Travel cross country CAMPING and AirBnB [backup plan] day #2

So the plan was to have the Sprinter Van done and take it across the USA with big dreams of #vanlife – but we ran out of time and the trip needed to happen regardless – so we improvised. [PS – be not the lookout for updates on the Sprinter Van progress cause it’s happening] So here we are trekking across the States in a pickup truck with huge dog and camping gear.

Heading over the Mississippi River

Anyway – we decided we should still take Cash [the 145lb Leonberger]; we couldn’t imagine leaving him behind to make the journey.

Cash chillin

The dining and kitchen of our sweet AirBnB in NKC

We headed out from Cookeville TN through Nashville and straight to Kansas City (NKO to be exact). We stayed at an awesome AirB&B in Kansas City  – Devin was an incredible host, gave us great recommendations and lots of space. The great thing about AirBnB is that you can have a space that suites your needs. For us, we needed a place close to the highway, had our own entrance, a decent yard, off street parking and not too far from something to eat. We definitely hit up our hosts recommendations and if you go thru KC visit Cinder Block brewery for a beer, I had the Block IPA (6 Monster Hops) and D had the Prime which was an Extra Pale hopped 6 times and full of flavor!

We had to check out Chicken n’ Pickle which also came recommended by our host. This was a pretty fun place to be and we were there on a pretty busy, early Friday evening, so it was fun to see it in full swing. We definitely recommend if you are looking for decent food and want to play Pickleball. They specialize in rotisserie chicken with several different rubs, yummy pickles and a hot chicken sandwich; it was really good, the roll was excellent and the flavor was good, just not the hot like we are used to Asheville’s own Rocky’s or Hattie B’s in Nashville. D got the NKC Power salad with greens, farro and beets and she raved about it!  They have an incredible outdoor space with Pickle-ball courts, corn hole and do not miss the biggest BattleShip game I have ever seen!

Kids playing giant Battleship

View of Downtown Kansas City from the upstairs patio of Chicken n’ Pickle

We think the combination of camping and AirBnB gives us flexibility in how we spend our time, sleep in a real bed with laundry and our own shower or the ability to camp near a trail head and have a camp fire. Although we did have to plan ahead more than we had wanted in some areas we still have portions of the trip that are not yet planned so we can really go anywhere and if the weather stinks or we get too wet or worn out, a good night with a stove and a bed does the trick.

So it’s not what we envisioned, but we still needed to get on the road and create the Adventure.

Be on the lookout for more to come……cause next up is camping in South Dakota.