Happy New Year to all our regular readers, we hope 2024 was kind to you and may 2025 be even better. After a 6 month hiatus, Lois and I are finally back at it, however the continuation of our ongoing global van travels required yet another long drive to kick things off; this time, a “return” journey of sorts. You guessed it – right back to Baltimore, Maryland !
Some background first. During a wonderful 6 month sojourn back in Canada, our 2025 plans were firmed up with the decision made to travel first to Europe. The plan was to focus on the Baltic states and Scandinavia initially, especially areas we had not seen in the past or had visited only briefly, and following that we’d head south through most of the states of the former “Eastern Bloc” towards Turkey, again with a view to exploring areas we’d missed in the past. Beyond Turkey, our plan remains open – the Middle East, Central Asia perhaps, or possibly even shipping on to somewhere further afield. But first, we had to get to Europe.
From the west coast of North America ( where we live), there are really only two options for getting a vehicle to Europe :
A) put the vehicle on a ship in Vancouver or Tacoma, send it to Panama where it is offloaded to a dock awaiting a connecting ship from Asia (to transit the canal) which would pick it up and take it to Europe ( Hamburg, or Antwerp), or
B) drive it 4,800 kms ( almost 3,000 miles ) to the east coast ourselves and ship it to Europe DIRECTLY from there.
As tempting as “A” was ( much less driving and no duplication of the very same trip I had made just 6 months ago ), the theft and damage risk of trans-shipping in Panama, the considerably more complex customs requirements, the much higher cost and considerably longer total duration of this option made “B” the obvious choice – as such, the return trip to Baltimore ( in the middle of winter ! ) was just a cross we had to bear. At least this time there would be two of us to share the driving !
Saying goodbye to our family, especially our newest member – gorgeous little Hadley – was incredibly hard, but we’d enjoyed six months of pretty intensive family time, and even with that we still did quite a lot of Facetiming along the way. Facetiming it will have to be that will help us through the coming months away from her.
Throughout the summer I’d firmed up shipping arrangements with the ever helpful folks at Sea-Bridge in Germany ( we had used them before, from Argentina to the US, so were happy to lean on them again ). SeaBridge specialize in shipping overlanding vehicles to all corners of the globe – the second image below shows our ship to Hamburg, the “Atlantic Sky”. We would depart Kelowna late January, planned on approximately a week to drive across to Baltimore, would put the van on the ship in early February and then we would find something useful to do for the three weeks it took the van to get from Baltimore to Hamburg. More on that in the next blog – but first, a long drive across the United States, once again !
While cold, the forecast for the first few days across the northwestern United States called for generally clear and sunny weather, which is what we experienced as we headed out from Kelowna down Highway 33, crossing into the US at Midway and then heading east on the US I90 through Spokane ( Washington), onto Billings(Montana), Rapid City and Sioux Falls (South Dakota) and on through Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and finally on to Baltimore. Below are a few images of the route, the weather and some of the scenery we experienced during the long drive east:
Being the middle of winter, camping options were limited but since we are fully self-contained we only really need a relatively flat space to park and we can overnight almost anywhere. A mixture of Cabelas ( an outdoor store that welcomes RV’ers to overnight ) , the occasional Cracker Barrell (restaurant chain ) and a mixture of theme towns ( such as the venerable “Al’s Oasis” seen below, in South Dakota ), and a couple of State/National Parks provided suitable parking for all our overnights – a few images below:
Arriving in Washington DC ( very close to Baltimore ) just a bit ahead of schedule gave us time to do a little exploring however the weather, having been amazing all the way across ( considering it was mid-winter ), just did not cooperate. Howling winds, a colder snap and persistent rain really limited what we could do there – disappointing for Lois, especially as she had not been there before. Apart from driving around the city and seeing what we could from the vehicle, visits to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Washington Monument and a walk along the Mall were memorable parts of our very short and rain-soaked visit – oh, that and some vocal and zany 9/11 conspiracy theorists out on Pennsylvania Avenue ! See images below:
With that our ( rainy ) stay in DC was done and we drove on towards our final destination, Baltimore, just an hour away. Here we chanced upon an excellent US National Park ( Greeenbelt ) which provided us time and privacy to repack, clean out and generally prepare the van for shipping the next day. Fortunately the rains eased, making things a bit more pleasant just when we needed it. Ready now to hand it over to the shipping line !
Stay tuned next week where I’ll document the first part of the shipping process ( delivery to the port ) and outline our plans for the next 3-4 weeks while our rig is in transit to Germany ( spoiler alert – there’s a bit of a twist ! )
Till then……
Hi Jeff and Lois,
Glad that you made it through the states safely without running into any kooks!
I look forward to hearing about your upcoming adventures.
Did you get your floors and carpet fixed yet with the fellows name that I sent you?
I gave your name and number to another carpet installer as well so he (Richard) may be in touch with you at some point.
Play safe!
Bye for now,
Lyle
Hi Lyle,
Have not called him yet, will do when I return. Great to see you while we were back, keep in touch !
This trip is gonna be GOOD! 🍿
Well, so far so good apart from a little “drama” at the port in Baltimore 😳!
Hi Jeff and Lois!
I got my first email for your blog and thoroughly enjoyed getting to read about your adventure to Baltimore. I’m looking forward to reading more about your trip. This is very cool. Can’t wait to hear what this plot twist will be! Hope you guys have a great time 🙂
Take care and stay safe,
Your favorite Insurance Agent.
Jade,
So nice to hear from you and glad your caught our blog! Hope all is well are well at the office ( hi to Shirley ).
Jeff/Lois ( your favourite Overlanders 😉😉 )
Thanks for the update. Happy travels.
When you get to Hamburg could you find out what the residents are called there? Hamburgers, after all they do not want to be outdone by Wieners and Frankfurters. When we crossed the border at Midway years ago we were sternly told that we could not use the stop to get out of the car and switch drivers. Despite the fact there were no other vehicles.
Looking forward to your next episodes.
Well, Hans…that is indeed a riddle I will try to solve ! Lol ! Stay tuned 😉
Yes, Midway is a funny crossing – have never, ever had any issue going south but twice we have had issues returning to Canada ( once because we committed the unconscionable infraction of being a bottle of “Roundup” – weed killer – back into Canada !). Sometimes the small crossings are the weirdest!
Great to have my Saturday ritual of reading the blog back. I’m glad you made it safely through the craziness south of us. Enjoy your next adventures.
Thanks Penny – you still in Mexico, or back in BC ?
Great that you are back on the road again. Look forward to your adventure blogs. May 1st is our set-off date – can’t wait. 3500kms to our first destination in WA with the caravan. We’re enjoying our new Motorhome – just had a brief trip to the Snowy Mountains. This is our 25th year of travel!
Enjoy the next leg of your journey.
Enjoy the Nullarbor ( you must hold the Aussie record for number of crossings 😊). Good luck prospecting this year !
Hi Jeff and Lois
Good to have news of you again. Enjoy the travels, we’ll enjoy the blog
We will be in Canada and the US later this year on a cycle trip from friends near Toronto, along the St Lawrence to the Maritimes then back through the east coast states to Washington DC.
Great to hear from you guys, and glad you are heading over our way later in 2025. Not sure where we will be later in the year, but keep in touch, it’s certainly possible our paths will cross. I am determined that we will connect with you guys in some far flung corner of the Globe at some point in the future…!
Happy safe travels once again! Looking forward to your wonderful blogs.
Kim wants to ask ‘would it not be more interesting to drive home on the ice road from Russia to Alaska over the frozen tundra and ice?’ Hahaha
I’m sure you both will enjoy the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. Kim is from Denmark, so the Viking in him took us all over 😆
Well if it did freeze over we’d certainly try it !!!! lol !
Happy New Year to you both !
I am so glad you’re on the road again. I love your travels and how you do it. We have experienced many of the places to visit and it’s very exciting to see you do it.
Bon Yoyage, guys.
Thanks Abe, all the best in 2025 !
Hi Jeff and Lois
Great news! Look forward to watching this adventure unfold.
Safe travels.
Brent
Thanks Brent, missed you being across the street this year ( not the same without you guys !!)
Hello there! Glad to see you on your next adventure……will stay tuned to your updates!! Stay safe and have fun my friend!
Happy to hear you are off on another adventure! Enjoy your new travels!
Thanks Ruth !!