TEN THINGS WE LEARNED ON OUR JOURNEY WITH OUR “YELLOW SUBMARINE”

1.  THERE IS A LOT TO PREPARE FOR!

I have always been thankful to be married to an engineer because Leonard is thorough and is a planner…but there have been times in our marriage where it has been a HUGE benefit! – the sudden death of my uncle years ago, where we had to make a plan and leave quickly…getting our kids ready for college, applications, preparations, etc.  (and the list could go on!)

Now added to that list is the preparation for having a trailer that we were going to drive across the COUNTRY and back!  I watched Leonard research and plan for months before we even picked the Airstream up!

He had our whole trip planned – TO California and BACK! We had a reservation every step of the way and knew exactly the route we would be taking!

In addition to that there are gadgets, tools, Airstream groups to follow, and lots of other things that help you get organized for a trip like this!

2.  WE HAD TO REALLY KNOW THE ROADS WE WOULD BE DRIVING ON!

With a 27-foot trailer “tagging along” behind the truck, we quickly realized that we couldn’t just go wherever we wanted!  (LIKE STARBUCKS! Haha) – although I do have to brag that Leonard figured out HOW to go to a Starbucks once on our trip!

3.  IT’S TIRING PULLING THE TRAILER, SO WE TRIED NOT TO DRIVE TOO MANY HOURS IN A GIVEN DAY!

Someone had told us once that with a trailer, you need to remember the numbers 3-3-3…
Don’t drive more than 300 miles in a day

Try to stop by 3:00 each day

Take a rest day every THREE days

We tried to do that, although we had to do a few long days to get to California – we wanted to get there as quickly as possible!

On the way home, we did a better job taking our time and having more short days!

4. EACH AIRSTREAM HAS ITS OWN “LOOK” AND FEEL!

We really enjoyed (me more than Leonard) decorating the trailer and making it our own!

5. THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRAILERS – OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES!

We so enjoyed meeting people at the different campgrounds – talking to them and hearing their stories of where they were going, where they had been, etc…and until we purchased the trailer, I never noticed just how MANY trailers and motorhomes there are out there!

6.  THERE ARE LOTS OF AMAZING PLACES TO SEE !!

We left from Bristol, Virginia and, within a week, we were all the way out in California!  The sights we saw in between were AMAZING!

7.  THERE ARE ALSO SOME VERY HOT PLACES IN THIS COUNTRY!

First of all, let me say that we took this trip in the middle of the summer, so we certainly didn’t expect nice cool weather as we went across the country!

HOWEVER….we were NOT prepared for one of the places we stopped on the way to California!  Our last stop before we got to Andrew and Leigh’s was in NEEDLES, California.  As we arrived at the campground (around 5:00 pm), we saw that the temperature was 118 degrees!!!!!

I have never been in weather that hot, and I was shocked at what it felt like – when we stepped out of the truck, and the sun hit our skin, it actually burned like fire!  It was crazy!  Needless to say, there were no trees at the campsite – just lots of cactus plants!

When I googled Needles, California, here is the first thing I saw:

“Needles is a small, dusty town on the eastern edge of the Mohave Desert, where California meets Arizona and Nevada. On any given day in the summer, there’s a good chance that Needles is the hottest place in the entire Unites States!”

I WOULD HAVE TO AGREE!!

8.  WE ARE NOW  ‘TRAILER PEOPLE’!

When we began our trip in July, we were definitely NEWBIES!  We didn’t know anything about it – what to expect when pulling a trailer, hooking up a trailer, cooking, sleeping and living in a trailer – but now that we have done this trip, we don’t feel like those newbies anymore!

WE WENT 6,894 MILES ON THIS TRIP!!!

WE ARE TRAILER PEOPLE!!!  YAY!

9.  WE LOVE OUR AIRSTREAM!

We are SO glad we purchased our trailer, and we LOVE it!

10.  AND LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST…WE ARE BLESSED!

GOD IS SO GOOD!

HE ENABLED US TO PURCHASE THE TRAILER!

HE WAS WITH US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!

HE PROVIDED PROTECTION ON EVERY ONE OF THE 6,894 MILES!

WE SAW HIS CREATION AND HIS MAJESTY AS WE DROVE!

WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO HIM FOR EVERYTHING!

When we bought this trailer, I have to admit, I was so anxious for so many reasons – mainly because we would be taking it a long way!Leonard said if we didn’t like it, and it didn’t work out for us, we could sell it – well, that’s NOT happening – we feel like this is us now and we are ready to go again – SOON!!!  (maybe not all the way to CALIFORNIA just yet!)

In fact, the day we got back, we put the trailer in the driveway and hooked it up – I told Leonard that if he woke up in the middle of the night that night, and I wasn’t in the bed, I’d be out sleeping in the trailer!  WE LOVE IT!!

As I finish my last post of this amazing journey, I want to say a HUGE thank you to each of you who took the time to read about our adventure!!  IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME – it was such a fun trip, and a fun way to document it all!

I hope to be able to write more posts when we take other trips in the future – and maybe it will provide a little more entertainment for each of you when I do!

THANK YOU!

Until next time…