In 300 miles we will be back in Bradenton, Fl where our adventure began. Thank you for following along. It is a strange feeling sitting in a state park on the Georgia-Florida border contemplating if this is the last night we spend in Roxie. It is easy to say, “No, next year we will do it again. There is Alaska, and New England!” But, we know truth. There is only today. Next year is an idea that may never materialize for a million reasons that are all beyond our control.
Amenity rich Reed Binghman State Park in Adel, Georgia has a lake, a beach and a miniature golf course, for which we have putters and balls to partake. But on the last day of an 82 day adventure, all we want to do is avoid the gnats and sit in a Roxie recliner to review the route, chores and amenities of home.
As for the statistics, the trip captured six more National Parks and almost 9,000 miles of driving. Somewhere in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument we had a change of heart. We decided that we loved being in nature on the continent when it was not so populated. If a National Park resembled an Amusement Park, we will take a pass. We have this feeling that the best experiences are found in the National Monuments, National Forests, and unpopulated back country of this nation.
The trip through Atlanta was excruciating. Take us back to the wild west please. Seven lane highways jammed with aggressive drivers, crumbling roads and jersey walled construction zones is the wake up we were dreading. Coming to a dead stop, Sheri hit up “Home” on her Waze app to help Eric with an alternative route and put him on a path to Chevy Chase. Whoops. Somebody forgot to change where Home now is.
It is a drum that has been beat too many times, but the trip has taught us to embrace spontaneity above all else. Be ready to be disappointed or at least do not fear it. Ask yourself the question, “Will this kill me?” If the answer is “No” then do it. If the answer is “Yes,” then figure out how to do it a little more safely. Then do it. Nearly every assumption we made concerning what we would find incredible was faulty. The incredible is out there, but it is not what you think.
So much of what we think is shaped by others’ experiences as expressed on Yelp reviews, Google reviews, and other forms of social media. It is all nonsense. The reviewers may be right or they may be wrong. One thing you can say for sure is that they are not you. Personally, we loved Great Basin. We attempted to present an unvarnished review of this remote National Park but in the end we could think of just as many reasons not to go there. Go to that restaurant that received 1-star. Camp at the shore off-season when the temperature is predicted to never rise above 40 degrees. Do things because no one else does, not because everyone else does. You will be surprised how misinformed the world is.
Breaking news: Roxie is way too big most of the time. Also, we love how big Roxie is and how easy Roxie makes living off-grid. Half the time we are rolling down a washboard road wondering if Roxie will fall apart. Half the time we are in the “Roxie living room” so happy to be out of the elements. You cannot get it right. There is no right. There is no perfect hardware solution. It is all in your mind and your attitude. All the rest is a sales pitch.
The last time we came off the road we had a condo in the city. This time we are returning to a rather nice larger place in Florida that feels like paradise. It was a hard place to leave and we felt its call many times while swatting moths or mopping sweat while on the road. Is life too comfortable? Very possibly. How do you find the motivation to be uncomfortable and experience the unknown when it is so much easier to do the status quo? We don’t have an answer to that.
With every end comes a beginning and we will soon begin again in Florida. It’s impossible to replicate road life, so the question for us becomes how do we adventure where we live? We agree that picking up where we left off is not really in either of our best interest but what will the new normal be? Jobs? Florida excursions? A project? Knowing that pickleball and thrifting will always be in the mix, we’ve had plenty of time living without media distractions to consider what’s next. While we love the blog we know that clickity clack writing is a bore and no one wants to read about what we ate for dinner and how we feel about the sunset over the pond. And we don’t want to write it either.
So we will end our journey here, pulling Roxie into the driveway to fully unload cause she needs a good moth bombing and Clorox scrub. Then she’ll get parked on a gravel lot and have her damp rid changed every week along with a wash and wax and fixing of the the water pump and other broken items on the punch list. We’ll resume Pickleball and Aqualogix while we further contemplate next. Until then, thanks for being with us and let us know if you have a brilliant idea about what we could do. We’re open to ideas!
