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PLANNING OUR RETURN TO THE ROAD

After having spent the last six weeks residing in Tricia's aunt and uncle's backyard we have moved THE POD back over to her stepfather's rear driveway. This is the same location we spent our first two nights upon arriving here in Massachusetts. Our plans are to spend two weeks here before we once again hit the road to go exploring.

Tricia's stepfather's rear driveway, our home for two weeks

The state parks in the New England area are all still closed but indications are that may change next month. What is open right now are the United States Forest Service campgrounds in New Hampshire and Vermont, that's where we will be heading. While the campsites themselves don't offer water or electricity, some forest campgrounds do have flush toilets and hot showers available. One other important amenity that the forest campgrounds do not have are dump stations. We can go about two weeks without the need to empty our waste tanks, but then it becomes one of our highest priorities.

Fortunately in the middle of June an Army Corps of Engineers campground in Vermont will be opening with everything we need. On site water and electricity, hot showers and flush toilets, plus the ever important dump station. Right now we have campsite reservations through the middle of July, after that everything is still up in the air.

One other thing all these campgrounds have in common is they are all federally owned, which means with our Lifetime Senior Pass we will receive 50% off the normal rate, making them very affordable compared to the State Parks fees that are charged in the New England area.

Five of the six states in New England have a nightly out-of-state surcharge of $5-$15 added to their normal State Park camping fees. New Hampshire is the only exception to that rule, but at this time they are only allowing New Hampshire residents in their campgrounds.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

As of today, June 1st 2020, Massachusetts State Parks are charging an additional $12 to $48 per night for out of state reservations! Far more than any other state in the country. $8 sites are $20, $14 sites are $40, $17 sites are $55 and their $22 prime coastal campsites are an unbelievable $70 for out of state residents. We won't be spending anymore time in Massachusetts State Parks, but I guess that's what they were hoping for!


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HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY (2020)

Our Location:
Backyard Camping
Cape Cod, MA 02637

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May. The holiday was held on May 30 from 1868 to 1970. It marks the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Every year volunteers place an American flag on each grave in all national cemeteries.

Excerpted from Wikipedia


Our 2020 Memorial Day campsite


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IT'S OUR 2nd NOMADIVERSARY!

no·mad·i·ver·sa·ry
/ˌnō-ˌmadˈəˈvərs(ə)rē/
noun

Merriam-Webster definitions:

NOMAD - a member of a people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place usually seasonally and within a well-defined territory

ANNIVERSARY - the annual recurrence of a date marking a notable event

Now if you compound these two words together you get nomadiversary. While it's true that this word is not yet recognized by Merriam-Webster I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it is.

It's been two years since we hitched up our Airstream and left Broward County, FL for the last time. Like so many others, during the last three months we have experienced many changes to our travel plans.

Our second year started out last May with several visits to New York City and then placing THE POD on a ferry boat to begin our two and a half month exploration of the six states that make up New England.

With very short visits to Connecticut and Rhode Island we then made our way to Tricia's home state of Massachusetts. After two weeks visiting with relatives in Cape Cod we made our way north for several trips into Boston to see the sights. Next was a month long visit to the state of Maine where we spent two full weeks staying inside of Acadia National Park. We didn't even scratch the surface of what there is to see and do there.

The Fourth of July was spent in Bar Harbor watching their parade and fireworks show, before making our turn to head south for the coming winter. On our way south we visited Mount Washington in New Hampshire and the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in Vermont.

Next up was a visit to Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes Region of western New York, followed by quick stop in western Pennsylvania. In Ohio we toured the factory where all United States Airstreams are made. While we were there we received a much needed repair to our kitchen sink.

With a couple of quick stops in both Indiana and Illinois we made our way over to the Mississippi River near St. Louis. It was here we took a unique elevator ride to the top of the 630 foot tall Gateway Arch that overlooks the mighty river and Busch Stadium.

We couldn't think of a more fitting place for THE POD to cross the Mississippi River for the first time. After all, this is near where the Lewis and Clark Expedition began it's exploration of The West.

Once across the river we visited the states of Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. In Missouri we went on six underground cave tours, and then in Arkansas we enjoyed a private soak while inside of a historic bathhouse located in Hot Springs National Park. In Louisiana we visited the World Heritage Site of Poverty Point before crossing back over he Mississippi River into what else, Mississippi.

While in Mississippi we took THE POD in for repair work and some upgrades. Once that was done we headed to Alabama before reentering Florida. We visited six new Florida State Park campgrounds which brought our total up to 41 of the 55 campgrounds (including the ones before we started traveling) where you can overnight in an RV. We eventually hope to visit every one of them.

Just after Thanksgiving Tricia was informed her mother was experiencing some serious health issues. We decided to postpone our visit to Alaska until the following year and opted to instead visit the states of New Mexico and Colorado for the summer.

During the Christmas and New Year holidays we attended our first Airstream Rally with over 120 fellow Airstream owners. We had a great time and made many new friends.

After the rally we made our way west and visited the City of New Orleans over the course of three days. Afterwards we moved further west into Texas where we went ahead with the scheduled install of our solar package upgrade for THE POD. After the install we spent two weeks unplugged on the Padre Island National Seashore in southern Texas, something that would not have been possible with our previous solar setup.

It was now late February and the Coronavirus was becoming a household word worldwide. Tricia went forward with her plans to fly back to South Florida for a friend's Retirement Party. While in Fort Lauderdale things started changing rapidly and she cut her visit short by several days and flew back to Texas early. It wasn't long after her returning that most states started taking precautions against spreading the virus by closing their parks and campgrounds.

Just two weeks later it was discovered that Tricia's mother had been infected by the virus while receiving treatment in the hospital. It was then we made plans for a 4-day 2100-mile trek from Texas to Cape Cod, but sadly just 5 hours into our first day of travel we got word that her mother had passed away. We continued on our route with just a little less urgency.

While we haven't yet been able to share hugs, kisses or handshakes with family members we are still very fortunate to be able to spend our 2nd nomadiversary near family, safely parked in Tricia's aunt and uncle's backyard. Also just a few miles away are her stepfather, cousins and another aunt and uncle along with a couple great aunts.


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