2024 In Review

To be honest, we weren't sure what to expect from 2024 as 2023 was coming to a close. We planned on a route through the southern United States that would take us along the Gulf of Mexico out to Florida, down the western side of Florida to Key West and then back up the eastern side near the Atlantic coast until we got to Virginia when we'd head up to the Blue Ridge Mountains and back along I-20, roughly, to get back to I-10 and Arizona where we started. Neither of us had spent much time in the south, and by the end of our trip we were ready to go back. Could we be southerners in our souls?

Check out the map below to see the places we went, and click the small, gray, horizontal line below the map to scroll through the details of our journey. We started in Amado, Arizona (marked with the star) and ended in Green Valley, Arizona.

Amado is south of Tucson in Arizona, and we liked how remote it was even though the site we were in was challenging because of the slope it was on. It's always nice to hang out with dad and Linda. We also got to stay for a bit in Las Cruces on the way out, one of our favorite places.

Tumacacori was especially educational and lovely.

We would cross Texas from west to east early in 2024, and then from east to west in late 2024. We got to stay in Alpine, Texas in the spring, and it was such a surprising place. In some parts, it felt like Colorado. There were big trees and ridges of rock that felt like home. We also discovered frijoles de la olla at a small Mexican restaurant in town, and we make it all the time now with fresh pico de gallo. Yum!

Lacey liked the horses but still had to show them who's boss.

February really kicked things into gear with a few weeks in San Antonio, Texas. This ended up being one of our favorite places to stay. There was so much to see and do, and the town really had a great vibe. We were busy the entire time, and didn't want to leave. But we had a lot to see, yet.

We still talk about going to Hopscotch, an interactive art installation. 10/10!

We spent some time in Livingston, Texas on the way out to the south and also on the way back. We officially live in Livingston, and we took some time to really see the place. Escapees is a great organization, and we really enjoyed our stay there. We even made it down to north Houston to catch up with Bob, Loretta and Jordan for a quick dinner. A blast from the past!

We had a great setup with grass in March!

Next, we finally got out of Texas and headed to our first experiences in the south, starting with a long stay in New Orleans. We hit all of the touristy spots (Cafe du Monde, of course, for beignets!), and Margot got to do some kayaking with the gators among the cypress trees. It was such a different experience, and too cool.

Robin came out to spend some time with us around St. Patrick's Day, and we went to the big parade. We got beads and had a blast! It was such a memorable time. We liked it so much that we extended our stay another two weeks, intending to skip some expensive stays on the gulf. It ended up working out very well.

Unfortunately, we had to leave NOLA. We started April on the Gulf of Mexico in western Florida, and it was amazing. It had been a long time since either of us had our feet in the ocean (though this was the Gulf, but it's close enough). Nice! Margot even swam with manatees, and we were really loving Florida already.

The sand was like sugar and the views were gorgeous.

We hustled down the western coast of Florida, checking out the big cities as we went by. When we got to Naples, we headed east to the town of Homestead outside of Miami where we dropped the trailer off and grabbed a few things. It was a tight spot in Key Largo, and we had to make it work without the trailer. Our site was amazing, the town was amazing, and we loved every minute. This was one of our favorite spots, too.

We ended up spending a lot of time in Miami, which was hectic and fun. The fruit! The food! It was such a cool spot, though probably too busy for us. The things we saw in our stay there will always be in our hearts. Such a cool city.

We took a week to celebrate Monica's birthday and drive down to Key West, leaving our motorhome back in Key Largo. We found an amazing motel at a big marina where Lacey could stay with us, and we just took our time to experience the Keys. It's crowded, and it was very hot and humid, but we loved every minute of it. We even went on a big schooner, and it could not have been a better time.

We still had so much of the country to see, and in mid-May we headed up the east coast of Florida and spent a weekend in Orlando to visit the Kennedy Space Center. We wished we had scheduled more time, but it was a pretty awesome day.

You can't wrap your head around how crazy this building is.

We kept heading north and spent the last bit of Florida time near Georgia. It was a relaxing stay, and we needed it after our whirlwind trip so far. The campground had peacocks, which was cute at first but then kind of obnoxious. One of the highlights of that stay was St. Augustine, a town we hoped to see again and stay longer. It was a really nice area of Florida.

We had even more time to relax in Savannah, Georgia, where we stayed a while. Our site was next to a large pond that opened up to the Ogeechee River. The pond had a couple gators that called it home, including Jorge, a mellow but huge gator that Margot was able to kayak with (carefully). Sue and Toni came to visit, and we saw a lot of cool things -- including boating with dolphins in our wake!

We saw a lot in Savannah and really enjoyed learning about the city's past (even the bad parts of their history). The forts we'd been visiting in Florida were older, but the forts in Georgia were often better preserved. There are a lot of forts to visit.

After Savannah we headed north to Charleston, South Carolina. The two cities have a lot of similarities, but we liked the coast a bit better in Charleston. Our stay at this cool campground really changed Lacey, too. Up until then, she didn't really like getting in the water (though she loves being on a boat). She especially hated getting her face wet or in the wind. But this campground had a dog park that went into a pond. She saw other dogs chasing balls into the water, so she started doing it, too! Now she loves diving into the water to play fetch. What a difference! It's a blast to watch her.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lacey (@laceyaussiedoodle)

After South Carolina we headed to North Carolina. Near Wilmington, we had a lovely stay with a side trip to Raleigh to see Sebastian Maniscalco. It was a great show! We have a tradition now of seeing a big standup comedy show each year, and this was a good one. North Carolina was a pretty cool place.

We stayed in Virginia next and took a day trip back down to North Carolina to see the coast there. Our first stay in Virginia was right outside Williamsburg, and we were surrounded by colonial history. We were able to see the Chesapeake Bay and visit Paula and Gayle, which was a lovely and unplanned trip. It's nice to be near friends we haven't seen in a while -- a nice bonus to the traveling we do.

This was an especially nice stay because we decided to get engaged. We'd talked about it off and on for a bit, but we finally took the leap. We agree -- Virginia is for lovers!

We'd spent so many months near the Gulf and the ocean, but it was time to head a bit inland. We were sad, but as two women who have spent a lot of their lives in Colorado, we were excited to see different mountain ranges. We headed west and into the Blue Ridge Mountains. The weather was lovely, and so were the mountains. They were more like big hills, but they were gorgeous. We spent time on the Blue Ridge Parkway and out in the woods just living our best lives. We were also able to do some kayaking for Margot's birthday as well as renting a pontoon boat. Great times.

We had a couple spots in the Blue Ridge Mountains where we'd stay a while, and the second stop was right outside the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains. We were able to do another stretch of the very long Blue Ridge Parkway from there, check out a lot of the Great Smoky Mountains, and also spend time on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The view from the highest point was pretty amazing.

We'd noticed that bad weather was following us all year. Hurricanes showed up right after we left, or bad storms. Tropical Storm Helene came to the area five days after we left, messing up the wonderful town of Asheville where we were able to spend some time before leaving. We followed their recovery closely, and we're happy to see they've come back stronger than ever. The people in the Blue Ridge Mountains are truly wonderful.

We couldn't stay up in the mountains forever, so we headed down in elevation and into north-central Alabama. Mom was visiting us, and we were about 30 minutes from one of mom's dearest friends, Heidi. They were able to spend time together, we got to meet everyone, and it was a lovely time. We rented a pontoon there too, and we all had a great time on the water that was practically at our doorstep. It was a special time, with memories we'll keep revisiting.

We spent a lot of our free time in Alabama and then in Mississippi learning about the Civil Rights Movement and all of the events that happened in those areas by visiting many memorials and national parks. One of the most incredible things we were able to experience was the drive along the route the marchers took from Selma to Montgomery, and then we walked the bridge that factored into those days so much. We feel very fortunate to have learned so much about it and to do that walk.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MnM Go! (@mnm_go)

One of our last stays in the south would be in Louisiana at a place called Cypress Black Bayou. With a name like that, we couldn't wait to get there and stay in the swamp. When we got there, it was just a lake, though it was a nice one. We were in the woods, practically alone in the campground most of the time, and far from civilization. It was nice, and then it was a bit boring. But we did get to go to Poverty Point, a crazy and interesting place, where Margot used an atlatl.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MnM Go! (@mnm_go)

We decided to leave a day early to spend a night in Natchitoches, Louisiana (pronounced like "NACK-a-tish"). In the end, we wished we had spent more time there and less in the Louisiana woods. Natchitoches is truly a destination area, especially around Christmas. Still, we had a single day to explore -- but it made us a bit sad because we'd likely never be through there again.

Since getting engaged, we decided to change both of our last names to Margot's mother's maiden name. Margot and Allie had been talking about doing that for years, and it seemed like a good time to do it. That meant we needed to spend a bit of time in Livingston, Texas again. We thought a week would be enough time, but it turned out we only needed a day. We got fingerprinted, applied for background checks, and we're still waiting to get a court date scheduled. It's not going to be easy.

We spent Thanksgiving week up in Arlington between Dallas and Fort Worth. That meant we could spend a day with Nyree, which was a blast. We ordered all of our Thanksgiving food from Whole Foods, which made it a very easy holiday.

The next stop was a big one, in Las Cruces. We were getting married in El Paso (so we could get married in our home state to keep things simple), and we picked their botanical garden as our venue. Allie was visiting and she officiated the ceremony, which was so special and perfect. Dad, Linda, and Robin attended, and we had a photographer. That's it! It took a little over five minutes to get hitched. We had a lovely post-wedding meal with everyone, and it was a great day.

We wrapped up 2024 by spending a couple months in Arizona just south of Tucson where we were able to visit friends and family for a bit and just relax, including with a chilled-out Christmas at home. When those two months are over, we'll both be jumpy and ready to head out to our next adventure. We plan on seeing the middle of the country in 2025, including a stay in Canada as we explore the beautiful areas near the Great Lakes. We can't wait!