Calvin was born in 2011, the same year my husband died, but I didn’t meet Cal until 2014. Before I met him, his “job” was to be at my future husband’s side as he and his family transitioned through a post-divorce lifestyle, parent-child separation, and some very difficult experiences. To say these were some of our most challenging years in life cannot be overstated.
I met Calvin when my now-husband and I reunited and eventually married. That was ten years ago. We merged furniture, children, and pets into one household in 2015. What a mess that was! Remember the Brady Bunch? That was fiction.
Two of the kids were already adults and had moved on to early adulthood. Two of them visited us occasionally. Two of them lived with us full-time. We also combined our menagerie of three dogs and four cats into one living space. We have all learned a lot about how messy life can be.
Four years ago to the day, we moved into our fifth-wheel trailer and launched another life adventure, zigzagging across the United States. By this time, all the kids were grown and only two of our dogs and a cat remained (two other of our cats moved out with two of our kids).
These loyal pets have loved every mile of our adventures – the good ones and the bad ones. They adjusted to the changes and grew to adore the ever-changing scenery and smells. One of those pets was Calvin, and yesterday was the end of his journey with us. Calvin saw us through some of the worst and best of our life journeys. Yesterday evening, he went on to his next adventure. We share a faith of life everafter, so while he will rest forever in our hearts, we also know where he is for eternity. Ask me how I know…
Calvin’s journey was an adventure from beginning to end
Calvin Schmidt
December 26, 2011 – July 17, 2024
A perfect ball player, named after Cal Ripkin. A rescued puppy from a Bassett Hound mom and a mystery for a dad. The most handsome and smart dog we have ever known. Job well done. Go out and play ball!
Safe travels, and enjoy your messy life journey.
“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
–A. A. Milne / Winnie the Pooh.
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Jake and Calvin wishing they could ride in the truck bed
But they always loved riding in the cab
Ella poses with Cal
Calvin’s fur family – Jake and Millie
Taking a rest from their wrestling playtime
Not-so-happy times after a skunk visit
Jockeying for position
Standing at attention
Eager for a golf cart ride at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
Abby, Dad, Calvin, and Cape May
Did you say “snack”?
Stencil, Calvin, and Dad
Nap time in the camper
Lounging in what would be Calvin’s final “home” location in Loganville, PA
“Do you need your seat, Mom?”
I am tired, but still full of love
His favorite spot is right between us
Best friends
Jake and Cal spooned at nap time
My fav photo of the three brothers
Let us help you exercise, Mom
You have our undivided attention
Is that bird food for us?
A younger Lorne…and a younger Cal
Say “cheese”!
Why did he sit on the stairs like this?
Let’s GOOOOOOO!
Side-by-side campers
Let’s keep hiking
Sun god
Ella was his beloved “extra”
Waiting for Dad by the windowsill that he destroyed as a puppy
Fun in every season
He was my beach dog
His final week – peacefully contemplating a life well lived.
Summer is nearly two-thirds over already, and we have been very busy “seeing and doing”, despite the fact that we are not doing much traveling right now. It is a staycation summer for us this year, hanging out near most of our family members in Pennsylvania and Maryland instead of launching a high mileage multi-state expedition.
It is not as glamorous and exciting as a big several-month itinerary, but sometimes “simpler” is just what we need to do. The timing is right, based on current fuel prices, and being in one general area for an extended period of time allows us to take care of medical appointments, transportation tune-ups, and allows us to spend in-person time with our family members.
But while our travel pace may have eased up, we are still managing to have a lot of fun. Following is a little review of our summer staycation highlights, past and planned by the time the first leaves fall from the trees in a few month.
While roadside farm stands can be found all around the country, I think there may just be a higher per capita number of them in Pennsylvania Amish country than in most other places. There are roadside farm stands at nearly every turn, and with the help of Google Business and Google Maps, farmers have done a good job of helping us find them even when we travel unfamiliar roads.
Farm Stands
High on our shopping list, and what we have missed the most while traveling far and wide is corn and tomatoes! Maryland Sweet Corn and regional summer tomatoes will stand toe-to-toe with any other regions of the United States. Perhaps only the Jersey tomato has ever come close to the flavor and juiciness of what we find in our home states of Maryland and Pennsylvania!
So perhaps once or twice a week, we take a drive through the country where we are camping in south central and south east Pennsylvania – Gettysburg, Lancaster, Manheim, Hershey – and stock up on a variety of vegetables that will put every grocery store produce aisle to shame! Ah yes, it is good to be “home”.
Crabs, Finally!
If my husband had to make a priority list for summer, there might be three things on it – tomatoes, sweet corn and crabs! They are a Maryland tradition and our family roots run deep with all three culinary delights! We grew up with tomatoes out of our garden (and as a kid, I didn’t even like tomatoes!), and it seems like we ate corn weekly from the farm stand a mile down the road from my childhood home in Fallston, MD. But it was the Maryland steamed crabs at our grandparent’s house every summer that is the epitome of being a Marylander in summer!
Our grandfathers (they were neighbors and friends) would go out on Andrew’s grandfather’s boat early in the morning, probably enjoying the quiet time together on the water with some cold beers, catch some bushels of crabs, and then bring them back to be steamed and seasoned in my grandparent’s backyard. The Schmidt and Herming families would gather and a cookout would ensue for the rest of the day!
Since we traveled out west last summer, it had been since July of 2020 that we had a crab feast! So the day arrived, and better still, it was a spontaneous and wonderful discovery in Hanover on a Friday afternoon. Big Mike’s Crabhouse and Grill is far from fancy, but the crabs were larger than expected (advertised as mediums), and absolutely PERFECTLY steamed. Better still, we now know that the place is BYOB, which saves on cost a bit. I have no doubt that before our summer comes to an end, that another trip to the outdoor covered deck for a picnic table full of crabs is a likely event!
Farm and Flea Markets
We have hit one great market this summer and have plans for one pr two more before the season ends. Roots Country Market and Auction in Manheim, PA is held every Tuesday and is a site to behold. There are nine buildings in total, plus acres of outdoor grounds covered in stands with items for sale.
Every trip there should begin early (as early as 6 am before the summer heat sets in), with a stroll through the outdoor flea market. Filled with antiques, bargain household goods, vintage toys, books, clothes, movies and so much more, you will very likely find something you want or need at an affordable price.
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Once you stroll to the farm market side of the road, you will find an endless supply of produce, meats, cheeses, honey, plants, crafts, knick-knacks and much, much more. On our visit there, we spent hours upon hours shopping, and never managed to set foot inside a building!
Next on our list, we may make a Friday road trip to the Green Dragon Farmers Market and Auction in Ephrata, which looks to be similarly expansive in size, both inside and outside.
Let’s Go O’s!
No summer in or near “Bmore” would be complete without a little baseball, and this season, as the Orioles continue to improve, it is an exciting time for baseball! Andrew and his son, Ben, made it to a game last month, that was rained out after some hours of hanging out under the upper deck. Fortunately, they managed some ballpark food and some good visiting time before the game was called, and they will try again at the rescheduled game in mid-August.
My fav ball player EVER – having the time of his life at Camden Yards in 2017 as part of O’s Dream Week
Certainly on our fan future list, is a Ravens game as well. As season ticket holders, it is nice to be in the area and be able to use some of our tickets personally for the first time in a couple seasons!
How is this the ONLY photo they took during the entire night?
Princeton, NJ and Bowman’s Hill Tower, Washington Crossing, PA
They don’t call it the Ivy League for nothin’!
The historic and quaint little city of Princeton, NJ had been on our wish list of places to see for quite some time, and we thought we might swing through the area on our way up to the New England states. We found, however, that NJ is severely lacking in decent campgrounds in that area. Therefore, we thought a day trip from Manheim, PA to Princeton would be just perfect.
We also stopped at nearby Bowman’s Hill Tower in Washington Crossing Historic Park. We climbed the 127 steps to the top of a little known stone tower built in the 1930s. It was built as a memorial to the important historical moments that happened in the area many years earlier.
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The town and the tower is a worthwhile visit for a number of reasons, but our visit is worthy of a separate telling, so stay tuned for more on this little road trip through Andrew’s childhood history.
New Hope, PA and a return to Washington Crossing Historic Park
Knowing there was more fun to be had in the region, we returned several weeks later for another day trip to dig into shopping in historic New Hope, PA. The little town sits along the Delaware River (yes, the same one that George Washington crossed just a few miles away). Filled with little stores, restaurants and the well known Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope has become a destination for shoppers that also enjoy the historic architecture and history on these narrow streets near the Delaware canal.
We returned, yet again, to the Washington Crossing Historic Park to dig into Revolutionary War history and the winter raid by George Washington’s men on Hessian forces across the Delaware River. We would have liked to stay longer and see a bit more, but we found ourselves hampered by some specialty dark chocolate honey mints that we had purchased in New Hope that wouldn’t last long in the hot heat of the day. Perhaps a third attempt some day will render the visit to this historic site fully complete!
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Thrift Shops Galore!
As much as I dislike retail shopping, there are some narrow circumstances in which I really enjoy shopping. One of those is in pursuit of the perennial bargain, and one of my favorite ways to bargain hunt is to visit thrift stores in any little town we may visit. One great discovery of this region of Pennsylvania has been that it is replete with thrift shops!
There are the usual shops – Salvation Army and Goodwill, some non-profit and faith-based shops as well as for-profit small businesses. The common theme in Lancaster and Lebanon counties is that they are MANY in number and overall, of a quite nice quality.
One of my favorites this summer was the Humane Society of Lebanon County Thrift Shop. It was neat, organized and affordable. Best of all, it is completely run by volunteers and therefore, all proceeds benefit animals in need.
If clothing is your goal, then stop by Ali Witman Consignment in Lititz! This place is huge and the quality and orderly arrangement of the products makes shopping easy and pleasant.
We have visited many others (and I hope to hit some more before the summer is over, fair warning, DH!). I recommend using your Google Map skills and scratch out a little travel plan for your next shopping spree – you don’t have to go too far to hit several stores close by.
Air Supply and Farm-to-Table Dinner
A red wine flight and a Harvest Peach Old Fashion
For our slightly early wedding anniversary celebration, we donned the biggest 80s hair we could muster, and headed over to the American Music Theatre in Lancaster to see Air Supply in concert. This 1,600 seat venue is new to us, but has been around for decades. It was a musical trip down memory lane, for sure, and filled our love tanks with romantic ballads that we have enjoyed since the 1970s!
Two Less Lonely People In The World – one of my favs (which grammatically, should be “fewer”, but that wouldn’t sound nearly as grood!
As part of our date night, Andrew arranged for what was a delicious meal at Harvest Seasonal Grill and Wine Bar. He knew immediately that this restaurant was totally in my foodie lane, filled with a creative menu of food that was beautifully presented and equally delicious. I cannot recommend this place enough – thoughtful and kind service, impeccable presentation, a clean and stylish building with a variety of seating options, and a menu that is healthy, varied (terrific Vegan options that even this non-Vegan loved), well curated cocktails, and amazing ingredients! With most menu items under 500 calories, you won’t leave feeling disgusted by too much salt, unhealthy oils or a frozen or processed meal. This is fresh and amazing – your body deserves this kind of food at every meal!
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With more than a month remaining in the summer of 2022, our RV Staycation still has a lot for us to look forward to!
Hershey Spa
My pre-wedding Hershey Spa day with my sis and SIL in 2015; There is nothing like lunch and cocktails in a soft bath robe!
There is a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket (a gift from my DH several years ago that I didn’t fully spend), so I will surely plan a day for us to visit my favorite day spa ever – The Hershey Spa, since we are in the area. I plan a morning yoga class, use of the sauna, indoor pool and hot tub in the morning (all complimentary amenities when you schedule a spa service). Then Andrew and I will wait in the aromatherapy room in our robes, until our names are called for a pair of luxurious facials! It is quite a day!
Hershey Gardens
A magical date at Hershey Gardens in 2014 (and my first selfie with a boy, lol!)
Hershey is a great Pennsylvania town, and we would like to make a return visit to Hershey Gardens before the growing season is over. This is the place where our second chance began in 2014, with a “second first date” almost exactly 30 years after our actual first date. It was a magical date that lasted more than a dozen hours before it was all said and done. We love to stroll the beautiful gardens that sit below the historic and equally beautiful Hershey Hotel. It is also a joy to visit the butterfly atrium where we can feed, hold and look with wonder at the lovely little creatures that live an all too brief life spreading cheer and love wherever they flutter.
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Revisiting a special place in 2016
The butterfly atrium is now larger than in 2014
“Flutterbys” landing lovingly
A winter beauty visit
Fountains and flowers galore.
Be careful to not make any sudden moves!
Our 2022 RV Staycation plans will continue to grow as the weeks meander their way through the hazy heat of summer. We will make the most of our time in the area, visiting with family and friends, but it isn’t all just adventure and day trips. Despite perceptions to the contrary, the RVing life is not just a perpetual vacation, but surely, that is what I like to plan for, experience and record in this little digital journal.
There is still plenty of laundry to do, bills to pay, meals to prepare, groceries to buy, dishes to wash (and no dishwasher, yikes!), a little business to run and other projects to complete. But what is the fun in writing and remembering the mundane in life? Instead, we are in relentless pursuit of the fullness of life – companions on our journey.
Safe travels wishes from Tina and Stencil!
Safe travels, and may your journey, both the vacation time and the mundane alike, be enjoyed deeply.
OUTTAKES:
There has been much more to this “stationary” or “less traveling” phase of our live on wheels. Here is some of the other stuff we’ve been keeping busy with:
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A SC roadtrip with friends to see the Eagles (they still got it!)
Abby graduates from Towson University!
Proud Omi and Abby
Omi rides an ATV!
Sending out Easter love packages to family that we miss at Easter
A simple Easter (picnic) table
A friend visits our campsite in Manheim PA
An Easter feast for two in Jackson Springs, SC
It isn’t Easter without a ham
Grammy’s bittersweet chocolate covered cream eggs
My forever weding date at our nephew’s weeding in March
Wedding reception
Dear old Bug always loved his walks.
Happy Easter, y’all, from Sycamore Lodge Resort in SC!
A TT campground on our way north to PA/MD
A sure sign of spring
Beautiful Sycamore Lodge Resort is part of our new Coast To Coast membership
A dog jam on travel day (why does he do this?!)
March snow in PA
We haven’t seen snow in three winters!
Stencil gets a break from the crate on travel day
The Eagles
Dad and Ben in their fancy duds (fancy as compared to RV living, that is)
Wedding date night smiles
Movie date (Top Gun)
A simple Easter (picnic) table
One of the most meaningful weddings I have ever attended – Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan and Madison Schmidt
When your son gets a motorcycle
Calvin wants to join the graduation party meal
Ella fishing at “The Mill”
Family visits to celebrate Abby
Ella gets on her “country girl”
Mom leads, Christy takes it slow and steady
Eagles awesomeness
Congratulations Grad!
Abby and Diego roll out
Vince Gill has been on tour with the Eagles!
He reminds me of my dad…if Dad could be a rock-n-roll star
The truth is, you miss your loved ones when living on the road. While there are many families around the country and the world that live far away from their children, parents and siblings, it is a somewhat new experience for us. We are new-ish empty nesters, so that transition can be tough even if you haven’t moved into a house on wheels. But once you are mobile, every exciting destination is another series of miles farther away from those you love.
So it was with this distance in mind that we decided to try to lure our loved ones to us for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We believed that if we could find some great places to visit, we might just be able to host a big Thanksgiving dinner or a fun Christmas celebration from our little ol’ camper.
The dunes of Pirateland Family Camping Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC
Well, I think we struck holiday gold!
This is how we did it and how it felt.
Thanksgiving:
Months before the holiday, we selected Pirateland Family Camping Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as our destination for Thanksgiving. There was a chance the weather could be as warm as the high 60s, but also a risk of much colder temperatures. Fortunately, the holiday week leaned toward the warmer side. The other advantage is that Myrtle Beach is a drivable distance from Maryland and Pennsylvania where most of our children live and has a generally quick and affordable flight option from the Baltimore airport (but not from Gainesville, FL), so we could extend an invitation to more of our loved ones.
Welcome to our Thanksgiving campsite!
I love Pirateland because it is right on the Atlantic coast. I have been there twice before, but my parents went there for many years, and like us, always in the off-season when the crowds are low, the prices are lower and the weather is mild. This year, we booked a month, with a beachy site only five sites from the dunes. Very affordable with longer stays in the off-season, campers can stay for as little as $30 a night, tax free for a stay of three months or longer.
We could hear the waves rolling in from our beds at night.
We extended an invitation to all six of our kids, our future son-in-law, our moms and our friends, Steve, Kenda and Katie. By the time everyone committed yea or nay, we were happy to discover that we would be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for ten! We booked an extra campsite for the days around Thanksgiving, and found a camper to rent on Outdoorsy.com (not an endorsement, but a decent experience), which would give the kids a place to stay comfortably nearby. Steve and his family also booked an adjacent site, and arrived with their Class C RV.
The “kid camper” sat in a site alongside our own.
In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I collected seashells, driftwood and sand to create a pretty tablescape. I painted autumnal cups for each guest. We bought lights on a string and set up our Clam Quick Set Pavilion Camper (we love ours, but would have loved the Escape Sky Camper more, had it been available for purchase!) adjacent to the campground’s pavilion to create a windbreaker and larger dining and serving area. We even put out our little outdoor Christmas tree, with fresh new color-changing lights to usher in the festive spirit. Our Solo Stove (not a sponsorship of this site, just a big fan!) provided a warm campfire on chilly nights, and we stocked up on a variety of beverages and snacks for the surrounding days. We shopped for spare blankets and sheets to accommodate our visitors and took a number of trips to the grocery store, much like we did around the holidays for many years from our sticks and bricks home. The preparation was familiar and exciting to a mom that missed “nesting” opportunities with no children at home.
An outdoor dining room fit for a bunch of beach bums!
When Thanksgiving week arrived, we had friends and kids arriving on a few different days, which further built up the excitement as each person arrived. Even my son, Lorne, was able to arrange a few unexpected days off from work and a last minute flight. Ella endured long and circuitious flights from Gainesville, and Adalie made the flight despite flying not being her favoriate thing to do! It was the first time I was blessed with a visit from all three of my kiddos since our “Bon Voyage Crab Feast” in July 2020. As the big day arrived, our hearts were full of joy, filled with nearby friends and family. We embraced the busyness and slept a little more peacefully at night.
Many of the beach area campsites have covered pavilions, and we added our screen room to protect us from any weather that could interrupt our celebration.
No fine china here, and don’t worry if you get a little sand on your dinner plate!
We all shared in the meal preparation, as we found that any one RV kitchen capacity would struggle to provide such a large meal. It worked out great because everyone was kept just busy enough with meal preparation but not too busy that we couldn’t relax as well. We stood around in the sand of our Thanksgiving “dining room” to share a blessing and then sat down to a feast that rivaled any we had enjoyed for the years we lived more traditionally. Andrew and I, along with Steve and Kenda, sat at the “old people table” and I smiled as I listened to the quiet chatter at the nearby “young adult table”. Our children (and friend Katie), were chattering, laughing, joking and enjoying this now-very-rare time together.
Dinner (and dessert) is served!
Yum!…and a scene that gives a parent’s heart great peace.
Two tables for 10 (and some dogs)!
During their all-too-brief visit, some of us enjoyed an afternoon discovering some of the many thrift stores in the area, and nearly everyone left with a bargain or two. We took walks on the beach and some made s’mores by the campfire at night. By all accounts, Thanksgiving 2021 was an enjoyable and filling success. Both my stomach and my heart were filled with all things good that week, with a very traditional, yet non-traditional Thanksgiving holiday.
Blessings from the sandy dunes of Pirateland Family Camping Resort.
Christmas:
When we launched our full-time RVing life, it was a fairly new concept to at least half of our loved ones, so we wanted to begin our trip by inviting our kids to camp with us at Walt Disney World. Alas, Covid had other plans, and for a variety of reasons, we postponed the trip one year so that we might instead celebrate “Christmas in January” in 2022.
After a year’s delay, the invitations were issued and the flights (or bus reservations, for Ella) were booked. This time we used our pop-up screen room as a tent and we squeezed our camper and the tent into one site at The Campsites and Disney’s Fort Wilderness (if you are a camper, you gotta try this outrageously expensive campground at least once). We decided early on that for this trip, we were gonna go “all in” on making this trip “all inclusive” for the kids, as this was going to be their (and our) Christmas gift all wrapped into one fabulous trip.
So as each kid responded with the dates they could join us, we booked shuttle rides from the airport, bought park tickets, made park reservations, and learned how to maximize our attractions with Disney’s ridiculously expensive Genie+ service (like the old Fastpass service, but no longer free).
Park passes for EVERYONE!
I pre-assembled meals in the freezer for each day we had guests and then dumped the meal into the InstantPot each day upon return from a park for an easy yet tasty meal. We stocked up on a ton of candy and healthy snacks that we could all take into the park each day (the food at Disney is costly, and mostly meh), and budgeted a daily stipend for each kid that they could use as they wish for food, drinks or souvenirs.
Pre assembled Instant Pot freezer meals kept us well fed in a simple way!
Plenty of candy (and healthy snacks) for everyones park backpacks
Beverages of all kinds!
Once again, we made sure the “house” and “yard” were decorated for the belated Christmas celebration, with string lights, garland, two mini Christmas trees and even artificial snow and snowballs on the ground. We had travel hand sanitizers and holders, and mask lanyards to help keep everyone safe while in crowds, and handed out passes so that everyone could gain entrance to the parks and have photos taken by Disney PhotoPass cast members along the way.
Bug awaits his favorite visitors!
We had a prime location within walking distance to The Settlement are, the boat to Magic Kingdom and the bus station!
Christmas in January still has many decorations.
It’s how we do Christmas in FL
Decorating, Mickey style
Our map grows.
Festive decorating…
…And it “snowed”!
A tent and our 5er
Fresh air dining in January
Pretty lights and gifts …
Now all we need are for the kids to show up!
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Because there was less overlap of visitors than we had hoped, we pushed through a four day stretch of visiting parks before we could enjoy a day of “rest” back at camp. It was a complicated schedule that my dear husband, Andrew, developed so that each visiting kid could at least have an opportunity to see their “favorite” park during their stay, no matter how brief their visit. It was successful but tiring!
Throughout much of that week, Andy and I experienced moments of “parental peace”, which is an elusive feeling for parents and quite an oxymoronic term. Perhaps it was the Disney magic, sprinkling a little Pixie Dust on our group, or maybe it was the fact that our kiddos were all now young adults, ages 20 – 30 years of age. Whatever was the cause – we felt peace.
Some serious competition
Hang on for dear life!
Tough stuff in Star Wars land
Previous mamma and baby
Laser fighters
Happy hours!
Feasting on turkey leg in MK
We made it to this iconic place!
Tree of life…and love
Taking it all in!
Sooo fun to watch
They went on this ride soooo many times
Animal amazement
Isn’t this amazing?
It’s a car…it’s a boat!
Iconic “Hollywood”
Right outta the movie!
Can we ride it?!
Childhood memories
A happy group
Ben gets silly…
..and is always up for a pose
Sometimes it happened as Andy and I strolled hand in hand, a few steps ahead of a couple of the kids. We heard their laughing, cajoling, and complete excitement as they experienced Disney. It happened as we watched two of the girls excitedly spot amazing animals on the Animal Kingdom Kilimanjaro Safari ride. It happened again as we screamed and held onto each other on the Hollywood Studious Tower of Terror. It certainly happened as we all got goosebumps and tears in our eyes, looking out across the sky at EPCOT’s spectacular laser, water, music and fireworks Harmonious show. It even occurred when we happened upon our first Disney Characters in the Magic Kingdom that returned us all briefly to their childhoods. In their presence we were witness to their happiness – and that is the secret ingredient in parenting that gave us the gift of “parental peace”.
In all, we were able to see each of our kids and our future son-in-law at one or both of our holiday celebrations this year, but we never had a moment when they were all with us together at the same time. As is true for any mother, you never sleep as well as the nights that all of your children are under the same roof with you, and while we were not quite successful in getting us all there at one moment, for a group of adults, each with busy lives, we came pretty darn close. When that night happens some day, when my husband, my three children, my three bonus children, and their significant others are all with us at the same moment – yes, I will sleep very well with a happy heart full of parental peace.
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Adalie, Lorne, Ella, Christy, Chris, Ben and Abby – we miss each and every one of you wherever we go, and we always look ahead to the next time we are together.
Love, Mom/Tina and Dad/Andrew
Safe travels and many blessings for togetherness in your journeys.
Cheers, from us to you. (When your loved ones cannot be with you in person, Google Duo on the beach for “happy hour” with my mom is the next best thing!)
The road through Wyoming was unique in its beauty.
Life still happens when you are a full-time traveler. It is not a perpetual vacation. This leg of our summer of travel fun got hit with a little bit of “life”, smack in the middle of Wyoming. We had planned that the last two of our three stops in Wyoming were going to be filled with a couple of hikes, a stop at a rodeo, some downtown historic district shopping and a mix-in of a museum or two. Instead, we had to go with “Unplanned Plan B”.
“Unplanned Plan B” really ain’t so bad after all.
We did enjoy a delicious restaurant meal, but much of the rest of our time in Casper and Sheridan Wyoming ended up at home – watching movies, eating (waaay too much ice cream), crafting (I can’t wait to show you some of my recent crafts!) and catching up on household duties (yes, ya still gotta pay bills, run the biz and clean the house as a full-time traveler).
Perhaps it was something in the water, but within two days of arriving in Casper, we all started needing to stick very close to the bathroom – and I mean ALL of us. The dogs, the humans and ultimately, even the cat. At first, we thought only Calvin was having issues. Then we spent a couple of days feeling very “off”. When we thought Calvin was in the clear, we ventured out for a few hours, to do some exploring and enjoy a meal at a local steakhouse, only to come home to find that Bug also was now suffering the same fate…ALL throughout the camper. Sigh. It was then that we decided that sticking close to our RV home was our best “Unplanned Plan B”.
What, we have to go with “Unplanned Plan B”?!?!?
Welcome to Casper – where things won’t work out quite like you planned!
The drive throughout WY was exceedingly dry, but occasionally we saw refreshing water scenes like this one, on the way to Casper.
When it came time to move from Casper, north and west to Sheridan, we felt like the dogs were well enough to travel, only to discover an hour into the trip that Stencil the cat was suffering a similar fate. Worse yet, she was struck as we were driving up the highway. She became agitated and meowed and complained (not unusual for her on travel days – just about the only thing she hates about the RV life). Then the complaining paused and we smelled the distinct odor of a cat that had just had an accident in her crate. With no pull-offs or rest stops in sight, and not really sure how to safely resolve the issue and clean up the cat on the side of the highway with only a water bottle, we drove the next hour and a half with the windows down. Thankfully, it was a short travel day and Stencil settled down and found a place to rest in the back of her crate and away from her offending odor.
Bug recovered and found a way to completely relax on this travel day!
We arrived at Peter D’s RV Campground, cleaned up the cat and her crate, set up our home on wheels, and almost immediately, the hottest of the HEAT set in. It had been in the 90’s for days, but for the remainder of our stay, the effects of global warming were apparent, with record-breaking temperatures between 99 and 109 degrees for days on end. Additionally, the wildfires, still many miles away in Montana, Oregon, California were spewing a grey haze of smoke throughout Wyoming. Each day, as our pets healed, we did our best to keep the A/C running and the camper cool. The shades were pulled, a blanket was hung over the door window to reduce the sun’s impact, and we managed our electricity use to prevent any further problems (the electric capacity was being taxed since it was so hot that most folks decided to stay home each day). The smoke and heat beat out some exploration of Wyoming.
Instead of Plan A, full of fun visits and exploration, we wound up our visit to Wyoming mostly at home. The nice thing that I learned about this experience is that it was really nice (once everyone’s intestines were settled, at least). We are blessed to be living this semi-retired, traveling lifestyle. We don’t have to feel rushed or compelled to “cram it all in” to a specific timeframe. We didn’t get to see and do Wyoming like we had planned, but we can return some time and try again. Perhaps we will pass through here again this fall on the way to Denver for the Broncos-Ravens football game (that is another adventure we have in the planning stages!). Wyoming will be cooler then – and this time, we won’t drink the water.
(The fun we still had):
We were able to stop by the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Casper during our stay. Operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the center does a great job of educating and bringing the late 1800s to life. The Platte River runs through Sheridan and is the location where the major western frontier trails converged (before Sheridan even existed). Pioneers, missionaries, Mormons, miners and explorers traveled thousands of miles, mostly on foot, through this area. Sometimes 600 wagons a DAY passed through the area. We discovered the Atlatl (AT-lat-uhl), a Native American hunting tool that aided in throwing a dart. We learned about the varied reasons for westward exploration of North America, the hardships they faced and the methods and planning that brought them success in their amazing efforts.
Always a fun hobby of mine wherever we travel, we hit a few thrift stores for some bargains, and then we enjoyed dinner date night at FireRock Steakhouse. The service was strong (thanks, Bailey) and the food was delicious. Top on the list was the Firecracker Shrimp appetizer. The French Onion Soup was the 2nd best we’ve ever had (sorry, but Dobbin House Restaurant in Gettysburg, PA has everyone beat!), and the Blue Cheese Wedge salad was PERFECT! The flavor on our steaks was amazing, and when there was a temperature problem with the main entrée dishes, they cooked it all over again and made it right. Thanks to the manager that was attentive and wanted to be sure we had a great experience. The décor was dark, appealing and BUSY!! Our cocktails were exceedingly well made.
A Club Car Martini with a cinnamon rimmed glass
Oh my goodness, these shrimp!
We enjoy trying the beef wherever we go out west!
My DH fell into the crab cake trap – again. As native Marylanders, we know what crab cake is supposed to taste like. The lesson: stop buying “Maryland Crab Cake” from places that are NOT in Maryland! We should not be surprised that Wyoming crab cakes are not going to be as they claim.
Don’t EVER order a Maryland Crab Cake when not in Maryland! (we knew this, but instead, curiosity won the day!)
While at home, I enjoyed lots of crafting. My latest project includes a counted cross stitch that I now have about ⅓ complete. I also have been making vinyl stencils for glass etching, and as always, sending gift packages to our loved ones back east.
Most of the campgrounds where we have camped out west have been unimpressive, even disappointing (and expensive for what you get). There are MANY great campgrounds around, but we simply booked too late to get the top picks. But we were happy to find Peter D’s RV Campground. This is camping a little more like I remember it! Privately owned and exceedingly polite and helpful, our dogs enjoyed their morning walk with a visit to the camp office where owner, Peter D, would offer them a treat. The campground is spotless and meets all the basic needs (there is no pool, but I am told there is a town pool nearby). Our reservation was made with a phone call and a verbal promise that we would have a site when we arrived. No cash on hand to pay the bill? That’s okay, just bring it when you can! The laundry is spotless and includes a “take one, leave one” book nook. The dog run is large and there is a center grassy section of the campground that sports a beautiful vegetable garden (thanks so much for the squash we were sent on our way with on travel day!) and a few resident bunnies that seem very content.
These bunnies layed on their sides in the grass no matter how close we approached – they had few worries in life at Peter D’s RV Campground
The campsites are TIGHT, but that is the only criticism I could mention. With slides and awnings out, we were within six inches of our neighbors. All sites are pull-through. The cost is exceedingly reasonable ($35 per night this year in celebration of their 20th year in business) and puts all those gravel covered KOA Journey’s to shame. The location is on the edge of a residential neighborhood, close to everything, but sits below the highway in a little hollow, so the highway noise is reduced and hardly noticed. This is a terrific quick stop or even good as a stopping point for a while as you explore the Sheridan area.
Photo Credit: Sharon Nothnagel on FB Group “Grand Design Solitude Owners” (we are rig #3)
While in Sheridan we enjoyed an afternoon exploring the Trail End Mansion and learned about how a poor Texas cowboy, turned wealthy rancher, governor and senator, built and lived in this beautiful mansion. I have always been drawn to old homes, and this Flemish Revival is exquisite from the early 1900s did not disappoint..
We wandered into downtown Sheridan and shopped a few of the unique stores and admired the plentiful sculptures all around town. We ate at Just Ledoux It Saloon and Steak Out, a restaurant with a great story – honoring a man that I didn’t know of until I was intrigued by his mention on their menu. Visit here to find out about his interesting life.
We ended our evening with a couple of drinks at the historic Mint Bar, founded in 1907. Uniquely decorated, this is the place we felt like we were truly hanging with the locals. We saw some genuine modern day cowboys and felt like we almost fit in with our own western garb. One additional happy discovery in Wyoming is the price of drinks! We managed to have two whiskey’s and a glass of wine here for $17.
Since 1907 (first, the Mint Saloon and now the Mint Bar)
A feast for your eyes from top to bottom. If the walls weren’t covered in old photographs as shown here, they were covered in shingles with branding symbols burned into the wood.
Lots of taxidermy, amazing curvy and carved wood on the bar and some local humor (complete with a lady that was nearly fall down drunk before 5 pm).
Yep, and a creepy glass-enclosed Jackalope!
We left Wyoming with happy memories and a lot of excitement for our next destination – MONTANA!
Safe travels, y’all!
Safe travels, and remember that it isn’t your plan!
Sometimes it feels like we are giving a loaded answer to what is a fairly innocuous question. “Where are you from” or “Where do you live?”. We answer as succinctly and clearly as possible. “We are full time RVers. We live and travel in our RV year-round.” Then we pause for the reaction. We have gotten it all in response. Stranger, acquaintance, friend or family, it is sometimes difficult to know what reaction we will receive. It seems, however, that the reactions seem to fall into one of three different categories.
Perhaps the most surprising (and thankfully, the least common) reaction is what I call the “Trailer Trash Look”. They immediately look down upon us and the way we are choosing to live. They give us a confused stare. These are the folks that might not understand or have any experience with camping. They might not understand the amazing diversity of campers and camping styles that are found in this country. They might think that campgrounds are like run-down mobile home parks (sometimes they are). They might have prejudged (and misjudged) people that live in trailers or motorhomes as desperate, nearly homeless folks that are under/unemployed and not hardworking. They might be very “inside the box” thinkers. They might just be jerks judging our lifestyle.
How we choose to live might not be what they imagine it to be.
They are easy to handle. Simply smile, end the conversation quickly and move on. No amount of explanation or education is likely to change their opinion, and this type of person doesn’t generally want to hear it anyway.
The second type of reaction we get is the one I struggle with the most. I call it the “Green Is Not Your Color Look”. Envy shows clearly when folks’ initial response is said in a generally pleasant but slightly sarcastic tone. “I wish I could do that” or “Must be nice” or even “Well, aren’t you lucky?”. Sheesh. This lifestyle is usually a choice. It is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice in my choices. It is not simply the result of waking up rich one day. We chose this lifestyle because of its richness in experiences. My husband and I planned for this opportunity. We made financial decisions to be able to prepare for this lifestyle. We live responsibly and aware of our ongoing financial choices, following a monthly budget and sticking to it.
Our lives are about choices, and occasionally about how we react to our adversities.
I am never quite sure how to respond to people who make these comments, but for some reason I feel compelled to try. I say “Well sure, you can choose to do this lifestyle too! People of all walks of life have made it their choice”; or “It is indeed nice, thank you. I’ve been a saver my entire life, so this is the time when we can enjoy those savings”; or “Well, not lucky really, but blessed. This is something we have worked hard for, so we are really blessed to have the opportunity for these experiences.” No matter how we have responded, it seems that our message never quite connects with the commenter. They never quite hear that their limitations are usually of their own making. All of our lives are mostly about our choices, and occasionally about how we react to our adversities.
By and large, however, we get great support and enthusiasm. The most common response is true and genuine happiness and understanding for our choices. “That is amazing.”, “What an adventure.”, or “I’ve always wanted to do that!”. This response is sometimes followed by questions about our favorite places or future destinations. It is a pleasure to share with these folks. We connect with them and learn about their lives as well. Often they have had an equally interesting and different life that they are living, and we love to learn about them. We often connect on a very human level, appreciating our differences and enjoying the time learning about our amazingly diverse world.
By and large, we receive great support and enthusiasm about our nomadic lifestyle.
Regardless of people’s reaction to our life in a 350 square foot trailer and a truck, people usually want to know what it is like for us. They want to understand the day-to-day – the good, the bad and the ugly of it all. What is hard for us? Why are we doing this at all?
People can understand and usually even guess the harder parts. These are the things that stop many others from living this lifestyle for very long, or from trying it at all. You are separated from your friends and loved ones by many miles and often many months. You must eliminate most of your personal items, by either selling them, giving them away or storing them out of reach (often at a great cost). You must live a life of greater solitude (if you are single) or of less alone time (if you are part of a couple), or of very limited personal space (if you are part of an RVing family). These can be the tougher parts of FT RVing.
Learning to live in a smaller space requires a coziness that can be fun, but that also leaves you searching for your own personal space. Here, the “dining table” becomes an office and craft room.
The galley kitchen is fully functional, but a complete “open concept” with the “living room” and “dining room”.
The sofa in the “living room” gives a small bit of “personal space” to our doggos on a daily basis.
Andrew and I have found ways to work through these challenges. We recognize that every so often, we will be returning to our “hometown base” of Maryland and Pennsylvania to see our families – including our mothers, siblings and children. We need that time and they need that time. Life goes on and there will always be graduations, illnesses, marriages, births and even deaths to draw us together. We just work these things into our travels – expected or unplanned, we know they will happen.
We also always leave an open-ended invitation to our friends and loved ones to visit with us. When passing through a certain state, we have met with new and old friends along the way. When visiting a fabulous place, our kids and sometimes our close friends will fly in for a visit/vacation. Because of our nomadic ways, these visits must be planned out, but it really is not much different than millions of families around the globe that live far apart from their loved ones for a lifetime.
We love when our loved ones visit us! Here, two of Andrew’s kids stopped by Colorado for a visit, including a Colorado Rockies game!
My baby, Ella, cooks up some Thanksgiving dinner with us on Tybee Island, Georgia.
Shedding our home was a difficult process that was also very easy in the end. Selling a home that you love or leaving a town that you feel a part of can be a challenge. Ultimately, we have found that the simplicity of life is a positive outcome to our loss of possessions. Having no yard work, property taxes, utility bills and large capital and maintenance projects frees up our finances to create experiences and feel little stress when the kitchen sink springs a leak (yes, those things still happen in a tiny home on wheels).
It took many months of Facebook Marketplace sales, yard sales and donation trips to our local non-profit thrift store to shed us of nearly all our personal belongings.
WHY? So why do we do this full-time RVing thing? Why do we choose to live apart from loved ones and friends? Why do we choose to shed our treasured belongings and live in such a small space? The reasons are many:
Meeting diverse people: The gift of camping in this lifestyle we choose is that we DO meet many kinds of people. They are varied and different from us in many ways. If we still lived in our little neighborhood where our “sticks and bricks” home was located, we would meet mostly people that were similar to us demographically. But because we meet new neighbors weekly, we meet people that come from much more varied walks of life. Campers, we have found, come from very different geographic, familial, financial, political, ethnic, racial and career backgrounds.
This Native American display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science was a great way to show the diversity of people and lives that we have met while traveling the country.
In South Carolina, we met a traveling couple and their three furry family members, complete with a motorcycle sidecar that allowed the entire family to camp and motorbike around the country. Both Mike and Jean were retired from really interesting careers in horse racing, with Mike being part of a world class, hall of fame horse training family and Jean being a thoroughbred rider. He shared interesting stories of growing up while rubbing elbows with Hollywood stars like singer Burt Bacharach, actress Angie Dickinson and many others, with dinner parties, hosted by his mother, being the norm for their family.
In Florida, we met Doris, a single 89 year old full-time RVer who had recently downsized to a 25 foot class C camper. She retired from her traveling jewelry sales career (also in an RV) and declined the opportunity to move in with her daughter. Instead, she spends her free time as a daytrader and self-described youtube fanatic, following other full-time RVers she meets along the way.
We have met camping families that homeschool their children with experiences and discipline. We have met a lesbian couple that travel and blog their way through their adventures and chronic illness, entertaining and helping others along the way. We have met those that are our political polar opposites, and yet, we enjoyed a campfire together. We enjoyed meeting the retired couple in their 70s that were RVing for the first time, making a cross-country trek in their Class B camper to visit their daughter in Washington state.
This interesting neighbor, whom I met Thanksgiving weekend, purchsed this military surplus equipment at auction and converted it into a unique way of camping.
The ways all these “neighbors” we meet travel and live are all very different – seasonal snowbirds, workampers, weekend warriors, location independent full-time employees, traditional 65+ retirees, young risk-takers that fund their travels with an entrepreneurial online presence and yes, even those that are struggling financially and hanging on to whatever stability they can find while living in an RV in a stationary location. We have enjoyed meeting them all.
This globe-trotting traveler was going to circumvent the WORLD in his Unimog before Covid converted his trip to an exploration of the USA.
Embracing a more minimalist life: This benefit of FT RVing wasn’t one of our initial goals, but it has been an unexpected enjoyable outcome. We have grown to enjoy a smaller, more casual wardrobe (we usually wear the same five outfits weekly). We cook simple, (generally) healthy meals a few times a week instead of daily, and we enjoy the extra time to slow down our pace. Most urges to acquire material things are shifted to our loved ones – we love sending care packages of objects found in our travels to those we miss back east. We have left the race to build a career, to have a beautiful home, to drive a nice car. Instead, we have less “stuff” – part time work, just enough to support our lifestyle, a tiny home on wheels with no mortgage payment and one vehicle that is our shared mode of transportation. In exchange, we have more experiences that we value far more than the items we have removed from our lives.
We are more glampers than these minimalist retro campers that we saw in the Casey KOA (Illinois). but no matter how small or big your rig, minimalism is a necessity of life. When something new comes into the rig, something else must leave.
Having incredible life experiences – By and large, THIS is what most people are excited about, and I really must agree. The romance of travel and the beauty of our country is what we were drawn to and what many others we meet think about when we first tell them where we live. The sunsets are indeed a little different in every place we settle for a while. The animals are diverse and interesting – from the swamps to the sandy beaches to the mountains. The really cool things we try are so numerous we will never be able to get through the entire list. But even the simple everyday events of exploring a new thrift shop, shopping at a newly discovered farm market, or chatting with a shopkeeper in a newly discovered little downtown – even in these simple life moments we make discoveries and are amazed by the world around us.
The sunrises and sunsets are indeed a little different in every place we settle for a while. This beautiful sunrise in Myrtle Beach, SC, like all of them, is courtesy of our good and gracious God.
The animals are diverse and interesting – these large turtles lived among us in our central Florida campground.
The Sand Hill Cranes mate for life, dance for joy, and are among the most interesting we lived among while wintering in Florida.
After falling in love and then living three decades apart, and then while we each went through some of the most difficult years of our lives separately, we focused on our children, and simply “getting through” the tough years. When we rekindled our lost relationship, we were finally able to look ahead to the day when life could again be beautiful and full of love. As our children became young adults, our obligations and roles changed, and we were able to instead focus on our life together as a couple. Full-time RVing became a way to quickly reinvent our lives, to step away from past pain, and see what life had in store for us in this next phase of life – finally celebrating “our time”.
Andrew’s surprise 50th birthday party (four years ago) – about the time that we started to actively plan for “our time”, to begin in July 2020.
We are Andrew and Tina, husband and wife FT RVers, living in our 36 foot fifth wheel trailer, traveling the country with our two dogs and a cat, missing our loved ones, and living a very blessed life.
Home Sweet Home – at a Harvest Hosts stop near Leavenworth, KS
1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
In my family of origin, there were a lot of little details that were “traditions” we cherished during holidays throughout the year. At Easter, we Holmstrom’s took the obligatory photos dressed in our Sunday finest and with our baskets at our feet. At Thanksgiving, the dressing and sauerkraut played just as important a role as the turkey. Finally, Christmas morning gift opening always began with all four of us kids piled in our parent’s king-sized bed, digging through the stockings that Santa left before we explored what he left under the tree. Much of the rest – the bigger components that fill in a holiday experience, would be altered a bit each year to meet changing family member’s needs – varying locations, attendees and menus. We treasured it all, but we weren’t very prone to consistency.
My brother, Steve and me, visiting Granny and Pop-pop (maternal grandparents) in Baltimore, MD in 1970.
Granny (Albertina Heming) and my mom (Diane) in 1968. That mid-century modern silver tree is a holiday detail that has survived and was used for many years through my own parent’s retirement.
My husband’s experience was a bit different. Many aspects of the holidays were a re-creation of the year prior – decorations, menu, guests and celebratory details were a great annual tradition. Change was eschewed, conceding to it only when absolutely necessary. The Schmidt family traditions run deep and long and are equally treasured.
Every big holiday in the Schmidt family included a visit to Grammy’s house (and many times for my family as well, but that is a blog post for another day). Here is Andrew at Grammy’s house for Christmas in 1967.
When Andrew and his brother started their own families, the tradition continued. Here is Abby (Andrew’s youngest), Grammy (his paternal grandmother), his neice Elia, and MomMom (his maternal grandmother), all dressed up for a Christmas visit.
As adults, we each continued our “holiday styles” in a similar manner, with my holidays moving with the ebb and flow of family member geography, the growing up of me and my three siblings, the loss of grandparents, the start of marriages and the birth of grandchildren. Andrew’s experience was a bit more steadfast and certain. Despite many of the same family changes over time, his family endeavored each year to keep every holiday the same at its’ core. Each style seemed to work for each of us….and then we got married! Cue the David Bowie music…”Cha-cha-cha-changes!”
When we married in 2015, holidays became a new conglomeration of step-siblings, new step-cousins, and a mix of guests that varied with each holiday and each year. With my family moving form PA to MD, and the sort-of blending of two households, the holiday table looked a little different each year. This photo shows the “kid table” at Thanksgiving, circa 2017.
We always tried to lasso a few of our kiddos each year to celebrate in different ways – this was the day in 2019 we got a small group of us together to pick our Christmas tree – with Ben (Andrew’s son), and Chris (Christy’s best guy).
So when we declared our full-time RVing plans and as Coronavirus descended upon our world, it quickly became apparent that our big holidays were going to be much different for a while. And so far, different they have been! Initially, I had one goal in mind – to make sure our kids all had a place to spend and enjoy each holiday no matter where we were in our RV.
We also intended to find enticing travel locations that might create a holiday option for any of our six children to visit if they wanted. Even though all our kids are now young adults, it was important to me that each of our kids had some holiday options. Despite all the intentions and planning, we realized much of it was beyond our control.
The inability to travel during a pandemic created a quiet heartache as treasured holiday time with our loved ones was relegated to texts, phone, and video calls. I have learned that Covid had a far greater impact on holidays than full-time RVing ever would. I expect to miss seeing most of my loved ones when I travel. But there is an added level of sadness when I know my stationary-living loved ones also cannot see and do most of the things they would like to do to celebrate.
These are the types of holidays that everyone around the world misses – a gathering of generations and households. This was Thanksgiving 2016, the last that we enjoyed celebrating with all of our parents. Fathers and fathers-in-law have since passed, placing another change upon us that we wish we didn’t have to face.
So as we wrap up a year of Covid holidays and six months of living on the road, I am grateful for whatever time I can get with my loved ones. Brief visits with Ella, my college-student-youngest did happen – masks on and hugs withheld, before she had to return to her new “school home” in Gainesville, FL to work her part-time job at Walmart. It has become clear that holiday familiarity is suspended for a while as everyone’s adult responsibilities, Coronavirus, and our geographic distance take their toll on our family, like so many others.
It was our thought that our other children and parents, all currently based out of Maryland and Pennsylvania, would have family members nearby to give them a “holiday home”. Unfortunately, with Covid, that couldn’t always happen. My two older kids both work every day in high-Covid-risk food service environments, so Covid really prevented them from being able to do much holiday visiting at all, in an effort to keep other more Covid-vulnerable relatives safe. Instead, my oldest, Adalie, delivered Thanksgiving dinner from her place of employment to her brother, Lorne, since they both worked through the extended Thanksgiving weekend. Lorne made a pumpkin pie and visited a local friend’s family. They had recently lost their son/brother and it was important to him to help fill their holiday with some happiness.
Andrew’s children each varied their own plans slightly, knowing that we could not all be together this year. Christy was moving into a new apartment and kept busy with her boyfriend and his family. Ben and Abby, still living at their mother’s home, had a place for a more traditional, albeit, smaller Thanksgiving.
Our mothers each had perhaps the most challenging Thanksgiving celebrations of all of us. My mom spent her first Thanksgiving as a widow, having just moved out of her home of 55 years – and into her own adorable in-law suite in my sister and brother-in-law’s home. My mother-in-law spent her first Thanksgiving ever without anyone else at the table. Our moms enjoyed meals provided by our siblings, but the holiday differences most certainly were the dominant theme. We all did our best exchanging calls, texts and special flower deliveries, but watching all these changes unfold was certainly the most difficult part of the holiday to navigate.
Easter 2020 was a Covid-bust – with a full lockdown and stay-at-home order in MD, so we were bound and determined to make Thanksgiving on the road special in whatever way we could. Here, Andrew and I walk the beach with Ella on Thanksgiving Day in Tybee Island, GA.
Our Thanksgiving had some really nice moments despite all the limitations. Andrew and Ella and I enjoyed a pot-luck meal hosted by the campground where we were staying, so I was able to cook our favorite dishes, without having the full load of a turkey and a dozen side dishes. We ate at a picnic table at our campsite, with a tablescape of seashells, pine cones and mini pumpkins. Instead of hosting 15 – 20 guests, our family-of-three walked off our meal on the beach of Tybee Island, GA on a warm afternoon, exchanging “Happy Thanksgiving” greetings with strangers instead of our parents and most of our children, all of whom we missed dearly.
A Thanksgiving 2020 freast for three- safely outdoors, with our feet in the sand, at Rivers End Campground, Tybee Island, GA
Where the Savannah River meets the Atlantic Ocean at sunset. Sometimes different can be great, and at the same time, you miss your people even more.
Christmas was a repeat of a similar scenario. We met Ella at a campground on the gulf panhandle in Carrabelle Beach, FL for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was a treat that included long walks on the pure white sand, collecting seashells and walking the dogs. I made many of Ella’s favorite meals and put all my “Mom efforts” into her, unable to host or dote on any other kids or parents. Facetime and Zoom meetings replaced a trip to someone’s house for a day-long visit. Gifts were mailed, with a hope, but little expectation that the USPS was going to deliver in time. It was quiet. It was relaxing. It was still lovely. But It was very, very different.
Christmas tree hunting was a trip to Goodwill, and decorating took only about an hour in our tiny RV home. But something about the twinkling lights helped give us the warmth of Christmas even when we missed nearly all of our loved ones.
Even a visit by one is better than a visit by none (she still needs to practice her mask-wearing as part of her adulting lessons). What we lacked in wrapping paper for gifts (as shown in photo), we made up for with shipping packages of love to those we missed.
I filled my 2020 “Mom-tank” by cooking special food for Ella and Andrew, and visiting with all of our kids on Facetime or Zoom on Christmas (this was a breakfast casserole).
By the time our second Covid-impacted Easter rolls around and we wrap up a year of traveling-holidays, I am not sure that much will be “back to normal”. We hope the Covid vaccine will be widely available by then so that flights can be booked and larger gatherings of loved ones from different households are once again safe. But if it isn’t, I know it will still be okay, despite the differences. The holidays have to change every year, but the core of every holiday will always be the same. These important days of the year are about sharing love, and we will all find new and different ways to share that love with those we love and miss.
Safe travels – and happy holidays all year-round, wherever you are planted!
The gallery of photos shared below is a walk down memory lane from the 1950s thru the present, showing how our families and our family traditions have evolved over the years. It is a digital family photo album of resilience and love.
This is actually a socially distant “bon voyage” crab feast we hosted in summer, 2020; I included it here because we were actually having an Easter Egg toss that had been Covid-cancelled in the spring! It was a day that marked the beginning of life on the road, as well as the continued crossover of generations of the Schmidt and Heming familes that began in the 1950s and continues four generations later
Take the good with the bad – and you will be rewarded with grand adventures to remember always!
We didn’t expect empty-nest full-time RVing to be life in a bed of roses. We knew to take the good roses with the not-so-good thorns, because this is still “real life”, even if it is less conventional than other ways of living. While many roses and thorns were anticipated, there are a few interesting, unexpected or less significant roses and thorns we have discovered. Here is a list of some that come to mind after five months on the road with just me, my Sweetums and our three furry pets.
Murphy was right (again) – the flat tire won’t happen until after you buy $1734 in new RV tires. But rose-colored kudos to Goodyear who agreed to replace the ruined nearly new tire at half price. They didn’t need to do that but we appreciate that they did.
You will grow a renewed appreciation for sunrises and sunsets. You have more opportunities to see them, and fewer distractions (#taketimetosmelltheroses). Gosh, they are awesome.
Pickens County, SC – ‘nuf said.A little bit of cheating here, but this is the St. Augustine, FL area taken the summer BEFORE we went FT, as we conducted our College Campus Tour 2019. (she chose Santa Fe College and University of Florida in Gainesville!)
3. You can still be very busy as an empty-nester on the road. It is a different kind of busy, but there is still a lot to do. The difference is, the totality of the items are less “mission-critical” and are generally more fun than “before” (e.g. gather and send care packages to loved ones, download and organize photos, work on itinerary details, etc). Besides, you get to look outside the window at your workspace and see an ever-changing scene.
Not a bad “office with a view” – and a cat! If I MUST work, this is a great place to do so (of course, the next place we go may be even prettier!)Even in the early morning hours, windows with a view that changes with every campsite are a nice treat as you take care of mundane tasks such as balancing the checkbook.
4. A cold, rainy day by the (electric) campfire in your RV can be cozy and warm and relaxing, but a tropical storm with sideways rain and 50 mph gusts can be a bit too much white knuckling as your rig sways and shakes.
5. You can cook anything in an RV kitchen. I thought I might not bake cookies or tackle a big batch of Thanksgiving dressing (AKA stuffing if you didn’t grow up in my family) once we moved into our tiny new RV home. It takes practice and sometimes some creativity (fewer specialty tools, utensils, and appliances), but anything I have tackled has been possible and enjoyable to make as well! Counterspace is always a challenge, and two people in the kitchen at once can be a tight fit, but it works!
Steak (thanks to my personal grill master!), mashed cauliflower, roasted brussels sprouts and a glass of deep dry red wine- RVing YUM!If the little RV galley kitchen isn’t enough, remember that bacon cooked outdoors is among the best you can get!
6. You might just miss old-man winter. We headed from Maryland to Florida at the launch of FT RV living (taking a kiddo to college), and then made our way north again while summer was still in full swing. We weaved our way south again but seemed to always keep slightly ahead of the fall season to which we are accustomed. We actually MISSED the full, slow transition from summer to fall and I think we will miss the snow and cold weather as well. That is not to say that it wasn’t awesome to walk the warm Georgia beaches on Thanksgiving day, or that we will choose to spend January and February in Maryland any time soon. But I think that we might just plan our future travel so that we can enjoy some seasonal changes a little bit more (and avoid Florida every summer!).
7. If you enjoy a regular bath in your sticks and bricks home, you will really miss it in your RV home. Now I understand why bath-loving RVers see an occasional hotel stay, spa day or hot tub soak as “essential”.
I really do miss our giant bathtub…but any tub would do – sunken, claw foot, whirlpool, whatever – I miss it!
8. It still feels good to make your bed each day – it is just a little more exhausting.
9. You really can live with only three of each type of clothing (three t-shirts, three shorts, three long pants, three long-sleeved shirts, etc). You really need fewer items of clothing than you packed in your rig.
10. You might just miss having your old yard. We miss our backyard for our dogs as much as our dogs miss their backyard. It was a far easier task to let them outside on their whim, without committing to a leash walk or trip to the dog park.
Bug and Calvin miss our backyard perhaps more than we do, but we can make a leash walk and dog park work now that we are FT RVers.There are no dog parks quite as wonderful as this grassy hillside for Calvin to chase…and NOT retrieve tennis balls!
11. A shorter visit by your kids is best once you become an empty nester. We love to have our kids visit us (six of them, ages 19 – 28), and a couple of them have done so several times since we began living on the road – for a few hours and for overnight stays. We have discovered (and perhaps they did also), that a short stay is just about right. One recent 24-hour visit by our youngest resulted in one item left behind and three cups, a plate, silverware, a bag of cookies, a bottle of OJ and cookie wrappers being left lying around. This was all despite the fact that said adult child slept at least 14 of the 24 hours of her stay! Conversely, it was a real treat to cook for her and hear her appreciation for Mom’s food!
It was great to have her visit – for 24 hours – and great to cook a feast – and also great to return to our empty nest – and I am SURE she enjoyed returning to her apartment and “college adulting” (which really is like “Adulting, Jr.”.
12. You might miss driving or you might not. I miss driving. My dear husband does not (because he is doing it all!). Backstory: I have a growing history of vision limitations that makes me uncomfortable driving in in the dark, in unfamiliar places or with unfamiliar vehicles. Therefore, driving a massive F350 long-bed, dually truck (after driving a small Volvo SUV for years), ALWAYS in a new, unfamiliar place, and sometimes towing a 35 foot trailer, leaves me with few options to drive. I have practiced, and will do so some more, with the hope that some of my vision problems of recent months can be improved over time. But in the end, I miss feeling as independent as I did previously when I could easily hop in a car and just go.
13. RV propane stoves and ovens aren’t so great. I have had a strong preference for gas stoves all my adult life, but not in the RV! Adjusting the flame is difficult (burning hotter than they need to and impossible to achieve a good “simmer”), they warm up the small space of the rig on already warm days, and the oven is so uneven in its heating that it is generally useless. On the rosier up-side, I LOVE our portable single burner induction cooktop and our convection microwave oven! I use the propane oven for pan storage and can often cover the stovetop to create additional mission critical counter space. I prefer to cook for the two of us on the induction burner (using free campground electricity instead of purchased propane) and I do nearly all my baking in our convection oven (microwave). Both took some learning, but the results are very satisfying.
RV propane stove on the left (3 burners)….portable electric induction cooktop on the right. It is nice to have options.
14. The time between each freezer defrosting is shorter than you might expect. It seems that no sooner do we defrost the freezer, it is time to do so again (monthly, on average). This is a task we did not have with our previous electric residential fridge but it is a necessary evil of an RV (propane/electric) refrigerator.
15. The countertop ice maker makes ice that is ALMOST as good as Chickfila ice! It is also my favorite appliance (we use a lot of ice). I suppose if we had opted for the residential fridge in our RV (that is an option in camping now that didn’t exist years ago), we could eliminate the previously mentioned defrosting issue as well as the need for a counterspace-eating ice machine (the residential fridge comes with an ice-maker), but for now, this setup works for us.
16. The sound of a hard and steady rainfall on the camper roof feels sooooo peaceful and safe and relaxing. Yep, roof rainfall, especially in the evening, cuddling with my DH (and perhaps a dog or cat) evokes feelings of great comfort. It reminds me of the feelings I had during my childhood when our entire family would gather on the back porch of our home during thunderstorms, huddled under blankets, just to hear the roar of the rain on the porch’s plastic corrugated rooftop.
17. RV air conditioning is loud and temperatures are somewhat erratic. I miss the quiet consistency of traditional central air (and I only had central A/C twice in my life – in a townhouse I rented in my mid-20s, and in the last five years of our “sticks and bricks” living!)
17. You will miss your loved ones…but appreciate them so much more. Being apart from your children, after spending their entire childhood WITH them is perhaps one of life’s greatest changes we face as parents. It is expected and takes some time to adjust to a new way of living. When we added a nomadic lifestyle on top of our empty nest, I began missing them in a whole new way. It also has grown feelings of great appreciation for the young adults they are becoming. They make me so proud of where they are headed and how they got there. Additionally, I miss my mom, my sister, my brother, my stepkids and a whole host of people that I haven’t lived with for a really long time – or never lived with at all! To all our extended family and friends – WE MISS YOU and we CHERISH the time we get to spend with you.
These are our people – well, most of them. And we miss them every day!
Becoming a “full-time RVer” was a piece of cake in the strict definition of the words. We moved out of our house and into our 35 foot fifth-wheel trailer on July 17, 2020. We have not returned to sleep in our “sticks and bricks” home since. So by that definition, we have been “full-timing” for a couple of months now.
But in my gut, full-time living didn’t feel real to me until recently. We are still adjusting and finding our way there. That is because living in your camper, trailer, motorhome or RV of any kind is more a state of being or a change in mindset than the place you lay your head each night. It is a much larger and more significant process of change in your life and in your heart. “Going FT” took us about six years.
The idea of living full-time in an RV began as we dated and then married in 2015 and were talking about how we might spend our time together. When you marry in the middle of your life (late 40s) rather than in your youth, you feel compelled to increase the quality of the time you spend together. You have an appreciation for the brevity of life and gain a desire to make up for the time you lost together. So we began dreaming about our time together.
Marrying in mid-life grows appreciation for the quality of time you spend together.
We had about six years of at-home parenting to do with the youngest of our kids before we became empty-nesters. We already were not the traditional family, the typical marriage or the couple we expected to be. With different backgrounds, we needed to explore the possibilities. I was always drawn to travel and had been camping my entire life. My desire to see the country and the world had always been a part of my life, adjusting the distance and types of travel I did along the way for life changes such as college, career, marriage and kids. I always felt like there was a lot of travel ahead for me. Andrew had traveled occasionally for work but aside from a few plane trips to Disney when his children were young, vacation was often a “staycation” and work had been his focus. Before we married, he hadn’t seen himself much outside of the success and growth of his career.
We were both open to great change – heck, our entire lives had been DEFINED by change for years (death, divorce, remarriage). We wanted to really be able to plan these changes carefully and to take our time.
What began as daydreaming about our future travels, turned into an idea about camping together. “Let’s try it!”, we said. My kids and I already had a Coleman pop-up camper, so we took a long-weekend trip to see if camping might be “our thing”. Then we decided to try some nice resorts as well. So we took a couple of fly-in, international, “all-inclusive” vacations. We enjoyed it all. What we quickly realized was that we wanted to see and do a LOT. Our daydreaming evolved into a plan – “Let’s take an extended trip once the kids are on their own”.
We started small to explore camping as a couple…and saw great potential.
All-inclusive resorts are too-short-lived but really wonderful.
Recognizing that we couldn’t afford to travel long-term at high-end resorts, and acknowledging that camping in our 50s would be more pleasant if we focused on the “glamping” end of the camping spectrum, we hatched a rough plan. Let’s upgrade our camper and use these next few years to learn to camp together. We visited an RV show and spent a full two seasons deciding which style of camper would best meet our needs. We joined Facebook Groups, devoured blogs and Youtube videos of people that were taking epic long-term trips around North America. We discovered “full-time RVing” and felt like we had found our plan.
That moment of realization created great anticipation and excitement and created even more fun over the following years as we planned for our plan! We are by nature, big planners and very deliberate decision-makers, but with this big lifestyle change, we made a point to try to NOT plan the travel. We wanted to breed spontaneity and flexibility into our lives as we became empty-nesters.
So we used the preparation years to place our focus on getting ready for “our time”. We wanted to buy the right rig, the right truck, be safe and secure and set ourselves up for great success. We wanted to be prepared financially and made big decisions, such as selling our home, selling our vehicles and shedding nearly all of our possessions. We did all of those things and spent the next three summers building up our camping and travel repertoire and paring down our lives for the big launch.
That takes us, once again, to that summer day in July when we moved out of our house and into our camper. Literally years in the making and all it took was an afternoon to schlep our remaining clothes, food and most important possessions into our 350 foot square home on wheels.
From “sticks and bricks” to Codorus State Park, Hanover, PA – July 2020
We meandered within 25 miles of our starting point for two more weeks, visiting with family, emptying out the house and putting it on the market and REALLY PACKING the rig with everything the last little chick was taking to college. Down to Florida we went to deposit her at school, help her get settled in her apartment, and to just sit and settle down for a while. Life had been frenetic and exceedingly busy for months and we were exhausted. It had been difficult to enjoy the day-to-day because there had been so much to accomplish in those last weeks and months and years.
Through it all, it took a full month before my dear husband and I looked at each other and referred to our place as “home”. In the end, it had nothing to do with the rig we chose, or the things with which we had parted. It did not matter where the camper sat on that particular day. Instead, it had everything to do with a feeling of contentment. For us, it was grabbing those feelings we sought – slowing down, reducing responsibilities, changing the type of parenting we did, eliminating “stuff” and reconnecting with each other in a way we hadn’t really felt since we had been teenagers. At age 54/53, we now have a simpler life with fewer worries which has given us a giddy feeling of anticipation of what lies ahead of us. We are full-time RVers, exploring life fully – and we are so blessed to experience this lifestyle.
“Just start, Tina”. That is what I tell myself today as I launch TimeTravelsandTribluations.com. Then we will see what happens.
Reading and writing has been a favorite pasttime of mine throughout my life. I read and write to explore, learn, share and sometimes just to help me figure things out. It has been my therapy, my escape, my entertainment and a sharing of my feelings that are hard to express otherwise.
Formulating it all into a blog is simply a long-put-off next step…sort of digitizing a journal that I no longer am keeping to myself. It will meander in no particular order, neither exclusively chronological nor following a single subject. It is simply my life a little more out there in black and white print, in a world that is more full of gray.
From this to that in the blink of an eye.
In a matter of a few weeks, my nest will be empty. Every “baby chick” will be out of the house. For the first time in decades, I will not be living with any children of any age. It will just be me and my husband and a few pets. Wow. We certainly got here with unexpected twists and some hard left turns, and it certainly was not all rainbows and unicorns. It was just life…a lot of it. I feel like I’ve already lived a few lives in my 53 years and that this next phase of whatever God has planned for us is another big step into the unknown. I am waiting for it all with a glad and grateful heart.
If you enjoy what I write, terrific. If you find it helpful, funny, thought-provoking or interesting, even better! If you disagree, please comment respectfully. If you dislike what you see, please just don’t read it. I read and write for me, but am sharing with you as well. I am old enough to be less concerned with criticism and believe that we all have life experiences that can help others. All of our lives are unique, but there isn’t too much that we don’t experience that hasn’t already been experienced by someone else, so perhaps hearing a little bit of each other’s stories can help us all.
So please enjoy the TIME you have, enjoy safe TRAVELS and give your TRIBULATIONS to God.
"Then if you call to me in time of trouble I will rescue you and you willhonor me." Psalm 50:15
