

Manitou Springs is a cute little town and another great walkable place.  


The "springs" are not hot springs like in Pagosa, but mineral springs.  They are located all over town and several right in the middle of downtown.  Known for their healing qualities, they have a sweet taste.

Made it to Colorado

Kept heading north on Hwy 64/84 and entered into Rio Grande National Forest.  Another very pretty drive.  We arrived to our reserved campgrounds and after testing our internet and theirs decided that the connection wasn't strong or consistent enough for the work week, so called down the road and found a spot.  

Crossing the Rio Chama

After leaving Santa Fe/Cochiti Lake area we headed north to Heron Lake State Park near the New Mexico/Colorado border.  The drive up highway 84 was beautiful and just about the right pace for us at 55 mph.  We arrived and felt like the only campers in the park and we had trouble finding the lake at first because it was so far receded. 

Dallas with Toño and Neelima

After leaving Austin we headed north to visit Toño and Neelima in Dallas.  Yeehaw!  It had been at least 3 or 4 years since we had seen each other and we finally got to meet Arjun :)  Such a cutie!

The girls had a great time carrying him around all over the place.

Flying through New Orleans

We spent one day in New Orleans because of our delay in Pensacola.  That was okay because we know that city, at least the french quarter, pretty well.
We stayed with family friends, the Lively's, who live in Slidell and commuted into the city during the day.