Terrific trailer treks tantalize Mutual 5 travelers Bob and Ellen Kabelitz
by Ellen Kabelitz
LW contributor
Atrek is usually described as a long, arduous journey, often on foot, especially one made by walking through remote or difficult terrain. Well, at our age, we’re way beyond uncomfortable travel, right? My husband Bob and I have a lovely “vacation home on wheels,” our 25-foot travel trailer, complete with full kitchen, bathroom and shower, TV, slideout dinette, queen size bed and bunks for the grandkids to join us on trips. Our big truck easily pulls it wherever we want to go, and after dropping the trailer at a campsite, we can do day trips with our vehicle. It is a lot of work and occasionally there is a mechanical issue to be taken care of—I’m very thankful that Bob is knowledgeable when these come up—but overall we love seeing the country and visiting family and friends while being completely selfcontained.
In May we traveled all the way to Iowa and spent a great week at a family reunion. The Midwest is an amazing place, filled with abundant agriculture as far as the eye can see. But one exciting event occurred in Nebraska that I would never want repeated. One night we were nearly swept away by a tornado that kept our trailer rocking and rolling all through the night.
In August we again prepped the trailer for another wonderful trip—this time heading north to Oregon and Washington. For the last two years we’ve been members of Harvest Hosts, an RV club that provides complimentary overnight stays at locations throughout the country. We’ve stayed at a llama and alpaca farm, vineyards, museums, creameries, horse ranches, dairies, orchards, onion and corn farms, and other beautiful and interesting places. Even though we live in the city, I am a country girl at heart and love to spend time in rural settings. At many of our stops we’ve also had the opportunity to talk with the people who own these businesses—and I’ve come away with an even greater appreciation for those hard working, intelligent and very successful entrepreneurs who quietly go about their work, day in and day out.
The main purpose of our August trip was to spend time with our youngest daughter and her husband who live in the beautiful town of Seaside, Oregon. He is a pastor and she is a STEAM teacher (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). Throughout the year, she also is a member of the local symphony and their August performance at the beautifully restored, historic Astoria Liberty Theatre was fantastic. Then from there we spent a week in the lush Olympic Peninsula, hiked through the moss covered Hoh Rain Forest, and fished numerous lakes and streams.
Many Leisure World residents own recreational vehicles and store them in the convenient on-site RV lot. I would encourage those fellow travelers to check out Harvest Hosts and enjoy getting out of town and into the country as we have.
Bob and Ellen Kabelitz enjoyed a hike through the moss covered Hoh Rain Forest in Oregon.
The vacation home on wheels of Bob and Ellen Kabelitz.
