Today marks ONE year of living and traveling in our Airstream. . .and we are right back where we started!

It’s today, my friends. Our one-year anniversary of living and exploring on the road. 365 days ago we pulled out of the driveway of our house and took off for a year of adventure. I remember how terrified I was – literally shaking with anxiety as we pulled our shiny, tiny home with all our belongings onto northbound I-5. Were we making the right choice? Did we forget anything? Were my kids going to be safe? I wanted to cry, I wanted to sing with joy, I wanted to scream with excitement, I wanted to turn around, I wanted to never look back. . . SO MUCH emotion. I was a total mess.

But I took deep breaths. And so did my (much calmer) husband. And we drove, one mile at a time, and we were brave. . .and we made it to Lake Wenatchee State Park for our first night on the road. In hindsight we picked a tricky first spot – towing through the curves and mountains – but we did it.

And here we are now a year later – 24,000 more miles on the truck – many of those towing and we’ve been so BLESSED that it seems like words can’t sum up what this year has meant to us. We have seen so many incredible things, experienced so many things and went through a family bonding experience that seemed to only get stronger with every mile we drove. (See our map of destinations here)

I find it rather appropriate that we pulled back into Olympia last night. We will spend the next few weeks here, visiting family and taking care of appointments and other things that need our attention. We even have a short kid-free vacation planned to Las Vegas. Olympia will be a good place to hit the RESET button and try to figure out what the next chapter of our lives looks like.

At the first of the year, I shared with you our “Year in a Review” – including all the things we did before we hit the road and in the first 200 days on the road. But today I want to share all the amazing things we’ve done since we pulled out of that driveway a year ago. This is one HELL of a year if you ask me.

Since we’ve hit the road ::

• Towing our trailer over Snoqualmie Pass
• Visiting Leavenworth, Washington for the first time
• Touring Grand Coulee Dam in Washington
• Visiting family in Clarkston, Idaho
• Spending the day at Silverwood Theme Park in northern Idaho
• Visiting and spending quality time with family over the 4th of July in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
• Meeting up with family in Glacier National Park, Montana
• Touring the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana

• Seeing Mount Rushmore in South Dakota
• Dodging hail storms in South Dakota
• Celebrating Liam’s 8th birthday in South Dakota
• Celebrating Hadley’s 5th birthday in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Getting a new water tank installed in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Spending time with family in Northern Minnesota
• Visiting Heather’s grandfather’s grave in Northern Minnesota
• Seeing the church where Heather’s grandparents were married in Nebish, Minnesota

• Wading in the headwaters of the Mississippi river
• Visiting Mall of America in Minneapolis
• Eating cheese and visiting the largest producer-only Farmer’s market in Madison, Wisconsin
• Visiting Notre Dame Football stadium in South Bend, Indiana
• Eating Culver’s for the first time in South Bend, Indiana
• Getting a SECOND new water tank installed in Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Playing on the giant sand dunes of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in Michigan
• Taking a ferry and spending a day on Mackinac Island, Michigan
• Spending a week along the eastern coast of Michigan in beautiful state parks
• Celebrated Heather’s 35th birthday in Michigan

• Staying at wineries in Ohio and Pennsylvania
• Swimming in Lake Erie over Labor Day weekend in New York
• Visiting Niagara Falls and going on the Maiden of the Mist boat tour to the base of the falls
• Walking across the Canadian border at Niagara Falls
• Visiting family and eating Dinosaur Barbecue in Rochester, New York
• Eating lobster rolls in Maine near the flagship LL Bean store
• Touring lighthouses in Maine
• Walking the Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts

• Watching a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts
• Taking a Ride The Duck tour in Boston, Massachusetts
• Seeing the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Touring Gettysburg battlefields
• Visiting Amish Country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

• Visiting the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
• Visiting Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.
• Visiting the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
• Seeing the White House in Washington, D.C.
• Trick-or-treating at a massive RV park in Virginia
• Playing in the Atlantic Ocean at Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Seeing dolphins swimming off the coast in Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Flying home to Washington state for a couple weeks in November
• Taking a guided horse-drawn carriage tour through downtown Savannah, Georgia
• Seeing 6 alligators, 1 turtle, countless birds at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge
• Spending time with family outside of Savannah, Georgia

• Spending 8 days at DisneyWorld
• Swimming in a natural springs full of fish near Tampa, Florida
• Swimming in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time, near Tampa, Florida
• Touring a Turtle Hospital and learning about sea turtles in the Florida Keys

• Spending Christmas in the Florida Keys
• Eating Key Lime Pie in the Florida Keys
• Saltwater fishing off the coast in the Florida Keys
• Spending New Years Eve at Bahia Honda State Park
• Going on a glass-bottom boat trip near Key Largo, Florida

• Swimming with dolphins in Key Largo, Florida
• Getting our water pump repaired near Sarasota, Florida
• Driving through the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida
• Spending time with childhood friends in Tampa, Florida
• Fishing off the edge of our campsite in Tampa, Florida
• Getting water pump repaired AGAIN in Sarasota, Florida
• Taking shelter from a TORNADO near Sarasota, Florida
• Seeing dozens of alligators on a boat tour at Myakka State Park, Florida
• Walking through the tree canopies in Myakka State Park, Florida
• Visiting the Florida Natural History Museum in Gainesville, FLorida
• Seeing SNOW in Florida in late January
• Playing in the SOFTEST, whitest sand in the Florida Panhandle
• Spending two weeks with family in Montgomery, Alabama
• Visiting the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic site
• Touring the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama

• Visiting the Civil Rights Memorial and taking the PLEDGE at the Wall of Tolerance
• Driving the route for the Selma to Montgomery march
• Going to our first ever MARDI GRAS parade in Fairhope, Alabama
• Eating our first Crawfish and King’s Cake in Mobile, Alabama
• Touring the USS Alabama Battleship in Mobile, Alabama
• Eating jambalaya and shrimp po boys in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Listening to LIVE jazz music while we learned about the history of jazz in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Seeing lots of alligators while walking Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve
• Eating the FAMOUS and delicious Cafe de Mundo  beignets in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Riding on a steam boat with live jazz music along the Mississippi River
• Boondocking next to a lake filled with alligators in Lafayette, Louisiana

• Meeting up with other Airstream families in Austin, Texas
• Eating our weight in tacos in Austin, Texas
• Eating our weight in barbecue in Austin, Texas
• Attending a play at a Children’s Theater in San Antonio, Texas
• Visiting the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas
• Going up in the Tower of Americas in San Antonio, Texas
• Visiting the San Antonio Zoo
• Driving through a National Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio, Texas
• Touring the Natural Bridge Taverns in San Antonio, Texas
• Walking along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas
• Touring the missions in and around San Antonio, Texas
• Going to Six Flags Amusement park in San Antonio, Texas
• Visiting great friends near Houston, Texas
• Dodging tornados and nasty weather in Texas
• Finding a really awesome local library in Artesia, New Mexico

• Walking into Carlsbad Caverns via the natural entrance – 800 foot descent, 2.5 miles round-trip
• Visiting the Living Desert Zoo and Garden in Carlsbad, New Mexico
• Playing in the gorgeous White Sands National Monument in New Mexico
• Eating at La Posta de Mesilla Restaurant – rated one of the top 10 Mexican restaurant in the country
• Learning about the desert plants and animals in Tuscon, Arizona
• Visiting Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona
• Visiting the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona
• Staying at a beautiful RV resort in Mesa, Arizona 
• Coloring Easter eggs outside in the sun in Mesa, Arizona
• Spending 3 wonderful weeks with my Grandma in Phoenix, Arizona
• Seeing MANY amazing sunsets in Phoenix, Arizona
• Seeing my Alaska family – my sister, mom, dad, nephew – in Phoenix, Arizona

• Going to a Chicago Cubs Spring Training game in Phoenix, Arizona
• Taking desert survival class in Mesa, Arizona
• Touring the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument – built in the 1300s!
• Hiking in Lost Dutchman State Park and seeing a tarantula wasp take down a tarantula on the trail
• Visiting the Tuzigoot National Monument – built in the 1300s!
• Had a picnic in beautiful Sedona, Arizona in the famous Crescent Moon Park
• Toured the Montezuma Castle National Monument near Cottonwood, Arizona
• Went on a hike around Watson Lake in Prescott, Arizona
• Tried to drive to the popular old mining town of Jerome, Arizona

• Seeing the GRAND CANYON for the first time
• Hiking 3 miles round-trip into the Grand Canyon
• Hanging with friends and exploring Flagstaff, Arizona
• Toured the famous Lower Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona

• Taking selfies at the famous Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona
• Rafting down the Colorado River near Page, Arizona
• Beautiful beach camping on Lake Powell with our friends UpInTheAirstream
• Hadley breaks her arm while beach camping in Page, Arizona
• Hadley has surgery for her broken arm in St. George, Utah
• Exploring Zion National Park, Utah
• Camping with family at Priest Lake National Forest, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

I am so grateful that we were brave enough to do this. I have so much more I want to write. But first we need to process the last year and everything that we’ve done.

In the coming weeks I hope to share more about our budget (how it averaged out over many months), how we came up with our travel route, more tours and photos of the inside of the trailer, more blog posts about our East Coast adventures (I was horrible about updating the blog during that time) and where I see us going from here.

Thank you for following our journey. For leaving comments. For sharing your tips and ideas for places to visit. For encouraging us. For being there – as a virtual community – that traveled with us as we went to new places. We hope you’ll continue to be a part of our community – where ever the road takes us from here!

Be brave, follow your dreams and take that exit. . . .