An Unexpected Reunion... With A Beet drop

Before we get started… fair warning: this is our longest blog yet. Sorry in advance for the extra reading, but trust us—this week had a little bit of everything, and we think it’s worth sticking around to the end.

Last week, we mentioned that some friends were coming to visit us, and on Sunday, Jessica, Jimmy, and their newest addition, baby Maya, made the hour-and-a-half drive to spend the day with us.

What made the visit even more special was that we really had no idea if our paths would ever cross again.

We first met Jessica and Jimmy on October 4th during the final U.S. stop of Above & Beyond’s Bigger Than All of Us Tour. We instantly clicked over our shared love of music, life, and the Anjuna family.

At the time, ABGT 700 at The Gorge was still just something we dreamed about attending. Traveling there in our RV—and eventually visiting all 50 states—was an even bigger dream that hadn’t yet become our reality.

We had no way of knowing how much life would change in less than a year.

That night, Jessica also shared some exciting news: she was about two and a half months pregnant.

Now, as every Blockbuster customer of a certain age was once reminded...

Be Kind, Rewind. 📼

Back to last week.

If you read our previous blog, you know our GPS sent us on quite the adventure through downtown San Francisco before eventually taking us past the Vallejo Ferry. While sitting at a stoplight, William noticed one of the ships nearby looked familiar.

It turned out to be the maritime training ship and floating classroom connected to Cal Maritime, where Jimmy and Jessica work.

William snapped a picture and sent it to Jimmy.

A few hours later, Jimmy called.

Just like that, plans were made.

The very next day, Jessica, Jimmy, and four-month-old Maya arrived at our campground carrying fresh bread from a local one-house bakery, warm homemade cinnamon rolls baked by Jimmy using his super-secret family recipe, and a collection of little things they had picked up during their travels since we last saw each other.

And, of course, the best part was finally meeting Maya.

The last time we saw Jessica, Maya was simply exciting news being shared with friends. Now Krysta finally got to hold her—and happily soaked up every baby cuddle she could get.

That alone made the reunion pretty special.

We spent hours sitting beside the river catching up on everything that had happened since October: our transition into full-time RV life, their adventure into parenthood, the Above & Beyond shows we had attended, our travels across the country, and all the unexpected twists life had thrown at both of us.

There was no shortage of stories, laughter, or music.

Days like this are one of the things we’ve come to love most about traveling. The destinations might be what originally put a place on the map, but more and more, it’s the people connected to those places who make them unforgettable.

As the sun started dropping behind the trees, William brought out the DJ equipment and our quiet riverside campground turned into our own little Anjuna session.

We spent the evening listening to some of our favorite tracks, laughing, telling stories, and enjoying the beautiful California weather. Even baby Maya seemed fascinated by the music and lights.

It was the perfect way to end the day.

Before they left, we continued one of our favorite new traditions.

We asked Jessica and Jimmy to place the next green sticker on our Road to ABGT 700 map.

The map may show where we’re going, but the stickers are becoming something much bigger. Every person who places one becomes part of the story that gets us there.

And that is quickly becoming one of our favorite parts of this entire adventure.

By Tuesday, California decided our week needed a little more excitement.

An earthquake.

And this one definitely got our attention.

We felt our strongest earthquake yet—a magnitude 4.6. It was only the second earthquake we had ever experienced, but it was by far the most powerful.

If you’ve never felt an earthquake before, it’s difficult to explain just how strange it is.

With a thunderstorm, hurricane, or most other severe weather, you usually have some kind of warning. You can see it coming. You can prepare.

An earthquake is completely different.

One second everything is normal.

The next, the ground beneath you is moving.

Californians may be used to it, but as two sea-loving Floridians, we’re much more comfortable with the water moving than the earth.

Once the shaking stopped, the week settled back into our usual routine: work during the day and relaxing around the campground in the evenings.

Well...

As much relaxing as you can do when it’s hot outside and your campsite only has 30-amp service.

With only one air conditioner running, the inside of the RV regularly climbed to around 87 degrees during the afternoon. Rather than sit inside and melt, William did the obvious thing.

He moved the DJ equipment outside.

Before long, people from around the campground started wandering over to check out the music, the lights, and, naturally, our now-famous pack of Oscar Mayer Wieners hanging out beside the RV.

And by Oscar Mayer Wieners, we mean our three Dachshunds—who somehow manage to attract just as much attention as the music does.

Apparently, nothing brings strangers together quite like dance music, flashing lights, and three little hot dogs on four legs.

Who knew?

By Friday, we figured Tuesday’s earthquake was probably enough excitement from Mother Nature for one week.

California apparently disagreed.

Right around midnight Friday night, the shaking started again.

Over the next five hours, all the way through roughly 5:00 a.m., we felt four more earthquakes, ranging from about magnitude 2.2 to 3.2.

None were as strong as Tuesday’s 4.6, but there’s something especially unnerving about lying in bed in the middle of the night wondering whether every little movement is the RV settling...

...or the ground getting ready to move again.

By morning, we were more than ready for California to stop reminding us that the earth beneath our campsite was very much alive.

Fascinating? Absolutely.

Something we’re looking to make a regular part of RV life?

Not particularly.

In between earthquakes, work, music, and trying not to melt inside the RV, we also received some exciting news about another adventure coming later this year.

This October, we’re heading to Fargo, North Dakota, where William will be working the Sugar Beet Harvest.

It’s one of those experiences that probably never would have crossed our minds before we started traveling full-time—which is exactly why we’re excited about it.

We’ll get a firsthand look at a part of American agriculture most people never have an opportunity to experience, meet an entirely new group of people, learn what goes into the harvest, and, of course, bring all of you along with us.

Fun Fact: Sugar beets account for a significant portion of the sugar produced domestically in the United States, making the annual harvest an important part of American agriculture.

Visiting all 50 states was never supposed to mean simply driving across a state line, taking a picture, and moving on.

We want to experience them.

The people.

The places.

The things that make each part of this country different from the last.

And if that means working a sugar beet harvest in North Dakota in October...

Well, apparently that’s part of the adventure now too.

As the weekend arrived and another travel day started getting closer, it was time to begin thinking about our next move.

And after the mountain-road adventure we shared in last week’s blog, route planning has taken on a whole new level of importance for us.

Normal GPS apps are great at finding the fastest route.

They’re not always so great at understanding that you’re towing a nearly 40-foot fifth wheel behind a dually.

After dealing with narrow roads, steep mountain grades, tight turns, questionable routing, and roads that absolutely should not have been considered appropriate for a rig our size, William decided to start building something himself.

He’s developed an AI-powered route-planning tool specifically with RVers and big rigs in mind.

Instead of simply asking how quickly you can get from Point A to Point B, the goal is to take into account the things that actually matter when you’re towing: low clearances, weight restrictions, tight turns, steep grades, questionable mountain roads, and all the other surprises a normal GPS may happily send you toward.

It’s still growing and evolving as we use it ourselves, but if you’d like to give it a try, you can find the link in the Links section below.

We’re excited to see where it goes—and hopefully save a few other RVers from some of the “adventures” we’ve already experienced.

Then, before we knew it, another week had disappeared and travel day was here.

This time, we were particularly excited about our next campground for one very important reason:

50-amp service.

After a week of carefully managing power and surviving with one air conditioner, the thought of running all of them again felt downright luxurious.

And thankfully, for once, the drive itself was completely uneventful.

No questionable mountain roads.

No terrifying grades.

No unexpected detours.

After the previous week, we were perfectly happy with boring.

We pulled into our new campground, backed into our site, and started getting settled in for another week.