Election Distraction
I was going to call this post “A Cold Day in Hell” because it has been cold here! (Plus that’s funny, thanks Tracy.) But with the election happening this week... Read more.
This Old World Keeps Spinning Round
That line’s from the Neil Young song, Comes a Time, that I’m trying to learn on the ukulele. The chorus goes: This old world keeps spinnin’ ’round.... Read more.
Tate’s Hell
It’s is actually a large state forest, 200,000 acres—although much of what we’ve seen is pine plantations, which doesn’t feel very forest-like to me because... Read more.
The Best Design Yet for a Wooded Campground
Oh, but we’re here for only one night! I’ve written before about the 2-2-2 rule of thumb for camping: that you’re making your life much easier if you stay... Read more.
Banjo’s Day at the Beach
Yep, here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi Banjo encountered the beach for the first time (as far as we know). First she ran around like a maniac. So did Tracy.... Read more.
How Long Would It Take You to Get to the Beach?
Say you quit your job and could go anywhere you wanted. How long would it take you to get to the beach? Two days? That’s the way Tracy and I feel, normally. But... Read more.
Beer on the Bayou
Or: The only place in this country where your brewery taproom bartender responds cheerfully, “How do you say in English? Live in that parking lot there!”... Read more.
Where to Next?
Now that we’ve accomplished all we’ve been needing to get done in Texas since we first started out—HURRAH!—what’s next? Well, we have about a month before... Read more.
Texas, the Big Caricature
A friend told me that Texans are caricatures of themselves, and they don’t even know it. We keep saying that over and over here. It’s brilliant. What does this... Read more.
How Would You Rather Die—and Tamales!
We’ve had just two adventures outside the campground here in Livingston, and they both make decent stories. First, the Tamales You guys know that original Star... Read more.
In Defense of Weirdos Like Us
While I walk Banjo in the early mornings (and then walk myself in the afternoons), I’ve been thinking more about the people here in this strangest of campgrounds... Read more.
Seven Months: What I’ve Learned about Living in a Small Space
Yep, we’ve been in the Airstream for seven months now. We’ve been stuck in one campground for two of those, and for the rest we’ve traveled up and... Read more.
Oh Lord, I’m Stuck in Lodi, Again.
I’m stuck in Livingston, not Lodi (that’s from a CCR song, if it didn’t ring a bell for you). This morning we had to re-up our camping site for seven more... Read more.
We’re on the “Group W” Bench
We’ve just reserved a campsite for Thanksgiving, which calls to mind all the times I’ve driven to the family dinner with Alice’s Restaurant playing on the... Read more.
Infiltrating the RV Full-timers’ Cult Compound
Man, this Escapees RV park (it’s called Rainbow’s End) is very, very strange to me. It is definitely an isolated bubble, a world all its own. Campsite Types... Read more.
The Epic Quest to Become Texans
Currently we’re camped at the Escapees headquarters, the club that helps us with residency paperwork. This place is far from grand, but more on that later. Here’s... Read more.
The Campground as a Night on the Town
I’ve finally figured out how to wrap my head around why in the world people flock to crowded campgrounds where they show abject disdain for nature. When I lived... Read more.
Too Busy for Alligators
We leave this national forest north of Houston today to go just a little east to the Escapees’ campground, where we’ll take care of more business (we hope).... Read more.
Whom Can You Be Naked in Front Of?
My sister (yeah, I quote her a lot) used to say that you can be naked in front of your mother and you can be naked in front of your husband, but you can’t be naked... Read more.
Headed Down South to the Land of the Pines
That line’s from Wagon Wheel and it’s about North Carolina, but it’s been on my mind here in Texas, oddly. We’re only passing through Texas... Read more.
Candies among Cookie Cutters
Maybe 90% of the RVs we see are the same brown/white or grey/white standard campers with slides. They have different model names on them, but there are only a handful... Read more.
“The Show” Reunites!
Flashback The setting: 1978, a colonial home in rural Virginia: the living room has a stone hearth and stone benches surrounding a large fireplace. The characters:... Read more.
I Can See Why People Get Strange Here
Both Army Corps of Engineers campsites where we’ve stayed in Arkansas (plus the last one in Missouri) the past couple of weeks have been downstream of flood-control... Read more.
A Break from Prose
Finally, U.S. news items have broken my spirit—as well as being surrounded by Trump yard signs and photoshopped flags and stand-up dolls and his name in sidewalk... Read more.
Come along for a Travel Day
Join me as we leave our two-night campsite at Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas, and tow our home to our next stay for five nights at Nimrod Lake, also in Arkansas but... Read more.
They Call Me the Breeze; I Keep Blowin’ Down the Road
You’d have to know me pretty well to figure out why me having a Lynyrd Skynyrd song in my head would make me feel like my mom. I don’t like the band. I don’t... Read more.
You Can’t Choose Your Neighbors, Either
The Harper Lee quote is about not being able to choose your family, but it applies just as well to neighbors in campgrounds. Every time we pull in to a new location,... Read more.
Better than Lakes and Sunsets
I’d lost sight of how long it’s been since we saw a friend. Heck, or even had an in-person conversation with someone else that lasted longer than a few seconds.... Read more.
Missouri: Where are my warm lakes and bright sunsets?!?
Our last night was at that Swan Lake state park where we stayed just one night, which was thoroughly undocument-worthy. We did pull over in Iowa to make grilled... Read more.
Google Maps, Dumpsters, and Other Gripes
The park we’re staying in—for one night on our way through Iowa to Missouri—is beautiful, but we went on only one walk before a storm hit, and I left my phone... Read more.
