Author Archives: Catherine Namee

Well, our two weeks in Raleigh are over. It was bittersweet to leave. On the one hand, our RV was basically parked in a jungle 30 minutes away from everything, so that was rough. On the other hand, we met so many wonderful people who welcomed us into their homes, invited us to events, and generally treated us like we were part of their family.

We were also visited by Uncle Luke! It was a fun surprise for the kids. They all went to the lake, played games, and of course, piled on top of him.

Oh, and we came across a mall that had this really neat small town Main Street look to it.

And last but not least, we left the area knowing we have family to return to again!

These beautiful people didn’t know us at all. They invited us over so many times I lost count! We spent hours talking, they fed us so much food, the kids put together a show for us, and we stayed up late chatting like we had known each other for years. God willing, we will be seeing each other for many years to come!

I mean, they’re probably cousins somehow, right? 😄

Not sure if you know this about Matthew and I, but we love our coffee. We aren’t connoisseurs by any means, but we know what we like (usually a medium roast with chocolate and nutty, notes)! There have been a variety of local roasters we have visited and enjoyed. Yes, we do have more coffee than we know what to do with right now, but I’m sure we will catch up to it at some point. 😁

So, that whole coffee steeped in a bag was actually quite pleasant! It wasn’t acidic at all, which is usually my issue with traditionally brewed coffee. I even preferred drinking it black! Maybe I’ll be switching to steeped coffee…

This blog post is not sponsored by or affiliated with Saint Constantine School of Houston, but they really have a great school. You should check them out. Their mugs are the best.

Matthew stashes his ground coffee in the canister, and drink what I can get. Typically, I prefer cold brew because hot coffee gets cold. I figure I might as well skip the uncertainty about whether it’s still hot or just lukewarm.

I’ve been totally impressed by the number of local roasters that show up in rural towns. The coffee above was at a shop in a town of 5000 people.

Last night we had the joy of getting to spend time with some lovely people from the local church, and the kids were able to play with other children. Yay! We had lost all service on our phones earlier that afternoon at the campground, but thankfully, Matthew was able to finish up the work day at our new friends’ house. We thought surely it must be temporary and service would return the following day.

Well… this morning Matthew woke me up with the statement, “We have no water. We can’t use the toilet.” 😳 Honestly, somehow I wasn’t shocked, and we used our drinking water to wash hands and do all the things until we could gather the kids up and head out. They moved a little bit faster than usual.

Internet and phone service were still out, and we couldn’t get directions to the nearby city. Thankfully, our car has a navigation system, and that helped us out of the dead zone. So, we were making our way to a local bakery, which somehow I missed as I was driving by. We turned around and pulled into the area the directions had given. The place was empty. Completely empty. There was no sign outside (and I had clearly seen one a few days ago), there wasn’t even any furniture! We looked again for another place just to get a little sustenance, and found a breakfast joint in downtown Fuquay-Varina. Great! As we walked up, a sign on ITS door said they were closed for the day for remodeling. 😂 Thankfully, next door there was a bakery, we were fed, we could get coffee, and we were able to move on with the rest of the day. Yay!! Also, the city has this really awesome interactive touch-screen database of all the different shops and stores in town.

So, Matthew is working from the laundromat. I’m at the library with the kids. It’s been a good day so far, can’t wait to see what’s next! 😆

The water line should be repaired today, and AT&T says the service outage should be resolved soon. Praying that’s the case! If we don’t have water by tonight, we’re gettin’ outta Dodge.

Wow, it’s hard to believe we’ve been here a week! Having not spent a week in any one place for a month, it’s been really nice. It’s also been REALLY hot. 🥵 But let me tell you, it’s absolutely beautiful out here. The canopy of trees is just breathtaking. The short-lived thunderstorms are so much fun, and the people are incredibly kind and so very polite and thoughtful. Friendliness really does seem to be a part of the culture here.

Because of the heat we haven’t really been able to explore anything outdoors for too long. Thankfully, we’re at a lake, and that helps keep the kids cool!

On Thursday I took the kids to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, and it was like your typical nature center but on steroids.

After the museum we needed to find some lunch and ended up Raleigh’s Village District. It was a neat multi-block outdoor shopping area. We stopped in for some salads (because, oh my, we’ve eaten so poorly during this trip). Then we walked around looking for our next stop, coffee.

Along the way we ran into a gentleman sitting on a bench, seemingly waiting for something. But after a little “hello” turned into a history of the local area and how someone burned down the building that was now a Chick-Fil-A, it was clear he was just sitting waiting to have a chat. The kids very patiently waited while I listened to the stories he told. The point he reiterated throughout the conversation was, “Keep a good eye on the kids. You gotta watch them like a hawk.” Yes, sir. You sure do. I love that people sit and just take everything in, here. The pace is slower, people don’t seem to be in such a rush.

Oh, and that coffee shop has this amazing mosaic made entirely out of coffee beans. It was at least 30ft. wide! We seem to find something interesting wherever we go!

We are officially in Raleigh metro! After 31 days, over 3000 miles and 17 stops, we’re finally here! Than you all so much for your prayers and well wishes!

We will be here for the next two weeks, so I’ll be sharing posts about the Raleigh metro area for a while!

We’re almost there! It’s hard to believe we’ve been on the road for a month now! It definitely seems like it’s been longer. I am having a hard time remembering all that we’ve done so far. 😂 I guess moving every couple days will do that.

The RV park in Hendersonville is small and charming. The surroundings are nice and all, but the host is what makes this place one of the best sites we’ve visited. From the moment we arrived he offered us cold water, generously helped me back into a rather tight spot in a torrential downpour, recommended a really amazing park for the kids, and even had cool watermelon waiting for his campers to enjoy. It feels like he invited us into his home and we are welcome guests, as opposed to being treated like we’re invading someone’s space for a couple nights. He’s shown us true hospitality. Or as they say out here, Southern hospitality.

One of the tourist attractions in this area was of interest simply because of its name.

When I think of panning for gold or gems, what comes to mind is a couple pieces of fools gold hidden in a big bucket of sandy dirt… not so in this case. The kids got a 5 gallon bucket of dirt and sifted away. What they found was pretty amazing.

The kids found sapphire, green opal, ruby, quartz crystal, amazonite, petrified wood, a clam fossil, jasper, a megalodon tooth, amethyst, and a large geode, to name a few.

We also checked out Asheville. It was pretty cool! There were a ton of unique shops, breweries, and some beautifully maintained older buildings. I can see why people might called it a miniature Portland (or at least what Portland used to be). It’s quite a lovely town, and somehow manages to have more trees than Portland, too!

We had some really tasty barbecue at Bear’s Smokehouse. Their burnt ends were THE best we’ve ever tasted. Their meat didn’t need barbecue sauce either, and that’s saying a lot!

After lunch we walked around a bit, until the heat got to us… it didn’t take long.

The Great Smoky Mountains did not disappoint! Onto our final destination!

When we set off on this cross country trip, I never really thought about it as one long camping excursion. It’s definitely not tent camping. We have furniture, a refrigerator and freezer, plumbing, and our own bathroom and shower, and we even have air conditioning. It’s posh camping, essentially… until we arrived at the campsite and they informed us the power was out, and it was 86 degrees and Tennessee humid.

As we drove up to the entrance of the state park, we were greeted by a woman with sun kissed skin, long black hair, and a distinct Tennessee accent. She informed us that there was a major storm that knocked over a tree, which took out the power for the whole town. She explained it might be coming back on within 4-5 hours. Somehow, I didn’t mind the news. Quite frankly, she could have told me the sky was falling and I wouldn’t have cared. Everything she said sounded so loving and sweet.

So, we parked, unhitched the trailer, and left to find food, because there was no way we were cooking in an already 90 degree kitchen. The next closest city was back ten miles in Southern Kentucky. It was a very small town, but it happened to have some amazing coffee from Louisville. A large cold brew was only $1.90! We sat around the coffee shop just to cool down a little and then we wandered around town a bit. We ended up going to dinner at a neat little restaurant called Copper Top Tap. Their entire bar top was covered in shiny copper pennies, their ceiling was copper, the silverware was copper… you get the idea.

By the time we went to the grocery store (we have to go every other day) and arrived back at the site, it was 6:30 and still really hot. It was 11:30 when the power finally came back on, and that was about the time everyone went to sleep. We all came to appreciate how great air conditioning feels that day.

The following day was filled with a lot more fun. The kids are attracted to the water wherever we go, and this place had paddle boats and canoes!

This RV site was pretty amazing. The owner greeted us first thing, told us where all the local stores were, and made sure we had our bearings before escorting us to our site. They also let the older kids kayak for free! In general, it was just a really pleasant experience and extremely photogenic!

State parks are beautiful and all, but I’m starting to appreciate the RV parks close to more amenities. It’s rough being 30 minutes away from a grocery store when the 3 month old is already done with the car. This stop was pretty much just a pass through stop. We spent very little time outside because it was hot and rashes are flaring with the heat (not Genevieve, but Elijah this time). It was so uneventful, these were the only pictures I took this trip. 😳

Speaking of rashes, anyone wondering about Genevieve’s eczema issues… here are her hands two months ago.

And here are her hands now.

They still get the occasional flare up, because honestly, avoiding all the foods while traveling cross country is just not possible.

If you know anyone struggling with eczema, tell them to check out the No Moisture Treatment developed by Dr. Sato. It’s amazing. It really is. Google it.

Why didn’t anyone ever tell me how beautiful Iowa is?! It’s one of those hidden gems in the U.S. that I’ve never really noticed or appreciated. I always thought of Iowa as just a farm state. And yes, while corn stalks are absolutely EVERYWHERE, there is a lot more to the beauty of this state. Not only was there a lush green color all along the I-80, there were little rivers running through various areas, and lovely wildflowers (in the few spaces not growing corn). It was also full of sweet, hospitable people, willing to help and say hello to a total stranger.

Did I mention the corn? Something about it waving in the wind along the rolling hills was quite majestic. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures, so you’ll just have to see it for yourself!

We stayed at a site in Oxford, which was quite close to a place called the Amana Colonies. German Inspirationists settled in Iowa in 1855 and established seven communal villages, which were named Amana. Read more about them here! https://amanacolonies.com/visitors-guide/history-of-the-seven-villages/

Multiple days could be spent just exploring Amana. They had beautiful shops and such charming buildings, and the construction was quite interesting. There was something about the charming appeal of stone, brick, and wood, all in one structure.

If you want to live the simple life in a small tourist location in the middle of farming territory, here’s the house for you!