With the cold of winter setting in, I have been thinking forward to spring & summer weather and of course, road trips.
What to do? Where to go? I’m always looking for something new or different; ways to make each year better than the last.
To be honest, I am far from rich. As a matter of fact, I’m a completely broke mother, grandmother, photographer, and blogger. Seriously. Top that off with another fact: I have a lot of health issues that do limit my ability to do some things and lays me completely up in bed not being able to do anything at times.
Broke… health limitations… may not sound like someone who loves road tripping or someone who would be running a website on road trips and road trip attraction. But that is who I am.
I scrimp & save. I do what I can to earn gas cards when things like that are available. Some times my photography work allows me some cash or barter to make it worth traveling. I have camped in my vehicle. Many times we have stuck to eating mainly food that we could pack & take with us, instead of eating out. Some times people I know across the U.S. help by offering a place to sleep, a free meal, or a place to stop for a cup of coffee, good conversation, & internet access. I try to work in visits to as many free attractions as possible. Some times good heart-ed folks who run attractions help make it doable by working with me in various ways. It takes a lot of work to make road trips possible when you are basically a starving artist mom; but I do it.
As for the health issues, I do the best I can. I have to allow for the possibility of being delayed due to my health. That’s why I try to avoid strict travel schedules. I have to think ahead on what I may be doing and figure out how much I might be able to handle in a day and plan accordingly. Some places that others may get out to hike, I may slowly cruise through to see from my vehicle or just walk to a bench to spend some time looking around. I have to make adjustments to accommodate my physical abilities; but I do it.
Considering these things, over the past several years, I have managed to do and see a lot of things and places.
Old Faithful
Of the 50 U.S. states, I have visited 47.
I have:
- seen Niagara Falls; from the American & Canadian side, even did the walk behind the falls
- been to Yellowstone National Park & seen Old Faithful
- drove through the drive thru Redwood trees in California
Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree
- seen the south rim of the Grand Canyon
- watched the sunrise over the ocean on the Outer Banks
- climbed all the steps to the top of a lighthouse (that took some time & pacing myself, but I did it!)
- seen 4 of the 5 Great Lakes
- woke up to be able to sit & look up at Pikes Peak while I drank my coffee
- camped in my vehicle by an awesome, picturesque stream/river in bear country
- seen wild horses running on Assateague Island and on another beach
- tried to choke down some 5 cent coffee in a couple of different places
- spent the night pretty much at the tip of Cape Cod
Dr Pepper Museum
Duck Commander , Duck Dynasty
- been to Hershey World, Kings Island, Six Flags Over St Louis, Kentucky Kingdom, & Holiday World
- been to Disney World – well technically lol went to Downtown Disney – free parking & free to walk around (of course being broke down for 8 hours just outside of there wasn’t completely free)
- seen dolphins in the ocean
Spam Museum
- rode a ferry to an island
- visited the home of Dr Pepper, Grave Digger, Duck Commander / Duck Dynasty, & Spam 😉
- been to the Four Corners; pictures taken while sprawling my body to be in 4 states at once
Yes, the baby burrow just bit my leg
- been in the Rocky, Appalachian, Allegheny, Smokey, Adirondacks, & Cascade mountains (I think that’s all of the big ones I’ve been in?)
- been bit in the leg by a baby burrow in Oatman, AZ 🙂
- watched sea lions laying on the beach
- driven much of Route 66
- driven Rt 1 up the coast of California
- driven across the Golden Gate Bridge
- seen the Salt Flats
- been in the Great Basin
- driven in the Mojava Desert without air conditioning
- been through the Petrified Forest in AZ
Montezuma Castle National Monument
- been to Montezuma Castle in AZ
- spent the night, van camping, on the prairie during a big storm on land that Laura Ingalls once lived (Ingalls Homestead)
- spent time at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico
- been in the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans
- been to the boardwalk in Ocean City
- driven across the Mackinac Bridge (which I guess is supposedly one of the world’s scariest bridges)
- seen Plymouth Rock
- seen Mt Rushmore
- toured Graceland
- rode a boat out to a deserted island on the Shackleford Banks; my daughter, grandson, & I were the only people on the island
- toured a cave
Rt 66 Standing on the Corner, Winslow, AZ
- seen the Corn Palace in SD
- toured many factories
- stood on the corner in Winslow, AZ
- walked along the Walk of Fame in Hollywood & looked up to see the famous Hollywood sign
- had my picture taken sitting on a giant Jackrabbit & a Jackalope
- had some free ice water at Wall, SD
- walked the yellow brick road to Oz in SD
- seen the Fall foliage in New England
- been in a few “ghost” towns
- seen a life sized moose made out of 1700 pounds of chocolate
- spent the night in a train car
- seen Devil’s Tower
- seen the beauty of the natural arches in Arches National Park
- seen the biggest & smallest of many things
With that being an incomplete list, I know that I have been very lucky to have seen & experienced so many things.
There is still so much out there to see & do. I am continuously looking for new places; new experiences. I don’t want to just let the world & my life go by; I want to get out there & be a part of it . . . experience it. . . live it.
Now with a new year ahead, I hope to find ways to get out on the road to see, do, and experience more. I am currently working on a 2015 bucket list; a list of things I would like to see or do in 2015.
The year has just began, but I am already busy:
- adding more attractions to the website to help others find things to do on road trips,
- trying to find people that can help me with places to stay the night so I can be on the road this year,
- trying to find people who are willing to help me learn more about different ways of life, towns, etc,
- making my list of things I want to do in 2015
Are you planning on taking any road trips this year? I would like to hear about it!