Welcome to episode 37 of LFTR, where we talk about trying new things, which we are usually bad at because they are new. Sometimes we stay bad at them, but we still have fun. Sometimes, we have so many hobbies we don’t have time to get good at any of them. We also start our winter travel recap series this week, talking about our time in Maryland, Delaware, and New York in the Summer of 2022. Highlights include:

* Leavenworth at Christmas is Disneyland with Times Square mascots

* Harvest Hosts and camping spots in the first two weeks of our Northeast trip

* How we did New York City with our RV

* The story of the dent in our truck

* Caring what people think while you’re backing in the RV

* All the things we messed up when we started RVing

* Skate park shenanigans

* What is “real” camping?

Links:

* Icicle Ridge Winery

* Victorian Country Christmas

* New York/Newburgh KOA

* Hopscratch Farms

* Midnight Oil Brewing

* Tuckahoe State Park

* The Mohonk Preserve

Dear Friend,

Welcome to episode 36 of LFTR where we’re talking about feeling festive. Stories of holidays. This week we’ve been climbing and back at Icicle Brewing. *Disclaimer to anyone listening who gave us Christmas gifts, when we talk about taking kids’ toys to Goodwill, we’re talking about after they’ve had them for a few years, not right away!

Highlights include:

* Climbing and chicken wings

* First Leavenworth hike & a not-so-awesome off-leash dog encounter

* Think twice before getting an RV with front windows

* A few more winter RV tips

* Christmas celebrations in the RV

* Jamie’s biggest fear

* Loving and getting overwhelmed by all the festivities

Links:

* Icicle Brewing

* Saddle Rock Brewing

* Riverfront Rock Gym

* EZ Snap Skirting

* Become a Penpal

Dear Friend,

Welcome to episode 35 where we talk about “getting on the list.” What do we mean by that? We mean, standing out too much or saying too much about certain issues that might draw attention. For the first half of the show, we talk about what we’ve been up to lately. Highlights include:

* Will someone please talk to Jamie about the ending of Iron Flame?

* We found our home climbing gym for the next few months

* Some winter RVing tips

* Book fairs and reading diverse authors

* How to care without breaking apart

* Caring about Iowa

See you down the road,

Jamie

Links:

Phoebe’s sexy phlegm

Riverfront Rock Gym

Yodelin

EZ Snap Skirting

Read Lyz Lenz’s Men Yell at Me always, especially about Iowan and Midwestern politics

Most Americans support a ceasefire in Gaza

Recent news update from NPR

Scholastic book fairs and banned books

A list of reputable charities

This Code Switch episode is really powerful

Become an LFTR PenPal

Dear Friend,

Welcome to Episode 34 of LFTR where we talk about our time in Palm Springs and driving all the way up to our winter spot in Leavenworth, Washington over the course of two and a half days.

This week’s highlights include:

* Palm Springs favorites including Village Fest

* RV maintenance

* Tips for surviving long drives

* We finally got back to Icicle Brewing

* Favorite games we keep in the camper

* Having an “open” house

Thanks for being here friends!

See you down the road,

Jamie and Clay

Links:

Become a Penpal

Icicle Brewing

Palm Springs Thousand Trails

Village Fest

Lulu Palm Springs

Dear Friend,

Welcome to LFTR Episode 33, Rivers and Roads. We’re talking about being carried along by the current of a busy fall of activity. Maybe you can relate?

Highlights include:

* Lumberyard brewing in Flagstaff

* We moved into our other RV!

* Las Vegas featuring Container Park

* Disagreeing on organization standards

* Clay and Jamie burst into song

* Funny stories from our wedding

* Being so early you’re late

Thanks for being here friends!

See you down the road,

Jamie

Links:

Lumberyard Brewing

Container Park

Rivers and Roads

If Something Breaks

Roadtrip Playlist

Dear Friend,

Welcome to LFTR Episode 32, where we talk about seasons in both the literal and metaphorical sense. We also discuss our recent travel out to Flagstaff, AZ (spoiler alert: there’s a lot of Kansas), and some recent Harvest Host stays that we enjoyed.

Highlights include:

* Cedar Ridge

* Happy Basset Brewing

* Storage unit mishap

* Petrified Forest (plus a hiking mishap)

* Leavenworth Christmas-town

* We love the north

Thanks for being here, friend.

See you down the road,

Jamie

Links:

Leavenworth Christmas Lights

Cedar Ridge Distillery and Winery

Happy Basset Brewing

If We Were Vampires (song)

Petrified Forest National Park

Become a PenPal

Dear Friend,

Welcome to episode 31 of LFTR! This week we got back to Normal (IL). We talk about liking things earnestly and about our very fun time at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie. Highlights include:

* A review of pumpkin beers and Normal breweries

* DnD meets Scooby Doo!

* Our review of Love’s RV Stop

* Mini book review of The Fourth Wing

* Being Disney Adults

Thanks for being here friends!

See you down the road,

Jamie and Clay

Links:

Destihl Brewery

Lil Beaver Brewery

Keg Grove Brewery

Love’s RV Stop

“Hating Stuff” by Ian McConnell

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Episode 30 of LFTR where we talk about our time exploring The Amana Colonies and how that relates to the RV community! We welcome Taryn to the PenPals this week!

Highlights this week include:

* Sunday night cocktails

* Bags or cornhole and Beavis and Butthead

* The RV Miles Meetup

* What we learned about Amana even though we lived 15 miles away for years

* Eevee the EV

* Being an extrovert with social anxiety

Thanks so much for being here!

See you down the road,

Jamie and Clay

Links:

Amana Communal Kitchen

The Map Room

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Episode 29 of LFTR, Virtual Drinks With Kevin McCarthy which is about the weird time a Zoom Cocktail hour for work featured the now-ousted Speaker of the House. We know he got kicked out and we don’t mention it in the cast because it was recorded a week ago. A fun side quest this week is to count how many times we say “Pants Off Dance Off” which is the name of the beer we had from Millstream Brewing. We found the name so funny we couldn’t stop saying it. Other highlights this week include:

* Our many visits to Millstream Brau Haus

* Reunited with our friends RV Miles

* The strange world of private equity and finance bros

* We watch Pants Off Dance Off so you don’t have to

* Welcome to our first PenPal!

Thanks for joining us this week! You’ll find us here every Sunday!

See you down the road,

Jamie

Links:

Subscribe on Substack or become a penpal!

MillStream Brau Haus

Amana RV Park

Welcome to Letters From the Road - stories and encouragement from your traveling friends! Find us here every Sunday to hear tails from the road and beyond.