Monthly Archives: April 2017

East Coastin’

Once we were back on the east coast we had a long winding road ahead with many stops all the way up to Laura’s sister’s house outside of Boston.  Although we had had an amazing road trip already we both considered this the “meat and potatoes” of the trip.  A great amble up the eastern seaboard, camping, visiting friends, seeing family and stopping in on some awesome cities.  It was all of those things, and in addition, Mother Nature definitely threw us a real curveball making portions of the trip rather difficult.  I guess the old adage is good to remember on the road – “How do you make God laugh? Make plans.”*

We started with a visit to Charleston South Carolina where we stayed with Laura’s aunt and uncle.  Part of this trip was definitely a thank you tour to all the awesome people that had joined us a year ago in Mexico and we were stoked not only on their hospitality, but the chance to visit them on their own turf.  We had a nice couple days in Charleston and our first camping stop after that was at Huntington Beach State Park.

The campsite itself was right next to the beach and was full of awesome neighbors. We had a great setup and had some nice beach weather one of the days. The cold snap was moving in towards the end but we still had a good time enjoying the site.

We also got some education on the Gullah/Geechee Nation, which is a community of descendants of former slaves turned sea islanders stretching from Jacksonville, NC to Jacksonville, FL. Brookgreen Gardens, which happened to be situated right across the street from our campsite, is a unique sculpture garden and wildlife preserve that also educates the public on various issues. We were thrilled that by happenstance when we visited they were holding a lecture on Gullah/Geechee traditions and culture, given by a member of the Nation. One of our goals of travel life is to always be seeking knowledge and education so this worked out great and we learned so much.

Next up was an awesome week in Wilmington, NC. This is Laura’s old stomping grounds where she went to college. Visiting friends and old favorite places was the focus of this trip and it was an absolute delight. Eating at the amazing Thai restaurant Indochine and watching movies at home with our fam during a snowstorm (never happens in Wilmington!!) were highlights.

After camping at nearby Carolina Beach for a couple of days in freezing 19 degree weather (Laura’s mom actually had to overnight us our winter sleeping bags, thanks Mom), we moved on the Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks. Now for this one we knew it wouldn’t be great weather but MAN was it miserable. The most insane freezing winds ever and pouring rain every day, but despite it all Javi still went surfing and loved every minute. We were staying at the local KOA, which was a total blessing. Hot tub sessions and free wifi in the cafe on the property proved necessary to survive the cold. The Outer Banks is beautiful and we were happy to be there even if we had to bundle up a little more than expected.

After the Outer Banks was Richmond, VA, where we have good friends and just simply had an awesome time checking out the city and partying with our people. Richmond is pretty with a river running right through the center, and our friends there are an incredibly fun group.

Then there was D.C., where Javi used to live. We had a rare nice weather day so we biked all along the National Mall and visited as many museums as we could, taking in as much as we could along the way. After D.C., we traveled to Assateague Island National Seashore. This was such a special treat. It is a protected island between Maryland and Virginia that is home to actual wild horses! There is a really interesting history to the island, which includes some crazy plans for enormous developments all along the island until storms blew everything on the island away.

As we continued the road travel blitz, we moved on to New York (again facing inclement weather), where we stayed with and partied with friends in Brooklyn. It was our first trip to New York together and we had a blast despite the elements! Although we froze our noses off in the pouring cold rain we actually got around the city quite a bit.  We left the city for upstate New York to Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, an art gallery/B&B that houses the works of the incredible visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey. We had been talking about going there for years and were so stoked to finally make it.
The last stop of this fast-paced phase of the adventure was Boston, where we slowed down considerably and stayed with Laura’s sister Maggie and her family. Our 3 nieces and nephews there are hilarious and so fun, and we had a blast hanging out with them and getting ourselves together for our last few weeks in the U.S. before heading over the Atlantic.  We had one last stretch of road ahead of us but the European horizon (not to mention birthday’s and anniversaries!!!) was looming and we were looking forward to getting back on the road.

 

Back Over the Mississippi

We decided to just book it from Austin to Charleston, SC, our first stop on a straight shot up the Atlantic Coast. We’d had a weird route because of needing to go back to Texas, and we had already been through NOLA and that whole area twice before. So we planned two quick overnight stops. One at Poverty Point campground in Louisiana and one in Columbia, Georgia. Little did we know, Poverty Point was a U.S. National Monument and World Heritage Site and we had the fortune of being able to explore some of the oldest Native American ruins in the country!!! It was spectacular and totally unexpected. We had barely done any research and so were overjoyed to find out what we were camping next to.  It was a welcome reminder of how amazing this country of ours is and how much older than 1776 things can get…

The structures at Poverty Point date from 1600 B.C.!!! 

NOLA Round 2 & Austin

Leaving Florida was bittersweet. We had what we assume will be some of our best beach camping weather during our U.S. travels. It was perfect, not too hot but warm enough to feel like a vacation. But on the flip side, we spent more money than we had planned, so we were ready to refocus and reassess our financials. But of course that couldn’t happen until AFTER New Orleans. We had already been there once on the way to Chattanooga, but our friends weren’t available to hang out with us then so we did a brief but fun date evening. Now our friends were ready to mix and mingle and they took us to some of their favorite spots. A walk around the Bayou, an excellent shared dinner at 1000 Figs, and games and drinks at various bars that we can’t seem to remember the name of for some strange reason.

Definitely epic times with good folks. But alas it couldn’t last, and we moved on to Cagle Recreation Area for a night of camping before hitting Austin. Cagle was a nice surprise. Since it was just a stopover we didn’t do much research beforehand, but our campsite was quiet and beautiful, located right on top of a peaceful lake. Javi made a good fire (there’s a “good fire” and “meh fire” thing with camping), and we cooked a yummy camp meal of asian noodles, a staple of ours. We positioned the truck so the lake was the first thing we saw we we woke up. Another case of “wish we had more time here” but we were excited to get back to Javi’s family for a week of celebration.

Austin is Javi’s old stomping ground, and we have been there together several times. We usually stay with Javi’s sister, but this time we shared an Airbnb with his parents near the Mueller development, where his sister and her family live. The week was filled with food and family, and we hit up some delicious and thirst quenching spots new and old, like Ranch 616, the Omelettry, Shady Grove, Snooze, Bangers, and more.

Javi’s dad’s 70th birthday party was spent at his uncle’s place out in Georgetown. Aside from the birthday boy, the highlights of the party were the lawn games, delicious food, a piñata, a kid rave in the yard after dinner (initiated by Laura’s glowing poi and Javi’s DJ skills), and of course Javi and his brother-in-law who had biked a 50k to Georgetown from Austin.  It was supposed to be 70k in honor of the birthday boy, but . . . The next day Javi’s baby niece had her baptism at the Catholic Center with a post-ceremony celebration at Central Market.

Austin NEVER disappoints. We always have a good time there. Someday we can hopefully spend more than just a few days there.