YES! We’re On the Road Again!

When we had to abort our 4-month trip to Africa & the Middle East, Joe was crushed — he was so excited for 4 months with family exploring more of the world. Since returning home, he has been brainstorming backup options. His parents used to dream about driving across the US in an RV… something they never ended up doing… and since the US seems like the safest place to be (well.. um… maybe) in the face of COVID-19 …

Big Trip 2.1 — an RV across the US

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Yes, that’s right.. on Tuesday, July 16, our family departed home in a rented RV on a one-way, 3-week trip to Denver. And… we’re OFF AGAIN!

Joe would have been excited to drive all the way to Florida, where he grew up and where his family lives… thankfully, there’s a LOT of demand for RVs right now and the longest one way availability we could find on short notice from Seattle was to drop in Denver.

You may wonder .. have we meticulously planned this out? Short answer – no. Joe has been busy at work (new job role at Microsoft), kids were busy with school– in addition to lots of Call of Duty (Alexander), Fortnight (Sydney) and reading Harry Potter & Hunger Games (Piper), and I’ve been trying to find my golf swing so I can play to my handicap, in addition to working on social justice issues. So, on the day we left home, we only had reservations for a place to sleep our first 2 nights: Coeur d’Alene, ID … about a 5 hour drive from our house. Figuring out the plan along the way will be part of the adventure, although we do know we want to visit Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton & Arches National Parks.

You may also wonder… tell us about that RV! Don’t you worry, loyal blog reader… that post is coming. And yes, we’ll cover the smells too.

Goodbye, Washington .. hello … IDAHO!

Our first stop was two nights in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I have always wanted to play the golf course at the Coeur d’Alene Resort with the floating green. Alexander and I had a tee time for Wednesday and arrived a little early so we could warm up. We were both surprised to learn that the driving range had floating balls which you hit out into the lake…cool! Yes, the club gathers them all up out of the lake.

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We had so much fun playing the course in the morning (especially #14 with the floating green which you access via boat), we arranged to play another round in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we had to evacuate the course after 9 holes (and Alexander and I were both 3 over on the front 9!) due to lightning. We waited awhile and finally gave up and met Joe and the girls for dinner. Most of the restaurants were open for dine-in eating which was fun. It was our first time eating at a restaurant since London in early March!

Road trip karma…Hello “Wild Horse Hot Springs!”

Of course one of the great (and sometimes not so great) things about an “unplanned” road-trip is the surprises you take advantage of along the way. On our drive from Coeur d’Alene to Glacier, Joe sees a sign for “Hot Springs.” Those of you who know Joe understand he just can’t turn down an opportunity to visit a hot springs.

As we approached via their gravel road, we could see large plastic bright blue bins next to a horse pasture. If it were just the kids and me, I would have turned the RV around and headed onward to Glacier. Instead, I explained (once again) to the kids that we all had to take turns picking things to do and this was going to be one of daddy’s picks so we’re going to go with it. It was surprisingly busy there. And the backhoe behind us added to the ambiance of the wild horses that were all hanging around the tubs! 🙂

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Next up … Glacier National Park! We’re excited to see how our kids’ hiking legs are doing after 3 months at home…