Wow! A full week on the road is crazy! Time flies when you’re having fun! It’s been extremely nice being back in the camper, and Hunter and I are having a blast settling in while we slowly make our way out to Mt Hood. The last few days we’ve been able to start settling into a routine.

Getting back on the road we spent a few days in Ohio. We saw a lot of Hunter’s friends and family and got to catch up with them. Hunter and his sister, Brooke, took me to a grocery store like no other: Jungle Jim’s. There were aisles for so many different countries, and we got a bunch of foods to try. We got award winning pizza at Marion’s pizza in Centerville, and followed it up with a night of hanging out with some of Hunter’s friends.

We went up to Findlay, OH, where we saw Hunter’s parents, who also live in a camper. Their’s is a 5th wheel tow behind, though, so it’s a little more spacious than ours. We got dinner with them, and Hunter’s step-brothers. We played games and just enjoyed spending time together. One thing that is nice about having the camper is how easy it becomes to see friends and family along the way. Without the need for housing it becomes a lot more convenient for us and our friends for us to just stop by.

From Ohio we backtracked east, with our final destination being Shenandoah National Park for a couple days. We stopped at Cuyahoga Valley National Park on our way, though, and it did not disappoint. We learned that a lot of the reason this became a National Park in 2000 was to preserve the Cuyahoga River that runs through it. Since becoming a National Park the water in this area has become much cleaner, and a lot of native species are returning. We went on a quick waterfall hike from the visitor center. Although the fact that you could hear the highway the whole hike wasn’t quite our style, it was still enjoyable. We’d definitely recommend stopping at Cuyahoga Valley National Park if you’re in the area!

We went straight from Cuyahoga Valley to Front Royal, the town just outside of the Northern entrance of Shenandoah National Park. We spent the night at a trusty Cracker Barrel, before getting up in the morning, making breakfast, and heading into the park. Shenandoah is one of may favorite National Parks, and once again it did not disappoint. We drove all of Skyline Drive, stopping at every pretty pull off we saw. We hiked Little Stonyman, which lead to a gorgeous lookout on the Appalachian Trail. We also did a scramble hike, blue blazing off of the Appalachian Trail, that lead to a breathtaking lookout. We finished up our time in the park watching the sunset at Rockytop Overlook, which was one of the more underwhelming sunsets I’ve seen in the park as it was very cloudy. We headed out of the park and stayed at another trusty Cracker Barrel in Waynesboro, VA.

Being on the road is my favorite and least favorite part of being in the camper. It’s amazing to get the opportunity to go on all these adventures. I’ve been able to see 47 states, and 21 National Parks, which is not something I think many people have the opportunity to do at 24 years old. My passion for travel has driven a lot of that, but living in the camper has made it so much easier to see so much more in a comfortable way. I am constantly blown away by how much beauty there is, and how vastly different everything is in the United States.

With that being said, being on the road comes with it’s own set of difficulties. Being somewhat stationary is nice, because there is just less that goes into your day to day. Every day we have to figure out where we’re going to sleep, plan our route for the next day, and it is so much harder to keep up with general housekeeping things when on the road. Sunny’s litter pan seems to get dirty faster, the truck’s oil needs to get changed somewhere along the way, water needs to get filled, dirty water tanks need to get dumped, propane needs to get filled, and so much more. Without a place to call home, or the knowledge of where to get these things done, all of this seems to add up so much faster.

Although we have a lot of housekeeping to catch up on, we’ve had a wonderful first week back on the road, and we’re excited to keep chugging along to the West Coast. Seeing all of our friends and family along the way makes for an amazing time, and there are so many more sights and people we get to see on this trip! Sunny is enjoying his new bed, and sleeping through most of the drive, and I’m sure the three of us will love the rest of this road trip, even if it might be exciting to get somewhere to be stationary for a couple days.

We’re Back on the Road!

We’re Still on the Road!

We left Hawaii!