Both my mom and dad grew up in Ohio so I spent a lot of summer and winter vacations there as a kid. I haven’t really gone back much as an adult, especially since my Nana and Pop Pop sold their longtime family home, but this was a necessary visit.
My Pop-Pop passed away in March of 2022, just a few months shy of 100 years old. It was decided that we would hold a memorial over the summer. Reminiscent of the family reunions we would have when me, my sister, and our cousins were all kids. Billy and I decided to embrace this opportunity for a real road trip in the RV. Up until now the furthest we had driven so far was from Boston to Vermont. Just over 200 miles.
A Brief Story of a Grand Life
My Pop-Pop was an incredible man that I probably only knew ¼ of. As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realize how little I actually know about the people in my life. Specifically what their lives were like before I knew them. I guess that’s a pretty typical view of a grandparent though.
I do know that his parents immigrated from Germany, that he trained to be a U.S. military pilot during WWII and had a lifetime affinity for airplanes, that he successfully owned multiple businesses, that he loved boating and tinkering with engines, computers, etc., and took his family on epic Airstream/camping trips around the country (and even Europe).
Like I said, he was an incredible man. I never saw him get stressed. He was always in a good mood and content, wondering when it was time for dessert. Thinking back now he had a calm and patient presence that I never really appreciated as a kid. He was a man that worked hard, built his own companies, and encouraged his children to do the same.
Together, he and my Nana had 4 children, accumulating 13 grandchildren, and at least 8 great-great-grandchildren. It’s funny that I used to think I had a small family, just me, my sister, and our 11 cousins. Hah!
Time to Travel
Billy and I were excited for this to be our first real “shake-down” trip. Our first time booking campsites, having back to back travel days, dry-camping, and navigating together. And of course our first trip with the cats too! I was personally excited to finally use our Harvest Hosts account to book our overnight stays. Harvest Hosts is the website that all the cool YouTubers who inspired us to start traveling use 😉. It was the first membership I knew we needed. For a yearly member fee you can book overnight stays at places like farms, breweries, wineries, and other places for free. On the way out we stopped in New York and stayed at Keyes’ Trout Brook Sugarhouse a site that had alpacas and made their own maple syrup! Something fun about Harvest Hosts is that while you don’t pay for your campsite you are encouraged to support the local business hosting you. So I had no choice but to indulge in a bottle of bourbon smoked maple syrup ::chefs kiss::
These types of overnight stays are also called boondocking or dry camping. You park, sleep, and leave. No hookups to electricity or water. So this really was our first trip getting to use all of our systems. Here in NY I learned how to reset the house batteries from the engine compartment so that we could use our electricity!
We made it to Ohio the next day and parked at a home with a family farm, another Harvest Host location. My dad with his rental car would be our local transport around town. We were all gathered for a solemn occasion, but the atmosphere was so joyous. Reuniting with family; Nana, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, my sister, nephews. How can that not be joyous?
It also happened to be the weekend of a balloon festival! The first night we were all together we gathered at the hotel many were staying at ordered pizzas and watched balloons float over the outdoor patio. My cousins’ boys told hilarious jokes that made no sense, keeping us all laughing. I felt peaceful and happy to be reconnected to this part of my life.
The day of the memorial held a beautiful ceremony and reception. One of my aunts and cousins put together photo boards and a wonderful album highlighting achievements I never even knew about my grandfather.
The next day my Uncle had a BBQ for everyone. He lives on a lake and it was a perfect day. Many boat rides were taken as my younger cousins experienced a similar type of fun I had when I was their age. Picture 1993, a day out on the boat in Gulf of Mexico waters with Nana and Pop-Pop, Mom and Dad, and Jenna. White bread sandwiches and potato chips. Feeling perfectly safe and loved.
My uncle also let us park in his driveway for our last night so everyone got to tour the RV! I loved sharing this milestone with my family. There’s a slim chance any of them would ever see a house I bought, but put that house on wheels and it’s a different story.
All too soon it was time for us to drive back to Vermont. We realized that we had passed by Niagara Falls, NY on the way to Ohio so we made a new plan to see the falls on the way back “home”.
Travel Lesson
Make sure you fully understand where you are going when navigating a 35 foot vehicle. In my head I thought Niagara Falls would be a peaceful, spacious area filled with nature. Nope. It’s a city. With crowded street parking. Luckily, we found a parking lot that would fit us and for a little extra money let us take up two parking spots. So we left our home and everything in own in a random parking lot, made sure the cats had plenty of air flow, and went exploring 🤷
Niagara Falls was breathtaking even though the area wasn’t quite as peaceful as I envisioned. It was definitely worth a stop and maybe one day we’ll go back to do a boat ride. We stayed the night at Deer Run Winery in New York, unfortunately outside of operating hours, but it was a beautiful property. Then the next day we were back on the farm in Vermont, our trip a success and 1,254 miles wiser.
(map from RV Life Trip Wizard, 2022)