Sometimes I feel guilty about the freedom that comes with our chosen lifestyle. It’s not for everyone, and I wasn’t even sure it was for me, but it’s been an invigorating ride. Let’s just say we’re extra grateful to be nomadic with all of the instability going on in the world today. Last January, our entire year was mapped out. We had big plans - people, places & things to see with work on the books and endless possibilities in between. Then, our Airstream axle broke in South Carolina and we had to wait eight weeks for the replacement. At least it was still covered under warranty..
Little did we know at the time, this was just a sign of things to come in 2020. Lucky for us, we have friends in high places. I’m taking about a little place called Aspen. Colorado definitely has our hearts, so this felt like an opportunity from the universe. We quickly packed the truck and hit the road for a sprint out to our family in Denver. They graciously opened their mountain house to us in Beaver Creek, so we became ski bums for the season. And then Covid happened.
We were "stuck" in Colorado, which didn’t suck at all. The jobs we had planned to travel around were postponed and we didn’t feel comfortable driving around the country without the Airstream. Plus, our quarantine hosts had an adorable toddler and English Bulldog Puppy to keep us all entertained. Suddenly, two weeks turned into two months. Is it bad that we had a blast during a pandemic? Special thanks to Webb, Bri, Poppy & Rosie for taking us in for an unforgettable stay.
Because when life hands you lemons, you make it worrrrk [Tim Gunn impression]. We cooked, ate and drank our way through it. Tiger King included. But more importantly, we spent quality time together. Memories that would have never been made otherwise - the brightest silver lining of all.
When it finally came time to leave The Rockies [sad face] we headed four hours south to experience the enchantment of New Mexico. Taos has been on our hit list for a while and we had the ultimate refuge to check into. Casa Gallina is a little slice of heaven on earth, especially during a pandemic. Richard was the most hospitable host and treated us so well that we extended our stay for a week. The property was blooming in Spring, Bruce was living his best life and “the girls” provided fresh eggs for days. We’re that couple who travels with a pasta maker so we treated ourselves to handmade fettuccine every night. We cannot wait to return to this sanctuary of Taos.
From there we took Route 66 to The Blue Doors at Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma. The owner lives in a '60’s Airstream and had redone this chalet motel with the same blue doors as our old house. More signs from the universe - this time telling us not to sell our Airstream. To be completely transparent, we had a buyer lined up in Michigan and a tentative delivery date for Sterling. But the moment we got her back we both immediately knew we could never let her go. Another silver lining.
What a relief. And change of plans! We safely made it back to South Carolina to complete all of our outstanding trailer repairs and finally finish decorating before the next adventure. Where would we go? What would we do? We weren’t entirely sure, but RV life had never looked better.
We landed in western North Carolina and the month of June was spent in the mountains with barely any cell service or need for air conditioning. GA fly fished his little heart out while we weren't chasing waterfalls. We spent a week at Lazy J campground in Brevard, followed by Deep Creek right outside of the Great Smoky Mountains and saved the best for last. Moonshine Creek Campground is one of the coolest places we’ve ever stayed. Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and next Sylva, the cutest downtown to explore after a nice hike. I almost gave up, but we pushed to the top of Pinnacle Park for some epic panoramic views. North Carolina is pretty spectacular.
July came time for a quick intermission from the Airstream to sneak over to The Bahamas and shoot an elopement. Sterling stayed behind at her new home base in Aiken, South Carolina while we drove down to Florida for a bit. We thoroughly enjoyed social distancing next to the beach, but after 2 months of being back in Delray we needed a break from the heat. Only briefly visiting Asheville, we barely touched the surrounding areas so that’s where we’ll be exploring during September and October. Back into the woods we go, to lose our minds and find our souls…
The next few weeks will consist of foliage hunting with my campfire companions. This time we’ll be available to shoot spontaneous love stories and portraits in the mountains. But our main focus is photographing & writing an RV cookbook from our Tin Can Kitchen - stay tuned for recipe testing.