The 2019 Outdoors RV Owners East Coast Rally - An Excellent Adventure!

In March of 2017, Alan and I purchased our second travel trailer – a Creek Side 26RLS made by Outdoors RV Manufacturing (ORV) in La Grande, Oregon.  If you’re interested in the why and how of that whole complicated story, you can find the details in the post from March of 2018 called "Today is Our 1st Anniversary! (link HERE)  At the time we were researching our purchase, it became apparent that there was a strong sense of customer loyalty among the owners of ORV travel trailers and fifth wheels, and that this small company worked hard to remain connected with its customers. 

Every year in June, ORV hosts a get-together for the owners of its rigs at an RV Park in Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains near the ORV manufacturing facility.  While I have to admit that the setting is, indeed, beautiful, I also have to say that a round trip of more than 5,000 miles to attend a three day owners’ rally is a bit far to travel.  However, since the majority of ORV customers reside in the states of the Pacific Northwest and the provinces of western Canada, it certainly makes sense to hold the gathering out there.  But what about those of us in the eastern part of the United States who enjoy our rigs just as much as our counterparts in the west, and who would love to get together with other ORV owners to trade stories about our RVs and our travels?  Granted, there are far fewer of us in the east than in the west.  But, thanks to an ORV owner in Ohio, the Outdoors RV East Coast Rally debuted in 2018.  Sadly, Alan and I missed that inaugural event due to the ongoing construction project at a rental property.  But, with the construction project behind us, we decided we weren’t going to let 2019 slip by without making a valiant effort to attend this one!

It Was 40 Years Ago Today . . .

On September 15, 1979, two young kids said “I do” with absolutely no idea as to what really lay ahead.  Since that day, Alan and I did a lot of growing up together, made some big plans and saw them through to fruition, lost all four of our parents and brought up two amazing kids.  In between all that, we traveled a lot of miles together.  A lot.  Indeed, we’re both road trippers at heart.

National Parks Traveler - A New Addition to My List of Favorite Places!

I’m pretty sure I’ve made it obvious to readers of this blog that, while Alan and I are passionate about traveling in general, we’re particularly fond of the State and National Parks scattered throughout our beautiful country.  So I was absolutely delighted when I recently ran across National Parks Traveler, an organization dedicated to providing news about our National Parks and an extensive collection of ways to enjoy them and other public lands.

Mesa Verde National Park - A Step Back in Time (National Parks Trip #2)

This post represents another installment in the series detailing the second of our three cross country National Parks camping trips with travel trailer in tow.  At the time of this trip in 2010, our son, Ryan, was 16 and our daughter, Kyra, was 11.

When one or both parents are working, it can be difficult to build the vacation you really want to take around a limited number of days off.  It’s very true that Alan, I and our two kids could have flown to our various destinations, rented a car and booked a hotel - and there are certainly countless families that do that and have absolutely wonderful vacations.  For us, however, camping is the adventure and having all the comforts and conveniences of home tagging along behind us is just how we prefer to roll.

Luckily, by the time our second National Parks trip was in the planning stage, Alan had six weeks of vacation to work with.  (That grammatical error was just for you, Mike!)  I was working part time in the local school district, so my summers (and the kids’, of course) were free.  Once Alan’s approval came through for a four week block of time, we had a major decision to make – the same one we faced every time we started to plan a vacation.  Do we limit the stops and immerse ourselves in each one?  Or do we try to fit more in, but make the visits to each National Park shorter?  It was never an easy choice and, honestly, we would have had a great time no matter which option we chose.

Blog, Blog, Blog

The miscellaneous photos in this post are from some of the many places we’ve been to but I haven’t had the chance to document yet – and there will be plenty more to come, “Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.”

I did it again.  When I looked back to the prior installment in the series on our second cross country National Parks camping trip, I found that it has been more than five months since my last post.  Yikes!  My intent was to document that trip on a much more regular basis but, alas, it seems like there’s always something more pressing at the top of my mind and the tip of my tongue.

"My List"

Within the past week or so, two things occurred that have given me so much food for thought that this post practically wrote itself.  First, Alan and I got into a Bucket List discussion which happens occasionally around our house.  Then, I heard an old Toby Keith song called “My List” written by Tim James and Antonina Armato that hasn’t been on the airwaves in a while.  In 2007, our kids, Ryan and Kyra, traveled on their first cross country National Parks camping trip with us.  Ryan was 13 and Kyra was 8.  When we returned, I created a DVD of photos and videos from that trip set to the music of “My List.”  (You’ll find some of them below.)  To this day, I can’t listen to that song without that DVD playing in my mind.  Memories of the trip and talk about our Bucket Lists started tumbling around in my head.  Here’s what I shook out . . .

Today is National Ice Cream Day!

I was not aware that today was National Ice Cream Day when I drafted my last post on Pennsylvania’s “Pursue Your Scoops” Ice Cream Trail.  Now I am, and so are you.

Back in 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day.  As if I needed an excuse.   But wait, there’s more . . .

The Pennsylvania "Pursue Your Scoops" Ice Cream Trail

Let’s talk about ice cream.  Specifically, about my love affair with it.  I just adore ice cream – or, I should say, I adore what I consider to be really good ice cream.  The most memorable ice cream from my childhood was a Rabbit Ears cone from Mr. Softee – that was the name of our neighborhood ice cream truck and, by default, the man who drove it.  Regular cones cost a dime (yes, I know, I’m dating myself) and they were yummy.  But a Rabbit Ears cone cost a quarter and, boy oh boy, was that a special treat!  Soft chocolate ice cream filled up the wafer cone, and that was topped with a soft vanilla ice cream head and two squiggly rabbit ears.  A quick dip of chocolate sprinkles (or jimmies, as they’re known elsewhere) on the ears and the addition of a maraschino cherry nose were the finishing touches to this delightful treat.  Happily, Mr. Softee’s tasty treats were not my only ice cream adventures when I was young.

TST Tire Pressure Monitoring System - I Promised I'd Get Back to You

Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way.  I’m not affiliated with, recommending or receiving payment from Truck System Technologies or any other companies that manufacture Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.  I simply wanted to share our experience, just in case any of you are interested. 

Alan and I log a LOT of road trip miles.  Our first travel trailer had over 40,000 miles on it when it “retired.”  Our current travel trailer is closing in on 15,000 already.  Earlier this year, Alan and I decided to invest in a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) so that we could monitor the temperature and pressure of our travel trailer tires while we were on the road.  Our reasoning and my very non-technical research can be found in my post from February called “The Least Technical Post You’ll Ever Read About Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems” (link HERE).  We decided against a flow through system and chose a cap sensor system instead.  Our purchase was the 507 Series 4 Cap Sensor system from a company called Truck System Technologies (TST).  At the time we bought it, we still had snow on the ground and limited access to the tires of our travel trailer.  Alan ended up installing the system shortly before our trip to the Florida Keys in May – a trip that provided a test of more than 4,000 miles for the new system.  If you’re interested in our experience setting it up and a report based on our road trip experience, read on.  If the thought of slogging through a post on a TPMS bores you to tears then, by all means, please go read a post on another one of your favorite blogs – but please be sure to come back another day!  (We’ll all miss you if you don’t!)

Northampton Beach Campground - "The Lake is My Happy Place"

We’re back.  Again.  Due to a complete revision of our spring travel plans, Alan and I ended up at Northampton Beach Campground in Mayfield, New York, almost immediately after we arrived home from our recent round trip to the Florida Keys.  We did cancel the first week of our stay at Northampton Beach, because we simply didn’t arrive home in time from the Keys.  As disappointed as we were to miss that first week, we were thrilled to have been able to continue what has become an annual tradition for our family.

Well, THAT was Fun! (Random Thoughts on Our Recent Journey)

We’re back.  Alan and I just spent a little more than 3 weeks on the road beginning in mid-May, the result of a MAJOR revision to our travel plans early in the year.  You can find the full story on why the vacation we took was not the one we originally intended to take in a post from February entitled, “Our Spring Travel Plans Went Right Out the Window” (link HERE).  But let me just say here and now that, although it was an extremely busy vacation, it was also an extremely fun-filled one, too.

Because we both came back to a really long "To Do" list, we’re scrambling to catch up on both business business and personal business.  It took me a full day just to wade through the piles of laundry and sort and prioritize the mail.  I have no medical background, but I do understand the concept of triage, and I can assure you that there was plenty of that this past week.  Since we’re still playing catch up, I only have time for a quick post.  So, I’d like to simply share with you some random thoughts on a vacation that felt kind of like a variety show, along the lines of the old Ed Sullivan Show.  For those of you who are too young to remember the show:  It appeared on TV every Sunday night from 1948 to 1971 and was hosted by (guess who!) Ed Sullivan.  The various acts that appeared included singers, dancers, comedians, acrobats and circus acts – if it was a legal form of entertainment that could be fit into a ten minute time slot, it probably appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.  And I’m so sorry you missed it – it was a classic.  But, I digress.  As I was saying about this vacation, it really did feel like a variety show because we enjoyed such a, well, variety of people and activities.  I’ll be returning with future posts that contain more details but, for now, I’d like to share some random thoughts and observations on our most recent adventure . . . 

I'm Adding "iRV2" to My List of Favorite Places!

Anyone who enjoys the RVing lifestyle knows that RVers are some of the friendliest people around.  They thrive on sharing travel stories and are quick to offer a good tip or even some hands-on assistance when needed.  That's why I love poking around on forums designed specifically for the RV and camping lifestyles.