We knew we nonetheless had 3 extra states to do, and we knew we have been working out of time. Our aim to finish the 48 was near being doomed. Because of Covid, our 2020 journey ANYWHERE was cancelled. All three of us important staff didn’t have a possibility to take day without work, and with restrictions all over the place, it wasn’t value it anyway.
We had saved the Northeast for the final of the 48 as a result of they have been straightforward in our e-book. We reside native sufficient, we will do them every time. Or so we thought. Now right here we’re, 1 month till Jayden graduates Excessive College, 3 states to go, no time to spare, and a promise unfinished.
If Doug and I, you’ll know that the unfinished promise is simply unacceptable. We might not at all times do issues conventionally, however we do them our manner, and we preserve our guarantees. Jayden has been promised the continental 48 BEFORE commencement, Alaska FOR commencement, after which… when he’s wealthy and well-known he has the accountability of getting us to Hawaii. Whole lot, proper?
What’s left? Jayden wants Maine, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Doug truly wants New Hampshire too. So, right here we go! Home is in the marketplace, realtor would like we have been out of the home for the weekend so we don’t need to preserve taking the canine across the block throughout showings, so a possibility has risen.
The Plan
Doug discovered a KOA simply over the New Hampshire boarder into Maine. That can properly present us a spot to name base for the Friday evening, and we will see a couple of issues in New Hampshire and bounce over the state line and do a couple of issues in Maine. We plan to depart New Jersey on Thursday night as soon as we’re all house from work and college and caring for our appointments. Per Google, it’s a 6 hour drive to the campground; however, that’s with out stopping and with out towing a camper. We all know we can be shifting slower than the vehicles round us and can seemingly must cease on our manner up for a nap on the very least. But it surely places us on the highway!
Saturday morning, get up early, hook up, and get on the highway by way of Vermont to cease and see the in-laws for a fast minute, again on the highway and get the camper right down to Mystic Connecticut. We wish to drop the camper, and hustle again out and again north to Massachusetts and do a couple of issues up there for the night earlier than going again to Mystic for the evening.
Sunday morning, get up in Mystic, pack up and put together the camper for departure, however go away it on the campground. Head into Rhode Island for some breakfast and sightseeing. Again to the camper in time for checkout, hook-up and head again towards New Jersey….
The Actuality
Our plan was pretty spectacular and actually, most likely slightly too formidable. However.. We DID full the 48! Some changes wanted to be made on the fly. It’s a road-trip, it occurs, and needs to be anticipated.
We managed to get on the highway about 2 hours sooner than anticipated on Thursday. Initially we thought this was nice, it will present us with extra time in Maine and New Hampshire! Then, after being on the highway for about an hour we regarded on the GPS and it dawned on us that we actually solely gained time in the midst of the evening when you may’t do something anyway! First change within the itinerary. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for dinner (a road-trip MUST HAVE in our household). Whereas sitting there ready for our meals we got here up with a newish plan. We didn’t utterly alter the whole lot, however we determined to search for a spot to only crash Thursday evening. Each Doug and I pulled out our telephones and began in search of a KOA alongside our route, BINGO! We discovered a KOA Journey. We left dinner, and located our solution to the KOA. After we went to mattress, we made it recognized to Jayden and his girlfriend that we’d be up early.. for them at the very least.
Friday morning – up at 6am, woke the children at 7am after taking the canine for a pleasant wholesome stroll and hit the highway once more. Plugged our Maine campground into the GPS and hit the highway. Whereas Doug was driving, I pulled out my cellphone and began poking round on our Harvest Host app. I don’t know that I used to be in search of something specifically, however I used to be trying. We booked this fast journey on the final minute and utterly forgot about Harvest Host. So I suppose I actually needed to see what we had missed out on. Effectively, what, we missed out on loads! I discovered a farm that was solely a few 30 minute detour off of our deliberate route. Based mostly on the GPS, we have been on observe to reach to the campground MUCH too early for even an early check-in, so I known as! Snow Pond Farm in Windham New Hampshire. The data on Harvest Host stated we have been out of season for them, and to ensure to name forward for attainable availability. If this labored out, Jayden was going to be childishly excited, Doug was going to check-off New Hampshire, and we’d now be arriving on the campground at an affordable time to hopefully have the ability to go straight to our website.
Snow Pond Farm is an Alpaca farm. In addition they have chickens, however fairly frankly, we have been extra all in favour of seeing the alpaca’s. Jayden has had a ridiculous obsession with them since he was younger. I consider it began when he realized that they spit… However regardless of the precise purpose could also be, having the chance to cease in and test them out was proper up his alley. Guess what! They instructed us they’d be out there and that we may make the cease. Insert second change within the itinerary. We made our manner by way of a growth with our massive truck and our even greater camper, and located Snow Pond Farm.
I’ll admit, we have been slightly hesitant. We have been on a cul-de-sac, in a growth, in entrance of somebody’s home… I known as once more and was instructed to move across the left facet of the home, and we may take a look at the alpaca’s. Okay! In order that’s what we did. There have been 15 females, 9 males, 2 infants. It was nice! One brown one was rolling round within the filth making a ruckus, having fun with the day and the solar on his stomach. There wasn’t a lot else, however we took a couple of footage, gave the canine a very good stroll, took a break from being within the truck. The data on Harvest Host stated that they’ve merchandise that they promote, however I’ve to imagine that as a result of we have been there off season, that wasn’t an possibility. We hopped again within the truck and completed the journey to Maine with New Hampshire formally checked off of all of our lists!
We pulled into the KOA Vacation in Lebanon Maine at nearly precisely 1pm. That they had a website out there for us for an early check-in. We received the rig all disconnected and arrange. The children ran to the shop to seize firewood for later, Doug took Lagertha for a stroll, and I began getting a crockpot dinner collectively. With all of us working collectively, we received the whole lot finished shortly. In Maine, our plan was to move as much as Acadia Nationwide Park. After talking with the beautiful women within the workplace, they knowledgeable us that it was one other 4 hour drive from the place we have been. It was encroaching on 2pm already, it will have been 6pm earlier than we arrived there, and 10pm if we did nothing however flip round and head again to camp… Insert itinerary change quantity 3. Again to Google we went. We have been 45 minutes from York Seashore. Actually, we knew nothing about it earlier than we received there, however as soon as once more, we weren’t disillusioned. It’s a stunning little seashore city with cute retailers throughout. We spent a while on the seashore horsing round, taking within the sights, and taking a few footage. We walked across the city, by way of some retailers, bought our souvenirs, and made our manner again to camp. The drive each instructions was nice. All of us love being off of the freeway and driving by way of little cities, and that’s precisely what we have been in a position to expertise. Grateful for the crockpot, dinner was scorching and prepared after we received again to camp.
Saturday morning, with 2 states checked off and a couple of extra to go, we connected, jumped again within the truck and headed south. From right here on out, we did handle to stay to the itinerary. So a fast go to with household in Vermont, a lunch cease at Cracker Barrel, after all. And saved on trucking right down to Mystic Connecticut. As soon as once more we dropped the camper and needed to bounce again within the truck to remain on observe. This time, it was going to be one other haul, simply with out the camper. Again as much as Massachusetts we went. After already driving THROUGH Mass., we wanted to now go DO one thing for it to rely. It was a 2 hour drive to Boston. After we have been on the Cracker Barrel for lunch our waiter instructed us to take a look at the Seaport, in order that’s the place we headed. We walked across the seaport for a short time, however with out reservations, catching dinner wasn’t actually going to be an possibility. It’s a very stunning space with a ton of eateries, and bars. Searching over the water is attractive. However… We have been in Boston… I’ve made Doug go to NY and Chicago for pizza, Philly for cheesesteak, I HAD to have some chowder.
Issues occur for a purpose. We didn’t know we would wish reservations to eat anyplace close to the seaport. Our fault, we didn’t look it up. As a substitute we walked round Boston hungry. We walked previous the Boston Tea Get together Museum, frolicked with Sam Adams, and stumbled upon the South Avenue Diner. Perhaps it’s as a result of we’re from NJ, self-proclaimed Diner Capital of the World, however consuming at a diner simply at all times appears good! Doug had Apple Pie for dinner, Jayden had Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes, Nikki had a Comfortable Waitress, and me – I GOT MY CHOWDAH! None of us have been disillusioned, the meals was outrageous, our waitress was hysterical, and now, Massachusetts was checked off. Again to the truck for the two hour drive again to camp.
Sunday Funday. Final day of our journey. One state left. How we managed this, I don’t know, however we unintentionally saved the smallest state for final. You might sneeze and utterly miss driving by way of Rhode Island, however don’t let it idiot you! It packs a mighty punch within these borders. It’s the thirteenth state in our Union, so it has a variety of historical past. We selected Newport, Rhode Island to complete up our grand expedition. It was a forty five minute drive from the Mystic KOA. We opted to only pay for the positioning by way of Monday so we wouldn’t have to fret about pulling out earlier than check-out.
We’ve seen Josh Gates and Scott Wolter each discuss in regards to the Newport tower on the Science and Historical past channel. Nobody actually is aware of who constructed it, when it was constructed, and even the aim it was constructed. Certainly one of America’s mysteries. However we have been there with Lagertha round 10am for an exquisite stroll down outdated cobblestone roads to test it out and see it for ourselves. Newport has positively realized to cater to vacationers, however one way or the other they’ve additionally managed to maintain their little metropolis feeling quaint and historic within the course of. It was a enjoyable place to stroll round, and bounce out and in of little retailers, some with water bowls exterior in your 4-legged companions to hydrate. They’ve public restrooms all through the downtown space too, so that you aren’t in fixed seek for a store that may help you use theirs. We settled on O’Brien’s Pub for lunch. Pet pleasant with an ideal outside patio space. Our drinks have been chilly and our meals was yummy. Personally, I wasn’t going to depart New England with out having a Lobster Roll… However everybody else settled on a burger.
One final cease in a memento store to select up our treasures and that was it. For actual. That was it. We did it. We accomplished the continental 48! Holy sh*t! With precisely one month to spare earlier than Jayden graduates Excessive College, we had made good on our promise. We didn’t do a variety of something in any of the states. The truth is, we had simply barely scratched the floor for all of them, however We Did It!
This voyage was a real Cannonball Run. We drove and drove after which drove some extra, however we did a couple of issues and noticed a couple of extra. Largely, we most likely ate in a pair new locations, however that’s okay too. We had a ton of enjoyable being collectively, making an attempt out the brand new camper, seeing new locations, and actually – simply not being house. Don’t be afraid to only bounce within the automobile and see the stuff you wish to see, do what you wish to do, or take a look at some notorious eats! Now to move again house and see how the realtor made out with the showings, and discover out simply how quickly our subsequent chapter begins.
What have you ever finished or seen in these states? We all know we missed loads, and we all know we can be again, so do you’ve got solutions for subsequent time?