Planning

Our favorite fulltime outdoor RV accessories

Apr 42016

RV-Accessories-fulltime-RV

About a month ago we shared a post about our favorite RV appliances and gadgets that we use inside the trailer. We thought it’s about time we share some of our favorite RV accessories that we use outside when we set up camp!

Surge-Guard-RV-airstream

TRC 34750-001-LCD 50 Amp Surge Guard – The TRC 34750-001-LCD 50 Amp Surge Guard automatically shuts off power to your trailer if there is a sudden change in voltage (like a power surge or low voltage that could potentially damage your trailer). Electrical connections in RV parks aren’t always the most stable and this is a line of defense between the electrical connection and your trailer’s electrical system. We know people who have surge guards and people who don’t – depending on who you talk to you’ll likely get different recommendations about whether this is truly a necessity. We were on the fence and asked our local Airstream repair shop (Seattle, who we love) if they thought we needed one and they said they’d suggest it based on damage they’ve seen to trailers without surge protectors. In the end we decided that $400 was worth it – especially if it saves our trailer from a major electrical failure. Seems like a minor investment for trailers that can costs thousands. We found the best price was on Amazon. We use this EVERY TIME we plug in to shorepower and we’ve had it trip only a couple times and overall we’re glad we have it. If you have a 30-amp trailer the 30-amp surge guard is less expensive.

X-Chock-RV-Airstream

X-Chock Wheel Stabilizer – We recently got a two pack of the X-Chock Wheel Stabilizers and we’ve been really pleased with them. They provide trailer stabilization by providing opposing forces against the wheels. It also has the ability to have a padlock installed that helps with theft prevention. This seems to provide more stability than the wheel chocks alone.

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Help us plan our spring and summer travels :: Southwest, Northwest, California

Mar 82016

Southwest-Northwest-Travels

Will you help us plan our spring and summer plans? We are trying to pencil out our plans for the rest of the year. There are SO MANY places, we can’t possibly hit them all. We have tentatively picked this route for our travels based on family and friends we have living in the area and places we want to personally see.

Here is what we have so far . . .

MARCH 23 – APRIL 11 – Mesa, Arizona
Visiting Heather’s Grandma and extended family in the Phoenix area

APRIL 11 – JUNE 15 – Arizona, Utah, Southern Idaho
Sedona, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake City, Idaho Falls, Yellowstone

JUNE 15 – JULY 15 – Western Montana, Northern Idaho
Bozeman, Missoula, Wallace, Post Falls, Priest Lake

JULY 15 – AUGUST 5 – Western Washington
Spending time near family, friends in Seattle/Tacoma area.

AUGUST 5 – SEPTEMBER 15 – Oregon
Portland, beaches, Cottage Grove, Crater Lake

SEPTEMBER 15 – OCTOBER – Northern California
Would love to spend as much time near the coast as possible.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER – Southern California
Would love to spend as much time near the coast as possible.

This is a HUGE area to cover in one post, but we’d love to know which places you recommend along this basic route that we should make a point to see. National Parks, historical sites, state parks, boondocking spots, favorite campgrounds. . . . we’d love your ideas and we can fill in our map and refine our timing based on your suggestions.

Leave a comment here and let us know what we shouldn’t miss. . .

We updated our travel map. . .and thoughts on where we are headed

Mar 32016

We updated our travel map with all the places we have stopped so far – including all the amazing places we visited in the East Coast that we haven’t gotten around to blogging about yet (hopefully I’ll have time to do this in the next couple months).

You can see the places we stopped and a short description of that location by heading over to the map page clicking on a red marker. If there is a corresponding blog post there will be a hyperlink to take you right to the post. If you’re looking at the list, the places with photos generally are the ones with corresponding blog posts.

It’s amazing to look back and see how much ground we have covered and to really sit and think about all the experiences we’ve had. From watching a Boston Red Sox game in Fenway park to swimming with dolphins in Florida – we have had such a wonderful time on the road.

Pulling out of our driveway, day one of our adventure

Looking ahead

Our initial plans were to only travel for about a year. When we left last summer (June 16, 2015) a full year seemed like a LONG time and honestly we weren’t even sure we’d last that long. We originally planned to pull into the Portland, Oregon area in late April/early May 2016 and have Jeremy start looking for a teaching job for the upcoming fall. We planned to enroll the kids back in school and get back to “regular” life.

That was our initial plan. But after being on the road 8.5 months, we are all so happy we can’t imagine stopping in just a couple months. What once seemed scary and daunting (traveling full time and towing our home) has become second-nature. We have discussed it a lot as a family and have collectively decided we want to keep traveling. . .

Hadley looking for as far as she can see, Tower of the Americas, San Antonio, Texas

Currently we don’t have an end date in mind. We’ve discussed it a little bit – possibly 6 additional months, maybe a year? We don’t want to put a date on it just yet. As long as we are happy and having fun, can still afford to travel without pulling from our nest egg/emergency fund/house fund, and we believe the kids are benefiting from the experience . .. then we’ll continue to travel.

Camping at a winery/farm in Pennsylvania

Where will we end up? We don’t know the answer to this either. Some of our favorite people (friends from college) are in the Portland, Oregon area and we have always loved the Pacific Northwest. But after traveling the country our eyes are open to many other possibilities. We love the sun and would love to settle somewhere warmer without the continuous gray skies.

Taking a ferry into New Orleans

Only time will tell how long we travel and where we will settle back down into suburbia. We are fairly certain that we don’t want to do this forever. Although we see great benefit to full-time travel we also see great benefit in our kids playing sports, doing gymnastics, going to summer camps and making long lasting friends at “regular” school. We still have a LOT of time for this to happen before they get to junior, middle and high school – which is when we personally think these things are most important.

The beauty of all of this is – we can choose and we can change our minds. And if we change our minds tomorrow we hitch up the Airstream and head to the place we want to put down roots. And we do.

Until then adventure awaits. . .

Make sure and follow us so that you don’t miss our adventures! The best ways to keep in touch are:

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Help us plan! Heading west from Florida to Phoenix {February to April}

Jan 112016

Florida_to_Phoenix-planning

We are currently tucked in near Tampa, Florida. Although we don’t have reservations past this Friday, we will are tentatively planning to spend the rest of January in Florida. . . we are enjoying the weather and the beaches so much more than I thought we would. We need to head back to Fort Myers next week to get our water pump replaced (it’s been ordered from Airstream) and after that we are free to move around the country. 🙂

Part of me wants to head back to the Eastern coast of Florida for some possible rocket launches in early February out of Cape Canaveral but then I’m anxious to get to the Emerald Coast and explore the panhandle, too. Choices, choices – what should we do? Maybe we’ll do both.

We have no time restrictions or dates – except I want to get to Phoenix by around March 20. My mom and dad are possibly flying in from Alaska to Phoenix to see us (and my grandma who lives in Mesa) and I really love Phoenix weather in late March and early April. We plan to spend around a month in the Phoenix area so I can spend some quality time with my grandma (and aunt/uncle/cousins).

And on the way to Phoenix we tentatively want to visit ::

Florida panhandle
Montgomery, Alabama – Jeremy’s brother and sister-in-law live here and we hope to spend 1-2 weeks in the area so the cousins can play together.
Austin and San Antonio, Texas – We have always wanted to visit this area
Socorro, New Mexico – Visit college roommate and her family

HELP US PLAN . . what cities, state parks, national parks, historical landmarks, campgrounds, attractions, restaurants along our basic route do you recommend! We aren’t set on this route . . . so we want your suggestions! We’ll drop pins on all the recommendations and we’ll calculate our routes trying to make the most of your recommendations. We have about 8 weeks to cover about 2,800 to 3,000 miles, depending on detours. . .

Please help us plan! Places to go and things to see in New England and the East Coast?

Aug 232015

East-Coast-Planning-Take-That-Exit

We are tentatively planning our travels in New England and the East Coast. We are very excited – as we’ve never visited this area and we can’t wait to soak it all in. I won a Willy Wonka sweepstakes a few years ago and the grand prize was a trip to New York City – it was amazing and our only time on the east coast . . .

We think we’ll be in western Pennsylvania by the first part of September and then up to Rochester, New York to visit my cousin (maybe see Niagara Falls) and then head to the East coast by mid-September. From there we want to take our sweet time heading south through New York, Philadelphia, Maryland, DC and Virginia. . . .ultimately ending up near Florida in December!

We like to plan by asking for suggestions and then we add those recommendations to a personalized Google map. We then try to make route decisions based on what we want to see and do. Jeremy has a history degree and is a social studies teacher when he’s teaching full-time – so we’re VERY interested in the extensive history and hope to focus a lot on this.

Will you help us? We are looking for:

State parks or campgrounds (or RV parks)
Museums or historical landmarks
Restaurants or regional treats
Family-friendly attractions or entertainment
Festivals and special events (September – October)

Also we’re wondering what the weather will be like? When do you typically get snow? We want to stick around for the fall colors but don’t want to deal with a lot of storms and especially NOT snow. . .

Please leave comments on this post and help us decide where we should go? Thank you!

Our favorite fulltime outdoor RV accessories

Help us plan our spring and summer travels :: Southwest, Northwest, California

We updated our travel map. . .and thoughts on where we are headed

Looking ahead

Help us plan! Heading west from Florida to Phoenix {February to April}

Please help us plan! Places to go and things to see in New England and the East Coast?

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