We are back in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. We are drawn to this region for many reasons: the culture, the mountains, the hiking, good food, and most importantly, the climate. Rarely does it get overly hot or cold here. Which must be the reason why real estate this area is so expensive!
It's hard to believe, but when we got to Asheville in March it was snowing out!
Since arriving, we've been very busy. My (Hana's) family came to visit us in
May. We had fun doing Asheville touristy things, like visiting
Biltmore, exploring the River Arts District, and, of course, hiking. It was great seeing family after so long alone on the road!
River Arts District - Hana & Erin
James and I have been exploring the area on our own, as well:
The Asheville Arboretum. Highly recommend!
Tigerlily, and wild berries picked right off the Appalachian trail.
A lot has happened in the last few months. For one, my job that I had
been working remotely for the last two years ended :`(. It's
understandable that they would want someone to work there in the office,
and I'm not ready to move back to Michigan now, or ever, probably, so I
need to find something new to do. It's daunting, terrifying, exciting,
and a bunch of other emotions all wrapped in one. Ultimately, I knew
going into this that I would need to find a new career, but I
hadn't quite gotten that far yet.
Luckily, James got a new job in town so we're not out on the street... yet! That leaves us with the problem of only having one car at the moment.
Our goal in coming to Asheville this time around was to look for a place to stay permanently. We're done with our trip, and need to do SOMETHING else, anything else, as we look ahead to the future. While it would be awesome to keep traveling, it's just too expensive, especially if you don't have jobs that can be done easily online.
As with all things in life, nothing is easy. We've had an extremely difficult time trying to find a place to buy. The real estate market is just as intense here as it was in Ann Arbor when we left (that being one of the reasons whey we left). We are still looking, but a little pessimistic about the whole thing.
I guess this is not a very exciting or uplifting update, but that's life. Life on the road is not always 24/7 excitement and adventure. Sometimes it sucks, just like regular, boring, live-in-a-house-work-in an-office life does (sometimes). We will continue to post updates. Here's hoping for a little luck and direction!
The river that runs through our campground.
We took a day trip to Greenville, SC, which is actually a pretty nice city! They have a beautiful park that runs through the downtown area.
Of course, James has been busy working on his guitars, and business is steady!:
This post is a little belated, but I thought I would post a few pics
from out voyage through Georgia and South Carolina on our way back to
Asheville. We stopped just outside of Savannah at a nice little
campground on a lake. It was a quiet few weeks there as we were too far
from Savannah to go into town often, but we had a nice, relaxing time.
Next stop was Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is a great city, and I wish we could have spent more time there. The city itself is beautiful- parks, waterfront, and tons of old architecture. There were about a million good looking restaurants, which we only got the chance to try two, but both were very good which was a relief after months of bad restaurant experiences. I would LOVE to come back and visit here again!
-Hana
Charleston ended up being a pleasant city to visit, and the old historic
feel reminded me a lot of Savannah. I would say that South
Carolina and Georgia feel like the same state in most areas. We stayed in an RV park & campground on the outskirts of town which we had high expectations for since it was in a
wooded area and a bit on the expensive side.
The reality was it was a busy area, but the large property was wooded.
Our site was right across from the laundry, which would go daily from
around 2 or three until midnight or so. The days were warm and I kept
the windows closed. If you know me, by now you are well aware of my
sensitivities. Our neighbors were mostly long-term, and seemed to think
particle board made good kindling for their nightly bonfires. While it
seemed dodgy we were left alone and nobody bothered us. I made friends
with some ducks who hung around a lot after I fed them.
Charleston
is a busy town with a a lot of traffic. As for
restaurants, there seemed to be no shortage of expensive places with
one word titles like "Toast" - a trend I am expecting to die any day now. There were a
multitude of cafes, all brandishing an original twist on their menu which utilized terms like "local", "farm fresh", "elevated", "a step above", etc.
which is all good, but so overemphasized by the hipster type crowd that
Hana and I can't help ourselves but make jokes. "Local" I learned years
ago is also a gimmick that is used the same way that the gluten free
label is used on everything from bottled water to yogurt. Coffee places
will advertise "locally ground and brewed" knowing that most consumers
are not going to give it much thought. For the most part these mid
range "local" places do offer a creative spin and are the healthier
choice as opposed to the many other msg-happy options out there where
everything is kept frozen.
Hana and I went to
the museum at Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. There is a lot of conflicting information out there on Abraham Lincoln.
Based on what I have read slavery wasn't the real cause for the civil war,
but a good cause to hide behind. There always has to be a "good cause" in order to get a lot of people to kill one another for the sake of
that cause. The reality is there is always more to it, and the sinister
intentions go beyond what is presented to the public to get them to accept all
this killing. Growing up as a kid we always heard about how great Honest
Abe was. Later on I read his writings in letters which were
insinuating that he wasn't. Overall I look at him like I do Kennedy, or
MLK, who tried to break away from all the corruption and do something
good, and was assassinated for it. I think the same goes for Lincoln. I
wasn't there,
but if he was assassinated he must have been trying to do something
right. Nonetheless, you can see how this city was built as a fortress
for war times, and can still find remnants of spiked gates and barricades all
over. Overall I would say Charleston is a city I would visit
again.
I learned that the mosquito, or
gnat, is the "state bird" for South Carolina. I did leave (as I did last
year) with bites from gnats that lasted for weeks. -James
View of our RV park pool vs the view from a certain house in Bellaire, MI :)
Well folks it has been 2 months in Florida and I find myself asking where did the time go? I hear thats the way it gets as you get older. I kept myself a lot busier than I thought making guitars which went out the door as fast as I made them. I worked up until dusk every day, visited with Hana a couple hours, spent a couple hours with dad, and at night soaked in the hot tub and went for a swim. After swimming every night I was able to 13 of the extra pounds I gained the past year, which I am afraid will come back. I also found after those daily soaks in chlorine that I had considerably less hair on my arms and legs. I was at first wondering why the drains were clogged by clumps of short fine hair.
I made guitars for dad and Rosann, and was happy to see that they became more than folk art on the wall. Dad picked up playing a lot faster than I expected and both of them have been enjoying their gits. One thing I have to say about these guitars is that they are perfect for anyone who wants to play, but doesn't want to spend hours a day learning how to play a standard six string. The strings are spaced farther apart on the three string, and since they are tuned to an open g chord all one has to do is hold a finger across any fret to form other chords. There are many other chord formations, but to put it briefly you can learn some basics and get the feeling for it in an hour or so if you have never played any instrument. Pretty much anyone willing to dedicate a little time can learn to play one without spending all the hours you would getting used to a six string.
We took a 25 mile trip a few times to the flea market in Mount Dora, which is a charming little town with a nice park on the water. Flea markets are a pretty big deal in Florida, and a great way to spend the afternoon and get a deal on farm fresh eggs.
After falling in love with an acoustic guitar in Savannah I was able to get it in florida. I know I am not Willie, but I still want to name the git as my affection for the dark, mahogany bodied guitar with and open pore finish has my affection. Out of all the guitars I played in my life, this one feels perfect for me and sounds great. It is slightly smaller than my last one with a dreadnaught body. To me it is a blues fingerpicker's dream come true. I am getting deeper into learning ragtime and peidmont style blues, and this git has made it so I can improve at a much faster pace. Also by making these folk guitars I feel like I am finding my nitch in old american folk culture and music. So while my name isn't Willie, and the git isn't 50 years old with a hole in it (named Trigger), I am leaning to calling this git that I love more than a steel resonator Dobro I owned years ago, Frankie. I didn't go towards a female name because I have enough estrogen in my life as it is with two girls in a 31 ft rv.
I am not going to go too deep into the negative, but I did find myself interrogated by a small party of drunk, golden age vigilantes wanting to know who I was. They surrounded me on two golf carts when I was walking to dads at 7 pm. I was cooperative, but when they decided to trail 20 ft behind me I started to get aggravated, and invited them to ride up next to me. It was then I was accused of having a backpack full of drugs. When I started to question who they are and what they had in the golf carts they sped off. Dad wanted to see who this group was, so he rode me on the golf cart to their little drinking party. They again voiced their fear of what was in my backpack, and dad asked if they would be less scared if I carried a purse. There was one clown with a big mouth who had stood up and pretended to want to fight, claiming he had "been to the rodeo a few times." He was about as threatening as humpty dumpty, and all it took was a 70 year old woman to put her hand on his stomach to hold him back. There were a few more cases I ran into this type of interrogation, but at the end of the day laughed it off. There are a lot worse threats out there in the world than a few cranky old folks.
Since the grocery shopping in our area wasn't all that great for some reason (and expensive), I was happy to find the folks at Bountiful Farms, a family run farm and market just down a mile from our park. There I was able to buy organic cabbage, along with other vegetables and beef that they had available in their charming, rustic market. If you are stopped in Leesburg I would recommend dropping in. Not only do they have a great selection of quality produce without the chemicals or engineering, but you will be supporting a wonderful, hardworking family. Sisters Ginny and Jessica are always running the market. They are knowledgable about natural remedies, and will be happy to help you out in any way they can. They are also very cheerful and warm, which makes you happy to support their business and enjoy shopping there. I had the pleasure meeting Garette, Jessica's husband, as he was purchasing one of my gits after Ginny had commissioned me to make one for her boyfriend Micheal. By the end of the stay I got to be friends with the family, and often pray that their crops will be profitable for them. If you do stop in be sure to send them my love.
This year we were happy to find that a gopher turtle moved from the lot across the street from ours. We were honored to have him. he spent most of his time in a large tunnel that he dug. Wayne, our neighbor from Canada, would be over every morning leaving food for the turtle. I am pretty sure he grocery shopped for the turtle specifically, buying him spinach and watermelon. We were also happy to have Wayne next to us again this year.
The bird watching is also great if you go out on a boat into the rivers and canals. Wayne invited us out one afternoon where we got to see many pretty birds that I don't remember the names of.
It is once again sad to leave after a visit with family. 62 days felt like a sneeze in the park. I am glad I was busy and made some work for myself, but as life often goes I find myself wishing I would have done some things a little different. It is easy to get focused on something and have the time slip by without you knowing it. That is what happens in life, and while we often try to write the script before-hand, things just turn out differently.
I didn't fish much, forgetting that my license from last year was still good. When I finally got the time to fish during our final week I realized the license had expired a few days before.
Dad and I took more golf cart rides in the afternoon at first, but not the last month or so as I had tried to get the most out of the daylight hours building guitars. It was a boost for my self esteem to get busy with some work, especially on my own rather than working for someone else. I guess that is how life goes. It passes before us quicker than we think. I am wishing now that I could just walk over to Dad's but there are hours between us. I was glad to see him and Rosann enjoying their guitars, and it was great to be able to worship with them while we held our own sabbath services friday evenings and saturday afternoons. I would go to visit them every night,and it was heartwarming to see their 1 year old snauzer, Ziggy, watching for me at the front door. I am sure going to miss that beautiful boy. Dad, Rosann and I also had a great time making music on our guitars. It was great for me to see them enjoying themselves while learning to make music. I also let them borrow my amplifier, which they really seemed to get a bang out of.
So with a few tears and hole in my heart I can hear Willie singin "On the Road Again" as we push forward into our search and adventure. Such is life as we move forward and our experiences are never what we expect, sometimes giving, sometimes taking, but in the end all part of the plan.
-James
Little RV project done by Hana
We'll leave you with this bird we caught trying to break into a car.. orrr trying to fight it's own reflection:
This month brought us to hurricane ravaged Tybee Island, Georgia. Our RV park was just getting cleaned up and reopened after the storm, but was packed to the brim anyway. The sides of the roads were piled high with debris and it seemed like every house in town had roof replacement underway. The main pier was closed, unfortunately, as well as a few of the beach access boardwalks. Coincidently, it seemed like every other house was for sale. Bad timing!
The park, Rivers End, was nice but crowded. James was able to take full advantage of the workout room, something that is not offered at most other RV parks. The pool was closed, however, which is to be expected. Most parks advertise a pool, but they are almost NEVER in working order.
Making friends with one of the many feral cats on the island.
Despite the fact that Tybee is only about a 20 minute drive from downtown Savannah, it feels well removed from all the hustle and bustle of the city. There are no fast food chains here, and it is legal to drive your golf cart on the street. The town is very walkable. We were able to go everywhere from our RV site (the main drag, the beach, the park downtown), which was nice since since parking is very limited here.
Fort Pulaski (yes, they let dogs tour the facilities!)
James tried his hand at ocean fishing this month, but didn't have a whole lot of luck with the pier being closed. He almost got a giant crab, but of course they let go of the line before being brought in!
Now we are headed to Florida, and after a few days of 50 degree weather I'm ready for the heat again! We may have a new project coming up next month, so stay tuned!
Well folks, it has been one interesting year. The time has flown by, yet it feels like we have always been living this way. Some places my heart longs to be, while others I hope I never see again. Some places were unexpectedly great, while others that are supposed to be great are just too crowded. Sometimes it felt tiring to pack everything up and go all the time, while other times it felt good to step on the gas and go. Kansas and Missouri; thanks for the dance, hope I never see you again. Texas; I am going to eat a 72 ounce steak the next time I cross your border.
This past year I was also blessed with the opportunity to learn a couple skills. I taught myself how to fingerpick on the guitar, now I never want to touch a pick again. I also learned to build guitars. I think I may be somewhat of a better fisherman. I caught my share of trout in Arkansas, and was able to keep the freezer full.
If you have been following the blog you will know by now I hate cities, crowds, or just about any crowded town. I do like being able to get good groceries and bulk herbs, but I just don't like being around a lot of people. Asheville felt a lot like Ann Arbor to me, but we stayed about 20 miles out of the town in the mountains. We had a nice winding drive up and down the mountain to get to where we camped. Hana hated the drive, while I didn't mind. The payoff for me is seclusion. Can't get enough of it. I didn't fish or build a guitar a single day this month since I had the opportunity to hike through some nice trails as the leaves changed color.
I am really going to miss these hills in Appalachia, and hope to return. I learned a couple traditional songs of the area which I hope to play and sing for you, and wrote one of my own inspired by the area. I am also going to miss the farm store where I could get all hormone free grass fed protein. I stocked up the freezer on liver since it was priced so well and hard to find elsewhere minus the chemicals. Liver is really high in b vitamins, and is pretty much considered a superfood. I also got some yummy blueberry maple sausages which I am going to miss. They just take your senses to a place called home when they sizzle and the maple scent fills the air.
We may be returning to this area. I hope so. It was my second to favorite to Taos, New Mexico. There is also a bit of a drought here and all the streams are dried up in the hills, but while they don't match the beauty of the snowy trails I walked in Taos, I did not have to look out for any wildcats. I am really going to miss the hills, but look forward to seeing my Dad, Rosanne, and their new puppy Ziggy in a month.
All in all it has been a good year. I have to give thanks to God for the experience, the multitude of fish I caught, as well as the protection when Frankie and I faced a wildcat in Taos, or when a footlong stone fell off a truck and bounced off the windshield right in front of my face. I have eaten a lot of good food, and it shows. I have seen some beautiful places, and have made some friends along the way, some of which I still think about from time to time, hoping they are doing well.
-James
Blue Ridge Mountain views
It's been just over 1 year on the road now. We've had ups and downs. There have been times I wondered what we were doing, and times that I wished the trip would never end. Part of me wants to keep traveling forever, and part of me wants to settle down.
We've been to a lot of beautiful places in this country; mountains, coastlines, canyons, and forests.. Every place is different but the same too, and nowhere is perfect. A perfect place is something you make. That or you'll spend your whole life looking for the next best thing. As a person who gets bored easily and never quite feels fulfilled, I don't know if I'll ever truly be satisfied or have the feeling that I've found what I'm looking for. Maybe I like the adventure, the not knowing what's next.
Smoke fills the sky, and ash falls down like snow flakes as we prepare to leave Asheville this chilly fall morning. Yet again, we leave on the heels of a raging forest fire just a few miles away as we did in Idaho. That's one thing I've never experienced in Michigan..
Next we are heading to Savannah to stay on the coast for a month, and then on to Florida. I definitely can't complain about skipping winter 2 years in a row ;). In fact, I've become dangerously used to having pleasant weather all year-round.
Thanks to everyone who supported our trip and followed the blog during the course of the year. We'll try to continue posting if we have something worth posting. As to what our future holds, your guess is as good as mine :).
-Hana
BEST OF our travels, 2016
We in no way set out to find the best of anything, but here's what we discovered along the way:
Best Restaurants:
Cotton: West Monroe, Louisiana
Monell's: Nashville, Tennessee
Char Bar: Kansas City, Missouri
Biscuit Head: Asheville, North Carolina
Miguel's: Slade, Kentucky
The Big Texan: Amarillo, Texas
Orlando's: Taos, New Mexico
Best Pastries
Frank's Bakery: Amarillo Texas
Best Burger (this one was all James)
James Ranch: Durango, Colorado
Best RV Park:
Tom Sawyer: Memphis, Tennessee
Best State/National campground:
Crab Orchard Campground, Illinois
Pokagon State Park, Indiana
Best State/National park:
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Wichita Mountains Refuge Center, Oklahoma
Best Fishing:
Hot springs, Arkansas
Worst City:
Wichita, Kansas
Best Overall City:
Taos, New Mexico
Asheville, North Carolina
Savannah, Georgia
Lastly, the two things you'll find in EVERY state/city in this country without question? Cows and Walmart.
Last week was my birthday (big 3-0) and James decorated the whole RV with streamers, pom poms, and balloons. He also got me a delicious carrot cake, yum! It was a simple but very nice birthday in the woods.
Frankie keeping me company in the office.
This stop took us to the Shawnee Nation Forest in souther Illinois. We came in with no expectations, only knowing that we had found a rare and coveted campground with full hookups.
As a caveat, we are completely sick of RV parks at this point. They just aren't good. We spent most of the summer in RV parks since it was the busy tourist season and most campgrounds were fully booked for weeks or months into the future. If you know where you are going to be at a certain time it's great to be able to make reservations, but we didn't and couldn't. So we spent the summer crammed into parks with other rv-ers, the ever-present smell of sewer chemicals wafting in the air, no hiking trails, no real nature to speak of. Many times these parks are on the side of a busy highway. In other words, state and national park campgrounds are WAY better. The spaces are huge, you are on the water most of the time, hiking is available without first having to drive somewhere, and they have a much more festive vibe. People love to hang lights and decorations in campgrounds (lots and lots of lights). It's like Christmas all year round. For some reason absolutely no-one hangs up lights in RV parks.
Garden of the Gods, one of the Shawnee highlights.
Our campground these last two weeks was a nice reprieve. Shawnee Forest is huge! It spans most of the souther tip of Illinois, with tons of hiking trails. We visited a lot of them, but we'd have to stay in the area for months to see everything, it's that big.
James finally got out his fishing poles again this week after months without fishing. We were staying right on a lake, so he was able to get out there are a lot and ended up catching a few bass.
It was mushroom mania this week!
Today we are headed back to southern Kentucky where we've found yet another full hookup state park! Now that it's not summer we have our pick of parks, which is great. We really enjoyed Kentucky last year, so looking forward to going back as we head into the "official" final few weeks of our trip.
-Hana
RV of the Week:
An old-school Bluebird Wanderlodge, yes made by the bus company.
Destination: Kansas City & Mark Twain National Forest
When traveling for an extended period of time all places we stop at just simply can't be a trip to Wally World. Life just isn't like that. On our way to the appalachian trail outside of eating at a couple of good places in Kansas City, our excitement has been mostly taking the dogs for a walk down a street where the residents consider the road private dowmain, and will send their dogs out after you, even if they are just an obnoxious little pomeranian. We have been places where people burn their garbage, plastic and everything. This was a typical walk in Missouri; A man in his yard yelling at the neighbor's dog "I TOLD YOU TO GIT!" while the owner of the dog screams "AHHHHHHHH" at the tope of her lungs and blows her whistle, and an obnoxious pomeranian at our heels letting us know he wasn't standing for it.
The last week of Missouri we were in an area that is known for it's springs, but while we looked for a pipe to fill our jug the springs were small bubbling riverbeds where the water was clear. I was told by some locals that you just fill up your jugs right in the river.
If you are going through Missouri I would recommend stopping at the Three Springs RV Park. It is a peaceful little place where you have a nice sized lawn and an owner that goes beyond what is expected to accomodate you. There is a large bbq trailer in the pavilion, and the pit master Sue serves up some award winning bbq, including brisket and pulled pork. I was fortunate enough to receive a generous sample of this right after we arrived, and it lived up to the reputation for the bbq that Missouri is known for. As I said, this is a friendly place to stay and rest for a while.
Overall is has been hot and humid, and we haven't felt like doing much. It seems that one side of the country is bone dry, and the other is covered in a cloud of hot steam. Now we are on our way to southern Illinois to camp at a state park. This will be our first time in a campground for a long time and we are looking forward to it.
