On Wednesday, we headed down the mountain in western North Carolina after a blustery night of wind and rain,  taking I-26 southeast. As we approached the South Carolina Border, the winds picked up again, buffeting us all the way to Charleston, South Carolina, where we stealth camped for the night at the Whole Foods Market, near where we wanted to ride our bicycle.

Thursday broke clear: we drove to the James Island County Park to find a quiet place for breakfast.  Unfortunately, we were early, but the night gateman let us in anyway, since we were senior citizens, despite not being local card holders.  The park was beautiful, even in winter.  After having our coffee and breakfast in the van, we drove downtown Charleston, parking near the Battery, which was closed for renovations.

We walked the residential streets to the waterfront park, through the Market, and back to the van.  We then drove to Stono River County Park, the western terminus of the West Ashley Greenway, and rode as far as thet Whole Foods Market street.  The many street crossings were beginning to get busy, so we turned around and rode back to the park, put the bike away, and hiked out to the islands in the salt marsh, since the boardwalk called for walking bikes.

By now late afternoon, we drove up to I-95 and spent the night at a truck stop.  In the morning, we drove to Wilmington, North Carolina to walk the Cape Fear River waterfront and explore the historic downtown a bit, then drove back to  I-95, but farther north, for the night.  Our trip to Wilmington was a bit disappointing due to finding out that it cost a nickel a minute to park our van.  We stuffed enough quarters and nickels into the meter for a 53-minute dash through the downtown and to grab a couple of gelatos, which we finished off standing by the meter to make sure we used every nickel, but were on our way the instant the meter expired.  After all, we are on a pensioner’s budget, and can’t afford parking fines on top of the fee.  We wanted to see the ocean, so we drove out to the barrier island, but couldn’t see over the dunes and parking was a nickel a minute everywhere, so we stopped at an Aldi (free parking!) for snacks and headed up to I-95 on back roads to a different truck stop further north.

On Friday, we drove the short run to Raleigh, North Carolina, stopping for breakfast at a freeway rest area on the way, for a bike ride on the Neuse River Trail.  We arrived at Anderson Point Park, unloaded the bike, and set off to the north, intending to ride upstream to the dam, but we didn’t check for closures and soon found ourselves in a construction zone where the trail had been obliterated, and temporary city sewer lines laid on the ground, with pools of raw sewage on both sides of the trail.  We beat a retreat back to the park and headed south, downstream for a delightful ride, though punctuated with hills.  This section has many bridges and boardwalks over the many streams that feed the river.  We turned around where the trail climbed steeply away from the river.

By this time, the parking lot was full, so we drove east to find a quieter park to have lunch, then drove back to US 301 and north to Virginia, where we rejoined I-95 to pick up maps at the Virginia welcome center.  We time our travels to arrive at truck stops at sunset, joining the Saturday evening high-speed traffic through Richmond, arriving at dark, where we topped off the fuel and bought some peeled boiled eggs, our go-to food purchases at truck stops.  Dinner consisted of a salad, with Feta cheese purchased at Safeway in Shelton a month ago, Romaine lettuce purchased at Kroger in Nashville, grape tomatoes and crostini purchased at Whole Food in Charleston, and cucumber and hummus purchased at Walmart in Lebanon, North Carolina, and our Virginia boiled eggs. topped off with dessert of chocolate purchased at Aldi in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Sunday, we headed north toward Washington, DC, advising our GPS that we didn’t want to pay the $24 tolls on the way to north New Jersey, which we couldn’t anyway, because the tollways now only accept the electronic subscription devices that we have no need for back home.  The GPS routed us west around DC, then north to Pennsylvania, around Harrisburg on country roads where we met and passed many Amish horse-drawn buggies filled with families out for church on a brisk and windy Sunday.  Then, east on I-78 through Allentown and into New Jersey, where we were routed hither and yon through a maze of freeways and crazy drivers to our grand-niece’s house.  Our bike rack couldn’t negotiate their driveway angle, so we parked on a side street and we treated to a guest room, with dinner and a good visit.

Monday morning, we decided to head south again to wait for the warmer weather to move north.  Again avoiding the toll roads that seemed to be everywhere in this part of the world, we threaded through the continuous megacity until we finally reached the forested interior of New Jersey, headed for one of the places I had visited several times when the children were young and we were newly arrived in New Jersey to work on the U.S. Navy’s Aegis project.  Our destination was Barnegat Light State Park, at the north end of Long Beach Island.  As expected, the inlet had changed drastically in the 55 years since I was last there:  the ever-moving sand had finally been tamed in 1987 when the Corps of Engineers constructed a massive stone quay to stabilize the channel.  The lighthouse, however was still the same.  With the beach stabilized, the dune had become covered with trees and shrubs.  We had a good morning watching the tide flow out of the inlet and the ducks finding eddies along the shore to stay in one place.  We had a pleasant conversation with a birder, walked the trail through the dune, and decided to head for Cape May, a historic town.  Again, our route took us wandering through the pine barrens and small towns to avoid the expensive tollways.

We visited the Cape May Lighthouse, drove through a few streets of Victorian houses for which the town is famous, then headed for the Cape May – Lewes Ferry for a sunset voyage to Delaware.  Our bike sticks out in back far enough to earn us the oversize vehicle fare, partially offset by our senior discount, but $40 was better than driving back through New Jersey.

Tuesday, March 11–Judy’s birthday–started with a laundry run.  Laundromats are now card-oriented: we had to buy a debit card ($1) and load it with increments of $10, so we now have a “souvenir” with value if we ever return to Rehobeth Beach, Delaware.  Again, our GPS, programmed to avoid the ever-present toll roads, took us through towns and villages north through Dover and into Pennsylvania, up and down hills, sometimes at horse and buggy speeds as we followed Amish buggies.

We partook in a harrowing search through Reading (“Take a ride on the Reading” in the Monopoly card deck refers to the railroad which is now part of the Schuykill River Greenspace) for a trailhead.  Once we found it, we were too tired and it was too late to break out the bike, so we walked the trail to the bridge over the river, then escaped from the downtown traffic jam at rush hour, retreating back south to get on the freeway and zooming around the city while the GPS frantically searched over and over for a path north.  Finally, we wandered north on rolling country roads until finally reaching I-81 into Binghamton, where we arrived after dark and missed our exit, having to double back to find the truck stop where we “dined out” at the fast-food restaurant, before turning in for the cold night.

We spent a couple of days in Las Cruces before moving on to El Paso.  Home cooking at Shawna and Steve’s, and a coffee stop at The Bean in Mesilla after catching Claudissa and Jonathan at her Valentine’s Day bake sale, where we indulged in a fabulous cheesecake and red velvet cookies.  But, the dread of every traveler plagued us.  First Judy, then Larye, came down with upper respiratory distress.  We kept it at bay a bit with nasal irrigation, cough drops, and over-the-counter remedies, but got worse over the days.  We still managed to get in dinner in El Paso with son Jason and Melissa, and breakfast with grandson Cage and Melly.

We ended up spending an extra day in El Paso, mostly sleeping, finally getting collected and on the road again mid-day on Monday, February 17.  We arrived well after dark in Sonora, Texas, and took the first likely parking spot at the fuel stop, which was sloped quite a bit.  We had a fitful but largely restful night back in the van again after several days of guest room stays.

Back on the road after breakfast in the truck, we ran into mist and light rain, though a warm day.  This part of Texas is characterized by sheer limestone cliffs formed by the freeway cuts through the rolling hills.  Not far down the road, we decided that it was best if Judy sought some medical advice and a bit stronger attack on the coughing and hacking.  This took us into Kerrville and a strip-mall urgent care center, which didn’t accept our out-of-state Medicare Advantage.  So, a couple of hundred dollars later,we left with a new stash of medication and a few groceries from H-E-B, where the pharmacy was located.

The GPS led us into a maze of freeways through San Antonio and out the other side into farmland and small towns, and eventually to the Goliad State Park by mid-afternoon, for a rest and electrical hookup in anticipation of the cold front moving in mid-week.  At least, the fuel prices have been lower than anticipated and much lower than at home, but the freeway speeds have eaten into our good mileage a bit.  The next few days promise to be on back roads.

And, the cold front did move in, freezing overnight and not promising to rise much over that through the day.  So, we registered for an additional day, took our laundry to the laundromat in town, and spent the day catching up on computing things.  Near the end of the day, we were entertained by a flock of buzzards swirling in the wind above the campground, disturbed by another camper hiking on the river trail. The next night was even colder.  The water spigot in our campsite froze, so we left without refilling our drinking water supply.  We did stop and tour the restored mission complex.  We had seen it two years ago when we stopped through, but it was always good for a second look, and we enjoyed the weaving, spinning, and natural dye exhibit.

We took the back roads from Goliad to Galveston, refueling on the way.  Through Galveston, we took the ferry to Port Bolivar and continued up to I-10, stopping for the night as darkness overtook us as we crossed into Louisiana.  With the cold snap still with us, we quickly bedded down for the night before the van temperature fell.  In the morning, we dressed and drove up the road to the next gas stop to get the van warmed up before breakfast and coffee.  Then, up US 165 to Alexandria, and east to Natchez, where we made lunch at the closed Mississippi Welcome Center before refueling at a local gas station.  Coming out of Texas, we noted the live oak giving way to cypress and southern white pine as we crossed Louisiana and into Mississippi.

We spent the next two days cruising up the Natchez Trace, enjoying the lack of traffic between cities, arriving in Tupelo after dark and finding our way north to the Love’s Travel Center, where we repeated our cold-weather drill to stay warm through the night in our cozy 15-degree Big Agnes sleeping bag, as the temperature inside dropped to 5 C/41 F and freezing outside.  We stopped at a supermarket for breakfast bars and a gallon of drinking water, stopping later up the Trace to make coffee.  The 80 kph National Park speed limit brought our gas mileage back up quickly, and there was little traffic on the parkway except near the cities, where the locals use it as a bypass.  As we moved North, the foilage changed again, to more cedar and hardwood forests, and rocky outcroppings of the Nashville Dome karsts and limestone as we entered Tennessee.

We arrived in Nashville mid-afternoon, to cruise down Broadway past honky-tonk after honky-tonk and the crowds gathering for Saturday night festivities, then out the other side to Matt and Darice’s house, where we enjoyed a warm guest room and a promise of warmer weather in the next week, but a frozen weekend.

One of the advantages of our continent-spanning travel is we generally know which grocery chains carry the food brands we get at home.  We shop at H.E.B. in Texas, which doesn’t, but it’s ubiquitous.  In Nashville, we found Kroger’s, which owns the Fred Meyer chain at home, but they were out of Judy’s lactose-free yogurt.  However, we know from previous trips that Publix does carry both lactose-free products, and we found both there.  Dinner out at a local brew pub was excellent, with a good selection for vegetarian for me and bacon-laced dishes for Judy, who still enjoys bacon and shrimp when available.

Once again,we enjoyed guest quarters, in a future rental apartment at Matt and Darise’s house, which the temperature plummeted below freezing outside at night.

In preparation for warmer weather, we cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted the tandem bicycle in anticipation of exploring the Music City bike trail that winds around the city from nearby.  We took a walk on the trail as the temperature moderated.

The weather cleared, and we drove to a nearby trailhead.  We zoomed down the hill and over the pedestrian/bike bridge to ride on the Music City Bikeway through Shelby Bottom along the river, exploring the many side paths and circling a small lake in a park at the west end of the trail.  Naturally, for us, we had to push up the spiral path to the bridge and again up the hill to our van.

On Thursday, we formed a two-vehicle caravan headed from Nashville to Maggie Valley, North Carolina, to open the kids’ Glamping tent for the season.  The trip took us on I-40 to Newport, Tennessee, where we detoured up US 25 to bypass the closed section of I-40, destroyed by hurricane Helene last fall.  The French Broad River along US 25 was also the site of much devastation wrought by the hurricane, with much of the lowlands along the river scoured of trees and structures.  The route twisted and turned, becoming tortuous as we departed the river, winding through a maze of country roads over the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.  One climbing set of tight curves knocked over our drinking water supply, which Judy hastily righted, but several liters spilled on the van floor, spreading in rivulets as the van shifted from side to side on the mountain road.  The spout broke, but the pump still works.

We finally arrived up the mountain, leaving our van at the tent site and walking the rest of the way up the mountain to the cabin, where we discovered the water pump had burst a seal, due to failure of the pressure shutoff.  Freezing weather is expected at this altitude nights this week.  Lots of repairs in addition to the usual pre-season prep, and the water system is a priority.

After draining the water system to keep essentials running, carrying water up the hill from the truck and the water lines, and Matt making several trips to town for parts, the water was back in operation.   Over the next few days, we helped out at the tent site with sanding and varnishing the picnic table, and a bit with installing the new sink counter on the outside sink.

Numerous trips hiking up and down the 30-meter elevation difference between the glamping site and the cabin is getting us in shape, if nothing else.  The weather is holding for now, with cool days and cold nights. The mountain proved to be a good place to observe the string of planets overhead as darkness fell on the last day of February.  At this latitude, the ecliptic is 13 degrees higher than at home, putting Jupiter and Mars almost vertically overhead.

As our visit drew to a close, we took a trip to Asheville, ostensibly to look for a bike trail while the weather held.  But, the trail along the French Broad River was still mostly closed and unsuitable for biking.  We did hike the trail along the river, observing the devastation to the Arts District across the river and the incredible height of the flood debris around us and above us, while the trail stayed well above the normal river level.

As the clouds and wind moved in from the early March storms, we decided to head southeast to the coast instead of following our 2023 path north into the worst part of the storm path.

In early February 2025, we headed south on a 10,000-mile trip around the U.S. to visit relatives and hopefully ride our bicycle along the way. Our planning was, of course, made in the balmy mild winter of the Pacific Northwest, thinking it would be warmer farther south and spring-like when we got near the East Coast. We were wrong.

Expedition 2025 began on the eve of more snow in the Pacific Northwest.  We got an early start, down I-5, through Portland, and up the Willamette Valley against a stiff headwind and heavy rain squalls.

Because of snow and chain-up requirements on the passes, we turned right at Eugene and headed for the coast, arriving in Brookings, OR after dark.  The welcome center at which we thought we would park for the night was closed, reclassified for day-use only.  Another rest stop north of town was, in a word, sketchy, and posted for 4-hour stays.

So, we ended up parking overnight at the Fred Meyer store, off to the side of the garden center.

In the morning, we made a quick shopping stop for supplies, topped off the tank, and headed south into California, stopping for breakfast “on the beach” at at turnout on Point St. George, where we had bicycled a few years ago on another trip down the coast.

The rain came again as we passed through Eureka, and continued off and on through the day as we drove down US 101.  We turned off on CA 20, well beyond the snow zone, making our way back to I-5 as the sun set, for another cold, rainy night at a truck stop.

Day 3, we headed down to hwy 99, then turned on Hwy 58 at Bakersfield, ending for the night at Boron, where we had stayed the last time, on Expedition 2023.  Another cold night, and we were off toward Arizona, taking the back roads through 29 Palms before crossing the border on I-10.  Joshua trees gave way to saguaro as we moved eastward into Arizona.  Deja vu found us at Buckeye for the night, where we had stayed in 2023.

In the morning, we met our granddaughter Zylania and Martin at their house, not far from our overnight stay, then off to lunch somewhere in the Glendale maze, where huge shopping centers had sprung up since our last visit.  In late afternoon, we said our goodbyes and headed down the 202 loop and I-10 to Eloy for the night.

As planned, in the morning, we turned off on Kolb Road to ride our tandem on the Julian Wash Trail, part of the 200-km Tucson Loop bike trail system, officially the Chuck Huckleberry Trail.  The trail climbed 70 meters over the  8 km route, so we turned around to call it a day for a 16-km first ride of the season, the downhill return trip taking 20 minutes, offsetting the 1-hour climb uphill.

Since we didn’t ride as far as we intended, we had time to kill, so, after post-ride ice cream stop at Benson, we detoured, following old U.S. 80 to Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas before heading north to arrive at Lordsburg at sunset.  The day’s drive took us from the saguaro forests to fields of yucca.

By sticking to the back roads for the most part, and following at truck speed on the freeways, we recovered the gas mileage we lost to the rainy headwinds in Oregon and short-trip winter driving at home, making daily runs of 19 mpg or more (12.33 l/100km or less)with the wind behind us.  We didn’t expect that to hold as we climbed over the  Rockies, since we lost a bit with the detour into the high country south of I-10 in southeastern Arizona and keeping up with traffic in the Phoenix/Tucson metro areas.

From Lordsburg, we headed north, the plains of yucca rising into the pinon forests of the Gila, bypassing Silver City on the truck route.  We stopped for a photo op at Leopold Vista, named after naturalist Aldo Leopold, where we were delighted by the mosaics on each picnic table, depicting area scenes.

We turned off on NM 12 to Datil, where we spent the day with our daughter Sheri, companion Tom, and her dogs, a friendly bunch that includes two giant mastiffs and a couple of rescue dogs.

After a cold night, at nearly 8000 foot elevation, we awoke to ice on the inside of the windshield, though the heaters kept the inside comfortable.  After coffee and breakfast, we headed down the mountain to head toward our next stop, Albuquerque.  But, first, we stopped at the Very Large Array, the radio telescope installation in the Plains of San Augustin, with huge parabolic dishes arrayed on the three spokes of a 26-mile diameter telescope lens that peers deep into the universe.  The below-freezing wind roared across the plain, putting our layering system to the test, as I ventured out for photo ops while Judy, beginning to suffer from a winter cold, stayed in the van.

At Albuquerque, we had dinner with another granddaughter, new new husband, and the two of her five children still at home.  We hadn’t seen them since before COVID. At the end of the evening, we drove 60 km south to the truck stop we had showered at earlier, for another cold night without electric heat.  The morning dawned at minus 5 outside the van and 9 inside (Celsius), which quickly dropped to 5 (41F) once we opened the curtain to the cab, removed the window covers, and made a dash to the store.

The wind had subsided overnight, so we had a pleasant drive south to Las Cruces.  We set the GPS on “Fuel Saver” mode, so it routed us on side roads and through towns along the freeway.   We have taken our own slowtroute in the past, but this was slightly different, taking us on a few roads we hadn’t driven before.  Like other relatives who have guest rooms, our daughter Shawna insisted we use her guest casita instead of sleeping in the van, a welcome change, since we didn’t have to make up the sofa/bed in the van.

So ended our eighth day on the road.  We have a lot of relatives in Las Cruces, so spent a couple of days in hopes of seeing some of them before headed to El Paso, where more family awaits.