Quick road trip vs. living in the RV! 10/10/19

Hello to all! On Monday the 7th Cassi & I returned from our Northeast trip! So, just 3 days ago! And tomorrow Friday the 11th my dad joins me on my trip out West. Yes, I'm heading out west again.

Let's start with an update on how the Northeast trip went. Cassi & I spent 15 days driving the Maxima from Kentucky to Bar Harbor, ME and then back. We spent the night in the following locations -

• Pittsburg, PA- 1 night 
• Newark, NJ - 1 night
• Lower East Side Manhattan - 2 nights 
• Brooklyn, Coney Island - 2 nights 
• Boston, MA - 1 night
• Ellsworth, ME - 2 nights 
• Camden, ME - 1 night 
• Cape Cod, MA - 2 nights 
• Scranton, PA - 1 night 
• Columbus, OH - 1 night 

15 days seems like an adequate amount of time for a road trip but when you are moving almost every day the time flies by. I really enjoyed the trip and I am glad I got to visit so many different places in such a short amount of time. But, I feel like I didn't get to connect with any of these locations or get to experience their 'realness.' It feels like you are in fast forward the entire time trying to figure everything out. For instance, wake up, get ready, hurry up and get in the car so you can drive 7 hours to your next place, oh great the sun is setting, guess we should get dinner somewhere, why am I so tired I didn't even do anything today, but drive, let's save money, okay go back to Airbnb, scroll through your phone, fall asleep. That at least explains the days when we only stayed in a location for one night. In most places we rented a room in a larger home and shared all the public spaces. I don't mind it for a one night stay, I was actually looking forward to connecting with the owners of the homes or other Airbnb renters. This did not happen. Most people keep to themselves and stay out of sight. I do have to tell you about one person we got to speak with. His name was David, and we rented a 10x10 room in his 30x30 apartment in NYC. He had great reviews and responded quickly to our messages. He lived on the 6th floor, with no elevator. So after 37 minutes of driving around LES Manhattan trying to find a free and safe parking spot we eventually parked the car and unpacked it. We had two 50lb bags, 2 back packs, 2 purses, 1 camera case, and some groceries. (We were afraid to leave anything valuable in the car) We then walked 12 minutes to his apartment and had to carry everything up the 5 flights of stairs. David's girlfriend greeted us at the door, gave us a tour of the apartment by standing in one spot and spinning around and then left. So, at this point we place our bags and bags and bags in the bedroom and look around. There is no second bedroom....so where does David sleep? Who knows, we are hot, sweaty, a little agitated, nervous, and we still have to go park the car at a parking garage.

Fast forward, we got the car parked, we've been on 2 different subways, we've walked 5 miles around the city, saw Moulin Rouge on Broadway (which was amazing, I cried 3 times) and we are back in the tiny apartment fast asleep in bed. Well, I am fast asleep. Apparently Cassi was up half the night being a nervous wreck. I've never slept better in a strangers bed. Haha I know that sounds crazy. Well, David comes into the apartment in the middle of the night and Cassi wakes me up to tell me. I was sleeping so well, I was like okay, okay, what do you want me to do about it? Maybe I'm too trusting but what was going to happen? Fast forward a few hours and Cass has to pee, when she returns from the bathroom she reports that there is a man fast asleep on the couch and she's very uncomfortable. It's amazing (and to me) a little funny with how different we are. At times I have to actively remember that we are different and to be sensitive to what makes her uncomfortable. I also have to remember that neither of our characteristics or personality traits are good or bad. Just because I am laid back, talk to strangers, feel comfortable sleeping in their bed, etc doesn't mean I am bad and just because she avoids strangers, is uncomfortable in highly populated restaurants/bars, and would rather stay in than go out doesn't mean she is bad. So, I actively have to have these internal conversations with myself so I do not get frustrated. Long story long, everything ended up being okay, David was gone that morning before we started moving around. He did return the second night and he was awake at the 'kitchen table' when we started getting ready to leave. I was thrilled of course. So, Cass and I sat on the couch and talked with him for a little bit before he helped us carry our bags downstairs. He was from....I want to say some where in NJ or NH? A small town. Came to NYC for work and had been there for 5+ years. We talked about the pedestrians, AirBnB, the drivers, how to make money, etc. It was nice, it was also nice that he hauled our bags down the steps for us! Ha.

He was one of the only hosts we really had a detailed conversation with. Or at least had the time to converse with him. I would say my favorite place to visit was NYC. I liked all the people, the different food, the music, the noise, the excitement. I feel like the city is constantly vibrating with opportunity. If it wasn't so expensive I'd consider it a place to stay for a little bit but I just left the life of making money only to survive. I did not care for Newark, NJ although that was the first place we saw the back of the Statue of Liberty. I wouldn't say we had outstanding food on our trip, I've had much better food experiences out West! Maine was nice. The leaves were changing but they weren't at their peak yet. I did enjoy the drive up North, especially in the Maxima, I felt like I was flying! Ha sometimes going 80 MPH! Oh, my second favorite stop was Salem, MA. We drove through and hung out for about 2 hours, had some coffee, took some pictures, that was really cool! Of course I grabbed magnets and stickers at every location so the RV is decked out! Overall I would love to return to the Northeast but travel differently. Next time I'd take the RV, the dogs, and hang out for a week or two in different locations so I could get the full effect.

This is a water tower that was featured in Stephen King's "IT'"

Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park 

View on top of a cliff in Acadia National Park

Below is an updated map! The pink are the states that I have left to visit! I consider a state 'visited' after I at least spend a night there. 30 states out of 48!

A night view while visiting Camden, ME which is a adorable little coastal town.