Start Small , Start Now !
MARC : Another fun time was when we were on the USS Intrepid , in Charlington , South Carolina . On that battleship , they were showing this Discovery Channel video of this boat getting hit by eight bombers , Japanese suicide bombers , people that are going to fly their plane , kamikaze into the battleship . We ’ re on that boat watching this video . I couldn ’ t get up from the chair from watching this video . It was so riveting , but yet if I would have watched that same video at home or read about it , it wouldn ’ t have had anywhere near the meaning . So , I mean , just to emphasize the importance of being onsite when you ’ re learning things , it totally brought the history books to life . There ’ s no question .
TRISH : Okay . So that ’ s the tricky , hairy , crazy , figuring out sustainability , making sure that we have a business that ’ s successful and running , making sure that our kids are doing what they need to do so they can be successful at school , but then there ’ s the highlights , the crazy amazing , I can ’ t even believe this kind of stuff . I ’ m wondering what it was for you so far . I mean , it doesn ’ t have to just be one , but some of the crazy awesome stuff that ’ s happened .
MARC : Well , let me start with what it wasn ’ t . It wasn ’ t all the big marketed destinations . It wasn ’ t Niagara Falls . It wasn ’ t Mount Rushmore . Mount Rushmore was really special because it was our first experience with the KOA and that was killer for the kids . That was like the first time the kids are entertained and we ’ re having happy hour and that was the first time we had a break . When you ’ re traveling , you don ’ t have Noni ’ s house to go to anymore .
But it wasn ’ t those destinations . It was the destinations that I had no expectations for . I had a blast in Madison , Wisconsin . I mean , how crazy is that ? That town was awesome . It was great . The farmer ’ s markets and the tour of the Capitol . The places we saw as we were driving out of Michigan . We saw Fort Knox and we didn ’ t know exactly what it was and we looked over and then we looked it up online and we ’ re thinking , oh my gosh , that ’ s
Fort Knox . Then we went across the bridge . That was this exhilarating moment because we had no expectations . Or the time when we were coming into Maine . It was a battleground . It ’ s not Fort Knox where money is .
It was a really cool site . It was a really cool bridge . I just think of the expectations . We had no expectations of these places and they turned out to be completely charming . They were charming towns and we were going to be there a day or two . And we weren ’ t in a hurry to go to the next spot because we were running ahead of schedule . Our overall schedule was ahead of schedule . We were running one to two days ahead . If we liked it in Madison and we found a state park there and it was $ 25 a night , we just stayed . We stayed for two nights . We didn ’ t anticipate staying one night and we stayed two . Then we rode the University of Wisconsin on our bikes . I mean , that ’ s just that , and that example is times 12 of how many times we showed up somewhere and thought this is a cool little place with no expectations .
TRISH : Remember when we were on the beach in Florida ? We weren ’ t expecting much . As we went south and we went on that Everglades tour . That was insane . And then we went up on the Gulf side and there were these white sand beaches . It was totally crazy . We were walking ; I said , you know , if we wanted to come here , it would have cost us $ 5,000 immediately between staying somewhere and getting on a plane . We wouldn ’ t have eaten ; we wouldn ’ t have done anything . It would have been a minimum of that to get five people on an airplane from Arizona to Florida . But instead it cost us $ 200 to stay at the Camp Golf , RV resort on the beach , it was phenomenal . And it was anywhere from $ 75 to $ 95 at night .
It was fantastic . When you realize , oh my gosh , I have literally seen a decade of things in six months because I ’ m not getting on an airplane . I ’ m not trying to bring five people completely across the country , but instead I ’ m enjoying what ’ s right in front of us . I mean , when you realize how many great things there are to see in the United States and how easy it is to access them , it changes your paradigm .
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