As we headed to the Grand Canyon, the temperature kept dropping. We went from 70° weather to 30° weather realllll quick. Talk about an adjustment! After driving for a while, we began to see snowfall and realized how cold is was getting out there.
When we arrived, the park was pretty empty with only a handful of rigs in the area around us. The ground was icy and the sky was gloomy. We took it easy our first day and whipped out our warmer clothes and lots of blankets to adjust to the temperature drop.
After a day of resting and warming up, we hit the canyon to check out the rim. It was a little slippery because of the ice, so clumsy me had to be careful descending into the canyon and back up. The further down the canyon we got, the warmer it got. After a while, we were taking off layers because it got so warm. We looked around at the canyon, and couldn’t believe what we were looking at. It didn’t even look real. Even though we were staring at it in person, it was like we were looking at an amazing paint. We were truly in awe. We took plenty of pictures, but honestly, even pictures just don’t do it justice. Once we got down to the bottom of the canyon, we took in all of the 360° views and began the trek back up. Boy, that was hard! We didn’t realize how steep the incline really was until we had to climb back up.
The Grand Canyon was just another quick trip, but it was enough time to enjoy the true beauty of area and keep from freezing to death. Now, we are headed to Zion National Park and I am SO EXCITED! This has been a big one on my bucket list for a while!
Who would have thought this would happen?!? The day we arrived in Phoenix, the MLB announced that spring training was cancelled and that the season was postponed to start two weeks later than planned due to COVID-19 precautions. Although that was really unfortunate news, we were still excited for the Phoenix area! We went to Cubs Spring Training last year and had a blast, and are looking forward to making it a yearly tradition with out great friends from Chicago Addison and Krista—Phoenix is by far one of my favorite places! Since we were meeting up with friends, we rented an Airbnb with them for the week.
Even with our original plans cancelled, we decided to make the best of it. Our first morning there, we decided to do an Airbnb Experience to learn how to make French baguettes. It was an amazing experience together! When we arrived, we were greeted with fresh French crepes and got to know our instructor. Afterward, we got to work making dough for baguettes. Who knew that there were so many steps needed to make dough just right! While the baguettes cooked, we learned how to saber mini champagne bottles. It was surprisingly a lot easier than it seems! After the bread was done, we all sat by the table and enjoyed the fresh baguettes with some sliced meats, cheese and champagne. It was a fantastic experience!
Later that day, we went to check out the Cubs field, even though it was completely empty and closed, but we still wanted to see the park. It was so sad to see the parking the way it was. We walked around and looked through the gate to the field, wishing we were on the other side. We checked out a local brewery in downtown Tempe for some lunch and drinks. Pedal House Brewery was a pretty neat place, and one of the fewer places open at the time. Pretty good beer on tap, and great food!
We decided to make the weekend worth while, and do our yearly tradition of hiking in Sedona, one of the most beautiful places to hike in AZ. The hike was tough but the views were incredible, and there is nothing like hiking in Sedona. Last year, we hiked Devils Bridge, so this year we decided to hike Bear Mountain Trail in the Coconino National Forest. All four of us have traveled across the country and hiked together, and we are so thankful to have friends that have the same passions and enjoy the same things we do..like traveling to new places, drinking good beer and enjoying a good hike with amazing views 😊
Coronavirus news started to sink in as cities around us started to close down. We decided to hang out by the pool and do some good ol’ day drinking, and boy did we get pretty silly. Sitting pool side with good friends, food, and of course, an abundance of alcohol. I mean, what else is there to do when everyone is quarantined? So why not drink, right? I decided to do a Facebook live with my new GoPro while we hung out around the pool, and while I was testing it out, Krista pushed me in the pool!
The last day we were in the area just so happened to be St. Patrick’s Day, so with that being said, we had to make the best of the last day of our week-long, crazy adventure together. We decided hit up few breweries and check out Top Golf since Addison and Krista had never been. Top Golf is always a great time, and when you throw in two Irish boys (Addison and I), along with some Irish car bombs, things can always get interesting. Needless to say, it was a blast and we enjoyed our last night together before everyone departed the next day.
Our friend’s departure flight got cancelled less than 12 hours before they were to fly out, so when we got back from Top Golf, they had to scurry and find a new flight. With the luck of the Irish, they were able to find seats on a connector flight to get home. Come to find out later that night, all flights to Chicago sold out, so they were really fortunate to make it on there! We were sad to say goodbye, but so happy to spend the week with them.
On our way out, we stopped by Superstition Meadery. Unfortunately, it was in downtown Prescott, where parking was tight. Since Superstition in the basement of a building, ot wasn’t dog friendly, so Jess and Charlie waited in the truck while I went to check it out. I had been wanting to visit this place ever since I discovered mead. It’s been almost three years since I discovered mead, and two years in a row I was within miles of this place, so I had to make sure I didn’t miss it this time I was around the area! And I must say, it did not disappoint—I was in mead heaven! Over 60 meads to try out, and I even got 30% off to-go bottles! What an awesome way to end our trip through Arizona.
The morning we headed Las Cruces, I was feeling a little off, but I thought it was just allergies and lack of water, so I grabbed a water and some Advil and didn’t think anything of it. We packed up the camper and headed out early since we knew we had a 9-10 hour drive ahead of us and wanted to get in before sunset. On our way, I started to feel really bad, and ended up getting nauseous and sick to my stomach a few times. Eric kept insisting we go to the doctor, but I told him I was fine and to just keep driving. After feeling this way the entire day, Eric decided we were just going to go to an emergency room in El Paso because I still wasn’t feeling any better.
He dropped me off at the front door of the emergency room while he looked for somewhere to park the camper and take out Charlie. The ER took me in almost immediately (which was shocking!) and hooked me up to an IV to help me get hydrated while they ran some tests to see what was wrong with me. Shortly after, they came back and told me I had the flu! This was the first time I’ve ever gotten the flu, so it was pretty rough until I got some meds.
Since I had the flu and it was supposed to rain in Las Cruces, we just stayed at a rest stop for the night and headed to Tucson the next day. The rest stop had great views, so we were excited to see what our campsite in Tucson looked like.
Our campsite did not disappoint. It was in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains and cacti. Charlie didn’t understand why he needed to stay away from cacti, and as much as we tried to keep him away from them, his curiosity got the best of him…and he got pricked…a few times. Eventually, we all ended up getting pricked by at least one cactus!
Since I was still feeling pretty under the weather, we just decided relax the first day so I could rest up and hopefully feel well enough to get some hiking in. Luckily, the I started feeling a lot better the next day so we decided to do some exploring and hit one of the trails that was in the campground. We decided to take Charlie on the hike, thinking he could hang, and at first he did. He was the leader of the pack! He lead us through the trail, until it started to getting pretty steep and he suddenly stopped, gave us a look like “nahh…that’s it” and turned around to head back down the trail! 🤣
Charlie Done Hiking
It was quick few days in Tucson, but I’m feeling better and we are ready to see our friends in Phoenix for some good ol’ Cubs Spring training baseball!
We heard really awesome things about Austin, so we wanted to make sure we were there long enough to enjoy what all it has to offer, and honestly, we totally could have stayed longer. We stayed at a beautiful campground in McKinney Falls State Park in a big, secluded site surrounded by trees. It was such a serene and divine spot to really relax and call home for a few days.
Our first couple of days there, we ventured around McKinney Falls State Park and hit some of the trails. The trails weren’t very long, but we really enjoyed walking around the beautiful park.
Once we got to the top of the waterfall, we tried to walk over it with Charlie, but he just wasn’t having it, so we headed to a picnic table area for some lunch. Y’all…this spot was sooo beautiful! The picnic tables were surrounded by trees everywhere. It was truly breathtaking. We sat there and really soaked in the beauty of our surroundings while we enjoyed our lunch.
After lunch, we headed back to check out one of the local breweries, Hops and Grain. We only stayed for a drink or two and then headed home for the night to (hopefully) find firewood and build a nice cozy fire. Much to our surprise, we could not find firewood ANYWHERE. We checked a couple of places and were told that it was “out of season” and there wasn’t any around, but I was still determined to have a fire at our campsite!
The next morning, we met up with some of my good friends who live in the area now for some good ol’ Texas BBQ in Downtown Austin. BBQ here is SO good, but the way they do it here is different than in Georgia— everything is a la carte and you order your meat by the pound. It took Eric and I a minute to figure it out and we looked like major rookies to the Texas BBQ game!
While we were in Austin, we also checked out Lady Bird Lake and went for a nice bike ride around it. Towards the end of our ride, we noticed a crowd gathering around the bridge over the lake, so we stopped to see what everyone was looking at. Come to find out, we were standing at the Congress Avenue Bridge, which is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. The colony has an estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats.
The following night, we went out to dinner with my friend and her husband, and afterward, we went on a search for firewood…and finally found some! So we went back campsite and decided to test out a new s’mores combo, using striped cookies and marshmallows. They were okay, but definitely not as good as a real s’more.
As our Austin trip was coming to an end, we grabbed Texas BBQ one last time, checked out the ‘Greetings from Austin’ sign, and made another campfire before we checked out of the campground the next morning.
We ended up deciding to stay in Austin an extra night, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay at McKinney Falls (they were all booked up), so we decided to stay at a RV resort down the road. We washed our clothes, give Charlie a bath and got things ready for our longest drive yet—a 9-10 hour drive to Las Cruces! We loved Austin, and we’ll definitely be back, but for now, we’re on our way to New Mexico!
Originally, we were only going to visit Houston and Austin while we were in Texas, but we heard good things about San Antonio, so we decided to cut our trip in Houston short so we could check out the San Antonio area…and we are so glad we did! San Antonio has such a small town, homey vibe, but with the perks of a city. It’s home of the Alamo, so we knew that was a must. But before we checked it out, we grabbed lunch and a drink on River Walk, which is walking distance to the Alamo.
We’ve never been to a place like River Walk…it was soo beautiful and neat! Basically, there is a river that flows through a part of the city with lots of restaurants and shops surrounding it on both sides. We ended up stopping by Rita’s on the River for a quick bite to eat. There is just something about Mexican food in Texas that is soo much better than anywhere else…besides El Ranchero in Woodstock, GA (of course!).
We ended up getting a pitcher of some Patron margaritas, and chips and guac to get us started. When the waitress walked out with the pitcher, we both just looked at each other. It was a fairly small pitcher, but by the color of it, you knew they were made right! Our pitcher of margaritas was almost clear with a slight tint of green. And we have to say, it was by far one of, if not the best, margarita we’ve ever had!
After lunch, we headed to the Alamo, and come to find out, we happened to visit during the anniversary of the Alamo, which is February 23 – March 6, 1836. To be honest, we didn’t think the Alamo was all it was hyped up to be. We thought there would be a lot more to see. But it was pretty neat to see what all surrounds it now and to just think that at one time, the Alamo is all that stood there and that we were standing on such historic land.
The next day, we checked out the Natural Bridge Caverns. It was SO COOL! Neither of us had ever been in a cave so this was all a very new experience. It was so fascinating to see all the formations underground and to learn how they form, which we found out the formations take centuries to form. This cavern is also the largest known cavern in Texas! During excavation of the entrance trail, arrowheads and spearheads dating from 5,000 B.C. were found, so needless to say, this thing is pretty dang old! Definitely another must if you’re in the San Antonio area.
We really enjoyed our time in San Antonio, but now we’re off to Austin!
Just kidding! In Houston, we found one of our new favorite RV resorts! This place had everything you could need—a gym, dog wash, dog walk, laundry facility, computer/printer area, in-ground pool, jacuzzi, bonfire pit, air and gas refill stations, and free hot coffee and popcorn!!!! BUT that’s not all…we had one of the most breathtaking views.
Although we enjoyed our time in Houston and LOVED our campsite, there really wasn’t a whole lot to do in the area besides check out the Houston Space Center and some local breweries. The Space Center was super fascinating! Jess has always had a big fascination with astronomy so she was like a little kid in a candy store! The Space Center has over 400 space artifacts, and VR and motion simulators, amongst other things, so there was a bunch to see and do. We ended up riding one of the motion simulators that takes you through space. It was pretty neat!
The weather has been great in Texas (like in the 70s with no humidity!), so after the Space Center, we decided to check out some local breweries and battle each other in a couple of games of Jenga.
Before we headed out to our next location, we gave our dog, Charlie, a nice bath at the RV resort’s dog wash area while we caught up on laundry. I wish every RV park had a dog washing area!
Our first stop was New Orleans and—totally unplanned—but we happened to be there right in time for the tail end of Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday! We ended up staying at a campground located a little outside of New Orleans at a place called Pine Crest in Slidell, LA. CAMPGROUNDS in the downtown area were around $250/night for a 5 night minimum! Insane! It was pretty nice staying away from the chaos though. We got in super late Sunday night, so Monday was pretty relaxed. We finished setting up the camper, went on a short hike and checked out a local brewery. The following day, on Fat Tuesday, we Ubered to Bourbon Street to check out all the Mardi Gras festivities. It was so much fun to walk down Bourbon Street with our drinks and check out everyones outrageous costumes. Eric also found a new love for catching beads. 😆 It was a short trip—perfect amount of time for NOLA—and now we are on our way to Texas!
Yup, that’s right—I, Jess, put in my two weeks a month ago, and I have officially been “unemployed” the past couple of weeks. I’m still a little shellshocked that I actually went through with it. It was a huge decision, but when it came down to it, I knew it’s what I had to do so we could travel. I’ve never just quit a job without an exact plan in place or without another job lined up already. I am a very plan-it-out, think it through MULTIPLE times, low-risk type of gal, so this was a big leap for me. But when I weighed the pros and cons, there was no competition. Was I really going to let my fears hold us back from this dream?
Putting my career on hold, putting finances all on my husband, the possibility of something happening to someone we love while we’re gone, and honestly, what others think were my biggest fears in this decision. But one thing kept popping in my head..
If you let fears and “what ifs” hold you back, you will always be in the same place thinking of what could have happened if you just took a chance.
So I went for it. Into the sea of the unknown! It’s pretty scary, but it still feels a little surreal. I feel like I’m kinda on an extended vacation, except with lots of planning, packing, prepping, etc. It’s crazy to think that come Sunday, we’ll officially be on the road!
First stop…New Orleans! Just in time for Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday! Be on the look out for lots of pictures and an upcoming vlog!
Just some newlyweds who are packing up, selling their house and hitting the road for an adventure of a lifetime.
First off, let us introduce ourselves..
My name is Jess, and my husband’s name is Eric. We recently got married last October and are enjoying married life…traveling, concerts, festivals, day drinking..just living our best lives. But we decided to step it up a notch…
Before we settle down and start a family, we’ve decided to hit the road for the ultimate road trip. We’re taking the camper across country to travel and see what all this great continent has to offer.
Maybe we’re crazy, but I mean, why not just pack up, sell the house and take off? When else will we have the opportunity to do something like this? The opportunity is now and we are taking it!
Over the next few months, we’ll be blogging and sharing pictures so you can be a part of our experience. Stay tuned!
Now, time to get the camper cleaned and organized for some glamp-style livin’.
The Fernweh Foleys 