Occupation: Emily does the blogging and social media stuff; Tim is a retired naval officer
Photo taken at Heartland HQ in Elkhart, Indiana, June 2016.
When was the RV Lifestyle first introduced to you?
About 5 years ago, we rented an RV for a family vacation with our sons, who were then still in high school. After many tent camping adventures, we realized it’s a great alternative! But we still keep all the tent camping stuff in our RV “basement.” We like having options.
Do you RV as a hobby or Full-Time?
If Full-Time, how did you know it was time to “full time it?”
We started full-timing a little over a year ago, after about a year of downsizing and preparation. Our baby flew the nest, and we knew we didn’t want to stay in our big, empty-feeling suburban house. We also knew we had no clue where we wanted to live next (turns out it’s a really difficult decision when the military no longer makes it for you), so we are traveling around the country, trying to find home.
At 47 and 50, we are older than some full-timers, especially those who are still working paying jobs from their RVs, but we are quite a bit younger than your typical retirees. So…
We looked at our finances, and agreed that we could live solely on my husband’s military pension.
We looked at our sons and knew that they were independent enough to handle not having a bricks & sticks house to return to.
We looked at our parents and saw two healthy and vital couples who not only don’t need assistance, but who continue to inspire us with their own travel adventures.
We looked at our own health, and decided that returning to our home base of San Antonio every 6 months for Emily’s breast cancer follow-up exams would not be a problem (I’m doing really well, and halfway to that magical 5 years cancer-free pronouncement!).
And finally, we looked at a map of the United States and said, “We’d better get going. That’s a lot of ground to cover, and the time is now.”
_______________________________________________________________
One of our favorite and most unique adventures was during an RV visit
to Washington State over Christmas 2015.
We hiked out to Cape Flattery, the northwestern point of the contiguous US.
We are standing on the top left corner of our country! Tatoosh Island is behind us, just off the coast.
_______________________________________________________________
What state or RV park is your favorite place to visit?
We love state parks, in whatever state we happen to be in, and we choose them over private RV parks as often as possible.
Our second choice is usually a military base RV park. They don’t tend to be all that scenic, but because of my husband’s service, we have the option, and the price is right! We use the web site militarycampgrounds.us to help us find them, and we encourage other active duty and retired families to take advantage of this unique benefit!
Where is one place you are wanting to RV to?
Alaska. Hoping to make that a Summer 2017 destination.
What is one tip for anyone RVing, whether it is a weekend getaway or for the Full-Timers?
Check your lug nuts before you roll — every time. (See question 10)
Describe the RV Lifestyle in 3 words or phrases: Travel, opportunity, freedom
What is your favorite thing to cook over the fire or in the RV kitchen?
Wow. I’m not sure I have a favorite, but I use our bread machine and slow cooker several times a week, so to us, they are appliances worth the weight and space they take up. While writing this, I’ve got buffalo chicken in the slow cooker, to be be shredded and rolled up in lettuce wraps for a healthy dinner later.
What is your most memorable RV experience?
In January of 2016, we were heading south on I-5 in Oregon when one of our RV tires fell off!
Here’s the thing: when you’re driving a truck and 5th wheel that together are 60 feet long, weigh about 12 tons, and have ten tires, you don’t feel it when a tire falls off.
Luckily my husband, who was driving at the time, noticed it in the side mirror, and had the following two thoughts: 1. Hey, there’s a tire rolling down the median behind us, and 2. Ohmygod that’s our tire!
We then spent seven hours on the shoulder, waiting for roadside assistance to show up and get the job done (it took more than one trip, and a lot of work).
I wrote about this misadventure on our blog: adventure, but uh, there’s a lot of swearing involved. Sorry. It was kind of a stressful day.
_______________________________________________________________
This photo says a lot about the full-time RV lifestyle: there are always repair work and maintenance issues to address. I’m lucky to have a handy husband, who, as you can see is not afraid to tackle these jobs himself (with occasional less-than-enthusiastic help from me).
_______________________________________________________________
What makes the RV Lifestyle special and a different way to travel?
For us, because we’ve chosen to make our RV our one and only home, it means being able to streamline our lives and carry around only what we need in order to be comfortable. We have fewer material possessions to take care of, which means we have time to do more things. Own less; do more. See what I did there?
Connect with Emily & Tim on Social Media:
FOLLOW US ON INSTA
Thank you Emily for sharing on how you personalize the RV Lifestyle!
Stay tuned for our next RV Lifestyler. If you want to be featured, please visit
"Want to be an RV Lifestyler?," where it will provide more information!
