First Stop, Ohio!

We left at 7:40 am on Sunday, and made it to Ohio at 6:45 pm. Not bad for hauling a trailer and having a tiny bladder! The drive was long, but Corey and I listened to good music and laughed at the weird people we met, so the time flew by! (We met someone who had never had hummus before!) The only hickups along the way were a cabinet falling off and some soil spillage from the plants. We’re learning quickly why people that live this lifestyle say they’re constantly having to fix things. The work is never done, but we don’t mind!

When we got to Ohio, we went straight to a restaurant we had looked up that had vegan options called "Melt"—I was skeptical about vegan grilled cheese but it was SO GOOD. We checked out a Walmart parking lot nearby to see if we could park overnight, but the parking lot had a sign that said “no parking overnight,” so we decided not to risk it. We called a few other Walmarts in the area and they all said we couldn’t park overnight, which I thought was kind of surprising. We ended up calling a Cracker Barrel in Rootstown, OH, and they said we could stay, so we found our first overnight spot! We got there around 10pm, and slept like rocks even though we were pretty much next to a highway. Our bed is ridiculously comfortable.

 

We left the Cracker Barrel Monday morning to head to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about a half hour drive. We decided to park near the Boston Store Visitor Center and set up our solar panel so Corey could work. The wifi hotspot kept its signal, and his computer stayed charged, so it was a successful workday! I spent my time meditating, reading, writing, doing yoga, working on a macramé project, and exploring the park. I basically got to do all the things I always wish I had time for! I’m feeling extremely grateful for this opportunity. I also decided to stop keeping to do lists—as someone who’s been obsessed with lists for a while, this is huge for me! They’ve been really helpful for my ADD, but I also feel like they added a lot to the rushed, not present nature of my life in Boston.

When Corey was done working we went on a 2 mile loop hike called The Ledges Trail. The rock formations were crazy! Sandstone that looked like coral with tons of holes in it, and layers of rock forming cliffs and bat caves and narrow passageways.

On the second night we used our Planet Fitness membership to shower—I probably looked ridiculous setting up all of my full size shampoo, conditioner, face wash etc.! I’m definitely going to have to stream line that process… We slept in a different Cracker Barrel parking lot, again like rocks, uninterrupted. We headed out to a different section of the park, and again Corey spent the day working, while I meditated, read, wrote, and did Macramé. We had time during his lunch break to go for a nice walk through the woods where we saw black squirrels (neither of us had ever seen one!), a caterpillar that looked like it was maybe trying to make a cocoon, and a beautiful field of wild flowers. We also had time to practice yoga together, so Corey got to experience my fumbled grouping of poses!

We’re headed to Indiana tonight, about a four hour drive, to stay at the RV Hall of Fame, where they let you stay over night if you buy a ticket for the museum while you’re there. I’m actually super excited to see all the old school RVs!