10/17/2026 -landed in Staunton VA

 Mr Charley & I landed safely in Staunton, VA. We kept changing our mind between Staunton & Charlottesville (and I’m sure the “Hey Google” guy was quietly shaking his electronic head, but we decided to land in Staunton. 

I had no idea there was a Shenandoah National Park (which is 1 exit up from where we landed), so guess where  we’re going tomorrow‼️ That puts us over the 40 mark in our National Parks count. ☺️ 

It was a relatively nice drive. Traffic wasn’t too bad, except for my little rant about Charlotte, NC stealing 2 lanes of I-77 for their own “NC Quick Pass”!  

I was surprised the Fall colors just aren’t there. There were a few places along the way, but nothing like Upstate SC/N.GA “changing of the leaves”. Maybe on our way back. 

Here’s a few pics along the way:

I always have to read signs and keep Mr Charley “entertained” when he’s driving . Here’s a couple of my Google searches: 

Did you know there’s a Natural Bridge in VA?

That’s it for today. Not sure how the pics are gonna turn out. Blogger won’t let me upload my pics straight from iPhone, I actually have to Copy/Paste. So we’ll see once I “publish”

10/17/2026 DC ROAD TRIP‼️

 So….Mr Charley & I are planning a road trip to DC & Philly. It will be our first trip since 2023, and our first one without “the girls”. It’ll be different since we won’t be RVing, but….thats cool, we still split everything which makes it affordable for both of us. 

President Trump has made it a mission to “clean up” our Country & specifically, our Capital,  Washington, DC. So, I have had it on my heart to go visit the new, cleaned up version. Mr. Charley is ALWAYS up for a new adventure so, we’ve planned a Road Trip to drive to DC and Philadelphia, Pa. Although we’ve both been there, it’s been a long time since either of us has seen it. It’s also America’s 250th Anniversary year.

Here’s our Itinerary: 

Sat 10/17: 

Leave SC,  stay over in  Staunton, Pa 

 Sun 10/18:

1. Check-in after 3:00

Holiday Inn- Washington Capitol- National Mall 

550 C St SW Washington DC  

 2. Monuments at Night Tour                                            790 Pennsylvania Ave NW (booked on Viator)               7:30-9:30 pm

Mon 10/19:

Smithsonian Air & Space Museum       10:00-5:30                           650 Jefferson Dr SW  (free pass booked) 

Tue 10/20:

 1  Arlington Trolley Board @ Arlington Welcome Center 

1 Memorial Ave Fort Myer, Va 

Booked on Viator 

2 National Archives Tour (free passes)  10-5:00

701 Constitution Ave NW 

Wed 10/21 : 

CHECK OUT & head to Philly!

09/12/2023 - Day 89 Heading Home

It’s Tuesday and we’re heading to SC, our home base and the end of this Adventure.  It’s a bittersweet time, especially since this is our first trip out since 2020. 

Here’s a few stats for this trip: We’ve been gone since 06/16; or 89 days 

We’ve driven:  9,811 miles, averaging 11.1 mph, at a cost of $3,187. 

We’ve traveled to/through 16 states:

SC - start NC - drive through 

TN - Dollywood, Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mountains 

KY -Churchill downs, KY Horse Park

IN - toured Grand Design RV factory, ate some awesome Amish food  

MI* -Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Mackinaw Island, Mackinac BridgeWI - drive across 

MN * - finally visited Clonia & Dan ; went to a meat raffle

ND* - Theodore Roosevelt National ParkMT - Billings Airport to get our babies

WY - Cody, Yellowstone National Park, Beartooth Highway, Chief Joseph Highway 

CO - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, drove the Million Dollar Highway, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods

UT - Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse State Park, Petroglyphs

NM -Route 66, Music Highway 

TX - Route 66, Cadillac Ranch

OK- Route 66, Oklahoma City National Memorial 

AR - 🥴

TN - Grand Ole RV Park

NC - layover 

SC- Home 

We visited our last 3 states! Mr Charley and I can both say we’ve been to all 50 States! Of course, not all by RV, since we’ve both cruised to Hawaii, but how many people can say they’ve been to all 50 states!  We’ve visited over 40 National Parks! 
  “The Great Adventure”, back in 2015 - my first time out West  “Maiden Voyage” back in 2016 - Atlantic North East trip in my Class C  “The Grand Adventure” back in 2017 - Drive to Alaska  “The Greater Adventure” back in 2019 - Pacific North West  And now, “The Greatest Adventure - last 3 of 50”
I am beyond blessed and so thankful Mr Charley has allowed me to ride along. We both know how fortunate we are to be able to do this. Our next “adventure” planned is wintering in TX, since we’ve been wintering in FL for the last 8 years or so. But, who knows what the Lord has planned., and of course, Mr Charley has that “gift” (of changing his mind). So now, I’ll be couch surfing for awhile. Here’s our last sunrise in NC, thankful I got to see another one. 


Have a good one everybody. 

 

 










Have a good one everybody. 








 

09/11/2023 - Day 88 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Monday and we’re heading to NC, our last stop before heading home to our babies in SC. 

And it’s 9/11……and I remember where I was, how scared I was, and how proud I was to be an American! So, as we travel towards NC today, I pray we don’t forget what happened back on 9/11/2001. 
 
 
 
And I pray that God will continue to bless and protect our beautiful country. 




Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/10/2023 - Day 87 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Sunday  and we’re to TN at the Grand Ole RV Park. 

It’s our last day here, so laundry is done. I got through another book, and the girls are ready to go home. 
Mr C is rested up and has started putting his stuff up. This has been a shorter trip than usual, but we accomplished what we set out to do, hit our last 3 states. With the added bonus of some of our babies joining us in Yellowstone.  
 

I’m gathering up the stats, but I think we hit  about 15 states, traveled nearly 10,000 miles and visited about 10 National Parks and Monuments. We’re blessed to be able to do this, as this is our first trip out since the 2020 chaos. 
Tonight is dinner out at Red Lobster and we head out early in the morning to Hendersonville, NC for 1 night, then home to SC on Tuesday. 
Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/09/2023 - Day 86 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Saturday and we’re in TN! 
 I never thought seeing green Kudzu growing would be so welcoming. After seeing so much desert grasses and mountains, seeing green grass growing is such a blessing to my “southern” heart. 

We made a quick run to “the local Walmart” to get the girls more treats and a few other things to get us back home. 
The weather is beautiful! Sunny, gentle breeze blowing, and it’s college football day. I’m not the biggest football fan (previous life turned me off), but I’ll give Mr Charley credit, he explains things to me with quiet patience. So now I enjoy watching Clemson play.  And I was REALLY happy with the final score after they got creamed last week! Mr C grilled pork chops and we just took a day to relax and unwind. 
Tomorrow is getting ready to get ready day. (Laundry). So, I’ll just soak up a little more fresh air, sunshine and get through another book. 
Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/08/2023 - Day 85 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Friday and we’re heading to TN and the Grand Ole RV Park. This is one of the best places we love to stay. 

It’s clean, safe, friendly AND they serve dinner and have live music on the back porch! 
Our drive from AR was long, but we’ve learned to take our time, pull over as needed and I always have snacks in the cab, and sandwich makings at the ready in the camper. If we stop at a rest area or “turnout”, that doesn’t have a nice picnic area, we just get our chairs out and set up our own! Here’s a few pics along the way: (I love to watch a beautiful sunrise!)     That’s the best part of the drive, since we leave so early. Arkansas is not my favorite place, it’s just a stopover, so leaving is always a good thing. Here’s some pics along the way:   We drove past Hurricane Millls (Loretta Lynn), Memphis (Elvis Presley), and it’s Patsy Cline’s birthday! So this portion of I40 (Memphis to Nashville) is called “Music Highway” (but it doesn’t “sing”  like the other. 
We safely landed at the campground and they were nice enough to let us check in early. The girls were happy to have some green grass to waller in and the weather was nice enough to sit outside for awhile. Dinner tonight is pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad. And, live music! 

Have a good one everybody.