Virginia Is For Lovers

October 16, 2015
When you need me, I'll stand beside you
I'm there for you wherever you go
When you're hungry, I'll satisfy you
That's the mission of my soul
-Peter Himmelman

Shakespeare Rose Garden in Portland

These were the words that were being sung as Cheri and I walked through the Portland Shakespeare Rose Garden during our first wedding ceremony. Yes, we love each other so much that we got married twice - first in the garden and second in our church. Memories of our weddings come forward every year around this time, as our weddings were September 26 and October 27. And it's even more significant this year, as we have been spending time together 24/7 on our RV trip, and here we are in the state known as a place for lovers.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are really blue

Yes, Virginia is for Lovers. We're here in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains at the time when Fall is in bloom. Trees all around us are full of color, and it's been a magnificent site. I have fond memories of these mountains. When I was a boy, my Aunt Stella and Uncle Charley picked me up early one morning and took me on their family road trip to Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. I remember being in awe of the mountains; up until then I had never seen real mountains - just the hills around the Baltimore area. I was taken by the layers of mountains and their blueish glow. The Blue Ridge Mountains.

Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah Mountains

And here I am again so many years later, driving down the same Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway with my wife and our dogs enjoying the scenery from a more experienced set of eyes. Cheri and I lived in Colorado for many years, and we've seen a lot of the Rocky Mountains. You would think that these rolling hills wouldn't stack up in comparison, but they have a beauty of a different nature. First, the only real autumn color in the Rockies is the yellow of Aspen trees. But here, the deciduous trees add in all types of hues, including beautiful bright reds. We were in awe at every turn of the road. Photos can only capture a small sliver of what it feels like to stand on a ridge overlooking mountains and valleys full of the festive colors of Fall.

Beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway

It's been a dry autumn with cool nights which is really amplifying the colors. Autumn is the best season of the year. We always look forward to the change of the season. This year, however, there is a bit of sadness attached to it as we are realizing that this magnificent road trip we've been taking is going to end. It now feels like our trip is more about getting to our end destination on the West Coast. Certainly, we have some really fun places to look forward to, and some great friends to connect with. But the idea of settling back into a home that doesn't move locations every few days seems confining. Living on the road has become our life, and we're going to miss it when it's done.

Campground Hosts live for free

We've run into many people on the road who live in their home for eight months of the year and spend the other four months living in their traveling home in a new place. Many folks who are retired lock up their home, get in their RV and go live in a Northern RV park. As a rule of thumb, we find that at least a fourth of the people we see in RV Parks are renting by the month or by the season. And many take jobs as Hosts, where they help with some of the work around the park in exchange for free rent. It's a very tempting idea, and we'll see where this life adventure takes us.

We've got a few more days in the Appalachian Mountains before we reach the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway where we'll land in Asheville, North Carolina.