Lunch Formation, on the Double!


West Point ChapelIt was nineteen seventy something or other when I remember driving right onto the West Point campus and climbing on the rocks while my father enjoyed mother’s famous Swiss Miss and bourbon “Cappucino” from a Thermos while waiting for the Black Knights to sink Navy, or beat Colgate. (Real men fight wars not cavities!) We would walk the parade grounds, run freely around all the statues, or check out the huge links of the Great Chain used to keep the British Navy from sailing up the Hudson.

Dad’s alumni ring probably helped us gain backstage campus access back then, but he’d probably need a lot more than that now to go anywhere other than on the guided bus tour. If he were alive, that is. But he’s not, so I had just had to return to West Point and check on another memory from my Right Coast childhood. But thanks to security initiatives put in place since 9/11, the public is no longer given free range among the cadets and pleebs.

West Point Parade Grounds

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Farmers and Philly Cheese Steaks at Reading Terminal Market

We went to Philadelphia last week, courtesy of our tour guide Brian, who was kind enough to take us there during a major rainstorm – with is two kids (is he a superdad or what?). There was only one place to go to in a downpour, with two small children, and that was the Reading Terminal Marketplace (pronounced “Redding” for the unfamiliar). What a treat!

This video includes an interview with a local farmer, Mennonites making pretzels, authentic Philly Cheesesteaks being made, and much more! We have also updated our Full-time RVing Videos page which now includes a playlist of all our interviews with local residents and business owners across the U.S.

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Focus on what you don’t want

Bob’s Country KitchenYou never know what lies down the road ahead. While this applies to much of life in general, it is especially important when you’re hungry.

When you don’t know what might be found around the bend, it is impossible to decide on exactly what you want. There might just be something better. There may be nothing at all. Either way, the odds are against you finding what you set your mind on.

We discovered a simple solution that may save you a lot of stress. Don’t get your mind set upon one particular thing, whether that be an old fashioned diner, roadside burger stand, or a family run pizzeria. You probably won’t find it. Instead, decide upon what you don’t want. Rule that out, and something good is bound to come your way.

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Where is my ubiquity?

Searching for a signalConsidering everything we can do with all the connectivity and communications technology of today, what’s really amazing is what we cannot. What happened to the last mile? Granted, escape is a great benefit of getting away. But one cannot expect to get away indefinitely unless totally self sufficient. Especially, if working from home means traveling full time. And why not? There is so much to see.

In other words, we must work, from the road. The biggest challenge of which is being connected. All the time. The defacto work week for the typical commuter is two days off, in a row, if you’re lucky. For those of us who commute from one line of sight to our satelite to the next, being cut off unexpectedly is a daily threat.

Entire idyllic communities like Humboldt county live in constant fear of losing their connection to the world. And they have high capacity fiber to the region. Well, one strand at least. My string is invisible and can be cut by any number of branches, including one.

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Paying the Rent

RV YardworkThere’s nothing like a good dose of yard work to reaffirm one’s choice to live a simpler life on the road. But it was the least we could do. After camping out in my sister’s yard for over a week, I figured I could at least mow their lawn to show my appreciation. Besides, René had already provided some pretty good housekeeping a couple times already. It was my turn.

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Batteries do go bad.

Arctic Fox Roof Solar and Satellite DishI’ve been mulling over a draft for a post about our custom RV solar power system for months, ever since we left the prime solar energy country of the southwest. It has just been working so well for us that we haven’t really had to think about it much. Then our batteries crapped out on us.

For the past few months, we have spending about half of our nights in state and national park campgrounds, without hookups. And we have easily been able to go eight hours or more without using our Honda 2000i generator to charge the batteries. Or longer if we had good exposure to the sun.

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Give me 40 acres and I’ll turn this rig around


Tight FitI must be getting good at this. Or just lucky. But I was able to maneuver our 24′ fifth wheel into my sister’s narrow driveway, in between a big tree and her house, without ripping off our rear view mirror or doing any other property damage. And not to pat myself on the back too hard, but I did keep it on the pavement and nearly squeezed it in there on the first attempt!

While the picture does show my most excellent parking job. It does not give justice to just how incredibly narrow this small residential street actually is. It’s one of those neighborhoods where you can only park on one side of the road or nobody can get by. Not to mention a Dodge Ram 2500 pulling a fifth wheel trailer.

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There’s no place like home.

Kind Stores

Perhaps that’s a good thing. But perhaps the reason we like Vermont so much, is that it reminds us of the last place we called home. After spending ten years in Humboldt County, CA, we were ready for a change. But finding a small town near abundant natural beauty with an open minded population of young creative individuals has been a challenge. Until we visited the Green Mountain State, that is.

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Know Your Limitations

Park Loop Road BridgeI’ve been meaning to write about this for quite some time now. But I guess I’ve just been putting it off in fear of triggering nightmares about the day we almost got stuck in Syracuse, NY. Literally.

After a long day of driving and one missed turn, we ended up amidst the suburban sprawl of outer Syracuse in stop and go traffic at rush hour. As we rounded one corner, I noticed a bridge and barely saw the 12′ 9″ low clearance sign with just enough time to take the last possible turn before heading under. While we might have made it through, it was just too close for comfort and wasn’t worth the chance. Our rig measures 12′ 5″ at the the tallest point. To know this is a good thing.

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