Wild Free Ones is on the road for Airstream’s #EndlessCaravan, an experiential campaign that invites adventurers to discover new places and meet new people. Jeff and Kristina Jones are traveling along the east coast with their three sons to advocate for foster care and adoption and meet others with similar stories along the way. Keep reading for an inside look at their journey!
We finished up our southern coastal route last weekend in South Carolina, and Jeff found connections and meaning in his own roots from down South.
I (Jeff) have been really intrigued by the past after touring Botany Bay Plantation and also seeing so many tiny, white country churches with their graveyards right behind them along our travels. So, I was overjoyed when I connected with a friendly local—who was also a state park worker—and got to hear an impromptu history lesson from him.
This man’s mother had cared for Mrs. Pepper—a lady who tended to and loved the land of Botany Bay Plantation. He had a memorial in Mrs. Pepper’s honor. The park worker was also a member of a beautiful, 200-year-old are church, which was humbly built from funds raised by church member Hephzibah Townsend, who sold her her homemade pies and cakes. It was evident to me that the African American locals of Edisto Island had a sense of pride and a resiliency about them—in spite of the harsh history of servitude there.
Traveling and exploring as an African American has brought a sense of redemption to my lineage. During our stay in South Carolina, I was immersed in hauntingly beautiful scenery—from decaying plantations to live oak trees covered in Spanish moss. The sights brought understanding to the way of life of my ancestors.
Both of my parents grew up in the South and didn't have the privilege of being able to vacation anywhere or pass on that tradition to their children. Nevermind even being able to travel safely, or consistently fill up on gasoline in those days. Instead, they became part of the Great Migration along with many others, finding manufacturing work in the North.
This is why I'm filled with gratitude that I can give my sons the gift of seeing this beautiful land called America—changing its history along the way.
As soon as we left South Carolina and headed to our next stop in North Carolina, the overarching theme of our trip became two words: Hurricane Florence! The "state of emergency" warnings hit our phones on Saturday, and we quickly decided to reroute away from the coast, sadly having to cancel two meet-ups and stops in coastal North Carolina and Virginia.
We woke up early Sunday and drove down winding, rainy roads into dusk. Finally, we reached the northernmost part of Virginia—Shenandoah River State Park. We discovered that we had ended up in one of the most beautiful state parks we'd ever visited, and the boys were quickly at peace in nature among the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We thought we'd be able to stay put in this peaceful area for a few days, but after one day in Shenandoah, we got the warning that all Virginia parks were being forced to evacuate. We quickly called around to some Pennsylvania state parks and found one that was only a few hours away and had plenty of availability. We decided to go there for the night.
Being city people, our limits were stretched there as we found ourselves the only campers in our part of the beautiful, yet desolate park. We decided to leave a day early and head toward Philadelphia before our imaginations got the best of us!
We must admit, it was stressful to cancel plans and re-route, not even knowing where we could safely go next. But the silver lining in all the canceled plans was a meet-up that happened because we redirected to the northern Virginia area. With our new plans, we got to meet with a family who had reached out to us after seeing our posts throughout the Endless Caravan journey.
We decided to meet at the charming Red Truck Rural Bakery for some treats, and later headed to a local park with this wonderful family of four. As a military family, Ruth and her husband Jose moved homes every few years, and they desired to meet other adoptive families as a way to bring a sense of normalcy and consistency to their kids, both adopted at birth.
Our boys and Ruth and Jose’s kids were excited to have a playdate, and they connected easily as the adults shared stories and encouragement with one another. We are all being stretched even more in the area of flexibility and having to cancel and reschedule on a whim, but we are hoping for smooth sailing now as we continue to head northeast into New England this week.
We keep praising our kids for being able to roll with change and keep assuring them we are going to a safe place. We are in the Philadelphia area this weekend and plan on stopping in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts into the week. If you or someone you know is in the area, don't hesitate to reach out! We'd love to meet up with you and share stories of encouragement about fostering and adopting.
Follow Wild Free Ones on their Airstream #EndlessCaravan at airstream.com/blog, and on social media at @airstream_inc and @wildfreeones. Jeff and Kristina also post to their personal social media channels at @ohsnapjeff and @everydaywonderings and they blog at wildfreeones.wordpress.com.
