In the middle of it all

Over the last 2 weeks, Dave and I have done some “turn and burn” trips. This just means we travel for 6 hours, spend two nights and repeat it again. In that time, we went across Wyoming, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Arkansas. We didn’t really spend any time in the states themselves, other than to grab some groceries, do some laundry, walk some puppies and sleep. If we didn’t already know it, we have confirmed that we are week long travelers. We prefer staying our 7 days in a location prior to moving onto the next one. This gives us a chance to experience the area where we are and “learn” something about that state. So instead of doing a “here’s what we saw” blog, I’m doing a “here’s what we have learned”, so far blog.

1

It's easier to hide dirt in a big house, than a small one.  I seem to be cleaning all the time and I cannot fathom how we get so much dirt on our floors.  I personally blame the pups, but I've been known to leave a trail throughout the camper as well.  We have rugs outside the door, on the steps, inside the door, etc.  I have never seen so many leaves, dirt, sticks.  It's not a big deal and takes no time to pick up, but come on!  I do not remember spending this much time cleaning my sticks and bricks home.  My tip is to make sure you have a decent vacuum cleaner.

2

If you're a women, forget getting a good haircut and buy a hat!  I started this adventure with long hair.  After constantly filling the shower drain, I decided to shorten it up a bit.  I have had 4 attempts at this.  All in different cities, all at locations with great reviews and now I basically have a buzz cut after trying to get it fixed from each of the previous cuts.  I miss my stylist from home.  If you have a great stylist, tip her/him very well and appreciate their skill.  At this point, I am just going to wear a hat and hope it grows out.  We've actually had more success getting the pups groomed, than I have for my own hair.

3

Mountains are beautiful but suck to drive.  Dave said he has never been sooooooo happy to see flat land.  After driving up, down, around big curves, hearing me constantly come across the radio with a guess on how steep or long the grade is, he was very happy to see the relative flatness of the middle states.  We wouldn't of missed spending our summer in the mountains, but after the driving challenges, we are happy to be back in the middle of it all.

4

Walmart is Walmart.  Doesn't matter what state you go to, they still have most of the same products we used to use in Minnesota.  Except for Top the Tater of course.  (WTH?)  If there is one thing we really appreciate it, it's the consistency of being able to find most of the stuff we are used to using/eating.  In addition to that, there is always the people watching aspect of any trip, which has now morphed into the dialect listening of each state.  We heard more southern drawl from the Walmart in Oklahoma, than the one in Arkansas.  Surprising!

5

Dave spends hours planning our trips.  I have never seen him use his computer more as when he is trying to get us set up for our next trips.  Once he has them located and reserved, he maps them to make sure the roads are good, plans our diesel stops (always a crap shoot on this one), and usually validates at least 3 times that we will actually fit into the site he has selected.  When we started this, I jokingly said his new full time job would be as navigator.  We had no idea how true that statement would become for him.
  

We are a little over 5 months into this new lifestyle and while there have been some challenges with this change, we are still loving every minute of it. We have experienced areas of the country that a week long vacation just cannot provide. I don’t know that we would of spent time in some of the states we already have, without doing this full time. After being married 30+ years, we find ourselves learning new things about each other, once again. We actually talk to each other again. That has been amazing in itself.

We definitely miss our family and friends and Sally said it best when she said, “It’s not the same when you leave Minnesota. Even if we don’t see each other that much, just knowing you can, provides a level of comfort.” She was dead on, on that one. The good side of this, is I find myself thinking about everyone way more frequently than I did in the past. Every state seems to remind me of someone I love and miss. So even if we aren’t in physical proximity to each other, know that you are all definitely in our thoughts throughout these travels.

Next stop is Mississippi for a couple of weeks and then we are headed to Florida to officially make this our new residence/domicile. We are really looking forward to enjoying some beach time and seafood, delicious seafood. We hear the ocean calling our names.

See you on the road,

Dave and Theresa