July '24

Musings

We totally flipped the script this month, focusing much more on city excursions and established campgrounds. Part of this was due to unbearable heat, with nighttime lows staying in the humid 80's. The trailer electrical system was not designed to run the AC 24 hours a day, which led us to 1) pivoting our travel plans and spending much more time in New Hampshire than originally planned, and 2) breaking down and splurging on established campgrounds.

While July did not exactly go as planned, the month turned out to be a refreshing change from boondocking and non-stop outdoor adventures. A particular highlight was catching up with friends and family in New York, DC, and the Cape, eating excellent cuisine, enjoying local art, and hitting a broadway show!

Chloe continued her college biology course, while Ben decided it was time to kick off the job hunt in July, almost exactly a year since his last day at Boom. We also continued our political outreach, focusing again on writing post cards encouraging environmentally conscientious voters to get to the polls in November.

Trip Report

The month started with some major travel. Ben returned from the annual Dyersville 4th of July celebrations just as Chloe was leaving to celebrate here sister's birthday in Spain! That left Ben in an off-the-grid campground during the sweltering New York heat wave that hit in July. Days were spent trying to keep the trailer battery charged, which meant sheltering in the car to get some AC. This led to some beautiful road trips around the Hudson Valley, and a quick stop to the historic home of FDR (well worth checking out!)

From there, we were scheduled to head out to the Cape to meet up with Ben's cousin. However, due to extreme heat, we decided to head up to Rumney, NH instead. This turned out to be a great choice, as it was much cooler and the climbing was phenomenal! Most of the outdoor destinations we've been to are overrun with tourists, but Rumney still felt under the radar.

We then did make our way back to the Cape, were we spent some time exploring and met up with Ben's cousin Genna. Woodford had his first ocean encounter...turns out he is not a fan of waves or salt water! While in Massachusetts, we also discovered Treehouse Brewery, which narrowly beats Outer Range as our new favorite brewery!

Our city adventures continued with a jaunt to the Big Apple, where we saw the broadway show "Job" and enjoyed delicious Asian cuisine. From there, we ended our east coast city tour in DC, where we caught up with some old friends and enjoyed yet more great eats. We also had the opportunity to explore our great capital, touring the Capital building itself and the National Museum of African American History & Culture.