Welcome back to our blog!
I’m happy to say that we’re not dead and neither is this blog despite the radio silence.
We’ve been cruising around the US for the last four months figuring out our new living situation. We’ve travelled to Colorado and back as well as circled Lake Michigan to enjoy the last remnant of Midwest summer weather without getting scorched in the August and September heat. Please check out the Interactive Travel Map for more details. We’re happily heading south right now in search of warmer temperatures. The freedom to move with the weather is a welcomed change to the stationary life we led in Chicago during the lockdown. Instead of seeing the trees in our neighborhood change with the season, we get to witness the journey of Autumn as she voyages south from the Arctic.
On our way to Colorado we stopped and spent around 50 minutes charging Leeloo (our Tesla Model Y) at some interesting little towns in South Dakota and Wyoming. Those necessary stops led to conversations with amazing humans, usually about our set up (the Tesla and Cricket draw a lot of questions) as well as living full time on the road. There have a been a few standouts though. We met a wonderful woman, Anna, in a Goodwill parking lot in South Dakota because her sister had to come say hello to fellow electric car owners. Anna was so generous with her time and advice and showed us around her delightful “she-shed on wheels.” Her beautiful home complete with side table lamps and an art studio gave me hope that we’d be able to find our home inside the bare white walls of the Cricket. She even gave us her contact information in case we had any questions while getting the hang of things on the road. She warmed my heart and made me feel like I was joining a community of fellow nomads. We also met a really nice man (I’m so sorry stranger I forgot your name!) at a Tesla Charger in Wyoming and discussed our favorite Tesla YouTube videos as the big sky around us was shot violently pink in the sun’s final rays. He was convinced to buy a Tesla when he saw the economic benefits that switching to an electric car would bring him. Electricity is cheaper than gas and he’s able to up-charge as a luxury car while offering Lyft rides. Teslas also don’t need much maintenance due to the lack of complicated systems that ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) have. He wasn’t the first nor the last person to tell us that we should start a YouTube channel as he would happily be in the audience.
We were lucky to meet two very generous couples in Wisconsin as we toured around my second favorite Great Lake (the first being Lake Superior). We met Ken and Marie while camping in my new favorite place - Point Beach State Park in Two Rivers, WI. They were from Palatine, Illinois and we joked that we’re known as FIBs (fucking IL bastards) to our northern neighbors. They had plenty of adventure stories and advice to share as they were adventures in their younger days. Ken, with the help of Marie, wove a tale about white water rafting in their heyday around the campfire one night. Times have changed however and now they pick out prospective destinations for their travels by reviewing the area’s hospital and library which they say are absolute musts as retirees. Their tales of exploring the continent were inspiring. As a parting gift, they gave us “fat sticks,” pine wood covered in resin and wished us well on our own lifelong adventure. I met Donna and Mike on our first night in our Egg Harbor, WI RV park in the laundry room of all places. We struck up a conversation over laundry as I’m known to do and they shared their latest adventures to the Caribbean and Mike’s famous love for Bloody Marys. They generously invited us to their RV for drinks on Sunday morning and they were delicious. They’d had been coming up to Egg Harbor, to this particular RV park (even the same site) on Labor Day weekend for the last 9 years. They were lovely conversationalists and time flew by as we enjoyed bloody marys loaded with homemade pickled veggies and various cheeses. They were kind people and it felt like we were instant friends. It was like old times having plans on Labor Day weekend with friends.
We’ve also met some people looking for company and a friendly face. We met Max in Indiana and Ken in Illinois Beach State Park, both older gentlemen well into their retirement years. Each had a completely different story but both of these men had a desire to share their stories to a sympathetic ear. Max was known by everyone in this RV park as it had long term summer residents that created the sense of a little community. Ken however seemed as if no one knew him except for his big beautiful black dog named Big Guy. Ken described him as the love of his life. Both gentlemen seemed compelled to tell us the biggest stories of their lives - a heartbreaking divorce for one and the death of his son for the other. It’s easy to forget that each human contains so many memories, emotions and life spanning tales just under the surface of a gruff and wrinkled face.
When we first moved out of our apartment, I was afraid of missing the community we’ve built in Chicago. Those fears were alleviated as I’ve met more and more people. Their collective kindness showed me the world can be our neighborhood and anyone we meet on the road is our neighbor. We have the power to bring that sense of community to any place we set up camp. I hope to pass on the good vibes to the next few folks we meet on the road.
Thanks for reading neighbors.
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