Summer 2021 is arriving with tangible optimism across the country, a striking difference from the national mood when I last wrote during the early weeks of the pandemic lockdown . . .
When Stay-at-Home is not Stay-in-Place
It all started with a text message a week ago: “We had to send Dad to the hospital” . . .
Open Roadscapes, the Podcast
My driving is always accompanied by a constant soundtrack of music, news, and podcasts . . .
Fueling cybercrime
Every time you swipe a card at a gas station pump, you put your credit card account information at risk . . .
What your motorhome engine isn’t telling you
Confession: I am a data junkie. Yes, all scientists are data junkies, but my particular dependency is much worse . . .
Capturing tropical birds by boat
A short winter break in warm Florida weather gave us a chance to exercise our bikes, our kayak, and our camera gear . . .
Our Colorado vacation, including lessons from 80 hours of “chasing”
We just returned from our annual summer trip to Colorado, staying for the first time at our tiny piece of Rocky Mountain real estate . . .
The growing camping/planning dilemma
My motorhome owner friends typically fall into one of two camps (pardon the pun) . . .
Waterfront sites and waterbird sightings
As the end of 2017 approached, we took a little time away from chilly Chapel Hill and headed south to the Florida Keys, a favorite destination for kayaking and bicycling . . .
From springs to LiquidSpring, part 3: Road test
After a 500-mile day of solo driving over nearly every type of road imaginable — from interstate highways to winding narrow mountain roads — I now have a rather complete driver's perspective of how LiquidSpring’s “Compressible Liquid Adaptive Suspension System“ (CLASS) has changed my motorhome's ride and handling . . .
From springs to LiquidSpring, part 2: The transformation
Tomorrow morning, I’m flying back to the LiquidSpring factory and will pick up Rocky, our Tiffin motorhome, now sporting an entirely new rear suspension system . . .
From springs to LiquidSpring, part 1: Why, and why not?
There are now 10,000 miles on Rocky, our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Open Road 32SA, but it feels more like 5000 + 5000 . . .
Smooth biking and hiking around Aspen
We’ve just returned from a late summer trip to Colorado, our third straight year driving a motorhome there from North Carolina . . .
The 25-35-45 motorhome decision
The more prospective RV owners I meet, the more I appreciate the enormous diversity in their lives and their mobile lifestyle goals . . .
Recharging my batteries at the Outer Banks
Having moved to North Carolina nearly nine years ago, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that we have not yet traveled to the Outer Banks, the string of barrier islands off the eastern coast . . .
The inevitable A/B comparison, part 2: Camping review
In my last blog post, I started by pointing out the most obvious distinction between our current and former RVs: size . . .
The inevitable A/B comparison, part 1: Driving review
We’ve only had time for a few weekend trips in our new Class A motorhome, but the memories of Class B traveling are still fresh . . .
“Vanscapes” becomes “Open Roadscapes”
It’s a difficult habit to break – we still keep referring to our new RV as “the van” – but we are now taming a much different beast than our last RV, The Silver Box . . .
Moving on: The sale of our Free Spirit
It all started with us thinking that we would simply trade in our 2015 Free Spirit SS when we were ready to purchase a new motorhome . . .
The Allegro shakedown cruise
It’s supposed to drop to 6°F in Chapel Hill tonight, and our new motorhome is not winterized . . .