On the road in Denver, CO (June, 2010)
In early 2010 the hubby, the 2 cats, the dog and I quit our day jobs, packed our lives away and moved into a 40-foot tin-can home to follow our dream of living an alternative life and exploring the US on wheels. WheelingIt was born with nothing but 12 paws, 40 feet, the freedom of the open road and the passion to see all those places we’d dreamed about for years. Through our blog our goal is to share that story and hopefully enable and inspire others who dream of this lifestyle to go out and try it. After all, if we can do it anyone can! So, take a peek at the tips, follow us in our nutty journey and share a few laughs with us along the way. Who knows, maybe down the line we’ll meet ya’ all on the road.
Here’s a little more about the characters on our journey:
Nina: I’m a full-bred Dane and, one could say, legitimate ancestor of Vikings from Copenhagen, Denmark. At the ripe young age of 4, my parents left the homeland and moved to Asia spending 5 years in Singapore followed by another 9 in Hong Kong, which instilled a good, solid shot of the travelling bug in yours truly. After finishing high-school I left home and moved to Paris to experience les français, attending The Sorbonne to learn French and cleaning a fair few houses for moolah along the way. I then went to England to attend uni at Cambridge University leaving with a stiff British accent and a BA in the Physical Sciences. Having frozen enough for a lifetime I was guided by my professor to apply to Standford University in Palo Alto, CA which he assured me was “right by the beach”. It didn’t turn out to be Baywatch, but Stanford gave me a few years of excellent memories and a Masters in Materials Science Engineering. In 1995 I decided to get serious about a job and was hired by Cypress Semiconductor. On my first day of work, feeling rather lost and overwhelmed, I walked into a technical presentation (of which I understood nothing) being given by Paul…it was the beginning of 12 years at the company and a few more with the man.
Paul: Paul is a first-generation Cuban-American born and raised in Miami, Florida USA. His family immigrated to the United States from Cuba in the late 50s, leaving everything behind to establish new roots and lives in the US. He spent his young and tender years in the midst of an extended family with solid Cuban roots and an American twist. After high school he moved north to attend the University of Florida. He spent 6 years in Gator-land with many fond and fuzzy memories and left with a BS in Electrical Engineering, a MS in Electrical Engineering and a thesis on the diffusion of Arsenic in Silicon (indeed!). Once graduated and fancy free he moved to South Florida to work for IBM for a few years, a time he calls the most educational of his life. In July 1994 he was recruited to make the jump to the land of fruit and nuts (San Jose, CA) to work for Cypress Semiconductor where he spent the next 12 years. In 1995, he met me….
Paul and Nina: We met in August 1995 and it was…well…dislike at first sight. Somewhere in the background, however, fate was at work. Being forced to work together in a small group (selling chipsets no less), dislike turned to acceptance followed by tepid interest, sparks of unexpected fire and then a crazy, wild crash into full-blown love. We were meant for each other and after figuring that out (in January 1997, specifically) we moved in together and never looked back. Through work and with a touch of luck and egging on from yours truly we both moved to Brussels, Belgium where we spent 2 years from late 1997 to 1999, followed by 5 years back in the Bay Area and another 4 in Hong Kong. In Dec 2008 we left Asia and moved to San Diego, CA. Then, in March 2010 we moved into the RV and started our full-time lifestyle on the road.
The Furry Friends: Our family wouldn’t be family without our furry friends. Polly, our doggie was adopted from the Humane Society in 2009 and grew from a playful, pooping and eating machine of a pup into a gorgeous 40-lb doggie. Taggart and Rand, our 2 cats were rescues of a litter from Paul’s mom and are the yin-yang of the feline kingdom where the outgoing brashness of Taggart balances the withdrawn sweetness of Rand. The 3 musketeers are firm friends and it’s rare to see one without the other. You can read more about their story here and here.
"The Beast" boondocking at Quartzite, AZ Apr'10
The Beast: “The Beast”, as we’ve tenderly named her, is our rolling home on wheels. She’s a 40-foot Holiday Rambler Endeavor that we bought second-hand at a deeply discounted price. Despite her rough start in life, she’s turned out to be a first-class lady. She weighs a svelte ~32,000 lbs, boasts a massive 400 horsepower Cummins diesel engine and is a modern beauty inside. We consider her a luxury home with a view that changes anytime we want it to.
The Life Change: The big change in our outlook and lives will be a frequent topic on the blog but here is a brief synopsis. Hong Kong was where the whole transition happened – the thought of needing a change in life, of finding another way to live, of retiring early, of RV’ing across the US. We’ve always been frugal, money-conscious and adventurous but we didn’t begin planning in earnest for a life change until our time in Hong Kong. We read a ton of material, made several hundred versions of the financial plan and, after a few false starts, finally made the leap early this year. While on the road, I run the budget while hubby masterminds the money-making machine through investing (for more on our methods and means check out hubby’s blog Investing For a Living).
That’s it folks! Hope you enjoy the ride as much as we do!
Note/ Please note that all material, text and pictures in this blog are copyrighted. Should you be interested in using them please feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to talk about it!
Go fo it guys!
Hey Paul
It is very exciting to read about you and Nina. Congratulations to you both on your freedom from the “grind.” My wife, Kelly, and I are talking about RVing for a while, but not necessarily early retirement yet. Give a holler if you come through Albuquerque. We’d love to see you.
Later Gator!
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. We’d love to see NM. Gotta put that on the agenda. Thanks for the invite.
Hey Nina, Paul, And Polly, I met you guys in Pheonix, AZ . You’ll probably remember me more from my dog Karma. I just wanted to say great blog. We probably crossed paths because I was in the the Grand Canyon and Sedona area just about the same time you guys were. I’m heading back East. We will be in Santa Fe by June 5th. Just wanted to drop a line. Karma misses her friend Polly. Hope you all are well. Happy Trails, Susan and Karma
Hey Susan…of course we remember you! How wonderful to meet up again. Polly still misses Karma. I think it’s the the most fun she’s had w/ a doggie all trip. Good luck on your travels back home. Stay in touch!
Dear Paul & Nina —
I am so happy to see this blog! You guys will be my “model” for making that change — probably one day soon! Loved the photos you have been taking and the adventure stories – keep them coming! Take care, Jen
Lovely to see you on the blog too! If you do decide to make the big change let us know. We’d love to catch up with you on the road
Hey Paul,
It was really nice to read your blog and to see how life has evolved since high school for both you and Nina. I can’t say enough about your decision to retire early from the corporate rat race and enjoy life in the present doing something that really creates great experiences and memories that last a lifetime. I’m somewhat in the same boat travelling a lot and still in IT consulting although now as an independent. I’m based in Broward with a wife and three kids but right now I’m in Panama City, Panama with them. Wish both of you the best of luck in this bold life-changing move. I still owe Jeff a visit to New Mexico and, who knows, maybe I’ll see you there!! Happy trails across the US!!
Amir
Hey Amir, Great to hear from you. We’ll be spending the winter in Florida this year, in Broward county. Hopefully we can catch up then.
It was great to met you guys at Kelly Dahl campground. Very interesting blog and story about you two. We wish you lots of good travels and happiness
Jason, nice to meet you as well. Don’t let the slight mishaps you had at Kelly Dahl deter you from your dream. Best of luck. Hope we meet again.
So THAT’S why i keep getting your FB posts about your travels… I finally read your Bio! How cool!! I spent a summer in Estes Park after college graduation and LOVED RM nat’l park! it was so cool! So it was fun hearing that you were there, and I kept wondering when your vacation might be over… I’m glad to see that I’ll keep getting updates on your endless vacation!
Enjoy it and congrats!
NT
Oh yes, we love RM. Could stay there for months! So lovely to see you on the blog
Hey Paul… I knew that you were RVing across the U.S., but I just realized that the blog was yours (I assumed that the FB postings were articles connected to your travels)! I love your style of writing – personal, witty, and informative.
It’s great that you are sharing the experience with others. I tried to keep an old-fashioned journal on our recent month-long stay in Mexico, but I fell behind and kept writing retrospectively. We would love an early retirement since we love travel so much, but our two kids will keep us busy for at least 8 more years. For now, our travels will need to be limited to the 2-3 week variety. Do you plan to RV outside the U.S. after this adventure? Where is your next big destination?
Thanks Lyndon. Writing is tough. I must say, my wife Nina, does most of it.
We don’t know how long we’re going to do this for. There is enough to see out there to do this forever. One thing we do trade off by RV ing is other types of travel, like traveling overseas, which we’ve always done a lot of. So, we’ll see. We also need to decide if and when to go back to work (prob our own businesses) and where to settle down again. Great thing is we have lots of time to think about these big picture decisions.
We’d love to spend time in a lot of other countries. We first tried out RV’ing in Western Australia, where we rented an RV and traveled for a 6 weeks. We were hooked as of then. We would love to RV in Australia more, also NZ, maybe Europe. Nina’s parents live in the south of France, and we like that area a lot so we want to spend time there. For me, South America is a place I’d like to spend more time in. I have family in Peru, have been there twice in the last few years and want to go back. Like I said, too many places to see too many things to experience.
Since you love to travel so much, check out this website, http://retireearlylifestyle.com/, its by a couple Billy and Akashia who retired early, at 38, and have been traveling ever since. They were a source of inspiration when we started thinking of doing this.
Paul
I am having a wonderful time reading your blog, and hope to create one of my own very soon. Jim, my husband, and I are leaving in 2 weeks for our fulltime adventure of a life time. Jim works overseas in Indonesia, Saudi, and Dubai. I live in California near Yosemite National Park. I am from England and came from an British Army backgroud. I was born in Singapore. Jim will be still working overseas as we travel. I shall remain in a park when he is gone. I read where you can drive the coach.. I think I better do this too. Safe travels my dear. We also boodocked in the desert last year.. away from everyone…your pictures reminded me of our pictures. God bless.
Louis – wonderful to “meet you” on here! My sister was born in Singapore and I spent a good deal of my childhood there. What a small world it is! So excited for your fulltime adventure. Do let us know when you start the blog. I love reading and keeping up w/ other people’s experiences. And definitely try driving the motorhome…it’s daunting at first, but soooo much fun once you get used to it. Good luck w/ everything. Maybe we’ll see you on the road someday? We’re heading back West next year, so you never know!
Is it possible that your posted pictures are somewhat bigger (or have a enlarge or zoom option). By clicking on the picture i always get the same size picture in a new tab/window of my browser.
I would like to see some more details of the campsites etc
Hi Jim, I’ve kept the campground pics on the smaller side on the blog, but I’ll start to keep a larger version on the site. It’s a good recommendation and I’ll definitely take it up.
Hey, we’ve enjoyed reading some of your blog. We noticed a post in the escapees forum and then peeked at your site. Janie and I are just around the corner in North Carolina heading some activism gigs and then on to Texas. We’re musicians and often feed ourselves by playing farmers markets across the US. Thanks for the blog. we’ll be checking in from time to time.
Lovely to “meet” you on the blog! We looove farmers markets & do alot of that on the road too. We also visit farms and find alot of our produce on eatwild.com…very cool site. Safe travels! Do look us up if we’re close.
Hi Guys,
Admire your life style,way to go…
As a non US resident can not do it,but life is all about compromise so we are “FULL TIME SUMMER RVers” and are enjoying every minute.
Wush you to do all the things you wanted to do but had no time till now.
Many happy trails and stay warm….
Lovely to “meet you” on the blog! Looks like you have a really nice rig for those summer jaunts. Do let us know if we’re ever in the same area. Nina
Hi Nina,
It would be great to meet you both,but to make it happen we need an e-mail/cell phone number .
You can send it to my e-mail address rvsummerdude@gmail.com
Love your thorough blog and sure will use your advice on C.G .
We try to stay in Passport America C.G,Corps of Engineer C.G (they are always in great locations,S.P and S.F ones.
Regards
Done!! Just sent you our info. If we align anywhere in our travels let us know! Nina
I’ve (Terry) been reading your blog and enjoying your posts. The pictures are great! I’m between “big” cameras right now but make due with a Cannon G9. We spend about 7 months per year in our motorhome but maintain a home right here in Broward County just up the road from Markham Park (Coral Springs). We have been thinking about using Markham Park for short trips throughout the winter. So I’m guessing that you are enjoying your stay at Markham and would recommend it to us locals (yep, we have lived here for 27 years and have never camped there!). brigadoon77@gmail.com
You guys ARE right next door! Markham is lovely. We are so happy we’re wintering here. Lots of green space for both us and doggie. If you want to come by and visit you’re most welcome to do so and share a coffee or glass of wine. We’re in site J1 until the end of the month. Nina
Hi guys, it was great getting to know the two of you via your blog. Lynn and I are envious, but only a short wait behind you for the fulltime lifestyle. We are both CA babies, and have lived on the West Coast since. We enjoy visiting the right side of the Country, and really enjoy Disney World. We introduced it to our daughter when she was a toddler and then vacationed there numerous times since. She is now a Disney insider with a career in finance after a short stint in customer service. When we retire, we will Winter in FL where the only thing white is on the beach. We currently live in the Lake Tahoe area, Truckee to be exact, and are ready to leave the snow. Maybe we will meet someday on the road. Travel safe!
Greg…wonderful to “meet” you and hear your story. Congrats on the upcoming move to full-timing! You’re gonna love it. We’re heading back West this year so let me know if we cross paths. And…looking forward to hearing about your adventures when they get started. Good luck w/ the transition! Nina
Very inspiring! Your story gives me even more confidence that we will one day soon make the successful transition to full time RVing. Looking forward to more updates from the road. Best of luck! Cyrus
We’ll be rooting for you! If you ever have any questions fire away. We’re by no means experts, but we’ve got a few good spots of experience under our wings. Nina
I just wanted to say “thank you” for this blog…it has so much helpful information all in one place! We just purchased our first RV yesterday and will pick it up from the dealership this week. We live in Texas and can’t quite give up living on “the ranch”, so we’ve decided to be “most-of-the-timers”! At ages 34 and 29, with no RV’ing experience yet, we’re just trying to soak up as much information as we can! We’ll be travelling with our “furry kids” as well (2 dogs and 2 cats) and appreciate all of the helpful links that you provided! Also, I am a fulltime software developer who works remotely, so reading about the amplifiers, etc. was extremely helpful. I currently have a Verizon aircard with unlimited access provided by my company, which I use with a CradlePoint router. Internet access will be a must for me on the road, so thank you so much for all of the great information! We also prefer natural sites as opposed to private campgrounds and seeing the size of your rig (ours is 35 feet) and pics of the places you’ve camped gives me great hope that we will find places that we’ll love! Thank you again so much and hope to meet you down the road someday!
So very happy the blog is helpful! A huge congrats on your first RV & do let us know if we pass each other on the road. Nina
Hi Nina, thrilled to stumble across this blog! You may not remember me, but I was your nominated 2nd year “buddy” (or whatever they called it) at Girton back in 1989 to help you settle in as a fresher (though I don’t remember you needing much help!). The Girton College 2010 Review popped through the letterbox last week and going through some of the names in it made me wonder what became of you. Anyway, enjoy your travels, and thanks for sharing your adventures with such nice photos and words! Gary.
Hi Gary, I DO remember you. What a fabulous blast from the past! Very happy you managed to find me. Where are you these days & what are you up to? Cheers for checking in and do lets catch up. Nina
Hi Nina, glad you remember me – Girton seems very much a long time ago! Like you, I met someone not too long after leaving Cambridge and we’ve now been together for over 17 years. We’ve got three boys aged 7, 5 and 2 and live in Hitchin, a small market town about 30 minutes from Cambridge. For my sins I work as a software development manager for a hedge fund in the City of London. I’ll drop you a linkedin invite – it was there that I stumbled across the link to your blog.
Gary.
Excellent! I’ll link up w/ you on the invite. Lovely to “meet up” again. Nina
Hi Paul & Nina, my name is Fritz and although we have never met… i follow your posts on IRV2 (my avatar there is fkloster). It is really cool to me how you guys are having the time of your lives. I have particular interest in your healthy lifestyle! I am a lumber trader for the last 20 years and I’m 44 years old and my lovely wife Erin is 29 & we will be paying off our coach later this year and are extremely excited! (1991 Beaver Marquis we call Big Blue 40′) We both work and I have a 12 year old son who is my primary focus but I love to read your blog and I know this sounds crazy but i have a feeling that you two are a couple we would love to hang out with while camping! (HA) Anyways we are living in Portland Oregon and we camp like crazy from May through June each year then my son plays football and we put Blue in storage. Anyways take care and have a blast! I am envious but i’m also hard working and capable and I can’t wait to be in your situation! Paul, I want to show you some pics of big ol’ blue…. find me on facebook so you can check us out! Cheers!
Hi Fritz, Lovely to “meet you” on here! I can’t wait to get out to Oregon and try some of the parks there. We’re hoping (maybe) to make it later this year…we’ll have to see. If we do I’ll definitely send you a note. Always looking for good folks to hang out with at the campsite. Nina
Paul and Nina,
CY …. I was there from 1991 until 1999. Loved the TJR interactions. Which groups where you in? I was in PLD, then ran the IE group for a while until 1999.
Hi Steve, Paul joined CY in 94 and I joined a year later. We both worked in the chipset group so definitely remember those TJ meets. We moved around alot and were both stationed in Belgium when you left. Last post we had w CY was in Asia around 2004-2006 in sales. I was handling Taiwan and Paul was all Asia. Lots of years…lots of memories! Nina
We are looking forward to hosting you whenever you make it out to the SE corner of Arizona. Rex Vogel – Vogel Talks RVing- blogs about this area often and his pictures of the birds are amazing. Be sure to check him out to get an idea of the special places worth visiting. Lake Patagonia SP will be Pollys’ favorite choice. I wonder if she’ll enjoy a pontoon boat ride ??? Hope to c ya around soon ….
Hi Candace, Lovely!! We’ll definitely put you on the list of spots to stop at. And yes, I do follow Rex Vogel’s blog. He’s very active and always has tons of interesting info. Nina
Paul and Nina,
We are considering making the FT RV plunge and came across your website. Enjoyed your posts and are running the numbers to determine launch timing…we are somewhere in the 3 month to 3 year window:) A small cabin 0n Beaver Lake will serve as our home base. If your travels bring you to NW AR be glad to find you an nice place to hook up for a visit – Until then happy trails. Jeff and Deb
Jeff and Deb, So lovely to “meet’ you on the blog, and cheers very much for the invite to NW AR. We’ll definitely be going thorugh there at some point, so will look you up. Nina
Hi Paul and Nina,
It was nice to come across your web site(s). Very glad things are working out for you! Tracy and I were full-timers for two years, but ended up having to give it up mostly because of finding work as we went along. Tracy is self employed, and can work anywhere, but I had to find work as we moved along. Our first gigs were at RV Resorts …lots of hard work, and long hours! We had bills to pay, so we had to work full-time (not retired) which made it difficult. At first it really wasn’t too difficult to find campground work that would provide a site “and” an hourly wage, but that changed making it necessary to look outside the campground for work … very few employers were willing to hire someone who would only be available for up to six months!
Needless to say, we were forced to call it quits, but I look at our motor home and wish things could be different! We wish you the very best, and are happy it works for you!
Jeff and Tracy
So sorry you guys had to call it quits, but I’m sure the 2 years you spent in the RV were the experience of a lifetime. Hopefully you’ll get back on the road again at some point, even if it’s just for short outings. Do let us know if we’re ever close by. Always love to meet blog readers!
Nina
Really enjoy reading your website. Lots of useful information.
Would like to meet you sometimes. Our next “US adventure” starts late August, and we hope to spend Sept, Oct and Nov. Back for Christmas all of Dec and then back for another 3 month ( we are only allowed for 3 month at a time).
We hope to go to Quartzite in Jan. What are the chances of meeting you there?
Hi Henrik,
Dejligt at møde dig paa vores blog! It’s so much fun to connect with other people on the road, and I’m certainly very excited to meet another Dane too! We’re not sure exactly where we’ll end up this winter. Quartzite is definitely in the plans, but not fixed in stone yet. If we do end up there we’ll most certainly let you know. I’ll follow along with you on irv2.com and see where things lead.
Nina
Great web site ..Love your camp ground reviews, will be very helpful..The pictures of the camp ground are so helpful ..Thanks for your work on this great site ..Happy and safe travels to you ..
Just found your blog on iRV2 and am delighted to start following your journey here. I have just taken the giant leap, purchased my 10 yr old Fleetwood Bounder 39Z and will be a first timer RV’r and full timer to boot!
Starting out from Port St Lucie Fl heading west where I’ll spend 5 mths at Sacred Rocks RV Resort as a workamper. I drive my home myself since my only traveling companion is my 4lb chihuahua Molly and she just can’t reach the pedals. I love driving ‘Frogtruth’ (long story) and haven’t had any logistical problems so far. Have even managed a few back ins successfully using just my mirrors since, once again, Molly is just to short to guide me!
Continued success and in the moment enjoyment of life! I hope we might meet along the road one day. Really enjoy your blog!
Marietta,
How exciting! So lovely to meet you on the blog and have you follow along.
Best of luck on your new fulltiming adventures. It’s wonderful that you’re going
out there and doing it…with Molly in tow, of course. Wishing you good travels
and lots of adventure on the road. Do let us know if we’re ever close enough
to meet up!
Nina
Wow, Port St. Lucie …kind of jumped out at me while I was reading. Our first Workamper job away from NH was at Port St. Lucie RV Resort a few years ago. That guy still preaching at the intersection? Have a great time!
Jeff and Tracy
Nina
have to add myself to the growing list of followers–found your site while ramping up my research for the RV life I have longed dreamed about–great writing, reviews, and photography!! spending all my time now researching–trying to decide when I have absorbed enough to “just do it” as the Nike ad says–any advice??
hope to join you and so many others on the open road soon–safe travels
Stephen,
So happy to have you along for the ride! As for advice on when to do it, you might be asking the wrong gal. As hubby likes to say, he tends to be the one that goes to the edge, and I’m the one that pushes him over. I’m *always* ready to start an adventure
! I guess practically I’d suggest going to a bunch of RV dealers/shows and looking at different rigs. Also, spend some time on the forums (lots and lots of info on there), and thinking about finances. One day it’ll come to you naturally and you’ll be “ok, time to go!”. Do let me know when you start your adventures! Always intersted to follow other RVers (and photographers) on their journey!
Nina
I just wanted to say “thank you” for this blog…it has so much helpful information all in one place! We just purchased our first RV yesterday and will pick it up from the dealership this week. We live in Texas and can’t quite give up living on “the ranch”, so we’ve decided to be “most-of-the-timers”! At ages 34 and 29, with no RV’ing experience yet, we’re just trying to soak up as much information as we can! We’ll be travelling with our “furry kids” as well (2 dogs and 2 cats) and appreciate all of the helpful links that you provided! Also, I am a fulltime software developer who works remotely, so reading about the amplifiers, etc. was extremely helpful. I currently have a Verizon aircard with unlimited access provided by my company, which I use with a CradlePoint router. Internet access will be a must for me on the road, so thank you so much for all of the great information! We also prefer natural sites as opposed to private campgrounds and seeing the size of your rig (ours is 35 feet) and pics of the places you’ve camped gives me great hope that we will find places that we’ll love! Thank you again so much and hope to meet you down the road someday!
+1
Noby,
So very nice to “meet” you on the blog, and I’m very happy the info on here is helpful!
Very excited to hear about your upcoming ‘mostly-full-timing’ (I like that!).
Good luck w/ everything and do let us know if you’re ever close.
We always love meeting-up w/ blog readers and
fellow RVers.
Nina
As a reader of numerous rv blogs, I find yours particularly interesting, since you seem to prefer boondocking, as well as the great writing and photography.. However, your 40′ rig seems inconsistent with camping in the boondocks! While it is well set up dry camping, you are very limited in where you can go. It is simply too big to go many of the places I seek. If you were choosing a rig today, would you make the same choice? If not, what direction would you take?
Hi Tom,
We are a bit of a contradiction in terms, I do admit
When we originally bought our RV we went for comfort and our home is
supremely comfortable (no regrets there). However, once we started
full-timing, we realized very quickly that what we really like is nature
and getting “out there”. There’s no doubt that our size does limit
us somewhat in this. We get by, but I do have to do quite a bit of detailed planning.
If we were to do it over we’d likely to a tad smaller. 35-foot opens up more camping
spots than 40, and 30 opens up a whole bunch more spots. A 30-foot 5th wheel has
more clearance than a motorhome and gives you alot more camping options. We like
to travel with the pets in the home, so when we downsize at some point we
might still go w/ a motorhome, but just a smaller size (either smaller class A or
class C). Slides make a HUGE difference to the interior comfort so if you
can get a smaller home w/ bigger slides I think that’s a great compromise.
Of course there’s people who full-time in all kinds of sized rigs from small
pop-ups to trailers to homes, but we’d probably target around 30-foot
when we go for our next rig.
Nina
I really enjoyed reading your blog. The wife & I have been RV-ing for 20 years now, ever since our kids were old enough to enjoy it. We will join you on the road very soon, as we both retire next year. We will be a little older than you two, but younger than most. Hope to camp next to you somewhere soon!
Craig
Craig,
CONGRATS on your upcoming full-time adventure. You guys
are experts already, so I’m sure you’ll be loving it!
DO let me know if we’re ever close. We’re always happy
to share a chat and a glass
Nina
As part-time RVers we are thoroughly enjoying following your full-time travels with thorough blog! I wish I thought I had time to blog like this and to leave such a wonderful reference legacy with fantastic photos. We will definitely be using this material in the future. We love your rating system. The more we RV the more we have refined our tastes. One of the most enjoyable trips we took involved no reservations (yes, even on the coast in summer!) and almost no campgrounds. I too would appreciate knowing how to put google maps in WP. Additionally, (perhaps I missed it in all this information you have) I’d like to know more about cell phone and wireless card service and related “booster” systems you mention to improve coverage. Perhaps a feature article kept up-to-date with current technology and information would benefit all RVers and especially bookdockers who have to stay connected. Satellite internet is very tempermental and slow… Nina (and Paul), thanks for the hundreds of responses to everyone, you are an inspiration to us all. Need to get blogging for now(how many meanings could this have? lol). Happy blogging (and trails) to you both.
So happy you guys are along for the ride and enjoying the blog!
I know exactly what you mean about refining tastes on the road.
We’ve certainly changed how we like to camp over the past few
years going to more and more “natural” spots.
As for internet I’ve done a few articles on it in the past, although
it’s possibly time for an update (esp. with 4G now out).
Here are my previous posts:
Boosting Your Internet in the Boonies
Staying Connected
Also, I highly recommend this site (on another blog):
http://www.jackdanmayer.com/communication.htm
Lemme know if you start a blog!
Nina
What do you think of your toad? CRV, right? We are looking to purchase a CRV for our toad….what tow bar are you using?
Thanks,
Jim
Jim,
We’re VERY happy with the CRV. It’s an excellent little car,
gets great gas mileage, can be towed 4-down (which was
really important for us) and is pretty versitile. The only thing we
might want (if we chose another toad) is more off-road capability.
There are lots of interesting 4-wheel drives where we go, especially
in the SW…something like a Jeep would probably be worth looking at.
As for towing we use the Roadmaster Falcon All-terrain tow-bar.
We also have US Gear Unified Braking System.
We’ve been extremely happy w/ both and have no issues to report.
Nina
Where is your dog? I haven’t seen any doggy pictures for what seems like ages. Just checking and thanks for your blog!
Hi Peg,
Doggie is on the photos! Sometimes it’s tough to see her ‘coz she’s so dark, but
she’s always with us. Got a few more of her on there today.
Nina
Hello,
I recently started to read your blog and I want to thank you for the time and information your put in it. My husband and I are full-time RVers wannabe and we both enjoy all your posts (we read everything from the beginning). If you could find the time I would really love to hear about how you manage your garbage when you’re boondocking!!!!.
Huguette
So happy you’re enjoying the blog!
As for garbage while boondocking that’s a good question!
If we’re in a semi-primitive spot that has closeby dumpsters we’ll use those.
Sometimes there’s a nearby town or reststop that will take garbage too.
If we’re reaaaaly out there we’ll either keep it outside (if we’re not in a wildlife area)
or hang it up in a tree away from camp (just like we used to do backpacking). Then,
we’ll take it in and leave it in a dumpster.
Hope that helps!
Nina
Thank you Nina, it did help.
Huguette
Hallo Nina, best regards from Denmark,- has just sign me up for your blog. After travling around in Italy this summer, I can enjoy your “fredom on the road” though the danish winter until next summer.
Love from Susanne.
Hej!! Dejligt at se dig paa blogget!!
Nina
Hello Paul and Nina, I was reading about your internet coverage. I (like Nina) have been slow to adopt the Smartphone craze. I have also been mulling over a Verizon mobile broadband setup. I was wondering if you have found the mobile broadband antenna, amplifier, and router is still necessary when the Verizon smartphones lack reception? I noticed you said you use the Smartphones 20% of the time. Does that mean for RVing and boondocking the Mobile Broadband setup is still necessary? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob F.
Bend, OR
Hi Bob,
We still use the antenna/amplfier quite a bit in our travels. It gives us coverage in many places where the regular signal isn’t strong enough. If I was buying today I would still try and find a system I could amplify/boost. The new MiFi’s seem a good option since they can hook several devices together. Looks like it’s time for me to update our internet post
By the way we were JUST over by you guys last week,at LaPine State Park. Awesome spot!
Nina
Great reviews! Perhaps one day you can paraphrase a few of them and share with the CampfireReviews.com community.
No reviews from WI yet?
Thanks,
Allen
Thanks Allen…and thanks for the link to your site!
No reivew from WI yet…gotta make it up there!!
Nina
Nina and Paul,
Here’s a map based site we like for finding campgrounds: http://www.wxtoad.com/uscampgrounds/
for California the “list” on the left doesn’t have sufficient space to list all of them, however, they are on the map. In most states this isn’t an issue.
Love your list of things to be done differently.
Also check out: http://www.campingguidenevada.com/index.html
this site includes the “Lost Coast of California” under “Sidetrips” here: http://www.campingguidenevada.com/cgnes/sidetrips.html. This covers some obscure camping areas on the California north coast.
Kim and I like to travel the central California coast HWY-1 from Santa Cruz/Monterey down to Santa Barbara. October is about the last warm month to do it before going to the desert for the winter. We’ve stopped many places along the road (no campground) but enough room to put out the bedroom slides (sometimes we leave the toad on and sometimes we take it off for a side trip) just south of Carmel the “no camping signs” end. They are a little more restrictive once you leave Monterey county and enter San Luis Obispo county. Lots of county parks here (SLO). Forest Service campgrounds along the way too.
Happy trails!
Thanks for the great links and tips! We’ll be doing more of the coast next year (coming from the South) so they’ll all come in handy for sure!
Nina
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences. We are about a year from retiring and have just purchased a 2008 42′ Monaco Camelot. We are so excited.
Have you guys had problems experiencing the National Parks because of size?
Again, thanks from Lago Vista, Texas. You are an inspiration
Yes, we have trouble with some of the NP’s as well as some of the National Forests and even State Parks (depending on state). We get by, but since we love public campgrounds it does means extra time planning to find spots that fit our size. In private parks our size is no issue. Enjoy your rig & upcoming retirement!!
Nina
I have read you blog and truly enjoyed following your travels to date. I plan on doing the same in a couple years as my retirement is close. My camping tastes are similar to yours which makes your blog a valuable resource. Your posts are not only entertaining but informative and I will use as I prepare for my adventures. I only regret that I had not found your blog when you were in my area (Barstow) I would have loved to stop by for a visit. I wish you continued health and safety while on the road!
Oh, what a bummer we missed each other! We really enjoyed Rainbow Basin when we were in Barstow (as I’m sure you read on the blog). What a neat area!
Nina
Hi Nina and Paul,
We love your site. Both your writing and photography are amazing! We have been on the road as full-timers since this past August and have learned much from your postings. We are currently in AZ and are heading to San Diego on Feb. 1st. We will check in often. Take care!
Lu & Terry
How anyone could fall in love at a Cypress Semiconductor Ops Review is beyond me.
Good to ‘see’ you guys.
Cheers,
Jack
Hehe…only true love would blossom in such circumstances. Nice to hear from you too!
Nina
My wife and I are thinking of doing the RV life style. Thank you for a wonderful blog, oh by the way how do you find all these campgrounds?
Lovely to “meet” you on the blog. As to how we find this campgrounds, I wrote a blog post a while back that details all our secrets:
Finding Cheap & Natural Campgrounds
Hope that helps!
Nina
Paul & Nina,
Just a note to encourage couples who are thinking of being adventurous and going live-aboard sailboat cruising around the world, or striking out with the cruising RV lifestyle, or whatever. My husband & I had talked about the sailboat thing during the 90s, and going out in the RV in the 2000s. The funny thing about life is that it is always a gift, with no guarentees of duration. We never got around to those dreams. He suffered a massive stroke five years ago & passed away. I can you that I am NO LONGER letting dreams go unfulfilled even though he is no longer beside me. I retired early and have taken some dream trips in the last two years, with many more planned. (And no, I am not independently wealthy.) Be creative and find a way to make it happen. Nina & Paul did ! Just get out there to experience your own adventures.
P & L Thank you for being inspirational. I enjoy your blog.
I may just run into you sometime somewhere in our travels.
Flo
Flo,
Thank you SO much for sharing your story. It’s very inspiring and brought tears to my eyes. Very much hope we meet each other on the road sometime!
Nina
We not only talked about it, we did it, cruising our 40′ ketch to Mexico, French Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands before returning to SF 2 years later in 1980. We then returned to our careers and stared our family. Thirty years later, our children are grown, and we have been RV’ing for several years. Borrego Springs is one of our favorite places! Be sure to visit Marshall South’s homestead at Ghost Mountain in Blair Valley. Read the fascinating story here: http://www.sandiegotrailtramps.com/pages/2010Hikes/10_2_21BlairValley-MarshallSouthCabin.html. Ask any park ranger for details.
Love to hear stories like this! And thanks very much for the tip on Marhsall South’s Homestead. Sounds like our kinda hike!
Nina
Nice seeing another blogging couple into both RVing and photography. I’ve added your blog to our blogroll and am hoping you’ll do the same for us. We’ll be back in southern California and Arizona next winter and plan to return to Santee Lakes. Great bird photography there!
Safe travels
Mark & Chris
nina and paul — you’ve given so much info via your blog that I wanted to reciprocate a bit. Just completed a few days at Usery Mtn Park which is part of the Phoenix/Maricopa County park system in Arizona. I think you’d love this park. Great desert setting, huge well spaced level sites, lots of hiking (in park and nearby), clean restrooms, free showers (and clean), close to town if needed To me best sites are on outside from 29-41 — we were in 39). Check out the reviews on RVpark reviews. Also, park is now reservable through Maricopa County Park website. Happy Travels.
Oh thank you for the feedback!! I heard good things about that park when we were staying in McDowell Mountain (another Maricopa County park) late last year, but hadn’t gotten any first-hand feedback like this. Cheers!!
Nina
Next time your in Nashville, we found this hidden bbq restaurant with a lot of character and great food, it was called Stone House Q.
http://www.stonehouseq.com
We’re always looking for good BBQ spots so cheers for the tip!
Nina
Hi Paul and Nina,
I had been following your journey for a while now and i have to say you have the best, inspirational and informational blogs around. My husband and i will be full timing on April 1. Yeah! We quit our jobs and hop aboard our Betsy. We hope to meet both of you someday and personally thank you and appreciate all your adventures and wonderful stories.
One question, how do we get into wordpress ?
Thank you so much for all the information shared here.
Congrats on your upcoming adventure!! Getting a free blog on wordpress is easy. Simply go to http://wordpress.com/ and sign on up! They have standard templates and do all the hosting for you. You can self-host too, of course, but then you need to pay for a hosting service.
Nina
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Hi, I just want to thank you for your blog site. it has so much useful, practical information about full-timing which I have not been able to find from other full-timers blogs. I’ve been interested in full timing for about 7 years now and The “universe” has recently made it clear to me that it is time to made the move. I will continue to lurk for more information. Thanks again.
So happy it’s helpful and I DO hope you get to make the move you’re dreaming of. Feel free to ask questions. I love enabling others onto this lifestyle.
Nina
Question: Have you come across many women who full-time on their own? This will be a solo adventure for me and wondered if you knew any singles that could give advice or have a blog that I could follow in addition to yours. Thank you so much!
Sure. There is a “solo” group on iRV2.com forum (CLICKY) which is very active. Also, RV Sue is out there on here own..and she boondocks too!:
http://rvsueandcrew.wordpress.com
Nina
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Hello Nina and Paul
I started reading your blog a couple weeks ago and am totally amazed by the variety of well written articles. I have had more entertainment reading your blog than non relevant stories in my subscription to “Motorhome”. A younger outlook makes your site very interesting with usable information we can actually use. My wife and I have a 40′ diesel we call the Black Pearl and tow a covered trailer with our dirt bikes and quads.
We were headed to McDowell regional park, Az when I came across your assessment of the campground. SPOT ON information and lo and behold we chose a spot from your recommended list….
Thanks and enjoy!!
D&N of Palm Desert
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