Adventuring with different lifestyles...

That title could be taken in a wrong way. What I'm talking about is suburban vs. urban vs. rural vs. nomadic vs. small town living. We've done all of the above!

Suburban: When our boys were growing up we lived in the suburbs of Denver and loved it! Our jaunt with rural living had me wishing that our boys could have experienced that and I was telling my oldest this and he responded that he LOVED living the suburbs as a kid. So not knowing anything different I guess it was the best for them! We lived in one middle class subdivision for 9 years, then "moved up" a bit into a newer neighborhood and my boys enjoyed it there. We did too! It was what we needed and wanted in that season. 

Urban: We lived in urban areas when our boys were babies (Denver); for a 6-month stint when Austin was a Sr. in high school and loved it both times! I loved being able to walk to just about anything we needed. Homes were older but had way more character!

Rural: When we moved back to Texas we wanted rural... and we LOVED it! We had almost 3 acres; had chickens and a garden; were neighbors with goats, sheep, donkeys and horses. We loved the quiet and how bright the stars are at night. We loved not having to keep up with the Jones' with our "yard". We loved the slow pace and the down home folks. The only reason we left this lifestyle was to venture into nomadic living.

Nomadic: As most of you know, we lived and traveled in a fifth wheel for a year. We knew that this was probably a short term arrangement for us but we loved it all the same! 

Small-town living: Where we are now. We live in a town with a population of about 6000 people. We can walk to just about anything and can actually walk to the end of town in any direction and it wouldn't be hard at all! We love the quiet, the simple, the down-home folks. We have multiple Mexican food restaurants as well as many other very good places to eat. We have a very nice HEB, hardware store, department store and lots of convenience stores. We have a town square and a library and many churches. We have big store shopping anywhere from 15-40 minutes away depending on which big store you want to shop. We've only lived here 6 months but we feel like we have enough to realize which one we really like the most. 

Which one do you think we like the most?

Travel bloggers...

My two favorite travel bloggers are back on the road! I really enjoy reading about their adventures! You might too!

Rantin n Raven (A Life Made Simple)

We had the privilege of meeting Derek, Teresa and Cassia earlier this year as they passed thru Central Texas and we are hoping they pass thru again this year!

CozybeGone

We haven't met Jer and CJ YET... but she has followed our blogs for a while when they were preparing to hit the road and now they are living their dream! They have plans for Texas and we are hoping to meet them soon!

So... what have we been up to since our late November arrival in Central Texas?

• established a temporary "residence" at an RV park in East Central Austin
• tossed our arrival/departure checklists (just kidding)
• spent some time with our boys and my parents over the holidays
• enjoyed having our oldest here in Austin with the other three of "us"
• got caught up with our best friends; I've finally has some girl time and it is wonderful!
• ate some GREAT food! 

Rudy's BBQ

Frank

Fresh made tortillas from HEB

Baby A's

Chuy's

• got back into a routine
• patiently wait for our mortgagee to finish up her refinance so we can start looking for a house!

David has been spending time figuring out what it is he wants to do... as in a job. He's applied for some jobs - some he's interested in; some he's thinking he will get interview experience out of. He's been diligently working out - running and working out at the gym here in the park.

We've taken advantage of the hot tub. It's has been unusually cold here and the hot water feels wonderful! We've been experimenting with how to best warm up our tin can home against the cold temps. It's mostly warm... but we also bundle up at night!

We've also browsed homes for sale online while we wait for our monies to be freed. We are debt free and are planning on staying that way paying cash for our next home! It seems like there are a good amount in the price range and size we are looking at. 

I've knitted... 

Here are four of the 9 cowls I've made

and crocheted... 

Cameron wearing a hat I crocheted

 and cooked... 

My new favorite breakfast

and did a little cleaning here and there. I got my hairs cut... 

Simple and slow living at its best!

Change is in the air...

I've heard (and I'm sure you have too) that the only constant is change. We experience a change in seasons faithfully every year... but not only a change in seasons but changes within seasons. We've been experiencing the changes in nature with the coming of Fall... And we've experienced the newness of it over and over as we've driven south. One of our favorite drives recently was thru South Carolina. I know that SC is not a "known" beautiful Fall place but it was gorgeous! And we are so blessed to be able to experience it!

Change is in the air for David and I too! We are headed back home soon! Actually we are headed that way right now... and will be there before Christmas... Well before Christmas. Our extended stay in Wilmington took the wind out of our sails so to speak. We'd been missing home before our blow out accident and that was just what we needed to put our priorities back in the place they belong. In my last post I talked about being tired of chasing the dream life and stopping to building one... Well, I heard a song on the radio recently during our drive... It's an old Ronnie Milsap song... Smoky Mountain Rain... One line in it is "I've had a change of dreams I'm comin' home".  That pretty much says it!

One thing we've struggled with is feeling somewhat "obligated" to our readers... when you share an adventure with the public, other people who have similar dreams say they are "living vicariously thru you"... so being the people pleasers we are, we don't want to let those people down. But then we start talking about not living our lives for others, but living the life that we are meant to live and what is pleasing to God. We can only hope that our adventure inspires and gives our readers courage to do what it is they dream about.

I started this blog a little late in the game to reflect on how I see this adventure and how it changes me... While the traveling adventure may be coming to a close, I hope and pray that my life is always an adventure. So for the time being, I hope to continue blogging here about our new adventure (whatever that may be). 

Wow! Unintended long blogging break! I must admit, I struggled a lot during our wait for our truck and rig to be fixed and ready to go. People that we came into contact with were friendly enough but not very helpful. Maybe it was my "expectations" of the South... and because I was looking for why God had us in the Wilmington area. But I was never so glad to leave a town! We did our best to be in the moment and enjoy what Wilmington has to offer. We explored downtown Wilmington. We went to the beach. We explored local eateries. So I'm happy to say that we did what we could... 

We are back on the road now... presently in Myrtle Beach! Beaches and the ocean are my favorite places to be and it is really nice here. We are within walking distance to the beach so I can walk out there any time I want. The weather has been sunny... a bit cool but still pleasant. And while I'm enjoying our time near the ocean... things just still don't feel "right". 

One thing God did reveal to both of us while we were stranded in a place where we knew no one, were without the comforts of home and several days lacking transportation, was that we miss "home". And "home" being Texas with our family, a few friends, familiarity, friendly people in general, big open spaces, good Mexican food and BBQ. For me, it has been the realization that I'm weary of "chasing life" and am ready to build one in a place called home. I thought I had a gypsy spirit, but being stranded has made me realize that that is just a small part of me. The bigger part wants to build a life in a community making and keeping friends that aren't just virtual friends. I love my online friendships... I really do. But nothing replaces "face time". The real face time and not on an Iphone! =)

We still have not decided what is our immediate future. We are trusting that God has a plan and we are trying to follow our hearts. Our hearts are telling us to take some time away from Wilmington and feeling forgotten and helpless. Leaving the hotel and moving back into our rig helped a little with that. But it's more. 

It goes back to what we determined we were both missing with this lifestyle. True connections that are consistent... being involved in a community, in something bigger than ourselves. We can continue to try and find that on this adventure or we can build it in a community that we already call home. 

Enough thoughtful thoughts... we've had more heart talks in the past 21 days than we've had in 25 years of marriage! Kinda... 

Perfect?

And our life right now is FAR from perfect! We had a blow out yesterday of our front driver side tire on the truck. You can read the details here. So at this point we are sitting in a hotel room waiting. I have a feeling we are going to be doing a lot of waiting in the next few weeks!

Blessedly we are both okay, no physical injuries or soreness whatsoever; we are by the ocean; we have a place to sleep and bathe and eat until our rig is "cleared" for living in; and we have lots of people praying for our situation! And we are trying to be aware of why God has us here in this place at this time.

This way of living...

Love it or leave it? David's post on reflections of the first 6 months has spawned a couple of posts by other bloggers. I do believe that some people who are fulltime travelers have created a Utopic life based on their lives before rv'ing. And while David did poke a bit of fun at people who idealize the lifestyle, that's also the way he writes... finding humor in everything. 

I think for some full time travelers, it is such a 180 degree "flip-flop" from their previous lifestyle that it IS Utopia for them. For us, we loved our previous "lifestyle" of living in a rural area on a couple of acres... we just want to experience other lifestyles and this is one of them! With that said, I'm enjoying living in our small home, traveling, freedom, and many other positives of the full time traveling lifestyle. Yes, I do miss some things, but I'm sure once we live in a sticks and bricks again, I'll miss aspects of the traveling lifestyle. I think just because I miss some things, it doesn't mean I don't like the way we are living now! And this is what I'm working on! Living in the moment... where I am! It is a work in progress!

I admit that I'm fickle and David will be the first one to say amen to that. But it's just because I want to experience it all! One of the blog posts I linked to above listed 5 "darker sides" to RV living... and after I'd read them, I don't think of them as the "darker" side at all! I love "living" in our RV and traveling while living; I love living in the small space; I feel refreshed when we get to a new campground; we continue to live on a budget like we always have and always will; and I enjoy being close to David! All of those are positives to me. Yes, we have trying days but we had those in our sticks and bricks too!
The very last paragraph of Nina's post is spot on!

So is fulltime RVing for everyone? Hell no! If you’re not adaptable, flexible, relaxed about travel & weather, love being around your other half, comfortable in a small space and have a decent sense of humor this lifestyle might well fail you. That’s not to say you can’t be all those things in a stix & brix house, but space and plans are even more likey to be “jello” in an RV, so you gotta be prepared for the unexpected. And the positives? Freedom, adventure and memories to last a lifetime. For me, those three little things totally outdo the negatives. For you? Well, you’ll have to make that decision for yourself.

I think we are still in the "newlywed" phase of fulltime traveling. We are still figuring out what works for us and what doesn't. While David took the humorous approach to the positives and negatives of fulltime traveling, I think that we both think the positives still outweigh the negatives. And the few negatives that are the "big deals" can be solved. So we are working on that in the coming months!

As far as missing our family and Texas, we have the freedom to head back there at any point! Hang out for a while with family and friends and get our Mexican food, Whataburger and barbecue fixes; then head out once again. Who knows! =)

Favorite memories of the past 6 months...

We have been on the road 6 months TODAY!

You can see our map of the places we've been in the last 175 days on our travel blog! We've have seen some stand-outs... the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Coast and northern California, cornfields and cornfields and yet more cornfields all across those fly-over states, Niagara Falls but these are the experiences that stand out for me!

Our drive North the VERY FIRST DAY! We were so excited to be starting our long-awaited RV journey!

Meeting these two and their kids! We loved spending time with them!

Spending a day in Monterrey Bay exploring on bicycles! So fun! I just recently read Cannery Row too!

Our day long tour of San Francisco! Loved every minute of it!

Exploring Portland with Cameron!

The best boondocking spot we experienced! Watching the base jumpers at the Perrine Bridge in Idaho!

Surprising this precious gem... We were staying in Loveland just north of Denver. My sister and her two girls came up to stay the weekend with us. Kelli told them they were going camping, but did not tell them that we were there. So they drive into the campground and register... then pull up to our rig. Kelli told Brynn that this was the camper they were going to stay in. Brynn commented that she thought that someone was already here as they were walking up. I was sitting at the dinette when she walked in and I snapped her shocked face! So fun! It was such a fun time with them!
 

 

Kenzie enjoying her camping hot chocolate.

 Having both our boys with us for a week! Cameron still had to work and Austin had "people" to see (friends from high school) but we did spend some time together!

Seeing my mom! She flew out to Denver to watch Kelli's kids for a week... And my sister and brother-in-law opened up their home to us! It was a wonderful time with our family!

We had promised Brynn that we would take her "camping". So we camped at Chatfield Reservoir. David shared her experience very well...

Our first month-long stay... in Amish country in Indiana. A beautiful and serene countryside! And we had this beautiful canopied forest right by the campground that we biked thru, ran thru and hooped in! We also met some new friends who were just starting out on their adventure

My first time into Canada and the wonderful opportunity to meet this beautiful lady!

Another wonderful week spent in this beautiful lady's hometown. Kristen and I have been online friends for 6 years and we had the opportunity to meet in person and get together a second time when both of us lived in Texas. It was so fun seeing her and her husband, her home in Pennsylvania and meeting her oldest son and his family.

Running! I decided to do something with all the extra time we have... Back in Indiana I decided to start training for a 5k again. And I did it just recently! So now we are looking for some fun races to do while on the road!

Wow! What a whirlwind 6 months! We are halfway thru our year-long adventure and I know that we have many more memories to make! We get homesick at times (and quite often lately) but I think deep down we are both hoping we make it the entire year... or at least seeing all the places we want to see whether that takes 2 months or 6 months. Thanks for being on the journey with us!

A post about a whole lotta nothing!

I've always kept busy at home. I've not worked outside the home in 7 years. The first two years of that time, I babysat my niece during the week. I definitely stayed busy then as we still had one in high school and our oldest had just started college. And I must clarify my "busy" is no where near what some people deem as busy! The next 5 years are a blur... of youngest finishing high school, moving 3 times in one year, living apart from my husband except for weekends while he worked in Colorado and we lived in Texas. Before the RV, I enjoyed keeping home/home making. A 1700 sf home takes a bit longer than an hour to clean weekly. There's not a whole lotta organizing and cleaning you can do in 240 square feet!

We don't have a "typical" day... we do have our routine in the morning. Wake up, quiet time and internet with coffee. From there it varies. If it's a travel day, we start packing up for travel at this point and are usually on the road anywhere from 8 to 10am. We normally drive no more than 2-3 hours (ideally). Get set up for the day and have lunch. Travel day afternoons are usually exploring the campground and surroundings and getting caught up on the internet. Evening consist of dinner, clean up and tv watching.

Three days a week, we run after coffee and before breakfast. We usually do smoothies for breakfast after our run. Then move on with our day... either sight-seeing, homekeeping type chores (laundry, RV maintenance, house cleaning), or errands (grocery shopping). Some days we don't do much! We try to plan something away from home every other day or every third day.

Some days just making three meals a day and cleaning up after them... in addition to any kind of baking done (with another load of dishes done) keeps me pretty busy.

I am enjoying the down time this lifestyle has offered us, but some days, I just want to be busy doing something. I've got the internet, books, knitting, and sewing I can do. I've got my bike, hula hoops and running.This past month we've been redecorating our home... painting, recovering furniture and window valances, and personalizing it (the reveal soon!) But some days I find myself on the internet "looking" for stuff to read/research/browse. I've got to learn to start "stepping away from the computer"!

While I am truly not "busy" I still don't sit and do nothing well... I've got to either grab a book or my Iphone (for games). We do enjoy sitting outside and talking (to each other and to others) but I don't do it enough. I'm a fair weather outdoor woman... I like temps where I don't have to wear a jacket and I am not dripping with sweat. Oh and I don't like wind or bugs. So on those "perfect" days, I am outside more.

Some things I'd like to do more of...

Sit in nature—under a tree, on a mountain—and let yourself simply be.

Take a meditative walk, focusing solely on the physical sensations of walking—the earth under your feet, the swing of your hips.

Take a long walk on the beach, focusing on the feel of the sand between your toes and the sound of the crashing waves. Cliché, but highly effective!

Set aside some time to actively enjoy the good things about the present, instead of scheming to create a better future.

Leverage your purpose to serve someone else, not for money—just because. That might mean helping them pursue their passion, or motivating them to reach their fitness goals. Whatever gives your life meaning, give it to someone freely.

Still trying to find the balance in being productive, being thought-full and just being! How do you find your balance?

Utilitarian or beautiful?

My tastes have changed in the last 5 years or so... I'm more drawn to messy, mismatched rooms in homes than I am neat, orderly and sparse. Hubs and I have a fun "argument" over matchy-matchy stuff and "way out there" with nothing matching. I can appreciate beautiful homes and furniture that compliments a room, but I'm finding very simple utilitarian rooms beautiful! Like a kitchen with open shelving... or art supplies left out to be picked up on a moment's notice.

Since noticing this about myself, I was wondering if I had just gotten lazy (about decorating our home) or if it was truly my "taste" that was changing. Then I read this...

This paragraph stood out to me:

Not wanting can be a pleasure unto itself. After years and decades of constant want, desire, even lust and greed, the freedom from it is exhilarating. Even if you only get to feel a glimpse of it every once in a while, it feels so good that you want to always feel like that. You want to grow in contentment. You recognize true freedom when you feel it!

Now, yes, we are redecorating our home right now... but you know what? We've lived in it for 5 months and have slowly figured out what we want it to look and feel like, what works for us. Not what's "in" or "hot" right now. Nothing fancy. It's not so neat, but everything does have a place (a must in small spaces). One of the best compliments I had on my last home, and blessedly I heard it over and over again, that our home is comfortable and warm and a place that person wanted to be. That's the kind of decorating I want to do.

We aren't quite ready to "reveal" our new home to you just yet...We are hopefully finishing up painting tomorrow and recovering the last two valances. Then it's time to tackle the

 

lovely "designer" factory upholstery! This could get interesting!

5th Month Ponderings...

Just another day on the road... But today is a celebratory day! We've been on this road trip/adventure for 5 months today. The first 4 months seem to fly by. This last month has seemed slow. I'm sure part of that is we were parked in one spot for a month. Although looking back now, that seemed to go by quickly. Not sure what has caused the "slow down".

As mentioned before, some days I can see us doing this beyond a year. Other days... I'm ready to go back to Texas (GTT). And even other days I read about people who have been on the road for multiple years and have been boondocking most of that time. I love that spirit! I *want* to be like that! But in reality, NOT really! If you admire and are intrigued with someone's ability to live in a way that you've never lived does that mean you are meant to live that way? That is the question!

D and I had another discussion yesterday evening about this whole full-time RV lifestyle. Unlike many other full-timers, we went in knowing we were probably going to do it for a specific time, a year or when our budgeted amount was gone, with the open ended option of continuing or moving on to something else. So while it is "living" for us, at the same time it's kinda like a vacation in that we are doing touristy things and seeing new-to-us areas. So I get into the vacation mode of thinking... then I have to make breakfast, lunch and supper. In our previous "vacations", there was someone else doing the cooking and cleaning. So that was a true vacation for me! So I sometimes struggle with vacation-mode vs. living while traveling mode.

Of course, it's a perspective/mind-set thing. Most full-timers go into it with the mind-set of this is our life. We are going to live in an RV and travel freely... when we want to, where we want to. Kim from Creating the Life has said it this way, "We will live this lifestyle as long as we are both happy doing it." I like that attitude. And it helps me! We aren't unhappy living this adventure... I just miss some things about our previous lifestyle. And that's "normal" right?

So today we celebrated with a run... Week 6 Day 2 of the Couch-2-5k program.

My new sneaks...

And we will celebrate with green peanut butter banana smoothies after our run. And then we will rehang the last two valances that we removed in order to paint the living room slide. And then we will get ready to travel again tomorrow! Onward ho! To New York!

I've gone live...

I finally "publicized" my blog. First to my dear hubs... then to some online friends... then on Facebook and Twitter! Now I have a mention on our travel blog here. Hubs is the "true writer" of our family. I thought I might write some posts on our Flip Flop Vector blog, but I'm a pretty boring writer and that doesn't fit in with his style. He's hilarious! And a great writer! So thank you to all of you coming here from our other blog!

Truly this blog is more of a capture for me to look back on. I'm hoping to get out and take more photos. I love taking photos! I did a whole year of a photo a day back in 2010 when we first moved out in the country. I thought I might do something like that for this road adventure... started it off but dropped it not far into it. Maybe I'll pick it back up!

I've had highs and lows on this journey... mostly highs. But I get down if we are traveling too much or I focus too much on what I'm missing. Going back to my "living in the moment" seems to work for me. If I had to list pros and cons of this lifestyle, I'd definitely have more pros than cons because I've chosen not to dwell on the cons. I know some of the RV'in blogs I've read (and still read) this lifestyle sounded romantic to me before we actually got on the road. And it definitely has a romance to it... some days I just have to make it! And I'm not talking about romance with my hubs! I'm talking about the romance like in the song by Zac Brown Band - Free.

Enjoy!

in the moment...

I have issues... I struggle being in the moment or even in the "day". I am often found looking ahead to the next thing. Living in Colorado, I looked ahead to living in Texas. When we moved into an apartment in Texas, I looked forward to having a house in the country. Once we were out in the country, I was looking ahead to when my husband wouldn't be commuting between Colorado and Texas. When he retired and moved to Texas, I started looking forward to the RV lifestyle... we are now living full-time in an RV and I'm looking to live in a sticks and bricks again.

I really am enjoying the RV lifestyle. It seems my mind wanders (the Bible mentions fools minds wander to the ends of the earth)... to other things. When I'm embracing the present wherever I am doing whatever I'm doing, I'm good! It's when I start thinking... that's gets me into trouble!

I don't want to have any regrets about this adventure... however long we do it! Some days I see us doing this for several years or more. Other days, not so much!

Things I love about the fulltime RV lifestyle:

• Living small. I really love living in a small space. I have to be organized and neat. I cannot buy a bunch of stuff. And it forces me outside more!
• Being close to nature. Literally! I can see outside from anywhere inside the RV and I'm outside more. 
• Seeing new places! I have not traveled much before this and most of it was in an airplane. So driving across the United States and spending time in different areas has been exciting and refreshing!
• Forcing myself out of my comfort zone. I'm an introvert and a homebody. David's a homebody too, but loves getting out and chatting with people. Sitting outside invites our neighbors to stop and chat. I'm still not all the way out of my comfort zone and probably still spend too much time inside the RV seeking privacy. But I want to change that!
• New places to walk, bike and run! And new sports activities to try! Still want to do some kayaking and stand up paddle boarding!
• If we don't like the neighbors, we can move on. We have enjoyed most of the campgrounds/RV parks we've stayed at. But it is nice to know that we have the freedom to move on if we feel like it.
• Speaking of freedom, being mobile does feel freeing. Getting rid of most of our belongings is freeing. Being able to go where we want and do what we want is freedom. 
• Being able to see family and friends! I'm finally getting to meet some online friends that I've been wanting to meet! And we got to spend time with our family in Colorado! Our sons enjoy visiting us all over the United States too!
• Sharing this time, small space, adventure with my best friend! We've had some great conversations during our drives, in places without our laptops and TV, by the campfires and over dinners out. We don't have a lot to "do" as far as normal household/yard obligations which in turn frees up time... time for each other.

So I'm getting to travel and see the US and have my home come with me! The best of two worlds!

Reality...

Being "attracted" to a certain decorating style or a lifestyle doesn't necessarily define how you truly want to live... or does it?

A friend of mine has recently said "Though this simple, uncluttered look is what I am drawn to in magazines, I have finally faced up to the fact that, even if I had it, I would then proceed to fill it up with lots of colorful stuff."  I find I'm drawn to colorful cluttered looks on Pinterest and in magazines but my home has usually been filled with a simple, clean, neutral look. I'm slowly filling my living space with color because I love the way it looks... but it's scary! Stepping into color is wild for me! I have a spouse that always has in the back of his mind, when we have to sell it we will have to repaint, recover, etc.

We live in an RV right now with the ever-so-popular NOT beige and blue decorating scheme. While we can live with it, it's not us. So today we are changing that! We have begun painting the walls. And have chosen a fairly bright green and yellow to color our walls. We then need to figure out how to cover the blue and beige upholstery!

Here's some of my pinterest boards color inspiration!

To blog or not to blog...

That is the question! I've gone back and forth on this... why blog? Because I feel like I want to... 

Background... I've had a couple of blogs before. Felt pressure to blog often and with content that would be interesting! Ha! I don't have dreams of being a writer... but I enjoy writing. I've journaled for several years and have boo-coos of journals in storage. Mostly I just write down things God impresses on me during my quiet times with Him.

I was sweeping this morning in our RV (which takes about 2 minutes), and have been trying to "be in the moment" with everything I do. And the phrase "the zen of sweeping" came to me. Being in the moment instead of thinking ahead to the next thing. I have problems with this! I'm always moving on to the next thing. I want to be here now. In whatever I'm doing!

My husband and I are on a year-long road trip right now. We are just starting month 5. My dream road trip includes a beach and an ocean. We haven't hit that yet! Well, we did explore Monterrey Bay when we were in California but it was just a day trip. I need more! In the process of wanting a beach location, I don't want to miss where we are... which is presently northern Indiana in Amish country. I've always been intrigued with the Amish lifestyle... and I'm around it right now. Even in the barrenness of New Mexico, I wanted to appreciate it for its own beauty. So this has been a journey for me in many ways... the most important one is being where I am!

Not sure where this blog will go... It's really just for me to remember where I've been.