USA – The Road Trip

Day 04 – Picking up our House…

Today, we’re going on a road trip!!! We’ve rented a campervan to take a “small” trip around western America. But, while we are waiting for the bus, another torrential rain pours down on us. The storm isn’t finished in L.A. and we are going to be drenched once more. But a car stops right on front of us and the woman driving offers us her umbrella so that Côme can be protected. We can’t believe it and thankfully accept the offer. This woman has surely avoided Côme a pneumonia.

Before picking up our van, we stop at a laundromat to wash and especially dry our soaked clothes. This is where we meet Oscar, the laundromat manager who everyone knows and who talks to us about his family and life in the USA. After everything is dried, we pick up our house for the next 20 days and we set off !!

We’re there!! We’re on our first family road trip! And not anywhere mind you! In the United States! Heading towards the Grand Canyon. “Sweet Home Alabama” is playing on the radio and we set off into the vastness of the American landscape. We will stop in the evening at a free campsite in the middle of the desert. But before we’re able to enjoy ourselves, we’re caught in the sand while wanting to park… 😞 So Julia goes out into the freezing cold to push the van, and after some maneuvers and a bit of digging, we can finally enjoy our first evening in the van. We will spend our first night all wrapped up in sleeping bags because it’s freezing outside… 🥶

Day 05 – On The Road…

When we wake up, the sky is blue and the scenery is beautiful. We thought we were about the only ones (it was dark when we got here) but it turns out there are RVs pretty much everywhere. Many of which seem to be settled for a very long time. We eat our first breakfast in our new home. Côme plays in the sand and we set off again. There’s a long way to go before we reach Grand Canyon (tomorrow evening).

So we spend most of the day in our new home. There’s county music playing on the radio. The sun is shining, the landscapes are impressive. We can see the road ahead of us for miles. There are pink mountains on the left side, black ones on the right. When we exit one of the cities, there’s a sign telling us that there will be no commodities for the next 100 miles (160 kilometers), and it sure is true… There is not a single house, not a construction of any kind, not anything. Nothing but the immensity of the landscape. So we just drive ahead. Côme draws. He plays Uno with Julia. We all play the guessing game together…

In the evening, we reach the famous Route 66. There are road signs, diners… We decide to stop so we can explore tomorrow. This time we could not find a campsite though (we did not have access to the Internet all day) so we park in a parking lot next to a baseball court and a playground. There is not a single sound around except for the very very long freight trains passing right next to us from time to time…

These past couple of days, Côme :
Did not understand: why his remote controlled car got stuck in the sand even though it was much lighter than the van.
Learnt: that a campervan was not going fast.
Loved: road tripping with the campervan.

Julia:
Did not understand: how we managed to get stuck in the sand on the first night.
Learnt: that American people were good drivers.
Loved: feeling free again.

Doo:
Did not understand: The purpose of the Neutral gear.
Learnt: how to live in a campervan.
Loved: driving on the road while listening to American music.

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