Enjoying the journey

by Jenn:

Raymond, WA  – Although we didn’t go full time until May of 2019 we’ve been RVers for several years and have taken some great trips. Rick and I follow a great couple on YouTube, FB and now Twitter. Since we’re heading to TX soon we’ve been re-watching some of their videos and catching up with some we’ve not seen yet. Friday night I took part in a FB Live of theirs that made me feel a bit nostalgic for some of our past trips. 

I also figured out why Rick and I enjoy Tom and Stacie from RV Texas Y’all so much. They share our joy in finding the unexpected and the way this RV lifestyle allows one to change plans when those opportunities present themselves. Tom said during the live “If you want to see that ball of string then stop!” I couldn’t agree more. 

Their FB Live made me realize that although we’ve not been traveling much due to the pandemic, we can still share and write about our past trips. So I thought it would be fun to start out by sharing our most unexpected ZEBRA 🦓 like experiences.

The first was a total accident. We were headed back to Oregon from Washington State and were ready to take a break. As we searched for a place large enough to stop with our rig and saw a large parking lot. We pulled in got out of the RV to take a much needed stretch. We were curious to see what the building was, assuming it was something like a community hall only to find that we’d stopped in the parking lot of the Northwest Carriage Museum.

_{THE NORTHWEST CARRIAGE COLLECTION IS HOME TO 58
19th-CENTURY HORSE DRAWN VEHICLES INCLUDING CARRIAGES, WAGONS, STAGECOACHES, HEARSES, BUGGIES, SLEIGHS, AND OTHER VEHICLES.}

We’d never heard of the museum, but hey we had nowhere we had to be anytime soon so we thought we’d go take a look. Sometimes when we travel we need to make choices about what to do and how much to pay, but we knew it was meant to be and thought that $8 bucks to satisfy our curiosity was well worth it and we were not disappointed! The museum was so unique and special and you feel you stepping back in time. I was impressed at all the different carriages and marveled at the creativity of those who designed them. The museum had done an amazing job restoring them to their original beauty. I thought the produce carriage was so cute and reminded me of the little food carts you see at zoos or amusement parks. It also made me think of how food trucks, so popular now, got started.

The average wage for someone back in 1895 was about $400 per year. So at $45, the Studebaker Buggy was within reach for the average person. The cost of the C-Spring Dress Landau at about $1500 seems more comparable to buying a house than a vehicle! Makes one wonder…..did they finance back then??

_{The website tells us that “Several original vehicles were used in movie classics from the early 1900’s. Come take your picture with Belle Watling’s carriage from “Gone With the Wind” or Shirley Temple’s carriage from “The Little Princess.” Do you like westerns? Come see the stagecoach used during the filming of “Virginia City” with Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart.”} 

I can’t remember which ones they were. The Museum website has many photos so go take a look and see if you can guess which ones they are and let us know!