After our wonderful evening of boondocking we moved about 20 minutes south to Salisbury, VT. We stayed at a campground I remember as a kid and having such a great time. We pulled in on Sunday and the campground was full with kids, parents, and dogs everywhere. We get to our spot, get set up, and immediately Chris starts to try to get a connection on our Starlink. There was NO north facing sky available from any spot and the cellular would not work from so many people using the same tower. This was not good. Chris had to work and we had to find a way to make it happen. 

I went to the office to ask about the Wifi options and also check on where the laundry was located as I couldn't find it on the campground map. The worker explains that the Wifi is only available at the office or if you want it at your site you can pay for it (which she mentions is not any good either). Then when I ask about laundry she says they had to close down the laundry because so many people were breaking in 😳😠😤. I mention that they may want to update their website as people rely on it. 

​Monday morning after our workout and shower, Chris made his breakfast, coffee and headed to the office. It was a nice day so he was able to sit out at a picnic table and there he worked for the day. I would walk up to see him throughout the day to bring him a soda, lunch and if need an afternoon snack. Wednesday, since a lot of people had left, the cell service was better and he was able to hotspot off his phone and work at the camper. By Friday the amount of people that had checked in made it so that he had to spend Friday back at the office to work. When 4pm finally hit it was time for a celebratory drink. He made it through the dreaded work week though not the most ideal working situation. 

Let's now go back to Monday. Since there was no laundry and I had a meeting that day at 4:30 and couldn't get internet to work on my computer, we decided to head into Middlebury around noon to do laundry and hit the library so I can have my meeting. While I was doing laundry and Chris worked in the truck he received a notification that there was a server thunderstorm coming through with high winds and possible hail. It was such a beautiful morning we didn't think to close our awning. I knew that I would be very distracted for my meeting if I didn't go back to close it. I finished up laundry and dropped Chris off at the library so he could continue to work. I ran back to the camper, dropped the folded laundry off, shut all the windows, and pulled the awning in. Phew, I made it before the storm and everything was safe and secure. I headed back to the Middlebury library and locate Chris who found a private room to work. We made sure I was all set for my meeting and I completed my call. Once it was over Chris suggested we go have a drink at 2 Brother's Tavern after having such a busy day running around. 

We had a great drink and ended chatting with 2 gentleman and a women about our journey at which they offered fantastic suggestions. Once done our drink we paid our tab and headed back to the camper with hopes of an evening of making dinner and sitting by the fire. We pull into our site and we hear beeping. I get out of the truck and say to Chris, "is that us beeping?" He opens the door to find our home filled with propane. He immediately shut the main tank off, then runs inside to turn the stove dial off (I hit it when I ran back to close up the camper 😫🥺) and open all the windows and door. Needless to say it was not a quiet night. After about an hour of the propane sensor going off every 10 minutes and we have to run in to silence it, the beeping stopped. We were able to come in and our dinner consisted of microwaving some Taquitos. 

Friday night was the saving grace after a very long week. They had different weekend events planned at the campground so we decided to partake in the cornhole tournament they had going on.  Chris and his partner made it through 2 rounds. My partner and I had a close game but ended up losing after the first game. We ended the evening having our first wood burning fire and relaxing.

I will say the beach was a nice spot for me in the mornings to go down and drink my coffee.  Otherwise this is not the right campground for us. I had invited my family to come camp the weekend with their kids but none of them came. I know that if they did it would have made for a better stay but we made the best of it and can take a few learning moments away from the week. 

For our third week of RV living we went to the Northeast Kingdom. We stayed in a cute campground in Westfield about 5 minutes south of Jay Peak. Saturday, once we were all set back up from our move sitting in our chairs looking out at our new surrounding, we thought how quiet it was and it may be a long week. That it wasn’t. It was a wonderful week. Even though it rained some almost every day and we had to spend a few days inside the camper, we made sure to get outside any chance we could got.

Sunday was a day that it rained all day. We spent most of the day playing games and putting a puzzle together. Monday afternoon/evening the weather was nice so we jumped on the Super 73's and went to check out Big Falls in Troy. Because of all the recent rain the falls where roaring. I brought the camera with us so I could take time to practice getting some shots of the water. Chris and I sat and enjoyed a drink before heading back to the campground. (The video below had me dying 🤣).

Wednesday evening was another nice night so again we hopped on the Super 73's and went down to have dinner at Cajun's Snack Bar. The temperature this day was the first time it wasn’t super humid. I actually was freezing on the ride home. The funniest part was riding by a herd of cows so I mooed at them and I hear one moo back. Chris, who is right behind me, honks his horn which sends all the cows 🐄 running from the fence. I wish I could have seen that.

Thursdays weather was the best of the week. We had no rain in the forecast for the whole day. I decided to go and practice with the camera again around the campground (I have a lot to learn). Once Chris was done work for the day we packed up a cooler with some sandwiches, grapes and chips for dinner, and poured a few cocktails to enjoy. We put our bathing suits on and headed to Lake Eden to relax on the water paddle boarding. Once we got there we pumped them up, got the paddles, cooler and headed to the water. We found a table for our things that we dropped off, made a drink, and out we went into the water. It was such a beautiful night. We paddled out a bit then sat and relaxed on the boards. After a while we went in to eat our dinner. It was still early so we cleaned up our meal, poured another drink and off we went back out on the boards. The sun was starting to set so we paddled back to shore. These simple evenings turn out to be some of my favorite times of the week.

Friday was another on and off rain day. During lunch we took a break to run up the road to this chocolate makers place that we saw on google maps. It took us a minute to find her house. She was so surprised when we told her we were there to purchase some chocolate. We chatted with her for a bit and she brought us what she had available for purchase. She gave us a Mud Season to have for free. It was a dark and white chocolate mix. We then purchased a Maple Walnut and Plain chocolate pack. Each were delicious. All are made with bittersweet chocolate, 72% cacao, Vermont creamery butter, local Vermont maple syrup and local rum for flavoring. Finding these small local business owners are the best. Later that evening Chris needed to hit the liquor store so we ran to Jay’s General and liquor store. There was a small food truck in the back so we decided it was a good night to grab dinner while out. I am so glad we did. We shared a Cuban with fries and both were made perfectly. We may have got stuck in a torrential downpour with thunder and lightning but the food was well worth it.

Saturday we packed up and headed south to try our first night at boon docking.

Since waking up today I have worked out, showered, taken my walk to the river to sit and take a minute to appreciate the day, made breakfast, cleaned the camper, and done dishes like 3 times and I now I don't know what to do with myself so I thought why not write? 

Every time we mention to someone that we live fulltime in our RV traveling states they either say, "I have always dreamed of doing that" or "can you bring me?" When I look back over the past year and remember all we have done to begin to prepare for this adventure I wish I would have documented it more. That whole process has been as much fun as it will be moving from place to place. Once we picked out the camper and completed the financing we quickly began the next step, pinning a map. I had made a list of must see places in each state so Chris bought a 4x3 and attached it to cork board. The fun then began. We would take about 10 minutes a night to pin a few stops. It wasn't as easy as just dropping a pin. We would google the place, find the town and mark the pin as close to the location as possible. We had to think about time of the year we will be in that place to be sure they were open for the season. (We have had to change the route twice since we first thought it was complete. Once being last week because we would have been at the Grand Teton before the park opens for the season.) We also noticed that the EDC (electric daisy carnival) is in Orlando in November so we made sure to add that as a stop along the way. 

Once the map was pinned we then began picking campgrounds in the area that we are staying. I also made a spreadsheet that I entered the State, what we are going to see, the distance and milage between the stops, the dates we will be staying and the parks name, address, phone number and website. Finally on February 25, 2023 we had all the stops, campgrounds and dates figured out. I felt so happy to see the planning was coming to life. 

Our lease was up at the end of February so we had been also packing. This was the hardest pack I have ever had to do. We had to sort thought all of our things and think what will we need in the camper for the next couple years and what goes into storage. Chris had to remind me many times that if we didn't bring it with us we can always buy it while we are on the road. We were moving into a furnished home for the next 3 months so we ended up bringing a lot of what was going into storage to his brothers and the rest came to the house. After the 3 months we were moving into a room we were renting from a friend so even more totes went to storage and only what was going into the camper would come with us. We had to do one more storage run before we officially moved into the camper for July 1 but we were very happy that so far everything we have needed we have had with us. 😁

Now that I had all the stops and parks picked out I had to begin to make reservations. Of course, we have had to put a budget together as deposits or even payment in full will be needed for reservations. Over the next couple months I made reservations all the way up to Thanksgiving. We are super excited to be in the French Quarters in New Orleans for this week. We decided we would take a break making any more reservations until we are on the road incase we learn some tricks that make more sense. 

Spring was now upon us and we knew we will be picking the camper up soon so now to start purchasing items we are going to need. I had done a lot of research to find the best products and what other RV's suggest. I almost feel I should have gave our FedEx, UPS and USPS person a gift because the amount of deliveries we had every day was crazy! We bought sewage house, stands, hoses, power surge box, StarLink equipment, electric bikes, cordless vacuum, rugs, new mattress, sheets, outdoor chairs, table, and the list goes on and on...

Finally, it was May 13 and we were picking up the camper! I was so excited to start putting all of our things in it to see how they would fit. I still pinch myself sometimes because of how well everything has worked out along this whole process. It makes me believe that this is exactly what we are supposed to be doing in our lives now. After working on putting things away over a few weekends we finally had everything but some clothes that we would wear before moving into the camper and bathroom items. 

I was able to look at all the work and planning we had put into all of this and see it in action. The feeling in my soul was one for the books. I don't think I can ever put into words how I felt the day we pulled out of the driveway and headed to our first campground. It is indescribable. 

We just completed week 2! I am impressed with how well we are adjusting to our new life. We did learn 3 new things that I am very glad we did sooner than later. First, each light on the camper ceiling can be turned on and off individually. Since we picked up the camper in May all the lights were on. We would used the master interior light switch turning them on or off so being able to turn some off has been delightfully less bright. Second, if the air conditioner is on and you want to run something with a heat source (ie: coffee maker, hair dryer, toaster) you must shut the AC off or you will trip a circuit (I think I did it like 15 times before I remembered this). Third, when you flush the toilet be sure the exhaust fan is not on, especially if you are still sitting on the toilet. Any smell gets pulled right up above you to the fan 🤢🤮.

Today we moved 2 hours from Mallets Bay to the Northeast Kingdom (NEK). It is a cute quiet campground. I can hear the brook running which has turned into a raging river from all the rain 🌧⛈ Vermont has received over the past 2 weeks. It is devastating the floods that took over communities all over the state. Thankfully all the roads were repaired and we had an easy move to our new location. The past week we kept busy with friends and family visiting each day so the week went by quickly. I am looking forward to relax and unwinding this upcoming week.

I am going to change the subject of RV life to talk a little about us. Some of you may know us but some of you don't. I am Tara, a 43-year-old mother 👩‍👧‍👦 of 2 amazing souls that are my world. My son Kameron is 24 living his wonderful life with his HS sweetheart Gina. My daughter Abigail (Abby) is 19 living life learning and growing. Both are becoming happy successful adults that make me so proud to be their Mom. Most of my life has been made up some successes and of many mistakes that I have learned from. After my divorce in 2015, I knew it was time to give back to myself. I did a lot of self-care and started to find love for myself. It was in 2019 when I met Chris 👩‍❤️‍👨. I was finally able to feel what it was like to have someone love and respect you for exactly who you are. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have this amazing man who accepts me, cherishes me, protects me, supports me, and is willing to embark on the journey we are on.

This leads me to Chris, who is 45 and has shown me what life is like when dating a gentleman. I did not see him coming. He literally came out of left field. When we met I had a checklist of characteristics I wanted in a man and wouldn’t settle for anything less (I had dated the worst of the worst and refused to do that ever again and I knew what I wanted). I didn't think I would actually find my person. My requirements were; must be at least 6’ tall, have blue eyes, not be a felon (I have dated many losers🤦🏼‍♀️), their youngest child had to be no more than a year younger than my youngest, have a job and a put together life. Enter Chris saying, "hold my beer 😂🤣". I told him he was my ✅➕➕. Chris had been married for 20 years to his college girlfriend and they had a daughter Jennifer (18). They lived a family life with Chris always just trying to make things right. After many years of trying to make it work in 2019, he knew he had to end his marriage in order to be the happiest he could be. April they were separated and Chris began to start a new life for himself. His friend suggested he try the dating site, Hinge. He signed up and within 3 days we matched. We had our first date on October 3, 2019, and the rest is memories in the making.

We made it through our first week! The weather has gone from extreme temperatures to so much rain that Vermont has some of the worst flooding it has seen since 2011 but we haven't let it stop us. Staying in Colchester at Mallets Bay Campground has allowed us to enjoy time with friends and family. Saturday (once we finally got the wheels onto the leveling blocks, all the things that fell over in the camper on the move picked up, and the carpet and outside set up) we had our first visit from my brother Lance and his friend Shauna. They told us about a gathering at my aunt's house just up the road and invited us to go for dinner. Once we finished setting up a few more things we headed over. It was a pleasant evening beginning our festivities celebrating the July 4th 💥🎇 week. 
Sunday was a very busy day. We woke early, got our workout in, showered and were out of the door by 10am. We heading an hour north to visit Chris' step mom Mary-Paule and her family. We had an amazing BBQ (even thought it rained most the time) with great food and celebrated a couple birthdays. We then had to head out to go to another BBQ at a childhood friends house in Essex. It was a blast hanging out with Angie and meeting all of her friends. We had fantastic food with me eating so many pickles from Angie's business Tipsy Pickle. They are local alcohol infused pickles and a must TRY! We sat around the fire enjoying each others company then before dark we departed to come back home to our camper. 
The 3rd of July as a child was the day I looked forward to all year long. My mom lives on Lakeview Terrace in Burlington which overlooks the waterfront where the fireworks are let off. She has had a BBQ at her house every year since I was a toddler. The whole street is abuzz with people doing the same. There is always live music playing, laughter, folks setting off their own fireworks, and so many people. Then once the sun sets we make our way to the back yard just above the bank to enjoy the beautiful display in the sky. While sitting there I begin thinking that next year I won't be home to enjoy this evening with my family so I made sure to take it all in. 
Tuesday, July 4th when Chris and I woke up we stayed in bed a little longer talking about this new life we are embarking upon. It brought such a smile to my face looking around my little home.  We didn't do much this day. We watched the local parade, took the electric bikes for a little ride, stopped by my brothers boat for a bit, then back to the camper to make dinner, have a fire and enjoy the outside. We had the entertainment of more fireworks that the town set off just above our campsite. It was a perfect evening celebrating this country we live in and get to go and explore over the next year and a half.
It was then time to get back to reality as Chris had to work on Wednesday. It was the first day of working using StarLink and he was excited to see how well it would work. The connection was fantastic all day long 😅. I took some time to clean and do laundry before getting some computer work done myself. Thursday evening I got to hangout with another childhood friend Abby. We recently reconnected at our friends dispensary grand opening. We had a wonderful evening sipping tequila, listening to music, and reminiscing by the campfire, until we realized it was midnight and I needed to sleep. Friday was a rainy day but Chris and I had a scheduled Boudoir shoot and had so much fun doing it. That evening Chris hung out at the camper while I went with our friend Meredith to New Hampshire to see a county concert. She drove us there we listed to Brent Young and Sam Hunt, then she drove back dropping me off at 1:30. 
Saturday was the only day we didn't seem to have any rain but it was hot and humid. We decided to run a few errands before heading to our friends anniversary party. Even though it was hot and muggy, they had a live band who rocked and got us out on the dance floor. There was some mouth watering smoked meat and everyone at the party brought a dish to share. It was such a fun night celebrating love, food, and good friends. We gave a friend a ride home who lives right near our campground but ended up hanging out there before heading back home, which ended us getting home at 2am. I can 💯 say that I am not cut out for three late nights in a row anymore. Thankfully my days allow me to relax and enjoy this beautiful life I am blessed to be living. 

We filled the camper with the remaining things, hooked it up to the truck, and off we go! 

Back in 2012, I had told myself that in 10 years I wanted to travel the Unite States in an RV. While here it is year 11 and I can't believe it is happening. Chris and I started talking about living full-time in an RV and traveling the USA to hit the 48 states back in 2021. Our planning began by researching RVs. We discussed must-haves, lengths, toy-hauler or not, and on and on. After about a year of watching so many YouTube videos we had about 3 in mind that we wanted to see. The summer of 2022 we took a day to go visit RV dealers. The first place didn't have any of the ones we were considering so onto the next. We met an excellent sales guy, Aaron, who asked us many questions about if we knew what we were looking for, how we expected to use it and if there were things that we knew we needed? We explained we will be living in it full-time so solar was a must. We would like a murphy bed to give more floor room and an outside refrigerator space to be able to spend more time outside. He was able to show us the travel trailer we were looking at but it wasn't the exact floor layout we wanted. We left having a good idea of the one we wanted but really wanted to see it in person. About 3 months later Aaron called to tell us he got the Forest River MiniLite 2507S in, did we want to come look at it? Of course we did! We scheduled an appointment to go look. Walking into the camper I got goosebumps. I felt calming walking in it. This camper was exactly what we wanted. We discussed options of ordering one so it could be made and we would pick it up in April 2023. He also went over purchasing this camper now as it would save us close to $5000 if we did.
Chris and I went home to look over our budget. We did not plan to have a camper payment for at least another 8 months. After discussing it more we decided it makes sense to start the process to get approved for the camper now. On November 14, 2022 we signed the papers and owned what would become our home to travel and make so many memories together. They agreed to store it for the winter and we would pick it up in May 2023, just in time to fill it and get it ready to get on the road.

That brings us to today July 1 and we are spending our first night in our home in its first campsite.