All in RV Tips
Next week marks the first year anniversary of picking up our European motorhome. I am never one to let the opportunity to mark an occasion pass by so over the next few weeks I thought I would put together a few “listicle” posts about what we have learned and what we have loved in our first year.
Now we are well into our 5th year of traveling we are used to our dynamic life. But 2018 is probably the most varied year we have had in terms of travel style and all round change and disruption.
We meet new people all the time since we are constantly on the move. When the conversation inevitably gets around to being asked where we are from, we have to explain "it's complicated".
After nearly three months on the road we are still definitely newbies to this whole European motorhoming thing. Before we set off to other different countries I thought it would be interesting to share our first impressions from our English travels. Warning: Opinions may change in the future.
We are used to the idea that the US and UK have different words for the same thing. When we moved to The States we had to learn a whole new vocabulary. Ask any British person about their first time buying bed sheets in Bed, Bath and Beyond and they'll tell you what a humbling experience it was. Well the same goes for motorhoming/camping or whatever you call this thing we are doing around Europe.
Our primary task when we got back to the UK was always to find a new RV. Being homeless kind of clarifies your priorities in this respect. As it turned out, the search was not too lengthy.
Since the end of last year we have been in online research mode, looking for a new home on wheels that could take us on the next chapter of our traveling adventure. We have spent, to be honest, an unhealthy number of hours devouring YouTube videos from manufacturers and reviewers in an attempt to narrow down our choices.
Yep, it's all getting real now. As we expected (and were prepared for) the Airstream sold immediately. The market is hot for gently used nearly new models. We had quite a bit of interest from far and wide but ended selling it to friends of friends. We drove it to the new owners today and I know they will love and cherish it as much as we did.
Since we got back from Mexico we've been pretty busy. In a previous post we described the decision to move to Europe and start touring in a motorhome. Before we can embark on that adventure we decided to come back to the US and sell our Airstream. We could have decided to keep it, but honestly, that's not our style.
We have looked at various cities for a year-long stay, so we could get to know them better. Spain and Mexico are still the countries at the top of our list for that kind of experience. But after staying in one place for 5 months last year we came to the realization that no matter how much we liked that place, and we really did love Valencia, we are not ready to sit still yet. We miss the excitement and challenge of moving around from place to place.
In June of 2014 we sold our San Diego home and everything in it and started traveling full time. The last three years have been an amazing experience.
Fast forward a few years and we have now parked in over 150 different camping spots, we think we have got it sussed and miraculously we are still married.
After two and a half years driving all around the US, we consider ourselves pretty seasoned road warriors. Here are some of our top tips for a better road trip experience:
We settled on heading up through Tahoe and across Nevada and Utah on Interstate 50 AKA The Loneliest Highway in America.
We knew we would be gone for a number of months so we wanted to make sure our trailer was super secure and not a potential home for pests and rodents while we were gone.
How can you be sure that you are getting the best rental deal possible? Consider the following tips when renting an RV; tips that will help you experience your dream vacation while on a bargainers budget.
How do we live like this without working? Read on to find out the changes we made to reduce our monthly outgoings and make it possible.
There's something about tearing a sheet off the calendar that has a strange effect on us humans. We get all wistful and reflective while we think about the year that has passed and the one that lies ahead.
