Author: Aventis

As we continued our journey up California, this day would take us to another beautiful and well known lake. The drive to get to Lake Tahoe took us up and around some beautiful snow covered mountains. As we got close to South Lake Tahoe we drove by the picture perfect Echo Lake. It was absolutely stunning.

Our friends Don and Mel are coming to meet up with us in Tahoe! The five of us and the dogs would be staying in an AirBNB. Our place had a nice spot right in the front of the house where we parked the RV for the five nights.

We were the first to arrive and waited eagerly for Don and Mel.

And once they arrived, the dogs would not leave them alone the whole time.

It was a great neighborhood for dog walks.

Our first outing was a drive around all of Lake Tahoe to check things out. This 72 mile drive took about 3 hours because of all the stops along the way. The lake was beautiful and so clear. Unfortunately, it was the height of pollen season and a green film covered everything, especially the top of the water.

Our meet up in Lake Tahoe was over 10 months in the making. We had been trying to find a place to see one of our favorite bands and we finally found it. We had a great time seeing Old Dominion in concert at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena, on an absolutely gorgeous night.

While in Tahoe, we enjoyed checking out the area establishments. There was no shortage of local breweries. In between brewery hopping, we found some fun local art galleries to explore.

We could not be so close to water and not be on it, so of course we rented a boat for the day. It was another glorious day, perfect to be on the water. We cruised around the lake and marveled at it’s beauty. Emerald Bay was definitely the place to be. We opened a few beverages and floated around. Notice I did not say swam around because the water was a cool 60F.

The dogs waited patiently at the house while we went out adventuring.

Until they finally passed out!

We got a little extra excitement while here. On our first night our rv had a visitor. A bear tried his best to get into the RV. He ripped the hand rail off, climbed up on the door and pushed the middle of the door in. There was no denying it was a bear. He left his foot prints. Every house has a bear box to put your trash in that locks. I guess that should have been a clue that the bears here mean business. It turns out that Hank the Tank was a pretty famous bear -he broke into over 20 homes and tried to in countless others (including our rv) before he was finally captured. We feel very fortunate that he only left his mark on the outside of the RV.

After a great week in Tahoe we said goodbye to Don and Mel and made our way to wine country in Napa, CA.

We made it just in time for July 4th.

We celebrated July 4th at the Napa hometown parade with front row seats at the local champagne bar. It reminded us of a Blowing Rock parade, but way better because of the great seats and tasty beverages.

One of the most unique things we have ever seen in a parade were the Los Diablos Oaxaquenos del Valle dance group. They were mesmerizing with their unique masks and customs. We could not take our eyes off them but at the same time were almost afraid to look at them.

As she experiences new and different places, Addie’s palette continues to expand. On this afternoon she was willing to try chicken wings for the first time and she enjoyed them!

Talk about being at home.

Around every corner and down every road, there are so many wineries to explore. Our tour began in Sonoma in the Anderson Valley. We had a date day, with our first tasting at Pangloss Winery and a second at Emeritus Winery. Each experience was unique from the wine to the accompaniments to the incredible views.

The next day Addie joined us and we soaked in the yummy goodies and beautiful views at Gundlach Bundschu Winery. It was a gorgeous day in the valley.

We decided to take our wine tasting up a notch and learn more about the process of making the wine. We toured through the wine cellars at Far Niente Winery before tasting 8 or so of their reserved wines along with perfectly paired crudités.

Then, at Darioush, we walked through the vineyard sipping wine and studying the grapes, before heading inside to savor 4 amazing wines that the chef had skillfully paired with exquisite cheese bites.

The last stop of the day landed us at Stags Leap Cellars. For this tasting, we had the best seats in the house. Situated on the patio, we had front row seats on a comfy couch looking out at the fields of grapes. It was a sensational day of learning, drinking and eating.

But at last it was time to move, but not too far – just a little north up to the Russian River Valley. California has a lot of wine regions and we were excited to try as many as we could.

We found our spot in Cloverdale, CA at the Thousands Trails campground. This was a first for us and probably a last. Thousand Trails have a first come first serve policy. You can reserve a site but you have not idea until you get there where or what kind of site you will get. You drive around the campground with the RV to find an open site. We grabbed the first site we saw that was long enough for us and relatively flat. These sites were so close to each other! Needless to say we were able to pass the Grey Poupon to our neighbors through an open window.

Before hitting more wineries, we decided to go see the Pacific coast so Ashley could visit the famous Fort Bragg Sea Glass Beach. It was an amazing drive through the giant redwood trees to get to the coast. These were our first views of both. The coastline of CA is so vastly different than what we know on the east coast.

Fort Bragg Sea Glass Beach did not disappoint. It felt great to be at the coast, smelling the salt air, feeling the wind in our hair and of course searching for sea glass treasures. The dogs loved it too. We even saw a few sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks.

After a fun morning of treasure hunting, we were all hungry and thirsty. Luckily we happened upon North Coast Brewing Company. Addie enjoyed the biggest fried shrimp she had ever had.

Our drive home took us through Anderson Valley. We made a quick stop at Lula Cellars Winery. The Pinot Noir was especially enjoyable on this pleasant afternoon.

Ashley used her new sea glass to make this tree of life.

Shannon had one last surprise up his sleeve. The first time we visited the Napa area in 2012 we tasted at Jordon as well as Silver Oak and have been big fans ever since. It was super fun to explore the cellars and see the inner workings at Jordon 11 years later. Then we enjoyed a private tasting at the newer Silver Oak location in Russian River Valley.

Addie and the dogs had a relaxing day at the RV while we were out wine tasting.

As a special treat to Addie for being such a good dog sitter, we all three went to Francis Ford Coppola Winery for dinner. She absolutely loves his movie, The Outsiders, and since that night she has vowed to watch as many of his movies as she can.

Having restocked our wine supply, we said goodbye to CA wine country and made our way to Myers Flats, CA in search of the giant redwood trees.

We lowered the stabilizers and put out the camp chairs at Giant Redwoods RV surrounded by a beautiful green background.

The coast of California is home to the Redwood National Park as well as three CA Redwood State Parks that all sort of function as one. We started our exploration at Humboldt Redwoods SP.

Excited to see and learn more about these huge trees, we were up early and on our way. With just one full day in the area, we wanted to make the most of it. We spent the morning checking out the Visitors Center as well as a few of the shorter hikes around the park. The redwood trees were absolutely amazing, so incredibly tall, most over 200ft with massive trunks and roots.

Then we spent the afternoon down by the river at the campground, cooling off in the crystal clear Eel River. Chance had a blast playing fetch with his ball in the water and Caper swam around checking things out.

The next day we drove to our next spot in Crescent City, CA. It was not exactly swimming weather at 59 degrees. We spent 3 nights at Village Camper Inn which gave us two days to explore and check things out.

Our adventure here started in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. We had to get a permit to visit Fern Canyon and Golds Bluff Beach, so we knew those were things we had to do. And so glad we did. Both were wonderful and unique. Fern Canyon was lush and green.

A short walk from the same parking lot led us to Gold Bluff Beach where a gang of elk were relaxing in the sea grass, enjoying the misty day. The beach provided many beautiful stones for collecting, but we were surprised at all the dead Dungeness crab on the beach.

We went in search of more big trees on our drive home and this is what we found… The BIG TREE!

Parched from all our explorations, it was time for refueling. Lucky for us, the highest rated restaurant in town just happened to be a brewery with great beer on tap.

On our last day in Redwoods National Park we discovered our favorite hike. We strolled through Stout Grove and soaked in the beauty of these giants. The peace and serenity we found here was like nowhere else. These giant trees are truly a wonder to be seen.

Our spot in Crescent City was super close to the coast. They have a very cool lighthouse on an island that most of the time at low tide you can walk over to and see. Unfortunately for us, the tides were never low enough for us to check it out up close during our stay.

We had a great time exploring California over the past few weeks. Our hunt for new and wonderful sights proved very rewarding. So many awesome wonders to discover and enjoy. Excited to know that we will be spending even more time in CA in a few months. For now, our travels will continue to take us north. Oregon here we come!

After saying goodbye to Ella in Las Vegas, we continued our journey west. A three hour drive took us into another new state, California.

We landed in Barstow, CA at a KOA. We were in the hot sandy desert.

We enjoyed some very nice sunsets.

Not a lot to do in Barstow, but we did manage to find an old ghost town just a few miles from our campground. The town of Calico was inhabited back in the late 1880’s. They mined silver here for about 15 years until silver lost it’s value. It sat uninhabited until the 1950’s when Walter Knott (of Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park) purchased it and restored it. In 2005 it became recognized as a historical landmark by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After exploring Barstow, we were back on the road. The landscape continues to change as we move west. Our view on this day was very flat and dry.

We landed at Mountain Valley RV Park for a quick two night stay at a little campground right off the highway in the quaint town of Tehachapi, CA. We backed up to a tiny airport and a huge windmill farm.

The neat thing about the airport was they offered glider rides and lessons on how to pilot small planes. This was a first for Ashley and Addie to see gliders and how they actually fly.

We saw something else here we have never seen before. One of the people who lived full time on the property had a pet ostrich. Everyday brings new things on this journey!!

The beauty of these flat desert landscapes lend themselves to some amazing sunsets.

Feeling recharged after a day of projects, errands and a trip to the local farmer’s market, we were excited to continue on our journey. We had more National Parks to explore. Along our route it was fascinating to see how the process of drilling for oil on land takes place.

A little farther down the road the landscape changed again – to lots of vineyards! We are getting closer to wine country. At one point we could see a huge cloud of smoke. Not sure exactly what was causing this fire, but we watched in fear that it would burn the grapevines.

The remainder of our drive continued to make an impression on us. The last 30 miles put us on Highway 49, a narrow, windy, two lane road where every curve encouraged us to slow to 10-15 mph. It took us almost an hour and a half and to make things worse, we passed the campground entrance by a mile with no options to turn around so we had to back up that mile to get to Sequoia Resort and RV Park. Good thing the road wasn’t busy. Needless to say our nerves were shot by the time we parked.

The campground was very rustic and in need of a good mowing. We had a lovely spot at the end with a nice view. They had a good concept with a small lake, volleyball net, gathering area and even a tire swing. It was one of those places where the dogs just stayed dirty. The good thing for the campground is that it is close to Sequoia National Park.

Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park are connected through one entrance on the northwest side. Once you enter, you can either go north to Kings Canyon or go about 30 miles south to Sequoia. We had two days to explore, so our first day we headed to Sequoia to see some of the “largest” trees in the world, General Sherman and the Sentinel. They are deemed largest based on their mass. Some of the trees here are over 2500 years old and over 250 feet tall. They are amazing trees as they are able to survive fire. It actually helps them with the process of new growth by clearing the land around them and releasing their seeds. We hiked on just over 10 miles on several trails around the park to see the sights. We went from walking among the tall trees, to cliffs of some of the highest peaks. We even ventured around the grassy meadows and were lucky enough to see a mama beer and her cub snacking on some lunch.

The next day in Kings Canyon brought us even more spectacular sites. The area got its name because of its magnificent landscape, enormous trees, and vast lush, green valley with amazing views of Hume Lake, located at the base. This park had a great museum, lodge, Christian retreat center and even a few restaurants. The facilities here seemed much newer than in Sequoia.

It was a great two days exploring the parks. A fun Father’s Day weekend.

Our drive leaving this area on our way to Yosemite National Park put us back on Highway 49, that crazy small, windy road for the first 20 miles of the trip. Honking our way through the curves to make sure the oncoming traffic knew we were coming, we finally made our way on to what we thought were more suitable roads for the RV. Turns out this day’s 88 mile drive was not going to be an easy one either. It took close to 3 hours because of all the hills and curves. We put Aventis’ axels and tires to the test exploring this area.

Excited to see what Yosemite had to share with us we entered the park at the south entrance and began our day exploring the southern area of the park. Starting in the Mariposa Grove, we marveled at the giant sequoias. But we were a bit saddened from the scars of the recent fires and took note of the need to do controlled burns to promote new growth. We continued on to the Wawona Visitor Center to get our passport stamp and learn more about the history of the park. From there we checked out the Pioneer Yosemite History Center, where we enjoyed viewing some of the first buildings constructed in the park in the late 1800’s. Next, we hiked up for a better view of the Chilnualna Falls.

After a fun first day of checking things out, we were ready for some refreshments. We did not have to go far to find some tasty brews and yummy bites.

The next day we decided to change things up and enjoy a different part of the landscape. We enjoyed a fabulous day of kayaking around Bass Lake. The temperature was perfect and the water very refreshing on our feet. We even found a tiki bar right by the dock.

One unexpected surprise of this journey has been seeing all the different kinds of wildflowers. It started in Texas in late March, the flowers have continued to awe and astonish us through the past few months. Ashley could not resist keeping some of these beauties for herself.

Headed back into the park, we knew we had to get up early to beat the crowds. We were ready for a full day of hiking around the Yosemite Valley Area. Because the park is so popular and they do not have enough parking, they use a bus system to facilitate the process of getting around this area. We took off by foot hiking around the Valley and did not stop until the middle of the afternoon when we all decided we could not go another step. We were thankful for the bus to get us back to our car.

Below is our favorite captured memory. Believe it or not, this is a real picture that Shannon took of Upper Yosemite Falls from across the meadow and reflected in a pond.

Our time visiting Yosemite was split between two campgrounds. The idea was to enjoy the park from the south entrance for a few days and then spend a few days in the northwest area of the park. Our drive from lower Yosemite to the upper area was another nail biter of a drive. Shannon always researches and studies our routes. We even use a special GPS system that knows our length and height requirements so we do not end up on a road that will not work for us. The path we were taking today is called the Golden Chain and it is an amazing stretch of highway with incredible views, but it was also very windy. Thank goodness it was not as narrow as Highway 49.

One benefit of having so many days in one park is that you can do all the most popular activities and also the less sought out ones. The northern most entrance, Hetch Hetchy dead ends into the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. It has three stunning waterfalls as well as the dam. We had been amazed by all the different water experiences we had encountered throughout the park and this day was no different. We hiked the 2 miles up and around the reservoir to Tueeulala Falls, but could not continue on to Wapama Falls. Because of the extra high snowfall this past winter only those who were willing to get very wet traveling under the fierce falls hiked on.

We had the biggest and best spot of the campground, located directly in the middle of all the sites. Because of this we could not hide – we talked to more people here than we have in the past 10 campsites.

Taking a day to rest our bodies, we go in search of some water we can enjoy for the day. On our way the views are spectacular. Just a mile or so from the campground was a beautiful watering hole, but with all the snow melt this year the water is too dangerous for us to play in.

We did more hiking in Yosemite – can’t get enough of this amazing park! Up early again to get in the park before the crowds, the plan was to take in more of the amazing sites. We hiked up, up, up to Vernal Falls. However, we were not prepared with rain slickers or water shoes to enable us to get up in the waterworks.

Our time at Yosemite came to an end and it was time to move on. All the water has been just incredible. We are headed to Lake Tahoe, but have a one night layover in Jackson, CA at Jackson Rancheria RV Park.

A new state and a new kind of adventure was the plan for the weekend. The drive from Springdale, Utah to Las Vegas, Nevada was our typical 2 1/2 hours with nothing too crazy along the way. It was exciting to see the restaurants, shopping, oversized hotels, and casinos on the horizon. This stop would allow us an entirely different type of exploration. Addie has been talking about all the great food to eat here for at least the last month!

We arrived at our campground early in the afternoon while temps were warm but not unbearable. The dogs were excited to have some actual grass to relax on as well as snack on. This was a unique campground as it had a huge casino by the entrance. It is Vegas after all….

For our first night we had dinner at an “authentic” Mexican restaurant that included a full 8 member mariachi band. We love our Mexican food. Addie was thrilled!

With it being Ella’s last day with us, the girls were eager to get to the strip and check things out. The fountains at Bellagio were a have to!! Both girls were thoroughly impressed. Anyone who has spent time with Addie knows that she is very knowledgeable and passionate about the Greek Gods, so you can only imagine how excited she was to take in all the statues in the lobby of Caesar’s Palace as well as the decor throughout the shopping corridor. And then there was Hell’s Kitchen… She adores Gordon Ramsey. You would have thought it was her special day.

Everything in Vegas is on a grand scale, stroll through the casinos lobbies you see how each hotel tries to impress. Bellagio is our favorite. The lobby has an amazing display of Chihuly glass on the lobby ceiling. It also has a rotating display in the conservatory & botanical garden of live floral art. The current display celebrates summer and is titled “Majesty: The Grandeur of Nature.” It is absolutely magical!

Vegas is known as an adult playground with all forms of entertainment. Shannon and Ashley have been there a few times before but the kids were always too young. We were excited to share our favorites with the girls. We got cleaned up and headed to the MGM Grand for a big night out with dinner and a show. Addie was again in heaven as we enjoyed an awesome dinner at Morimoto. She had watched YouTube videos of all the best restaurants and this one was at the top of her list. Then it was off to see our favorite Cirque du Soleil show, KA’.

After two amazing and very busy weeks with Ella, we had to say goodbye. She was headed back to Boone to get packed up and enjoy her last few weeks before driving out to Oregon to start her new job at Amaterra Winery. Way to go Ella!

As a surprise to Addie, we planned our last night in Vegas at the AGT Superstars show. We have watched the show off and on for many years. Ashley and Addie were very excited to get to see some of their favorite performers.

What a grand adventure we had the past 2 weeks with Ella!
Time to take a few days to rest and prepare for our California adventures!

What an adventure we are on!! After three non-stop days at Rocky Mountain National Park, it was time to make our way to Moab, Utah. This was a 3 hour drive that kept us looking out the window for the whole drive. So much cool and unique landscape to take in.

We landed in Dead Horse State Park near Arches National Park for three nights. Dead Horse is at the top of a canyon. From here we were very close to everything in the state park, as well as Canyonlands National Park and Arches. This was our first campground with no water hookups. Luckily, we were close to the toilets and dish washing station which allowed us to save the RV water tank for showers.

With all of us wanting to stretch our legs, we quickly set up and began exploring Dead Horse on our first afternoon. The warm, dry air made us really appreciate the desert landscape we were surrounded by. It was absolutely beautiful.

Being in the middle of nowhere on top of the canyon has unexpected benefits. We were gifted with multiple amazing sunsets and the ability to enjoy the full moon and stars without the influence of outside lights.

The next morning we were up and out bright and early to explore Arches National Park. There are over 2000 arches scattered around the park to discover. The smallest of which has a 3 foot opening and the largest, Landscape Arch, has a 306 foot opening. These phenomenal formations are the result of water, ice, extreme temperatures and underground salt movement. We hiked and hiked around the park checking them out, but hardly noticed the 10 miles in just 6 hours.

On our way back to the campground, we found Petroglyphs on the side of the road in Moab. Very cool.

The next morning we were up and on our way early again in hopes to get a jump start on the crowds. It was well worth it. The air was cooler and we never felt cramped while we hiked and explored Canyonlands National Park. This park is similar to Arches but uniquely it’s own feel.

After a long hot day in the park, we were all ready for a refreshing beverage.

Our next stop – Bryce Canyon, UT. Our drive to Bryce was our longest one yet at 6 hours. Along the way we saw another first, cows crossing the highway because it is BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and it just comes with the territory as the animals roam free and have the right of way.

Go, Go, Go! Rested and refreshed, we were ready to explore Bryce Canyon National Park. We had just the one day but we definitely made the most of it. The park covers many miles that they let visitors drive around themselves. We explored 6 different hikes ranging from 1 to 3 miles each in order to better take in our environment. Our strategy to see it all, was to get in the park by 7am, head to the farthest or most popular point, and work our way back to the visitors center so Addie can get her park passport stamped.

Thanks to the motivation of Ella, we were up for seeing everything possible in this area. After a full morning of exploring Bryce, we headed 90 minutes down the road to Escalante Petrified Forest State Park to see what a petrified tree actually looks like. It completely surprised us. The colors and structure of the wood looked just like rock.

Most people visit Bryce and Zion at the same time because they are so close and we were no different. It is less than 3 hours with lots to look at along the way, including more tunnels cut right through the rocks.

Very cool to drive under and through a rock tunnel.

We landed at Zion Canyon Campground. After so many days of hiking in the warm desert we were excited to have access to a refreshing pool and the view was just spectacular. The campground was located right on the Main Street with close access to restaurants, groceries, and the park entrance. But Ella’s favorite was the coffee shop across the street.

We spent 2 very full days hiking around Zion National Park. The park offers a wide vary of landscapes and water features and we wanted to see them all. We kept up our average of 10-12 miles per day. The park uses a bus system for the most popular overlook and hiking areas, which is very helpful, as there is not nearly enough parking. We were able to drive through the other areas of the park and make our way to the east entrance. This is a dramatic entrance, with massive white sand hills where we were excited to see bighorn sheep. Then you enter a mile-long tunnel that has been carved out of the rock hillside, so close to the edge that at a couple of points in the tunnel, they built windows. It then opens up to a completely different landscape show casing the canyon walls, fins and hoodoos.

The lavender in Zion was stunning.

Wow!! 8 days, 4 National Parks, 2 State Parks. Exploring the state of Utah was amazing. Such an incredible amount of breathtaking terrain – just spectacular! Being able to share this experience with Ella and Addie was remarkable. It was a super memorable adventure!

What an adventure in Colorado! We apologize for so many pictures this post, but we experienced an abundance of amazing things making it difficult to pick the best.

All of our driving through Kansas paid off as we made it to Denver, CO.
There was no doubt we were out west now.

New places means new wildlife. This magpie greeted us upon our arrival to the campground and seemed to follow us around the whole time we explored Colorado. He was always by himself and just popped in and out for a quick, hello. He was a unique and beautiful bird.

After settling in at our camp site near Denver, our next priority was to get to the airport. Ella was on her way adventure with us for the next two weeks. With storms in the air her flight had to circle the airport for over an hour.

She finally landed safely and we had a fun first night together. We introduced her to Torchy’s Tacos, which she loved. The next morning we walked the campground and enjoyed the beautiful lake.

But, it was time to get driving. With the Rockies in our sights, we headed right for them.

We had to drive through our first mountain in the RV. The three-lane tunnels were not super long but definitely a little nerve racking.

To get to our campground we had to climb, climb, climb up to where the snow was still falling. Good thing we did not have to get out of the car as we all had shorts on.

We had to wind our way through the snow covered mountains to make our way to our stopping place for the next few nights.

Luckily, we went down the mountain on the other side some where it was warmer and sunny to Winding Rivers Grand Lake RV Resort. This is where we started our journey at the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park just north of the Grand Lake community.

We were excited to get outside and see what was around us. A few miles outside of the park entrance was Addams Falls that feeds down into Grand Lake. It was flowing with great power from all the snow melt.

When we went back to the campground, we had a few friends visit.

Ella was excited to get up close and personal with the moose.

With two days in Rocky National Park, we had plenty of time to see every thing we wanted to see. Our campground was on the west side of the park and most of the things we wanted to see and explore were closer to the east side entrance. This meant we needed to drive up and over the summit, which we did not mind because the views were just incredible. The part of the road we were on had just been opened 3 days prior to our arrival. It takes the park 6 weeks to clear the road, overlooks, and trailhead parking lots. Their goal is to have it open for Memorial Day weekend.

We were excited to visit the Alluvial Fan. This was a place where a flood in the 80’s sent rushing water down the hill and had very obviously reshaped the landscape. It clearly looks like a fan now.

On our second day, we hiked round trip about 6 miles to three different lakes. As we climbed in elevation an additional 1000 ft. to the highest pool, we had to trek through more and more snow across very, very narrow paths teetering on the edge of the cliffs. It was definitely what you would call a strenuous hike. But it was well worth it as each lake was more wondrous and frozen than the last.

The frozen ground and lakes here definitely called us to walk and check them out. Hiking through the snow was super fun, but we were all grateful that our campground was not in the snow.

After two days exploring and hiking Rocky Mountain National Park, it is time to go to our next set of national parks in Utah. Hope it is warmer there!

We are beginning our 6 month journey visiting as many national and state parks as we can! Our first couple of weeks is going to be mainly making our way west.

We said goodbye to Makenzie and Ella and started our new adventure on May 16. Mak and Gavin are headed to their new apartment on Daniel Island, SC. Ella, now a college grad with a free summer, has time to relax and finalize her plans. She has her eyes set on moving to Oregon at the end of July to work in the wine industry.

Our trip starts in a familiar place for a single night, Sevierville, TN. Within minutes of our site there was access to every kind of food, shopping and entertainment we could dream of, but all we wanted to do was chill, still exhausted from our time in NC.

Day 2 brought another 3 hour drive, but this time we landed somewhere new for Addie and Ashley, Nashville, TN. We set up camp at Seven Points State Park. Our entry was definitely tricky as we backed down a long and narrow strip to position ourselves as close to the lake as possible.

It was truly a stunning spot.

The next day we took time to explore Nashville. Our first stop, the Parthenon, was an amazing recreation of the original in Greece. It was originally built here in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.

Nashville has a neat pedestrian bridge with an amazing view of the city.

We ventured down Broadway Street, stopping to take in just a bit of the live music. We had no idea just how much there was. It was bar after bar packed with people and lots of country music!

Nashville is home of Goo Goo Chocolate, which meant we had to test our hand at making our own version. Ours included caramel, peanut butter, marshmallows, and peanuts all covered in dark chocolate. It was yummy!!

Dinner was none other than Nashville Hot Chicken and then it was off to hear a something different than country music at the Nashville Symphony. We enjoyed a lovely concert that included guest violinist, Bomsori Kim. It was a full, fun day of firsts!

It is May 19th (our 28 year anniversary), and we are back on the road for 3 more hours which landed us in Paducah, KY for a single night, where it rained about 5 inches. The next day, we are back on the road heading west and started to notice the landscape changing. The land turned flat and there were farms for as far as the eye could see as we crossed through Kentucky into Missouri.

The dogs and Addie take in the sights from the backseat. Some days Addie does not have much room, but she does not seem to mind.

We arrived in St. Louis and headed out for some food and drink at Schlafly, the first microbrewery in the area.

Our site in St. Louis was not huge, but it was close to town and located on a great greenway that we walked every morning.

We started our city tour near the Cardinal’s baseball stadium. As a child, Shannon visited his birth location many times to see his grandparents, aunt and uncle. It was really cool to be back especially because their was a home game.

As we walked a little more, we found the Gateway Arch, a national park.

After checking out the museum, we took the uniquely egg shaped elevator/tram car up the 630 feet to the top of the arch. Even though we had done it many years ago, it was really neat to do it again now that Addie was old enough to appreciate it. Shannon hates it at the top, but he did it for us!

From the top you lean over and gaze out small windows at the city below.

We had a great view of the stadium. They had just finished the game and set off fireworks.

It was a really neat experience being at the top, but it felt good to be back on the ground.

There were some foods we had to eat in St. Louis. The first being White Castle. Their little square burger on a steamed bun with onions, has its own unique taste. Addie ate them for the first time and enjoyed more than one.

Another local treat was Ted Drews frozen custard. They only have vanilla which is best when mixed with a topping of your choice like pumpkin pie or Oreos and blended into a concrete

A uniquely St. Louis, must have, IMO’s Pizza, is a thin crust pizza with provel cheese which is a white processed cheese, a combination of cheddar, Swiss and provolone.

Addie is always so good to visit breweries, today for her we visited a soda microbrewery. Fitz’s established in the early 90’s has 19 varieties to choose from. These were a few of our favorites.

The St. Louis Botanical Garden had an exhibit of Chihuly Glass in the Garden. We were fortunate enough to be there one of the nights they were lighting it up. The glass sculptures were truly amazing to see in the day and in the night.

Continuing on our journey, our next stop was Kansas City, MO. A quick overnight here gave us a chance to visit with Shannon’s aunt Marcy, uncle Bob and cousin, Toby Stites. It was so great to see them all and catch up.

We enjoyed some Kansas City BBQ. It did not disappoint.

A fantastic end to a wonderful day visiting with family.

From Kansas City we continued west to Colorado. Along the way we saw many more windmill fields in the flat plains.

In the middle of Kansas we stopped for the night at Lukas Park Sylvan Grove. It was a little off the interstate, but well worth it to be on the water with lots of quiet and privacy for the night.

We had an inspiring sunrise over the water, an encouraging way to begin our day.

This adventure keeps our eyes seeing new things! This method of pumping water into the fields for watering was unfamiliar to us.

We stopped for the night in Goodland, KS near the state boarder.

Even in this very small town we found something we had never seen before.

As we leave Kansas and drive through Colorado on our way to Denver, the Rockies are in our sights!

Since we left the NC mountains 10 days ago we have crossed more than half way across the United States. We are excited to see more National Parks, what the west has to offer, and continue to see new things on this adventure!

It was a short 1 hour drive to get us to our campground in NC. We planted ourselves at Grandfather Campground in Banner Elk for our two week stay. We had a great view of Grandfather Mountain!

Our first family activity was to get a group tattoo. We all got “Rule #32” which is a rule in the Zombieland movies. It means enjoy the little things. Zombieland was Makenzie’s first rated R movie that she watched with Shannon. A very memorable experience!

This is Addie’s first tattoo. She did great. She even said she would get more!

After getting our tattoos, we met up with Gavin and enjoyed a traditional first night dinner in Boone at Basil’s restaurant.

The next day was another sign that Addie is growing up – she got all four of her wisdom teeth removed.

She handled the pain like a rock star, was great about keeping ice on her face and had very little swelling.

Ashley’s sister Brandy came to visit for the night. It was great to see her.

This was a big transition time for our family. It started with packing Mak and Gavin up from their apartments and helping them move their stuff to their new apartment at Daniel Island, Charleston, SC. They both start work there in June!

After returning from Charleston, we then emptied our storage unit in Boone and moved our keepsakes to our garage at the apartment in Asheville and met up with Don and Mel.

We enjoyed some quality time together and, of course, there might have been a little “day drinking” involved at a new mezcal/tequila bar 🙂

It was Don’s birthday so we celebrated by all of us getting a tattoo. We did mention the tequila and mezcal, right? lol!
Our new tattoos say “Skol” in Viking rune, which translates “to good health.” Many people say “skol” instead of “cheers”.

We completed a few appointments in town before enjoying sunset on the rooftop at Hemingways.

We even found a new hangout spot with fun tropical drinks.

Our time in Asheville ended on a tasty note, as we enjoyed lunch and one last beer at our go to brewery – Hillman. It was a necessary stop as we needed to stock up on some cans for our travels.

Back in Boone, we met up with Makenzie, Ella, and their friends at Appalachian Mountain Brewery. Addie saw some of her friends too. Here she is with Maddisen Robinson.

And the next day, Addie hung out with her friend Kelsey who she has known since kindergarten. Hard to believe they are 18 now!

Ashley, Makenzie and Ella had a girls day at Westglo Spa in early celebration of Mak and Ella’s birthdays.

It was a relaxing time that gave us a good time to connect.

And then, all of a sudden, the day had come and Ella was graduating from college!!

We gathered before the ceremony at an airbnb we rented for a couple of days to use a party house.

We were so fortunate to have Grandad and Nana (Max and Julia) come to town to celebrate with us.

Gavin and his mom, Erin, joined us too! It was great to finally meet Erin.

Jack came by for a bit.

Mel was with us, but unfortunately Don had to work.

Henry (grampy) and Lisa also came to support and honor Ella on her big day. He is such a ham!

The weather was perfect.

Even Chance got in on the celebrating.

On Friday May 11 at 5pm, it was official. Ella walked the stage, received her diploma and graduated!

Yeah!! Way to go Ella!!

Ella graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry, a minor in Biology, a minor in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, and a minor in Fermentation Sciences. We are so very proud of Ella.

The after party was just the five of us plus Aunt Mel, of course!

The next day it was Gavin’s turn to graduate.

It was a wonderful experience getting to celebrate this accomplishment with Gavin and his mom, Erin.

Don finally made it to town to join in on the celebrations. We got to celebrate Mother’s Day all together at Appalachian Mountain Brewery.

Mel and her dogs stayed with us one extra night on the RV.

Toby had no trouble making himself right at home.

It was great having this extra day with Mel after all the festivities.

Our time in NC came to an end and we were all going our separate ways. Mak and Gavin headed to their new apartment on Daniel Island, SC.

Ella with no immediate plans has until July 31st to determine where she wants to go next. She would like to move to Oregon’s wine country and get a job in one of the many wineries.

For Shannon, Ashley, Addie and the dogs it is time to head west and begin our next great adventure. To this point we have seen about 1/5 of the country. There is so much more to explore. We have plans to go to many National Parks all around the country. The United States is calling and here we come!

We said goodbye to the coast of Texas and started to make our way to North Carolina for our App State grads. We will take about two weeks to make our way slowly back.

Still traveling about 3 hours max each day, our first night was a quick stop over in Vinton, TX. The next day we traveled 3 more hours and stopped for 2 nights at Sun Outdoors in Ponchatoula, LA.

Our spot was a nice size, very clean and right on a small pond.

The weather was beautiful making it easy for us to enjoy the amenities.

We even tried our hand at pickle ball. It was a lot of fun and a good workout. We will definitely play again.

Three more hours headed east dropped us in Toomsuba, Mississippi.

Our site at the KOA was a bit more rustic than where we had just been,but we enjoyed the shade of the trees.

The pool was a cool 78, but we were grateful to enjoy a few hours of sun and water therapy.

We ventured into town to check things out.

No surprise we found a local brewery to grab a refreshing beverage.

We continued traveling north and found ourselves near Birmingham, Alabama for two nights. We knew we would not be at the RV much, so we chose a location close to the city in the parking lot of the recreation complex.

Addie was super excited to be back in Bojangles country.

We explored downtown Birmingham. First checking out the well known Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where in 1963 hundreds of African Americans teenagers marched from here to City Hall.

Then later the same year the KKK bombed the church killing 4 teenage girls.

We toured the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.

Birmingham was at the heart of the racially-segregated South.

So much history to take in here and try to make sense of.

It was a heavy and moving experience, that prompted lots of conversation.

Birmingham has limitless mineral resources. In 1904, the 56 ft tall Vulcan Man made of iron, won the Grand Prize in the mineral category at the World’s Fair.

He now sits high on the hill overlooking the city.

After a full day of exploring, we were ready for a refreshment. It was cool that Brock’s Gap Brewery was in the same parking lot as our RV.

Forging east, our travels took us to Chattanooga, TN. We had an oversized site at Chester Frost State Park right on the Chickamauga Lake for 3 nights.

It was a great place to relax and enjoy the water view.

Definitely not as warm as we have been use to.

Ashley and Addie tried their hands at decoupage with oyster shells.

We enjoyed beautiful sunrise views from our site.

As well as magnificent sunset views.

We ventured into town and found the stunning pedestrian walking bridge.

We stood on the bank of the Tennessee River and looked up at the Walnut Street Bridge.

We made our way up to the bridge and took in the sights.

From all sides.

We walked all around town and finally got thirsty and hungry.

Back at the campground, it was time to just chill.

Another 3 hour trek got us a little further into Tennessee. We spent a few nights in Sevierville (Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Dolly Wood) at the Sun Outdoors RV Park.

After a travel day, there is nothing better than cuddle time!

We drove around and took in the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains.

This was our second time in this area, but last time we did not have our National Park passbook yet, so we made sure to get it stamped this time.

With the weather not cooperating for a hike, we decided to visit the Historic Arts & Crafts Community, where we found some beautiful local art.

Travel days mean we are typically on the road over lunch time and we eat a packed lunch. This was a momentous day because it was finally nice enough for us to comfortably eat outside at the rest stop.

Our last stop in Tennessee before North Carolina put us within an hour of Boone for 3 nights. We settled into a small, new campground in Roan with 6 sites. We had the place pretty much to ourselves except for one other camper.

No need for the white noise, just open the window and listen.

Located so close to Mountain City, we could not pass up an opportunity to eat at one of our favorite places, La Cucina Italian Kitchen. The kids came over from Boone to join us, Yeah!

We love this quaint little restaurant, where we have to bring our own wine and drink it from a coffee cup because the county is dry.

Many of our birthday and special occasion meals have been enjoyed here.

After a great meal the girls came back to the RV for some family time.

Mak stayed for a sleepover.

We enjoyed some relaxed time just hanging out and played around with finishing our pottery that we started when she was with us in Texas.

The next day we leave for North Carolina where we will spend the next two weeks.

We decided to head to the coast a few days early. We had seen everything we wanted to see in San Antonio and we were ready to dip our toes in the ocean.

On our way south, we passed two of the largest windmill farms in Texas. Each farm has hundreds of windmills providing massive amounts of power.

We landed on the southern tip of the Texas coast in Corpus Christi at Gulf Waters RV Resort.

This was a very clean RV community, where each site was individually owned and decorated.

Our spot had an awesome outdoor space including a tiki hut, that provided us lots of shade and privacy during our 12 night stay.

Mak flew down to see us for a week.

She introduced us to Korean corn dogs. They definitely have a very unique taste.

It was a short walk from our site to the beach boardwalk.

We enjoyed many dog walks on the beach.

Unfortunately, on a few days, the water’s edge was covered with Portuguese man o’war that had washed up. They were amazing to see, but nothing I would ever want to encounter in the water.

We kept very busy while Mak was in town.

We painted pottery.

We went shopping.

We ate seafood on the water.

We did a little tanning.

And a little swimming.

We had a great visit with Mak. We were all sad she had to go.

After a short rest, it was time for us to hit the road and explore new lands.

As we made our way north, we saw the coolest thing. The blades of the windmills being transported by train. They are huge.

After a few hours, we arrived in Galveston. We spent 2 nights at the KOA on the inner coastal side.

Addie was determined to use the lazy river even though the recent rain had really cooled the water.

It was a lovely spot.

Next stop was just 3 miles down the road, where we backed the RV right up to the beach.

This put us much closer to the boardwalk and town area.

Don and Mel came to visit for a few days. We got to celebrate Mel’s birthday.

They were staying in the condo right next to the RV park, so we got to have a pool day.

The temperatures were comfortable, but the wind and the recent rain made us all agree that it was not beach weather.

We decided to check out the breweries on the island.

We even made our way to Houston to see how the beer in the city tasted.

We found great beer and fun place to play at Bad Astronaut Brewery. Addie was the air hockey champion.

It was a super visit with the Marletts.

We were at the beach, so of course Ashley found treasures. They were not like any others she had found so far, lots of oyster shells to play around with.

Ashley made a wreath for Mak and Gavin to hang in their new apartment in Charleston SC.

Ashley also kept a small one with what looks like a pearl as her own treasure.

It will be many months before we will see the sunrise over the ocean again.

We had a great time exploring the south Texas coast. This adventure has given us the opportunity to go at our own pace, explore the the things and places that interest us and share this adventure with friends and family.

From here we are making our way back to Boone, NC for graduation.

Continuing on our quest to see Texas, this leg took us 113 miles south from Waco to Austin in the Hill Country.

We planted ourselves for a seven day stay at the Austin East KOA. The weather was perfect for a dip in the heated pool when we arrived.

Unfortunately, things took a drastic turn.

The weather in Texas is definitely keeping us on our toes. Later that night, the temperatures plunged, a storm pushed through, and we were entertained with quite the light show. Check it out below (no sound with this video):

Our time in Austin coincided with the SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival. There were no reasonable tickets to be had, but we did get to enjoy a great art fair that was part of the festival.

This was an especially neat part of our time in the area. Our Saturday was spent checking out the small town of Bastrop about 30 miles outside of Austin.

This community had a cute little downtown with shops, restaurants, a local brewery and a distillery. The Cooper Shot Old Fashion made with the Texas honey whiskey was particularly smooth.

We tried to enjoy a glass of wine at the Kane Wine tasting room, but we have yet to find a Texas wine that we really like.

Addie had a great day wandering with us. She got to do some shopping in one of the little boutique stores and found a beautiful dress to wear to Ella’s graduation.

After we enjoyed a tasty dinner at the highly rated Piney Creek Chop House, we headed around the corner to our main event. The community theater of Bastrop was putting on their rendition of The Addams Family, a musical. This show left us all smiling, rivaling any big city version.

The next day, the warmth of the afternoon sun made it very pleasant for enjoying our site.

The feel of spring was in the air with cool nights and warm days. The wild flowers were in full bloom.

Ashley grabbed the car scissors and hit the street, cutting her pick of wild flowers. Today’s beauties are the Indian paintbrush.

Big night out in Austin, off to the Rodeo we go. This is a first for all of us.

Not knowing what to expect, we got there a little early and had time to fill up on fair food and beverages.

It was only in the 40’s after the sun went down, so we went inside as soon as they opened the gates.

The rodeo goes on for two weeks with competitions progressing each night. We were there a week into things on a Tuesday and the stands were only about half full.

It was a fast paced program, that moves quickly from one event to the next, always with lots to keep you entertained.

After the competitions were all done, they cleared the arena and brought out a rotating stage. It was time for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

We were excited to hear them play our favorites, Mr. Bojangles and Fishin’ in the Dark. This was just an added benefit to an already awesome night.

Over the years, Shannon has been to Austin many times for work. He would always says, Austin just smells good. One of his greatest food finds here is Franklin’s Barbecue.

People wait in line for hours to get the sausages, ribs, brisket and sides, unless they know the trick. Thanks to Don and Mel asking after their 3 hour wait, we knew to call our order in a week in advance. Pick up took 10 minutes. Of course, we had to order enough for a small army, but that gave us extra to put in the freezer.

Another really cool food find in Austin are all the food trucks. There was so much great food out there, it was hard to choose.

Today we went with our favorite, Mexican. We enjoyed the beer at Meanwhile Brewery with some tacos from Pueblo Viejo. We ate lots of tacos while in Texas. YUM. YUM.

The picture below does not do justice to the massive complex that was near our campsite.

The new Tesla compound in Austin is enormous. The gigafactory building goes on for what seems like miles and is surrounded by many other smaller structures. It is all part of the new community Elon Musk is creating since moving his operation from CA.

Next stop on the Texas tour was a short 2 hour drive, 110 miles southwest to San Antonio, in the South Texas Plains area.

The weather was sunny and warm. For one of the first times, we were in a spot without the shade of trees, which we were longing for. So we just moved our chairs to the water’s edge in the shade. The dogs of course were looking back at the RV wanting to know where their Dad was (getting more beer of course!).

Seeking out the local favorites, we found ourselves eating a San Antonio original, the puffy taco. They’re made by frying fresh masa—a dough made from dried field corn that has been treated with lime, cooked, and ground. They are ok – not our favorite way to have tacos.

Rain or shine, San Antonio was calling to us to come and see her sights.

We spent time walking through the Alamo and taking in the history. It is so much more than just the 1836 Battle of the Alamo.

We next found ourselves along the water, exploring the shops and restaurants on the famous River Walk.

With it being such a beautiful day, we decided a great way to take in the River Walk was with a boat tour which gave us lots of great history.

Taking advantage of this glorious warmth, lunch outside on the river was the only option.

San Antonio is home to many Missions built along the San Antonio River. Mission San Francisco de la Espada, was built in 1730 to protect against the influx of the French from Louisiana.

The purpose of the missions was to create community between the locals and the Spaniards using the Catholic faith as a foundation. Teaching eachother their skills such as farming, hunting, blacksmithing and masonry, Mission Espada flourished for 50 years before the members started moving away wanting more land.

As we continued exploring, we found Kunstler Brewery.

This was a great place to enjoy a flavorful beverage and a tasty lunch.

With the temperatures in the low 90’s and the sun shining bright, we had to find a way to stay cool.

In answer to the question you are probably asking yourself, Yes, that is a pool and yes it is something we bought to have with us on this journey. It is meant to be a dog bath, but they were kind enough to share.

The temperature was hot, even for us. We had done everything we wanted to do in San Antonio, so we decided to go ahead and make our way to the coast a few days early. One of the joys of doing what we are doing is the ability to move as we need to or want to. Texas gulf coast here we come!