This week, I'm writing this at 30,000+ feet after we traded campground neighbors for yachts, raced bikes for ice cream scoops, and found a couple more giant trolls. There were Newport mansions, a steam train, and another free museum visit. Plus homeschool, work, and an errand list that somehow required approximately every business between Rhode Island and our camper.

Then came Brooklyn (yes, Brooklyn, New York...). We had our earliest transit day departure yet, which felt like a very promising start right up until conflicting directions and a low-clearance sign had us questioning every decision that brought us there. All while trying to get parked, get settled, and get me to the airport for four nights away.

A week with plenty I want to remember. And a few minutes on the highway that I would happily forget.

Canceled plans & campfire hot dogs

Thursday was a settling in day at our new campground in Newport. Lowina got a new hairstyle ahead of her Halloween look, and we had grand plans for the day. Then we looked around the camper, looked at the school and work we needed to catch up on and canceled them all.

Sometimes that’s what the day needs to be. Even when there’s a whole new place outside waiting to be explored.

We finally got the deliveries we’d been waiting on after our Amazon Locker mishap in Salem. A very exciting conclusion to a very unexciting problem with the goal of more camper projects checked off our list.

That evening, we had another dinner outside with hot dogs over the campfire, then settled in for Black Panther movie night. We didn’t make it to our planned adventure, but dinner by the fire and a movie together were a pretty good way to end the day.

Mansions, ocean views & a hidden tiger

Friday started early for John, who headed out to the golf course, and a few hours later for our girls who now will occasionally sleep in past 8 AM. The girls and I held down the fort with homeschool, including a habitat scavenger hunt around the campground, looking for all of the shelter, food, water and space between our camper and the playground. I love when we can take part of school outside. Especially when we’re somewhere new and there’s a whole different place to notice things.

That afternoon, we headed out for a scenic drive around Newport, starting at Easton’s Beach and continuing along Ocean Drive to Brenton Point State Park. The mansions along the way were ridiculous. The kind of houses that make you feel out of place and also keep looking out the window because surely the next one cannot be bigger. And then it is.

We spent some time watching the fishermen at Brenton Point before heading to Brick Alley Pub for dinner. Such yummy food, and the girls were especially interested in the hidden tiger on the way up the stairs to the bathroom. Then the girls did a little shopping on Bowen’s Wharf before heading back to the campground.

Ocean views. Huge mansions. A tiger near the bathroom. Everyone had something to appreciate.

Another free museum

Saturday morning took us to Providence Children’s Museum, followed by sushi. A pretty solid combination.

Our museum admission was free again thanks to our ASTC benefits. Another full-time traveling mom had recommended choosing a children's museum membership with benefits through both ASTC and AZA, so we went with the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. That advice keeps coming in handy.

If your family visits museums, zoos, or aquariums while traveling, it’s worth checking what your membership to local museums or zoos includes. Ours offers reciprocal benefits through both programs, which made it an easy decision to make the investment!

One thing to remember with ASTC: the museum you’re visiting generally needs to be outside a 90-mile radius of both your home address and the museum where you hold your membership. That’s straight-line distance, rather than driving distance, and you’ll want to confirm each museum’s admission policy before visiting.

A little planning, and then another place for the girls to explore without buying a whole new set of admission tickets. I’ll take it.

We drove back a different way through Bristol and Warren, where some of the streets were super narrow. Lovely towns. A little less lovely when you've got a truck with a huge butt.

Our home, parked beside a catamaran

Sunday was transit day again. We decided to split our stay instead of spending the full week in Newport so we could get a little closer to NYC.

Next stop: New London, Connecticut, and Crocker’s Boatyard. Definitely one of our more unique stays yet.

The boatyard was closed when we arrived, so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, aside from a couple living aboard a huge catamaran next to where we parked. They were waiting on a part for their rudder before continuing on to the Bahamas.

We were getting our camper settled. They were waiting to sail to the Bahamas. Two very different versions of taking your home with you. What a life.

A steam train & a race for ice cream

Monday started with homeschool and some catching up on work, even though it was Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It was crunch time for me with being gone from the family & trying to unplug from work later this week, and the morning gave us a little time to knock stuff out before heading out.

That afternoon, we headed to our next adventure: the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat. A train ride and a riverboat in one afternoon, then dinner at a local British pub. Beautiful views and we met a sweet family that our girls told our whole life story to (not kidding...). A very full adventure day.

But one of my favorite parts happened after we got home. We had a family race on bikes and John’s new eScooter to see who could earn the most ice cream scoops. He wasn’t allowed to use the power, because obviously we were not letting an electric scooter determine everyone’s dessert situation.

Lowina just learned to ride her bike last week, and now here we were, racing around together with ice cream on the line. The sunset was in the background, yachts were all around us, and our home on wheels was parked in a boatyard.

I don’t think I ever pictured that exact scene when we started talking about traveling full-time. But I’m very glad it’s one we get to keep.

More trolls & approximately all the errands

Tuesday started with homeschool and work before we headed back into Rhode Island for another troll hunt. This time, we were looking for Greta Granite and Erik Rock at Ninigret Park in Charlestown.

These giants are also from Danish artist Thomas Dambo, who creates trolls from recycled materials (same as the ones we saw in Tupper Lake!). Erik sits near Little Nini Pond and holds clues leading visitors to Greta. Their story turns a walk through the park into a treasure hunt, with a bigger message about caring for the planet and finding value in things people throw away.

Erik also guards the first of 18 clues in Dambo’s Thunderstone story, and Greta is part of that same project. So these two have a little more going on than just being very large residents of the woods. I love having another reason to get outside and explore a place we might otherwise drive right past. Giant trolls are a pretty convincing reason.

Then came the less magical part of the afternoon: getting ready for our NYC stay and my trip to a women’s retreat.

First, we checked whether we could maneuver the rig into the free dump station at the local waste station. We could not. Thank goodness we didn't figure that out after pulling in with the camper though.

Then we stopped to mail out a payment for a broken shower handle from our mountain house, get John’s car washed, fill up on gas, pick up dog food and a few other things at Walmart, and get fresh groceries. The girls have not exactly been keeping Dad’s car in pristine condition lately, so that stop was overdue.

I also wanted groceries so I could make a few meals for everyone before leaving. Then it was back home to cook and start packing up the camper for another transit day plus packing my own bag for the retreat.

There are afternoons when we find giant trolls in the woods. There are afternoons when we buy dog food and investigate dump stations. Sometimes they are the same afternoon.

Why are we all awake already?

Wednesday started early for me. I couldn’t sleep with everything I still needed to get done, so I finished packing for my flight and started getting the inside of the camper ready to move as quietly as possible so I didn't wake the girls up.

Usually, I handle the inside while John handles the outside. By 6 a.m., I had almost everything inside finished and sat down to get a little work done. Then the girls were awake by 6:30. Whyyyyy.

They were so excited to see their cousin and had been talking about it all week, with a side of “but we’re gonna miss you too, Mommy” and “we’ll send lots of pictures.” Very sweet. But too early.

We finished packing and were hooked up by 8:30, our earliest departure for a transit day yet. First, we stopped at a KOA to empty our tanks and get the camper ready for NYC, since the free dump station wasn’t going to work. Nelson got to run around the dog park, the girls went to the playground, and John handled the camper.

Then we were off down the highway toward Brooklyn.

Brooklyn made us earn it

A week or two earlier, we’d found out we would have to move the rig during our NYC stay. A production company needed the full lot we were originally planning to park in for a few nights when we first arrived and again the following week.

The campsite's original suggestion involved going back and forth between lots three times. Absolutely not the plan I wanted.

Moving our home means packing it up, securing everything, getting everyone and all the animals situated, and then setting it all back up again. I also didn’t want John handling that whole process alone while I was away.

We worked out a plan to stay in the alternate lot while I’m gone, then move back to our original lot the week I return and stay there through our final weekend in NYC.

One move. Much more manageable.

With that sorted, we just needed to get there. Apparently, “just” was doing a lot of work in that sentence.

The drive was going pretty well aside from traffic, until our truck-safe navigation apps disagreed about which exit to take. One said Exit 16. Another said Exit 15. Then we saw a truck-route sign for Exit 15 so we past 16 and waited for 15 to pull of.

That’s when we saw the clearance sign: 12 feet, 6 inches. We would not fit. We pulled into an emergency stopping area, and suddenly we were trying to figure out what to do at the last exit before continuing into Manhattan. WT-actual-F.

Then, because apparently we needed one more thing happening at the same time, our camper door had somehow opened on the highway. Possibly all the bumps and rough roads, but whatever the reason, I had to run back and shut it before we could figure out our next move.

John said we could either call for police assistance or I could get out and ask someone to stop so we could back up. He was trying to say it kindly, but he was clearly stressed, because this was the last exit before we entered Manhattan.

Meanwhile, I was trying to wrap my head around stepping onto an exit ramp that felt very much like the middle of the highway. We were also watching the clock because I still had a flight to catch. It was a very stressful few minutes.

I got out of the truck and slowly walked to the back of the camper, and a kind trucker gave us room to back up and reposition so we could take the exit. We ended up clearing the overhead section we’d been worried about, and I finally let out a little breath.

Only a little one though, because we still had to get our big ass rig through Brooklyn.

Thankfully, that part was fairly straightforward until we turned onto the one-way road leading to our stay. Another truck had part of the road blocked off with cones, so I hopped out to move them so John could make the turn.

Then came a very tight entrance with a tree and the gate giving the back end of the camper very little room. We cleared both, and our host helped guide John into our parking spot. Parked. Finally.

We rushed through setup, threw my bag in the truck, and headed straight to LaGuardia. Our earliest departure ever had somehow still turned into a race to the airport.

Four nights apart

The girls have been counting down to seeing their cousin, Auntie Amy, and friends in the city for what feels like forever. The whole ride into Brooklyn, they were in the backseat playing “let’s call Auntie Amy and plan a sleepover.” I’m so excited for them, and I already miss them, John, and the boys.

When you’re together pretty much 24/7, four nights away feels strange. We share school days, workdays, meals, errands, travel days, and all the little moments in between. Stepping away from that, even for a few days, brings the feels.

Sitting on my flight, I finally have a minute to let the day catch up with me. We’d packed up our home, made it through a very stressful drive, squeezed into our spot in Brooklyn, and gotten me to LaGuardia. Now there was nothing I needed to move, pack, or navigate. I could just sit and breathe for a minute.

Looking back on the week, we’d watched fishermen along the coast, found giant trolls, ridden a steam train, and raced bikes for ice cream beside yachts. We’d also canceled plans to catch up, worked through a never-ending errand list, and made it into Brooklyn with every bit of teamwork we had. No wonder I was tired.

Now I’m off to co-lead a women’s retreat at our home away from home in Massanutten, and the timing couldn’t be better. With everything it takes to keep our home moving forward, literally and figuratively, I still haven’t completely caught up on work or sleep. I also haven’t had any extended “me time” since hitting the road.

I’m looking forward to the retreat, celebrating my birthday, and having a few days with a little more room to breathe. Meanwhile, the girls have sleepovers to plan and a whole city to explore with their people. I’ll be checking for those hundreds of promised pictures (like the first one I got below while sitting on the airplane).

I can miss my family and still be glad I’m going. Sitting on this flight, I feel both. After a week of doing so much together, we have a few days of separate adventures ahead. I’m excited for mine, and I can’t wait to hear all about theirs.

Ready to Plan Something Unforgettable?

Thanks for riding along with us this week, and for letting our travels inspire your own. Your next adventure is closer than you think.🤍

Until the next stop,

The Wagner Family