When Dave and I travel, we like to have enough time to explore an area. Depending on our interest, this could be 5 days or it could be 3 months! I tend to be on the obsessively organized side and like to have an idea of what we might want to see and do in an area, so I develop a basic exploration guide.

The day or the week before getting to an area I always do an online search to see what is available and of interest at our destination. I will tend to do this at those times when I am not already exploring, for example:

• First thing in the morning when I am relaxing with a cup of coffee
• When it is raining and we wouldn’t be outside anyway
• In the evening when we have come in from outside because it is getting cooler or the bugs have come out!

Your Guide Contains “The List”: A Way of Exploring

Everyone has their own way of exploring once they get to a community. There isn’t a “right” or “wrong” way to do it! Sometimes when we arrive at a new place, we just drive around, seeing what it is out there. Sometimes I have a detailed list like the one below.

This is the list I started in my guide during our month-long stay in Key Largo. Obviously, your list might look very different, especially if your stay is only for a couple of days. Or you might not want to make a list at all!

Other Activities to Include in Your Guide for Your List of Exploring

Frequently in the areas we go, there will be activities we want to participate in. In Key Largo there are hundreds of businesses offering fishing excursions, boat tours of the area, kayaking rentals as well as snorkeling and diving experiences.

Tours
Occasionally I will add a category for “tours”, for example:

• Bourbon tours in Nashville, TN
• Civil War tours in Richmond, VA
• Ghost tour in Washington, D.C.

Exploring Free Places to Go
Sometimes I will have a category for “free places to go”, for example, St. Augustine, Florida. We stayed in St. Augustine for 10 days. It is the only city in the U.S. that we did not complete our list of free places to go!

Hikes
Oftentimes I have included planned hiking routes. For example, when we were in northwest Georgia I wanted to climb Springer Mountain, the end of the Appalachian Trail. Living in Maine I had hiked Mount Katahdin, the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. I know someone will say it goes the other way, start in Georgia and end in Maine! Many people start hiking early in the spring when there is still snow on Katahdin! The Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Exploring Historical Sites
Another category that I frequently add is historical sites. Dave and I very much enjoy U.S. history. This past year we spent a lot of time visiting and exploring Civil War sites in Virginia and Pennsylvania. One of the “facts” we learned in history books was that the Civil War ended at the Appomattox Courthouse. Not true. It was at Bennett Place in Durham, North Carolina.

It’s Raining

If it is raining outside, catch up on your reading, or take a nap. Play a card, tile or board game with your traveling companion. You could go over to the club house and meet new friends.

Many cities and towns have museums, malls, escape room businesses, and other activities of interest. The problem is that many of these cost money or encourage us to spend money!

Campground Activities

Sometimes in RVing you want someone else to be in charge. You don’t want to make out “the list” of activities in the area. Many campgrounds have activities directors and they will plan things for you to do, for example, bingo.

While I know I tend to go overboard in planning our visits to different cities, I also plan on having lots of downtime as well. Time to sit around a campfire. Time to hang out around the pool. Time to just drive around and see different neighborhoods.

Probably the most important part of downtime is to put down the phone. Stop scrolling! Downtime does not need to include scrolling on your phone!

Take-away Point

Traveling is such an adventure! Taking some time to do an online search of things to do in the area that you are visiting will enhance your visit. Finding things to do to keep your mind and body active will make whatever you do RVing into an adventure.

Please checkout our Great Service and Value page. These are businesses that we have personally used and would again if in their area.

Your partners in travel,
Kathryn, Dave and Lucky
RVing Nomads

It’s a lifestyle!

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