STATS, THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS ABOUT OUR ADVENTURE! AND WHAT'S NEXT FOR US??

WOW, what a year we had in 2022! To call it an adventure is truly an understatement. We are thankful for this blog, so that we can look back and remember all of the amazing things we did, wonderful people we met along the way and the absolutely stunning places we visited.

STATS

We traveled in 3 countries, 21 US States, 8 Canadian Provinces and 2 Mexico States. During the 331 days we were on the road, we overnighted in 122 different towns/areas. This put our average at 3 days per stay. We were definitely on the move, but never felt rushed.

We drove over 20,000 miles, 18,000 of those in the motorhome, with an additional 2000+ miles in the Jeep on side trips. Of course, our biggest expense was fuel, followed closely by our RV site expenses which averaged $24.75 a night. We were pleasantly surprised with that average, considering the rise in campsite fees over the past few years. Boondocking and moochdocking helped us achieve this low average.

Another surprise was that we had no major repairs or breakdowns to deal with. We did have 3 flat tires, but we had planned for these and carried 2 spare tires with us.

We had agreed before the trip that we would not hold back financially if we really wanted to do a special tour or sightseeing event. We did not want to look back later with regrets. We were able to accomplish this without spending wildly. 🤪

THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS

We are frequently asked about our favorite place we visited. We honestly can't answer that, because there were so many.

We thoroughly enjoyed being on the road. Our house was parked in so many different places, with a new view nearly every morning. There are so many vast open expanses of land in North America, with very little population. It makes you feel very small in this large world. Wildlife probably outnumbers humans in most of these areas, which is refreshing to experience.

The most positive highlight of this trip was meeting so many great people along the way. 99.99% of those we met were so friendly. As a matter of fact, we only encountered 2 rude individuals throughout last year (1 in Alaska and 1 in Kentucky). We were also overwhelmed by the generosity of new and old friends who allowed us to moochdock at their homes. A special thanks to all of you!!

Others have asked us if we discovered somewhere else that we would really like to live? We have not yet, but we will be back to visit many places again (i.e., Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and the Northeast). We would also return to Alaska, under certain circumstances (i.e., Flying in or joining another RV). It's not that we didn't enjoy our road trip, it's just that Alaska is so far away!!.

We've always been taught look at the positives and negatives of everything in our lives. Other than what we've already said, here goes.

POSITIVES

National Parks

Sunsets (Until Alaska)

Wildlife

Natural beauty of our country

Lighthouses

The Northern Lights

Razor clamming

Alaskan fishing

Canadian cinnamon buns

Pacific Coast Hwy 1

Oregon/Washington coast

The color of glacial lakes

Extreme points of the US

Sand sledding

Soaking in hot springs in the snow

The Yukon

Fireweed

Bourbon

The Canadian exchange rate

NEGATIVES

#1 - Missed our family (FaceTime helped)

Customs

Grasslands of Canada

Gas prices, especially Canada and Alaska

Bears, sometimes 😜

Covid

Flat tires

As you can see, the positives far outweigh the negatives!! This was a trip of a lifetime!!

WHAT'S NEXT?

We were excited to get home to Suwannee and settle down, however the itch to travel has quickly returned. We are definitely "wanderers". This time, however, we will travel by BOAT!. In a few weeks, we will be the proud owners of a Mainship 390 Trawler. We will be leaving Jacksonville Fl in April to travel America's Great Loop, a waterway loop around the eastern US, up into the Great Lakes and then down the Central US river system to the Gulf of Mexico. We will then continue down and around the southern portion of Florida, returning to Jacksonville, where we will "Cross our Wake".

Please follow along on our nautical journey aboard "Southern Tides" our new home on the water 🌊

So long for now.....

NEXT UP: "SOUTHERN TIDES" TOUR, RENAMING CEREMONY AND CASTING OFF!!