It’s been a while since we’ve posted a blog. Mostly, because we were in the same park for three months (John Prince Park, Lantana, FL), and just too caught up in the daily routine of our normal lives to truly enjoy the “RV Lifestyle”.
 
We’ve been in Florida since the beginning of October, and had planned to stay through the end of January. Due to our business, it’s more profitable for us to be in South Florida during these months. Al usually has many jobs that have him traveling all over the nation the rest of the year, and we were going to use these jobs as a road map of sorts to plan our travels for the year. But our calendar has not filled up for the year to show us which direction to head. That keeps us very tied to South Florida (where the money is).
 
In my heart of hearts, I want to be out west. Ideally, spend a month in Arizona before it gets too hot, a month or more in Utah, a month in Colorado, etc. But we just can’t force these things to happen. Whenever we do try to force it, our guides throw up a minor road block. So, we stay put and play the wait-and-see game. The problem with this game is that many favorable campsites in Central and South Florida are fully booked October – Easter. So we were unable to extend our stay at John Prince Park after January 31st. That sent us north to the Orlando area for the month of February. But due to limited availability, we’ve had to park hop this month.
 
This has been a very elegant lesson in surrendering and flowing. Our situation makes it hard to have firm plans. And we run the risk of great camp sites being fully booked during peak seasons throughout the US. Not having a plan is a bit of a stress factor for me. We try to be proactive where we can. We have already booked our South Florida campsite for Oct. 2018 – Feb 2019 in the Broward County area. We chose this over John Prince (Palm Beach County) because it is more central to working jobs in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. It felt like I was driving from Palm Beach to Miami three times a week last season!
 
At this point, we do not know what the Universe has in store for us March – September. It is exciting because, quite frankly, the Universe is always gifting us with surprises. And it is nerve wracking because we want to stay in nice places.  
 
HIT OR MISS CAMPSITES
 
We knew that this first year was going to be a huge learning curve. We’d figure out where we like to stay so we can go there again, and learn what to avoid. You cannot always choose your campsite. You may be planning to stay at a beautiful park for three months, and hate your campsite. And there are many factors that contribute to a site being good or bad. You may be able to choose your exact campsite in advance based on a map, but you really don’t know what it will be like until you are there. The site we’re in right now is a dirt pit, but the ones all around us have lush grass. I hope we don’t try to exodus from here during the rain, because we may get stuck in a mud hole.
 
Some parks will resonate with you more than others. I felt so much more peace and joy once we left South Florida and got into the Orlando area, but I do not like the campground we are in for the next three weeks. It’s our fist time staying at an Encore / Thousand Trails park. There are many people who live here year round, and it’s a weird mix of campground and trailer park. It has a very different feel from the KOA’s we’ve stayed at the past few weeks. (I LOVE KOA’S!)
 
This lifestyle, especially if you are moving around a lot over the course of a year, can keep throwing you into different extremes, vacillating between “I love where I live” and “I hate where I live”. Luckily, you won’t be there too long. But this extreme is the difference between me wanting to go out and play, and staying inside and hiding.
 
MOVING DAY – ARG!
 
If you do find yourself moving around a lot, you may want to think about a simple rig set-up. We have a 38 ft. bus, with a tandem tow dolly in the back that adds and extra 10+ feet once the car is on the dolly. Because the dolly is so large, this usually means we cannot navigate the park with the dolly attached to the RV, and must store it in the overflow lot. So aside from our normal prepping (bringing in the awning and chairs, disconnecting the hoses and power, etc.), we have a huge chore dealing with the dolly and car that looks something like this:

• Move the RV out of the campsite to a road, where hopefully we won’t be blocking other RV’ers as they are coming and going while we work.
• Hook up the tow dolly (currently in the overflow lot) to the back of the Jeep and bring it to where to RV is.
• Unhitch the dolly from the car, move it manually into position (while the Vespa is on it), and hook it up to the RV. Then attach the Jeep to the dolly.
• Once we get to the new campground, we try not to block traffic, as people are waiting on us to detach the Jeep from the tow dolly and move it into position so that we can reattach the dolly to the back of the Jeep.
• Curse
• Move the tow dolly to the overflow lot and detach it from the back of the Jeep.
• Move the RV to the campsite.
• And now reconnect all of your hoses and what not, while hot and tired (though we have done this cold and wet in the middle of the night).

 
Needless to say, moving day can really take ALL DAY, even if you are just going to a campground a few miles from where you were originally.
 
When we were planning for our trip to Burning Man in 2016 with our little trailer camper, my sister-in-law said “It’s only as complicated as you make it”. Wise words. Are we making this too complicated?
 
 

​We love to travel, both abroad and within the USA. Quite frankly, we can’t believe how much we have gotten to travel and see this year, and there’s still two months left in the year, with a Thanksgiving trip to Colombia and a Christmas cruise planned.
 
When we lived in the house, it always seemed that we returned from a long foreign trip to something that needed repairs, usually the AC. We had a lot of trepidations about leaving the RV for two weeks. Will it be safe? Will it be painfully obvious that we’re not there, making it a target for break ins? We’re on the beach, will a wicked storm or hurricane hit the area while we’re away? We didn’t realize it when we checked in to this campground, but they have a rule that no campsite or RV may be left unattended overnight. Opps! Will they tow it? They mentioned that they may be changing the gate code soon. Will it get changed while we are away, making it difficult to get in and forcing us to explain that we’ve been gone for two weeks?
 
We got home at 2am. Code at the gate worked fine. RV still there. No notices on the door. All is well… or so we thought. The temp went down to 49 degrees that night, so we opened the windows and went straight to bed. It wasn’t until the morning that we realized some things were amiss. There was no power going to the microwave, refrigerator, heater, or any of the outlets. I think Al made about a dozen calls or more in two days time trying to figure out how to fix this. It would be the first time using the extended warranty insurance, and we weren’t certain about the process. But the biggest frustration was that every repair shop was completely booked for the next 5 weeks, and independent repair techs were too overwhelmed with work to even answer their phones. WTF? Why is everything so booked? Seems that many people received damage to their rigs during the hurricanes. But you would think a full timer could get in ahead of people who use their RV 2 months a year for vacation.
 
Calls to the Thor manufacturer gave us some guidance that it may be the automatic transfer switch based on the symptoms. We were able to get the fridge to work off the batteries when we turned on the inverter, but still minimal or no power to most everything else. We finally got a highly recommended repair tech on the phone who offered us some suggestions (he was also too busy to come out and help). Following his guidance, Al turned off the inverter and the unplugged us from shore power. He placed the RV in “Store” mode, and flipped all the circuit breakers a few times. He then flipped the switch on the shore power external box a few times before plugging it back in. Abracadabra! The RV came back to life! It took some time for the power to reach all the outlets, but they finally did.
 
In the house, Al tended to stress more about repairs and the cost. In the RV, he has a very different mindset. He is willing to learn and understand the intricacies of the unit. It is so very different than maintaining a house, and I still find it a bit daunting, but Al has thoroughly embraced it. I have nightmares that I have to unhook the unit, get the dolly hooked up, load the car, and drive cross country with it all on my own!
 
We are also learning that critters find every nook and cranny to get in here. While Al was on his fourth or fifth call for repairs, I started unpacking and putting stuff away when I came across a large ant colony that had made a nest in my wardrobe closet. It looked like Aliens Covenant happened in there while we were away. Sigh. Truth be told, it could have been worse.
 
Patience is needed, and a willingness to learn. It helps when you are truly embracing the lifestyle. Be willing to get hands on, and do some research into repairs. The freedom outweighs the challenges. 

Our first full month as full time RV’ers was a jam packed adventure. We put 3,359 miles on the Mighty Thor, and drove through 14 states, and stayed in 8 of them. All those miles taught us a lot.

• Try to limit your daily drive to 4 hours according to Google maps. Once you add in gas and meal breaks, and slow driving up mountains or traffic jams, 4 hours will turn into 6 hours. There were a few days when we had to get in a lot of miles to get from one job to the other in time. Hitting the road at 6am, we thought we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us, but once you add those necessary and unavoidable delays, it quickly turned into 9 or 10 hours on the road. Tough on Al’s nerves, tough on my back, and just really bad for our overall health. We would take the time to find campsites that appealed to us, but we’d be too tired when we got there, or it would just be too dark to take advantage of all its amenities and hiking trails. And then we were on the road again the next day. No time for fun.
• Find time to exercise. We’ve both lost more muscle mass than we care to admit. You will have to change your exercise routine and step out of your comfort zone to get in some fitness.
• Take extra steps to have healthy food ready to eat on travel days. Boiled eggs and healthy snacks help cut down on the restaurant food (aka. Salt and cholesterol bombs). And you may arrive at some campsites in the middle of nowhere pretty late, without an open restaurant for a 10 mile radius. Have easy fix dinners available.
• I’ve yet to master cooking with the induction plates and convection oven. Practice makes perfect, I hope. But I have learned to manage the small counter space in food preparation.
• We’ve learned how to clean differently, using less water when doing dishes and taking showers.
• Plan ahead, but be flexible. Your plans can change. When looking to stay at prime locations during peak season, it is good to book in advance so that you know you have a place to stay. But be aware of the cancelation policy so that you can change your plans as need be. South Florida is very desirable in the winter, especially January and February, and reservations can be hard to get.  
• Call the campground if you see limitations on their booking sites that don’t fit into your schedule. Broward County Parks (South Florida) website will only let you book 7 day stays, but if you call them, you can book stays for up to 6 full months. This could be the case at other camp sites as well.
• If staying at a campsite you’ve never been to before, call ahead and find out the best entrance to use. Our rig was too big to fit into the main entrance at TY Park and we almost got stuck. We had to block the entrance while unhitching the tow dolly and car from the RV. At another site in New Jersey, the RV navigation took us through the back entrance and we were once again blocking traffic as we tried to figure things out.
• Driving your RV is the equivalent of putting your home through an earth quake. As such, you’ll need to do more repairs the more you are on the road. To date, the following repairs have been needed:
  • Automatic steps stopped working – repaired
  • Inverter that lets the residential refrigerator run off the generator while driving stopped working – repaired
  • Gouge in sidewall of tire – needs repairing
  • Check engine light came on – needs repairing
  • Sewage drain hose busted while pumping black tank – I don’t want to talk about it
  • Trim came off the windshield – needs repairing
  • Emergency window came off its hinges – repaired
  • Bottom of a kitchen drawer collapsed – repaired
  • Oil Change needed – will be done soon
  • One of the toilets keeps clogging – we keep unclogging
  • Pipe under bathroom sink came slightly loose and caused a small water leak - repaired.
  • Bunk above cockpit keeps coming down slightly on one side – live with it

It has definitely been a non-stop first month, which really needs to be covered in full in another post. Right now we are looking at a beautiful lake scene in Hermitage, Tennessee. This was not a planned stop when we took off in August. We were actually suppose to head back to Jupiter, Florida on Wednesday, with the plan to spend 2 weeks there before going to Cape Canaveral and eventually Palm Beach till January 31st. But then the threat of Irma became very real. So instead of heading home, because let's face it, Florida is home for us, we came to Tennessee instead. We could have gone anywhere, or just stayed in Virginia, but Al has a 2 day conference in Nashville next week, so it seemed like the logical choice. That logical choice may have put us right in Irma's path based on the 5 day outlook, but by then it should be a Tropical Depression. We've been through so many of those in our years of Miami living, and we're not too worried. But we've never been in one while living in an RV. Not sure if we are underestimating the severity. But Al has to be here regardless to work those days, and I'm not confident enough to move this bad boy on my own.

We downsized tremendously when we took that leap to full time RV'ers, with only a 5x10 storage unit. Not much in there that would devastate us if lost, but my car was still in Florida. We bought a plane ticket so that I could fly down and drive it out on Friday, but we started to worry that the traffic getting out of Florida would be at a standstill and gas would be hard to find come Friday (36 hours before the storm). So I called my friend to find out what her evacuation plans were. She had none at the moment and didn't know what to do. So I told her to pick up my car and drive it out of there on Wednesday. Traffic was pretty bad then too, but it gave her an exit plan in a safe vehicle and a place to stay to weather out the storm. As small is this RV is compared to our house, I knew we'd have house guests, and she wasn't the first one!

At this point, we really don't know where we are going next, or when. We have reservations in Cape Canaveral, but how much damage will that area receive from Irma? Al has a job in Atlanta for a day. Maybe we'll just head that way and hang out in Atlanta until the parks in Florida are ready to receive guests again. We're willing and able to be flexible. The beauty of living in an RV full time. We feel as if we dodged a bullet and had divine guidance that led us to sell our South Florida home so close to the water and get out while the getting was good. We're grateful that we won't have to worry about the clean up or damage to our homes and lives. But so many people that we love are still there, and we do not wish to see their lives be negatively impacted by this. The wait for them is the worse, not knowing if you are getting a direct hit, or how bad it will be. We are praying for them and staying in touch. 

We began the process of moving out of our 3 story, 3/3 townhouse on August 1st. We gave ourselves a full week to make the transition, and we needed every bit of that week. Life and work don't stop just because you are moving. Family was in town to celebrate Grammy's 97th birthday, and clients were calling, so we had to juggle our time and responsibilities wisely.

We had been storing Thor at Pop's home out in the country. We brought it over to TY Park in Hollywood, FL, to make it easier for us to move into it. It was too large to fit into our townhouse complex, and TY Park was the safest and closest place to us. And by closest, I mean 17 miles away from the townhouse through heavy highway traffic in the heat of August. 

Moving into an RV is not like moving into another house. You can't just load up a Uhaul, and unload everything in the middle of your new home and sort it out during the course of a week. There just isn't room for that. You have to load up your car and break it down into many small trips, and put everything away before you bring in the next load.  

One of the biggest frustrations for me was realizing that although my clothing drawers measure 26x7 on the outside, the are actually only 23x4.5 on the inside. I'm still crying a little on the inside over this deception. 

We were hoping to keep what we put into storage very minimal, but still ended up with a 5x10 unit in Palm Beach (64 miles from the townhouse). We felt keeping it close to family was smart and would allow us to visit family and our storage unit in the same trip if need be. We still probably put too much in storage, but considering the vast amount we got rid of, and the huge change of life this is, I think we did pretty good. I'm sure in a year we will realize that most of that stuff is not needed too, and reduce it down to a 4x4.

So, after daily trips from the RV to the townhouse and to storage, we felt as if we were moving everyday for an entire week. We were so happy to turn in our townhouse keys on Monday and officially be done moving. But then on Tuesday we had to move again, this time to take the RV to CB Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, FL. While Broward County has some amazing parks, their websites only let you make arrangements for 7 day stays. Being newbies at this, we were just trying to follow the rules and learn as we go. Upon checking in at CB Smith, I asked if it was possible to stay beyond the 7 days, or if we need to check out and check in again with a new reservation after 7 days. Turns out that you can stay at a single Broward County park for up to 6 consecutive months! Lesson learned: Call the park, don't trust the online reservation process.

We were so busy and physically exhausted from the move, that we didn't get to take advantage of the beautiful trails and amenities at TY Park while we were there. But yesterday we finally got to get a taste of the life style that inspired this transition. A bike ride through the park on a  beautiful evening with a gentle breeze. While TY Park has more charm to me, the RV parking area feels more like a cement parking lot with sparse trees and shade. CB Smith RV parking is lush and beautiful. Great shade and a view of the lakes. 

So much more to learn, and you can only learn it by getting out there and doing it. We'll be at CB Smith till Tuesday, then we head up to Kentucky for the Solar Eclipse. 

See you on the road!

​We just got back from our first road trip in the new RV. This was sort of a practice run to get to know the RV (now called The Mighty Thor), before actually moving into it full time. It took us four days to drive to Virginia Beach from Miami; two days longer than normal. We were hoping to pick up the tow dolly we ordered in Atlanta, but it just wasn’t ready yet. So that meant I had to follow Al in the Jeep as he drove Thor. Sirius radio made for a very enjoyable drive, switching back and forth between The Spectrum, The Garth Channel, and Road Trip Radio (I’ll definitely be missing Sirius radio while driving Thor).
 
Because we were taking our time and getting familiar with the RV, we opted for shorter driving days in order to get to camp sites before their check-in offices closed at 5pm. This had its positives and negatives. It allowed us to practice set-ups and breakdowns repeatedly, and learn what needs to be absolutely locked down to keep if from flying all over the place. Al enjoyed the process. Me, not so much. I don’t like being on the road day in and day out. I need time to get into my own routine and find my own structure and grounding. I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing a lot the days we were just driving. Al has assured me that it will be quite different once we have the tow dolly since we won’t both be driving at the same time, and we won’t always be on the road. There will be plenty of times when we’ll be able to put our jacks down for a week or more (hopefully!).
 
We did run into some technical difficulty. On the first day out, the trim that goes around Our Big Windshield came loose and was flapping in the wind as we were driving 70mph down the turnpike (oh, the irony). Our automatic steps stopped working and were stuck in (better than stuck out), the emergency escape window started to come off its hinges, and we had a toilet clog. A big THANK YOU to the US Navy (my brother) for helping us fix the steps and emergency window. He tried to add the trim back to the windshield, but all the old silicone in the crevice made that task impossible. He assured us that it was just to give it a finished look and make it a bit more weather resistant, but that the glass itself was very secure (since he repairs fighter jets, I’ll take his word for it). Al still wants to get someone to look at it and see what the cost is to replace it, but we may just end up filling the crevice with a black silicone to seal it completely.
 
This trip did give me a bit of a reality check. It made me realize how little room there really is and that I need to cut back even more on clothes and books. There were moments when I was like “Holy shit! I’m going to be living in this thing!”. It’s starting to freak me out a bit, but there’s no turning back now. It’ll mess with your head when you realize that your home is flying down the road going over 70mph and vulnerable. Luckily, Al is so excited and loves learning about, and taking care of, his new toy. He was sweeping 3 times a day! I’ve never seen him sweep before. A girl can get used to that!
 
We don’t have a date yet for the full move in, but it will be sometime in August. We’ll keep you posted. Till then, we are getting down to the nitty gritty of clearing stuff out, and we have a big trip planned in July to Iceland and Scotland. So our plate is pretty full. It’s going to be an amazing summer!
 
Blog entry by Elizabeth DiPace