Hitched and Rolling

I owe all of you an apology.

As you will see, this post ends on or around New Year’s Day 2026 – that is, January 1, 2026. But I write this apology addendum in August of 2026, just over 8 months later. Some of what you are about to read was written in real time, and some was filled in later. I apologize because this is far too late to be posting the final post of this blog. To those of you that followed the trip, I dropped the ball on this capstone post, and effectively left you hanging, and for that I am sorry.

Without further ado:

We arrived after dark, so my assessment is somewhat limited, but my initial impression of Savannah is that it is like a movie set. Our “accomodation” (abandoned parking lot) was adequate and after making that determination and changing out cloths we called an Uber to pick us up and bring us into town. We got dropped off by our uber around 9pm in the historic district and walked the streets under a half moon. I felt like I was in a place that was half New Orleans and half Richmond, which, geographically, is not terribly inaccurate. Oversized streets lined with quiet, historic brick mansions and kerosine lamps. A towering canopy of ancient-seeming trees and the Spanish Moss that hung from them created a sort of tunnel through which the clomp clomp clomp clomp of horse drawn carriages emerged and returned. It felt more like a movie set than universal studios, where we took a set tour in Los Angeles. We stopped at a lovely English Pub as we meandered towards the water where the nightlife is more concentrated, and finally, after another stop for some light food and drinks, took a cab back to our van, which we had left at a harvest host brewery outside of town in an industrial park. I was enamored by the city for its unique charm.

In the morning we walked around Savannah some more and got breakfast at a diner that was in the park. We walked around and checked out the architecture which is really unique and pretty, but somehow in the-morning-after the intoxicating charm had worn, and my feet hurt. Onward! Next stop: Asheville.

On our way towards Asheville we stopped for gas and as I was conveniently on the phone, Bre decided to try her hand at emptying the latrine by herself. My absenteeism proved painful, as there was some kind of basically-catastrophic spillage in the restroom, and our first-time tank emptier returned flatly angry, accusatory even.

We did not reach Asheville in one shot. Instead we stopped in a suburb of Atlanta to visit my friend Kochan for an early dinner. Like many stops on the tour, we were enjoying the company too much to take a photo, but we had a nice meal of pizza before continuing towards Asheville. We slept somewhere between Atlanta and Asheville at a golf-course hotel (which miraculously was open at 11pm to accept non-scheduled checkins in the pro shop). In the morning we were on the road again.

On our way to Asheville, we found ourselves close enough to the blue ridge parkway that a detour made sense. We rode the parkway for a few miles until we saw a nice pull off where we stopped for a hike. The hike was absolutely beautiful and reminded me almost exactly of Shenandoah. It was FREEZING so we bundled up and hit the trail. Bre was genuinely terrified that a tree would fall over and hurt us, so we picked our way up the windy ridge with some level of caution and awareness, stopping periodically to let particularly violent gusts pass. The summit, only about a mile from the car, was spectacular, and we felt accomplished as I shed a layer and tied it around my waist for the walk back down.

After hiking back down the way we came, and then driving back the way we came, we passed for the second time a unique-looking hotdog restaurant and decided to pull in and reward the peculiar decor with our patronage. It seemed like a hole in the wall NASCAR themed hot dog joint in the middle of rural North Carolina – and it turned out to be exactly what it seemed like.

When we arrived in Asheville we checked into our hotel and decided to leave the heat in the empty van on overnight, as the van’s owner had instructed if we suspected it might drop below freezing. I am glad we did because it ended up getting down into the 20s that night.

We explored a beer district in Asheville and had a lot of fun trying the town’s various beer oddities. I had a flight at a sour-only brewery and we split a pepperoni pizza, but for the first time on the trip I was under the weather – my stomach was not cooperating. I do not suspect any connection to the hot dogs.

After a fun evening in the frigid mountains we hit the road and headed a few hours over to Raleigh where we went to visit Meg and Willy. Meg was a combat medic in the Army who did two tours in the middle east – in other words, she is a massive badass, and she had her husband Willy just moved to Raleigh with their new baby Jo. It was great to see them and check out their awesome house. We warmed up with some delicious mulled wine and Meg made a fantastic dinner. After dinner we all hung out in the baby’s playroom (apparently the quietest room in the house, noise-insulated from the baby’s bedroom) while the baby slept. After a few glasses of wine I was asking Meg about life on a military base in the middle east and she was kind enough to humor me with some insight. Thank you to our service members!!! Incredible. Such a fun evening.

In the morning we did what we are best at – hitting the road. Today we were heading to Virginia, which is where the van typically lives (where we rented it), and so for that reason kind of represents a full-circle-ness to the trip. Its starting to smell like home!

Our first stop in the great state of Virginia was Andy and Anna’s house. Andy and Anna are good friends of Bre’s, who grew up with Anna in Rappahannock. Their house is one of my favorite houses I have ever visited. Andy and Anna have an eye for a distinct type of art and decor such that their house simply feels good for the soul when you enter. It is like a functional, living, welcoming art museum, and one that I enjoy thoroughly. It was wonderful to see them and hang out, and we had fun playing with the girls who were very excited to see the most popular member of the hitched and rolling crew, “Duke Dog”.

As the day turned towards evening we went over to Claire and Greg’s house, which is also in Richmond just a few minutes away. Claire and Greg were kind enough to host everyone for the evening because today was New Year’s Eve. Greg used his new saw to demolish the Christmas tree, which made for an entertaining operation, and we had a great time doing that and moving the pieces out the curb where they were now appropriately sized for pickup and disposal. As the night continued someone broke out “Twister” and I got a manicure of blue and pink. I did not partake in the game of Twister but I respect those two did; frankly I forgot how difficult the game is.

As the evening turned towards night Andy had one of the more brilliant parenting ideas that I have ever seen. The girls (4 and 2, roughly) really wanted to stay up and watch the ball drop for new years, but for a variety of possibly-obvious reasons Andy and Anna did not want that to happen. In a stroke of genius hereto unseen by this non-parent, Andy decided to go on youtube and search “2023 new years ball dropping”. He was able to find a 10 or 15 minute countdown to midnight video, which he put on the TV around 8PM. It worked perfectly! The girls were quite pleased that they were able to stay up to see the ball drop and all parties were satisfied. Because the girls needed to go to sleep we went back home shortly thereafter. Before our last night in the van and after the girls went to bed, we invited Andy and Anna over (invited over might be a misnomer because we were practically in their driveway) for a tour of our ambulating domicile and a glass of wine. All in all a wonderful new years eve in Richmond!

So there you have it. Hitched and Rolling was complete. Now, the only thing to do was drive a couple hours back to DC.


But… we didn’t want to!
The van rental agreement said that we had one more day until we needed to be back so I suggested a “bonus night”. Bre quickly accepted my suggestion and it was settled that we would stay one final night in Shenandoah. BUT A quick look at the map and a slow start in the morning rendered that untenable. So we decided to go to Big Sky Meadows state park. We spent the day meandering across rural Virginia in that direction. Only problem is that when we got there, we learned that Sky Meadows does not allow car camping. Whoops. Whats life on the road without a little self-imposed adversity.

I quickly hopped on the harvestHosts app and found that there was a farm a few minutes away at which we might be able to camp. Somehow, it was already dusk when I called the Host. I think he was a little caught off guard because he usually requires more notice, but I explained the situation and he said I was welcome to come on down. So we did.

When we pulled into Steves farm we were so pleasantly surprised. This property is absolutely fantastic. He has cattle and a sold meat that he had raised and had processed up the street. We purchased some steaks, sausages and jerky and talked with Steve for about an hour. A very nice guy who I think was glad that we had asked to stop by as well – a win win – he liked our set up and van and enjoyed hearing about the trip.

In the morning I was texting with my friend (and our wedding minister) Bryan Clubb. Bryan looked up our location and said that we were close to his parents house and that I should text them. I had no idea we were close and immediately texted his dad Chris who just so happens to be one of 2 (MAYBE 3) people that acutally read this blog. Having followed this adventure Chris was no stranger to the trip and he and Mrs. Clubb soon texted back that they would love to meet up. We selected a location near their house and on our route and decided to meet in about an hour.

The Clubbs were nice enough to bring us coffee and we had a wonderful meeting at the local park. The dogs got to play and Mr. and Mrs. Clubb got an enthusiastic tour of the van, which they were probably not as into as I was. As I said, Mr. Clubb has been one of our loyal followers so I think it was fun for him to see the van that he has read about. His support actually dates back to the Appalachian Trail blog that I made, so he knows the history of my relationship with Bre better than most. What a fun and fitting way to end the trip, a worthy and wonderful final stop!

Chris, I’m sorry that I took so long to get this post up. I would love to make an excuse but unfortunately one does not exist. Thank you for your support (and for the coffee)!

Well folks – there you have it. The trip ended and so must this blog. Thank you so much to everyone who supported us, both in life and on the trip. This was a really cool way to start our marriage. It was not always easy. It was not always fun. But it was mostly fun, and we made some wonderful memories visiting friends all across the country, memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. We really felt the love from all of the people who we visited and who came to the wedding, and I just could not be more grateful for the community (nationally-distributed as it may be) that Bre and I have as a foundation to start our new life together.

Cheers and thank you,
Brad and Bre

This morning we woke up in New Orleans. Pleasantly, we were more well hydrated and rested than one might expect. Claire’s credit card provided a hospitality stipend at the hotel restaurant which Claire generously shared with us honeymooners in the form of breakfast. A couple showers and a packed bag or two later we were ready to call an uber to the suburb of Metairie where Duke and the van patiently waited. 

After gathering our vehicle and its canine occupant, Hitched and Rolling was officially back to Rolling. Leaving the greater New Orleans area, it was clear that our surroundings had quickly become substantially more coastal and Florida-like. 

After we entered Mississippi we took a small detour on route 90 to see the coast. We ended up in the town of Waveland, MS which has signs referring to itself as the “ground zero” of hurricane Katrina, presumably where the storm made landfall 20 years ago. With that context, our drive around Waveland was painted somewhat grave, and we couldn’t help but notice the lack of mature construction – everything was fairly new. Bre read the first hand account of a Waveland resident’s experience with Katrina that she found online as we drove through town. It was a bit haunting in the fog. 

Our destination today was the Hideaway RV Park which was just beyond and through Alabama in the Sunshine State. This park had come highly recommended to us by Jiffy. 

Jiffy is stationed at the Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi and has lived there for a couple years. As he has explored the region he has been keeping a running list of saved recommendations, in the form of an extensive network of dropped Google Maps location pins, a resource which he kindly shared with us. 

This made choosing a lunch spot significantly less difficult, and we settled on a place called “The Shed” which was just off i10. We would later learn that The Shed has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and a bunch of other food-centric programs.

As we pulled in we realized that this place was more like a compound than a restaurant. There was the main area that had a BBQ restaurant, there was a rambling addition where live music could be hosted, another which was seemly geared toward seafood, and then an RV park. We elected to investigate the seafood area given our coastal location. When in Rome, right? 

This proved to be one of the best culinary decisions of the trip so far. Bre and I both like to try local cuisine wherever we end up, and neither of us has spent much time in the gulf coast region, so we pretty much deferred to Will, our bartender, and ordered what he suggested. Will is a scientist, specializing in oyster habitat and rehabilitation, so our experience was colored by his knowledge. We “started” with a bucket of roasted oysters and and sandwich that I can only describe as an alligator cheesesteak. As the food started coming out, and because we were the only people at the restaurant, my attention was drawn across the bar to the very-active backyard smoker around the corner, and Will, who was enjoying his role as our culinary tour guide, encouraged me to go investigate. 

Apparently once a defunct pizza oven, the smoker was in full swing curing fish into what’s known as “Biloxi Bacon”. Trace, the operator, was pleased to give me a tour of his command center. Having toured the operation and returned to my seat Will smiled and told me that Trace liked us, and that Trace was going to “really feed us” now. 

And boy, was he right. We had ordered two items of the menu but every few minutes for the next hour or so, Trace brought over another piece of something. “Biloxi Bacon”, “Sauce Picant”, “Fondue Grits”, “Crawfish Bread”, each item was like out of a movie. All unordered, we were just along for the ride. The more we enjoyed the dishes the more this homegrown chef wanted to bring over and share with us. It was like a self perpetuating cycle spawning authentic Mississippi coastal cuisine right out of a professional smoker and onto our plates.

It is experiences like this that make this mode of travel so rewarding. A huge thank you to Will and Trace for sharing a sampling of coastal Mississippi cooking with us. 

But the day was not over. Back in the van and eastward we went. We entered and left Alabama, the third state of the day, before cruising into Florida as the sun was setting. We made it to the campsite around 6:30 and after checking in (and letting the car sit for around 10 minutes with the windows closed) we noticed a strong rotten egg smell. As of writing this is still unresolved. We made friends with some neighbors at the RV park, decades more experienced automobile travelers than we are, who were kind enough to investigate. They suspect that it might be a dead animal in the dash. Uneasy about the diagnosis, as we were reluctantly accepting our smelly quarters for the evening, the propane alarm started going off, despite the windows and side door being open. Then it went off again. That was it. After two propane alarms plus the rotten egg smell we decided to go to walmart to get a second alarm. Maybe ours is broken. They were out of stock at walmart and it was right around midnight so we went with the nuclear option – we drove right to the fire station.

Our suspicion that the fire station would have some kind of tool for propane detection was correct. They used the mechanical handheld sniffer around the vehicle but it came up 100% negative for propane, none at all, not even a slight whiff. Having ruled out the most harmful of scenarios, we went back to the RV pack and have laid down next to open, screened in windows away from the smell, which has lessened from driving around with the windows open. Another eventful and fun day on hitched and rolling. 

We left Austin at 8am Friday morning and drove pretty much all day. The main event of the days drive was stopping at Buc-ees for some fresh beef jerky. 

We were lucky enough to find a dog sitter in the suburb of Metairie who was also willing to host the van in her driveway for the weekend. A win win. We dropped off the beast and the vehicle and walked across the street where none other than our Appalachian Trail friend Jiffy picked us up. 

Jiffy lives about 90 minutes east of New Orleans but his girlfriend is getting her PhD at Tulane so he is in the city quite often. It just so happened that the stars aligned and Jiffy and his girlfriend Claire offered to pick us up and hang with us for the night. Our first stop was a Po Boy spot off of magazine street. It was great to catch up with Jiffy and meet and get to know Claire. 

Next we headed to the French quarter where we dropped our bags at the hotel before hitting the town. We walked over to Frenchman street to listen to some live music and I remembered how much I love New Orleans. There is just no place on earth like it. It was a pleasant evening and the music and drinks were flowing in and out of bars into the streets. I find it difficult to articulate how wonderful and special New Orleans is. As anticipated, Bre loved it. Not to be confused with Jiffy’s girlfriend Claire, Bre’s friend Claire (from Virginia) also made an appearance. 

Claire had flown in to join the hitched and rolling tour for the weekend, and came to meet us on Frenchman street where she made an easy addition to our bopping and culturally-absorbent crew. 

After some late night pizza we parted ways with Jiffy and Claire, and headed back to the hotel with Claire. 

On Friday night we had a blast. Surprisingly, we felt great the next day. We met Claire (Jiffy’s Claire, not Virginia Claire) at Cafe Du Monde for a quick breakfast where we arrived just in time to beat the line, and enjoyed beignets to the sound of live jazz. After breakfast we walked around town, unsuccessfully trying to find an apple-wallet-compatible ATM to solve the lack of cash problem. After a nice morning stroll we said our goodbyes to Claire and went back to the hotel to meet up with the other Claire (Virginia Claire).

Around lunch time, having met up with our second Claire of the day, the three of us walked over to the Napoleon House, which, like many establishments in the French quarter, feels (and probably is) casually a couple hundred years old. After brunch we took an uber over to magazine street to walk around and enjoy the afternoon. We ate red beans and rice and sauntered through the shops.

Not wanting to do anything TOO crazy for the evening, Bre, Claire and I elected to go on a ghost tour of the French quarter. The tour itself was a bit discombobulated, but strolling around at night amongst the Caribbean colors and kerosine lamps and street musicians was just downright wonderful nonetheless.

How lucky are we. 

As I ended the last post, Hitched and Rolling is mostly about people. No place is a better example of that than Austin, Texas. I used to live in Austin so I know a few people here, and seeing them, catching up, and spending time was pretty much the top priority for this stop. 

We woke up at a beautiful scenic picnic area exactly-about 4 hours outside Austin and pretty quickly hit the road, stopping in Fredericksburg for some fetch with Duker. We got to the hotel around 3pm and rested in the room for a couple hours. Prior to our arrival, I think it had been the longest stretch of days-without-a-shower since the Hitched and rolling tour began. The number of days could still be counted on a single hand, but it had been too long, and the hotel’s (hot and well-pressured) shower was quite a welcomed luxury. 

As evening dawned, our friends Aubrey and Marcella came and picked us up at the hotel, and we headed to a dog-friendly Brewery to meet some other local friends, Zack and Haylie. As is sometimes the case, we were having too much fun for anyone to register that we might want to take a group photo, and so none exists. You’ll just have to take my word for it. 

On Wednesday we woke up at the hotel and went over to South Congress street where we met Bennett and did some walking around and shopping. Bennett got his secret Santa gift and we had sandwiches at the Tiny Grocer. In the afternoon Bre and I went over to the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar and walked around admiring the art. We met up with Dom, who is a friend of mine from when I used to live in Austin.

When dinner time rolled around we went over to Kelly’s pub where I had arranged a gathering of some Austin friends for dinner. I got to see Janella and Evan, and their two young children which was really fun. Simms, Bennett, and my friend Mary were there too. We had Guinness and wings too numerous to count and it was a fantastic evening. 

On Thursday we met up with Haylie and putzed around north Austin’s array of thrift stores. We were searching for frames and didn’t really have much luck but it was fun to have a mission and drive around and hang out. Finally, Thursday night we went out to one of my favorite food spots, Ramen Tatsu-Ya. We met at Simms’ sprawling palace of an apartment before heading to ramen, which was fantastic as always. After ramen we went downstairs to their tiki bar, where a blender full of mostly-whipped cream exploded on Bre. Spirits were not diminished in any way, and it was another fantastic set of days on hitched and rolling. 

Leaving San Diego’s beach and surf we entered into a fog dense enough such that everyone had their hazard lights on. We crawled along at half pace following signs for i8 and eventually and found our way there, only to find the fog abruptly clear which revealed a phenomenon totally foreign to us: the sun in our morning eyes. For the first time since the trip began that we were heading… East! Having come south down the west coast, we had finally basically taken a left, forming the southwestern elbow of our trip. 

I found it striking how quickly the beach surf vibe of San Diego turns into desert. I think around 40 minutes after leaving the coast we were fully sounded by Mars-like terrain. 

Our destination today was the Phoenix Arizona area, around 5 or 6 hours away. Bre drove most of the day and I worked. We stopped in the early afternoon in Yuma, Arizona. Bre had worked in Yuma as a travel nurse some number of years ago, and was excited to show me around the town she remembered fondly. We walked around Main Street and stopped into a couple shops and got some lunch. Next to our lunch spot was the tourist visitor center, and we stopped in to grab a postcard. While inside, I saw a bunch of gear for the “Yuma Criminals”. As it turns out the Yuma Highschool mascot is the criminals, which I found really amusing. 

The story (which I will include in full in photo form below) is basically that in the early 20th century the school building burned down and so the school was moved into the previously-abandoned prison for some time, during which the nickname was adopted. 

We headed further east towards phoenix and started corresponding with Bre’s friend Julie. Julie is a flight nurse which means that she works on a helicopter transporting people who are in highly emergent situations. In other words she is a total badass, but I digress. 

Julie lives in the phoenix area and she and Bre had discussed camping when we came through town, but had not planned out any specifics. Using the variety of RV and camping apps to which I have access (namely harvest hosts and iOverlander) I was able to identify a campsite that might not be too crowded. Our concern with crowding came from the fact that all of the regional state parks were fully booked, which we suspected might be related to it being the weekend and the fact that a once-in-a-century meteor shower was forecasted. 

The campsite that I found was remote such that one had to drive 25 minutes after the end of the pavement to get there. We shared the coordinates with Julie, stopped at the grocery store for some supplies, and drove into the desert to find the campsite. After about 6 miles bumping down the dirt road and praying we didn’t get a flat (we don’t have a spare), a white Toyota raced up next to us and Julie popped her head out of the passenger side window. What fun! 

Julie’s boyfriend Scott was the driver of this decked out off-roading Tacoma, and after saying hello they followed us the rest of the way to the site. When we got there we found about eight camp sites, only one of which was occupied. Success! 

Due to it being the middle of December the sun quickly set. We had a couple of beers and donned headlamps and sweatshirts as we set up our cook stove and got camp ready for the evening. Our new stove, which was a wedding gift from my friend Jack, worked beautifully, and we enjoyed a nice spread of fajitas complete with roasted onions and jalapeños. A delicious and filling camping staple. 

After the sun went down the four of us set up our sleeping mats and sleeping bags by a neighboring empty campsite, creating two roughly full sized outdoor mattress configurations from which each couple could watch the sky. The meteor shower was called something like Geminid, and the show was great. We saw dozens and dozens of shooting stars as we listened to Pink Floyd on the Bluetooth speaker and chatted. 

At some point Julie and Scott wisely migrated to Scott’s truck’s camper bed but Bre and I ended up sleeping out all night. It got COLD such that even the fur-coated poodle with which we travel curled up under the sleeping bag with us. In the morning everything was covered with the thinnest layer of rigidity, indicating that the dew and condensation on our bags and cloths had frozen (albeit briefly) in the Arizona mountains. 

By 8 or 9 AM the sun had stuck back, and we were now warm as our bags sunned dry in the neighboring campsite and we packed up the van. After the long and dusty drive back to town, the four of us assembled in cave creek at a bunch spot (aptly named “Brunch”) for some pancakes and eggs. No complaints here!! 

After brunch we walked around town and checked out various shops. Cave Creek is a cool little town. We went into a gem shop where I sat in a crystal throne that was for sale for over $100,000. The sign encouraged sitting and taking a photo so we obliged. 

In the afternoon Julie and Scott headed back south to Gilbert and Bre and I met up with Jill and John, friends of my parents (and mine) that happen to live in cave creek. We met at a restaurant called the Horny Toad and caught up about the wedding, life on the road, and Jill’s rekindling of her former life as a champion rodeo barrel racer. It was great to see them and catch up. 

As I have said (and possibly written) before, hitched and rolling is all about people, and our stop in the phoenix area left our hearts full having gotten to spend such nice time with so many friends. 

We woke up at vinyl vineyards and did a sweep to ensure that everything was orderly (the campsite rule: leave it better than you found it) before getting back on the road.

We went into downtown Paso Robles where Bre and Grant grabbed some coffee and pastries and we walked around. Paso has some cool art galleries and it was fun to admire the various mediums of expression. I stayed in the car because I had a phone call to make and I missed their muffins.

We headed back to the coast to a little town called Cambria where we had an Indian-inspired lunch in a little garden restaurant. Today it was my turn to be a little cranky, having missed the snack, as I wanted to go to lunch instead of popping into what felt like every store. As is almost always the case – nothing a little lunch couldn’t fix.

I had some work to do in the van and Grant and Bre took a stroll on the coast and after a few minutes of problem solving I walked out to join them. The views were spectacular. After admiring the coast for some time we got back in the van and continued south.

We stopped at a beach for another sunset stroll and spoke with a nice couple on a park bench while the last of the daylight drained beautifully. After that we went to St Luis Obispo for dinner and we found accomodations in Avila Beach for the evening – Grant at the Avila Inn Hotel and Bre and I taking the van to Avila Hotsprings which had a simple RV park in the back.

In the morning Bre and I took a dip in the hot springs, an activity that was “included” with our night of camping. Very luxurious. The pool was very shallow and somewhat smelly but quite pleasantly warm.

We picked up Grant and played fetch on Avila beach. I accidentally sailed Duke’s soft orange ball into the parking lot above the beach. I searched but could not find it, but my wife put me to shame by finding it in less than 2 minutes.

We headed to Santa Barbara where we stopped at an awesome dog friendly brewery. Finally we pulled into Santa Monica. We dropped Grant with his friends and found a residential street that allowed overnight parking. A no nonsense post about a normal-amount-of-nonsense set of days.