The Way Back Machine

Our Story

The Early Trips

Ellen and I both grew up in the same small, quiet town in Massachusetts. It is a picturesque place with a pretty Town Common, White Colonial Churches, old Brick Woolen Mills and even had a Grange Hall.

Ellen’s family didn’t travel too much, but Ellen’s dad was involved in Scouting, so when they did travel it usually involved camping with the local Boy Scout Troop or Explorer Scouts.

My dad owned his own small business, my mom was a school teacher and when I was around 10 years old they bought a Travel Trailer. It was just 18 feet long with a dinette that folded down to become the Master Suite and in the back there were 4 tiny bunk beds for us kids. In the middle it had a kitchen complete with a sink, stove, oven and refrigerator. There was just enough room inside for one person to move about, everyone else was outside. We travelled the entire East Coast in that trailer visiting every cave, chasm, seashore and state capital along the way. We had great fun and my mom, the teacher, made sure we learned new stuff all along the way.

Ellen and I met in high school, married young, and started our life together.  Over the years we have spent our vacation trips in hotels, cruise ships, time shares and even our own vacation home. Yet some of the most memorable trips were spent camping with friends.

 Our first motorhome trip was with a bunch of friends to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We had a really great time camping right on the Beach but the primary objective of this trip was to bring home a bunch of illegal fireworks so we could shoot them off over the lake on the Fourth of July. I hope the statute of limitations is up on that one.

Our second motorhome trip was just as exciting. We loaded up a rented motorhome with a group of kids and adults from our Water Ski Club and headed off to Florida for a week long Ski School near Cypress Gardens. It was an incredible trip and this entire group has remained lifelong friends.

Many years later, we decided to take a trip for our 25th Anniversary. It was clearly, a trip of a lifetime. Our Great Friends, Karl and Diane Briggs joined us for this 2 week adventure to the Southwest. We rented a class A motorhome in Las Vegas and headed out to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Four Corners, The Grand Canyon, The Petrified Forest, Sedona, Lake Havasu and back to Vegas. Along the way we even squeezed in a little of Old Route 66. In the middle of this motorhome adventure we stopped in Page, Arizona and rented a houseboat for 4 indescribable days and nights on Lake Powell. We cannot imagine a more exciting trip or better people to have spent that time with.

Eventually we sold our vacation home in Florida which gave birth to a new motorhome adventure that began in 2011.