Next Stop Always

Crater Danger!

We were rejuvenated crossing the border from California into Oregon (if you didn’t read about our drama surrounding the rain in northern California you can catch up here). The view of the Smith River on the drive in made us remember exactly why we heart Oregon (Bend, Oregon is our first true possible forever home site).

When you full time RV, you have to get a feel for how much distance you and your road posse can handle without going nuts. Some people are destination driven and don’t mind full eight to ten hour days of driving to get to the places on their bucket list. Not us–if we go past the 6 hour mark we are likely to go into full meltdown mode at any time. So, we make it a point to plan stops with this drive time in mind to keep our crankiness at a minimum and our marriage (mostly) unscathed.

Following this logic, we had a plan in place for our arrival into Oregon. We were going to overnight at Cave Junction, investigate Oregon Caves National Monument the next morning and then head on up to Crater Lake National Park. However, driving into the sunshine and being mesmerized by the river made us rethink our plans. Our insides were screaming at us to keep driving past the caves (the town was barely a one horse, plus how could it be better than our first cave tour of this journey?), so we listened. We decided to drive a little over an hour more to hang out in Ashland, Oregon for a week and visit Crater Lake from there. We needed civilization for a bit…good weather, good food, and good wifi.

Once we decided to pass the caves (and made it out of the boonies into cell phone signal territory…constant struggle!), we whipped out good ole Google Maps. We proceeded to call every RV Park in the vicinity of Ashland and (yikes!) couldn’t find anything that had availability. We were starting to think our guts were wrong. We were losing hope thinking we were going to end up in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night (which is fine when you need it, but not when you were looking forward to spending a week in a town). Fear not, Gary’s eagle eyes happened to see a brand spanking new RV Park as we were driving in to town. It just opened and was all green and pretty. You could practically see the skid marks where we pulled off the exit!

It was comforting to settle down and enjoy the week in Ashland doing some of our favorite things…

Being foodies

A mashup of the best of Rogue Creamery and Lillie Belle Farms Chocolates

Hiking on new trails

Braving the ominous looking clouds on Upper Table Rock Trail

Biking

It was exactly what we needed…our gut was on track after all.

Best thing we did?

Snowshoeing around Crater Lake. Okay, not the WHOLE lake. It is 33 miles around and I am pretty sure it would take days. That is if we didn’t fall down and freeze to death in either a tree well or a snow cornice as the rangers warned about with their scare tactics for tourists.

As we drove into the park we were expecting snow, but weren’t prepared for the sheer volume of snow! The average snowfall per year at Crater Lake is 500 inches. 500 inches! No wonder this is the deepest lake in the US.

We expected this to be a get out and see the beauty and get right back in kinda stop. However during the drive in, we tuned in to 1610 AM to listen to that obnoxiously scratchy announcement every park has and found out we could rent snowshoes to hike around the lake for only $16. Totally us! Thankfully, being former southern California peeps that are still afraid of a slight chill, we over-prepared with lots of layers of clothing.

As we rented our snowshoes and routed our course, we became intent on getting around to a couple of lookout points. It was about two miles to the second one, Wizard Island overlook. So, four miles total. No problem, we hike this distance all the time. However, as we climbed up the snow covered hill and viewed the vastness of Crater Lake we started to wonder if we should have packed a lunch and some survival supplies. About a mile in we realized that trudging in snowshoes and a bunch of warm ass clothes while huffing and puffing at altitude is not the same as hiking. It was brutal! We did make it (barely) to the first overlook, Discovery Point, but not without taking a hit. Gary broke a pole and gave up altogether on the snowshoes.

Even though it was tough, the beauty of Crater Lake surrounded by snow made it worth the arduous trek.

That is Wizard Island in the background by the way. Not sure that we missed anything at all by not making it all the way anyway!

Best thing we ate?

One of the cool things about traveling to different areas is checking out local farmer’s markets and discovering what is grown in different regions. At the Rogue Valley Growers Market we hit the jackpot with fresh morel mushrooms! Gary used to forage for these as a kid, so it was a treat to find them in a farmers market in Oregon. We snatched up a bag before they were all gone and fried them up that night in the Airstream.

What we learned?

Go with your gut. When we both felt that our stop wasn’t quite right, we discussed and made the decision to move on quickly. We followed our instincts and had a relaxing and enjoyable week in a fun town and still got to see our main attraction, Crater Lake, without having to stay overnight in an RV Park in the freezing cold.

Next Stop: Oregon Small and Smaller Towns

These Mushrooms are Bananas

Our route had us continuing up the California coast. We were prepared for redwoods and ocean views, but not for the depression of continuous rain. We know, we know California needs the rain! But come on…our towels in the Airstream never dried out! We definitely praised the sun gods when any little bit of sun trickled through the forest…

There were multiple campground stops as we made our way up to the tippy top of California…Duncan Mills, Mendocino, Myers Flat, and Eureka. You would think driving along the coast in California that sand would be sand and ocean would be ocean, but in Northern California, one town beach after another can be totally different…

Like in Jenner where the Russian River meets the Pacific

and Glass Beach in Fort Bragg where sea glass is the silver lining of ocean trash dumping in the 50s and 60s

and Moonstone Beach in Trinidad, CA

or even Gold Bluffs Beach, in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Here Roosevelt Elk are sitting on the grassy/sandy part of the beach with the ocean just behind the trees (promise it is there!).

Best thing we did?

You would think the answer to this question would be hiking among the majestic trees. With driving roads like Avenue of the Giants and walking through the Redwood National and State Parks we were indeed amazed by all the trees labeled Big, Giant, and Gargantuan, wait that last one might not be on a actual sign, but after five or six hikes we saw them as they were…trees.

Extremely large trees, but still trees. So, our eyes began searching for other things in the forests we conquered. Banana slugs intrigued us for a hot minute (mostly trying not to step on them). They seem to slither around on the trails like they own the forest!

While neon yellow slugs may be interesting, mushroom hunting became an obsession for us during these hikes. Let’s be perfectly clear, hunting not foraging. We were certainly not prepared for eating them just yet given we could die if we make the wrong assumptions. However, searching for mushrooms is like looking for Waldo or staring at those posters where you have to make yourself practically cross-eyed to see the image. Once you start looking you see them everywhere and you can’t stop.

Best thing we ate?

Olives.

Yes, olives. Not the kind you popped on all your fingers at Thanksgiving as a kid or the briny kind stuffed with blue cheese that you dunk in your dirty martinis as an adult. These were wood fired Castelvetrano olives at Saucy in Ukiah. Wood fired = mind blown! They were mixed with caramelized orange zest and fennel, roasted garlic, and chili to give them extra flavor, but the true depth came from the seared olive flesh.

These olives are important because they were not only yummy, but also represent our motto “Next Stop Always.” You might think that it simply means always investigating new places, but it is really a reminder for us to strive to learn and grow. To never get stuck being comfortable just because it is known. That is where the olives come in…Gary never liked olives…ever! They were too briny, vinegary (remember the oysters) and just pure unappetizing to him. But, following our motto, he tried again and loved these! So, remember to always be open — maybe you just haven’t yet experienced something in the right way.

An honorable mention must go out to the dessert we had at Café Beaujolais in Mendocino simply because it was called Candy Cap Mushroom Banana Cake. Um hello, mushrooms, banana slugs, have you even been paying attention??? Not necessarily the best dessert of all time, but they made it with Candy Cap mushrooms, so they get an A plus for creativity.

What we learned?

Rain and RVing don’t mix for long periods of time. Once in a while it is fun to hear the rain bouncing down on the aluminum roof and have it sooth you to sleep. But, if you are going to be in it for very long you need a dehumidifier, covers for your fans, and a good therapist to talk you out of the depression.

Oh that’s why all the full time RV peeps stay in in places such as Arizona, Utah, Texas or other drier states until the Pacific Coast spring fully passes. Oh, well, live and learn!

Next Stop: The Beaver State

Less Moola, More Fun

Not sure if you have noticed, but people going out and chucking the matrix life in favor of full time RV living is a thing. There is even a show about it now called Going RV.

What makes living on the road every day in an Airstream the size of our former bedroom appealing? Well, for one thing we have found the freedom we dreamt about while working 70 hour plus weeks in the matrix. Another reason is that our time here is not guaranteed. So, why not live the life we want NOW instead of waiting for one day down the road for traditional retirement.

We are lucky ducks to live in a time when there are plenty of opportunities to make money on the road with just a computer, a semi-decent internet connection (gotta love wifi boosters!), and a chair. This chair can be sitting with a view of giant redwoods, of bison roaming in front of Grand Teton, or in front of waves at the Gulf of Mexico.

What makes the full time RV lifestyle doable is that you aren’t tied to a mortgage and everything the matrix lifestyle requires, so your money goes way further. It doesn’t take much to have an amazing life. You can control expenses by boondocking to camp for almost free and use that money for exploring.

While boondocking isn’t for us, we stretch our budget by challenging ourselves to create the best experiences with the least amount of money. Our time in Point Reyes was a perfect example of making a five star adventure with a small amount of dough.

First off, we were in fancy schmancy Marin County, a food lover’s paradise. There was a specific food tour that piqued our interest, but it was $200 per person. No thank you! However, to our surprise they detailed all of the stops on their website. So, we crafted our own #TeamTary food tour by picking out the places that seemed like our jam.

First Stop: Heidrun Meadery, because sparkling, of course!

Their mead is made with the traditional champagne process, but from different varieties of honey instead of grapes. We tasted mead from honey that came from carrot blossoms to Hawaiian macadamia nut blossoms and everything in between. It was amazing to taste the difference that just the source flower makes. The best thing was the tasting fee was waved if you purchased three bottles, so it was time to make room in the nooks and crannies!

Second Stop: Say cheese!

What follows a bubbly beverage? Why free cheese tasting of course! Did you know there is a California cheese trail?

We had to stop ourselves at two (Cowgirl Creamery and Marin French Cheese) because yes, you can eat too much cheese. The downfall of Airstream living is there is no room for our fat pants!

Third Stop: Hog Island Oyster Farm

Here you can get oysters that came from the sea that day for 50 cents per oyster…way cheaper & fresher than any restaurant.

You will have to wait to get further down this post to see Gary’s how to (or how not to) become a shucker video.

Last Stop: Did someone say gelato?

Our dessert stop was at Palace Market for Double 8.

No, not water buffalo gelato! Water buffalo MILK gelato, big difference!

Wait there’s more! Our Point Reyes stop wasn’t just about food. Point Reyes National Seashore is an amazing place to walk off all of the calories. The lighthouse trip alone is equivalent to going up 30 flights of stairs!

I don’t know why we don’t look winded in these pictures. We definitely had to rest more than once during the trip back up these crazy stairs!

You can also spend time searching for animals not only gray whales from the lighthouse view, but there are also spots on the seashore to look for the Tule elk, elephant seals and the illusive dairy cow.

Best thing we did?

Learned how to shuck an oyster. After watching this video you may question “learned”, but don’t worry, after shucking (and eating) a dozen more we are now shuckmasters!

Best thing we ate?

The chocolate version of the water buffalo milk gelato soft serve. A small cone was $1.69…we would have paid $5, budget be damned! We ate one (almost) every day and practically cried on the last day when they were out!

What we learned?

Life is what you make of it. Period.

Next Stop: California’s northern coast

Hit the Brakes!

We were riding our high from our time in the Utah National Parks, but were starting to feel a little like two year olds that were really overdue for naptime. To get to Utah we had driven straight across the 40 with just overnighters then hit the ground running upon arrival in Moab with no lazy days, just go go go.

So, stopping in California wine country (Paso Robles and Carmel) was a welcome respite. Not to mention we could restock! BTW this is how you do wine storage in an RV…every nook and cranny:

Paso Robles was the first stop back in Cali and it was the first time we stayed in one location for a full week. Plus, it was somewhere we had been several times before so we didn’t have a lot of “newness” to investigate. This turned out to be very interesting…

After a couple of days of being low key a lot of feelings started bubbling up…oh crap! We had been on the road for two months and this was the first time we slowed down. The gravity of what we are doing started to sink in…we were outside the matrix and it felt uncomfortable. The first two months we were like kids running around like school just let out for the summer. We felt great! However, with this downtime we had itchy feelings like what are we supposed to be doing every day if we didn’t have an epic hike to do? Could it be that we were actually whining about being B-O-R-E-D? We never thought we had time for hobbies before this. We were always working or if we took a vacation it was a full steam ahead #teamtary style adventure. It was time to work these feelings out!

So, we used this couple of weeks to learn how to chill. We checked out fun and interesting neighborhoods, drove up and down PCH and just admired the spectacular views.

Learning who rules the roost in the town of Arroyo Grande

Figuring out the fuss about Santa Maria style BBQ in San Luis Obispo

Gary even found himself a hobby and bought a guitar.

Best thing we did?

As we meandered from our Paso campground to our spot in Carmel, we stopped by Hahn Winery for an ATV tour. We were super excited that they had RV parking even though we did have to go three miles down a bumpy dirt road to get there! No, I am not bitter about having to rehang all of our clothes that got jolted off the hangers!

Whatever, bring on the wine!

Best thing we ate?

Our favorite restaurant in Paso Robles is Artisan. We go there every time we visit. This time, after having their brioche toast with a mushroom sauce and a poached egg on top, we decided to make a copycat version at home. We added our own spin on it of course by topping it with bacon! We must confess, below is the picture of the one we ate at the restaurant because ours wasn’t a looker, but was definitely tastier!

What we learned?

Time on the road can catch up with if you aren’t careful. Since you are out there at new places all the time you can run yourself ragged feeling like you need to see and do everything. We know now it is important for us to schedule some downtime at each stop moving forward. Time for hobbies (or for discovering hobbies) and time for relaxing aka PUZZLE TIME! For any of our RV peeps note the yellow felt under the puzzle. It is an awesome puzzle roller upper so our dining table can do double duty as our game table in our tiny home.

Next Stop: Point Reyes National Seashore

Utah ROCKS! and rocks and rocks…

As you know (because you are reading every blog post of course), in the last post we were on the east coast and this post is about Utah. What, What, Whaaat??? Our original plan was to do the western US first. Gary had it all meticulously mapped out. Until we got rerouted to the east coast due to circumstances beyond our control. We initially thought, let’s make the best of it. We can do the eastern US first. We were going to do it anyway in a year. Why drive over 2,000 miles back to the West Coast to do our original route? Sounds reasonable, right? The problem was, it just didn’t feel right. We were just off, a little lost and trying to figure out a route that we wanted to do at that point. We were almost pushing ourselves to just figure this out because it sounded ridiculous to drive all the way back to the west to do the original route. But here’s the thing, we chose this life and to exit the matrix so that we could do the ridiculous and not just what we were supposed to do. So, it isn’t ridiculous to follow our passion, it is mandatory. We realized we are learning how to let go of doing what we are “supposed” to do and do what we want. We still struggle with this, but at least now we are asking ourselves what we want to do and recognizing this is important to live our best life. Apparently we are channeling Oprah right about now.

Well, we are glad we followed our instincts. Utah is up there as one of the most amazing places we have been. It is a playground of national parks and monuments!

So, brace yourself…there are going to be a lot of pictures in this post. As we left our first stop, Moab, we thought “wow, this place was amazing, but how much more interesting are a different set of rocks?” Well, very interesting it turns out. Every time we thought we had seen enough, the next place wowed us with its awesomeness. From arches to hoodoos we continued to be amazed at each new park.

Best thing we did?

With multiple epic stops in Utah, we can’t limit this question to only one thing. We have to tell you our favorite from each stop…

Moab (Arches National Park & Canyonlands National Park)

You would expect the best view for us was in Arches National Park . No, for us the best one was in Canyonlands National Park. But, some of that is probably because of the crazy adventure we had to get there in addition to the beauty. It started when we read in our Lonely Planet National Parks book that a sunrise hike to Mesa Arch is a must do activity. It was about 45 minutes away from us so we got up at 5 am to drive and hike through the dark. We were so excited to see the breathtaking sunrise view through an Arch. The closer we got, the more excited we were. When we arrived at the trailhead parking there were only a few cars in the lot with people just starting the trek to the arch. Score! Looks like we will get a good view! So, we stumble on the mesa arch trail using Gary’s headlamp and my iPhone as our light. We get to what we think is the end of the trail as we barely make out a huge drop off cliff ahead of us. We claim our seat on some rocks and set up the camera. We didn’t know exactly where the arch was, but it was still dark and we figured as the sun came up we would see it out in the canyon. We hear more and more voices and get a little antsy sitting on the cold rocks, so Gary takes a walk around. Well apparently the arch was down below us and all of the good picture perfect spots were taken! We couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the absurdity of us being so careful to get there early that we missed the perfect spot entirely. Here is our view from our perch above…

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce is known for its hoodoos. While they are amazing as a panoramic view from a distance, our best view was hiking down the Navajo Loop trail to the bottom of the hoodoos and walking among them, gawking up at their prominence. It was like looking up at the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower…ants among giants.

What would have topped this off would have been to get to hike through “Wall Street”, the only slot canyon in Bryce, but it was closed off because it was not passable. At least there is something left to look forward to next time!

Zion National Park

Our final stop in Utah was the great Zion National Park. We were ready for another dark-thirty morning adventure. Gary thought it would be funny to show me some of the scary YouTube videos on the hike called Angels Landing thinking that I would be too afraid to try the hike. Little did he know, I was all in for this one. There are no words for this hike, so I will leave you with the video of our adventure. Click on the link here: Angels Landing Hike

Pretty crazy, right? The one hike we didn’t do that is probably just as challenging, is The Narrows. It wasn’t passable when we were there because the water was too high, but we are definitely going back for this one. Gary tells you a little about it here:

Best thing we ate?

Susan’s pot roast! We were so thankful to get a chance to visit my friend Susan and her family. They took such good care of us during our moochdocking time there. Not only did they have space for us to park our 28′ Airstream in front of their house, but they also had hook ups for electric, water and sewer. Fancy!

We usually take pics of our food, but we were so busy having fun with Susan and her family that we didn’t capture the food, but did get a picture of the amazing chef.

What we learned?

One of the things that was hard for us to figure out at the beginning of this full time adventure is how to find the right camping spots that fit the lifestyle we wanted. It has taken us a while to narrow that down, but Utah is helped us to do just that. We initially thought it was only about having a great view, solitude and being right smack in the middle of nature, but found out we like our creature comforts too! We want to be able to read HuffPost in the morning with our coffee or go out for a nice dinner once in a while. We aren’t doing this for a weekend or a week’s vacation where we need to disconnect to forget about life for a while. We are doing this full time for two years. So, for most of the time (not always) we want internet and a bit of a town and sometimes when you only focus on a great view you lose something else like cell towers. But we don’t want to be in a parking lot either. So, in Utah we had different types of locations and it helped us hone in on what to look for in future camping sites.

Moab: View, middle of nowhere, no connection to the outside world

Another thing we learned is that in National Parks the early bird truly does get the worm. Since we did a couple of early morning hikes, we found that the break of dawn is the time when there are the least amount of people out (many parks get over 3 million visitors per year, mostly during the busy season). Also hiking gets hot! Being out early, plus dressing for weather that is 10 degrees hotter than you expect is key.

Next Stop: Vino!

Squirreling Around

We chose to make our next stop Asheville, North Carolina because we wanted to scope it out as a possible location for our forever home. It’s in the mountains, so we would get the nature we crave and from what we had read it also has good food, culture and plenty of things to do. It doesn’t hurt that it is also less expensive than other locations we were considering in the West. We admit our expectations were pretty high. Gary, researcher extraordinaire, dug into this city quite a bit and on paper Asheville ticked all of our boxes.

So, the first thing we did was a walking food tour to check out the downtown. Eating and walking off the calories at the same time… just genius! We did the “High Rollers” version of the Eating Asheville Tour. This meant we got a cocktail paired with our food tasting at each restaurant stop. Cheers to us!

Even though downtown Asheville was very walkable and had some great restaurants, it seemed a bit generic and what we expected…it just didn’t “feel” like us. But, luckily Gary had something in his back pocket. A much smaller town that was about 45 minutes away called Brevard.

Best thing we did?

Exploring the city of Brevard aka “The Land of Waterfalls.” Brevard is nestled in between the Pisgah National forest and DuPont State Forest.

Brevard is a city that is surrounded by natural beauty and has a fun quirkiness to it as well.

First of all, it is in Transylvania County. Sounds a bit creepy, but interestingly creepy. Like maybe they have a Twilight style family of vampires living there.

Second, they don’t just have your normal run of the mill gray squirrels there. Oh no, they have elusive white squirrels…

No, not just giant squirrel statues, actual real live squirrels. They seem more like they should be prancing around in a Disney movie instead of running around Brevard. Sounds like we made this up, right? Well, see them for yourself in this video by clicking here: Brevard White Squirrels

Lastly, they have house accounts. Not just credit cards or even fancy Apple Pay, but like IOUs. Yes, you read it correctly…IOUs! Check out the sign we saw in Bracken Mountain Bakery when we sat down to have our coffee and freshly made lime coconut danish.

Seriously??? Gary would be here every morning!

Best thing we ate?

Even though Asheville has some great restaurants, the best thing we ate was at a lounge…a CHOCOLATE lounge! When we walked into French Broad Chocolate Lounge we were overwhelmed by all of the yummy goodies they had. We chose several things of course, but THE BEST thing we ate was the Chocolate Pot De Crème with rose, cardamom and pistachio. Remember I said we became obsessed with cardamom in desserts. This amazing tub of yum is another reason why!

What we learned?

We had a bubble burst on us here. We think we are pretty active, getting out there and finding adventure. However, we definitely learned we are not as young as we think we are. When we showed up at a place called Sliding Rock (half waterfall/half waterslide), we noticed a cute young couple in their bathing suites. Now at the time it was right at 60 degrees. Sliding Rock is meant to slide down for sure, but in the middle of summer when it is super warm and the water feels refreshing not frigid. But these kids were here now and they were not waiting for summer for this experience!

We thought about doing it for literally one second (okay maybe that was just Gary not me). We were just going to have to live this moment vicariously through these young whippersnappers.

Another thing we learned or I guess you would say we “found” is a possible candidate for our forever home. It had the terroir we were looking for and a small town feel, with a big city, Asheville, close. There is hope for east coast living!

Next Stop: U-turn to Utah

Take me home, country roads

When we crossed into the mountains of West Virginia headed to Gary’s hometown, there weren’t a lot of campgrounds open yet for the season, but the one we picked was perfect. The views were pretty great and there was only one other RV at the place, but the best part was that it had a cool dog that barked an aloha to us anytime we came in or out.

The slogan “Wild, Wonderful West Virginia” on the sign as you cross into the state really does ring true. We spent our time here taking a trip down (Gary’s) memory lane. We explored his old hunting and camping spots, favorite places to eat, and places he has lived. We saw it all with Gary taking in the things that changed and many that stayed almost the exactly same after 40+ years.

Best thing we did?

One of the bonus reasons for Gary with getting an Airstream is that it gave him an excuse to buy a truck to tow it… specifically a truck with 4WD. In SoCal we didn’t need it at all and it is kind of a negative anyway based on traffic, gas mileage, and glaring stares from all of the electric car owners. We put in our time with our 10 year old Prius. It is all about balance, right?

Gary was itching to use the 4 wheel drive since we bought it. Well, the West Virginia mountains were the exact right place. This is our view as we actually drove through a creek.

If you want a 30 second taste of our adventure (promise you won’t get sick) click the link here: Team Tary’s Excellent Adventure

Best thing we ate?

Continuing down memory lane we stopped at Drennen Dairy Bar. Note: anyone from a small home town has their own version of a Drennen Dairy Bar that just popped into their memory.

You have heard about Chicago dogs, Sonoran dogs and even NY dirty-water dogs, but bet you didn’t know there was a West Virginia style hot dog aka “slaw dog”. Yep, it’s a thing. The must have toppings are chili and slaw, but add mustard and onions if you’re sassy (or if you like mustard and onions). Gary says it isn’t a true West Virginia style hot dog without a toasted, buttered New England style split top bun of course. Take a gander at these beauties below. Mine is the sassy one!

What we learned?

One of the tenants of our forever home location is that it needs to have a nature aspect. Actually, we have three basic tenants that capture what we want in the place we settle down in and call home. Of course we have an acronym for it: CCT. This stands for cost, culture and terroir. Terroir (yes we drink a lot of wine) is where we lump in the climate, landscape, and outdoor activity of a place.

Being back in West Virginia gave Gary a good understanding of where this nature drive came from in him and also the type of nature that he prefers. As you can see even before the spring bloom the beauty of the area is inspiring.

Next Stop: Asheville, North Carolina

Wait…are we still in the OC?

It might sound crazy, but our time in Tennessee reminded us of living in Southern California. These feelings are based on the two cities we stayed in: Memphis and Nashville. They are just over 3 hours apart in driving distance, but miles apart in style. In SoCal you are either an OC person or an LA person. It’s impossible to be both. As OC people we loved to “visit” the distinctive neighborhoods and amazing restaurants in LA (when we were up for the drive that is), but we didn’t want to live there. When you live in a place that is manicured like Disneyland, it is hard to see beyond the grittiness to reap the benefits of a hipper town. To us Memphis is to Nashville as LA is to the OC.

We had a good time in Memphis checking out the unique neighborhoods that are hipster and fun like Cooper-Young. We found quite a few great places to hear good music and grab a drink. But, Nashville is more like a place we would be able to call home IF it wasn’t so big! It was manicured with beautiful houses and tons of hiking trails for a city. We had fun in Nashville downtown as well, on the hunt for cowboy boots (so many boots!).

One of the things we have started to think about as we travel is balancing doing “touristy” things with more local or “off the beaten path” type adventures. What we have found is that with touristy things our expectation is higher than it is for something that has a little more local flair. Perspective really is everything. A good example of this is the Peabody Ducks daily jaunt to the hotel’s lobby. They only do this twice a day and people pack in the hotel so you have to get there early for a good viewing spot. It is free which is always good, BUT it is a super touristy thing to do and it let us down a bit. For one thing, we didn’t know there are only five ducks…five ducks!?! We thought it was supposed to be a PARADE of ducks – minimum 20 ducks! Also, the ducks don’t really understand what a parade is and they are pretty squirrely running haphazardly all over the place…don’t they know we need a good single file pic! I guess we should have known better than to have such high hopes for duck entertainment.

Best thing we did?

The Gibson Guitar factory tour in Memphis was hands down one of the best tours we have ever taken. We initially thought about Graceland, but it was big bucks and honestly The King was a little before our time. The Gibson tour was a bargain at $10 and they were so detailed on the tour. We got to learn how guitars are made and what goes in to each and every one (it takes them over a month to make one by the way). On this journey we are working to be more thoughtful about spending on experiences we feel we will get the most value from and not just things we think we are supposed to do. We still need to continue to remind ourselves about this, but we are getting there.

Best thing we ate?

Ever since we found our one true bakery love, Sparrow Bakery in Bend, Oregon, we have been on a quest to find bakeries that match its greatness. In Nashville we found quite a few bakeries to check out but it was Dozen Bakery where we found these Chocolate Cardamom Madeleines. Spoiler alert: this one cookie kicked off our obsession with desserts with cardamom…more to follow in future posts.

While Dozen did not live up to the high expectations set by Sparrow, they were an amazing bakery none the less. We watched them making bread in house and thought about why we don’t bake more in the Airstream since we have a perfectly good oven.

Then realized quickly at the bakery we could buy one treat, but when we make something at home we tend to eat the entire thing!

What we learned?

Oh yeah, water freezes at 32 degrees. One morning during this leg we woke up and turned on the water and nothing came out. So, Gary gears up to go out and check things (because that is his job, I am in charge of the inside). He unscrews the water hose and holds it up and out flies an ice chunk, then water shot out at him. Too bad we don’t have a video for you as that was the funniest thing ever!

So, now we know when we are in an area that is going to get under 40 degrees at night it is best to fill your water tank and unhook your hose. PS I am sure you can tell we are a bit behind on posting as they are having record highs this week in TN. We promise to get (mostly) caught up within the next few weeks!

Here we also learned that we get a lot more from an area when we pepper in local, everyday fun in addition to the tourist attractions. While in Memphis we happened upon a regional barrel racing competition right near our RV Park. This isn’t something that would have been on our radar at all, but we saw something going on, walked in and sat down for about an hour and it was super exciting. We didn’t have anyone we knew to cheer for, but we made up our own favorites.

We realized one of our goals along the way should be to release the FOMO (“fear of missing out” for those of you reading this who aren’t millennials) and not feel as though we have to see only the epic highlights of a town. Also, it is okay to leave something behind to check out down the road. There is always next time or the next stop in our case.

Next Stop: Gary’s home town

That’s Gonna Leave a Mark!

We did not know much about Arkansas (well, just about Clinton and Walmart) but, picking out our next stop on the map the four words “Hot Springs National Park” sounded totally stop worthy.

The trip from Texas to Arkansas was one of the longest drive days to date (around 8 hours) and to top it off we were going to arrive in the RAIN after DARK. To set some context for you, when we started out on this venture we were idealists. We said we would NEVER drive over six hours and we would NEVER plan to arrive somewhere after dark. So, we tried to put it out of our minds that there was a good chance that by the time we set up camp in the evening we may be at the point of going all hangry and ballastic on each other.

We were part scared and part excited that we were going to tackle this new experience. Along the way though there was a major injury that brought us to tears. Our precious baby got hit with a large board that came flying out of nowhere while driving across interstate 30. We barely avoided running smack into it with the truck which could have been catastrophic in comparison. We thankfully got away with just a few dents, but still a permanent scar! I guess we can say now she has her road legs under her.

We were headed for Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs National Park. It was our ideal campground because it was right next to a nice creek and some great hiking trails. Plus, it was only a few minutes from downtown (which oddly enough is also considered a part of the National Park. The kicker is it is a no reservation campground. Explains why we were braving the dark and rain to stake claim to a first come first serve spot!

Best thing we did?

We did a ton of hiking for our week in HSNP. It was raining off and on, but we didn’t let that stop us. As you can see we broke out the ponchos and hiked in the rain anyway.

But the best hike we did was the Falls Branch Trail at Lake Catherine State Park. Why you ask was this the best? Mostly because it lead to a beautiful waterfall. This wasn’t just any waterfall…this was the first waterfall on our new journey. If you are following us on Facebook or Instagram, you know we have done quite a few #waterfallselfies, but this was the first one of our journey so it was the most exciting! Some may find it cute and some annoying, but for your viewing pleasure there are going to be a lot more waterfalls coming up…so consider this a warning people!

Best thing we ate?

We have come to an agreement as a couple that 95% of the time when we order something from a menu I (Tara) win hands down. I worked in the food and flavor industry so long that it is fairly easy for me to pick out the best thing on a menu. So, we were not surprised the cupcake I picked at Fat Bottomed Girl’s Cupcake Shoppe called “Pineapple Paradise” won in our own personal Cupcake Wars session. It was the perfect amount of fresh pineapple pieces layered inside a vanilla cupcake with pineapple buttercream and brown sugar sprinkled on top. Simple, fresh, and yummy!

What we learned?

One thing we learned was even though we thought we were close as a couple before, living in this small space is 10x. Both of our Type A personalities are right in each other’s space now. We are face to face with every quirk each other has with no escape 🙂 ! That takes some getting used to or what we like to call “rounding off the rough edges.” We are still working on this, but feel that this effort will make us a better couple after this experience; however, there is a slight chance we may want to go all Lucy and Ricky and have separate beds once we find our forever home LOL!

This leg of our travels also reinforced something we already knew, but it is good to have a reminder of it from time to time. Things are just things…it would be easy to cry over the Airstream ding – I did obsess for just the tiniest second if we could fix it ourselves and bang out those dents with a rubber hammer. Gary reminded me it is just a thing and these are experiences we will never forget (mostly because we are writing it all down because to be honest we might forget 50% of them if we didn’t!).

When our week came to an end we were definitely glad we stopped here and got to enjoy this space.

Next Stop: Music Country

Texas Two Stop

Texas might be the Lone Star State, but Texans definitely do not want anyone to feel alone. Southern hospitality is alive and kickin’ there and we were greeted with this common phrase often:

Our story in this big ole state begins off the beaten track in Sonora. Gary is a sucker for caves. So, when we saw the Caverns of Sonora on the map we thought why not? That is the beauty of our home being on wheels, we can stop at anything that interests us (or move if we don’t like it!). We pulled off the highway and the annoying woman on google maps took us further and further back into the country. After a while we got to a gravel/dirt “road” and were a little afraid we were about to go 4-wheeling with our Airstream. You will get the perfect visual of just how crazy this road was when you see our lesson learned below.

After a bumpy few miles, we finally arrived at the Caverns and they have space on their property for RVs. So we checked in, then pulled into the RV park area and it was TIGHT or as a Texan might say the spaces were as thin as a gnat’s whisker. There were all of these big rigs lined up with their side outs open and here comes us in our tiny home and we didn’t actually know if we were going to fit. It was our first experience of how up close and personal you can get in RV spots. Good news is it only took us two circles around and a bit of wiggling to get parked.

Our second and last stop in Texas was in Fredericksburg. If we decide to settle down in Texas, this town would be a front runner. First of all it is in Texas Hill Country. To be perfectly honest we had no idea Texas even had hills! Hill Country is home to three wine AVA regions and Fredericksburg is one of them. It also has a great walkable downtown where everyone is walking the streets and having fun. Probably because you can walk the streets with a drink in hand (wine or even the hard stuff), but hey, it’s Texas!

Best thing we did?

Touring the Caverns of Sonora. How do I know this was the best thing? We have 543,000 pictures to prove it’s true. We never knew there were so many food inspired formations in caves. Everything from bacon to popcorn to soda straws (these are real cave terms by the way). Just of a few of the pics are here for your amazement. I know, pictures of caves blah, blah, blah…just be glad we stopped at a few!!!

Best thing we ate?

Walking through downtown Fredericksburg it is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the options. So, that is what Yelp is for, right? One of the top places that came up (almost 5 stars with 244 reviews!) was a simple burger place and from the name we should have known we would be hooked: Jennie’s Smoked Burgers and Tornado Fries. We did not meet Jennie, but she smokes a mean burger! The smoked brisket burger was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I guess it isn’t just traditional BBQ places that know how to use smoke. Jennie has it figured out 🙂 So much so that Gary has been trying tirelessly to create a copycat version of it along our travels.

What we learned?

Lock it down! Below is the precarious situation we found when we pulled in to our campsite and opened the Airstream doors. This does tell you quite a bit about Texas roadways, but it also tells you we are still newbs who need to learn to lock it down. Lock everything down! It really doesn’t matter if the cabinets click into place. One crazy pothole and your microwave can be destroyed and destroy fifteen things in its wake. Get straps, hooks, bungee, whatever it takes to lock it down!

Next Stop: Hot Springs National Park