East Coast Route for April - May - June

East Coast Route for April - May - June 1

Mapping our route isn't as easy as it might seem. We have specific organizations we want to volunteer with, we have friends we would love to see, we have cost figures to consider, and we have campgrounds to reserve.

That said, here is our tentative schedule for the next 3 months:

April 1-10 Woodbine, GA
April 10-11 Savannah, GA
April 11-12 Macon, GA
April 12-13 Hixson, TN
April 13-21 Nashville, TN
April 21-25 Bristol, VA
April 25-May 2 Asheville, NC
May 2-16 Advance, NC
May 16-23 Fayetteville, NC
May 23 - June 6 Gloucester, VA
June 6-13 Richmond, VA and Fredericksburg, VA
June 13-27 Lebanon, PA
June 27-30 Philadelphia, PA [maybe NYC or Poconos Mountains]

It is also very likely we will visit surrounding cities and states during the longer two week stays.

If you live in or nearby any of these cities, please let us know. Perhaps we can serve together. If you know of a great organization we should volunteer with, please share.

70 comments on “East Coast Route for April - May - June”

  1. How fun! We are actually going to be in Baltimore the week after you, visiting my sister-in-law! I just bought our tickets today!
    So... I'll definitely be looking for one of those "how we travel" posts on that area and hoping you find some really fun things for the littles to do! Especially as my sister-in-law is new to the area and doesn't have any kids yet!

  2. Yay! Looks like your visit to Chattanooga will be brief, but I'd certainly love for our families to meet! I'll email you to get more info about your plans so far to see if you need help planning anything else.

  3. We live in Lebanon, PA...interesting choice, so I'm assuming that you have a specific organization you are going to work with here? There are a lot of non-profits around. We are actually packing to move to Indiana this summer, but I think we will still be in the area at that time (unless we are in Taiwan getting our daughter). Hopefully we can connect in person!

    1. Our campground is going to be in Lebanon.

      That would be great to meet. Are you adopting or picking up your daughter in Taiwan for another reason?

  4. My sister spent six weeks in North Carolina a few summers ago for job training and now wants to move to North Carolina - she loved it there.

    I remember visiting Washington DC when I was a young teenager - such an awesome place - my favorite places were the Smithsonian and Arlington National Cemetery.

    1. I went to the Smithsonian and Arlington Cemetery one time before when I was young. I hope we can visit those places again on this trip.

  5. Sounds like a great route!! Sad you will miss the east coast beachers here..Perhaps you can daytrip when you are in gloucester. ...

  6. Darn, you guys are going to be about 2 hours from us both in Lebanon and Sparta. If you do anything closer to Philly/Trenton let me know, would love to get together. If you decide to stop in Durham, NC I have a few places to recommend. There are tons of non-profits in the DC/Baltimore area. One place I volunteered in college was St. Ann's (http://www.stanns.org/index.jsp).

    1. Thanks for the ideas.

      Lebanon is where our campground is located. We will be volunteering in other nearby cities. That still may be to far for you though? Stay in touch when we get to that area.

  7. I've been meaning to mention, you guys should look at volunteering with a ronald mcdonald house. They are located all over the country, usually near a pretty big hospital. They allow parents to stay for very cheap if their child is in the hospital. They are usually always looking for homemade meals or someone to help change the sheets. They try to have an environment like an actual house, living room, dining room, kitchen, usually a playroom for the kids/siblings.

      1. Richmond VA has a great Ronald McDonald House in a historic district and not far from the science and children's museums....lots to do!

  8. June is hot for Richmond, but the guys will just sweat off more pounds and energy as they bike, right?!

  9. I know nothing about that coast so can't help you there, but that picture looks like Moab. Is it?

    1. Yes. That is Moab. The sad part though, is that it was a trip I didn't go on.

      It is a picture of a friend.

  10. sent you a message about your time in Nashville. Hope to see you guys while you are here!

    1. Thanks for the invite to be your neighbor! ;)

      We may not be able to make it that far north before we have to start heading west. When we map our Fall route we will see...

      The Millers have a amazing story.

  11. Lebanon?? LOL that's interesting!! You should at least consider visiting Hershey!! (how could you not??) Your daughters would LOVE chocolate world! You can take the tour for free!!

    1. Lebanon is more the location of our campground. We will venture out for volunteering.

      I am sure Hershey would be fun for all of us too!

  12. I live In Washington, DC and would love to serve with you if I am able. I live in an intentional community with my husband and 15 others. I would love if we could host you for dinner on evening while you're in the area.

    Greater DC Cares, S.O.M.E., and Youth Service America are wonderful organizations to volunteer with in DC. Also, the Peace Corps Headquarters are here if that is any interest to y'all.

    I love reading about your journey and am inspired everyday by your family :)
    Feel free to contact me at [email protected]
    -JennaLynn Self

    1. Thanks for the non-profit ideas.

      I woud love to plan a group project for DC. There are some other families interested in volunteering as well.

      If dinner works out that would be fun too!

  13. We live in Lynchburg, VA-about two hours west of Richmond. Maybe we could meet up with you in Richmond if you head that way. It would be great to serve with you and I'm sure our kids would enjoy playing together since they're so close in age.

    1. That is a possibility. When we start heading towards that area let's see if something will work for all of us to meet.

      Volunteering together would be great!

  14. We live in the DC/Baltimore area (we're right smack in the middle). We'd love to have you guys over for a meal and/or serve with you. Please contact me if you'd like to try to get together.

    1. Sounds great. Meeting other families is always fun.

      Maybe we should plan a group project in DC? There seems to be a handful of people there who would like to volunteer.

  15. I noticed you'll be in Nashville. St. Jude's Hospital is one of our family's favorite charities.

  16. If you decide to head up to the northshore of Massachusetts after New Jersey at all, the weather is amazing in the summer. There are TONS of beaches you could take the girls too. I know of a couple of charities who could probably use your help in some way or another on the northshore.

    1. Beverly Bootstraps Community Services (Beverly, MA) - donation drop off and food pantry
    2. Second Glance Consignment Shop (Gloucester, MA) - raises money for the Open Door Food Pantry
    3. A Woman's Concern (Beverly, MA) - aids women (and their children) with pregnancy, options, workshops, donations etc...

    1. Thanks for the non-profit suggestions.

      We aren't sure how far we will make it up north after NJ. That is still TBD.

      Do you live in MA?

      1. Yes! We live on the northshore of MA so if you do end up coming that far up we'd be happy to head to the beach with your family!

  17. Safe and happy travels! Still kicking myself for missing the chance to meet you in Orlando.

  18. We live in Fredericksburg...lots of history and half way between Richmond and DC. My (adult) daughter volunteers at Hope House, a home for single moms with children trying to get on their feet. Would love to meet up!

  19. Moving toward the north east... excellent... we'll see you in July or August in MA then... ;) Let me know and I'll reserve you the BEST spot in our campground... right next to US!! :)

    1. Yes. That would be fun! Where will you be headed once you get back to the US?

      We will start heading west in July.

      1. We'll be on the MA/RI border in a campground for the summer (Tony has work in the area for a few months). It's a perfect spot to explore Providence, Cape Cod and Boston from... we give excellent tours of all three! We would REALLY love to see you guys and get to know your family. There are a couple of volunteer opportunities in the area through our church that I'm sure you could participate in. The campground name, so you can take a look, is Canoe River Campground in Mansfield, MA. If you let us know when you'd like to come I'll make your reservation personally so that you get a good site and are next to us! We'll be there May 5 (ish) after a two week "friends and family" road tour from Chicago east. At the moment, we're still in Guatemala! Hope to see you guys soon!

      2. Will you be in New England at all before heading West? We're in CT 2 hrs from NYC and from Boston... would love to host you and your wife for dinner OR meet you and volunteer where you are at if the possibility arises!
        :)

        1. Thanks for the invite! It would be fun to do dinner or volunteer. We (probably) won't be going north past NY. Keep in touch as we get in the area.

    1. We drove through Atlanta today. We are in Adairsville right now. Headed to Nashville tomorrow.

      Are you actually in the city of Atlanta or just nearby? Did we already drive past you?

  20. Tim and Steph,
    We are in the DC area and the Jensens would love to see you again if you have time while you are out here. Let me know as time gets closer. We would love to have your family over for dinner. We also have a great campground not far from us in Lorton, VA.

    1. We would love to see you too! When we get closer let's pick a date to get together.

      Thanks for the campground suggestion.

  21. Wonderful what you are doing. Have thought about doing same for years. We are making shorter trip and want to volunteer too. Question is-is it possible to literally roll into a town and show to volunteer? Seems like most places require a background check or something.

    1. Most volunteer opportunities that require background checks are working directly with the clients/students/children/etc.

      So far, we haven't been asked to fill out a background check because we are "temporary" volunteers.

      A few organizations have made exceptions because of GiveEveryDay, but for the most part we have been able to setup one-time projects primarily working with the organization's staff.

      I would recommend talking with an organization and letting them know who you are and the time you can give to volunteering. Most organizations will be thrilled you want to help!

      1. Thanks very much. We're off in mid-May for 5-6 weeks and will see how it goes. Keep on having fun and growing as a family!

  22. Ok. I am seriously going to meet up with you in VA or PA. My Father-in-Law lives up in VA, so I can definitely do Richmond or Gloucester, I will look up nonprofits in the area. You got me excited! You should put Columbus, OH in your schedule *wink* that is much closer.

  23. Planning your trip must be hard work indeed! You may need another few years to hit all of the places you want to go :) I am sure you are planning on it, but if you can spend some time in DC, it is SO very worth it. So much history to be seen and to learn about! Enjoy the east coast, it is special indeed. We're still eagerly awaiting your arrival on the west coast!

  24. If you are ever in the area of Greenwood, SC (50 miles below Greenville, SC) you might check into volunteering at Connie Maxwell Children's Home (in Greenwood). It has been in existance for over 100 years and has 4 other campuses, Greenwood being the largest (60 + children ages 6 - 18). They have camper hookups available for volunteers and lots of room to walk, a playground for the kids, a pool, a farm, etc. Roger retired from there 3 years ago. He worked in maintenance. CMCH is a Southern Baptist outreach ministry. They also have a church on campus. It is a beautiful place to come if you are in the area. They have a website you could look up. Just an idea. If you do come let us know. We would love to meet the grandson and family of Tom and Dorothy Addis!!

    1. Thanks for the invitation and the suggestion! The children's home sounds like it would have been a great place to volunteer.

      We debated if we should go through SC or TN. Wish we could do both. :)

      I mentioned your name to my mom. She says, "hello."

  25. Yay! Glad you guys added Philly (well hopefully). Would love to meet up with you when you are there. We live about 45 minutes north of Philly.

Our family spent 2011 traveling the USA in an RV, striving to intentionally "give every day" for the glory of God. We interviewed CEOs of nonprofits and served alongside over 40 organizations and churches.

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