DESTINATION: SMALL TOWN AMERICA

        To travel from the East Coast to the West Coast of American, many people get on a jet and leave the driving to "them"--and then they say they have traveled the Country. What we have done for the past three years, is get into a vehicle (two years a VW camper van, the first year an Isuzu Trooper) and do our own driving. We stop in small towns and cities, and experience America!

    Where ever we travel, we stop in at Senior Centers, VFWs, American Legions, Town Offices, libraries    , and laundromats to get information on local happenings.

      Forget five-star hotels and restaurants if you want to experience local traditions. You get more local flavor eating at small eateries. Or, an expensive and healthy was to eat is the Value Menus at fast food restaurants. You can get a baked potato at Wendy's, salads at McDonald's and Burger King, roast beef sandwiches at Arby's, and other inexpensive meals that are good and nutritious. Don't forget the yogurt and fresh fruit parfait at McDonald's for dessert.                        

     After our first year in the Trooper, we decided to get a VW Eurovan camper. Our reasons were it is self-contained, unobtrusive, gets good gas mileage (20 - 23 mpg as opposed to 5 - 10 mpg that the big RVs get.)    The large RVs have lots of space and conveniences, but cannot park everywhere and are much more difficult to drive. With our pup-up top folded down, we look like any other van. With the top up, we can stand up to cook or dress. We do have the drawback of limited space, but we can stop, use one parking space, and are asleep before you know it. The VW is easy to drive, park, and is com    fortable. At least for now, it suits us to a T.

     Before we left on our trip this year, we encouraged our grandchildren to get a map of the united states. We send them frequent email to let them know what we are doing, and they can mark our progress on their maps.

     We have camped along the entire East Coast, hiked on the Appalachian Trail, backpacked in the wilderness of the Shenandoah National Forest, danced solo at the J.F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and will continue until we discover every corner of America!
                                                            

                                        Our new upgrade in four-wheel travel.