Hello and welcome to Mike and Donna's retirement adventures.
After many years of working and taking care of family, we decided to look for adventures in other places.
Donna's retirement came at the request of her former manager (little Hitler) on 9/27/21 after 18 years with the IT vendor at the San Diego Convention Center. Mikes retirement began 46 years to the day, after high school on 3/18/22.
We have always liked cars and driving; we love to travel. We decided life on the road could be a new challenge/adventure for us.
In August (2021) we ordered a new home: An Airstream 30' Classic and a new Dodge RAM 2500 Diesel truck to tow it.
On Friday December 2, 2022, we finally took possession of it.
Have fun following us down the road.
October 1 – Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Welp……since summer we knew we’d be coming off the road full time. It was a bittersweet day for us.
We winterized The Sandman while at the KOA and this morning, we backed him into our driveway. Yes – you read that correctly – our driveway!!
Long story short – we bought a house with 5 acres (and a pool) a few years back. We rented it out while on the road. The renters bought a house in July, so we needed to make another life changing decision. Do we rent the house out again or come off the road full time??? Because we spent SO many years in California, away from our kids, and now our grands, it was not a hard decision to make. Well – sort of – hard to explain. We LOVED our time on the road, but we missed our family so very much.
And so, another chapter begins. Amazon has been very busy delivering things along with Wayfair. We’ve hit just about every store in the area for our needs and we’ve started all over again…. because – don’t forget!! We sold, gave away, or threw away everything we owned (with the exception of a few things our daughter stored in her basement for us). Thanks Tiffany. Oh, but it has been fun!!
We’ve not planned our next adventure, but it’s lurking out there.
We would not change one thing we did. We loved every minute of our adventures on the road for the past 2 years. We saw and experienced things we could have never imagined. The memories are something that can’t be taken away and soon we’ll have photographs on our walls, to remind us of what a special time we had…. going back and forth across the US twice……all the friends we saw, all the new friends we made, and now y’all better come visit us in good ole Harpers Ferry, West Virginia!! It is a beautiful historic town so plan your vacation to come see us….
Quite often we are asked where our favorite place to visit was……SO many beautiful places we went to but………..Glacier National Park gets our vote for No. 1……..
Cheers for now!!
September 29 – October 1 Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry KOA
Yep – we’ve been here before. Nice place, set in the woods (for the most part). It took us a bit to get settled after moving 4 times – Ugggg!! Some of the electrical pedestals just weren’t having The Sandman as a resident – LOL!!!
The drive was nice and smooth. Seeing those familiar road signs warmed our hearts.
We hadn’t seen our kids and grands for many months and had planned to meet them at our favorite BBQ place in the area. It figures we had site issues – dang it – we were an hour late but hey – better late than never….. It was SO great to see them all and get those big hugs we’ve missed so much!
September 26 - 29 Natural Bridge Station, Virginia
Jellystone Park
If we hadn’t planned on leaving when we did, to go further north, we would have anyway. Hurricane Helene was beginning to wreak havoc on the skies and on the ground. The little creek near our campground was filling up quickly and there is nothing quite like breaking camp in the pouring rain – Not!!! The news was nothing good – the rain bands prior to the Hurricane were already here……
The drive to Natural Bridge was not fun…..it poured…..and poured…..then a bit of a break….and poured some more.
When we spotted caravan after caravan of Electric Company trucks heading south, we knew things were going to get worse, south of us. Do we continue heading to West Virginia (long drive) or take a chance that we had missed the brunt of the storm and continue to our stay in Natural Bridge? We checked the weather carefully and decided that Natural Bridge was far enough north and we’d be okay.
We settled into our site (in the rain) and called it a day – LOL!!! Let’s look at the weather again tomorrow and see what is ahead.
The sun is shining!! Thank you sky Gods! We both feel like drowned rats as we’ve been in the rain for over a week and we…are….done….with it!!
We ventured out to a local place for lunch, The Pink Cadillac Diner. Good ole fashioned home cooking is just what we needed…….and it was Yummmmmyyyy……
The Natural Bridge Visitors Center was one of THE nicest Visitors Centers we’ve ever seen. Tickets to the trail down to the bridge were worth every penny. What a gorgeous hidden gem. The park was dedicated in 2016. At the center of the park, the 200-foot tall Natural Bridge sits in a limestone gorge carved out by Cedar Creek. The arch (bridge) is also a National Historical Landmark. How cool is that????
The park is more than just the Bridge; lush forests and rolling meadows showcase the area’s karst terrain and vistas of surrounding mountains, and the James River valley competes with the Bridge itself. There are more than 10 miles of hiking trails, including Cedar Creek Trail, which leads from the Visitor Center under the bridge to Lace Falls with its 50-foot cascade. Just beautiful!!
The Ranger mentioned that once a month, on the last Saturday, they illuminate the Bridge at night, and we should plan to come back. The next evening, we bundled up (yep, it’s starting to get chilly) and enjoyed the spectacular sight.
The entire area of southern Virginia is simply gorgeous. Fall as the leaves are turning, is the perfect time to explore.
September 23 - 26 Marion, Virginia
Hungry Mother State Park
Really? Another Buc-ee’s?? When you get on the Interstate, you just HAVE to stop if you see one – LOL!! This one we had been to last year when we visited Gatlinburg, TN. Well, geez – it’s right there before you get on I40 so how can you NOT stop?????
And here we are, back in VA – the state we lived in for so many years – got married here – raised our kids here – and then the rest is history (we moved to CA in 2003 to help take care of Donna’s parents).
This state park was recommended by many, so we put it on our travel path. It didn’t disappoint. There are 3 campgrounds within the park, nestled in the woods. They rent the usual water craft items and have a great beach area. The park is one of the six original CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) parks that opened in June of 1936. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The quaint town of Marion is just that – a few shops and restaurants – including one of our favorite VA chains – Macado’s.
We kept seeing road signs for “Back of the Dragon”???? Never heard of it. We took off to find an overlook to view the beautiful mountains and realized we were ON the Back of the Dragon – LOL!!
The overlook had a map and low and behold – well –yeah!!!! It began at the State Park and went 32 miles, with 438 curves, at 3500’, to the small town of Tazewell.
We took another gorgeous drive through the mountains in Virginia – with the leaves turning. Something we don’t see except in the east is the vines that take over the brush and trees.
Kinda creepy!!
We’ve lucked out thus far with no rain…..until we wanted to go for a hike. Nope – it rained all night and more came, so we decided we didn’t want to trench through the mud…..now we are on Hurricane Helene watch as we head northeast!!!
We just LOVE this part of the country! Fall is the perfect time to be here……
September 20 - 23 Vonore, Tennessee
Notchy Creek Campground
Where in the world are we going?????
It was after our stop at……. Buc-ee’s – LOL!! Haven’t seen a Buc-ee’s in a LONG time cause we haven’t been on an Interstate in a LONG time. What the heck is the draw to this place? Haven’t figured it out yet except it’s a shopping mega for all kinds of things – food, drink, stuff……..and they are always – always – always crowded!!!!!
What is up with this darn traffic? We’ve gotten so used to being on small highways and back roads! Bear jam on I40 – wow! The most unexpected place to see a big ole black bear – having a swim in the nice warm water below the bridge – neato!!!
Really nice country campground nestled in the woods by Lake Tennessee. Super quiet but too hot and humid to sleep with the windows open.
We were excited to get to this particular area as we have friends that live nearby. But……Covid struck again and they were both very sick – damn it!! So, we drove into their driveway and waved/blew kisses. We were SO bummed about not getting to hang out with Scotty and Maxine Drapo for the weekend. Mike and Scotty were in the Navy together – so they’ve known each other a long, long time……
All was not lost for something to do however!!! We were only about 45 minutes away from……the famous Tail of the Dragon – US 129 – oh yeah baby – here we come! This road has 318 curves in 11 miles – America’s favorite motorcycle and sports car road, bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest, with no intersecting roads or driveways. Guaranteed to be the ride of your life!!!!!
We were first introduced to Tail of the Dragon after we bought our first MINI Cooper in 2002. It was an instant love affair and MINI’s on the Dragon was formed. 100’s of MINI’s came every year the first week of May for many days of fun! We moved to CA in 2003 but managed to drive from CA in 2012 for a 10 year “reunion” of MINI’s on the Dragon.
Unforgettable memories……………We had a great lunch at the Fontana Lodge which overlooks the mountains and the Fontana Village, reminiscing about old times gone by!!
On our way back “home”, we drove through the Foothills Parkway of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This whole area is so breathtakingly beautiful – especially at this time of the year. The leaves are changing and starting to fall – wow – so, so pretty!
September 18 – 20 Nashville, Tennessee
Two Rivers RV Park
These old bridges are just SO cool…….
The most exciting part of our drive to Nashville was seeing another Airstream along the way
– Hiya to whomever you are!! So much fun to see another one in the wild!!!
The RV Park wasn’t anything special. It sure was packed though!!!
Being within 15 minutes of downtown Nashville, it made for a quick trip to find EXPENSIVE parking near the famous Broadway district. We had been in this area a couple of years ago, so we didn’t do much touristy stuff except to walk the several blocks of bars and restaurants. It was super crowded. We suppose Nashville is kinda like New Orleans – people visiting year-round.
As we drifted from bar to bar (not drinking) listening to the various bands, blasting their music enticing people to visit, one bar in particular caught our ears. They were from Season 7 of American’s Got Talent – way cool….and…..they played Donna’s favorite song by John Denver – “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. A fun afternoon!!
September 17 – 18 Gilbertsville, Kentucky
Kentucky Dam Village State Park
We said Goodbye to Missouri……………skirted Illinois and landed in Kentucky.
It was a beautiful sunny day for a drive – crossing many of those old bridges along our way. It was neato to see the barges below in the Mississippi River – wondering how in the heck do those things manage to get down that river, that has almost no water!!
Wait – what? We’re going to Waffle House??? We haven’t seen or been to one in months….our favorite quick stop place on the road – LOL!!!
Kentucky has some gorgeous back roads – smooth rolling curves and GREEN tall trees. The state park was beautiful and we had it almost to ourselves – excellent!! We had a lovely overnight stay with the windows open, listening to the night creatures’ talk.
Mother Nature continues to be an amazing thing. We had clear skies and got a bird’s eye view of the partial eclipse – Nice!!!
September 16 - 17 Doniphan, Missouri
Rocky River Resort RV Park
Cloudy skies with rain looming in the distance….
We love old bridges like trains out in the wild. Missouri has some REALLY neat old bridges.
Some a bit narrower than we would have liked…but…..slow and steady over these things!!!
The smooth rolling roads out of the Ozarks, through the back country of Missouri, always gives us an appreciation of what we have…we saw a lot of this…..and that…..We get a bit sad when we are so fortunate, and others are not. Life is life and we can’t change the world…
Water levels are SO low everywhere we’ve been. Sad to see when we know water is such an important part of life, especially in many of the HUGE recreation areas we’ve been through or stayed at. Everyone has told us about the drought in their area and it’s pretty obvious.
Mother Nature sure didn’t give us a break for most of the day – what started off as a light rain, quickly turned into pouring – but hey – these areas have been begging for rain and they got it ---------- So………we pull into our site and it’s just yuck – mush, squish, uggggg!!! We quickly change into our “camp shoes” to get set up. Talking with the camp manager, they had 3 straight days of rain before we arrived…..well…..yeah….we could tell – LOL!!
This “not so much of a resort” was fine as a one night stop. A planned stop specifically in this little tiny town of Doniphan, was special to us. Donna’s Dad, RAdm. Doniphan Shelton, grew up in Springfield, MO – before he was honored enough to be accepted to the Naval Academy. Cheers to you Dad!!!
September 12 - 16 Hollister (Branson), Missouri
Turkey Creek Escapees Park
Oh, those beautiful Ozarks!! After a non-exciting drive (knock on wood), the closer we got to Branson, that beautiful mountain range surrounded us in all its glory….
We had been to this area in April last year (2023). We stayed at two different campgrounds, both of which were nestled in the Ozarks. This time around, we decided to stay close to the historic district of Branson, since we were only there for four days.
As members of the Escapees RV club, one of the perks is staying in one of their campgrounds at a pretty fair price. There just happened to be one in this area – Yayyy!
Not as pretty or fancy as some other places we’ve stayed, but it was perfect for our needs.
We poked around the small town of Hollister – some neat restaurants and shops. Historic Branson although touristy, is also a fun place to spend some $$ if you chose – LOL!!! “The Strip” as the locals call it, is NOTHING like Vegas – although they would swear it is…….
All in all, we had a nice relaxing time….
Truck stops fuel fill had found us parked next to the 3 little pigs.
September 11 - 12 Carthage, Missouri
Camp Mi Casa/Rt. 66 RV Park
As we said goodbye to Dorothy and Toto, we headed into Missouri for yet – wait for it – another one-night stay – LOL!!
It was fun to see an old Airstream along our travels. She owns a company out of Colorado called Wild Lily. She uses her Airstream as a traveling boutique – kinda cool!!!!!
And that my friends, was our exciting drive for the day and our non-exciting stay in Carthage
– LOL!
September 8 -11 Cheney, Kansas
Cheney State Park
Kansas terrain – at least the route we took, was miles and miles of agriculture once again. We had no idea that so much is grown in this state, along with hundreds of cow farms for producing milk.
We recognized the huge corn fields but had to Google the other huge crop we kept seeing. They grow sorghum! Huh…. who knew????? Sorghum (a type of grain) is used in making gluten free food and syrup….
And…………. the wind in this state is no joke!! We fought it our entire drive. No wonder they have so many wind turbine fields – flat and windy most of the time. The trees along the way were shaped almost sideways because of the wind!!!
Speaking of wind – in the tiny little town of Mullinville located on Hwy 154 (US Route 400) –we came across hundreds of bizarre and abstract metal sculptures squeaking and twirling in the Kansas wind. All were made by M.T. Liggett, a native of the area. Made from road signs, car parts, farm equipment, and a multitude of other objects welded together.
The most eye-catching works are of a political nature, bashing local, national, and international politicians across the political spectrum. Other works are more personal to Liggett, including sculptures of his dogs, each of his six ex-wives, and one of a three- breasted French prostitute that he once “went to bed with.”
We had a super nice, cozy site nestled in the trees – by the lake. Very quiet and dark – dark skies.
Quiet until we heard a knock on the screen door one evening! Hum…...” who or what is that?” With flashlight in hand, we venture carefully out the door……and what do we see??? 3 HUGE raccoons eating nuts from the tree at our site. Okay – no problem – but keep your dirty paws off the door – LOL!!!! They all scattered but we managed to get a picture of one before it took off…….
The Kansas state flower – the Sunflower – fun to see on some of their road signs! But it was the wrong time of year to see them anywhere in the fields or alongside the roads.
September 7 - 8 Dodge City, Kansas
Gunsmoke RV Park
We spent another one nighter to break up mileage as we continue our travels. The campground was set up like an old western town – kinda cute!
The highlight was we saw another Airstream in the park….and…. the neighbor’s property behind the campground had all kinds of animals, including some really friendly goats – LOL!!!
Many miles of agriculture along our route today and lots of farmers out on the roads, tending to their many acres of crops…..BIG grain silos like we’ve never seen before!!!
September 6 - 7 Hasty, Colorado
September 6 - 7 Hasty, Colorado
Lake Hasty John Martin Reservoir State Park
When we think of Colorado, we think of – well – mountains. That might be true for a lot of the state but our drive today? Not so much. Once we left the Estes Park area the other day, the terrain changed drastically. The skies were blue but the drive was as if we were back in the Dakotas – flat and brown – LOL!!
This was a quick overnight stay to break up mileage as we continue east. Nice campground right by the John Martin Dam. Very quiet and dark skies……..
Notice Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) over our trailer
September 3 - 6 Aurora, Colorado
Cherry Creek State Park
Here we are again, back into the land of traffic – Yuck! Not being used to freeways for a while, we made our way out of the mountains to just outside the Denver area.
What a hidden gem of a campground! We pulled in and wow, what a pretty area. The sites were huge and wide, with plenty of open space all around. We loved it….
We chilled for a few days and did some paperwork.
In the spirit of helping, a neighbor camper needed help moving his trailer after his truck engine blew up. The camp host helped him find another unoccupied site. Mike helped him move his trailer to another site.
The highlight of our stay here was getting to see the daughter of a very good friend of ours, Grace Ellinghaus and her boyfriend Dylan. Her family lived next to us when we lived in Northern Virginia. We hadn’t seen her since we left in 2003, and it was great to catch up over some yummy Mexican food. We’ve known her since she was born. In fact, Mike drove her mom Lacey to the hospital in the midst of a snowstorm to deliver her!!!
We met another friend from Donna’s time in the Philippines. Kim Sargeant with her hubby Jody, took us to dinner at a yummy Italian place. Although Donna’s family and Kim’s family were in Subic Bay at the same time, Kim’s family moved back to the states in 1974, a year after Donna arrived. Donna was several years ahead of her in school so they only met each other through school reunions here in the US. We saw her when we were in Vegas last month and here we are again, enjoying some real catch-up time!!!
August 30 – September 3 – Estes Park, Colorado (near Rocky Mountain National Park)
Jellystone Estes Park
When you see the first tunnel about nine miles from where you’re leaving from, you KNOW It’s going to be…………well…………. a white-knuckle drive and…….it was!Wowzer………. these Colorado mountains are no joke!!!!!!!
We were VERY happy to arrive at our campsite. The camp hosts were super and even helped in getting The Sandman backed into our site. Although we were pretty close to the main highway, no problem – it was level and we didn’t have to maneuver up the narrow lane uphill to the rest of the campground – Yayyy!!! It was a bit gnarly for a large rig like ours.
Several years back, Mike was on a road trip with our besties Jon and Becky Harry (Donna didn’t get to go because WORK wouldn’t let her have vacation at that particular time). They have talked to this day about THE BEST pie shop ever! So yes…..off we went to have some pie. Mike had Cherry and Donna had Peach…………..and boy oh boy – our plates were empty in no time – LOL!!! Waiting in line was not a problem – our mouths were watering the whole time!!
Rocky Mountain National Park is REALLY something! When Donna was young and their family was moving from West to East and vice versa, her dad brought them to the area several times. Her memories of driving through the park are vivid. Trail Ridge Road is designated as a national All-American Road. It covers 48 miles between Estes Park (east side) and Grand Lake (west side). Eleven miles of the highway travel above the tree line at an elevation near 11,500’!! The evergreen forests come to a halt. As it winds across the tundra’s vastness to its high point of 12,183’, it offers thrilling views and wildlife sightings.
Guardrails? Where are they? Nowhere on this very narrow road with hardly any room to pass…………….Yikes! Don’t dare take your hands off that steering wheel……………Wow!!
Estes Park – what a cute town – wandering in and out of shops was a quintessential mountain town experience. And when there is a river involved? Even better……and……what made it even more special for us was seeing a Momma Elk with her babies in the river!! And…. seeing another one walking down main street, munching from the flowerpots along the sidewalk – LOL!!
Mike’s favorite Author – Stephen King! Remember the movie “The Shining?” Part of it was filmed at the famous landmark Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. As soon as we walked in, we both commented that it reminded us of the famous Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. It was oozing with old world charm and modern amenities. We moseyed through the gift shop (big mistake) and came out with a bag full – “Redrum” ………A poster in the lobby advertised a special Bourbon downstairs in their tasting room. Oh boy – here we go!!
Wow!! The tasting room was the most gorgeous thing we’ve ever seen!!!!
Elk “rut” season was in full swing. As we traversed through the roads, our necks getting sore from looking side to side, and up and down. The meadow we suddenly came upon was what we’ve been waiting for – a HUGE herd of Elk and several males with very large racks!! We quickly found a place to park and spent hours watching the show. Big Daddy was on the hunt for “his” female but none of the females wanted anything to do with him – LOL!!! Big Daddy and another had a “friendly” exchange with their antlers while dancing around the females.
Although the altitude was still an issue for us (thin air makes it harder to breath), we managed to do a hike around Bear Lake. What a beautiful place! On the way, we saw a Momma Moose with her baby crossing the road. Not great pictures as they went pretty quick across the road into the woods.
It was a busy time both in the town and in the park as we were there over Labor Day weekend. But all in all, we had a fantastic time!!! Another bucket list item – checked off…
