June 27th, 2011
Travel is as personal as how you decorate your home, what you like to eat for breakfast or how you raise your kiddos. Travel with more than yourself and you’ve got compromise in your future. The hubby and I think alike on a lot of travel related/itinerary decisions.. we both seem to want to stay or move along at a similar pace, whether or not to spend the $20 to go to the top of a tower or to be more thrifty, to name a couple. But just as we have similarities, as with any couple we compromise. Anyone who travels, even if it’s vacation not RV travel deals with this.. I might want to stay somewhere longer and “dig in” deeper but he’s ready to go and unless I feel 100% I cannot go on without doing it, we’ll move along. Just as he will indulge thrifting more often than he would choose or whatever I have in my head at the time…where if given full reign he might choose a big no thank you to.
You might think travel isn’t travel if you don’t go hiking at every location you visit, or tour a museum in each big city or see what everyone else thinks you should see in each place. If you don’t like to hike and the thing a town is most known for is the trail system, don’t worry about it. Do your own thing, see what interests you and move along. Just like you might eat Count Chocula every morning for breakfast and wouldn’t dream of skipping it.. that might be the worst thing ever to the same people who think missing the great hike would be tragic. It’s personal. It’s great to try new things and if something offers even a glimmer of interest or fascination to you then jump in, you never know what will be the next great thing…but if there is zero desire, move along little doggy. If you despise cooking (for ex), you wouldn’t go on a vacation that was designed all for the wanna be chef, just as you wouldn’t do things on your travels that light no fire under you whatsoever.
Full or part time travel is full of decisions, where to go, how to go, how long to stay, what to see, do and experience. You must decide whether to plan it all, fly by the seat of your pants or a little of both. Do you want to see tons of roadside attractions and plot your drive around them , see cities you’ve always heard of, only take the backroads, or just take what comes. We do a fair amount of both. We’ve traveled a lot of our past 6 months with no set destination for the day and we’ve specifically planned stops as well. We’ve sought out certain attractions and stumbled on 90% of what we’ve seen. We’ve stayed longer in places that we loved and shorter in places we thought would be longer. Your best friend might love somewhere and you arrive and it just doesn’t rock your world. It’s ok, travel is an adventure and just like which side you part your hair on, you’re going to be as individual in how you go & see as you are with the hairbrush. Happy travels!
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: full time travel, travel tips
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June 17th, 2011
I recently heard the phrase.. “there are a lot of ways to blaze a trail, adventure comes in all shapes and sizes.” Traveling the U.S. and leaving brick & mortar life behind for a stint is an adventure for sure, and for us it is one that we planned and dreamed of for awhile before launching this year. I know lots of you out there dream of doing the exact same thing. It has taught us more in the past 6 months than we would have learned in years. We’ve learned more about what we like and don’t like, what thrills us in a new place and what makes us want to keep on moving. We’ve learned so much about the United States that we never, ever imagined. Much of what we have found has been disappointing and sad, like the loss of middle America, and some of what we have found has been amazing. With this blog we are sharing, in as unbiased a way as possible, what we’ve learned in hopes that those of you planning your own dream getaway will be saved some unnecessary routes and at the same time be pointed directly to what will give you the most satisfaction.
What I know for sure it that as the phrase says..adventure comes in all shapes & sizes..is absolutely true. You can have huge adventure without ever leaving where you are right now. You can kick the bad boyfriend to the curb and demand better, you can start your own etsy shop, cut your hair short that you’ve worn long your whole life (big! adventure) try spicy thai food when you’re normally a spaghetti-only person. Little adventures are what really make up life. Yes, the big things make for big outcomes, but big things (like trips across the U.S.) are only for X amount of time and it’s all concentrated, whereas little things all the time make up a full life. Sometimes big changes are both fun and necessary but too often we discount what the little things will do for us in the long haul. Treat yourself to a cafe au lait in the morning, take the time to make it and enjoy it instead of whatever is fastest and easiest, cultivate new friends, go to the free day at the museum, devote more time to your hobbies, get a dog or a cat, take walks in the evening. All of these “little” things are what make day-to-day life go round and round, remind yourself that anything out of your norm is an adventure. Try doing the things that in the moment you brush off for another day. Have little adventures, eat lunch outside, have breakfast for dinner, all while you plot & plan for the big adventures. But today and each day foreward.. enjoy the things that in the end make life that much sweeter… all from where you are right now.
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: adventure, airstream, full time rv'ing, full time travel, travel, travel shoptalk
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May 18th, 2011
If you’re thinking of traveling full-time or even part time, do you know what you’re looking for? Are you going back to places you’ve already been and loved? Only interested in seeing new places? Flying by the seat of your pants and whatever comes your way? Are you going to places that are super well known and you know will be right up your alley like San Francisco or Yellowstone? Or are you interested in seeing the less beaten path in hopes it will offer something unique?
It’s an important question to ask yourself. Otherwise you get to where you’re going and you might have set yourself up for a fall. I went into our travels with an excitement to see pretty much everything and Sean felt basically the same way. We definitely wanted to see the tried & true such as Sequoia National Park, Moab, Yellowstone, and too many others to list individually. More than that I had a keen interest in seeing the roads less taken, the small towns, rural America. Less interstate, more local.
Even with limited expectations and an eagerness to see “it all” I have found things to be much different than my minimally formed ideas had allowed for. In no way, shape, or form did I expect to see almost no middle class America. What I had in mind of small working towns, towns not glitzy or glamorous but thriving in their own small way, making lives work day in and day out.. isn’t out there. Not the way I thought, Sean thought, and I feel many people besides us assume is “out there.”
We’ve found vast poverty in every state we’ve visited. Some states this encompasses almost all of what we’ve found. The small, working towns that I thought we would drive through and make you want to chuck it all and go small town, know everyone and everyone know you, wow.. they are almost non-existent. We found instead towns all dried up, or towns that leave you in awe that anyone is making a living and the how is undetermined. The state of the houses, yards, everything to be trashy, neglected, and given up on. Or there is no individual business at all, instead the only commerce is fast food, truck stops, gas stations and not much else.
To the other extreme you have towns that are quaint “ish” on the surface, but once you peel back a layer we’ve found the town to be 100% commercialized and no local substance to speak of. Or the town is fabulous and bustling because it has a lot to offer therefor everyone is there. If a lot of people are all gathered in one place, we’ve found there is good reason this is so. Austin, Portland, San Diego, New York, Seattle, all are bursting at the seams because of what is offered. If you think, no way, city life isn’t for me, I totally understand. It’s finding the town that will sustain you and you it that is hard. We would not have thought this but we’ve seen it first hand.
All communities, towns & states, have good, hard-working, amazing people with amazing stories. A place considered less desirable does not indicate no worth in it’s citizens. I know that every place is an opportunity to meet great individuals. But a hard scrabble life is what many are living and without a formed community, a community bonded and working together…it’s the picture of a hard life, and an isolated life.
We both thought we would end up with lists of the neatest little towns that we had never heard of but felt so enriched to have traveled through. It is sadly not what we have found. This is not meant to be a discouragement. It is what it is. It shouldn’t dictate if and where you travel, instead it is just our observations, our discoveries within our travels. I do not under any circumstance think we are alone in these observations. Anyone who has traveled extensively will have witnessed this first hand. Just because a name of a city is very familiar, does not mean it will be lively, prosperous or anything more than McDonalds and a gas and go. Cities I had heard of for years, we arrived and found them poor, dirty and basically drive-thru towns.
If you know ahead of time what you’re looking for, what you find will be that much sweeter. National and state parks are beautiful and could keep you traveling with no other stops for years. They are vast and plentiful and awe-inspiring. If you are down with nature and that’s your thing and that’s what you’re going for, you won’t be disappointed. If you want to go to major cities and see all you’ve seen in movies, I think you too will be satisfied and happy. There is room for all kinds of travelers.
We also expected to meet lots of people in every campground we stayed at, this hasn’t even come close to happening. We love to be outside. We sit outside every single day the weather is at least half way permitting. We never see anyone. Everyone stays in their RV. No walking around the park, no sitting outside their rig, not even doors open on their RV.. most times. It has astounded us. Now we haven’t been in state/national parks as much due to lack of gray tank, etc. (which we are still working fervently on!) and we assume people in these parks might be more friendly and more out and about, not locked up tight in the trailer, but assumptions are just that and who knows.. we’ll let you know when we get there.
The middle class is gone. Or barely surviving and this is making a huge impact on the landscape and people of America. What you find on your travels might not be what you expect. Think about why you want to travel and what you’d like to see and find on said travels so that you can go out and have it really be the dream you have dreamed. Our travels have been invaluable in a million ways. What we have found and seen will affect us forever. It will make the future better, more settled and more focused. Nothing you find is ever for naught. If we can help you, those of you waiting to go, or wishing it were you, maybe this will help you form your dream with a little more focus, a focus that makes breaking the penny bank to set sail all the more worthwhile.
May 10th, 2011
We didn’t think a ton about the weather prior to our big adventure, just that we wanted to stay as warm as possible. While that has been a challenge, nothing comes close to dealing with the wind. We have faced more wind from the moment we set out than I think either of us have experienced in our lives combined. The wind was so strong on this day (while visiting the Petrified Forest) that I had to sit down for the photo because Sean thought I was going to get blown off the rock into the valley below. I couldn’t have pulled my hair back for a second it was so strong.
It’s one more way things aren’t always as you plan or hope for them to be. 90% of our days thus far have been a minimum of 15 mile an hour winds, with many days at 25 and more than we care for at 30-50 mph gusts all day. This was one of those days. It’s another way flexibility will come in handy, and tolerance and patience. And then you do like we do (or try to do) and suck it up, grin & bear it, see the sights,and in this case, try not to get blown away. (while typing this we are again in 30 mph gusts.. at least)
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: airstream, airstream blog, full time rv'ing, full time travel, rv blog, travel blog, weather, windy
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May 4th, 2011
One of the most common thoughts about us (or anyone traveling full-time) is that it’s just one big long vacation. This is absolutely not true, for us. If you are independently wealthy and traveling with nary a care in the world or retired and well-set for the rest of your life, then for the most part it probably feels a lot like vacation, otherwise…full-time travel is not a full time vacation. Either you are working on the road and thereby are traveling and living a mobile life but one with work in tow or you are like us, living and doing and seeing and spending your savings to do so. On a vacation you go and see and do and spend your savings….for a week, two at most. Then you go home and go back to work and fill the penny jar back up.
Oh, and when you go for that week or two (unless you’re a total work-goes-with-me-everywhere type) you’re carefree. You don’t take the bills with you, you don’t do laundry, go to the grocery store, pay bills, take out the garbage, clean daily, wash your car, wash your “house”, do home maintenance and all the other things that makes the life wheel go round and round. Full time travel requires all of this and then some.
People say oh, you’re so lucky, you just travel and can do anything and have not a care in the world. We wish. Yes, we are traveling and doing what a lot of people dream about. Yes, we are not working at a 9-5 job. Yes, we have flexibility in our schedule. Yes, yes, yes. We also do all of the above listed chores and constantly have errands (just like the rest of the world), we aren’t working full-time (although the blogs substitute for mine and are time consuming just like a job..thank goodness I love it!), but not working full-time means full-time spending so that is nothing like a vacation mentality.. we have to think of our money and budget constantly. We have more home and car repairs than average because the wear and tear is faster from being constantly on the move.
The bottom line is, it isn’t a vacation. We are sharing this because if you’re thinking of getting “out there” these are major things to think about. Every situation is different. If you’re young and wanting to do this you will have many similar experiences, mainly because, chances are you aren’t doing this forever. You will have to stop and settle and work, etc..(unless you are working on the road which we have already stated is completely different…although the vacation vs. full-time living still applies) If you are going to travel “full-time” but have a home base, this makes things somewhat easier in that you have a place to bounce back to and possibly stop for more pennies in the bank, but if you are uprooting completely like we did, you will have to have the consideration of where will you stop when you need to, even if for only a few months. This can be much harder than it sounds depending on your criteria or super easy if you have simple needs and expectations.
This if the experience of a lifetime and we are very lucky. Our planning, saving and scheming is allowing us to do something few go out and do. We get to see lots of things and some of them are amazing and lots I now know I could have skipped forever without missing a beat. We have so many fun days and moments but days that feel just like we’re on vacay…. not so many. It’s reality of life on the road. Not the princess version. So before you say to someone, what do you have to worry about or you’re life is so easy, remember life on the road is still life, with all the ups & downs. Real expectations will make your travels a thousand times more rewarding.
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: airstream, airstream blog, full time rv'ing, full time travel, rv blog, travel, travel blog, travel shoptalk
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April 4th, 2011
Do you read our blogs and wish it were you… traveling, seeing new things? But instead you’re firmly grounded at home, with careers, family, trying to get out of debt, going to school..or a million other things.
I have had some form of wanderlust for as long as I can remember. I have never felt firmly grounded or attached to one place. This journey is showing me what other towns, cities, and states are made of. Things I wondered about, dreamed of, I am now seeing first hand. I have learned so much so fast, and am finding much of my wanderlust to be settling.
I am in no way anywhere near not wanting to travel (don’t think that will ever be the case) and am supremely excited about all that we still have not seen, which is much and varied. However, some of that not knowing is settling down, allowing a peace that I think will lead to being able to settle (part-time) and be firmly, wonderfully, at home. A settled that I have not previously felt as I had such strong wanderlust and wondering.
This post is two-fold.
I hope to take what I am learning and maybe in some small way help those of you looking out the window and dreaming…be happier and more content right where you are, until your time to travel comes to fruition. If you can’t get out on the road full or even part time, pick your very top places that you feel you are missing out on and if at all possible go and visit. This will satisfy you much more than you think, even if it’s just a long weekend visit. It will show you if it’s just what you thought it would be, and at the same time, it just might show you that yes, it’s beautiful and wonderful, but…it’s too cold, or too hot or too brown or too small or too big or ??? and then bam! just where you are is that much better. All from just one visit, one vacation.
How many times have you went somewhere with big ideas in your head, and then you go and realize that it wasn’t what you thought it would be. It happens all the time! We’ve been places (during & prior to this journey) and although we have a good time everywhere we go, we’ve come home and thought, boy it was really dirty there or crowded or windy, etc etc.. And that left us with the knowledge that we were better having seen it, but most importantly… we aren’t/weren’t missing anything!
If you can’t go on a trip or vacation to the places you dream of, if you’re 100% grounded where you are, embrace that. But, at the same time, look up information on your dream spots. What’s the weather like there…year round (very important!), does it rain all the time, is winter 9 months a year, are the summers 130 degrees? These things matter. Even if you aren’t getting to go, you can create a real image of the place you dream of, not just an imaginary perfect place. Maybe once you realize it isn’t a perfect haven, it won’t seem so bad that you aren’t there.
I always knew that I needed a warm place to live, but in my mind I dream of places like Wyoming. While I (still) can’t wait to visit, I had also never looked into what it’s really like there. Yes it’s colder and they get snow… but now after meeting & talking to people from there, guess what? It can and often does snow all the way till June and they have horrible ice storms all winter. The high in the summer is around 70 and that’s only for a month or two. Whew. Never, ever, could we do that. I now feel more settled knowing the real Wyoming… versus the oh, it snows, and they have cold winters, but….version. Will I visit many, many times… yes! But, I won’t be living “here” wishing I was there.
Lastly, no matter where I have called home, I always live where I live. What I mean is, I took advantage of what was in town. I drove the surrounding areas, I visited different neighborhoods, walked downtown, visited various parks. I learned and explored and lived in the town.
So many places we go, we meet a local, ask them about this or that, and even if they’ve lived there for years and years, they won’t know. They will have never been, visited, etc. and I never understand this. You might live in a much more wonderful place than you think, but you haven’t went out and explored it.
Not to say (after all of this chatter) there isn’t a better place for you to live and be, but while you are grounded wherever you are for whatever reasons…there are things you can do to make your current home a dream of it’s own. I did this in Charlotte, I embraced all that I loved about the city, all the while making choices and plans for the future, and now am learning day by day and doing the same for the next few chapters.
If your dream is to be on the road like we are, I don’t hesitate to say it is fabulous. This country has so much to offer and explore and the lifestyle is wonderful. But, it is not a fantasy, it is real life, with real life issues, all compacted. The nitty-gritty of this lifestyle might make you happy to be home instead, or it might make you even more ready to make it your next big plan that you work towards. The reality of this life, versus the dream of this life, is no different than living in one town, wishing you were in another that seems so much better.
Happiness, or contentment (or both) is available to us no matter where we are. It’s a mind set.
Don’t let being in one place be the thing that keeps you from loving your life.
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: airstream, full time travel, travel, travel shoptalk, wanderlust
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March 31st, 2011
We get the most questions about money. Go here and here to read our previous $$$ posts.
Today we’re talking about what lots of you wonder…real time cost on the road. For starters we’re chatting about unexpected costs. Everyone has them, it’s just how many and how much do they add up to?
A time line of our unexpected costs goes like this:
We left Charlotte, with our first stop being Alabama.
Alabama:
1. Our brakes weren’t operating correctly, turns out they were wired backwards and were not connected from the Airstream to the Suburban, or to the battery for the pull-away brake.
Cost $600
2. The black tank valve, a Thetford valve (good product line, but hard to find parts for) was leaking. New rubber seals and new closing latch..
Cost $50
**we’re adding in a few more states to this second repair…Alabama was just the beginning of this story**
Las Cruces, NM:
Black tank valve is still leaking, completely replace Thetford valve with a more universal system.
Cost $100
Las Vegas, NV:
Still leaking…While doing another project, the entire underside back end was uncovered, finally revealing the root problem. Our black tank had a stress fracture. Removed, had the stress fracture ground out to remove bacteria then spot welded, including a new drain connection.
Cost $350
3 states and $500 later, the leak is fixed!
Back to Alabama…
3. While working on (above listed) plumbing, the utility box that is affixed to the back bumper of the Airstream was removed, revealing a decayed frame which was creating leaks. New aluminum frame, Bondo and caulked.
Cost $150
4. Flat tire. Patch job and mount spare.
Cost $30
5. Door lock broke.
Cost $25
6. We had the Airstream professionally painted before leaving Charlotte. Right after getting on the road, the metal trim that circles the middle of the Airstream started flaking off. Stripped down and found moisture behind the trim was the culprit, (the new paint having sealed it and ultimately pushed it out) Refilled trim with short hair bondo, sand and smooth, re-paint.
Cost $100
San Diego, CA:
1. Both ceiling light fixtures (vintage originals) burn out.
Cost $110
Mesa, AZ:
1. Routine transmission flush for the Suburban turns into 4 hidden leaks and a bad pin.
Cost $2150.00
Lake Havasu, AZ:
1. Tire blow out. New tire.
Cost $160
**brakes on the blink, to be continued in Vegas**
Las Vegas, NV:
1. Brakes on right side of Airstream (2 of 4) 1 is completely burnt out, 1 is disconnected.
Cost $300
2. Decided to install gray tank for more flexibility in camping (see this post), We priced an estimated cost of $300 for materials with Sean installing and decided it was well worth it… after a day and a half of removing metal and insulation in preparation, we find major frame damage and decay hidden underneath everything.
Cost $400 (and no gray tank..still)
Total Cost: $4725.00
So there you have it.
$5000 bones later, which for us, averages out to 3 months on the road, so it’s a pretty big hit. You expect the unexpected when you live on the road full-time. Unfortunately this means you don’t know what will happen or when. We certainly did not anticipate almost $5000 worth in less than 3 months and we still need/want to install a gray tank and complete this with a 2000watt generator. Oye.
A BIG factor in all of these costs is that they are much, much lower because Sean did 75% of the labor. It would have been a good deal less expensive if he could have done all of it. However you can’t take everything with you, including tools, etc. and then a huge factor is having the space to do the actual work. Almost all campgrounds do now allow repair work. This is very limiting and sometimes, as we had to do, you must go with a local shop. The hourly on most shops run anywhere from $90 – $150+ so it adds up quick.
We know the reality of what costs what on the road is everyone’s biggest question, and hopefully this helps give a better picture of what life on the road can entail. Your unexpected costs may be entirely different, we’re sure they will be, but it’s more the what and when than will? The will is pretty much a guarantee. If you have no wiggle room in your bank account, wait till you do. Even though we have wiggle room, it definitely requires sacrifices & adjustments.
Bottom line. Be prepared for ???.
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: airstream, full time airstream, full time travel, unexpected costs in rvs
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I talked about home base in an earlier post.. go here if you missed it. For those thinking of traveling full-time here’s what home base might mean for you. Very few people travel constantly the entire year. More often, they are stationary in the winter and traveling in the spring, summer, fall. Or you might be more of a snowbird and travel to somewhere warm in the winter and are stationary in the summer. This is especially true of Canadian or Montana, Wyoming and North & South Dakota residents.
As mentioned in the earlier post, it is very doable to have your RV be your residence in both or many people we have met have a home in one location and the RV is their winter/summer home. With the RV you have the flexibility to buy land and have hook-ups and come and go with very low cost or even stay at campgrounds and have no land ownership at all.
Any and all of the above are viable and is a life being lived by thousands. In Las Vegas one of our neighbors was from the UK and she lives in the U.S. from early fall to early spring, puts her RV in storage, flies home and enjoys late spring & summer. We, at one point, had a camper from Hawaii on one side and Alaska on the other.
If you live somewhere with a relatively mild climate you might consider keeping that as your fall & winter home and leaving summers open for travel, as this allows you to go anywhere with good traveling weather. If traveling is a dream of yours consider these scenarios. It will give you longevity on the road, will allow you to save money in your “off-season” and will give you constant travel time to look forward to, basically allowing travel to not be limited to a one year (give or take) venture. If you are retired and work is not an issue this might not be a contingency but it still helps to have a spot, whether you own it or not, to stop, let extreme weather (hot or cold) pass on by and enjoy travel time even more. Happy Trails.
Filed Under: travel shoptalk
Tagged: airstream, airstream blog, full time travel, rv blog, shop talk, travel blog
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