One Year RV-versary!

 Today marks one year since we moved into our motorhome and hit the road! This was the first time we were all hooked up and ready to roll out! We had just finished up most of our renovations...and were ready to head south.  We left on a Sunday and made it to our first scheduled stop outside Augusta, Georgia by Wednesday.  

Nothing like 1,300 miles traveled in 4 days to start our adventure!

Where Have We Been?

​Over the past year we have logged a total of about 15,000 miles on our motorhome alone. We've visited 33 states!!!  Everything from Bar Harbor, Maine to Austin, TX and Minneapolis, MN to Orlando, FL and a lot of stuff in between.  We've also hit up a lot of touristy spots like Niagara Falls, Washington DC, Brooklyn Bridge and NYC, Boston's Freedom Trail and Acadia National Park.

We've spent a fair amount of time at beaches...Laura really likes the beach.

Ok fine... we all really like the beach!  

​A few of our favorites have been Gulf Shores, Siesta Key, Kiawah, Sullivan's Island, Cape Cod and Ogunquit!  A few duds were Atlantic City and Galveston! ​

We've hit up a lot of Thai restaurants and coffee shops.  Laura has had her fair share of almond milk lattes.  So far the winner is Bluestone Lane's in NYC!!!  Oh and get the avocado toast there too!

We've mainly stayed in a lot of RV Resorts just due to amenities and ease of booking and getting in and out.  We bought a zone pass with Thousand Trails in June of last so we've spent a fair amount to time in their parks.  We've done some state parks, a couple Walmarts, and a lake front boondocking spot at Laura's brother's house.  

What Have We Learned?

"Fulltime RVing does not mean a fultime vacation!"

After a few months in vacation mode we learned that vacations are expensive.  So after going through a chunk of our savings account we decided to slow down and stick to a budget!  We've maybe missed out on eating out at some fun a few less days at beaches but it's allowed us to live within our means and keep the adventure going.  

​With that we've learned that we operate best with at least a tentative schedule in place.  This allows us both some time to do some work, time alone with Eli and lots of time together as a family.  

We've also learned that we don't need nearly as many clothes as we originally packed up.  We tend to wear the same stuff over and over... mainly workout clothes and yoga pants!  There are a handful of other things that we've brought along that we've hardly used... like a tent, veggie spiralizer, extra camping chairs, bosu ball....to name a few.  

Another thing we learned early on was that we all reach our breaking point after about 6 hours of driving on travel days. 4 hours max is what we prefer!  With travel, we also learned that it's not ideal to show up at a new park after dusk... short, wooden posts in campgrounds tend to hide a lot easier!  

We've been semi-stationary for the past 6 months, 2 1/2 months in Texas and 3 1/2 months in Florida.  We love that we've been able to stay warm for the winter but definitely miss traveling. We traveled around both Texas and Florida but the scenery hasn't changed all that much.  So there is a balance between quenching our travel/adventure needs and not moving as fast...so we can manage our finances.  

What Lies Ahead?

Currently: we are in Florida and will be here for another month.  Then our adventure will take us north and west.  We will slowly make our way back up to Iowa and Minnesota around the 4th of July to spend some time with family.  It will also be convenient since we will be dropping Eli off with grandparents while we head down to New Orleans for our annual Beachbody Coach Summit the middle of July.  

After that conference, the plan is to start heading across the northern part of the country.  We hope to hit up Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks on our way out to Washington state.  We always appreciate advice on places we NEED to visit so if you know of anything between Minnesota and Washington, let us know. 

Our plan is to be out to Washington by early September and hangout in the Pacific Northwest for a couple months before we start heading down the west coast as the weather cools.  At this time, we think we'll spend at least another winter as snowbirds but we aren't exactly sure where we will be... maybe Southern California... maybe Arizona... we'll see!  

That's about all we have "planned out" so far.  After that we'll potentially talk about settling down but that isn't for sure either!! What we do know: God is faithful and is providing SO MANY amazing experiences & relationships through this journey. He is ultimately our guide...so if we feel led to change our course...we will!!