Our inaugural trip started on our wedding anniversary, August 1st, 2019. The first stop was St Augustine FL where the beach sunsets are glorious. The beach was a short ride on our scooter from Anastasia State park.

From there we headed north along the eastern seaboard and we treated ourselves to the Deluxe site at a KOA near Beaufort, SC……

We had never visited Asheville, NC before – what a great town. Our trip was made even better by our youngest son Greg joining us (not in the Leisure van though) :)

See below the view from our campground (Campfire Lodging) in the morning, followed by a beautiful hike in the hills that Greg found. Butterflies abounded. After a fantastic curry dinner we went for a walk through the streets and came across live music on the streets at night performed by a cast of characters.

The next morning we came across a real “Gypsy” wagon (are we allowed to say that?). She even let me take a photo of the inside. After breakfast we headed off to tour the local art festival in Asheville.

After three nights in Asheville we were off to Big Meadows campground in Shenandoah National Park. Shenandoah park extends along the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains in the U.S. state of Virginia. The Skyline Drive runs its length, and a vast network of trails includes a section of the long-distance Appalachian Trail. 

Descending down the mountains via Skyline drive was breathtaking and then off to Pine Grove Furnace (where do they get these names) state park for a few nights.

My stand-in navigator was doing a great job and then he nodded off! The principal navigator was resting in the rear lounge after things got tense on Day 20.

Pine Grove Furnace State park in PA is home to the Appalachian Trail museum – a real gem and a place to see authentic “thru hikers”.

Butterflies everywhere around our campsite in the trees.

From there it was off to Glimmerglass State park in upstate New York, conveniently nearby Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame museum.

A walk in the woods was the perfect relaxation after a hectic day in Cooperstown (so much beer, so little time).

The Hyde Hall bridge is the oldest recorded covered bridge in the USA.

The weather was cool enough at night for a fire and a cuddle in the hammock.

Leaving update NY in our wake we headed east to Massachusetts where we stayed at Wompatuck State park in our old Hingham neighborhood. It was a convenient base for going into the office and catching up with dear old friends in Backriver.

Our next stop was at the Wild Duck campground in Scarborough ME – another delightful place to hang out for a few days. Scarborough is home to Holy Donuts (made from potato, they are the best evah!).

At last! We made it to our northernmost destination – Blackwoods campground in Acadia National park. We had forgotten the ruggedness of the stunning coastline that borders Maine.

The campground was close enough to visit nearby Bar Harbor on our Honda PCX 150 scooter (Lynne is very brave to be a passenger).

Can you see the cruise ship in the background?

We went on the most amazing hike from the Sieur de Monts Nature Center.

As sad as it was to turn around and leave Maine we were excited to return to our old hunting grounds of Quechee VT where we spent many delightful summers and cold winters in our tiny vacation home.

We retraced our familiar hike from Simon Pearce restaurant (our absolutely favorite place to eat), past Dewey dam to Quechee gorge.

Another of our favorite hikes was the Marsh Billings Rockefeller historical park area. We even got to see an old fire engine at the museum after the hike – the town of Woodstock put on a display for the locals community.

Enough reminiscing – time to depart for Boston for a few days and then an overnight stop before heading off to our first visit to Hilton Head SC.

Hilton Head is place you need to stay for weeks – so many stunning places.

If you get the chance, ensure you do a kayak tour with Outside Hilton Head tours. Here is a video of the highlight of our kayaking in the marsh at low tide.

On our way home we visited the charming little town of Bluffton near Hilton Head – what a treasure. Here is a quote that describes it perfectly.

A tranquil setting of a moment alone with nature may be hard to find in some places – but that is not Bluffton where there are still opportunities to reflect and be still. As a child, it was boredom, but as an adult, it is peace.

The “olde town” is delightful – we even found a parking spot for our RV while we went for espresso coffee.

Our maiden voyage has come to an end. We survived 49 days together! We are blessed to enjoy each other’s company. It was nice to get home – for Bambo especially.