Yep, that’s me, the tiny pink dot in the middle of that wide, shallow river. I’m paddling my heart out there, but I’m also doing the other -ings these days in northeast Iowa. Camping Of course we’re always camping, but this spot feels like real camping, the kind we choose when we can. Normally we’d […]
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Deer Butts, Meet-ups, Hard up in Madison
Talk about pressure. I just walked away from lunch with my blogging mentor, Mark (Mark My Words), who A) told me he’d be blogging about our meet-up in the next few days, which means I’d better get a decent post up in case any of his million followers check me out, and B) showed me […]
Choosing a Campsite When You Anticipate Neighbors
We’re at a small county campground in SW Michigan that’s unusual: instead of being part of a popular county park with a playground or whatnot, it’s on land leased from the state wildlife and game preserve (I believe; the brochure we picked up is complicated). What I do know is it’s out in the woods, […]
A Proper Update
I feel guilty that so many friends opened that last post looking for an update on my medical questions, only for me to say, “I don’t want to talk about it.” I really was overwhelmed with, shall we say, unproductive feelings. Even now as I try to draft a better response, I find myself rambling […]
Bluegrass, Blue Ridge, Orange Sky, Fireflies
Perfect moment report! Tracy and I were standing on the mountain ridge at this Airstream campground in southwest Virginia, watching the sun set. Just the right amount of distant clouds were over the Blue Ridge so that soft stretches of orange and pink were occasionally punctuated with striations of neon. Half the sky shifted in […]
Dipping into a Different RV Lifestyle
We’re at a gorgeous Airstream-only campground (not the one we usually go to, although that’s up soon). This one’s near Roanoke, Virginia, up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so the elevation has cured our heat-dome woes for a bit. What an abrupt change in lifestyle for us! It’s not like we’ve come here from months […]
Navigating a Hipcamp in the Heat
This week we’re parked at one of those brewery/winery/event spaces that are so popular with young, Eastcoast families with disposable income, this one near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and we chose it only because we were pretty desperate. It was a last-ditch plan because it’s part of the Harvest Hosts and Hipcamp listings that drive us bonkers: […]
Three Days at the Center of the Universe
Years ago when Tracy and I were drinking beer at Center of the Universe Brewing just a little north of Richmond, I looked over at the RV park across the street and thought, “Wouldn’t that be cool to stay there!” And, here we are, not really by choice, but it was where we could get […]
Home of the Elongated Diphthong
I’m rebel-born and rebel-bred, and when I die I’ll be a rebel dead. —cheerleading chant from where I grew up in central Virginia You’re lucky no one’s called you, ‘Yankee’ yet. —camphost in the old forests of Florida Does Mama drive the truck? —old guy to Tracy, pointing at me Sissy needs a new diaper, […]
Primo Camping Spots from 4 Years on the Road
I’m really digging this retrospective series here. I’ve put all the four-year posts I’ve compiled, so far, on this page, if you’re into them, too. This theme was suggested by my friend Matt, but I’ve struggled to figure out criteria. “Camping sites” usually means in campgrounds, and there aren’t that many I’ve even liked. I have […]
