The Archive — Volume 01
Travelogue
Slow, considered dispatches from the road — long-form essays, photo stories, and the small details we keep coming back to.
Featured Dispatch · July 7, 2026
Lake Erie Walleye Charter from Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio
I wanted to fish Lake Erie for years and finally did it this summer, five minutes from where we parked the coach. We met Captain Buddy at the dock before sunrise, trolled the central basin, and had our limit of walleye plus a bonus steelhead in the box well before noon. Here is how the morning went and what a charter for two actually costs.
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July 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Biking Presque Isle: A Day Trip to Erie's Lake Erie Peninsula
Pennsylvania is not a beach state, but Presque Isle makes the case anyway. A sandy peninsula on Lake Erie with a flat 13.5-mile paved bike loop, eleven beaches, two lighthouses, and a War of 1812 monument. Here is a full day trip by eBike and truck from our Lake Erie Shores base, plus the best beer in Erie.
July 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Geneva-on-the-Lake: A Week on Ohio's First Summer Resort Shore
We parked Wild Blue Yonder on Ohio's north coast for the Fourth of July and ran the Lake Erie shore out of Geneva-on-the-Lake, the state's oldest summer resort town. A week of Strip donuts, sunset walks at Geneva State Park, and day trips to Erie, covered-bridge country, and walleye water. Here is the whole stop.
July 3, 2026 · 5 min read
Elizabethtown / Hershey KOA Holiday Review: A Quiet, Comfortable Base With a Premium Price
We took a same-day booking at the Elizabethtown / Hershey KOA Holiday and landed one of the nicer patio sites in the park. It is clean, quiet, and easy to settle into, with excellent hookups and strong connectivity. Two things hold it back: the nightly rate, and how far Hershey actually is.
July 2, 2026 · 9 min read
Back to Hershey: A Couple of Rainy Days in Chocolate Town
Thirteen years after our first trip, we came back to Hershey for two rainy days built around chocolate and food. The free Chocolate World ride, a small brewpub that beat the famous one, chocolate steak sauce that flopped, chocolate wings that did not, and the Milton Hershey story that still sticks with me.
July 1, 2026 · 5 min read
Gettysburg Battlefield Resort — RV Park Review
Gettysburg Battlefield Resort puts you on the southern end of the battlefield, minutes from Devil's Den, Sachs Covered Bridge, and the Eisenhower farm. The location and the full hookups deliver, and the pool is a highlight. The check-in and the property's upkeep are where it slips, especially at sixty-five dollars a night.
June 30, 2026 · 5 min read
Pretzels, Presidents, and 12,000 Elephants: Things to Do in Gettysburg
Most people come to Gettysburg for the three days in July of 1863, and the battlefield earns it. Spend a few days here and the town hands you breweries, distilleries, a tavern pouring since 1776, a candy shop guarded by concrete elephants, and a pretzel run to Hanover. Here is how we filled the hours.
June 29, 2026 · 4 min read
Five Stars and a Pink Bedroom: The Eisenhower Farm at Gettysburg
The most famous resident of the Gettysburg fields never fired a shot here. Dwight Eisenhower bought a farm beside the battleground and made it the only home he and Mamie ever owned. We toured the farmhouse, walked Ike's putting green, and climbed the hill to his Angus show barn. Here is what it was like.
June 28, 2026 · 5 min read
Boulders, Buglers, and Hallowed Ground
After a week of museums in Washington, two self-described non-history travelers pointed the truck toward Gettysburg. They hired a private battlefield guide for eighty-five dollars, sat inside the 1884 Cyclorama, walked the cemetery where Lincoln spoke, and stayed for Taps at dusk. Here is what the day was actually like, and how to do it yourself.
June 27, 2026 · 5 min read
Washington, DC: The Bucket List You Can't Finish in a Week
You cannot finish Washington, DC in a week. We filled every day until our feet quit and still drove back to the camper with more on the list than we crossed off. Here is our running DC bucket list, the stops we caught and the long column we are coming back for.
June 26, 2026 · 6 min read
Cherry Hill Park: A Capital Basecamp on a Family Farm
Cherry Hill Park has been family owned since 1921, and it has figured out the one thing every RVer chasing the monuments needs, which is a way to park the rig and still get downtown. We give it a full five out of five, from the transportation setup to the in-house dog walker for Juneaux.
June 25, 2026 · 5 min read
The C&O Canal and the Streets of Georgetown
After a week of monuments we gave our last DC day to Georgetown on foot. The C&O Canal ran dry and mid-restoration, the towpath tied the day together, Clyde's served a good story and a light lunch, the Old Stone House survived on a case of mistaken identity, and the Exorcist stairs earned every one of their seventy-five steps.
June 24, 2026 · 5 min read
Harpers Ferry: Rivers, Rifles, and Rebellion
Harpers Ferry sits where the Potomac and Shenandoah meet and three states nearly touch. We walked the lower town where John Brown made his stand, stood at the Appalachian Trail signpost reading Maine one way and Georgia the other, poked through an old general store, and finished with a hazy on the deck at Harpers Ferry Brewing.
June 23, 2026 · 5 min read
A Long Porch Above a Wide River: George Washington's Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon had been on the bucket list for years, so we left Wild Blue Yonder at Cherry Hill Park, loaded Juneaux into the truck, and pointed it south. The estate turned out to be more dog-friendly than expected. We walked the piazza above the Potomac, paid respects at Washington's tomb, and lost track of time in the museum.
June 22, 2026 · 5 min read
Crab Cakes and Meatballs: A Day Around Baltimore's Harbor
After a morning at the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum, we gave the rest of the day to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. We worked through a Maryland crab cake at Phillips, took a Watermark cruise past the Domino Sugar sign, rode up to the Top of the World deck, and capped it with meatballs at Benny's in Little Italy.
June 21, 2026 · 5 min read
Just a Long Fly Ball from Camden Yards: Where the Sultan of Swat Began
We started our Baltimore morning at 216 Emory Street, the skinny brick rowhouse where George Herman Ruth was born in 1895. The little upstairs bedroom is now part of a full museum, and we walked out knowing far more about the Babe than the home run records, from his pitching days to a Presidential Medal of Freedom on display in the room.
June 20, 2026 · 5 min read
Big Marble and a Quiet Hill: The Mall Monuments and Arlington
Day on the Mall starts at the Washington Monument and runs the length of the reflecting pool to Lincoln and Jefferson. Then a ride across the river to Arlington National Cemetery, where the rows of white stone, the Changing of the Guard, and the Kennedy eternal flame ask you to go quiet.
June 19, 2026 · 5 min read
Goosebumps in the Gallery: A Day with Two Branches of Government
A day inside two branches of government. We rode the train in from Cherry Hill Park, walked a spotless National Mall, and stood in the actual Supreme Court courtroom where the President recently sat. Then a private Capitol tour from an intern in Congressman Norman's office took us from Statuary Hall out to the Speaker's Balcony.
June 17, 2026 · 5 min read
From the Rim to the River: A Day in New River Gorge National Park
We gave New River Gorge a full day, from the rim down to the river and back. The big steel arch bridge, a waterfall hike Juneaux loved, a rained-out overlook at Concho that turned spectacular, Sandstone Falls spread the width of the river, and a final horseshoe view from Grandview.
June 16, 2026 · 5 min read
Project Greek Island: The Bunker Under the Greenbrier
A blown reservation gave us a bonus day at the Greenbrier, the flowery grand dame of West Virginia. Then we went underground into Project Greek Island, the Cold War bunker built to shelter all of Congress, hidden for thirty years beneath a luxury resort. Blast doors, decontamination showers, and chocolate strawberries to finish.
June 15, 2026 · 5 min read
Ridgelines and Waterfalls: A Day on West Virginia's Highland Scenic Highway
One of the prettiest drives in West Virginia runs across the top of the Monongahela National Forest. We drove it backwards by accident, caught the overlooks first, then doubled back for Summit Lake and the long staircase down to the Falls of Hills Creek. Here is how the day actually went, stairs and all.
June 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Lewisburg: The Coolest Small Town in America
Lewisburg won the title of America's coolest small town fair and square, then we rolled in for the Greenbrier bunker and New River Gorge and barely gave the town its due. A few restaurants, a sidewalk photo of Carnegie Hall, and a long list of caverns, trails, distilleries, and state parks we are already plotting to come back for.
June 13, 2026 · 5 min read
First Stop: Lewisburg
The coffee was hot and the packing list was finally behind us. We pointed the Wild Blue Yonder north out of Charlotte, dodged the worst of the traffic, and rolled into Lewisburg, West Virginia for the first stop of a long road trip. Three nights, a packed agenda, and a big loop ahead.
June 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Spartan RV Chassis and Love's Travel Stops Just Teamed Up
If you drive a Spartan-chassis coach, you know the hunt for a qualified service shop in an unfamiliar town. Spartan just announced a partnership with Love's Truck Stops that puts certified chassis work, including the hard-to-find long-wheelbase alignment, at hundreds of interstate exits. Here is what it covers, and why we are cautiously optimistic.
June 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Laurel Creek Trail: A Short Hike Worth Taking
The Laurel Creek Trail is a flat 2.5-mile rails-to-trails walk just across the state line from Damascus, following a clear, cold mountain creek the whole way. Free, dog-friendly, and easy for any age. If you are staying nearby, it is practically at your doorstep.
June 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Day Trips from Damascus — Abingdon, Mountain City, and Boone
Damascus makes a great base camp, and the towns around it are half the fun. Twenty minutes west to Abingdon for the best beer of the trip at Sweet Bay and cider at Tumbling Creek. South to Mountain City for steaks and ridiculous desserts at Suba. Then down to Boone for Booneshine. Here is the loop.
June 11, 2026 · 5 min read
Riding the Virginia Creeper Trail — Abingdon to Damascus
The Virginia Creeper Trail is a Rail-Trail Hall of Famer, and riding it was the whole reason we came to Damascus. We shuttled out to Abingdon with Adventure Damascus and rode the lower half back on our e-bikes: trestles, farm country, the South Fork of the Holston, and a stop at Alvarado Station. Here is how it went.
June 10, 2026 · 5 min read
Old Mill Music & RV Park — Where the Creek Does the Talking
Lodging near Damascus, Virginia is slim, so we based five minutes over the Tennessee line at Old Mill Music & RV Park. Twenty quiet sites, Laurel Creek running along the back, an owner who actually cares, and a performance stage that used to be the Peavine train station. Here is how it held up as a home base.
June 10, 2026 · 5 min read
Damascus, Virginia: Trail Town USA
We came to Damascus for the bike trail and left calling it one of our favorite little towns anywhere. Seven national trails cross this town of 650, the Appalachian Trail runs straight down the sidewalk, and we rolled in during Trail Days when 650 residents become 25,000. The town, the breweries, and a pizza story thirty years in the making.
June 9, 2026 · 5 min read
Dandridge: The Town Named for a First Lady — and the Wall That Keeps the Lake Out
Fifteen minutes from Anchor Down, the little town of Dandridge turned out to be the sleeper hit of the trip. Tennessee's second-oldest town is the only one in the country named for a First Lady, it hides behind a wartime dike, and it serves a Bible Burger at a soda fountain running since 1911. Here is the day.
June 9, 2026 · 5 min read
Anchor Down RV Resort: The Douglas Lake Stay We'd Waited Years For
We put a deposit on Anchor Down during COVID and finally cashed it in this May. The Dandridge, Tennessee resort sits right on Douglas Lake with the Smokies stacked up behind it, and the view does most of the heavy lifting. Here is our honest take on the sites, the amenities, and the big-rig logistics.
June 9, 2026 · 5 min read
Roll That Beautiful Bean Footage: How a Country Store Built an Empire (and Got a Talking Dog)
For years we drove right past Bush's Beans on our way through East Tennessee. This trip we finally stopped, and the free museum in Chestnut Hill turned out to be a gem: how a country store became a national institution, the cook-it-in-the-can secret, Duke, a giant golden bean, and that pinto bean pie.
June 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Tuscumbia, AL: We Did Not Expect This
June 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Heritage Acres RV Resort — Tuscumbia, AL
We figured Tuscumbia was just an overnight stop. Heritage Acres turned out to be a clean, well-run base camp for one of the most surprising stretches of the whole trip.
June 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Rattlesnake Saloon — Tuscumbia, AL
A restaurant built inside a cave, a pickup truck that hauls you down to it, and a two-pound burger that's free if you can finish it. The Rattlesnake Saloon might be the wildest meal in Alabama.
June 2, 2026 · 5 min read
Buena Vista Motorcoach Resort: The Park I Loved So Much I Bought into It
Sugar-white sand across the street, 28 miles of trail right out the back gate, and sites big enough to feel like you've got the place to yourself — Buena Vista Motorcoach Resort might be the finest spot we've parked on the Gulf Coast. Between the resort itself and everything waiting just outside the gate, this stretch of Orange Beach kept pulling us back.
June 1, 2026 · 5 min read
From St. Lucie to Silver Springs: Our Ocala Stop
Ocala Sun RV Resort is a big-rig-friendly halfway point between St. Lucie West and Buena Vista — with Silver Springs, horse country, and Disney all within reach. Long pull-throughs, paved roads.
June 1, 2026 · 5 min read
Silver Springs: Glass Bottoms, Hollywood History, and Monkeys on the Loose
Long before Disney, Silver Springs was Florida's original tourist draw — and it still earns the trip. We floated the glass-bottom boats over impossibly clear springs, sunken Greek statues, and a century of Hollywood history (two James Bonds filmed here). The one thing we didn't catch? The park's infamous escaped rhesus monkeys. We'll be back to settle that score.
May 19, 2025 · 5 min read
The World's Most Famous Wood Chipper, Then Rain All the Way to Medora
Day 27 took us from the world's most famous wood chipper at the Fargo Visitors Center clear across North Dakota to Medora, trading flat grasslands for rolling plains and dodging cold rain the whole way. We ended at the Rough Riders Hotel for a great steak and a jaw-dropping two-story Theodore Roosevelt library.
May 18, 2025 · 5 min read
The World's Largest Dilly Bar and Other Reasons to Stop in Fargo
We rolled into the Fargo area on a low-40s day with a small window and big ambitions. What followed: cheese curds at Dee's Drive-In, a hazy flight in Drekker's restored 1880s rail shop, an oyster bar hiding inside Brewhalla, German-Russian comfort food at Kroll's, and the World's Largest Dilly Bar in Moorhead.
May 17, 2025 · 5 min read
Leg Prisons, a Pink Squirrel, and Two Bags of Cheese in Hixton
We cheated the drive through Chicago, then paid for it with 40 mph wind at the Hixton KOA. A friend six miles away walked us into our first Wisconsin supper club, a Pink Squirrel for dessert, a nightcap at Turtle Pond Tavern, and two bags of cheese the next morning.
May 16, 2025 · 5 min read
Wild Blue Yonder's Homecoming: Four Days at the 2025 Entegra Coach Homecoming
Wild Blue Yonder went home to the RV Capital of the World for the 2025 Entegra Coach Homecoming. Four days of free service from Entegra and its partners, prime rib carving stations, an open bar, country and classic-rock nights, one very stubborn sewer cap, and a long look at the new 2026 Black Panther Edition.
May 14, 2025 · 5 min read
Out of Cheesecake, Only Cookies Left: Big Nita's on Mother's Day
It was Mother's Day, and we weren't leaving Louisville without one more run at Big Nita's. We showed up at 10:30 for an 11 a.m. open and found a line a block long. What followed was a real-time cheesecake market crash: flavors crossed off the board one by one until only cookies were left. We escaped with a victory box.
May 9, 2025 · 5 min read
Goat Island Idol: A Harvest Hosts Night in Cullman, Alabama
A 9:55am rollout from Orange Beach, blue skies instead of the promised storms, and a Harvest Hosts night parked behind Goat Island Brewing in Cullman, Alabama. We helped empty a few pint glasses, stumbled into the Goat Island Idol singing contest, skipped the canceled BBQ truck for a freezer meal, and pointed the rig toward Canada.
May 8, 2025 · 5 min read
Orange Beach by the Numbers
May 7, 2025 · 5 min read
A Sunset Worth Waiting For: Wrapping Up Orange Beach
After years of putting it off, we finally hit the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, made the pilgrimage to Cheeseburger Randy's for a no-nonsense burger, floated the lazy river through a couple of rainy days, and slurped two rounds of oysters before Orange Beach sent us off with the blazing sunset we'd waited all week to see.
May 5, 2025 · 5 min read
We Finally Did the Oyster Thing: Navy Cove, $1 Bivalves, and a Bald Eagle Ambush at Gulf State Park
April 30, 2025 · 5 min read
Bamahenge and the Lady in the Marina
Days 7 and 8 at Orange Beach settled into a rhythm of work, lazy river, and oysters, with a few bonus highlights: the Wild Blue Yonder finally got its bath, an inner-tube rescue earned bragging rights, and a road trip to Barber Marina delivered two of the South's weirdest sculptures, Bamahenge and the Lady in the Marina.
April 28, 2025 · 5 min read
Banana Pudding Moonshine and the Great Lazy River Lap Count
Mornings meant spreadsheet warfare and a rescue plate of Cajun Eggs Benedict at The Ruby Slipper. Afternoons meant lazy river laps and banana pudding moonshine from the ladies in turn 3. Throw in oysters at The Pelican Grill and Tin Top, and Owners Weekend rolling in, and Buena Vista was firing on all cylinders.
April 25, 2025 · 2 min read
Damn the Torpedoes: The Real History Behind Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island
Just left of the Dauphin Island ferry terminal, Fort Gaines has stood watch over Mobile Bay for more than 150 years. It is also where "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" really comes from: Admiral David Farragut's bold charge through a mined bay during the August 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay. Not a John Wayne line after all.
April 25, 2025 · 5 min read
Beaten by No Gas Pump, Undefeated in Checkers: A Mobile Bay Loop from Orange Beach
Day 2 was for pretending to be productive and napping hard. Day 3 we beat the gas pump from hell, caught the Fort Morgan ferry to Dauphin Island, toured the Alabama Aquarium, ate oysters in Mobile, raised a pint at LoDa Bier Garten, cruised Fairhope, and tied a high-stakes giant checkers match. Beaten by nobody.
April 23, 2025 · 5 min read
589 Miles to the Gulf: One Big Push to Buena Vista (and the Oysters That Made It Worth It)
One ambitious goal, 589 miles, one day to do it. We left Allison Creek on Lake Wylie at 7:16 AM, pushed through Greenville and Atlanta traffic, gained an hour at the time-zone line, and rolled into Buena Vista Motorcoach Resort just in time for dollar happy-hour oysters straight from the Gulf at Mile Marker 158 Dockside.
April 22, 2025 · 5 min read