As I write this, we’re just days away from picking up van 3.0, a 2022 Pleasure-Way Tofino. And If you’re familiar with different RV models. you might be scratching your head a little bit. After all, did we really trade in our Winnebago Travato, which had more space, a plumbed bathroom, A/C, and hot water, for a shorter vehicle, with no A/C, no hot water, and no bathroom? HELLS YES! And we couldn’t be happier.

When we decided to make the jump into RV-land, everything seemed to happen very, very quickly. Count us among the throngs gravitating toward RV life during the pandemic. Even after factories shut down for periods and supply chains had been disrupted, sales skyrocketed. In late August, we had decided on a Class B. A week or so later, we put a deposit down on a Winnebago Travato. We put our Eurovan up for sale and watched as its new owners drove her away. And two weeks later, on Halloween, we were driving Tedda home from the dealership.

After G and I went to an RV show this past January, we started thinking about the van that would eventually be our “next,” to follow the VW Eurovan. We dreamed—and decided we’d do our research and make the jump to a bigger rig in a few years’ time. After all, our van suited us perfectly! Sure, it didn’t have a kitchen or bathroom, but so what? After all, we’re camping! We shouldn’t feel like we’re staying in a hotel room or a tiny house…right? And then COVID-19 hit.

After two years and so, so many memories, we sold our 2002 VW Eurovan Weekender. While we’re looking forward to picking up the new rig that will mark the beginning of our van adventures 2.0 (stay tuned for more posts and info!), I’ll always miss the van. And so, at the expense of being overly sentimental, we offer this farewell/love letter/thank you card to our van…

Summer 2020: 27 camping nights; 12 campgrounds, including 11 state parks (5 in New Hampshire and 6 in Maine). During and after each camping trip, G and I would talk about what we loved (or didn’t love) about the site, the park, the area, etc. We’ve been trying to keep track of each park’s unique characteristics to help us not only share the info and our opinions but also start our planning for next year! We’ve created a “best of” based on this summer’s travels; keep in mind that these are entirely subjective, and others’ opinions and experiences may differ from ours. Now that the summer has come to end and the leaves are falling, it’s time for a wrap up.

Phew, our 11th camping trip of the summer, our 25th and 26th nights spent camping in our 2002 VW Eurovan Weekender! After a few trips to state parks that have been busier and a little less private than we would like, our expectations for Lily Bay State Park in Beaver Cove, Maine, were admittedly low. And boy, were we pleasantly surprised!

Our 10th weekend camping trip took us to Peaks-Kenny State Park in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, about 200 miles from home (199, to be exact)—a trip that took us a little more than 3 hours. We had never traveled to this part of Maine, as we’ve tended to stick to the state’s giant coastline for the last 20+ years. Peaks-Kenny is beautiful, with its 839 acres in the Maine Highlands and lakefront setting on Lake Sebec. And, like Mt. Blue State Park, Peaks-Kenny makes for a great family campground. For two adult campers who crave solitude and quiet (even in non-pandemic times!)? Perhaps not as much.

All good things come to an end; we had to have a less-than-awesome weekend camping after such a great stretch, right? Sure, not every weekend has been perfect in every way, but overall, each weekend has been a winner. This past one was a little bit of letdown; in fact, we ended up staying only one night. But let me first say this: if G and had kids, we would have loved Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, Maine. Mt. Blue is most definitely a family campground.

Nights #19 and #20 of our summer of social distancing (i.e., van camping) had us at Pillsbury State Park in Washington, New Hampshire, considered “one of the more primitive and lesser known gems,” according to its page on the NH State Parks site. Pillsbury State Park is nestled in Washington, NH, about 48 minutes from Concord, our state capital, an hour from Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city, and just about an hour and half from home for us. Yet, being there, you feel worlds away from the rest of southern/central New Hampshire.

After our weekend camping at Cobscook Bay State Park in Maine, just minutes away from New Brunswick, Canada, G and I weren’t sure how any camping weekend would compare. Our most recent weekend had us returning to a town park in Freeport, Maine, where we had camped twice last year, Winslow Memorial Park and Campground. Last year, we were new to this van-camping thing, and we loved Winslow; this year, with a few more trips and some really scenic parks under our belt, we wondered if Winslow would still rank up there. And let me just say this: YES. An absolutely resounding yes.

If you’ve seen the highway signs, then you know that Maine is “the way life should be” (no offense to the 603, but I tend to agree)—and Cobscook Bay State Park is certainly, in my mind, the way camping should be. I’m not sure how any campground—or campsite—will compare after this particular weekend.

I’ll start off with this: I really, really, really wanted to fall in love with Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, Maine, just minutes outside of Freeport. It’s close to home (just shy of 1.5 hours away), and my hopes were that we’d love it so much that it would become one of our go-to close-to-home parks. Unfortunately, such was not the case. And while I’ve had a few days to think about our one-night stay here at Bradbury, I still can’t quite put a finger on what I (we) didn’t love about the park.

Our summer of camping weekends is shaping up nicely, with COVID-19 providing us the opportunity to stay local and explore places that we hadn’t been before. Moose Brook State Park in Gorham, New Hampshire, was one of those places. And guess what? This park might have catapulted itself to the top of our camping list!

Camden Hills State Park is located in Camden, Maine, which is mid-coast Maine, about 85 miles north of Portland and about 75 miles from Bar Harbor. The Camden/Rockland area is gorgeous, with so much in the area to do, see, and explore. We’ve visited a few different times over the years, but we hadn’t ever visited Camden Hills State Park. The wait was worth it.

June 19-21, we found ourselves booked back at Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch State Park. This time, we had a coveted river site, #59, and the highlight of this weekend’s trip was walking the Pemi Trail to the Basin, a fabulous place to spend some time on a hot, sunny day. From the parking lot and across a wooden bridge into the campground, hikers can access two main trails: the trail to Lonesome Lake and the Pemi Trail, which runs parallel to the Pemigewasset River, and stretches 3.6 miles, from Profile Lake to the Basin.

For starters, Gilson Pond Campground in Jaffrey, NH, is gorgeous. Absolutely, positively gorgeous. For a small-ish state, New Hampshire has a ton to offer, and it’s somewhat surprising (and embarrassing) that after more than 25 years living in New Hampshire, there are still huge parts of the state that I don’t know well. This little corner is one of those parts. Seriously, if you haven’t ever made your way to this little corner of our state, do so. It’s just beautiful.

One of New Hampshire’s great draws is the beautiful part of our state known as the White Mountains, the mountain range that encompasses about a quarter of the state (and part of Maine, too!), and Lafayette Place Campground, nestled within Franconia Notch State Park, is a great base camp for hiking and biking, but on this particular weekend, we did neither. We simply escaped to the woods and, away from cell service and wifi, tuned out to the world and into nature for our first camping trip of the 2020 season.

Our summer plans initially included a few days in New Orleans (a conference for G, and a few days for me to play tourist) and then a two-week trip to the West Coast—a week in Washington State with family then a weeklong road trip down the Oregon Coast and into Northern California. We were looking forward to a few camping weekends as well, but most of those hadn’t been planned out at that point. And then, well, the global pandemic. Needless to say, our plans went out the window once COVID-19 hit. We canceled all of our bookings and flights and even the two camping reservations we had already booked. We cleared our calendars. As for summer? We would simply wait and see. Now, as I write this, we’re currently scheduled to be camping 30 days this summer, in 11 different parks (I’m hoping those numbers increase with the addition of more reservations—we’ll see!) throughout Maine and New Hampshire.

And so, on a cold Saturday in January, we found ourselves at the Boston RV and Camping Expo—oohing and ahhing at vans and RVs of all shapes and sizes. Hell, some of the RVs cost nearly as much as our condo—and seem just as big!! I’ve never been in an RV, and while I prefer a future in a small-ish van, G waxes poetically about RVs. I can’t imagine ever driving one of those behemoths, but I try to humor him.

Last week, we celebrated our one-year vaniversary with our new-to-us 2002 VW Eurovan Weekender. This time last year, we took the plunge, swore to be with our van for better or worse, exchanged nervous glances, handed over a hefty $15K cashier’s check, and walked our way down the proverbial aisle—in our case, New Hampshire’s Route 16, as we drove our new love home from the White Mountains to the seacoast.