Tag Archives: road trips

Personal Growth, Road Trip 2024

Headed for the Hitching Post

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There are oxen in my truck. I found a matching pair In Pennsylvania and couldn’t resist.

For the uninitiated, “hitching post” is a bit of a misnomer on several counts. It typically resembles a section of fence and involves two posts. It also isn’t used for hitching. With oxen, it serves as a place to “yoke up.” The yoked oxen are then led to the implement (which may be some distance from the hitching post) and connected or hitched to it.

One characteristic of oxen is a tendency to consider the hitching post “home base” and, being creatures of habit, head there automatically and enthusiastically. It can be challenging to keep them on task if you pass near the hitching post.

Today, we head for our human hitching post—home. I’m not sure if we do so enthusiastically, but we look forward to unyoking, which indicates that the work is finished. While not the focus, this trip has involved some work, although not in the usual sense of the word. It doesn’t slide off the tongue as easily, but Road Trip 2024 involved some “purposeful effort.”

The hitching post is still pretty far away–we have about 300 miles to achieve today. I’m not sure what equates to removing the yoke, but it might be unloading and unpacking. It will qualify as a purposeful effort.

And it will be a bittersweet. Road Trip 2024 qualifies as an amazing experience on so many levels. I suspect we’ll be processing it for a while. I have some books to ship, some follow-up with new friends… and lots of “thinking” to do. Stay tuned!

My oxen are from Pennsylvania. They haven’t been named yet, so suggestions are welcomed. Short names are considered best, and they should sound different. Oxen do learn their names and respond to them.
Road Trip 2024

Honey, I’m Home!

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We arrived in Sugarcreek late yesterday afternoon after more Interstate incidents. One qualified as a “you can’t get there from here” experience. We did ultimately find our way. Greta Garmin complained a lot and did a lot of “route recalculations.” I think she resented the fact that human interference was required. To her credit, her voice showed no signs of frustration.

That means she also hasn’t experienced the joy of parking inside a garage at our VRBO. She doesn’t care how amazing this place is, but we sure do. We have everything we need and some things we don’t. It might be a new way of looking at “simple.” I did have some difficulty figuring out how to start the coffee maker this morning, but it was there, along with a wide array of coffee choices. The owners clearly have both the desire and skill to make things easy for their guests.

The last time we were in the area was close to forty years ago. I’d been warned that “a lot has changed.” Since my memory is sufficiently cloudy, I’m not confident in making comparisons, plus we haven’t really seen much of the area yet. Greta likes direct routes and is not a fan of meandering. She might even be a little obsessive when it comes to goal orientation. She’s definitely a linear thinker.

Will there ever be a GPS that you can tell, “I’ll like to go for a drive in the country. What do you suggest?”

In anticipation of this trip, I joined a few road trip groups. I scratch my head when I read a request like, “We are traveling from Florida to Maine for two weeks. What are some things we should see along the way?” The comments (answers) are clearly well-intended. If it’s an area I’m familiar with, I may ask about the traveler’s interests before answering. That just seems a bit practical. For example, on our trip here, we did not stop at any places offering ziplining.

It’s not that we’re not open to new experiences.

Whether one is a GPS, VRBO host, or traveler/VRBO guest, life gets simpler when values are clearer. The GPS realizes (admittedly in a mechanical and unemotional way) that it’s important to get you there. The VRBO host realizes that it’s important to make you comfortable. As travelers and guests, we get to decide what’s important. Sometimes, it’s important to get there. Sometimes, it’s important to be comfortable. The list goes on, and it changes.

It works best when we determine what’s important and assume at least some of the responsibility for obtaining it. It might be just that simple.

The view out the front window of our VRBO in Sugarcreek Ohio
Just for Fun, Maine Life

One for the Money

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When we first started thinking about a road trip, our divergent thinking had us considering a fifth-wheel camper. Isn’t that what senior citizens do? In 2025, we will celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary. I’ve joked that it might be time to consider having kids. But on a more serious note, doing something “different” and celebratory seemed appropriate.

So we started our research. The research got interrupted when I spotted a truck for sale on the Internet at our favorite dealer! Then we were driving by the dealer on a different mission and they were cleaning the snow off it. Coincidence or Karma?

My sister gave me this mug. She obviously knows me.

Fast-forward a bit: We bought the truck. We’d mentioned our anticipated camper purchase. One of the owners said, “You can rent a lot of hotel rooms for what you’ll pay for a camper.” That started the wheels in my head turning almost as fast as those on our 2017 Ram.

One of the things we liked about the camper idea was that it could be a “turtle house.” Now I am a bit obsessive about efficiency, and the idea of a vacation home on wheels seemed to have a lot of advantages. But so do hotel rooms that require no maintenance but include maid service and breakfast bars.

I did a comparison of several planned trips–one version with a camper, the other at hotels. There truly wasn’t much difference in cost. (Your results may vary–it depends on how you like to travel.) The big financial factor becomes that we’d be paying for the camper even when not using it.

One benefit of simulating our trips was facing the reality that campers mean work. Some experienced fifth wheelers suggest that set up and pack up take at least an hour each. So our travel days would include 5-6 hours of driving, followed by at least an hour of setting up. Then comes supper. The next morning we would spend an hour packing up and repeat the process again.

Our financial advisor loves to remind us that–at our age–the two most important words are “comfort and fun.” Climbing on top of a fifth wheel to sweep off the slide-outs and disconnecting a sewer hookup does not qualify in my book.

Photo of our 217 Ram

The more good news is that we discovered that the Ram is a great travel vehicle and the cap makes it even more so! (More to come about that in “Three to Get Ready.”) The cap that would have to go if we wanted to install a hitch is now a big plus!

I should add that we are experimenting with VRBOs during Road Trip 2024. Oh! Did I mention that we decided not to wait until 2025 to make our big trip? Two for the Show!

One for the money is the start of a children’s nursery rhyme dating back to the 1800’s. “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go!”