Jenny's Travel Blog:

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

This is a terrible thing to admit, but I once watched the reality TV show Wife Swa p . It doesn't matter if you've never seen it - the title tells you pretty much everything you need to know. Two wives trade places - living life in another woman's home for two weeks. During the first week, they have to live by the rules of the new house - assimilating to the lifestyle of the wife who left. (Wives were required to leave behind a manual of instructions for how things were gener

I have been car camping across America since March 2023, and for this blog post I'll be featuring seven free apps that have served me well in my travels. (No paid endorsements - I'm just sharing what has worked for me.) The quick list: Google Maps, Life 360, iOverlander, NPS (National Park Service), Seek, Merlin, and Compass.

I picked up my sister-in-law, Cindy, and my nephew, Murray, at the Phoenix airport on March 23, and we moved into a double queen suite at the Arizona Grand Hotel and Spa. For the second year in a row I had successfully wheedled an invitation to join in the fun while Murray and his select baseball team played in a tournament in the Phoenix metro area. My role is driver and supporter, and occasionally scrambled egg-maker. In return, I get the pleasure of seeing family, watching

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

I'd left home March 15th and it was now April 2nd. I was car camping my way across America, seeing national and state parks and visiting friends and family along the way. Things were mostly going as planned - but then again, when it came to my time in California, I hadn't planned too much. I had ideas of things I wanted to do, places and people that I wanted to see, but I was intentionally not following a strict itinerary. My sister Susan lived in California for 20 years, and

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

One of the reasons I wanted to take a year off was so I could be front and center for family celebrations - especially the graduations of the next generation of Brightbill/Rules. As I planned my summer, these dates became central pillars to work around: May 6, 2023 - My son Luke earned his bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin-Stout May 12, 2023 - My niece Grace earned her master's degree from Duke University June 11, 2023 - My niece Charlotte earned her bachelor's d

FIRST CAR CAMPING SWING - March 15 - May 1, 2023: The overview of who I saw, what I did, where I went after packing my Packer blanket and heading out! (Click on hyperlinks for detailed blogs about each location.) March 15: Drove from Whitewater, WI to St. Louis, MO to see Gateway Arch NP, campground at Sam A. Baker SP near Patterson, MO March 16: Drove to Fontainebleau SP near New Orleans, LA - electric campsite March 17: Visited New Orleans, LA - if I visit again it will

Some of my stops are planned, and some are happy accidents. Saguaro National Park in Arizona was a happy accident. I was on my way to Phoenix (for a planned stop to see family) and I was ahead of schedule as I left west Texas. I conducted a little research, mostly using Google Maps and the National Park System map that came with my National Parks Passport booklet. Yes, I stop at national park visitor centers and get stamps in my Passport booklet....like a BOSS! At the beginni

My last day working was March 1st and I started traveling March 2nd. I was blogging about my travels in the first couple of weeks, but by the end of March I was no longer consistently posting stories. I figured out pretty quickly that blogging and website management were taking too much time away from my travel fun. I had this once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel, and I was spending too much time on my computer instead of out on the trail. I apologize to readers who wanted to

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

After I left Austin, I headed toward Phoenix to meet up with family. I had three days to get there. The highway speed limit in Texas is 80 mph, but Texas is also the 2nd largest state, so it was going to take a couple days to get across. Mostly I needed to figure out where I was going to find a safe sleep. I felt great driving. Thanks to great Austin radio stations, I had built up my road trip playlist on Spotify and was bopping along pretty well. I drove through Texas wine c

I wake up later than usual. I avoid getting out of my warm sleeping bag. Today is my writing day.

Austin is just…UNIQUE. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city like it. And I dig it. There is great food everywhere, tons of cool neighborhoods, and the mural art is out of this world. Even the graffiti I saw was positive. I arrived in Austin on a Saturday afternoon, March 18, 2023 and invaded the home of my niece Maddie. Maddie is pursuing her PhD at the University of Texas in Austin and lives in an apartment in the Hyde Park neighborhood near campus. She and her chill cat