6/30/14 Leavenworth KS

Storm rolling in at sunset in Leavenworth, Kansas

Day 3 - Have traveled through VA, MD, PA, WV, OH, IN, IL, MO, KS along Route 70.  Our first day off was at John's brother Mike's (and Julie's) beautiful home near Leavenworth, Kansas.  We are still emotionally and physically exhausted from unwinding our Virginia life and transitioning into a nomadic life. A wonderful spa treatment, gourmet meals at "Julie's Bistro", along with low key touring of the cute historic town of Weston, MO did much to lift our energy.  In the 1800's Weston was the largest city (and only city) between here and San Francisco, but a flood in 1881 rerouted the Missouri River to over a mile away and the town died.

What we saw most on this part of the trip was rolling hills of corn fields as far as the eye can see, for hundreds and hundreds of miles across  IN, IL, and MO.  Everything is going well with driving and places we are camping.  We hear a hurricane is coming up the east coast...no house and pool anymore...no worries about a hurricane :)  However, we are in tornado country for the next week and didn't sleep much one night when our area was on high alert and a tornado touched down about 40 miles away!

6/28/14 Fairfax VA

Day 1 - The Freedom Folly is underway (aka John and Debra's adventure in our Truck and RV home).    Gave away or sold half of our belongings, moved the rest into storage, sold the house, found a good home for kitty Luna, moved Jack and his stuff out, and loaded the RV with what we think we are going to need to live on for the next couple of years plus a whole bunch of Zoe's belongings which we are transporting to her home in Pullman, Washington.


Old Home - New Home

I have felt great about the thought of this adventure until this morning when I put the last load into the RV and freaked out - WHAT THE HEY ARE WE DOING, ARE WE NUTS!  Thank goodness the panic was fleeting as I envisioned our beautiful new condo in Westerly, Rhode Island  overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and thought about all the friends, family and cool places we were going to visit over the next couple of years.

For the next month our mission besides meeting up with Zoe in Pullman, Washington, is to visit John's 4 siblings, cousin and Aunt who live in Kansas, South Dakota, Oregon, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Also, visiting with Debra's 4 siblings and Aunt at a reunion in Mystic, Connecticut at the end of July.  Clearly not a leisurely coast to coast trip and we have a trip to Nova Scotia in August as well.  More on that later.

Welcome To Our Freedom Folly

Dear Zoe and Jack,

Freedom Folly describes our mindset when we embarked on this travel odyssey.  Freedom from the ties of work, house, and traffic; Folly because we didn't really know what we were in for.  But how did your parents get to this point in the first place?

Mount Holly Camp

Lake Winnesquam Camp

We each have 4 siblings, our fathers were in the Navy, and both families loved to camp.  Dad's family camped mainly around Jackson Hole in tents and a camper set in the bed of a old pickup truck. Mom's in backyard tents, with Scouts and at Grandpa Vern's rustic cabin on Loon Pond in New Hampshire.  Remember our rustic camp on Mount Holly near Okemo Ski Area in Vermont when you guys were 3 and 1?  You could see the ground through the cracks between the floor boards, we hauled water from an outside pump at the farm down

the road, and it was 80 degrees in the loft and freezing on the floor in the winter.   Two years later we upgraded a bit to a camp at Ephrims Cove on Lake Winnesquam in New Hampshire.  Zoe and Jack learned to drive there using Grampa's golf cart.   The camping dream always alive, it wasn't until your Dad neared retirement that another "just looking" RV show turned into going home with a Ford pickup and an order for a new 28 foot Excel fifth wheel RV.

Fairfax House Blizzard 2010

Meantime, after several years searching the shores of Rhode Island for condos, we settled on a new construction project in Westerly called Champlin Woods.  The ocean view, miles of Misquamicut Beach, fishing, clamming and kayaking across the street in Winnepaug Pond, hiking the nature preserves

Maclura Court Back Yard

 surrounding the condo, biking to the beach and being close to Mom's family all made it a perfect fit.  With both of us retired and anxious to move, we sell the Maclura Court house in Fairfax, VA move into the RV and head out for a one year exploration of the U.S. and parts of Canada while the condo is built. 

Two hard core ground rules for the trip were:  (1) if for any reason, either of us decided we were done with the travels, we were done, no questions asked; and (2) if our relationship suffered in any way, we were done.  Mutual respect, unconditional love and an "Aw Jeez" sense of humor made neither an issue!

Taking Delivery April 2012

Debra's RV Workstation

 Thank goodness one of you suggested writing a blog for those wanting to follow our travels.  But what the heck is a blog I asked??? FreedomFolly.blogspot.com started out as a travel journal but became more the story of our lives as experiences evoked introspection and memories from other times in our lives and about lives of our ancestors. 

I remember when someone would compliment my mother on how cute or smart her children were. To our chagrin she would reply, "well of course, look at the stock they come from".  Well Dr. Z wildlife ecologist, Jack Naval Surface Warfare Officer, and future generations; when you wonder what inspires your adventuresome nature, may our Freedom Folly remind you of the stock you come from.

Much Love,
Mom and Dad 

P.S. Dad is excused for any foibles in the blog since he hasn't read it!!!