The Clarity Of Guinness & Wintering In The Northeast


We left Rhode Island late in November, bound for sunny Florida. Our plan included about five quick stops, between the impending cold of the Northeast and warm air of Florida. Our first destination, New York City. The drive into NYC was gnarly, yet once we landed, the insanity, the spirit, and possibly our love for pizza, bamboozled our almost a year in the making, winter plans.

Pounding away at work projects in our new bus ‘office’ then hitting the city for street food, instagraming, and the glorious madness of the holiday festivities was an enticing mix. Then on the eve of our last night in NYC, a magical window of clarity revealed itself to us.

Dennis in Central park 2012

Leaning against a bar somewhere in Manhattan, with an old friend, several pints of Guinness and the last train home far gone by now, we realized that leaving here; the bar, the city, the crazy roads, the lights, the cold… wasn’t in our hearts.

Really? Spend the winter in the frigid Northeast, instead of warm, sunny, Florida? The idea arose and didn’t fall. Are we drunk? Chatter of freezing pipes, sleet, snow, rain, and turd-cicles forming in our black tanks– logic’s desperate attempt to fool us.

What are we saying here? Let’s sleep on it.

These limitless boundaries haven’t been without difficulty. Most of the time it’s as though a black hole opens up and swallows us, our camper, and our best intentions… entirely. This time though, our ability to go anywhere didn’t choke the moment.

So, here we are, weeks later happily nestled for the winter between Philadelphia and NYC, at an RV park in Clarksboro, New Jersey. So, New Jersey? A place we never imagined ourselves spending the winter, until last week. Our plates are full, our options exciting and our pipes well insulated.

To each of you, wherever you choose to spend your winter, we hope your CHEERS are the beginning of something unexpected.


7 responses to “The Clarity Of Guinness & Wintering In The Northeast”

  1. That’s awesome, we’re wintering in Portland and love it but we couldn’t find a workable campground!

    The whole reason for your lifestyle is so you can be where you want to be when you want to be there – don’t question it! Trust yourselves and have a great time!

    btw – looking for the ‘how to’ articles on surviving the winter in a bus!

    Keith

    • And yes, we’ll have to report on how the winter treated us in the new bus. Not bad so far, pretty cozy. We’re very happy making our own path… it’s not always easy though. We’re SUPER inspired by people like YOU TWO who seem to have great focus. Stopping for a year to “refuel” then hitting the road again. AWESOME!!

      Oh and yeah, that’s a bummer about Portland, we’d love to spend some extended time in our RV there too. We’ve stayed in two campgrounds that were outside the city limits last year. Still a good spot. Happy rain and winter to you two as well.

  2. We had to reroute and are spending the winter in MD for the most part. We are already missing everyone in Cedar Key. 🙁

    Let us know if we can meet up since we seem to be the Island of Misfit RVers this year. 🙂

    Cheers and keep warm!

    • Safe travels to you both! We think of you often and live vicariously through all your amazing journals. Take care and a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Years to you both!
      Love,
      Jen and Tony

    • Oh Charon… sorry for the late response. YES YES we must meet up on the island of misfit RVers! We’re in Clarksboro,NJ where about in MD are you? Private email me if you’d like. Cheers you two and Happy New Year.

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