First things first… GO UCONN! What a win over Alabama last night. Unfortunately our campsite neighbors were big Alabama fans – made for a bit of an awkward exchange this morning as we all disconnected our water and electricity this morning. LOL
We woke to frost on the camper today. Did I mention we intentionally set out in this direction to AVOID cold weather. Despite the chilly temps, it was a beautiful morning. For the first time in what feels like forever, we woke to clear blue skies and in the quiet stillness of the campground, we drank hot cups of coffee and watched the local news. (Watching the local news in all the places we travel is one of my favorite things about traveling the country. Every single local station has its characters and I’m here for it!) The eclipse is all over the place. People are HYPED up about this event tomorrow. The amount of news coverage is impressive. Rob is constantly checking the weather for tomorrow’s eclipse. The weather doesn’t look so clear in Shelbyville, IN, where we originally had intended to view it. Cloud coverage is increasing by the hour, so we are considering other places that are not too far out of our route towards Pigeon Forge. On our shortlist are: Evansville, Ferdinand, or Warrenton, IN. In addition to mapping out a route, we need to have a destination in mind. We are 35 feet of fun and can’t back up while towing, so it limits our options. Also, we will be competing with the 35 million other people who are also seeking the best viewing spot to see the Great American Eclipse. I picture us arriving in some remote hamlet with a population of fewer than 314 people with just enough time to hop out of the camper and catch a glimpse of totality. Whatever happens, it will surely be memorable.
Do you know where the best place to view the eclipse is going to be? New England. Are you kidding me? Well, played, Mother Nature.
Not to be dismayed by potentially unfortunate weather, we set out for I-70 heading west with a playlist full of 80s rock: Van Halen, Neil Young, AC/DC, Quiet Riot, Foreigner, Bon Jovi. Somehow you don’t feel quite as badass belting out Wanted Dead or Alive in a giant, rattly moving house on wheels with your flatulent dogs riding shotgun while you eat overnight oats, but this music does send kids back to their respective bunks for a good chunk of the morning. This allows you to continue listening to your music. Follow me for more family-friendly travel tips.
Around 9:48 AM we had our first major event of the day. – a minor tragedy, if you will. It was bound to happen sooner or later and it was completely unavoidable. After over 15,000 miles of travel across this beautiful country without incident, we had our FIRST animal strike today. It was a squirrel. It came out of nowhere across a four-lane highway full of eclipse traffic. When you are traveling in moving traffic and towing a car behind your RV, you cannot, under any circumstances, hit the brakes or swerve. Both of these can be catastrophic and cause extensive damage to your rig or to the traffic around you. After a brief period of outrage, the girls came to terms with the strike, said a little apology to the squirrel and once again, retreated to the solitude of their bunks. Kai slept through the entire ordeal. He is a champion sleeper.
Stopping for gas is always an adventure with Kevin. She is big and bulky and doesn’t take the corners all that easily. Let’s just say that no one has ever accused her of being able to “turn on a dime.” There’s no shortage of huge travel plazas the further west you go. You have your choice of Flying J, Speedway, Loves, Travel America, among many others. However, we had another destination in our sights today. After a Facebook recommendation, we pulled into Sheetz for our FIRST MTO (Made to Order). The consensus among our travel party – 10/10 – would eat here again. From breakfast sandwiches, burgers, milkshakes, and some delicious potato fritters with magical Boom Boom sauce, we were not disappointed. For Pete’s sake, they ground my coffee fresh and brewed it right there. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. It’s the little things.
Traveling across PA through West Virginia, and Ohio, the landscape changes frequently. One minute you’re in a valley surrounded by picturesque hills, and in an hour you are driving through the flattest farmland with barns dotting the countryside and more RV dealerships than the eye can see. Ever wonder where the Monongahela River is? Southwestern PA! We crossed it today. Along with the Ohio River – twice, I’m pretty sure. We drove through both Columbus and Cincinnati, OH. There is just so much to see looking out the windows. America really is incredible and seeing it in an RV can be magical if you have the time and patience to plot and plan and are flexible enough to know when to abandon that plan and do what makes your heart happy.
Today’s ultimate destination was Walton, KY, right over the Ohio border. We just needed a stopover before our eclipse viewing, so we chose a Harvest Host. Harvest Hosts are a network of wineries, breweries/distilleries, farms, or local attractions where RVers can boondock for the night. We bought a year-long membership and we can choose to stay at thousands of locations across the country without additional camping fees. What they want you to do is support the host by purchasing local items during your stay. You can really only stay one night at a time, and the majority which makes them perfect for these one-night stopovers. This is our very FIRST time staying at a Harvest Host and we were really excited since this one is a working farm: Benson’s Family Farm.
This place is awesome. Tell me you wouldn’t love to park your camper in the middle of the Kentucky countryside right next to a pen full of goats and the cutest Highland Cattle calves you’ve ever seen. If you tell me you’d rather take your chances in a Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn, you are lying. We get the most incredible view while enjoying the 60 degree weather and meeting Paco the Donkey and Taco the Llama. Also, we never have to unpack. We made a giant pot of spaghetti, set out our lawn chairs, and read a book in the sun until it got too cool. Now its inside for the night. Winding down. Checking the weather like maniacs, and just being with each other. Two dogs at our feet, three kids laughing, and two tired, but happy adults who know that these long days are the best days.
Tomorrow’s eclipse is going to be epic one way or another. Hopefully it is because we found the perfect viewing spot and not because we drove around in eclipse traffic going out of our minds trying to park Kevin and missed it completely. May the odds be ever in our favor.
Wandering, But Not Lost 