BLACK ROCK MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA – I’m writing to you from our new campsite. I found it about an hour ago using the Allstays app.
We’d been driving most of the day, it was getting late, and we needed a place to camp, so I pulled off the road in a little town called Clayton.
I looked up the nearest state park campground on my phone. This place came up.
I put the address in our GPS and hoped there’d be room for us when we got there. There was… for $32 a night.
I backed the camper in… which is harder than it sounds. (Before this trip, I’d never reversed a trailer. I’m finally getting the hang of it.)
Then, Kate and the kids set up the tent while I wrote this message to you from the picnic table.
Here we are having supper…
Dusty, Miles, and Penny
Now we just need to get showered in the campground bathroom (this one looks fairly decent), do a little schoolwork, and then go to bed. We share two beds between the five of us, so bedtime is always fun.
In the morning, we’ll pack up, brush our teeth, then hit the road again. Next stop, somewhere in Tennessee…
More tomorrow.
– Tom Dyson
P.S. Here we are waking up this morning in Gastonia, North Carolina, 168 miles northeast of here…
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FROM THE MAILBAG
Gratitude and admiration for Tom in today’s mailbag…
Reader comment: You may not be aware of the trickle-down effect you and your family are having. I am not brave enough to do what you have done – few would be. But I’m also in a different situation to where you were, so I lack the overwhelming incentive. However – and perhaps this teeters into the realms of midlife crisis – I am determined to be awake to and seize opportunities much more. Rather like a reawakening to how I felt during my college days, but which has been buried under a ton of responsibility and realities of life.
My father’s illness was certainly an epiphany to how easy it is for the essence of what life could and should be to simply pass you by. He died recently, followed by a desolate Lockdown funeral. He deserved more. But, I suppose I want to let you know that you (in the plural sense) have helped me to take oftentimes small steps towards making my life count for something more.
On the selfish-martyr spectrum, I err towards the latter. I used to. Anyway, I credit you with being the catalyst to help me to choose my path rather than simply accept that of least resistance.
Reader comment: We speak of you often. We finally invested in gold! We also watched The Big Short and thought of you, brilliantly aware that an economic crisis was coming long ago… even before the pandemic.
We are amazed at what you are doing and always contemplate (and sometimes act on) your insights.
Reader comment: I have followed you on and off since your days at Stansberry Research. I enjoy your writing very much.
I enjoy hearing about your travels. Wish we would have done something similar when we were younger. Have never left home for more than three weeks.
We never had any children, but the politest, hardest-working young people that I know were homeschooled.
Reader comment: My son and I truly enjoy following your family’s journey. I see him in many of your entries. Then we share our own thoughts about adventure and life as a result of your writing. Thank you for that.
Reader comment: I have really enjoyed following your stories and your travels. I was very sorry to hear about your mother’s illness and I hope she is faring well now. Your path, personal and with family, has been interesting and thought-provoking. Good luck and continue following your dreams. I look forward to following them.
Reader comment: Hope all is well and thank you for posting your travel updates. You’re giving the wife and I great ideas. (We’re planning a yearlong sabbatical in a couple years once the kids get older.)
On another note, I wanted to let you know that the articles you wrote back in 2009 about investing in Detroit real estate are still SPOT ON. I’ve stepped up my game a bit since then and I’m in the middle of the largest neighborhood redevelopment investment the City of Detroit has ever seen outside of its downtown central business district. (I’m buying 20 apartment buildings, 800+ apartment units, and literally redeveloping a whole neighborhood – much like East Lake in ATL.).
Just wanted to reaffirm you always had a good eye for contrarian investments.
Tom’s note: Thanks for all the kind messages. Please keep them coming at [email protected]. (I will never reveal your identity or any of your personal details in the letters I publish.)