By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
What would it take to put your day-to-day life on hold, buy a recreational vehicle (RV), and travel America for a year?
Do you have the organizational skills to plan the trip? Do you have the financial resources to fund it? Do you have the work flexibility to stay employed and still travel?
Or do you have to just commit to the bucket-list adventure and make it happen?
In the summer of 2021, Simon and Susan Veness decided to downsize.
"We had a big house close to Disney, which we'd had for nearly 20 years," said Simon. "And the pandemic showed us we didn't need a big house... now it was just the two of us. Our boys were all grown up and doing their own thing. We didn't need a big house with a swimming pool. We needed to save money. We were looking for somewhere that kept us in Orange County but where the prices would be distinctly lower. We got a much smaller house in the process."
Simon and Susan own Veness Travel Media. They are the authors of the U.K.'s best-selling Brit Guide to Orlando, Susan's Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World book series (which has now grown to six titles), and their most recent publication - 111 Places in Orlando That You Must Not Miss".
The couple moved to Errol Estate in Apopka, which suited their needs for a downsized lifestyle; however, relocating from Orlando was not enough of a change for Simon and Susan.
The highways and byways of America were calling them.
After years of dreaming about adventure on the open road, they traded in their cozy new existence for a home on wheels, embarking on a year-long journey across the United States. With their newly purchased RV, the couple set out to explore breathtaking landscapes, hidden gems, and the vibrant tapestry of cultures that define America, all while creating unforgettable memories together.
"It had been on our radar for a while," said Simon. "The pandemic had been a real setback for us because anyone involved in the travel business, you know, obviously went through a heck of a time through the pandemic. And we lost a big chunk of our revenue. But we came into some money and decided that if we didn't do it now, we probably would never do it."
As idyllic as it sounds, there were challenges along the way.
"We thought we were going to hit the reset button because we've been working flat out for 20 years with no real vacations or real time off," he said. "So we thought this might calm us down. We couldn't have been more wrong."
For Simon and Susan, RV life required a lot of knowledge and skills they didn't initially possess. It started with the number of places they wanted to visit.
"We didn't get it quite right," said Susan. "We knew this was a one-year thing, so we wanted to cover as much ground as possible. It was certainly in excess of 80 places."
Traveling to over 80 venues in 365 days adds up to a change of address every four or five days - a breakneck pace that took its toll on these first-time road warriors.
"It was a ridiculous amount, given the circumstances," Simon said. "And, you know, we did end up staying in one place for a month in Texas because we were just absolutely worn out. It was a lot to do. It was too much. It was exhausting."
However, after a significant event that left Simon and Susan at a crossroads on a remote highway in Wyoming, the couple figured out the road through trial and error.
"The challenge of driving an RV for a year was surprising," he said. "We had breakdowns and things that weren't going right. We still needed to get our heads on. We weren't in the flow of it at all. And, you know, I think we hit a low point when we broke down on the side of a highway in Wyoming, miles from anywhere, on a Sunday. Nobody was coming out to rescue us."
What looked to be a grim, depressing ending to their adventure became the turning point they needed.
"At that point, we looked at each other and thought, realistically, can we carry on?" Susan said. "We limped the RV back to Gillette (in Wyoming), stayed in a hotel for a night, calmed down, and got our thoughts in order. We both felt then that we would feel worse giving up than just trying to muddle along. We had to devise a better plan for what we were doing. We revised our route. We pulled our horns in about how ambitious we wanted to be."
"We got a second wind," Simon said. "And we managed to pull it off. After two months, we almost perfected it. We must have just tapped into the right way of doing it. And we got the best out of it."
And while it took a while to learn the ways of the road, their days were filled with joy and a lifetime of experiences. But at the top of their list was America's most famous and picturesque national park.
"Yellowstone!" Simon and Susan said in unison. "We've been to Yellowstone before, but it was definitely high on our list to return. Yellowstone almost has to be set aside. It's just, it's so incredible. Seeing a grizzly bear and her cubs, two cubs in Yellowstone, was a big highlight."
Other regions in the West made the list of highlights as well.
"Utah was probably the state I knew very little about, but it wowed both of us," said Simon. "The scenery, the mountains, the landscapes, the wildlife, and everything about Utah were eye-opening. The national parks in Utah are just stunning. But you've got that constant backdrop of the Rockies.
"It's just the vibe of being out in a big state but never being far away from anywhere," Susan added. "Wyoming was totally the opposite. You don't feel near anywhere because it's so big, vast, and empty. We loved Montana and Wyoming. We spent much more time there than we originally planned, which was fascinating."
And by the time they got to the Dakotas, Simon and Susan were employing an excitement barometer of their own making.
"The other place that surprised us both was South Dakota and the Black Hills area, which I think we both agreed we would return to," Simon said.
"Yeah, definitely," said Susan. "The Badlands, the Black Hills, and Custer State Park were all pretty much unknown to us in advance. And, you know, when you got there, it was just a succession of wows. We employed something called WPMs, which was our wows per minute. We used that as our benchmark for places that impressed us. And WPMs were way up in South Dakota, and at Theodore Roosevelt State Park in North Dakota as well."
Another WPM for them was the flora and fauna of the United States.
"The wildlife kept cropping up as the sort of ever-present backdrop to the trip, especially through Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and the bison, not just in Yellowstone but also in Costa State Park in South Dakota," Simon said. "The pronghorn antelope, they were just everywhere. Whenever you looked up, they were wandering around. The wildlife was spectacular."
"The Wilcox-Playa wildlife area (in Arizona)," added Susan. "And we lucked into the migration of the Sandhill cranes. We're used to seeing them here in Florida. They're often around. But you only see them in twos, threes, and fours. In Wilcox-Premier, we were seeing them by the thousands. That was incredible. We spent hours there each evening just watching this tableau."
"It was like being in a David Attenborough wildlife documentary," joked Simon. "Those were real highlight experiences."
And what will be their next adventure? That may have to wait a while.
"I think we need to calm down a bit first," Simon said. "Going absolutely nowhere. That's our idea of adventure."
But then, just as it seemed their travel bug was in remission, Simon pondered another trip that might be in their future.
"We do want to get out to the northeast. I've seen very little of that area. We know the coast up as far as Virginia, but then I've seen very little of New England, apart from Boston. We won't do another year's tour, I don't think.
"No, no," said Susan.
"Ironically, by the time we finished, when we were coming to the end of our year's trip, we both felt we could have carried on," Simon recalled. "We both had got the bit in our teeth by that stage, and we felt that carrying on would have been a nice option, but we had to be back home for various work reasons, including the new book. It wasn't an option for us, unfortunately."
And although the sites and experiences of a once-in-a-lifetime trip will steal the headlines, the kindness and humanity Simon and Susan experienced on the road among the RV community surprised and impacted them significantly.
"I thought I knew this country pretty well," Simon said. "I came into it (the trip) with many preconceived notions, and I'm not sure those were fair. Everybody, with maybe one exception, was so kind. And, you know, people were eager to talk about where they lived. They were supportive when we needed bolstering up. It was very friendly and hospitable from the human point of view."
"I think the main thing for me is when you put aside everything else, stop thinking about division, and start thinking about just human beings... everybody was amazing – we just met so many nice people," Susan said. "We knew that we wouldn't agree on everything, but just sitting down as human beings together and having a glass of wine around the campfire, we managed to find common ground."
"We just found so much kindness and people being there for each other," Simon added. That was one of my biggest takeaways. We were invited into somebody else's camp several times for the evening. Come in for a beer, come in to watch the game, come in... and just share your experiences of being on the road. That was a real highlight."
