Tolkien wrote: “not all those who wander are lost.” Ed and Rachel Barnhart are this sentiment sprung to vivid life. When they retired in 2004, the intrepid RVers hooked up their Alfa Gold fifth wheel on a mission to see all that God created and man constructed…and find the best pizza in the USA. From the beaches of Seattle, Ed and Rachel set their sights on Maine. From there they would turn south toward the sunshine, only to be greeted by the worst Mother Nature had unleashed in decades. Undaunted, the Barnharts headed off into the sunset, through the southwest and across the Rio Grande to the shores of Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. From sea to shining sea and back again, all in their first year as explorers in the “Land of Awes.” In Chapter 10 Ed and Rachel take a moment to reflect not on where they’ve been, but how they got there.
Ed in the Tucson Saguaro Forest
Something else you don’t really think about until you are out on the road is grocery shopping. Sure, you realize you will need to buy food from time to time, but you don’t really think about where you will be buying it. Different state? Different stores. Before you can go pick up some steaks for the grill, you have to learn which stores will sell them to you. Sure, we have run across familiar names: Safeway, Albertsons or Top Foods, for instance. But more often we have ended up at Hannaford, Farmer Jacks, Osco-Jewel or Price Chopper. And, of course, with each new region, there are more novel options. Expect grocery shopping to feel like an Easter egg hunt and you will do just fine.
We wash all our dishes by hand, so we try to keep the dirties to a minimum. Our periodic meals out in 
Ed and Rachel Barnhart
For us, one of the secrets of establishing a comfortable routine in this series of small, medium and large adventures we call RVing is to spend at least two nights wherever we stop along the way. Longer if we can. This allows us one day to relax, stretch our legs and get to know our surroundings and another to get out and really explore the area.
They say that getting there is half the fun, and we can’t even begin to count how many interesting detours life “on the road” has allowed us to take, but even the “getting there” requires some preparation. We are, of course, equipped with our trusty GPS, but we still take the time to chart our course the old-fashioned way before we leave each campsite. The night before, I study the map and put together a stack of summary cards listing the highways we will take, the turns we will make and the distances between. Then, armed with the cards and the GPS, Rachel – who has become quite a hand at map reading along the way – navigates for us. This extra little pre-trip precaution may seem like overkill to some folks in the age of Google Maps right on your Smartphone; but turn-by-turn directions don’t reveal the little towns and villages just off the highway like Rand McNally does.
That’s not to say we don’t love the GPS. It often helps us get back on track after chasing a curious detour or two. But it also wants to send us on the shortest route between two points. For example, we quickly vetoed the GPS’ innocent attempt to take us through downtown Detroit on surface streets. Bottom line, I would not want to travel without the GPS and Navigator Rachel. I’ll take both, thanks…even though only one has an “off” switch.
Kidding aside, you may only need one person to drive this rig, but it definitely takes two to safely guide 55 feet of truck and trailer down the highway. In addition to Navigator, Rachel also wears the “Spotter” and “Co-pilot” hats. If we recorded the conversation in the cab, it would frequently sound something like this: “Clear on the right. Go ahead and move over… There’s a car stopped on the shoulder ahead… Better get over, you will be exiting left in one mile…”
Expect good and bad roads and adjust your driving accordingly. It’s not uncommon to pass someone who did not respect the conditions in a ditch on the roadside. That type of very bad day can happen in an instant – even if you are paying attention. And, of course, you will always run across road construction. There you are, tooling along over hundreds of miles of wide open road when, suddenly, traffic just stops and you are funneled from three wide open lanes to one that resembles a driver’s ed course. It’s more nerve-wracking your first few days on the road, of course. Eventually, the white knuckles and sweaty palms are reserved for the steeper downhill curves coming in and out of the mountains.
Camping World Crew
Where we spent our day
The moral of that story is this: “Stuff breaks. It goes with the territory, so there’s no reason to panic.” Thankful for the extended warranty, we just paid the deductible and arranged the repairs.
One of the most rewarding aspects of RVing is those moments when you suddenly realize you are standing in a place, which, previously, you had only seen in pictures or on a map. You feel a little bit like Steinbeck when he was preparing for his “Travels With Charley.” Sure, you had meticulously planned each and every detail of the trip, but sometimes you don’t really believe it will happen. RVing literally turns dreams into reality. Though, there are days when we stand, arm-in-arm in disbelief, realizing again how unbelievably blessed we are.
Read previous chapters by selecting one of the links below:
Chapter 9 - Picturesque Settings & Police Surveillance
Chapter 8 - Erie Museums and Niagara Mist
Chapter 7 – The Amish and Edison
Chapter 6 – Dutch Treats and Bavarian Festivals
Chapter 5 – Two American Icons – Miller Beer and Chicago Pizza
Chapter 4 – Touring the Twin Cities
Chapter 3 – Discovering Middle America
Chapter 2 – A Trip Around the Sun
Chapter 1 – Pacific in the Rearview, We Wave Goodbye
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