Best Campsites in America

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-scenic-campgrounds/ The above link has a ton of campsites that sound wonderful. I'm going to do more research on each later but a few don't allow RVs which means I can't take the trailer there. Not a big deal - I've found more than plenty of campsites that will take a small rv without any issues. https://www.passportamerica.com/ I've seen a lot of RV road trippers rave about the Passport America and Good Sam. I can see why. By joining up with Passport America, I can get discounted rates on various campgrounds and other places - which will be very helpful when I do this whole RVing thing once I sell my house. http://greatist.com/fitness/best-camping-united-states Another list of campgrounds. I think I've posted this one before but it's a list worth repeating. Now that I have a dog again (SO EXCITED!!!!), camping will be that much more fun. The cat does complicate things a bit - unlike dogs, cats tend not to like camping. However, I think Jasper should be okay with the trailer (a small house) and I will just have to find him a VERY big enclosed litter box.

Campgrounds

I've been looking at campgrounds close to places I'd like to visit on the amazing epic road trip around the United States (& Canada!).  I started to look at national and state parks.  The average fee for a campsite that has water and electric seems to be around $35 anywhere on the East Coast.  The West Coast is a different story.  There, prices range from $75 (no joke) to as little as $18 a night.

I've started seriously considering going with a KOA card and using their campsites.  The prices are normally pretty reasonable ($27 ~$42 depending on where the campground is) from what I've looked at so far and the card (or kard as they put on the website) would save me an extra 10%.   It's $27 for the entire year - staying at any KOA site for over a week would make the card pay for itself.

The reason many campgrounds sound pretty expensive - let's face it, most Motel 6's are only $42 a night still- is because you do get cable, wifi, plus water & electric.  Even if I stay at one site for a month (many sites have 14 or 28 day maxes), it would be roughly $1000.  That's far less than I'm currently paying for my mortgage, cable, internet, water, electric, and the stupid home owner's association fee per a month.  The good thing about camping is that I know when the sheets were last washed, how old the sheets are, and I have a very comfortable mattress.

To save money on the trip, I could sometimes stop at Walmart parking lots - they let customers spend the night in their RVs- and use some "tent" camping spaces at campgrounds.  The tent spaces are typically a good deal cheaper since they don't have the water or electric.  

Luckily, I have a few months to plan for all of this - I haven't even gotten around to putting the house up for sale officially yet.  Still, I want to be ready to jet the heck out of Dodge the second I sign the house over.

Among the first stops on this trip...

If you have not seen proper Top Gear, you need to watch it. It doesn't matter if you don't care about cars - that's not really the point of watching the show. The show itself does teach you about cars and what to look for and what is good and bad about cars hardly anyone will ever be able to afford - but the real reason to watch the show is to watch the British version of the three stooges act like...well, the three stooges. They are hilarious. And the Alabama episode was really no exception.

Ever since I saw the episode, I've wanted to know where that gas station was. Of course, back when this was filmed, hardly anyone knew what (proper) Top Gear was. You've got to wonder if anyone clued in the woman working at the gas station in years since. Still, I found out that the gas station is:
 State Line Convenience Gas Station
32485 Us Highway 90, Seminole, AL 36574
Cross Streets: Between County Road 91 and Donovan Dr
(251) 946-2080

I need to stop there just to get gas. I must see this gas station for myself. Since this was the route the Top Gear guys took from Florida to New Orleans, it doesn't seem too terrible bad to take as well. (And yes, I plan on taking a route that will take me down towards Florida from Maryland. However, it won't be i-95 most of the way. I want to stop in Blacksburg, VA and then in Asheville, NC, and probably just go a couple hours south of that to end up near Clemson in SC. From there, I'll make my way to this gas station.)

After New Orleans, I plan on going to the one state I've been to that scares me to death - Arkansas. I used to live in Mississippi and you did not cross over that bridge going from Memphis into Arkansas. I did it once and ...no. Just no. However, I really want to visit the Crater of Diamonds State Park where you get to dig for diamonds. And the State Park is in Arkansas. So, I'm going to forget every story I've heard and seen for myself about Arkansas and go to the park. Because you know, diamonds! Everybody loves diamonds!

First Post is First!

This is my blue box on wheel being pulled by my equally blue truck.  I've taken it camping to various places relatively close to home in Maryland.  The picture above was taken at the annual SCA camping event known as Pennsic.

I love camping in this tiny house.  It doesn't have a bathroom but it does have a sink that, when hooked up to electricity, will run hot and cold.  I also have a fridge, a portable stove, and I made a shower tent that I can hang up on any tree.  Any decent campground will have "privies" or some sort of bathroom so not having one hasn't been an issue.

Because I love camping in this so much and because I'd love to see more of North America, I decided to start planning my great American road trip.  The thought process was that I really don't like my current home at all.  I live in a tiny townhome with my cat and the community and neighborhood are just not for me.   The amount of money I'm paying to live in this tiny townhome is also ridiculous.  (It's because I live in decent commuting distance from B'more, Annapolis, and DC.) I figured out that if I sold this townhome and saved up money for a couple of months, I could afford to move to a mountain home up in the Appalachia.  Even when factoring in gas money to get to work every day from there - if necessary- it would be cheaper over all.

I telecommute most of the time.  As long as my cell phone has a signal, I can get Internet access and be at work.  Yes, sometimes I have to go in - but I can also call into meetings.  Since most of the time I'm taking the train up to NYC rather than going into my home office in northern Virginia, it will just mean I have to suffer through the worthless TSA and fly if necessary.

So, what to do during those two or three months before I move to a new home?  Go on the great American road trip of course!  Even factoring in gas, camping fees, and food on the road; it's cheaper to live the nomadic lifestyle than it is to keep living in my current home.  I won't be able to save up quite as much but it will be a lot of fun.

As I'm working on my townhome to get it ready to sell (new countertops, new flooring in the kitchen and 3rd bedroom, and new paint upstairs), I thought I'd create this blog to pinpoint places I'd like to visit as well a solicit ideas of where else to stop by and see.  I really want to stick to mostly National or State Parks - as they tend to have decent and not ridiculously expensive campgrounds.  (If the camping fee is $60, I can get a decent hotel room for that!)  There are a few big cities I'll visit as well (New Orleans is on the list!  As well as LA -  but that's because I have family near both of those cities) but, really, I just want neat places to see that might be a bit off the beaten path.

Once I actually sell the townhome, I'll start out on my roadtrip pretty quickly.  I basically want to go down south, cross all the way over to CA, go up the 101, make my way into Canada, continue up to Alaska, and then come back down probably to Idaho, making my way back across until I get to West Virginia or northern Virginia - wherever I end up buying.  Of course, the last part of the trip will probably involve me spending a week or two at a campground in the Appalachia while I look at homes and try to decide which one I want.  

For those wondering where all my stuff will be for this two or three month break - I have a storage center I've already rented from.  I'm slowly packing up my stuff to put it all in there.   I will be selling some things - mostly costumes or fabric- but much of what I have will go into storage and sit there for hopefully only 6 or 7 months.  We'll see.