Let us take you back to the summer of 2011, not quite as fun as the summer of ‘69, but it's a summer vacation that we will never forget. Had it not been for us being there at that moment in time, the path we have chosen may not have even been an idea for us to consider. We had fallen in love with Acadia National Park in Maine the summer before. We could not wait to go back. In July of 2011 we packed up our Honda Odyssey with both kids, ages 11 and 8, and enough clothes for a stay in the Arctic and a month in the Caribbean. We drove the 16 plus hour drive with our minivan sagging and so much excitement that it was not to be contained. We stayed at a small campground on “the quiet side” of the island in a one and a half room, unairconditioned, no running water cabin. We had stayed at the same place, Bass Harbor Campground, the year before.The kids immediately disperse from view, usually only showing back up at the cabin at mealtimes and bedtimes, with the occasional wave as they pass the campsite with the newly created biker gang of other 8-11 years olds. And this is where we met the Taylor’s.
The Taylor kids quickly became vital members of the biker gang and their parents quickly became a vital part of the “drink by the fire” gang and the “sneak and eat the fresh homemade blueberry cobbler before the kids knew it was there” gang. I mean we all have to have our gangs!
We quickly learned that Maine was the first stop on the Taylor’s 3 year journey of RV life. We were in awe. The family of 5 had set out to explore the United States. We were immediately intrigued and inspired. So intrigued and inspired that we decided that the next summer we too would go out on the road for the entire summer. We started preparing, we bought a used pop-up, started making summer reservations and plans, and the second school was out in the summer of 2012 we hit the road.
Our first stop was in Missouri for a family reunion where our now 9 year old “helped” break the lift cable on our pop-up, rendering it unusable and leading to my worst and most embarrassing parenting moment. Days later, when we finally found a dealership that would work on our rig, we decided we wanted a travel trailer. That day we pulled off with Alice our travel trailer. She filled our summer with real AC, warm dry nights, and more memories that I could ever retell.
At the end of that summer, when we pulled into our driveway, we cried. We mourned for the small home on wheels that could take us anywhere and for the campgrounds that had molded our summer. We vowed to each other that we would go full time in an RV when we were empty nesters.
Fall of 2021. Our once 8 year old started college and our once 11 year old is working full time and we are officially empty nesters. Our decisions over the past 10 years have gotten us to this point, on the road again. Alice has had some major upgrades and facelifts. We are still in love and still like each other a whole bunch. We are looking forward to taking you along on the journey to see small towns, big cities, and State and National Parks.
So, Welcome to The Wandering Waldrops! We arrived last weekend at the Taylor’s home in Niwot, CO, only fitting right? Jeremy has already gone for a 75 mile gravel ride and I have taken the day to write, tidy up, do some bird watching, and have my tea looking out across the yard at the front range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. We are in our happy place, together exploring a world and life that pulls us like a magnet. We know that what we are doing is special, that many people couldn’t do it, and many people wouldn’t want to. We are thankful that this will be part of our story, our adventures, and our journey.
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