2 Years On The Road!

 North America

Back to Tora Tiki to celebrate

Our 2 Year Anniversary

On this day in 2022, we were saying goodbye to Washington and heading south to start our great adventure.  Little did we know that we were going to have our first and only snowfall while camping the next morning.  We have been very fortunate and haven't had any major issues.  We had our van in the shop for a week but we were in Baltimore and had good public transit.  We have both gotten sick (nothing serious) but we were able to deal with these issues away from our normal healthcare provider thanks to Kaiser having a traveler program across their network.  We have had various issues with our Airbnbs but nothing major. We have had booked the wrong nights camping but were accommodated and didn't have to sleep in a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot.  We have had credit cards lost as well as compromised due to number theft but replacements were overnighted to us with no major issues.  We have had important mail arrive at our "legal" address but our great friend that is lending us the address has been a HUGE help with sending and sorting out our small amount of important mail.  We have had an Airbnb cancel on us but we found a replacement right away with no issues.  We have had a hurricane destroy campsites we were going to stay in while in Florida but Florida Parks was very helpful with making alternate reservations.  We have had 2 tornado warnings, one in New Orleans and one in St. Louis, and multiple tornado watches (we now know the difference).  We have had one attempted break in on our van but they didn't get in and there was very little damage to the van.  We have heard gunshots in multiple cities we have been in but we haven't been victims of any violence despite staying in many cities that are considered dangerous by the media.    We have also had really great visitors in many of our stays.  It's been a great 2 years.

By the Numbers

Here is just a count of some of the experiences we have collected during the past 2 years.

We have been to 129 new Breweries

We have played pinball at 85 new venues

We have been to 10 Sporting Events at various arenas

We have been to 30 new Tiki Bars

We have been to 41 States, Provinces, and Washington DC

We have visited all counties in 3 states (8 in total)

We have camped in 27 different states

We have visited 13 State capitol buildings

We have ridden transit in 20 States, Provinces, and Washington DC including Ferries, Heavy Rail Trains, Subways,  Busses, Trolleys, Street Cars, Funiculars, Automated Peoplemovers, Commuter Rail, Elevated Rail, Gondolas, Hybrid Rail, and A one of a kind system in the Gateway Arch.

We have added 559 New Counties to our county count

Dark Blue = 2022 Dark Purple = 2023

We are currently at 965 counties.  We will cross 1000 this year.

We have spent the night all over North America

Tent = Camping  House = Airbnb or a House of some sort  Bed = Hotel

I have played in 43 pinball tournaments and won 2 trophies.

We have driven from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back.

We have stayed in 19 Airbnbs for a month or longer.

We have spent a month in 18 different cities across 15 different states and provinces.   

Some of My Favorites

Here are some (quite a few to be more accurate) of my favorite photos from the past 2 years.  Many are selfies.

My 36 inch Fried Shrimp Po'boy

Tabasco! 

Cold camping

Kitty!

Petting the Budweiser Clydesdales 

City Museum in St. Louis is insane!

Budget Cuts

A Cincinnati must.

No Dana.

2nd Place!

Toof

Is this the Bellagio Fountain?

No Dogs Allowed Inside

Tiny Pie, Big Flavor

That's it for today.  I guess it's quite a lot.  We have 2 more weeks in Victoria with a couple of big things on the list to do and then we road trip to Calgary and spend a month there.  If you missed, Pinball, Tiki, A Free T-Shirt, and Corn Dogs, check it out.