It would be impossible to tell everyone about all the spectacular things we saw since we hit the road full-time on June 22, 2018. Sure, we could share our favorite memories of 2018. Or a few sentences about the best beer, best trails, best fishing spots, etc.
Instead, we decided to tackle our year in review by the numbers. And at the end of this post, we share our big travel plans for 2019.
Miles We Traveled in 2018
Although we purchased our RV in mid-March, we didn’t move into it full-time until Memorial Weekend. Still, these are some surprising numbers of how fast and far we traveled.
- Miles driven in the RV: 8,700
- Number of those miles it took to get the RV home from the dealership: 1,103
- Miles driven in our toad since hitting the road: 12,500
- Weeks we had to drive both the RV and toad because our tow system broke: 5
- Dollars spent on fuel in our first 6 months RVing: $4,000 – ouch!
- Number of license plates we mysteriously lost: 1
Where We Stayed in 2018
Most of our nights include some hook-ups (electric is pretty necessary with our residential fridge). But, Keith and Finn did a week of dry camping in upstate New York too. We’ve never stayed in a Walmart parking lot, and we seem to enjoy state campgrounds the most, since it supports our outdoor interests.
- Public campgrounds we stayed in: 18
- Private campgrounds we stayed in: 20
- Casinos with adjacent campgrounds where we stayed: 1
- Days stuck in a mall parking lot while a snowstorm raged: 3 (read about why here)
- Favorite campground: Fish Creek Pond Campground (Adirondacks)
- Favorite state visited in 2018: Maine
Best campsite view from our RV
What We Saw in 2018
Here’s my favorite category. Rather than list our all the places we visited, we lumped them together by experiences:
- States we visited in the RV: 19
- Additional states we drove through: 5 (mostly on our drive back from the RV dealership)
- Canadian Provinces visited in the RV: 2
- Great Lakes we dipped our feet in: All 5 of them!
- National Parks visited: 3 (Acadia, Smoky Mountains, Congaree)
- Historic forts: 5 (Ft. Mackinac, Quebec’s Citadel, Ft. Ticonderoga, Ft. Sumter, Castillo de San Marcos)
- Epic waterfalls that got us wet: 2 (Niagara Falls, Montmorency Falls)
- Islands visited: 4 (Mackinac, Wellesley, Assateague, Chincoteague)
- Whitewater rafting or kayaking trips: 3 (Pictured Rocks, Jacques Cartier, Penobscot River)
- Paty’s favorite adventure: Climbing Mt. Katahdin (click here to read about Mt. Katahdin)
- Keith’s favorite: Fishing in the Adirondacks
- Finn’s favorite: Camping with his cousins at the end of summer
Maine Lobster Festival
Fishing Trivia for 2018
- State fishing licenses Keith purchased: 9 (click here for our fishing advice for RVers)
- Number of fish Keith & Finn caught in 2018: Around 1,700!
- Ocean fishing charters taken: 4
- Biggest catch: 31” kingfish
- Trips to Cabela’s or BassPro Shops: More than I want to count!
Finn with his catch
Hiking Trivia for 2018
- National Scenic Trails we day hiked on: 3 (Appalachian, Florida, North Country Trail)
- States where we hiked on the Appalachian Trail: 5
- States where we summited the highest point: 5 (ME, NH, VT, TN, NC)
- Continuous miles Paty hiked in 2018: 550 (Camino de Santiago from 6 Sept – 1 Oct)
- Favorite hiking trail in 2018: Superior Hiking Trail
At the end of the Camino
More Fun Facts for 2018
- Microbreweries visited: 24
- Visits to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory during our week in Vermont: 2 (yes, we’re gluttons!)
- Trail races we entered this fall: 3
- Number of those races where one of us missed a turn on and got way off course: 2
- Most people squeezed inside our RV at one time: 11
Taking on the Mini Vermonster
What’s ahead for 2019
So with all that under our belt, I feel like we can say our first six months on the road were a success! And we definitely plan to keep RVing into 2019.
We have a few fun trips already planned this year, including attending the RVE Summit in March and a two week trip to Costa Rica in April (without the RV).
Our summer plans are the most exciting though!
Part of the reason we chose to live this RV lifestyle now is to take on all the things we’ve always dreamed about. Sure, we used to take time off work for some shorter adventures, like hiking in the Grand Canyon or a weekend of fishing. But, the big “dream trips” were off the table because we just didn’t have the freedom to take them on.
So, 2019 is all about seizing one of those dreams. In early May, I plan to begin a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail starting in Springer Mountain, Georgia and hopefully walking to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. That’s approximately 2,200 miles for those who are curious.
And while I’m off hiking, Keith and Finn will stay on the East Coast to explore some epic fishing spots in the RV, including Apalachicola, Florida and a return trip to upstate New York.
Perhaps we’ll even visit some more microbreweries and new state high points along the way.