On The Road! Staying "Home" in Paducah, KY

Well, it certainly is an interesting time to start living in an RV full time! Although we did not take this decision lightly, we ultimately decided that moving into the RV was the best decision for us. We figured that we were actually LESS likely to catch or spread COVID-19 if we left the densely populated city and headed for the less populated areas of the country... and it definitely feels like it was the right choice. Please rest assured that we are following all CDC guidelines, and we are quite confident that we have had less exposure (to both us and others) by staying inside our NEW (mobile) home.

Needless to say, our itinerary is completely different than our original plan. We will clearly not travel as far, and obviously we will not be visiting any people. How quickly things have changed for all of us!

Wednesday, April 8

We hit the road (after 3 long, hard weeks of getting our house ready for sale!) and headed straight down to pick up the RV in Pontiac, IL. With the car packed to the gills, we put our bikes on the rack, and are ready or go. Side note: the bike rack is old, and a bit broken, but we both have given it the OK. Looking good!

About 30 minutes into the drive, we notice that Neil’s bike looks a little funky. We stop on the side of the tollway to just make sure that we are still good. Bike is still on. No problem, but we secure the bike with the bike chain lock as an added measure to ensure the bike doesn't fly off the rack.  We are back on the road, and cruising along at a great clip.

Off the exit in Pontiac, and we are both filled with excitement - we are almost home! Pulling of the highway, we take a right turn. We both look back and realize that one of the bikes is missing... EEK! Turns out the bike rack decided to break on us when we were ONE MILE from the RV. AWESOME! Oh well. The excitement of the move is still fresh, s*#t happens, and hopefully we can find a bike shop that is open. Moving on.

We were much quicker getting on the road this time. Anne unpacked the car into the RV. Neil loaded the car on the tow dolly and put the NEW (thanks Suzi & Pritts!) bike rack on the RV. Then it took both of us to load the bikes onto the new rack for the first time. You learn something new everyday! The only thing that is still looming over us is the hot water. We NEED to shower at some point! Not quite sure that we will have warm showers, but we are both confident that we can figure it out with the help of YouTube.

We once again find ourselves in the region near The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Western Kentucky. We arrived at about 9 pm with one stop at the local Kroger for essential supplies. Anne spent almost $200 on groceries and filled an entire cart, and said she was quite worried that she got too much. But, around every turn, this RV is surprising us with how much we actually can fit. We got all of it in the fridge and pantry - score! We should be set with supplies for at least the next 7-10 days... The initial plan is to stay here on Wednesday and Thursday night, and we will hit the road on Friday with plans to head for warmer weather. Gotta love finding gas for $1.04, though. Wish we had a 250 gallon tank so we could hoard gas, as we are topping out at about 6 miles per gallon!

 

Thursday, April 9th

It's our first full day in our new home, and we are looking forward to relaxing. But first things first, we need to fix a bike and get the hot water working. The bathrooms are closed at most campgrounds right now, and we wouldn't really want to use them anyway. We really want to be fully self-contained!

We find a bike shop in Paducah that has drive by service, so we park in the lot and call. The technician comes out to inspect the bike and determines that the tire needs to be replaced, but otherwise, the bike looks undamaged. WOOHOO!! Unfortunately, they have a huge backlog of jobs, so he sells us the tire and tube and says that it's something we should be able to easily do ourselves.  We agree. Great. Back to the RV to figure out the hot water!  After some tinkering and common sense, the hot water is on and working! Both dishes and showering are a real possibility now!

After grilling some great steaks and cooking some potatoes in the campfire - and obviously some s'mores (thanks friends from Exelon), it is finally time to relax.  Neil tried the shower (thankfully), and it is really not that bad at all. We are a fully contained unit now, and we are quite confident that we can ride out this stay home order in our new home!

               

                        

Friday, April 10th

One thing that is nice in our new home is the bedroom. The bed is comfortable, the room is dark and cozy and it sure is easy to sleep... But it's a new day, and it looks pretty nice outside. Although we are on an extended vacation, we are still feeling like we have to organize the new home. After working on the place for most of the morning and afternoon, we are ready to go out and get some exercise.

One of the things we love to do together is disc (frisbee) golf, and it just so happens that there are 2 different 9 hole courses within 10 minutes of where we are staying - hopefully they are open! They are and no one is there!! So, we get 9 holes in on a great course though lots of challenging trees. On the course, we ran into (from a distance) a young girl and her mother and baby "pet" squirrel that followed the girl around and climbed on her head. It reminded Anne of the squirrel they had briefly growing up and how the squirrel would climb on her brother TJ.

We decided to try the other course also. Another great course, but some loooong holes. It wasn't our best game and we lost a frisbee, but it was fun.

We decided to take on the job of fixing the bike, and we made some progress. Unfortunately, it looks like we need a special tool to actually complete the job. AWESOME. That was some information that would have probably been useful while we were at the bike shop. Oh well, I'm sure we can order the part we need.

At least we are back at the RV and we can enjoy a little relaxation time - outdoor movie "Dodgeball"!  And then burgers on the grill and another campfire... and maybe s'more s'mores (can't get enough). We even got Stella outside for a bit on the leash - She slinks around and eats the grass, but I think she's a fan!! Hamilton begrudgingly approved (notice his stare in the background).

Saturday, April 11th

Hamilton and Stella have made themselves quite at home.  At breakfast, they were in the booth, saying where's MY breakfast sandwich??

It's another nice 60 degree and sunny day, so we decide to check out another disc golf course.  There is actually a 3rd course that is only about 15 minutes away! We set a plan to try this course and then maybe go out for a hike. But, not surprisingly, the park that has the disc golf course is closed:(.. I guess it's time to find a hike!

We head over to KY Lake and Dam with Hamilton, as we have found a path that goes across the dam. We figure there will be some great views on this dam. But - another closure. On to plan C... After a quick walk around the park and some quick pics, we decide to check out another spot on All Trails. Only 5 minutes away.

At the plan C spot, there are only 2 other cars parked in the lot, so we figure we'll give it a try.   It's a narrow and windy 9-mile loop trail that is primarily used by mountain bikers.  We hike up, down, and around enjoying the woods, the lake and a deer.   Hamilton is a great hiker, until he sees a biker or a deer and then he goes nuts!  Luckily, we only saw a few bikers and had the trails primarily to ourselves.  We hiked about 2 miles to a view point of the lake (which is hard to see through the trees in the picture below) and turned around.

Back to the campsite for dinner, games and Zooming with friends and family! We are so thankful to have Zoom to stay connected!

Sunday, April 12th

Happy Easter! Nothing too exciting to report today, just a nice lazy day at our new home. A little bit of rain and the threat of some storms, but our new home seems to be holding up without any leaks (knock on wood!). Got a chance to Zoom with Neil's family, and had a nice conversation with Anne's parents. It's a VERY different Easter this year for everyone, but hopefully everyone had as good of a Holiday as possible.

We are planning to hit the road in the morning and head south to another campground. We have decided that we will try to update the blog at each stop. Stay safe, stay away from people, and until next time...

Dry Run - "Shelter in Place?" Tour

First off, we know the world is crazy right now and everyone has some very challenging things happening. We hope everyone is healthy and getting through these interesting times with some creative changes to our daily routine.

We had always planned to do a dry run trip this weekend to practice towing the Nissan with the tow dolly. The original plan was a trip to Pleasant Hill, IL to visit grandparents/family and then to St. Louis to visit with friends and hit the casino for some fun and games....  Well, COVID changed a few things, but we decided to press on anyway.  We left just before the shelter in place order in IL, but we figured we'd shelter in place on wheels.  For those that don't know, we found a home for Sierra the cat and are traveling with Hamilton the dog, and Stella the cat.

Undaunted, we detoured to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, KY and met up with our friends, the Campbell's, in their RV for a night. We figure we can all practice social distancing around a campfire?  Here's a recap of how our weekend has gone so far...

Day 1
11:00 am - Hit the road
1:00 pm - Pick up RV.  Buy, learn and hook up tow dolly. - So far so good.
1:15 pm - Pulling out of Pontiac RV ... Is the Nissan still there??  We hope we hooked it up right!
1:30 pm - Walmart stop #1 - Nissan's still there. Phew.  Pick up food and basic supplies for the weekend.  Realized it's a horrible time to be at Walmart... hoarding central.
2:30 pm - Hit the road
2:40 pm - Rest area stop #1 - Where's Stella the cat??  There are a lot of nooks and crannies in this vehicle.
2:55 pm - Found cat under the subfloor of the recliners and back on road.
4:00 pm - Driving going well. Rest stop #2. Smooth sailing.  Researching places to boondock (lot w/ no RV electric or water hookups) and decide on Cracker Barrel in Mount Vernon, IL w/ ETA of 7:30 pm... right before dark.
5:30 pm - Neil decides he needs gas NOW (tank quarter full), sees sign for BP and exits.  NEEDS to be BP to save $.15 per gallon. Finds out that it is 1 mile off highway. Throws mini tantrum, cursing BP's everywhere for false advertising, and hastily chooses a new BP in the app and tells Anne to set the navigation to the station.
5:45 pm - Realizing new BP is 30 minutes off course - much farther than 1 mile off the highway. Seeming unlikely that we will arrive before dark. Sweet.
6:00 pm - Arrive at BP and appears closed, but the pumps appear to be on.
6:10 pm - Nope, not working... Neil curses BP's everywhere again. Luckily, there is a gas station across street.  Not BP, who cares, we paid $1.90/gallon.  BIG GAS TANK.
6:45 pm - Pass multiple BP gas stations with cheaper gas, right off highway.
8:15 pm -  Walmart stop #2 - Realized we needed some bathroom RV supplies (RV Toilet paper & toilet deodorizer) since we never used our RV toilet before.  No TP... surprise, surprise!
8:30 pm - Flying J's trucking stop - They have septic safe TP!!
8:45 pm - Arrive at Cracker Barrel.  Probably should have eaten dinner earlier, but we are done driving for the day.
9:00 pm - Realizing leveling system is not working.  The power outlets aren't working.  We have no water.  We hope the cat's still here. Thermostat has a mind of it's own and buttons do not work. EEK!
10:00 pm - One by one we figure out each of the issues by looking at manual and youtube.  Time for a cocktail and some TV.  Wait... TV won't turn on.
10:30 pm - Figure out that we need the generator on for TV and it's loud, but we're in a Cracker Barrel parking lot off the highway, so who cares? The RV parked next to us is using theirs too. Sweet.
11:00 pm - Watching TV and settled in. Life is good.

Day 2
9:00 am - Slept ok, both animals sleeping on bed with us. That's a change.
9:05 am - Decide not to deal with cooking and order Cracker Barrel breakfast to go. Do you always get biscuits and gravy with every meal?
10:30 am - Ready to hit the road.  Realized running low on drinking water and we forgot to pack even 1 tool. Sweet.
10:35 am - Walmart stop #3 - Pick up water, tools, and vitamins (to protect us from our 3rd Walmart trip in 24 hours).
10:40 am - Clearance to Walmart is 12 ft... can we make it?  Decide better not to risk and park across street in empty Staples lot at least a quarter mile from the entrance  Nissan looks a bit janky on tow dolly.  Does it matter if it's off center??  We decide Neil will deal with tow dolly and Anne will get supplies at Walmart.
11:00 am - Anne walks a quarter of mile back to RV with a case and gallon of water and other supplies.  Nissan is off the tow dolly.  Neil could have picked Anne up.  Sweet.
11:30 am - Neil gets Nissan hooked up to tow dolly.  Both back straps are a little loose.  Is this normal? Seems ok.
11:35 am - On the road and watching the Nissan on the back camera.  All is well.
2:00 pm - Stopped at Patti's 1880's settlement in KY. Check in at the campground isn't until 4, so have lunch and walk around. Looks a little cheesy, but also a little cool. Everything is closed and it's a ghost town (thanks COVID).  Enjoyed lunch - it's pretty nice to have your house with you.
4:00 pm - Check-in at campsite. Campsite is still open, but all amenities are closed because of COVID. Also, bathrooms will be closed tomorrow because of COVID.  Sweet.  Glad we have a toilet and shower on board and full hook up at site.
6:30 pm - Finally figured out hooking up water, sewer, electric, hot water heater, and leveler (with some help from the locals and our one Walmart tool). Neil curses himself again for the 15th time for not bringing tools.  Have firewood. Have semi-unpacked.
7:00 pm - The Campbells have arrived!  It took Neil 2 hours to hook up our RV. It takes Chris 15 minutes to hook up their RV.  It's all about experience I guess.
11:00 pm - We had an awesome time visiting with the Campbells!  Lots of laughs.  Hamilton and their dog Hans were fast friends.  The campfire was awesome, but smoky.  We all tried to stay 6 feet apart.  It was awesome to have such great friends and experienced campers to hang with on our dry run!

Day 3
We had a great nights sleep.  We are feeling settled in and things are getting more organized.  We are feeling good about this being our home for the next 4 months, kind of like another honeymoon,except on wheels!

Time for breakfast and coffee and saying goodbye to the Campbells.  Coffee is made.  We forgot coffee cups.  Sweet.  Thankfully the Campbells have some extras and hook us up before they leave!  

Now that we have the little details mostly figured out in our new home, we decided that it was time to get out into nature for a hike.  We hiked 5 miles around Honker Lake in the Land Between the Lakes, KY through some muddy terrain and a little rain (ok maybe a lot at the end - Anne was running for the car).  We saw an Eagle's nest and flowers/some signs of spring.  Hamilton made it the whole way and only stopped to pee on 117 new things.  

Back at the camper, lit the oven for dinner with only 1 youtube video - Sweet!  Amazing dinner with pizza, Caesar salad and a bottle of rose wine.  Cheers.  That's where we are now.  Heading back home tomorrow and feeling much more confident about our RV trip. Got a long list of supplies to bring, but all is looking good.  Thanks for reading, promise that they won't all be this long... until next time.

Nissan is hooked up and ready to roll.

Night #1 - Not many pictures. Hamilton is settling in nicely.

We have stopped at Walmart 3 times in 24 hours! We can accomplish anything!

Patti's 1880's settlement. Kind of cheesy, kind of cool. Ghost town.

We've arrived at our destination! Prizer Point KOA, Land Between the Lakes, KY

Social distancing... We are 6 feet apart!

 Honker Lake Trail - 5.4 miles in the LBL Rec Area. We almost beat the rain...

East Coast Itinerary: April 3, 2020 - June 7th 2020

The East Coast Swing

Well, we are about 7 weeks away from taking off on the first leg of our big 2020 RV adventure in Ronald Vincent Vega. Things are plugging along at Matthews HQ in Chicago, as we are spending every weekend on projects to sell our house. We plan on putting it up for sale at the beginning of April, and then starting our big trip. We have one dry run planned for a weekend in March to work out any kinks, and then off we go...

These places are definitely broad strokes of the Eastern swing, but are a pretty solid framework of our route. No reservations have been made, and we have sort of decided to wing it on the first part of the trip. Our nights will likely be spent at a combination of campgrounds, people's driveways, Wal-Mart parking lots, casino parking lots and other creative places. Along those lines, we'd be eternally grateful (and bring alcohol) to anyone that would let us park on their property for a night or two. If it sweetens the deal, we also have an outdoor TV and sound system for an awesome party in your driveway/yard. We are about 50' long with our rig and trailer, so let us know if you have space for us:) - or if you just want to point and laugh at our house on wheels.

No matter where we stay, we will be towing our Nissan Sentra, so we would love to hear from anyone that is on (or close to) our path. Once the house is parked, we will be ready to hang! Meeting up (for a drink, a meal, a campfire, a hike, a bike ride, a game of disc golf, a belching contest, a horse race, a rodeo, a math lecture, etc.) would help make our trip that much better. OR - travel to meet up with us for a stop or two... we'd probably suggest a hotel or a tent, but we'd love to explore areas with any friends who are down - the RV will seat 5 extra people WITH seat belts. Let us know what/where/when on this tour works for you and hopefully we can connect!

Without further ado - the (tentative) East Coast tour:

April 3 - Evansville, IN
April 4 - Birmingham, AL
April 5-April 12 - Eastpoint, FL
April 13 - Atlanta, GA
April 14-16 - Gatlinburg, TN
April 17 - Charlottesville, VA
April 18,19 - Greater NYC Area, NY
April 20-22 - Greater Boston Area, MA
April 23 - Portland, ME
April 24,25 - Acadia National Park, ME
April 26 - Saint John, NB
April 27-29 - Prince Edward Island, NS
April 30 - Fredericton, NB
May 1,2 - Quebec City, QC
May 3-10 - Greater Burlington Area, VT
May 11 - Ithaca, NY
May 12 - Sandusky, OH
May 13,14 - Fort Wayne, IN
May 15-June 7 - Greater Chicago Area, IL

See you on the road!

Let The Adventure Begin!

Our First Blog Post!

Well, we are gearing up at Matthews family headquarters for the trip of a lifetime... There are many details that are still TBD, but we have a general framework for our travels. We plan to leave Chicago on Friday, April 3rd, and we will be headed South. 

As an overview, we are headed down to Florida, all the way up the Smoky Mountains and the East Coast to Prince Edward Island. We will head across to Quebec City, down through Vermont, and across the Midwest back to Chicago for a few weeks of visits. Then we will set sail (or should I say rubber) to Northern Michigan, Minnesota, and across the badlands to Colorado. From there, we will head up to Seattle by way of Yellowstone. Finally, we will go down the entire West Coast, with a few inland ventures to Bend, OR and Lake Tahoe. We plan on touching down in San Diego County on August 1st.

More details to come, but we are so excited to share our adventures with all of you. This is truly going to be our biggest adventure to date, with Hamilton joining us for the whole trip, and Calli joining us for the West Coast swing.

See you on the road!