MAY 6, 2017, ON THIS DAY ONE YEAR AGO….

We hit the road for the adventure of a lifetime. 

So much has happened, so many plans have changed and we have learned so much it is all hard to put down in words, but here goes.

People have asked me if traveling full time is what I expected it to be, the answer is yes and no.  How is that for an answer?  We have done and learned so much it is hard to sum it all up. 

One thing is for certain with traveling full time, if you don’t like a travel plan wait five minutes it will change.

From the very first day, when instead of getting away early in the day as planned we didn’t do it until mid-afternoon life has been basically go with the flow. That is okay though, because we are retired and have no set place we have to be at any certain time.  We make as few reservations as possible so if Murphy of Murphy’s Law pops up from his place in the back seat to misbehave we aren’t out a deposit or stressing about getting to a campground on time.

A prime example is our plan to spend quality time at Williamsburg, VA.  We headed that direction last fall, only to be met by Hurricane Matthew and turned away.

This spring we decided we would head directly up there from Florida and we actually are at Newport News, VA right now, and have been for around two weeks.  We leave first thing tomorrow and have yet to make it into Williamsburg due to weather and all the other site seeing we have been doing. So Williamsburg and Washington, DC are on our travel plans for this coming fall.  We will see if we get there then.

Murphy hits in the form of flats, a lost wheel, a lost truck rear end, a stolen truck, trailer repairs, broken eye glasses, sheer exhaustion and so much more have changed our travel plans on numerous occasions. 

Some of those visits from Murphy were enough to make us consider for a nano second tucking our tails and going back to the farm to hide for the rest of our lives.  Like I said for a nano second.  We aren’t quitters and for the most part enjoy all that we do as we travel.

So far we have proven ourselves to be time travelers of sorts.  Thanks to museums, amusement parks, and archeology sites we have visited from 900 AD at the Mitchell,SD Prehistoric Indian site

to far in the future at Walt Disney World.

 In between we have gone to school with Laura Ingalls Wilder,

fought in all the wars our nation has participated in,

 visited with Andrew Jackson in his home,

listened to Dolly Parton at Dollywood.

We even tried to get the secret recipe from Duke at Bush Beans.

One of our biggest entertainments is enjoying the diverse landscapes as we travel the country.  From the green hills ofArkansas

 to the Palo Duro Canyon of TX,

 the stone bluffs of the Badlands,

 to the beaches of Galveston, TX.

  Let’s not forget the Great Smokey Mountains.

 The landscape is constantly changing. 

We have yet to do the Little Sahara and the Great Salt Flats in Oklahoma in our retirement travels, nor the great southwest.  So there is much more to see.

Another great thing we have done is visit with friends, both old and new.  There are no words to describe how much delight this has brought us.

Of course there have been some down times. The biggest of which was the sudden loss of my brother in law.

 Luckily we were close enough to Oklahoma at the time we were able to scoot home for the funeral.  While when my cousin passed we weren’t able to do so.

Nor were we there to say good-bye to an ancient beloved cat as he took his last ride to the vet. 

These times were hard, but life happens when you least expect it and so does death.

We have learned so much in our travels.  Not only about camping life but about unusual things and words.

Before this last year of traveling we never knew there was a point in history a ten hour watch.  Nor had I pondered the meaning of toothsome (tasty).  Yet touring two different museums these two items and many more were made known to us.  Travel is educating.

Speaking of toothsome, we have created so many tasty meals traveling and using dried foods it is amazing.  I know Gary was a little reluctant when I suggested we fill our cupboards with dried foods instead of can goods to save on weight and space, not to mention money.

Now he is very adept at creating such meals himself and wonders why we hadn’t been using dried eggs for baking all our married life, or at least all the camping we have done throughout our 44 years as husband and wife.

One year on the road and we have barely made a dent in our dried food storage, where we would have had to purchase massive amounts of canned and frozen foods in that same time period.

Another thing we have learned is less is more.  We have learned to cook for just two now without leftovers to worry about squeezing into our tiny refrigerator. 

You can get through cooking a meal without having every single appliance, pot, pan and utensil that Bed Bath and Beyond sells and do so quite easily.

Teamwork is essential when you are together 24/7, whether it is cooking a meal or replacing the landing gear on the fifth wheel.

 Working together we can accomplish just about anything.  We can even survive driving through Houston, Texas!

I have been asked more than once what would be the one piece of advice I would give anyone starting out on this adventure.  My response “have a large emergency fund and then double what you think is big enough and you might get close to what you need”. We had a huge one thank goodness.  We are now in the process of rebuilding it to an even larger amount, just in case.

While you may not have the same breakdowns we have had, you will have them.  Every camper we have spoken with on that subject says they were in no way prepared for all the “little” things that popped up their first year, and even subsequent years on the road.  Having an easily accessible emergency fund is essential while traveling.  Don’t leave home without it

With all our ups and downs this last year we discussed this morning whether or not there would be a year two of travel.  We both agreed whole heartedly that as long as we can physically and safely do it we will keep moving on down the highway learning, seeing and enjoying all this great country has to offer.

To quote Gary this morning “We’ve barely scratched the surface of all the things there are to see and do in this United States of America.”

THE HERMITAGE, ANDREW JACKSON’S HOME

For those of you just joining our travels I should warn you we visit a lot of historical and natural sites, although we do also visit amusement parks.

In all our years together Gary and I have often visited various historical homes.  This was our first visit to the Hermitage and we were not disappointed.  

We scheduled a whole day to visit it properly and were certainly glad we did.  In fact toward the end of our walk around the grounds we were offered a ride on a golf cart back to the main buildings by a docent and we gladly accepted it due to the heat and quite frankly we were tired.

From the parking lot you enter the information center where you purchase your tickets.  It is a self-guided audio tour that allows you to move at your own pace.  The ticket price for adults is $20 or for seniors age 62 and up $17. Active military and children under five are free. This is a privately owned historical site so your national parks pass will not get you a discount.

We started our tour in the information center reading the displays prior to buying our audio tour tickets.  Doing so refreshed our memory on the events in Andrew Jackson’s life and in what was going on in the world in general at that time.

Once we had finished the displays we paid for our tickets and were given instructions on how the unit and the audio tour worked.

Quite frankly I loved how they had the audio tour set up.  As you came to different sign posts or information kiosks you put in the appropriate number for adult or child and listened to various voices portraying different visitors and residents of the Hermitage telling you not only what you were looking at but information on the history or use of the item and/or location.

Yes, there was a segment especially for the younger visitors, but I must admit I often listened to both the adult and children’s playback to get all the information. 

It was well done and very interesting.  It also had where you could sometimes click another number after listening to the main section to get more information.  By doing it in such a manner your tour could be as long or as short as you wanted it to be.

I loved how they spoke of every day life things, or how the wall paper was chosen and so much more.

The grounds were beautiful and well maintained and the audio tour would often tell you of maintenance, and events that took place on the grounds.

Approximately in the middle of the tour you get a guided tour of the mansion itself. They take people in as a group and a docent tells you much of the history of the place.  You are given sufficient time to look around in each section, for which we were thankful.  You are free to ask questions of the costumed tour guides and will receive detailed answers to your questions.  Again a major plus, there was no rushing around.

In fact you are even given a chance to view in closets and such at the original wall paper to see how well the restoration team had done on copying the wall paper to match in the public use areas, where they had for reason or another had to replace the wall paper.

One warning to those with disabilities there are a lot of stairs to climb and descend in the house tour.

The final part of the guided tour for the home takes you through a rear exit door where you can view the summer kitchen and other areas you did not see in the guided tour.  It also allows you to continue on the other half of your self guided tour.  Along the way are many kiosks, or signs that show where various buildings that no longer exist had been located. 

These information centers, along with the audio tour help make the area come alive and realize how hard the slaves of the time worked, as well as how crowded some of their conditions were. Even the sights and smells are discussed.

It was very eye opening, even with all the early American history we have studied throughout our lives.

From the main house you go past the spring house then on back through the grounds along a long winding trail that leads you to where an encampment had been and much more.  This trail slowly winds you back toward the main house.

Luckily there are benches and shade along the way to allow for you to sit and relax and just watch nature as it parades by.

It was toward the end of this trail we hitched the ride back up to the museum and parking lot.  All in all we both felt we got our $17 each worth.