Jenny's Travel Blog:

Meet Top Car Model Lakester von Subaru! In an industry where newer models typically grab headlines, veteran Lakester von Subaru - a 2016 model - is taking the U.S. car modeling world by storm.

After visiting Acadia National Park at the end of August 2023, I was feeling aimless - but in a good way. I had 3 other major car camping swings under my belt, so I had experience with aimlessness. And exhilaration. And loneliness. And adventure. And the rhythm that can develop when you are out there on the road bouncing between your own extremes and emotions.

For my fifth major car camping adventure of my adult gap year I went to the great northwest. Due to jury duty, I had to stay in Wisconsin until mid-October, but then I headed west. Here's a map and overview of the major stops on my sojourn. (I'll go back and tell more detailed stories down the line.)

My son Josh transferred to Montclair State University in New Jersey for his sophomore year of college, so we left our home in Wisconsin on August 21, 2023 to drive him to school. My original plans for a late summer sojourn to Montana were placed on the back-burner. Already in the northeast? Let's explore the northeast! The next 27 days took me through New Jersey, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Canada and Michigan - mostly car camping in the back of my Subaru Outback

I visited Joshua Tree National Park for three days in late March 2023. I had been in Phoenix visiting with family, and it took me about 5 1/2 hours traveling west on Highway 10 to reach the park. I arrived just before sunset and drove into the park by the south entrance, pausing to snap a picture of Lakester. I drove into the park to get the lay of the land. Cottonwood Visitor Center and Cottonwood campground are only 7 miles from Highway 10. I didn't have a camping reservat

After celebrating my son Luke's graduation the weekend of May 5-7, I returned home to Whitewater and began packing for my EAST COAST SWING! SECOND CAR CAMPING TRIP - May 9 - 26, 2023 May 9: Packed up, gassed up, got an oil change, then hit the road. Kept feeling like I forgot something. I DID! My dressy clothes for Grace's graduation! (Not on my usual camping checklists.) I was only 15 minutes out of town. Drove back, threw the fancy clothes in the rooftop car carrier, hugg

Alternative title: I have not been paid to endorse any of this equipment - I just like it. The most important piece of equipment on my car camping sojourn was my 2016 Subaru Outback, nicknamed Lakester. Lakester is my best friend and travel companion and was the most photographed thing in all photo albums from my adult gap year - humans, objects, scenery included. My late husband Mike found this beautiful vehicle at a used car dealership in Madison, WI back in 2018 after ex

W, March 15 - Whitewater, WI to St. Louis, MO ( Gateway Arch National Park ) to Sam A. Baker State Park, Patterson, MO Th, March 16 - Sam A. Baker State Park to Fontainebleau State Park, Mandeville, LA Fri, March 17 - Fontainebleau SP to Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to New Orleans, LA; from New Orleans, LA to Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, LA Sa, March 18 - Sam Houston Jones SP to Studio apartment in Hyde Park neighborhood in Austin, TX (visit with niece Maddie)