On the Road Again - Year 4

Almost 4 years ago we gave up our apartment and moved into our 1983 Bluebird bus full time.  After spending the Summer and Fall in Vermont navigating life in the bus, we hit the road for a 6 month tour of the Southeast (mostly Florida and Texas, that year) bringing the bus back around to Vermont where our living and learning lifestyle was surrounded by friends, family, and a more intense work schedule.

We repeated the exit strategy  out of Vermont for the next few years - with the bus leaving after VermontFest (Vermont's edtech conference traditionally held first Thursday and Friday in November). This was always a bit later than Craig wanted to leave, but he was a good sport about my need to be at this conference.  Not only is organizing the maker lounge fun,  skipping out  would NOT be a good career move for me right now.

This year we did things a little different.  This year I stayed for the conference, but Craig left October 29 driving the bus to Turkey Swamp Park (about 30 minutes from his daughter's house). This way he got to spend quality time with Maggie and Peter, and   I got to stay behind putting in a SOLID week of work.   After a day at Randolph school, and a day at Bethel School,  I packed up EMMA with everything she needed to spend 3 days in at the Killington Grand Resort, where I was in charge of the Innovation / Maker Lounge for our state's ed tech conference (VermontFest).



I must say that splitting up to leave Vermont was a lot harder than I expected.
I had to pack everything that I wanted on the road for 6 months (EXCEPT the things I needed for a week in Vermont)  in the bus before Craig left.   On top of that, I had to limit what I would keep for my week in Vermont, but also needed back with me to the size of a suitcase that I take on a flight from VT to NY, where I would then transport possibly by train, tax, subway  as I couch surfed in NYC on my way to join my husband and our home in NJ a few days later!

I survived, but just barely!

After an INTENSE couple of days pulling off what I must say was a ROCKIN Maker/Innovation Lounge in Killington,  I unpacked and repacked and grabbed a flight to New York City, where I spent two nights with MY kids.  NOT only did I get to see Matt's brand new Co-op,  I also got to visit both their churches and enjoy a lovely Sunday filled with music and love and family.



Finally  almost 10 days after Craig left Vermont in our home,  I joined him at Turkey Swamp Park in New Jersey, which despite's its name turned out to be a very lovely campground - about 45 minutes from New York.

This morning we started our 7 day trek from the East Coast to Colorado where we'll spend some time with Craig's son Warren and his wife Allison.

We lingered over coffee and took our time heading out (about 11:00 a.m)  waiting for morning commuters to be off the road.  I did a little research looking for some alternatives to Walmart and TruckStops and found a lovely Harvest Host just a few miles outside of Hagerstown Maryland.

Knob Hall Winery 

http://knobhallwinery.com/

We're now both keeping an eye on election results come in, fingers crossed, as we surf around the web, write blog post, and gear up mentally for the next 6 days on the road.