Wrapping up the final days of our RV road trip from Florida to Wisconsin this spring. Our final stops were through Beatrice, Nebraska and Omaha to visit friends and family. It was a treat to have both time and a flexible travel schedule so could spend time with so many people we care about.

On the morning of Monday, May 13, we woke up in our RV at my parents house again. Camping in their drive-way might sound odd, but truly so convenient to have our own beds, clothes, food, and supplies right there and not have to unpack anything. After everyone woke up, Andi did school with Tory in the RV while I worked out in my parent’s garage. We were waiting on a package that’d we’d shipped to be delivered to my parents house that morning, so we decided to kill time being tourists in the town I grew up in before heading off to Omaha to meet friends later in the day.

Beatrice is a town of around 13,000 people and bike-able, especially with our electric bikes. We loaded the kids onto the back and biked downtown for donuts at Sunrise Bakery. If you’ve ever coming through Beatrice, Sunrise is a must-stop! Their classic, old-fashioned donuts are really a thing of the past anymore.

We definitely got some funny looks as we pedaled our bright orange power bikes all around Beatrice! We discovered a beautiful paved bike trail that wraps all through the city and in the countryside, so we took that on our way back to the East side of town. On our way, we cruised through the cemetery to visit the graves of my grandparents and an aunt. It took us a little while to locate them all, but we found them eventually. The four of us talked about some of our favorite family memories with each loved one.

Back at my parent’s house, the kids and I made lunch and hung out with my dad for a bit. The package we were waiting for finally arrived by mail, and Andi went to work installing the new part so we could hit the road again. It was a custom extension bar for the bike rack on the back of th RV, but unfortunately the company sent us the wrong piece — ugh! Andi was frustrated to say the least after dealing with many modifications and phone calls to get the bike rack to work safely and securely on the back of our rig. Today, we had no choice but to continue traveling onward with our electric bikes rubbing together on the rack.

We said good-bye to Beatrice and headed north toward Omaha. A girlfriend of mine recommended Walnut Creek Campground as a good place to stay south of Omaha, and I’m so glad we took her up on that recommendation. It just so happened that nearly all the campgrounds in the Omaha Metro area were closed due to flooding. Upon our arrival, it was clear to see that many people were living full-time at Walnut Creek in their RVs, but we were able to secure the last remaining spot available that evening. No hook-ups except for electric, but the campsite was clean and there was great cell phone coverage there — that’s a first!

After we checked in and got settled, we drove across town to my best friend Ashley’s house to spend the evening with her family. At the last minute, Ashley’s husband Neal had to travel for work so I gave Andi a free pass to go spend the evening by himself while Ashley visited and our kids played in her backyard. It was the perfect evening of girl time, although always too short.

Tuesday, May 14

Today was the last full day of our trip — hard to believe! We woke up at Walnut Creek to rain, so we made it into a slow morning. Andi and I sat in bed and worked on our computers until the kids were awake, then we did school and breakfast. Around 8:00am, the rain stopped and the sunshine came out. Andi made a few work calls while I worked out at the campsite. Then, we packed up for a day of adventuring in Omaha.

Sometimes, living somewhere for most of your life means everything is so familiar to you that you rarely take the time to look around and explore. That’s the case for me and many of the beautiful state parks in Nebraska. Today, we decided to check out Platte River State Park in nearby Louisville, Nebraska. Platte River State Park is huge with big rolling hills and typically, tons of activities for kids. Unfortunately, we soon realized that most of the park was closed due to recent flooding (as were most of the state parks in the area). We decided to make the most of our visit there by squeezing in lunch and a quick hike.

Andi grilled chicken and zucchini for lunch, and then we took an easy hike to the waterfall and back. The trail was flat and paved with crushed rock, which was good because it was muddy in a few spots! I was surprised how many people we saw walking their dogs and taking pictures given it was a Tuesday afternoon.

After our hike, we drove back to Walnut Creek to bike around the lake there since the trails were closed at Platte River State Park. The sunshine was out and it was warming up! The trail around Walnut Creek was beautiful and an easy 3 miles around so we made the loop a few times. Afterward, we stopped by the playground to let the kids burn off some more energy.

That evening, we biked over to my friend Amy’s house for cocktails. It was a gorgeous pre-summer evening to sit outside in her backyard and let the kiddos play while the adults enjoyed appetizers and a glass of wine. Amy is one of my dearest friends, but this was the first time our husbands or kids had met so it was fun to get everyone together.

When it started to get dark, Tory, Aden, Andi and I hopped on our bikes and rode back to Walnut Creek Campground a few miles away. Tomorrow, we’d make our final stop in Forest Lake, Iowa to drop of the RV at Winnebago for maintenance work.

We had a wonderful six-week adventure through the Southeast part of the United States. The people we met, the beautiful landscapes we saw, the different foods we ate — awesome memories made!

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” — Oprah Winfrey

We feel like the luckiest people on the planet because we can honestly say we’re doing just that!