Wherever we go…we’re home

The Jacobs Camp spirit travels far beyond our gates. Our alumni live all around the world and are full of incredible stories. For this post, we’re thrilled to share a glimpse into the journey of Ruth and Richard Hiller.

When we tell people that we live in a motorhome full time, they say; “Wow! That’s so cool!  We would NEVER do that.”  We call that envy without regret.  We heard that there are about a million people who live some variation of what we do.  We spend 5 months in a campground in Connecticut to be near our children and grandchildren, then we spend 5 months in Southern California as snowbirds (in the UK the term is sun chasers) to be near Ruth’s brother and his family.  We take a month to cross the country, usually in April and November.  We have crossed the country 12 times on some configuration of the east/west interstates.  We began our adventure 6 years ago.  We travel with our 2 Cairn Terriers (like Toto from the Wizard of Oz).  Our motorhome has spent the night in all but 3 of the contiguous states: Maine, Washington, and Oregon.  We have a “Boston Lobster” stuffed-toy as a mascot that allows us to include Hawaii and Alaska on our travel map (our map, our rules).

Ruth and I decided we would do this to visit our family members spread across the US, to see all of the beautiful landscapes of this country and see the amazing attractions throughout the states.  For example: traveling west last year, we stopped at Winslow, AZ and parked just behind the flat-bed Ford on the corner that commemorates the Eagles song and Jackson Brown who wrote it.  Nearby, there is a crater created by a meteorite that was used by NASA to design space suits for the Apollo astronauts.

Ruth and I have been to all 13 Presidential Libraries/Museums managed by the National Archives and Record Administration and a dozen Presidential Homes managed by the National Park Service.  Naturally, we have been to scores of national, historic, and military parks, as well as monuments, preserves and forests managed by the NPS.

Because we are “legal” residents of South Dakota, we are returning there this April to revisit Mt Rushmore, the Badlands NP, Crazy Horse Monument, Custer State Park, Needles Hwy, The Walls Store and The Corn Palace.  Can’t miss the mural of George McGovern designed with ears of colored corn.

We’ve hiked caverns and canyons in many states.  We’ve been to museums on topics like: the Mob in LV, Cowboys, Cowgirls, and Rodeos in WY, TX & OK; Native Americans in AZ & NM; and the Murrah Federal Building Memorial in OKC.  There was the heart breaking Legacy Museum in Montgomery, AL and the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. TN.  We took a tram up Mt Standia in Albuquerque, NM that passed so close to the peaks you felt like picking your feet up, but oh what a view.

There’s so much more we’ve seen and more we hope to see such as: the annual balloon festival in Albuquerque, NM, hear the Denver symphony annual concert in the hills of Moab, UT and journey through the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

Staying connected is the heart of our alumni community. If you have an update or a story to share—no matter how big or small—we’d love to feature you in a future spotlight! Please email Paige Mandelman at pmandelman@urj.org.