Well, the time is finally here! Steve and I have embarked on our multi-month road trip across the United States. We will be living out of a large, grey cargo van and exploring the beauty and wonders of this country. We spent several weeks packing and preparing for the trip, which was no easy task. I am a notorious over-packer and Steve prides himself on being prepared for every situation, so the van is a little more full than we had hoped. I’ll write a bit more about van organizing and our possessions in another post.
This first month of the trip will be slightly different than the months that will follow. We are easing ourselves into the van life by slowly working our way south down the east coast and visiting many friends and family along the way. It has been wonderful to spend time with friends we haven’t seen recently and I have really enjoyed getting glimpses into each of their beautiful and unique lives. We have seen their new houses and apartments and met their rabbits, dogs, and babies. I love experiencing my friends’ daily routines as well as visiting their favorite restaurants, neighborhoods, and watering holes.
Our stops so far have included:
- Punxsutawney, PA for Groundhog Day
- Philadelphia, PA with our friends Allison and Trent
- Collingswood, NJ with our friends Katie and TJ
- Delaware and Maryland in our van
- Baltimore, MD with our friends Casey and Jordan
- Alexandria, VA with our friends Jake and Alison
- Arlington, VA with our friend Steven
We have been able to see some natural beauty along our way and practiced a bit of car camping. We wandered the shores of Assateague Island to watch the sun rise and saw wild horses roam the marshes and dunes. We saw a serene sunset over the Chesapeake Bay from Deal Island, Maryland. We made it out to Shenandoah National Park with a wonderful old friend, Steven, and a great new friend, Christine (christinexploring) where we saw a beautiful waterfall and the lovely glow of sunset over the distant layered mountains.
If you have any suggestions or recommendations for our cross country travels, please email me at carrieoutdoors1@gmail.com and let me know! We love beautiful hikes, unique locations and hidden gems!
I’ll end this post with a sampling of the sunrises and sunsets we have seen so far:
Carrie Outdoors 
1 Comment