First Trip in the Vanper

 We left home on October 27th headed to San Francisco to visit with daughter and her family. We had mapped out our route with places to stay each night but on the morning we left, an ice/snow storm made travel impossible on our planned I-40 route. We rerouted south until the weather cleared and then jumped on I-40 as originally planned. We joined Harvest Host and utilized those locations going out and back. It is a website where businesses that will allow you to park at their location sign up and you are able to make reservations for the night as you are passing through. Of course, they hope you will make a purchase while there. I don’t mind purchasing a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy vs paying a fee for parking and nothing to show for it 😉   As we were in a hurry to get to the fam and didn’t want to risk picking up Covid on our way, we only made one “attraction” stop. How can you resist standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona?! 

Our Van Build

After 3 years of dreaming about it, we made it come true. I had researched, read, watched videos and prayed and the pandemic finally seemed to be the right time. We did all the work ourselves with the exception of cutting the hole in the roof. I just couldn’t make myself do that in a brand new van.  Thank God for big brothers that enjoy the challenge. I never knew I was capable of taking on such a huge project but I just jumped in and it all fell in to place. Hubby was a great help as my “apprentice” and we were able to knock it out in 2 months. 

 

Hiking the King’s Chair Trail

Enjoyed a beautiful afternoon hiking and picnicking at the King’s Chair trail at Oak Mountain State Park. A little over 5 miles round trip with lots of steep inclines. I don’t understand how we hiked uphill in both directions 😳. Logged a couple of geocaches while hiking back down. We enjoyed our hikes in the Smokies so much that we’ve committed to doing at least one a week. I picked up a book at our local Thrift Store “60 Hikes Within 60 Miles” for the Birmingham area. That should keep us busy for a while.