THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 1996 TAG: 9610160035
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 97 lines
WHEN SARA AND ALFRED Jacocks married, they began much more than a journey through life together.
As early as their honeymoon, this Norfolk couple started a quest to travel to all 50 states and the 10 provinces and two territories in Canada.
This September - 29 years, four campers and thousands of miles later - the Jacocks finally realized their dream when they crossed off the final leg of their journey. The two spent 82 days on the road this summer, traversing the roadways of the Yukon Territory and Alaska.
It was a trip they won't soon forget, even without looking through the hundreds of pictures they took.
``There was just so much beautiful scenery and wildlife, it was unreal,'' recalled Sara Jacocks, 72.
``Usually when we travel, if a place is blah, I read. But I didn't read a thing on this trip because I was so busy looking.''
Her husband concurred.
``I expected it to be like it was . . . magnificent,'' said Alfred Jacocks, an 84-year-old retired executive with JCPenney.
The Jacocks have been consumed with camping their entire marriage, the second for each. They even spent their honeymoon - accompanied by Alfred's teen-age son - in a pop-up trailer in the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.
``I'd never been camping in my life,'' said Sara, a former data processor. ``It rained all that first night . . . and we got so wet. He asked me when we got back if I'd like to do more and I said, `I'm a little too old to start that primitive stuff.' ''
Not long afterward, Alfred purchased a used Shasta trailer.
``It didn't even have a bathroom in it,'' Sara recalled with a laugh.
But it was far better than the tent. During vacations and weekends, the couple began chalking up miles and crossing off states. Before long, they decided to upgrade to a larger, more deluxe trailer. Finally, in 1974, they bought their first Airstream.
``They're considered the Cadillac of trailers, and it was awful nice,'' Sara said. ``It was so easy to tow, too.''
They continued taking camping vacations to states they could reach within a few weeks, but it wasn't until both retired in the 1980s that they got serious about life on the road. They joined an Airstream club and began venturing to the far points of the country and into Canada.
``We can go anywhere we want to now because we're retired,'' Sara said. ``He just loves to travel and see what's going on in the world. I like to see his enjoyment. In an airplane, you cover the distance, but you don't really get to see that much. On the road, you see every-thing.''
So each summer for the past decade, the couple - Alfred at the wheel and Sara serving as co-pilot - have spent months on the road with other campers. The Jacocks regularly check in with their children and grandchildren during their jaunts but leave all other ties behind.
Because of their ages, the couple worried that each year's trip might be their last. Fortunately, any health problems they've had over the years have not interfered with camping.
``We didn't know if we'd be able to keep doing all that driving,'' Sara said. ``We are getting older.''
But they were able, and so were their vehicles. They've put 183,000 miles on their 12-year-old van, and the Airstream, their second, is more than 24 years old.
This summer, after months of preparation, the Jacocks took aim at the remaining places they wanted to explore.
In a trip reminiscent of the covered wagon trains, the traveling duo joined a caravan of 35 other Airstream motor homes and trailers to make the journey into Alaska and Canada, after having spent nine days at an Airstream rally in South Dakota. The group assembled in British Columbia, accompanied by five guides with Airstream.
Even though the couple had outfitted their rig with protective coverings, they never expected to take such a beating while traveling across the Alaska Highway, a World War II roadway that is being refurbished. The caravan rode through clouds of dust and muddy gravel, dodged flying rocks and stray bears and, at times, was forced to crawl along at speeds of only 30 mph.
Once they reached Alaska, however, the roads improved and the caravan toured a number of small villages, the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks, and several national park sites, including Mount McKinley. While in Fairbanks, the Jacocks took a side trip aboard a small airplane, following the path of the Alaskan oil pipeline into the Arctic Circle.
After several weeks of touring the state, the caravan headed back into Canada. The Jacocks left the others at Whitehorse, British Columbia and took a side trip into Saskatchewan to visit friends before heading home. They returned to their Camellia Shores home Sept. 3.
``It was nice to go away, but it was really nice to come home again,'' Sara said.
Now that they've checked off the final leg of their dream trip, the Jacocks are not sure where they're headed next. But as long as they're able, these two road warriors plan to keep hitting the highways each summer to find new sights to see.
``It's something we can do together,'' Sara said. ``I know this is what keeps him going. And, I admit, I enjoy it, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ALFRED AND SARA JACOCKS
This summer, Alfred and Sara Jacocks joined a caravan of Airstreams
to travel to Alaska and Canada. by CNB