Nearly nine months into 2021, it seems like a good time to reflect back on our travels so far this year. We driven our Winnebago Travato campervan over 20,000 miles and traveled through 34 states, though some states we’ve merely driven through to get to a destination further down the road. We expect our van’s odometer will continue to spin for the rest of 2021, but likely at a slower pace as we stay closer to the east coast. Here is an observation or two from each of the states we’ve traveled across this year, in order of visit (and with the months we were there in parenthesis):

• Vermont (January, April, May, June, July, and August) – Seems like our time in Vermont this year has aligned with gray and wet weather, but we’ve enjoyed time with family.
• New Hampshire (January, April, May, June, July, and August) – We’ve merely driven through the Granite State this year, and each drive has uncovered new places we wish to stop and explore. We’re hoping to spend time here this Fall.
• Massachusetts (January, May, and July) – Still feels like home when in Massachusetts despite not having a house here anymore. And the traffic and congestion is back to pre-pandemic levels.
• Rhode Island (January) – No exploration here this year, unless you count takeout from many tasty restaurants when visiting our daughter in Providence.
• Connecticut (January and June) – The state with the most stressful interstate highways (I-84 between Hartford and NY Line and I-95 between New Haven and NY Line).

• New York (January, April, June, and July) – When traveling through the NYC metro area at night, we do like to cross the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge to view the big city lights. Letchworth State Park in western New York, one of many so-called “Grand Canyon of the East” was an awesome stop in April
• New Jersey (January) – We’ve driven through Cape May at least three times in the last two years when taking the ferry to/from Lewes, Delaware; someday I hope we can stop and sightsee here.
• Delaware (January) – Our third visit to Cape Henlopen State Park continued to remind us what a great park and campground this is.
• Maryland (January and June) – We drove rolling backroads through western Maryland instead of I-81, enjoyed the scenery, and watched a lightning show in the distance.
• West Virginia (June) – We learned a lot at Harpers Ferry – it’s much more than simply the location of John Brown’s raid.
• Virginia (January and June) – Each time we explore Virginia we’ve found great hikes along Skyline Drive and interesting historical sites in the Shenandoah River valley, though our walkaround of the Cedar Creek Battlefield was challenging due to the mosquitos.
• North Carolina (January and June) – Bummed that the breweries near Asheville were not offering tours and tastings due to the pandemic, albeit that means return visits to this scenic area are mandatory. We attended our first professional baseball game in years in Charlotte, and cheered for Jake Fishman, a lefty reliever who carpooled to school with our kids.
• South Carolina (January and June) – Simply a pass through state so far this year, though we did have a pleasant overnight in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Fort Mill. If you had asked me five years ago, I would not have predicted I would write about the quality of sleeping overnight in a restaurant parking lot.
• Georgia (January) – We take every opportunity to walk around Savannah, and continue to find new, interesting places.
• Florida (January and February) – Perhaps the best state park system, each park we’ve visited has been memorable. And what’s not to like when you can sit on the beach in January!
• Alabama (February) – The short drive across Alabama on I-10 was not memorable. We need to stop and explore.
• Mississippi (February) – See Alabama.
• Louisiana (February) – The damage we observed to the Lake Charles community due to two hurricanes in Fall 2020 was heartbreaking – lots of cleanup and rebuilding still to do. A walk along the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge was a hint of future Mississippi River travels in the summer.
• Texas (February and April) – I wish I owned a spray paint can retail store at Cadillac Ranch near Midland – the number of layers of paint on each of the upright cars is unfathomable. We had a pleasant walk along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville.

• New Mexico (February and March) – We found possibly the best interstate rest area for overnighting anywhere near Gage, NM. Oh, and hiking the dunes at White Sands National Park was otherworldly.
• Arizona (February and March) – Hmmm, Tucson seems like a great place to live (who doesn’t like 100+ miles of bike trails), but I bet it’s scorching hot in the summer.
• Utah (February and March) – WOW, our weeks in Utah were simply awesome, and there is so much more to see and do.
• Oklahoma (April) – Pleasantly surprised by the quantity of wind turbines with blinking lights. Instead of oil derricks, as we drove through western Oklahoma in the evening.
• Missouri (April) – To be honest, our drive through the Show Me State was not memorable. Route 66 and the Katy Trail (a 240-mile long rail to trail) are calling!
• Illinois (April and July) – I have always thought of Illinois as merely Chicagoland and flat agricultural fields, but the rolling hills around Galena in the northwest corner of the state were fabulous.
• Indiana (April and July) – Our first significant traffic jam in 2021, we were in a 5+ mile backup on I-90 westbound due to an accident. Our walkthrough of the RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Elkhart was the first museum we’ve visited in over 18 months.
• Ohio (April, July, and August) – We always be grateful to Ohio for allowing us to be vaccinated here in April, before an appointment was available in Massachusetts.
• Pennsylvania (April, May, June, July, and August) – We criss cross the Keystone State regularly, but other than a Gettysburg visit, we haven’t stopped. This needs to change because of the many great rail to trails. We were blown away (in an audible sense) by the cicadias when touring Gettysburg.
• Maine (May and August) – Acadia National Park has become one of our favorite locations to hike and to snap photographs.
• Tennessee (June) – Busy, busy, busy, Great Smoky Mountains National Park can be crowded, but Cades Cove is beautiful. Seeing 10 bears during a one hour bike ride was a feat we will never forget.
• Iowa (July) – Continues to surprise us with its natural beauty, this time during bike rides on gravel roads around the vast farm fields.
• Wisconsin (July and August) – There may be more artist galleries per capita in the small Mississippi River town of Stockholm than anywhere else. Also, we were reminded of the friendliness that Wisconsinites display, though we may be biased because we previously lived here.
• Minnesota (July and August) – The Mississippi River is long (over 2,000 miles) and the state with the longest length of river is Minnesota. We can vouch for this – it took a long time to drive the Great River Road in Minnesota and watch the river shrink from over a thousand feet wide to just a few feet wide.
• Michigan (August) – We appreciated the Marquette, MI police officer who shared places it was okay to park and sleep in our van overnight.

We’ve gotten into a good rhythm of traveling, including adventures on our bikes and kayaks, exploring historical sites, visiting family and friends, or simply reading a book or newspaper at a random roadside pullout, and have no plans to change our course anytime soon. It’s time to head off again!