the family journal

We’ve been on the road for a while now, and we’ve seen quite a bit. We haven’t yet scratched the surface of what is out there though, so we keep exploring. Sometimes we can’t sit still, sometimes we don’t want to move. Sometimes we cover 1000 miles in a month, sometimes barely 50. But we are moving and we are exploring, one mile at a time.

#26

[New Mexico] Albuquerque

Driving to Albuqurque was not really planned. And I really didn’t want to leave Colorado. I’ve heard so many good things, this Eldorado has to be here somewhere! Well, I guess it is, just not where we were looking. And a looming snow storm prevented further exploring. And so we went south.   ...

#25

Colorado

The first time we got a taste of the fascinating western nature. Snowcapped mountains on one side, neverending prairie on the other. And hip little towns like Boulder in the middle of it, basically the hipster town of the middle west. Or that’s what the interwebs say. It wasn’t that far off from what we could tell, being there for...

#24

Texas/New Mexico/Colorado

  We couldn’t wait to leave the green part of Texas behind. It’s been enough trees for a lifetime. Basically, trip planning goes as follows: We choose a destination, we split the tour in several 2 to 3 hour trips, take work days into consideration to avoid unnecessary stress and then end up driving the whole tour in one, two...

#23

Oklahoma

(Or Oklahooooumaaa, because it makes the little one laugh like it’s the funniest thing in the world) We left Texas for a short adventure in Oklahoma, visiting the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to say it was our first encounter with the wild America, that’s how much I got used to alligators and snakes and manatees....

#22

Long term plans

We’re about 20 minutes south of Dallas right now and wondering if this summer will eventually end at some point. Yes, sunny is nice. Warm is nice. But we’ve had 11 months with only a few days colder than 85°F.  Or: I can’t remember what it’s like to be non-sweaty. For showers to be worth it. I’m probably weird but this nev...

#21

Georgia Alabama Mississippi

I don’t remember the last time we made plans more than a few days ahead and actually followed along. Even if we did reserve a campground. But we managed to pick up our lovely visitor in Atlanta, GA and unfortunately managed to return her to Birmingham, AL. I wouldn’t have minded to extend her vacation for a few months. We di...

#20

Crestview

Crestview was always kinda part of our Todo list. Shall we, and if yes when? It’s a pretty big detour but we had to have our driver’s licenses transcribed and it would be easier to just pick up our mail. Crestview is our official hometown, the town over mail forwarding service is located. And since you can only transcribe your driv...

#19

St. George Island State Park

We left the dead zone Manatee Springs SP and headed to Gainesville (to manage some stuff with the bank, celebrate Trader Joes and wonder about a Walmart without groceries). Officially saying goodbye to the beaches. Spending a week on a deserted island (read: driving half an hour for groceries), in the Gulf of Me...

#18

Silver Springs and Manatee Springs

We said our goodbyes to Orlando (without heading to IKEA one last time!) and left westwards. Essentially, the decision was between beach and no beach, before we’re headed to Atlanta in September. And after long discussions, lots of seesaw, pros and cons, and lots of I wants we decided against beach. Well, against the South-Carolina ...

#17

More Space

Finally, after the third and surprisingly least stressful IKEA visit we are proud owners of a dining table. No more eating disrupted  by comments like “Would you please remove your feet from my plate?”. This situation dragged way too long. And it all began – as usual – with one impulsive decision. Seriously, we need someone t...