September Travel and Spending

September was another busy month, but what a great month it was. We drove through 8 states and saw so many people and places! Check out the recap and photos, as well as a breakdown on where, what and how much we spent below.

We started the month in North Dakota at a Harvest Host, 4E Winery just outside of Fargo, with beautiful views and great wind, and we got to help bottle their latest batch.

Then we spent a few nights moochdocked in Minnesota to catch up with an old friend of BJ’s from college. It was great to park so close to them and hang out after work. We explored their property and the area. We also visited the SPAM Museum, something BJ had been looking forward to, and a great FREE stop on our travel day!

After an overnight at a Cracker Barrel (one of our favorite overnight spots), we moved on to Wisconsin for a few nights and enjoyed a family day at the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park. As native Floridians, it was strange to be inside, but we had such a great time!

We stayed at a Cracker Barrel and a Harvest Host, Sunshine and Sweet Peas farm, as we made our way across Illinois and Indiana. Then, we toured the Keystone factory. We saw how RVs are built, as well as talk to someone about things we like and changes we’d like to see after owning a few Keystone RVs. We were happy to hear they had already begun changing some things and were making other improvements. Exciting things are coming, but no photos or videos allowed, so we aren’t able to share!

Next, we spent a few nights at a Thousand Trails in Michigan, Bear Cave Campground, in Michigan and, while the cave was closed, we did get to paddle the river.

Moving on, we headed to Ohio, where we crashed a camping weekend with some friends of Sonya’s from college and some of their friends. We stayed at Tappan Lake Campground, a part of the Muskegon Watershed. We shared meals and stories, and enjoyed the fall market they had over the weekend, as well.

Then, we were off to our main event for why we had headed to Ohio so quickly–the Air Force Marathon! BJ ran the half marathon and Sonya ran the 10k (find out more about the race in last week’s blog post about Running here. We also got to meet up with a high school friend of ours, which is why we signed up in the first place!

From there, we got to moochdock with Sonya’s college friends (that we just saw the week before), letting the dogs get more playtime and allowing us to catching up even more. We got to explore Cleveland and The Christmas Story Movie museum, and had lunch with Sonya’s cousin.

Then we headed across western Pennsylvania and into western New York to moochdock with one of Sonya’s Air Force pals. While we see them when they vacation in Florida, this time we got to spend more than a day with them.

We explored the town of Lockport and their history on the Great Lakes, including some of their restored locks that boats still use today! We also explored the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, enjoying a maple syrup tasting and poutine. After seeing the toll system in the northeast, we also got a Unipass to see if it makes life easier, so we will keep you updated on that one in a later blog (we’ve been using a Sunpass or paying as we go until now).

From there, we headed across New York in search of fall foliage, overnighting at a Harvest Host, Grapevine Farms, and trying their delicious cookies and watching a beautiful cotton candy sunset. Then we were off across Vermont and New Hampshire, into Maine and the start of October!

For the month of September, we drove 3,469 miles across 8 states, spending a total of $1,150 on fuel and DEF fluid. We stayed at 2 Cracker Barrels, 3 Harvest Hosts, 2 Thousand Trails, 1 Water Management campground, 1 FamCamp (military base campground), and 3 different driveways, but only spent $294 on camping, thanks to memberships and friends!

Our consumables for groceries, dining out, and household items totaled $1,450 for the month, but we restocked the freezer, ate out at a few places and purchased food and beverages at the Harvest Host locations, as well as built Blessing Bags for the homeless for our monthly Lippert SeRV Challenge. We also had to order Luna’s prescription dog food for $49, but no groomer this month, thanks to cooler weather! I also purchased items to start homemade vanilla so it would be ready by Christmas for selling and gifting.

We did have to do some repairs to our spare tire mount, toilet and hinges in the kitchen. With moochdocking, we didn’t spend much on laundry ($25) but had dump fees ($20) and a truck wash ($9). Luckily, with mild weather and hookups, we didn’t have to refill propane tanks. With our splurges this month on the waterpark, pedicures, race gear, and stocked up on Canadian maple syrup gifts, that added $496 to our miscellaneous and repairs expenses.

Our fixed expenses stayed the same–RV loan ($939), Insurance (truck, RV, life–$356), Technology (cell phone, Starlink, Netflix, Audible, Patreon–$424). We are still shopping for healthcare for the boys since I left teaching last month–it’s quite a process!

That brings our monthly grand total for September to $5546.

We are expecting October to be less spending and moving, and a slower pace as we ease into autumn. We won’t be moving as often as we work our way south, and BJ has a solar install job. We will be staying in membership locations and a job site, and not doing as many splurge experiences.