Recently, we clipped a small corner of Pennsylvania today, near the town of Washington, PA, so PA became our 30th different state. Wow! . . . . It got us thinking about all the interesting things that we've noticed along the way. This is one of Randy's favorite questions to ask his classes, "What did you notice?" It's a great way to get them to be willing to contribute ANYTHING, large or small. No judgement, just observations.
Seasons, duh! Fall is an amazingly joyful time and it's definitely buoyed us daily.
It's freakishly wonderful to stay overnight in a run-down parking lot for free.
Places are very different, but the people have been uniformly lovely. If you can find something to laugh about, you can always make a connection.
This is a what happens when you travel with Joan.
Every small town has either a Dollar General or Dollar Tree store.
McDonald's is no longer THE ubiquitous fast food. It's Subway. And they're everywhere.
If they're lucky, some towns have a Walmart because then they have access to fresh food, quality goods, more jobs, and lower prices.
The price of gas seems mostly related to how "country" we are. More Urban = More Expensive.
Gas is cheaper if the Walmart sells gas.
We really get the attraction of Walmart now.
Every single school district needs school bus drivers and has posted a big banner to that effect. Where did they all go?
There are WAY more RV's on the road than we expected. Everywhere we go the campgrounds are packed with them.
Are RV's the new affordable housing??
If there's a college nearby, it seems there will always be an energized downtown. More college students = More energy.
Did you know that Roanoke, VA has more college students per capita than Cambridge, MA or Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC?
When a town is thriving we've also found art, brew pubs, and a place to go for a run.
Especially brew pubs. No, really. Brew pubs bring people together and help make "community" in ways that very few other businesses can match.
A great downtown really makes you happy.
Footnote: (Check out James & Deborah Fallows' Our Towns project for more similar stories. We're just echoing the amazing work they've done -- there's a book, a documentary, and a foundation.)
We've seen gay pride rainbow flags in all kinds of towns and in every state
In Idaho there were Trump banners and flags EVERYWHERE. However, in the rest of the states we've seen very, very few.
The most common flags we've seen have been the black and white flags with the one blue stripe ("support the police"). As we've come to learn more about the flag
(e.g. here, from Politico re: today's meanings &
here , re: the historical meanings) and seen some police departments reactions to it (here), it's getting harder and harder to watch. It's a meme that clearly means different things to different people. If that's the case, what's the point?
This whole flag thing has gotten out of hand.
Funny how finding a port-a-potty in an empty lot can make your day (because it's a place you can dump toilet contents for free)
When driving, the navigator's duty includes watching out for low bridges and railway overpasses that are too short for the van. (pray for us on this one. we've had a couple close calls!)
If something bad happens, it's always the navigator's fault.
Randy's usually the navigator.
The poverty rate in a new town always sticks out to us. Here are a few from www.worldpopulationreview.com. "Poverty" is a household income less than $33k
In Coeur d'Alene, ID & Fargo, ND about 13% of the population live below the poverty line.
Providence, Roanoke, Albany, and Asbury Park are all over 20% below the poverty line.
Manchester VT is 29%. That seems unreal (I need to know more about how they measure these things.)
By comparison, Menlo Park's poverty rate is 5.6% & East Palo Alto is 11%
Among rural towns a poverty rate of 20% SEEMS like what we've come to expect.
It seems like every town has a museum, no matter how big or small the town is. Even Deer Creek, MN (pop. 350) has a museum right in the middle of town.
The Native American presence and history seems much more apparent and much more a part of the local culture -- public art, place names, etc. -- all across the northern U.S. than it is in California.
It's amazing how NONE of the 30 states we've visited has a population that looks AT ALL like California.
We get all excited each time we see a taqueria. They're far too rare!
There are multi-million dollar homes in some places and not in others, but ALWAYS when you're near a body of water.
Living in ~100 square feet of space day after day, you get very comfortable in it. . . . And it's hard not to wonder how things will change when we get back home.
In the space of a few days this past month we "made a home"
behind a chicken coop,
in mobile home community,
in a Cracker Barrel parking lot,
in a Walmart parking lot,
beside 2 different brew pubs.
a hotel
and in a beachside condo
We're really very thankful for all the wonderful friend who've hosted us so far . . . and for Cracker Barrel. Because you KNOW you can alway make a home behind a Cracker Barrel.
Joan can't seem to get the name straight and keeps calling it "Crate & Barrel". And Randy laughs every time.
But BY FAR the most joyful, exuberant, and admirable person we've met makes her home in a trailer. She volunteers constantly, delivers food to her neighbors, and would gladly have given us anything if we needed it. She also smiles constantly and laughs frequently. Who could ask for more?
And of course, we've discovered the cardinal rule of RV life . . .
We can't wait to see what next month brings!
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