Too Much Tent, Not Enough Stove

In our reflections of the past ten days or so on the road, Richard and I have come up with a few observations that will help direct us on our next trip.
Too Much Tent... Our 'Taj Mahal' two room tent is great for long term car camping ventures. It was great for the Patriot's Day Acadia Event, and for our Falcon Ridge/ Ashokan summer vacation. Not so great for on-the-road overnight tenting. Even though it doesn't really take too long to set up, it has a few disadvantages... a) cumbersome and requires quite a bit of space in the trunk , b) leads to bringing too much stuff since 'we've got the big tent' and c) not so easy to set up after dark...
Not Enough Stove... We brought the little single burner back packing stove thinking it would save us a little bit of space rather than bring the two burner Coleman. What we found is that it's hard to fix a decent breakfast on one burner AND keep it all hot at the same time. Have to almost eat in stages... that's AFTER you've fixed the coffee of course, which you can't make more of once you're engaged in breakfast preparations...
More Through Driving... We spent a lot of money, and time, staying in hotels because it was too late to stop and set up the tent. Not that a hotel now and then isn't a fun treat, but because we did it so often it didn't really seem as special, to me at least. With two drivers, I think it's better to choose your destination and just DRIVE. That gives more time for...
More Days in One Place... The only time we had any TIME to relax was when we stayed two nights at Fiesta Key. This was the one day we had to hang out without breaking camp or setting up again somewhere else. We did take a little drive (5 minutes) but otherwise had the day to ourselves to read, blog, converse etc... More of this would be nice :)
Perfect Road Companion... This is a must. Lucky for me I have a wonderful husband to share my love of traveling. Our vision is to get ourselves situated in a living situation that could be supported on part-time or contractual/ seasonal employment and being able to be on the road for a few months at a time. We're still working out our plan and considering whether we might want a motor home, van, tent, or other set up. These 'short' road trips are just practice runs for what we KNOW we want to be doing in the future which is seeing the country, playing music, going to dances and musical events across the country, and sharing it all with each other and those whom we encounter along the way.
I'm sure there will be more conversation in the next few days. We'll be reminiscing on the good and the bad, what worked well and what needed more work. But I'm happy that after a good rest this afternoon we are laughing, talking, loving, and planning for the next big adventure.