Before we started out on our tour of America, there were several things we had in mind. Mark wanted to see the south west, the National Parks in particular. He wanted to see some of the south’s Civil War monuments, Vicksburg in particular. He also wanted time to be off the grid and less time focusing on news. I wanted to see America slowly and observe the people and places that we would see with a thoughtful eye. We have traveled together and have seen many places over the years but each trip was limited by time. This trip will be a six month journey through America. We will try to stay warm by traveling mostly through the south heading west then north through California, onto Oregon and Washington then returning to Maine through the northern states in the spring.
Our first week was a learning experience in living in a very small space. We had to figure out how to pack the van so that we could find everything we needed without opening up every cabinet. I have one and a half cabinet for my clothes. Mark has the same. The kitchen area has room for a couple of pots, 2 dishes and 2 cups, a drawer for silverware, a refrigerator and a small stove and sink. We have managed to set up the van to our convenience and so far no major issues. (A few discussions on where we put things but generally not a big deal)
Although we have been traveling for only a week, we have managed to move around the small space quite well. Just to note that every time we need to do anything, we need to move several things around. For example, we keep our outside chairs in the rear end of the van, so when we are going to bed we need to move those chairs to the front of the van so we can turn the couch/bed into a bed for the evening. We store some food items in the microwave, so every time we use the microwave, we need to take everything out and place it in the sink. In other words, using two things at once is a bit tricky. I am trying to make things more accessible but haven’t been that successful yet. We need to put things away tightly into the cabinets when we drive or things will bang around and may fall out when we open the cabinet. (Forget “may” they fall out)
We have driven through some of the most beautiful landscapes throughout the south so far. West Virginia is an extraordinarily beautiful state. The hardwood forests were particularly colorful this time of year, shades of gold and rust against a grey sky. We listened to John Denver’s song about West Virginia as we drove. “Almost heaven, West Virginia. Blue ridge mountains, Shenandoah river. Life is old there, older than the trees. Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze”.
Kentucky was also lovely with rolling green hills and elegant horse farms with black fences that went for miles. The horses were sleek and shiny. We were told that the land does not have iron in it so it is perfect for horse farming and distilling bourbon. What a great state!
The people we have talked to at the various parks have been very friendly. A few interesting notes we have discovered is that there is a group of people who live in their RV’s who are retired but continue to work either as part timers in stores or at the parks for extra money. RV’s are also very quiet. The park’s have a quiet time usually around 10:00pm. However, things are quiet long before then. This is actually very nice. We were not looking to party. This is a different atmosphere than what we experienced when we were living at Sunday River at the ski condo. It was definitely a party place.
All in all, a great first week of travel.
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