1. Foreward

Here's how this whole thing starts - Kid #1 moves away to college, my wife flies out with her and spends a couple weeks there to get her setup and settle into the dorm. Moving from California, the Silicon Valley no less, to northern Vermont is a drastic change of scenery for her and should make for a great life experience. Why northern VT - academic scholarship and a spot on the volleyball team, super cool, very proud of her for seizing the opportunity. Towards the end of this 2 weeks, wife informs me that our daughter would really like it if I'd come out to visit. 

I've got some vacation saved up, finances are in good shape, why not - would love to visit her. But it's 2020 and we live in a country that has struggled with the Covid19 pandemic and we, as a country, can't pull it together long enough to get past it. I'll avoid getting into any political or social rants and move on to focus on the point of this blog. 

The Vermont travel and health boards clearly state that anyone coming into the state by way of public transit, including airplanes, must do a 14-day quarantine upon arrival. Not going to work, so how can I avoid quarantine? Drive there in a personal vehicle without risking exposure along the way - which means no hotel stays. No worries, I've got this. Found this super cool setup from Escapecampervans.com that I could rent, drive from the bay area to VT, drop it off in NY and fly home. I'm planning to go solo so I don't need much, just a place to sleep and prep food. Cost seemed reasonable at first, but when I read the fine print and did the math, particularly the cost of mileage - roughly 3,500 one way - it just didn't make sense, damn. 

I'll skip past all the myriad of options I considered and focus on what I chose to do - drive my truck 

(2015 Ford F150) and rent a Rockwood GeoPro 12SRK from a local guy on Outdoorsy.com. This little 12' trailer is very light, contains a couch that turns into a bed, a TV and that's about it inside. The back opens up to reveal a small kitchen, complete with stove, sink, fridge and microwave. It's got solar, a wifi booster, air conditioning and a heater, but no bathroom or shower, so I have to plan the trip accordingly. It also has a bike rack on it, so why not take a bike or two with me for some exercise and extra dadventures along the way? 

So here I sit, about 5 weeks before the start of the trip, got the trailer booked and a campsite in VT near the school. Planning for 5 days on the road, 4 days in VT, 5 days driving back. I've always felt that I love driving, especially solo. We'll see if that changes after over 6,000 miles.