www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

03:45 How Were You Originally Funding Your Full Time Travels?

05:45 How Long Have You Been Traveling Full Time?

06:45 How Long Was Full Time Travel a Goal for You?

08:15 What Was the Biggest Obstacle Before Going Full Time?

09:45 What Are Your Purging and Downsizing Tactics?

13:15 What Are the Biggest Travel Frustrations You Currently Face?

15:45 RV Maintenance and Repairs

19:45 What Tools Should Every RV Owner Have?

21:45 What Do You Love Most About Your Travel Lifestyle?

23:15 Checklists

29:15 How Do You Get Internet While Traveling?

29:45 Past Mistakes

35:45 Charity

38:45 Coolest Travel Experience

40:15 What is One Thing You’ve Learned You Can’t Live Without?

49:45 Knowing Each Other’s Roles

 

It was so great having Phil and Stacy from Today is Someday on our show! Phil and Stacy have been going full time in their Class A motorhome for about 6 years. We asked them how they were able to do it and what life is like for them on the road.

They shared all about the importance of checklists and maintenance, and weren’t afraid to share the fact that they are spending more time maintaining their RV than they did on their home.

When I asked them if they were using the funds of their home sale to pay for their travels, they mentioned they hadn’t touched that. They have the foresight to know that one day they will want to hunker down in a stationary home again, so they are keeping money saved up for that.

Tune in to learn about even more!

 

Find Phil and Stacy At:

·        https://todayissomeday.net/

·        https://www.youtube.com/c/YouMetheRV

·        https://www.instagram.com/todayissomeday_travel/

·        https://www.facebook.com/todayissomeday

 

Charity:

·        https://todayissomeday.net/military-charities

·        https://give.ourhfotusa.org/fundraiser/3882334

 

Phil and Stacy’s Videos Referenced:

·        Slap Wrist Checklists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bArIvXHtDCc

·        Setup and Break Down Checklist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUaxI5X4qHg

·        15 Purging Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCVixKTokr8&t=356s

 

Other YouTube Channels Referenced:

·        https://www.youtube.com/@KeepYourDaydream

·        https://www.youtube.com/@LessJunkMoreJourney

·        https://www.youtube.com/@gonewiththewynns

·        https://www.youtube.com/@Rvlove/videos

 

Show #6 With Jim and Michelle from Airstreamer:

·        https://atravelpath.com/retired-full-time-rv-living/

 

Applicable Episodes:

·        All About the Banks: https://atravelpath.com/retire-in-an-rv/

 

Most Popular Blogs:

·        Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

·        Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

·        How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

·        Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

·        How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

·        Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

#fulltimerv #rvlife

 

 *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript:

 

Tyler: Phil and Stacy, welcome to the Travel Path Podcast.

 

Phil and Stacy: Thanks so much for being here. Thank you for having us.

 

Tyler: So, we know you from YouTube as Today is Someday, where you post videos on everything from RV adventures, tutorials gears, gadget reviews. You post a lot of destination reviews, which you're not afraid to share your opinion on certain destinations. On your website, you have raised over $170,000 towards your charity, which is amazing. We're excited to dive into that later on. I do want to give a quick shout out to Jim and Michelle from Airstreamer on episode 6; they mentioned they binged your content while they were learning and leading up to their full-time travel life. But why don't we start by having you share a little about yourselves?

 

Phil and Stacy: Sure, you want to start? Go ahead. Okay. Honestly, our story is very similar to a lot of full-time RVers. We love to travel, and at some point, we decided to sell everything we own: our house, all of our stuff, and buy an RV to travel the country. Phil's retired Navy, and we quickly discovered when he retired that I actually saw him more when he was deployed via FaceTime than when he got home. I was working full-time as a nurse practitioner, and I was working a lot of hours. So, RVing was our way to make a change and try to get some of that time back. Yeah, and for me, that was the biggest thing. I had toured other countries, I had been on many deployments, I missed a lot of the kids growing up. So for me, jumping into this lifestyle, and we had never camped, never done any of that. So for us, it was getting that time back and taking a leap of faith at the same time.

 

Tyler: Okay, very cool. That answers one of my questions later on about how much experience did you have before you went full-time. So when you had sold your home to take on this full-time travel lifestyle, I imagine you had the proceeds from the sale of your home, I imagine a military pension, any other forms of income that helped support that when you started out?

 

Phil and Stacy: It was really just my retirement. Well, you were also a Navy contractor when we first hit the road, so he was working remotely. Now, we did not use the sale of our house to fund any of this because, one, if we hated it, we wanted an out. So, all of that we invested to buy another house in the future, and two, we knew someday that we wouldn't be living this lifestyle. So eventually, you know if it going to break enough to where we're going to have to hit a sticks and bricks. So we wanted that money there just in case. So, we used the income we had saved. We are big on not having any debt, so we didn't have any debt except for our house when we came up with this idea. So we didn't have to work really hard like some people do to get out of debt; we were already a step ahead of that. So, really, we just lived off his pension once his job or his Navy retirement once his job ended.

Yeah, and we started saving and planning and prepping, you know, probably a good few years before. We didn't know what we were planning or prepping for, but we knew we wanted to do something. So, we had already been on that track to have enough money saved to do whatever we wanted to do. And then it just kind of came to a front, and we sold it and jumped. But I definitely recommend if somebody's thinking about doing something like this, people don't realize how expensive it can be, and being out of debt and not having that pulling you down really enables you to do all the things that you want to do when you travel to new locations.

 

Tyler: Yeah, well, I think it's really smart of you guys to sell that and not use the proceeds, having the foresight to know that eventually, you know, this is sustainable but at some point if you want to transition back into sticks and bricks, you have that lump sum there you can put a down payment down. And you started about five years ago, right, full-time?

 

Phil and Stacy: Almost six. This May will be six years since we've been on the road.

 

Tyler: Yeah, so you're doing the remote work before co, before it was cool.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, before it was, yeah, yeah.

 

Tyler: Great. So, what did your kind of day-to-day look like while you were working, and are you still working remotely full-time or part-time?

 

Phil and Stacy: Well, I do consider "Today is Sunday" to be full-time now. I actually spend more time on that than I did as a nurse practitioner. But the difference is I get to do it on my own time, you know, when and how much I want. So, we definitely, that's definitely a full-time job for us now. But when we first started, really, it was his Navy retirement, and we, I mean, we really had to live on a budget to make sure that we could survive out on the road. And thankfully, there are so many ways to RV; you really can RV on a tight budget, which is what we did. Yeah, and we were used to having a budget, which is key, I think. And if you can live within your existing budget when you first start, that also helps kind of jump you.

 

Tyler: Yeah, that's great. You had mentioned you were kind of saving up and planning preparing for something but you weren't sure exactly what it was for a number of years. How long was the time frame between when you learned that you wanted to hit the road and travel full-time and till the point that you actually started doing it?

 

Phil and Stacy: Initially, it was going to be four years. So, our son was graduating from high school, he was starting college, so we gave ourselves four years to really figure out what we wanted to do, what RV we wanted. Phil had just started researching RVs, and then our son decided that college was not for him. So, he quit school and he joined the Navy. And when he joined the Navy, that just boosted up our timeline. We went from four years to just over a year and a half, not quite two years, for us to really research, find an RV, and which really became Phil's full-time job for a while, and sell everything, and move in, including our house, and move into the RV.

 

Tyler: Great. Well, I think it helped that you were able to propel that because you were planning, preparing in advance, you already saving up and doing like I said, you were saving for something just weren't sure what it was. So during that process, the year and a half it took you to make the decision we want to go full-time, what was the biggest obstacle you had to face to get there?

 

Phil and Stacy: I'll let you take this, Phil. For me, I was my own obstacle because we had built, there was actually, we had built our retirement home, and you know, we were able to put in the features and design it the way we wanted to. So I was happy, I had my three-car garage, I had my man cave. But Stacy kept telling me, "It's just stuff, we can get more stuff later." So, for me, purging and getting rid of all of the things that wouldn't fit in a 300-foot box was really hard for me. The flip side of that though is we did travel and move quite a bit in the military. So, we were used to having to purge and you know, get rid of things, pack up, move to the next place. So that was, I guess, my biggest obstacle. Stacy didn't have one other than me. I was just ready to go, let's just go. She started this whole room by room purge, and it made it a lot easier for her. And I'm sure I'm speaking out of line, but it made it easier for her to purge and get to where she needed to be because she started doing it one room, you know, a closet at a time, and just built on it.

 

Tyler: Yeah, I think it definitely helps when you're, when you have moved around quite a bit. We're not in the military, but we move around with our rental properties pretty frequently. So when people tell us they're moving, like, it's, we've moved so many times in the past like five years, it's just, it's just easy to us for some reason. We accumulate less things. So, that's good. So, having that experience of doing that. I know you've posted videos in the past on some of your purging and downsizing tactics. Do you want to share any of those?

 

Phil and Stacy: I should probably take this one. Yes. So, I think some of the hardest things for people to get rid of, and Phil was this way too, are the things that you connect to people, and we connect those items to people and think that's the memory or that's a part of them. So, whether it's Grandma's antique furniture or photos that have been in a box for the last 20 years, I think some of the easiest ways to go through those and get rid of them is to actually take a picture of the item. You can create your own memory book with these items and actually talk about the memory that you have attached to that item and keep the photo and get rid of the stuff. So, you know, Grandma is not a part of that dresser, but she might be a part of the memory that you attach to the dresser, sure.

 

Tyler: That was a great tip. And we were watching some videos to prepare for this; you had another tip, I think, didn't you, like take your clothes and put them reverse on a coat hanger, and then like after a couple of weeks?

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, so I did that with Phil because he had like 400 t-shirts, and he kept saying, "I wear every t-shirt." And I'm like, "No, you don't." So, we take all the hangers, hang them backwards on the rod, and then as you wear them, you hang them up correctly. And then in three months or six months, you'll see exactly what shirt you're wearing, and it makes it really easy to purge. And you can do this really anytime; you'll be surprised how few items in your closet you actually wear on a daily, weekly basis.

Yeah, and come to find out, I only wore like 14 to 20 of them at any one given time. I was like, "Wow, that I mean it was kind of eye-opening for me." And then what she did, she didn't just say, "Okay, the rest have to go," she said, "Pick the ones that mean the most to you." And I had a lot of work T-shirts from being in the military; we had T-shirts that were designed by students at my last command, so I had quite a few of those. So, I took the ones that I really liked, and that meant something to me, and Stacy turned them into a quilt that we now carry with us on the RV.

Yeah, so we still have it.

 

Hope: Oh, that's really cool. And it's a great tip. Not even if you're not traveling, it's something you can do seasonally, every, you know, spring, fall.

Tyler: Yeah, even start a season with them facing the same way, and then at the end of the season, you'll know which ones you didn't wear.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, we try and do that, but we're not very good at it. I mean, I just, I don't know, I get attached to things. I mean, I like my stuff. I spent good money on my stuff. And then she's over here, like, just get rid of it, we can get something else later. Like, so, but it has gotten a lot easier. We're, we're the opposite, we'll throw, I'll try and throw everything I can out as possible, and then she'll like, save some of it, and then I'll, I'll find it, and then I'll be wondering where something I threw out is, and she's like, you threw it out. I do over purge.

Yeah, that's what we call, I'm an over purger. I'm like, oh, that one thing, man, I think I got rid of it. She also was a little sneaky, and she would get rid of my stuff that she didn't like, and she would do it, you know, a little bit here, a little bit there, and I, you know, I had so many shirts and so many different things that I never even missed it. And it wasn't until she told me, you know, we were arguing about keeping something, and she, you know, would bring up, I've thrown away three things that you haven't even missed, like, I would never do that.

 

Hope: That's funny, good teammates then, exactly, good balance over there.

 

Tyler: Yeah, yeah, as we can fast forward a little bit to your current life on the road now, what are some of the biggest frustrations you currently face while traveling?

 

Phil and Stacy: Well, what's your biggest frustration? I think maybe everybody's frustration as RVers, I think the only thing really is just the repetitiveness of RV repair and maintenance. So when we sold our house, we really thought, okay, well, no more lawn, no more maintenance, no more repairs. And little did we know, we actually do. I say we, but I really mean Phil, does more RV repair and maintenance than he ever did on the house. So, I think really that's everybody's frustration and everyone's surprised when they move into their RV.

Yeah, it's, I mean, you have to have some kind of knowledge in being a handyman to kind of stay on top of it. I mean, these things are rolling, you know, hurricanes going down the interstate, so they're constantly shimmying, shaking, and, you know, you're hitting things on the road that jar things loose. And I'm not talking just nuts and bolts, I'm talking wiring, you know, electrical connections, things like that. So, I mean, it's a little different for every type of RV, but for us, you know, we will stay on top of it, and as long as we do that, she'll continue to take care of us. Along with that, I think our other biggest issue would be just agreeing on where to stay sometimes.

Well, the easiest way is just not to let him look, because, yeah, Phil is the spender, I'm the saver. So, I like to balance the budget, so sometimes we'll stay at expensive places, but then we have to cut back and balance it all out. So, we'll stay at somewhere inexpensive. Phil would be okay staying at the expensive places all the time.

Well, not the, like, super expensive, but just nicer.

 

Tyler: Yeah, yeah, that's funny. I've learned to kind of just take the back seat with planning and just drive the car, drive the van, that's it.

 

Phil and Stacy: Well, I do, I agree with you, I'm just the driver. And it's not until we get there that I'm like, really? She's like, yeah. And I'm like, okay.

 

Tyler: So, you bring up a good point about the maintenance with RVs, and it doesn't really, it doesn't matter if it's brand new or used. We bought a brand new RV, and like you said, it's bumping down the road. We have a wire that came loose that's tripping an outlet, and we've tried, we've hired RV techs trying to find where that short is, and you can't find it. So, there's all sorts of, just be prepared for the maintenance and, you know, all that that comes along with the one RV. Have you found, like, a certain number of days or even, like, a price point that you're spending per month or so on repairs and maintenance?

 

Phil and Stacy: Oh, um, I don't know if we've looked at it that way because it definitely goes, it ebs and flows. I think our other, other than regular diesel maintenance, which is according to the miles, we had one huge cost recently. Um, as we left, um, Newland, you want to tell them about that?

Most of our, our maintenance is or repair work is, is usually done annually. So, little things I stay on top of, and they're not, you know, it's not a huge out-of-pocket card because I already have some of the equipment or I have parts on hand if I need to replace something. So, that, to put a dollar amount to it, I really can't say. Um, it's just like, you know, at your house, you have things in the garage, and, you know, you have extra filters and extra whatever, so you just swap them out. But our annual maintenance, I would say, for our diesel pusher that we have, um, anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 for the year. And that's the engine, the chassis, the generator, all the big-ticket items that are required, um, to be done annually. And then, our big, um, oh, and then the issue that we had coming out of Maine. So, um, I don't know if it was the roads we were on or what, but we had a, a super expensive manifold exhaust leak on our engine, and we were, we were losing boost pressure, you know, we were almost rolling backwards going up the mountainside in Newland. Pretty scary when you don't really know what it is, and I'm not an engine guy. So, we, we limped into the Freightliner of Maine once we got back to the US, and they discovered what it was, they got us in and out in like five days, which was pretty good, they did amazing. Um, and that one was dang near a $7,000 repair. Um, however, we were prepared for any kind of major event, so we had a specific, uh, repair fund set aside, and that we just, you know, ever since we, even before we started, we just, we started putting money into this, this fund. So, we called it either the repair, the emergency fund, yeah, it's the repair fund, um, so that we have it in case something like this came up, and it did. And a retire fund, yeah, because tires cost so much for these things, so we just, that's what we use, we, we, we started with different, you know, funds that we started doing, putting a little bit of money into all these different places because we knew eventually we would need to, you know, something is going to jump up and bite us, and that was our big one, and that's, and that's pretty much it in six years. I mean, other, other than that, it's been just normal and normal things that that Stacy can tackle up on the roof herself, sometimes.

 

Tyler: That's interesting. So, you guys not only have like a repair fund set aside, which is smart in the first place, but you also, you go one step further and have like a tire fund or an emergency fund on top of that. So, you even, you kind of further layer that. That's brilliant.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, well, and it's because, you know, we could have just one emergency repair fund or one emergency fund, right? But then you take for granted, oh, I've got enough in that one, right? So, then now we started another one, so we make sure that we have enough in that one.

 

Tyler: Yeah, no, it's great. Everything with you guys is calculated, and there's a reason for everything. I like that.

 

Phil and Stacy: It was by accident.

 

Tyler: So, we talked about some of the, you know, the frustrations, the downsides of full-time RV travel. Let's transition a little bit to some of the positive. So, what do you love most about this lifestyle?

 

Phil and Stacy: The freedom. There's so much, yeah, it's the freedom to, to go and do what you want to do when you want to do it, on our time. Um, for me, that's, that's the most rewarding because for almost 30 years, I was told what to where, I was told where to go, I was told when I could go home. So, you know, flipping that, that switch to now being free to move about the country whenever we want, or I should say the world, it's amazing. And I think for me, what we've discovered, and we used to hear people say this, and we didn't get it until we went full-time, and that's the community. I think once you start meeting the people, and you really make connections with RVers, other RVers on the road, you'll realize that the RV community is pretty darn amazing.

Yeah, so I think for, for us, finding that and, you know, meeting our people out on the road, it's so different than any community we've ever been a part of. So, I, I think for, for me, that's pretty high on the list. And you get to meet them and run into them all over the country, you know, so you may meet them at one specific place, and then everybody goes their own way, but you're all crossing paths, even those that are not full-timers like us, they still get out, they still, you know, we're in their neck of the woods, and they're like, hey, you got to come over, we've got this great ice cream spot we want to take you to.

Tyler: Yeah, no, it has been great. And like, even like, every person we talked to on the podcast, like now we have people, every episode, there's some other place when we're traveling, they're like, oh, next time you're out, you know, give us a shout, we'll grab lunch or something.

Yeah, it's been great. Um, yeah, you, you talk about on your channel quite a bit about preparation and checklists. Not just your channel, you talked about it a lot in this podcast as well. What are some things every RVer should do before they hit the road?

 

Phil and Stacy: Definitely have a checklist, yeah, um, and your checklist is going to be everything you do when you go to break down and pack up to hit the road. Um, most accidents and injury can happen at set up and breakdown if people aren't paying attention if they miss something. So, having that list and not getting distracted when you're going down the list, um, talking to your neighbor is really important, and I think it keeps you on track, and you know, it keeps you from busting your satellite or, um, the awning being out, which we just saw, we just saw nobody leaving the campground with their awning open. Or even a big mistake that we made early on is, well, we've made a few, but Phil forgot to put the pen in our dolly, so we're driving down the road, and the dolly's like dragging.

Yeah, so I mean, you can make so many mistakes, and you just, one little blip where you lose track of what you're doing, you can, you can make a major mistake.

And you know what, I tell people all the time is, with having a checklist, the minute you get interrupted, whether it's on, you know, your spouse or your significant other calls you in for something, or somebody outside comes over and wants to say, hey, and, and talk to you, soon as you're done with whatever that interaction is, go back to step one, because inevitably, you know, we're all human, we figured, oh, I've already done that, or I think I'm here, and then you'll miss a step or two, and then that's when catastrophe strikes. So, for us, is have that, go back to it, um, and if you're in doubt, just start all over, you know. But having that checklist before you hit the road is, for us, is it's been huge, and we've been doing almost six years, and we still pull out that checklist, and we use it every time before we drive away.

 

Tyler: Yeah, and we, and it sounds like you guys are, you're physically getting out, you're walking around your RV. We know people that do that as well, um, but what are some of the big ones, people, like, are you checking your tires, you're making sure everything's retracted?

 

Phil and Stacy: The big thing is, is our tires are, um, TPMS, TPMS, and make sure we're aired up properly, um, and that's not only for safety, but it's for, for fuel consumption. Um, we always do a final, one of us will always do a final walk around, and we always check our lights. I don't know how many people, if they check their lights to make sure, because we have a toad, we want to make sure the lights are hooked up properly, we have brakes, we have blinkers, so the people behind us, um, can, you know, see where we're going and what we're doing. So, we've, we've gone and stepped completely behind the Jeep as it's attached to the RV, and we've gone further back from it to physically, physically see that, or make sure that we can see our brake lights right from cars behind us coming up on us, um, and I use the checklist for unhooking and hooking up the Jeep, we both do. We pull it out of the console, and we go by it step by step. We've been doing this for five years, and there's only, you know, a handful of steps to do on that Jeep. But if you miss one of them on your Jeep, you're going to drag your tires, you're going to have, you're going to have the parking brake on, whatever it is. So, we go through that checklist, and the last thing we do is we make sure that all four of the Jeep tires are rolling freely. So, we don't just check one side of the Jeep to see that the tires are rolling, we check both sides, um, to make sure. And that's just kind of our final check before we get in, put the seat belts on, and, and hit the road.

 

Tyler: Can you explain the slap wrist bracelets?

 

Phil and Stacy: So, we didn't actually invent this, we, there's another couple we saw using them, and it's really great for all dribbles. Um, instead of having a physical paper or a physical list, we just take those '80s old-school slap wrist bracelets, we got a Sharpie, and we put all of our checklist on the bracelets, and then we just smack them onto our steering wheels so we know all the things that we need to do before we hit the road. And you can just pull them off your steering wheel one by one as you complete it, and that way you know if you go to drive away and something's still in that steering wheel that you forgot to do something on your checklist.

 

Tyler: Yeah, that's brilliant. It's something so simple.

 

Phil and Stacy: And so many people have said, "That's brilliant." We can't take, you know, credit for it, but we love it because it's, you know, you could take them while you're walking around outside, doing your, if you're by yourself. So you have a handful of them and as you're doing whatever outside, just smack it on your arm and you're good to go. You know you've done it.

 

Tyler: Yeah, yeah. No, it's simple, it's effective, and unlike an iPad, if you have a list on an iPad, the battery's not going to die. You're always going to have that there.

 

Phil and Stacy And we've marked through them, we've added new stuff as our situations changed, as we've gotten, you know, upgrades and done different things to the RV. So, you know, your checklist is not going to be set in stone once you start. You will evolve and change and add stuff on like, you know, you forget something a couple of times in a row, and you're like, "Oh, I better add this to the checklist," or you, you know, like we changed our satellite or whatever. So just remember you can change it as you go along and definitely keep it up to date as your RV Life Changes.

 

Tyler: Yeah, no, it's important. And like you said, you guys are still doing it now, but I think it's even more important starting out because when everything is new to you, you can get nervous. Once you get nervous, it's hard to think, and that's when you can easily forget something.

 

Phil and Stacy:  And another great benefit of having that is Stacy's had to do everything by herself. So, like, normally I will do everything outside, she'll do everything inside. So the one time that I couldn't do anything, she had to do it, the entire checklist was right there. All those slappers' bracelets were there for her to use and to go through, and she knocked it out of the park with that.

 

Tyler: Yeah, that's great. How are you getting internet when you're traveling?

 

Phil and Stacy: We have a Peplink modem router, and we use a T-Mobile SIM card for that. And that's our main internet means of getting internet into the RV. And of course, like many RVers, we have Starlink as our backup.

 

Tyler: Great. Do you want to share any mistakes that you or anybody you know have made in the past that could potentially help a listener?

 

Phil and Stacy: Plenty of mistakes in the very beginning. Our biggest one that still, to this day, I don't know how we didn't damage something. We actually moved the RV while we were still plugged into the pedestal. Oh, wow. So, yes, we got really lucky. We were, and of course, it seemed like every time we got underway in the beginning or loaded the car on the dolly, it was raining. So I was in a hurry to get the dolly connected to the RV, and it was pouring down rain. So I'm out there soaking wet, and I finally got the dolly to where I could hook it up, and I told Stacy to move the rig forward, not realizing that now I'd already tripped the breaker, and why, I don't know. Normally, when I trip the breaker, I pull the power cord. It's two steps, trip, pull it. That day, I tripped it, and I didn't pull it. So, in my mind, we're good, and I told Stacy to go ahead and move forward. I came around from the passenger side to the driver's side, and there's my entire power cord laying out with our surge protector still connected to it, laying... I mean, just straight as it could be on the ground. And I quickly looked over at the pedestal to make sure it was still upright, and it was fine, the cord was fine, the pedestal was fine, both of our hearts were in our throats. I mean, it really scared us.

Yeah, I mean, we could have ripped out the pedestal. That would have been major money to repair. We've seen instances where people have actually ripped the plug off their power cord, so then they have to get that repaired. So we really dodged a bullet on that one. But then again, that's how mistakes happen when you're in a hurry, you're not following your normal routine. And that's why those checklists are so important. If he had the checklist out there that day, he would have known that he didn't follow through on what he normally does. And the slap wrist is waterproof, so there's no excuse. I should have had it with me.

 

Tyler: That is true, very true. I was going to say, was that the day that your checklist was born when that happened, or was that just not on there?

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, we already had it, but I think we added to it that. Yeah, really. And this was like really early. We weren't even full-time yet. We still had a house we were just visiting. We were doing some shakedown trips. So it really honed in and made us realize how important those checklists were.

 

Tyler: Yeah, it is, yeah. Oh, it is, yeah. Um, well, thank you for sharing that. Appreciate that.

 

Phil and Stacy: And yeah, you can find all kinds of mistakes on our Channel. We're not scared. Well, we did the dolly. Um, let's see, what else did we do? What other big mistakes did we make? We're happy to have other people learn from us because, honestly, that's the whole point in sharing some of our content is because when we discover new things that either we've been doing wrong or new ways to do things, that's what we like to share, because, you know, that's the stuff that's of most benefit to our community here.

Here's something that we do because we got burned by it one time, not literally burned, but it was a bad deal, and nobody had ever mentioned this when we were doing our research, and that's getting into a site and before you do anything in your site, check the pedestal, make sure you have good power. So normally, we had been doing it that way, and we had been boondocking for a while, so we hadn't been plugging into anything. So we get into this nice State Park, we get level, we open everything up, I go to plug in to the pedestal, and the pedestal is bad, no power. And we had already, we're all open, we had everything open, and normally, I would plug in my surge protector and let it do a diagnostic check on the pedestal. And that day, we didn't do it, you know, so that was another one of our mistakes. It was like, okay, from now on, doesn't matter. This is what we're doing first. And it didn't cost us anything, it didn't hurt anything other than time. So we just had to close back up, we had to readjust the rig, we actually stole power from a pedestal next door empty pedestal until the state park could come out and repair. But you know, it's just one of those steps that it just reinforces, is following through.

 

Tyler: And of course, of course, it was the one time where you didn't do it first. That's how it always works.

 

Phil and Stacy: Always. That's when it's not gonna work. It's, it's like it's like pulling when you hook up your sewer hose. You don't just open up your black tank and let it flow, you open up the gray tank to make sure you have a good connection. Ask us how we know. You know, I mean, it's those kind of mistakes that people don't think about, um, that jump out and they, they bite you right in the tail. I forgot, I fell out of the RV. A lot of people fall out of the RV. I fell out of the RV because when the rig is running, you open when the rig is running, the steps are retracted. So when you open the door, the steps come out. Well, you have to wait a few seconds for the steps to come out. Well, I got impatient. I, well, I didn't get impatient, I just opened the door and did not stick The Landing, I can tell you that learning experience, right?

 

Hope: Yeah, Tyler did something similar.

 

Tyler: I did?

 

Hope: yeah, when you fell, when we were winterizing.

 

Tyler: Oh, yeah.

 

Hope: Ours were old school, so they didn't Auto, oh my gosh, because we were winterizing, and he forgot the step was half retracted and it slid out and I went down.

 

Tyler: And it was one of those and knocked the wind out of me. I was trying to say I was okay, but I was like, I couldn't even talk,

 

Phil and Stacy: Oh my gosh, yeah, you just never know for sure. No. And we've, in fact, somebody in our community, our crew, he just broke his leg. He's a solo guy, and he fell out of his rig, and we've heard that from a lot of people and broke his leg. So now he's sitting for six months. Well, the one, our one crew, she had to have surgery after she fell. It's crazy. You just never know.

 

Tyler: That's true. That's true. That's why you need to just take your time and not be in a hurry. Yep, easier said than done. It is, yes, it is very true. Do you want to share a little bit about your charity?

 

Phil and Stacy: Oh, sure. So we actually don't have our own personal charity, but there are several veterans charities that we've rallied around. The biggest one is homes for our troops, and they actually build custom homes for service members with severe injuries. These homes are amazing. So it is totally free for the veteran, and it's one of the biggest charities that we've rallied around and where we've raised the most money. But we're up to over $170,000 now. We're working on 200,000. But we've done all kinds of crazy things to raise money, from dunk Booth to we did a pie in the face, we did auctions and raffles and all kinds of stuff. So it's been really amazing to see the RV community rally around us and really dig deep to donate to these veteran charities. So it means the world to us, and it's not us that's doing it. It's the RV community that's doing it. That's the important thing. We're just two people with a voice using our platform to help, you know, help veterans. And being that we were in the military for so long and connected to it, it hits home with us. So we, you know, if the channel dissolved tomorrow, we would still do whatever we could to help, that's how, that's how much it means to us.

 

Tyler: Yeah, no, it's great you guys are doing that. And I know people can help by purchasing t-shirts, right? And I guess this is, if you're watching on YouTube, we'll do our big reveal. We're wearing our, uh, today is someday t-shirts right here. How does that work?

 

Phil and Stacy: So if somebody orders a shirt, there's proceeds that go towards your charity, right, or the charities, right? Anything from our veteran line, we have veteran cups and t-shirts and hats. Anything from the veteran line, all the proceeds will go toward homes for our troops. So about every quarter, we get a statement from our, um, the company who runs our store, and we just go straight off the list, and we donate it over to homes for our troops. So it's been, it's been really great, a nice easy way for us to raise money. The other really simple way is our crew. We have a membership and a big portion of our membership funds that we raise also go over to homes for our troops. So it's, it's really rewarding.

 

Tyler: That's great. And it's amazing you're were able to raise that much money in just this, you know, five to six-year period. That's incredible.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, it is. It's very incredible. We are loving it, and

 

Tyler: We'll put a link in the show notes for the links to the charities, your website, everything people need to know to, um, to donate there.

 

Hope: Um, what has been your coolest travel experience so far?

 

Phil and Stacy: Oh, the coolest. It's always hard when people ask those questions because, you know, you go to so many different locations, and you like different locations for different reasons. So I do have to say, Yosemite is one of our favorite places. We were at a National Forest campground just outside Yosemite, and that's where our jeep was broken into by a bear. So it was the most very first night momentous, and the one of the most beautiful places we've stayed, yeah, that one was really cool. It's the bear break game, but my one, my other one would be Creed, Colorado. We Boondock on top of a mountain U there in Creed for a week, uh, with a couple of our friends, and it was absolutely breathtaking up there and so peaceful, yeah, unhooked all of us on our own power, everything. I mean, it was just to wake up and see the sun peeking over the mountains every morning. I mean, if you haven't experienced that, you got to get out, go find the mountains and check it out. It's amazing.

It's, yeah, the, and the towns around there are just, you know, very nice, quaint, quiet little, just, yeah. And I grew up in Colorado, my, in my teen years, and I didn't, um, I didn't appreciate what Colorado had to offer as a teenager. And now that I've gone back home, it's like, man, this is, I mean, it truly is a gorgeous place to visit.

 

Tyler: Yeah, wow. So after spending just about 5 years traveling, what's one thing you learned you can't live without?

 

Phil and Stacy: Oh, wow, that'd be for you, because I could probably live without everything. No internet, I would say internet. I think this day and age, it's got to be internet. Um, because, um, you know, you hear the stories where you pull into a campground and they have camp Wi-Fi or park Wi-Fi, we would, we would, we would be kicked out because of the amount of bandwidth that we use. Um, but we have having our own internet, um, system with us. So we could pull in anywhere, for the most part, and our internet works perfectly fine for us. And it's not just for our channel, it's also for our family staying connected to our kids and our grandkids. That's how, I mean, that's how we communicate with them. And even though we're far apart, we always feel connected because, I mean, I talk to my daughter several times a day, even when, even when I don't want to, she's always FaceTiming me, um, and then my son too. So I think staying connected, um, that's the number one way. Yeah, everything else, I mean, the, you know, we have a lot of safety features that um, that we've added to the rig that, you know, we absolutely stand behind and it would not drive down the road without them. Our TPMS being one of them, um, but yeah, other than that, I think, you know, most rvers have the same type of stuff, um, you know, they got into this lifestyle because they wanted less stuff and more freedom, yeah. So for us, we don't have a lot of stuff, but we have everything we need. Like if we were in our house, just on a smaller scale, sure.

 

Tyler: So the internet, and then maybe the TPM, TPMS that reads the tire pressure when you're driving, right?

 

Phil and Stacy: Yep, okay, pressure and temperature, yeah.

 

Tyler: We might end up changing that question to besides internet, what can't you live without. I think like the past four episodes, it's been internet, which we agree with.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, especially if you're doing this full-time vlogging, doing a blog and a website, you, you inter, we started out with all the things we thought we needed, you know, an outdoor carpet, you know, big comfortable chairs to sit outside, but we found those things just took up space and we weren't utilizing them, yeah, everywhere we went to. Um, so we, you know, we purged again. And so we went to smaller chairs, a little more compact, um, we have a barbecue, or we have a Blackstone, wait, we don't, we, it's not seen the sunlight in almost two years, I think. It's, it's funny how you think you need stuff and then you shortly find out that not there's very few things that you truly need, yeah, we we did a video a couple years ago. We were camping with my mom in Upstate New York. And we were in the site right next to hers. And they have a, you know, bumper pool, uh, travel trailer, and it took them two days to set up their camp. They're not full-time, they're part-time, they're just weekenders. Took them two days to set up camp, and we were right next to them and we showed, you know, a shot of our campsite had two chairs outside and that we drug them over to her campsite. We go over to her campsite, and she's got everything out, you name it, she had it out, um, so I mean, you could walk through a campground and you can really spot full-timers and weekenders, you know, because they're coming out play, you know, they're coming out to play for the weekend and pack it all in with the kids or whatnot, and full-timers are just kind of there, you know, they're, they're out in town, they're hiking, they're seeing thing, um, so it's just, it's for us, that's, you know, we thought we needed that stuff, and come to find out we didn't need it after all, yeah.

 

Tyler: It is interesting we had one neighbor, they took like a week to set up, it was the most insane, and then they were gone, they took like seven days to set up, and they left, it was like the craziest thing, they get it just right and then it's Sunday, yep, and then time to go. They didn't even enjoy it.

 

Phil and Stacy: I never saw them sit down outside on the chairs they put out. They were setting up all day and next thing you know, we've seen that where people have come in and, you know, they've got the kids are running around riding bikes and doing kid things, which is cool, and mom and dad never got to relax because it was setting up the whole time, yep, yeah, you can make it very simple as long as you try to don't over complicate it, I think is the biggest thing.

 

Tyler: I know I mentioned before like the most popular answer has been internet and I think the connection I just made was it's been internet for people who are traveling in larger class A's or fifth wheels where they have more things but when we talk to like van lifers or people who aren't traveling in a larger motor home they tend to have more because they're they're getting rid of more things to make room for their smaller living space so maybe that's the connection um and like I said too yeah we definitely could not get away with doing this on campground Wi-Fi there's no chance.

 

Phil and Stacy: No, and you know for us, most things that come in the RV have to have a dual purpose whenever possible. Yeah, you have to have so we can see van lifers have to have, you know, if they have a slotted spoon, that thing is for 18 different things, not just, you know, you know what I mean. So, for us, when we were thinking of things to bring into the rig, a lot of them had to have multiple uses because you didn't need for the same thing to do the same thing, yeah.

 

Tyler: If you could have listened to this podcast when you first started out, what is one question we didn't ask tonight that you wished we had, and how would you answer that now?

 

Phil and Stacy: It's really hard because we're looking back over six years and this is honestly, we've been doing it so long, it's just a way of life now. It's all we know and it's hard to remember the beginning. Um, I think a couple of those things that I mentioned earlier, checking the pedestal, checking the sewer hose connection because, you know, those could be maybe just the safety, more safy... Well, I knew even before we had our RV, I knew I needed a TPMS system, I knew I needed a surge protector, so I had those two things before I even had my RV, before I even knew what RV I was going to get, I knew I had to have those because, you know, being in the military for so long, safety on a ship was in the front of your face every single day, so we were prepared, safety-wise, yeah.

I don't know. I don't, that's a really hard question because there's so much to learn when you first hit the road, like you're being fed to a fire hose, yeah. And the biggest thing though is, is, you know, we were just talking about it how people, you know, they get to a campground and they're setting everything up and they, you know, they're packing everything in in three hours. For us, we were trying to do a little bit of that in the beginning, we were move, move, move, trying to go, go, go and we didn't need to, you know, because we're full-time, we were doing this on our own terms. In fact, every single time we were to leave one spot and go to another spot, whether it was three hours down the road or six hours, which we don't do anymore, I told Stacy we got to go to the grocery store, you know, we, we got to pack up, we're going camping, we have to go to the store and she was like, we don't have to, we can go get it when we're there. So, it was a mindset change that we had to go through, um, and the first six months, we, we called it the RV and then shortly around the six month mark, we, we stopped calling it the RV and started calling it home.

 

Hope: But I think those are some really good points that you brought up, especially the if you're going to go full-time, it's no longer your RV, it's your home.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think just the mindset shift is something you have to work towards as you start and you don't have to, you don't have to go, go, go, you know, you can go to a spot, our sweet spots around seven to ten days, um, in one spot and that's enough time to get out, see it, see, you know, make sure we've, you know, punched the right boxes, um, but it's enough that we say, you know what, we liked it so much we can come back, we don't need to cram everything in because we're free to move about the country, sure.

 

Tyler: And for somebody listening to this podcast right now who wants to set up a lifestyle similar to yours but isn't there yet, what is one thing they can start doing today?

 

Phil and Stacy: Um, I think there are a couple things they can start doing today, um, it to work toward the goal of full-time RV life and first is, you know, do your homework, do your research, you know, what's your goals, what kind of RV are you going to need based on your needs, are you going to work from home, do you have kids, you know, kind of start your research for that and then the next thing I would suggest is, um, get out of debt. If you're in debt, that is the best way to enable you to have the experiences you want to have on the road, so, um, obviously the less money you're spending on bills, the more money you have to go play for tickets or whatever activities, so experiences, yeah. Um, I know not everybody has the same opinion of me as far as being debt-free but that is definitely my number one and then probably the last thing and we actually have a video on this and that is before you sell everything you own and your house, make sure you have an Exit Plan so if something happened to you tomorrow and your health failed, what are you going to do if you can no longer RV, do you have an Escape Route, you need to be able to know what you're going to do, are you going to move into an apartment, are you going to get a house, are you moving in with family because emergencies happen on the road all the time, we've seen it, we've seen the death of a partner, we've seen where people physically have an injury or a stroke or so many things and they cannot RV so make sure you are prepared for that next step and you don't trap yourself to where you don't know what you're going to do, yeah, yeah, very good point.

 

Hope: Now speaking of what you just said, like the death of your partner, right, so does that mean both of you should equally know how to hook up that camper and drive away?

 

Phil and Stacy: Yes, 100% because, you know, I something could happen to me, I'm, I drive this thing 24/7, um, Stacy knows how to, I have driven it, yeah, in the event that she had to for whatever reason, um, but it is good to know each other's roles, she can do, Stacy can do everything on this RV by herself and she's done it, had to do it, um, she's done it on video so there's proof, it was actually in the hospital, um, a couple years ago, um, he had surgery and we had to move SES, um, so he, it was during covid, I couldn't even be at the hospital so I literally packed up the RV, got in it, moved to the next site, um, it's got us all set up, um, I mean I didn't have to drive it that far but I was able to close everything up, shut it down, move it, and then open everything back up again to include hooking up the Jeep, I mean she knows how to do all of that, it's our setup for the Jeep is super easy, it's five minutes each way, yeah, um, but that, you know, and we've been in places and we've known people or met people on the road that, you know, the husband did all the work, did everything and when he wasn't there, they were stranded, yeah, she did not know what to do, no means to get anywhere, um, but the good thing about the community is they rallied around her and they got her the help she needed but um, it is imperative that you know each other's roles and we've practiced like we switch jobs where I'll do all the outside, we do it as a refresher, um, I, I actually put on video where I was hooking up the Jeep and those stupid toe arms were kicking my tail because they were so tight but um, but we do know how to do it, we do switch off, um, every quarter every six months or so.

 

Tyler: Yeah, really good advice, yeah, you guys could teach a course like it's been, there's been so much new material and new ideas, New Concepts in this podcast our audience is going to find it really valuable thank you for sharing everything and um, were there any when you were starting out and even to the state were there any YouTube channels that helped inspire you or either even books or other influences that helped inspire you to travel?

 

Phil and Stacy: Well there were quite a few out when we started there were like four main ones cuz um um we we've been around for a minute but our main ones that we watched was um kyd less jum more Journey the wind gone with the winds and they were when they were still rving not in their boat and then the biggest influence on us is RV love and the reason is because I was trying to convince Phil that we could do it and he was working remotely for the Navy and he was like no I have this job how am I going to work on the road and at the time Mark was working in his office was this closet he turned into his office in his RV took the bunks out and turned it into like look Mark is doing it they're traveling and they're going all over the country and he works a nin to5 he has to clock in and literally clock out and if he can do it you can do it remotely where you know he Phil's job enabled him as long as he put in his eight hours he could do it how and whenever he wanted to do it so um they really proved to him thanks to Mark um they proved that we could could actually do it and that was really what launched us.

Tyler: Yeah that's great yeah YouTube University can be quite convincing.

 

Phil and Stacy: Yeah it I made it my my part-time part-time job um because I was working from home I had the time to you know scour the interwebs looking for different RVs because we didn't know what we didn't know about rving um so we would start you know we started doing our homework then and and then it got to a point where we weren't allowed to watch those YouTube channels unless we are both there to watch them together because we got that you know ingrained into what you know their videos what they were saying how they were doing things um so they they are the ones that really you know indoctrinated.

 

Tyler: We'll put a link in the show notes for all the channels and links we talked about in today's show uh one last question for travel tips part two you guys are coming back on just so we don't leave our audience in too much suspense where are we talking about next time?

 

Phil and Stacy: We are talking about Newfoundland.

Tyler: All right perfect and one last question Phil and Stacy where can our audience find out more about you guys?

Phil and Stacy: You can find us at uh todayissomeday.net with our website and our blogs and then of course our YouTube channel Todayissomeday.

Tyler: Awesome thanks again guys

Phil and Stacy: Thank you, thanks.

It was so great to have Chad and Eileen back on the podcast to give us a very detailed overview of their six week trip to Alaska. Even better, they are planning on returning for an entire season so they let us know what they are doing differently to prepare for their next journey.

Price

It’s no secret that Alaska is expensive. They share how even though they anticipated to spend a little more here, they still underestimated it.

Internet

If you want to have some sort of internet connection while you make the drive to Alaksa, Starlink is your best bet. They mentioned how they had very poor service, and even if they didn’t need to use it, knowing they could fire up Starlink if they needed to gave them peace of mind.

Things to Do

From boat rides, plane rides, and hiking, they stayed very busy. They admit they didn’t do a ton of excursions, but since Alaksa is such beautiful place to be, they really didn’t need to. We discussed a few things they are looking forward to doing next time as well.

3, 2, 1 Countdown

3 Things to Bring to Alaska

·        Bug spray, fly swatter, bug net

·        Blackout curtains, eye mask

·        Binoculars

2 Things to Be Prepared For

·        Bugs and mosquitoes

·        Bears

1 Thing You Can’t Leave Alaska Without Doing

·        The plane ride or jumping in a lake

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:00 How much time did you spend in Alaska and what did you cover?

02:00 How much time should someone spend in Alaska and when should they go?

04:00 How was it bringing your dog with you to Alaska?

07:15 Sightseeing plane ride in Alaska

09:30 How did you get to Alaska with your van?

13:00 Favorite camping spots?

14:45 How expensive is it in Alaska?

15:15 What activities did you do in Alaska?

18:30 What is there to do at night in Alaska?

20:15 How long did it take to adjust to it not getting dark?

23:30 How was the food scene in Alaska?

24:30 How are you preparing differently for your next trip to Alaska?

26:00 What are three things people should bring to Alaska?

27:45 What are two things people should prepare for before they visit Alaska?

30:15 How are the roads in Alaska?

32:00 What can’t you leave Alaska with out doing?

Chad and Eileen on Social:

·        Miles Van Life: https://www.instagram.com/themilesvanlife/

·        Eileen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eileenrosemiles/

·        Eileen’s Website: https://www.eileenrose.me/

·        Eileen’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-inward-journey/id1666397129

·        Chad’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/chadmmiles/

·        Chad’s Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2228949/share

Locations

·        Fairbanks: https://www.explorefairbanks.com/

·        Denali National Park: https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm

·        Hatche Pass: https://www.alaska.org/detail/hatcher-pass

·        Anchorage: https://www.anchorage.net/

·        Kenai Peninsula: https://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Regions/Southcentral/Kenai-Peninsula

·        Whittier: https://www.alaska.org/destination/whittier

·        Hope: https://www.alaska.org/destination/hope

 

To Do:

·        Boat Trip to Juneau: https://alaskafjordlines.com/

·        Plane Ride: https://www.katair.com/

·        Katmai Bear Viewing Tours: https://katmaiair.com/

 

Restaurants

·        Karstens Public House: https://www.westmarkhotels.com/denali-food/

·        Anchorage Breweries: https://www.anchorage.net/restaurants/breweries/

 

Camping

·        Dyea Flats: https://www.alaska.org/detail/dyea-campground

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/gently-comes-tomorrow License code: JNNG98EA42W634JP

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript

Host: All right, Chad and Eileen, welcome back to the Travel Path Podcast.

 

Guest: Hi, we're happy to be back. So, in case you missed the first episode, we talked about all their van life adventures, and we took a pretty deep dive into some of the finances and a lot of the things that people don't think about with van life, including routines or lack of routines, getting kind of out of the routines you're used to living at home, and transitioning to van life. So, if you haven't listened, give it a listen. For part two, travel tips, we're talking about one destination. So, Chad and Eileen, what destination are we talking about today?

 

Guest: We're going to talk about Alaska.

 

Host: All right.

 

Guest: Our favorite place in the world for sure.

 

Host: So, I guess that's what made you decide to share about Alaska today, is just how much you love it?

 

Guest: Yeah, and I think last summer, we made our first trip up to Alaska, and we spent about six weeks there. And it was such an overwhelming experience trying to figure out and plan for all the things that we might need to go there, and so maybe we can make it a little bit simpler for people by sharing today.

 

Host: Awesome. How much time did you guys spend in Alaska, and what did you actually cover when you were there?

 

Guest: So, we spent a total of about six weeks in Alaska. That doesn't include the drive up or the drive back, but our six weeks in Alaska, we covered quite a bit. So, we went up the more northern route. We started in Fairbanks, and then we made our way south from there. So, we hit Denali National Park, we went to Hatcher Pass, we went to Anchorage, down to the Kenai Peninsula, and then on our way out of Alaska, we went down to Skagway and took a boat trip to Juneau as well. So, we covered quite a bit of it.

 

Host: Yeah, you certainly did. So, would you say for someone who is living this van life journey or taking a cross-country trip, how much do you think six weeks is a really good time for them to experience Alaska? Or would you say plan more or you could plan less?

 

Guest: We are going back for the entire summer, but I know that's not realistic for everyone, but you probably will fall in love with it as well and want to go back for longer. But we do feel anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks is enough time to get the most out of it and see, you know, the Denali National Park, which is our favorite place, and then the Kenai Peninsula for sure. So, four to six weeks would be good.

 

Host: Yeah, good. So obviously, you know, if you're going to really enjoy the national parks and probably have a great time, you want to go in the summertime when it's not the dead of winter. What are some of those seasonal highlights for you guys, at least when you were there?

 

Guest: Well, yes, you 100% need to see Alaska in the summer because in the winter, it is, I think, it's four or six hours of daylight, and the rest is all dark. And so in the summer, you get 20 hours of daylight. So, you have longer days in the summer. It's actually wild how long they are. We tried to see the Northern Lights, and it never got dark enough. So, that's what's great, though, about the summertime is the days are long, and you can start a hike at 4 p.m., for example. It's beautiful. There's a lot of fish out in the rivers that you can catch and enjoy fresh. There's beautiful flowers, and everything is just beautiful in the summer. So, there's lots of wildlife that are out in the summer. So, you're looking, if you're planning on going up to Alaska, your window to be there is about mid-June through September 1st. Outside of that, you're going to run into some colder temperatures. But when we were there, we were there mid-July through about September 1st, and I mean, it was beautiful, 60, 70-degree days. We had a lot of sunshine while we were there, so the weather is definitely a highlight if you're there in the summertime.

 

Host: Yeah, sure. And then you're traveling with Sadie, your dog. So, do you feel like she was able to go on all these hikes with you? Were there any restrictions that you kind of got snagged on?

 

Guest: She couldn't enjoy the Denali National Park hikes with us. But Hatcher Pass, for example, is a hidden gem south of Denali, is that right? Okay. And it's beautiful, and it honestly reminded me of Switzerland, even though I've never been to Switzerland. I've only seen photos, but it's just beautiful, stunning mountain ranges, super green, and she could hike with us there. So, we figured out a lot of places where she could adventure. And I mean, Alaska in itself is beautiful no matter where you go outside of the park. So, she could be everywhere with us. And they do say traveling with a dog or traveling in a pack does spook the bears away and animals away too. I don't know, we never had that encounter, thank goodness, with a bear. But it's good. They actually, it's good to travel with your pets and hike with them.

 

Host: So perfect, now diving just a little bit deeper into some of the things and places that you guys actually went to in Alaska. Do you have any highlights or spots that you think maybe you should spend a little more time or a little less time in that you went to?

 

Guest: I think the area that we'd like to spend more time in would be the Kenai Peninsula. It's an incredible place because you've got some beautiful mountains and you're right on the ocean, so you've got the mix of both. The climate's really interesting, and some of the little towns are fascinating. The little town of Whittier and the little town of Hope were these unbelievable places that it's hard to imagine exist. So, that area has got so much natural beauty, there's national parks down there, so the Kenai Peninsula is definitely an area that we spent a fair amount of time. We were there for maybe a week or so, but we definitely would like to go back and spend some more time. And Denali National Park is just an incredible place. You get to go see Mount Denali, which is an unbelievable sight, as long as you can see it, which you need to have a clear day in order to be able to see it. But that was an area—I actually have family in that area—so we hung around there for probably about two weeks and just really enjoyed it. And if you want a really unique experience while you're there, we would definitely recommend flying. So, we went for a flight in a small six-person plane, and it just gave you this incredible view of all the natural beauty that's out there and a really unique perspective.

 

Host: I remember seeing that Reel, it looked awesome.

 

Guest: It was, I still dream of it to this day. And when we go back, we're running to that small plane and going for another flight. I do want to say, though, I think, nothing against Fairbanks, but it's just another typical town. That's something that we wouldn't really recommend you don't need to go. We think that, yeah, spend more time down in Denali area, Hatcher Pass, Kenai Peninsula, and you'll be golden.

 

Host: Awesome. Now, speaking of that plane ride, because if anybody goes and looks at your Instagram and sees what that looks like, it's going to absolutely be on their bucket list. What do you remember, cost-wise, to do something like that? Like, what should someone prepare for?

 

Guest: So this is where it's not going to be very helpful because my cousin is a pilot, and so, shout out to Greg, he lives out there, and so he operates an air taxi service and operates a lodge within Denali National Park, so we got to fly for free. However, if you are looking to fly, you're looking to pay probably about $250 per person for like an hour sightseeing flight. So, it's not necessarily cheap, and it is absolutely worth it because the things that you will see are unbelievable. So, would still recommend, but I know that's not a super helpful answer. I will say, too, the Denali National Park, there's a road closure right now, and it will be closed for a couple more years. And so it's just the best way to see more of the park because, sadly, you can only drive in. It's still gorgeous, of course, but you can only drive in to a certain point, and then they make you turn around because it's not safe. The, I don't know how to explain it, but the road kind of just collapsed on itself, I guess. So, yeah, you definitely want to take that plane ride. And I'm someone who was really fearful of flying, and it was so peaceful once you just get distracted by how beautiful it is. And it's really, really beautiful, and you just can't think about how scared you are. So, it's worth it.

 

Host: Perfect. And you said Greg operates a company that'll actually take people out to do this, right?

 

Guest: Yeah, so his company is Kantishna Air Taxi, and so they offer private sightseeing flights, and he's a great pilot.

 

Host: Awesome. We'll put his information in the show notes, and then tell him Chad sent them.

 

Guest: That'd be great.

 

Host: So, as far as transportation to actually get there, obviously, you can fly in. There's tons of ways. But you guys are taking yourself converted van. So, what was that process like for you to actually drive into Alaska, and what did you need to prepare before?

 

Guest: So, there's two primary routes that you can take if you're going to drive to Alaska. One of them is the Alaskan Highway that starts in Dawson Creek, Alberta, and takes you through Northern Alberta into the Yukon Territory and then over into Alaska. That route is a little bit more commercialized. It's the most popular route to take. And so, there's just some more options for food or more options for lodging and more stops for gas along that route. We came that way back from Alaska down through Canada. The other route that you can take is the Cassiar Highway, which runs along the western part of Canada and takes you up through British Columbia. That route, in our opinion, is more naturally beautiful. It is also very remote. There was a period of three or four days as we were driving. This was during the work week, so we were driving maybe three to four hours per day, but there was a three to four day period where we did not have cell phone service one time. So, it is very remote. There's not a ton of options for lodging or for gas. So, you definitely would need to be in a van or an RV if you want to go that route so that you can find random spots to stay. And you need to have some pretty off-grid capable. But if that is the case, that was the route that we enjoyed the most. Going through the mountains of British Columbia was unbelievable. It was really, really nice, and that's probably the route that we will end up going back when we head back there this summer.

 

 

Host: Very good. I guess that's why in episode one that you guys did, you talked about getting the Starlink, and you're glad you had it going into Alaska, right?

 

Guest: 100%. Yeah, we talked to a couple of people that had gone to Alaska before, so that's a great tip too, you know? If you're thinking about going to Alaska, reach out to us for sure, and we can tell you all our tips and tricks. But someone said, "No, you for sure need a Starlink because there's just complete dead zones." And, yeah, anytime you pass a gas station, fill up no matter where you're at. And yeah, it's quite the adventure. As far as what else we'd recommend planning, I mean, if you have something like Starlink, then of course you can get access to the internet everywhere, and that gave us a little bit of peace of mind so that if something were to go wrong as we were traveling and we were in more remote places, you know that you could hop on the internet and you could get in contact with whoever you needed to. Otherwise, I would say just plan for the fact that gas is really expensive, especially in that part of Canada and in Canada in general. So, the cost of gas is going to be very high. That's something to plan for. And then as far as like your food and what you're bringing with you and some of your rations with water, you'll just want to be a little bit more intentional about some of those things because it is more sparse and it's more remote. And so, have a plan for food, pack a lot more dry food that you can have access to as you're traveling just in case you go longer spells without having access to a grocery store. But those are some of the things that I think would be a good idea to think about.

 

Host: Yeah, very good. Good tips. I like that. And then as far as once you got into Alaska, I assume you probably stayed the majority of the time in your van. Maybe you stayed with your family a little bit. But did you guys have any spots that were like these amazing spots you need to go find them to park your van at for the night? Or were there any campgrounds that you stayed at?

 

Guest: Oh, my goodness. There's so many spots that we loved. On our way up there, there's a spot in the Yukon that was really sketchy to drive down to, but we loved it. And the other thing, if you're going to caravan with people, definitely have walkie-talkies because that just makes it so much more fun when you see a black bear or see a moose. That's also something, definitely have walkie-talkies. And we used that when we were driving down this sketchy road to this beautiful spot in the Yukon. And then in Alaska itself, I mean, there's just... we... you can stay at Hatcher Pass, you can stay in... there's a place in Seward where we loved, and it's super flat, so there's a ton of different vans and Airstreams and all sorts of campers there too. We didn't stay in any campgrounds, though. I don't think we did. There's a spot called the Dyea Flats, which is if you go to Skagway, a really, really beautiful place, one of our maybe favorite camp spots that we had. So, we did a lot of... I mean, the nice thing about driving to Alaska is that there's tons of options of places to stay because you can stay pretty much anywhere. So, when you think of BLM or Forestry Service land out west as you're going through British Columbia and the Yukon and when you're in Alaska, that's a majority of what's out there. There's not many people, so you can just go to little pull-offs or if you find a place where you can fit your rig, for the most part, you can probably stay there. So, you can kind of get off the beaten path and find some really unique places to sleep and stay for a night or stay for a few days.

 

Host: Yeah, very cool. So it sounds like as far as finding a spot to sleep, you don't have to worry about shelling out a ton of money for that. Gas is a little bit expensive, but as far as other costs in Alaska, what do you guys feel like? Were you spending way more on food or do you feel like it was pretty comparable to other places you've been?

 

Guest: We were spending a lot more on food for sure. We went to this one small grocery store, I remember, and I felt like they had things shipped in from Costco but then jacked up the prices. So definitely, food is expensive because the grocery stores are really far away from each other. And those will definitely be the two biggest things to plan for: food and gas. Your typical food and gas budget for a month, I would multiply them by probably one and a half and expect that that's probably about what you'll pay for as you're traveling to Alaska and back. And then, of course, it's just kind of discretionary from there. But if you want to eat out, if you want to do activities, things are definitely a bit more expensive as you're going through those different areas. So those would be good things to plan for from a budgeting standpoint.

 

Host: Yeah, sure. Besides the plane, were there any other activities that you guys did indulge in while you were there?

 

Guest: No, yes, there wasn't. Frankly, we were on a budget on our trip last summer, and you know, some of that was because we didn't know or realize how expensive gas would be, how expensive food would be. So we didn't really necessarily plan for that, which meant we had less money to spend doing things. But there's tons of activities that you could do if you wanted to. Go whitewater rafting, or if you wanted to go on a boat ride, or if you wanted to go fishing, there are a lot of things that you could do up there. I was going to say, our boat ride, that's why I said no, yes. We did do a boat ride from Skagway to Juno through the Inside Passage. Oh my gosh, it was beautiful. And thanks to my mother-in-law, Chad's mom, that was our birthday gift, I believe, or Christmas... yeah, birthday gift. So yeah, we had some... we were definitely budgeting, and there was... we had a couple of friends that did the plane ride to Katmai, I think it's called, and we would love to do that this summer because that's a place where you can go fly another small plane, beautiful experience. And then there's tons of grizzly bears that are enjoying salmon right in the river, and it's all... there's electric fences, I believe, to just kind of keep you safe. I mean, the grizzlies are super focused on the fish, so everyone's pretty much safe, but it's a beautiful, really cool experience. And honestly, the only way I think I'd want to see a grizzly, but so yeah, there's that trip that people can look forward to. And then I would love to do the whitewater rafting, but so maybe this summer we'll be able to do that. But yeah, all we did last time was the plane ride and the boat trip. I highly recommend that.

 

Host: For sure, that's awesome. And I mean, you're in Alaska, so especially in the summer, like, put your hiking boots on and start walking.

 

Guest: Like, that's an adventure in itself. And I think that's the thing, is that you don't necessarily... all of those things are options. I'm sure we didn't get to do many of them, but they would be incredible experiences. And every day, you can just walk out of your van door or whatever your rig is, and there's just natural beauty all around you. And there's tons of free activities and places to explore, so we never found ourselves running out of things to do.

 

Host: Very cool. Now, obviously, you were there in the summer, so you have a little bit more sunlight than we might be used to, but what was there to do at night?

 

Guest: Stay outside, because it's light out. One of my favorite memories is we were in Alaska with DJ and Garen, and we were all sitting around a campfire, and Chad was basically falling asleep in his chair. He's like, "I'm ready to go to bed." And I said, "Why?" And it was because it was almost midnight, but it was super light out. So, I mean, at night, you just... you stay outside and hang out, or try to catch the Northern Lights. I mean, those are a huge thing up there, but it honestly didn't get dark enough where we were, so to the point where you could start a four-hour hike at 6 p.m. and you would still finish it with daylight, and you would be fine. So, the answer to what you can do at night is pretty much everything that you could do during the day, which is a very unique experience.

 

Host: I love that. Normally, we ask, where is a good sunrise or sunset spot? But I mean, those happen so quickly and all together. Probably that... did you even see a real sunrise or sunset when you were there?

 

Guest: That's a good point. I'm trying to think... I mean, we may... well, we may have seen a couple, but the thing about the daylight, so it is like 20 hours of daylight. So, technically, that means that for four hours, the sun has gone below the horizon. However, it doesn't ever get fully dark. So, I think, like Eileen might have mentioned at one point or maybe in the past episode, there was one night where we tried to see the Northern Lights. We stayed up till about 2:30 a.m. and went to bed realizing that it was never going to get dark enough that wasn't going to be possible. So, um, yeah, starting to get brighter.

 

Host: That's got to be a weird thing to get used to. How long did it take you to just get used to it being bright all the time? And at what point did it start getting dark?

 

Guest: It's a very weird thing to get used to. Your internal clock just gets very thrown off. So, I would say for the first probably two or three weeks, it took us a long time to acclimate to it. And your body doesn't feel tired. It'll be 10:00 and it's still very bright out. And so, your body's like, "Well, I don't think it's time to go to bed." So, back to trying to force yourself into some semblance of a routine, we found that that helped, trying to go to bed at 10:30 or 11 o'clock every night. We would definitely recommend having blackout curtains or magnetic shades that you can put on your van or your rig or using something like an eye mask or an eye pillow so that you need to create darkness because it won't be there like you're used to. It's weird.

 

Host: That's good tips, though, because I mean, everyone knows that in the summer, Alaska's bright, but actually hearing from someone who stayed there for an extended time, like, yeah, no, it really is bright, and you need to bring that eye mask or something. I think that's a really good tip and just something to be prepared for.

 

Guest: Yeah. And I remember even driving at 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m., right, and the sun was still in your eye. So, 100% bring sunglasses, um, because it's just wild. It's always out, which is beautiful, but it's really... it's weird, for sure. And so then what's kind of odd is, since there's such a huge swing going from 20 hours of daylight in the summer and then 20 hours of darkness in the winter, around late August and September, you start experiencing the difference, and it starts changing. And if you're from the lower 48, you're used to maybe the sunset changes two, three minutes per day, and up in Alaska, it was changing as much as like 8 to 9 minutes per day. So, all of a sudden, a week goes by and it's getting dark an hour earlier. So, when we left in September, I think it was getting dark by like 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. So, it is amazing how it starts to swing. But if you're going there in June, July, early August, it's still going to be pretty bright up.

 

Host: Wow, that's fascinating. Yeah, and I can't even imagine going there in the wintertime when it's the exact opposite. It would drive you crazy.

 

Guest: We did meet a couple of those people that can handle it. Actually, his cousin Greg who lives there, he leaves in the winter because yeah, it's just... it's too dark. And we talked to a couple of folks that do stay the whole year, and they say that they never go anywhere without their headlamp. And some of them try to convince us that it's beautiful, which I'm sure it is in its own way, but that would be so hard, I think.

 

Host: Yeah, yeah. I don't know how it could be beautiful if it's pitch black the whole time.

 

Guest: The moonlight's... well, the Northern Lights.

 

Host: Yeah, you can probably see the Northern Lights all day, right?

 

Guest: Basically. That's funny.

 

Host: So transitioning now into food, did you guys stop at grocery stores, cook in your van a lot? Just cost-wise, were there any spots that you stopped or found along the way that were great?

 

Guest: We definitely cooked in our van a lot. For periods of that trip, our meals in the van became very simple things like ramen or things like cereal or whatever it may be that didn't involve a lot of cooking or things that could stay fresh for a long period of time. So, we relied on a lot more boxed things or canned goods just because sometimes we didn't know when we were going to have availability to a grocery store. So, we did a lot of camping or a lot of cooking in our van. There was one restaurant in particular that was outside of Denali National Park called Carston's Public House that we really liked, and we recommend that people go check that out. And there's another brewery that we went to in Anchorage, but I'm drawing a blank on the name of it.

 

Host: So, Anchorage is actually home to quite a few breweries and distilleries, so if craft brews are your thing, you might want to check it out. I'll put a link in the show notes for more.

 

Host: I know we talked about quite a bit of things. Are there any things you're doing differently to prepare yourself for this next trip now that you've already been there for six weeks?

 

Guest: That's a good question. Relaxing, yes, relaxing. I was freaked out about the bear situation, truly. And it's not as bad as you would think. People say you have to be more afraid of moose. But I pictured in my mind that there would be bears everywhere you look, and there wasn't. So, relaxing, that's a good answer. Yeah, I mean, just relaxing from the standpoint of knowing that it's not going to be as intense or as extreme as we thought it was going to be. Relaxing and knowing that when you get there, a city like Anchorage is a very big city. It's going to have all of the big box stores that you're used to. It has all the things that you're used to in the lower 48. So, you're not traveling to like a third world country or something like that. You can find the things that you are used to. If you need to get packages or we navigated all of those things while we were in Alaska. And so, relaxing, I think we'll just approach the whole thing with a little more ease, and that'll feel really good. Awesome, that's a good point. Yeah, just kind of relaxing, taking it easy, and then also budgeting. You've been there once. You're preparing more to spend one and a half times what somebody might expect to have to pay if they hadn't gone before.

 

Host: So great, we can transition to the 3-2-1 Countdown, the final three questions of the podcast. We might have brought up a few things here, but what are three things people are bringing when they're going to Alaska?

 

Guest: Bug spray or bug protectant as a whole is what we want to recommend. So, bug spray, fly swatter, and bug nets. We're actually getting some of those soon because there are a lot of mosquitoes, and they're huge. Yeah, we'll say it again, the blackout curtains and eye mask. You've got to have some kind of plan for making your rig dark. So, whatever that's going to look like for you, you'll want to think about that, or else you're going to have a really difficult time sleeping, and that will be a challenge. And then, our last thing is binoculars, which the cool people in Alaska call them "binos." And that's so you can see hopefully some wildlife from afar and at a safe distance, right? So, binoculars for sure.

 

Host: Cool. Did you get to see it all your last time out? I mean, the big... the grizzly bears, the moose, the wolves?

 

Guest: Yeah, we did not see a grizzly bear in Alaska, which was disappointing. We did see one on our trip back, actually once we got back into the US, in Montana. But otherwise, we saw tons of black bears, we saw quite a bit of moose, we did see wolves. So, we saw a good mix of things but not a grizzly when we were in Alaska. So, hopefully this summer will be different. Really? I don't know, we don't have to hope, a grizzly, maybe from afar through the electric fence, right? Through the binos.

 

Host: What are two complaints or things people wish they had prepared more for when venturing to Alaska?

 

Guest: We probably talked about a few of them. Yeah, so we're going to go back to the bugs. That is something that you want to be aware of. They are everywhere. There's nowhere that you can go that you're going to be able to get away from them. The mosquitoes are huge, they are nasty, they are persistent. And so, having tons and tons of bug spray on you, having solutions to try to keep them out of the van is very helpful. But that's just, I think, one of the most common complaints. And if you go on any social media and just look up videos of the mosquitoes in Alaska, you'll see some pretty crazy stuff. But that is something that you are going to want to be aware of. It's worth it, though. I mean, and I think there were days or locations where they were worse or if it was windy, I feel like they weren't out as much. But I remember, I was cutting his hair in the middle of nowhere, and I was getting eaten alive, and thankfully, the haircut wasn't too bad, but the mosquitoes are really distracting and annoying. But bug spray does work, so definitely just bring a lot of that bug spray. And then the second thing is bears, again, for sure. Definitely just think about safety and peace of mind. So, having something like bear spray was something that we had with us at all times. Anytime, you know, if you're parked off the road somewhere and if you've got animals around or dogs, since you do have food in your van that you can't always keep airtight, you just want to always be bear-conscious and animal-conscious in general. So, that's something that I guess could be a sort of complaint or something that at least you'll want to think a lot about and be very conscious of. Hiking in groups is really great, and just talking a lot is good too. Those were some of the tips. So, we would always just say "hi bear" or talk or sing, and that was in the beginning when we were really anxious, I'm talking about myself, I just always talking. But just doing those things helps. And then having the bear spray just helps you feel a little more safe.

 

Host: How are the roads? I had heard people, they've said if you go to Alaska, have a spare tire, and if you have room, bring a second spare tire. But there's... you said there were two main roads to kind of get through. Were they rough or how did you maneuver that?

 

Guest: They're not great. So, a spare tire would definitely be a good idea. Also, plan for your windshield taking some pretty serious dents from rocks. We probably picked up ten different dents in our windshield of all different sizes, and one of them led to a pretty big crack in our windshield. So, yes, having a spare tire is a great idea. And not that there's a whole lot that you can do about your windshield, but that's something to just think about and probably going to be a reality as well. So, the roads are not great, especially... there are sections of them that are very, I'm going to call them bouncy. I mean, there's like really big hills. It's a roller coaster, to the point where there's moments where our van was like two wheels would go off the ground, and then you'd slam back down. So, yeah, the roads are not great, so that's something to just be aware of. You will need to at points drive slow, even though you're in the middle of nowhere and there's nothing around. But spare tires are definitely a good idea.

 

Host: Do you have 4x4?

 

Guest: No, we don't, and we were fine. I mean, you have to know some of your limitations with that, but there weren't any roads... the main roads getting to and from Alaska, you don't need four-wheel drive. After everything we just mentioned, it's like... you have to know that it's stunning, right? There are bears, there are mosquitoes, there's all this stuff, the roads are terrible. But it goes to show you how epic it is. So, it's worth it.

 

Host: Yeah, no, there's bears, mosquitoes, the roads, but yet not only did you guys do that, you're going back for another three, four months. Clearly, it's worth it. All right, guys, one last question: what is one thing you cannot leave Alaska without doing?

 

Guest: The plane ride, for sure. You have to get up in the air and see Denali National Park from a plane. It's stunning. You will not believe your eyes, and highly, highly recommend it. The other thing I'm going to say is go jump in a lake or a river. I think you've got to go out and just experience the nature, and I mean, those are some of the lakes and rivers are about as fresh as it gets up there. So, go jump in one. It's a great experience.

 

Host: Nice, awesome. And we'll have to have you guys back on after you guys do your six-month or your summer adventure up there, and we'll talk about what you guys did that time. So, yeah, well, great. Guys, thanks again for coming on. One last question, where can our audience find out more about you?

 

Guest: We are @TheMilesVanLife on Instagram, and I'm @EileenRoseMiles. That's my personal Instagram. And then I am ChadMMiles on Instagram, and I have a podcast that is called "A Level Deeper."

 

Host: All right, sweet. Everybody go check them out. Chad and Eileen, thanks again.

 

Guest: Thanks, guys.

 

Host: Thank you.

 

Guest: Appreciate you both.

www.atravelpath.com

https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        08:45 Remote Work

·        11:15 Transitioning to Van Life

·        16:00 Money Tips

·        17:45 Delicioats Ad

·        18:30 Home Base

·        21:45 Renting Their House Out

·        25:45 Current Travel Frustrations

·        29:45 Expenses

·        33:30 Medical Tourism

·        38:00 Traveling with a Dog

·        42:15 Final Five

 

Hello Pathfinders! What a great show we have in store from Chris and Sara. Chris and Sara have been documenting their travels for many years and have traveled all over the world. It was interesting to learn that although they had remote jobs, they weren’t sold on the fact they could travel until they ended up in Thailand and had an AH-HA moment that they could work from anywhere.

In this episode, learn all about:

 

Routines

While Chris prefers a routine, Sara likes to mix things up. Living in a van or truck camper allows Chris and Sara the best of both worlds. Since they can fit most of their routine essentials in their vehicle (workout and cooking equipment), they can still follow a routine throughout their day. At the same time, they are mobile and can pick up and move to a new location.

Chris and Sara found that this style works best. When they are in hotels or Airbnbs, they have a difficult time keeping up with their routine because they have to venture to a gym or find a new place for breakfast and a cup of coffee.

 

Van Life

Chris and Sara pointed out that van life isn’t as glamorous as it is made out to be. They are glad that more and more influencers seem to be showing the not-so-pleasant sides of this lifestyle. Their biggest struggle used to be internet, but Starlink has been a game changer for them.

One of their biggest pieces of advice before starting out is to rent something. This way, you’ll be able to figure out exactly what you need and how big your van needs to be. They quickly realized their first van was more space than they needed, so they swapped that for one that was 5’ shorter.

 

Money Tips

Like most travelers, fuel is their largest expense. To combat this, Chris and Sara have found that staying put can lower their expenses by reducing or eliminating their fuel cost. On top of that, they like to hunker down in remote areas in the west, and in those dispersed camping areas they often don’t have to pay to camp. These two strategies have made van life very affordable for them.

 

Renting Their Home

During the pandemic, Chris and Sara bought a house because they weren’t sure what was going to happen with the world. They also needed a space to build their second van. Since they travel so often, they have used their home as a source of income by renting it on Airbnb.

We shared stories of some of the headaches with renting your home out as well as some systems you can put in place to ensure you bring in the right guests. Chris and Sara are also in favor of the idea renting their home out on a more medium-term basis, using Furnished Finder to host travel nurses. Medium or short-term renting allows them flexibility to get back their home if they need to, as opposed to someone who has a year-long lease.

 

Having a Home Base

Chirs and Sara mentioned that it is nice to have a home base even they though travel full time. Being able to reset, have their own shower and laundry facilities, and just a place to veg out for a bit is refreshing. Plus, it reignites some of that excitement before they head back out, as opposed to if they were constantly traveling.

 

Current Travel Frustrations

One of their top travel frustrations for Chris and Sara is the language barrier when they are visiting foreign countries. To combat this, they take advantage of apps such as Google Translate or Pimsleur.

Another frustration is dealing with a few clients who see that they are posting on social media. Although the pandemic helped bring familiarity with remote work, there are still some clients who give them a hard time because they believe they should be focusing on their project. Although they meet all their deadlines and Latergram, they can’t make everyone happy. One piece of advice Chris offered was to separate this as much as they can, and even block your clients from seeing your social media posts.

 

Expenses

Balancing finances while traveling requires careful planning and budgeting. Health insurance premiums, coupled with the added expense of travel insurance, can quickly escalate costs. Chris and Sara have learned to prioritize their health and safety by investing in comprehensive insurance coverage. Additionally, they've encountered unexpected expenses, such as windshield repairs and tire replacements, due to extensive driving. By equipping themselves with the necessary tools and preparation, they mitigate financial burdens and ensure a stress-free journey.

 

Medical Tourism

Seeking medical care while abroad can be daunting, but Chris and Sara have discovered the benefits of medical tourism. Some people retire to countries like Costa Rica and Mexico, where healthcare is more affordable. Whether it's routine check-ups or specialized treatments, they've found peace of mind knowing that they can receive professional care without breaking the bank. Through careful research and planning, they've embraced medical tourism as a viable solution for their healthcare needs. Of course, do your own research before deciding on which country you wish to get your medical care done.

 

Traveling with Pets

As pet owners, Chris and Sara understand the challenges of traveling with furry companions. Certain destinations impose strict regulations, particularly regarding rabies-free policies. While navigating these restrictions can be cumbersome, they've found solace in pet-friendly countries like Korea, Brazil, and Mexico. Prioritizing their pet's comfort and well-being, they opt for car travel whenever possible, ensuring a stress-free journey for both themselves and their furry friend. By selecting airlines with pet-friendly policies and adhering to standard restrictions, they navigate pet travel with ease and confidence.

 

Final Five

What Can’t You Live Without?

·        Shower

·        Passport

What Have You Learned You Don’t Need?

·        Extra clothes

When Is the Right Time to Jump into Traveling?

·        There is no perfect time and everything is changeable. People can plan for an entire year, but they miss the spontaneity that comes with travel.

What Could Someone Start Doing Today?

·        If you don’t have a remote job, start working your way there. If you have a job where you can work remotely, you can maintain a travel lifestyle even longer. It’s harder to prove to current job or boss that you can do it remotely if it isn’t already remote.

YouTube Channels

·        The Dangerz: https://www.thedangerz.com/

Travel Tips

·        Thailand

 

 

 

Chris and Sara Online

·        Website: https://www.chrisandsara.com/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisandsara

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisandsara_

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisandsaratravel

      Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chris-and-sara

 

Videos Referenced

·        Auto Rickshaw Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFKEiQ9Hu2g&t=904s

 

Past Episodes Mentioned

·        18. Chad and Eileen Miles: https://atravelpath.com/show18/

·        9. Linnea and Akela: https://atravelpath.com/solo-female-van-life/

·        19. Courtney and Dakota: https://atravelpath.com/travel-nursing/

 

Renting Platforms

·        Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/

·        Vrbo: https://www.vrbo.com/

·        Furnished Finder: https://www.furnishedfinder.com/

 

Language Apps

·        Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/

·        Pimsleur: https://www.pimsleur.com/

Music

·        Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

**Note: The Clay County Recreational area have two different campgrounds. The Recreation Park and Gibson Cove. Today we are discussing Gibson Cove, which offers the lake views as opposed to the more wooded sites at the Recreation Park. You can request to book at either with the link below.

RECREATION PARK SITES | Campgrounds (claync.us)

 

www.atravelpath.com

 

Adrian and Ruth Social:

LIFE MEDIA PRODUCTIONS (rvlifeproductions.com)

RV Life with Adrian & Ruth - YouTube

RV lifeWithadrianruth (@rvlifewithadrianruth) • Instagram photos and videos

Adrian and Ruth (@rvlifewithadrianruth) | TikTok

So You Wanna GoFull Time RV NOW WHAT live series - YouTube

Ruth • RV Life • Esthetician (@thervesthetician) • Instagram photos and videos

 

In today’s episode of Travel Tips we welcomed back Adrian and Ruth from “RV Life with Adrian and Ruth!” In case you missed the first episode, check it out here:

https://sites.libsyn.com/491798/7-adrian-and-ruth

 

🔗Links

 

🏕️Clay County Recreation Park:

RECREATION PARK SITES | Campgrounds (claync.us)

Chatuge Dam Trail, North Carolina - 452 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

Adrian and Ruth’s video of the campground:

LAKE HIAWASSEE - LECTRIC BIKE REVIEW (youtube.com)

 

🏔️Helen, Georgia

Helen, Georgia - Georgia's Official Outdoor Destination (helenga.org)

Home - Georgia Mountain Coaster

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

 

Transcript:

all right Adrian and Ruth thank you for joining hope and I for part two of the travel path podcast today we're talking about the travel tip segment so we talk about one destination before we begin we'll quickly go over part one in case you missed it if you want to tune into part one where Adrian and Ruth talked about how they balanc life on the road by working full-time and some of the emotional challenges they faced and getting on the road and if you're watching this on YouTube uh Ruth talks about an accident they both got into a little while ago where they were lucky they had their trailer hitch on the back of their truck so definitely tune into that one Adrian and Ruth thanks again and what are we talking about today so we are talking about one of our favorite campgrounds which is Clay County recreational park and is in North Carolina which is but is literally on the border of Georgia North Carolina so it's the hawasi area Lake haasi yeah but then on the North Carolina side it's called lake chatou so it gets a little a little confusing if you but if you put in Clay County wreck you'll find it you'll find it yes perfect and how many how much how much time have you guys spent there we've been there a bunch of times um not enough one of the first plac I wish I could be there now actually one of the first places we went camping to um and and she fell in love with it so um and I guess I I I affirmed it because I said to him you know I love this area I love this place here I don't want to leave I don't want to go back to FL South Florida I could see myself living here and little did I know that within a year and a half we actually would be um living in the area we're 30 minutes away from where we are right now so it's uh it's K came full circle which is weird it really did really did and we totally found it accidentally like we were looking for it was it was actually only one of the places that were available we were planning our trip our two week trip um with RV life and um it just came up as one of the places I had availability yeah and I saw that it was right on the water and I kind of like staying on the water and so we booked it and I was like oh my God I love this because it's literally you walk out of your RV 100 steps into the water y very cool now what type of amenities does this Campground have so it doesn't have a whole bunch of like a pool or anything like that but it's it's in a in a in a lake system that has a dam there's Trails there bike trails that are paved so you can ride your bike you can walk your dog you can you know there's fish go fishing um we like every once in a while to go up there and just rent a pontoon boat and just cruise around the lake and fish or the cool part with that is that if you know because you're camping on the water you can pull up the boat right up to your campsite have lunch and then go back out and the dam is right next to it literally within like walking or riding your bike distance and so that has a beautiful Trail to go also and take pictures um so it's just um really not a lot to do but it's somewhere where you want to go if you want to kind of be off grit and not look at your phone not answer your phone stay off social media be present if you really want to enjoy your family time or time together with your partner then you go there yeah it definitely sounds like an outdoor Enthusiast stream and it sounds like something we definitely want to get into so I know you guys have been there several times you can probably go there for weeks months at a time what would you say would be the minimum time frame somebody go there to get the full experience I would definitely not go for less than three days and even that you're going to be like I want to stay because just when you get comfortable and start enjoying your you know watching the sunset being on the water or even being in the water because you could go into the water um you're going to not want to leave so I would say minimum of three days I mean you could most certainly I think you can do overnight camping there but you're not going to want to leave so yeah and the way it's cool because every camp Camp spot is literally they're staggered so you don't have like an RV in front of you they're kind of one every other one so even if you're on the back side there's between the two RVs there's this opening that you can see the lake which the first time we weren't right on the water but we still have water view yeah so it's a it's really nice so there's no bad bad spots no perfect and you said Son so is this is a really good spot for just sitting in your campsite and watching sunset and sunrise or for sure because it it's it's all facing west and they designed that well um where you know you can you can sit there and the cool thing is you know Georgia and and North Carolina there's a lot of red clay so the water on the lake the water kind of glows different because of the red clay so when you have that that Sunset coming down it it makes it glow and it looks like a sunset on the water and in the sky like it's all kind of reddish pink it's pretty cool is it seasonal it is seasonal it it's open from April until um October right right beginning of November it it does fill up quick because a lot of people want to go there so we we usually plan it out like a year in advance very good what's your favorite season to go we stayed here in April and we stay during the summer and I think September is yeah September because in the summer it gets also very hot here um April it was still kind of a little bit chilly um but in September it was still warm enough for you for um when he went to work I since I work from home I would still get in the water I would take honey for a walk I it was still warm enough to get into the water and still nice and cool at night but not too cool right April chili are we talking Connecticut chili or are we talking Georgia chili cuz those are two completely different chilies yeah I'm used I know the Connecticut chili um it gets it's a little warmer probably like 60s yeah that's cold for me remember she's a Florida girl so I'm a Floridian so that's cold for me-irt weather that's what he says too no I'm not a Florida girl but I'm right there with you 60s cold y so you obviously have honey so you take her with you so I assume this is a very kid and dog friendly Park yes definitely the first time the well one one of the times that we went she got actually out and we he chased her for an hour and a half and she finally got tired and jumped in the truck but every single camper was trying to get her enticing her with food and she would take the food and run cuz she's a runner and go to the next one and go to the she thought it was a game she was having the ball so I say she was getting treats everywhere you never know what going through when every trying to catch them yeah too funny that's great so obviously this is a campground what are we doing at night so there's not much to do at night besides you know fire which is my favorite thing I love putting a fire sitting out there and because there's very low light pollution you can see many more stars that you would anywhere else if you wanted like to go out to dinner or something you have to go kind of to the next town which would be Helen Georgia um and Helen looks like Germany in the middle of the mountains oh cool you can go um bowling there's tons of things you can do you know family friendly things you can do in the surrounding areas not too too far away Helen is cool because it's like I said it's like a little German Town there's there's beer there's October Fest in October you can find a lot of German restaurants um there's Sushi there if you want sushi there's we went I took it for a birthday ax throwing there ax throwing place so it's it's kind of tury in a way a little bit but there's a lot of cool stuff up there too but I think that's perfect for a family that's going away if they want to stay somewhere a little bit more remote for the week and enjoy you know the lake and the fires at night but then have that option to get out and let everyone walk around do some fun activities like axe throwing or you know visiting October Fest if it's an adult trip so I think that uh think that's there's there's also a lot of um waterfalls there's also a lot of surounding hiking trails in the surrounding areas um and and actually I have a back problem so we have found a lot that are very very short distance like within a half of mile a mile yeah um waterfalls waterfalls you can walk behind beautiful places all within a all within a 30 to 40 minute time my favorite thing about Helen there's a Mountain roller coaster and I never saw one of these things until I went there and it's literally a roller coaster that you get on the mountain on the top and you kind of go all the way down and then wow yeah that was cool so it's just gravity I think we had heard of the town of Helen pre it's a very small town right yes just like said middle of middle of the mountains and middle of nowhere but yeah that sounds like a really fun place to check out so you guys have a bigger rig but you've seen tent campers smaller RVs bigger than your RV I sure everything will fit this Camp around we've seen class A's all the way to tents the last time we stayed we had U our neighbors were tent camping they had their tent where they slept in then they had their you know like netted tent and kind like the kitchen area but all the kids had their tent to sleep in they use the same the same pad right they're usually all gravel so it's not dirt but it's it's uh yeah it's you know there's power and and water there so the the tent camping is but there are dumping stations and there's bathrooms and trash bins and stuff nice so super accessible for just about anyone at any camping level correct yep we talked about some food in Helen obviously we're in a state park there's no restaurants right in there so do you guys like to bring in a lot of stuff when you go and Grill and cook or is there a store close by that you like to go to there's good barbecue everywhere right because North Carolina Northern Georgia so there's a couple spots there I don't know their actual names barbecue barbecue is the staple food around in all this areas so you can get like 10 minutes down the road you can go place and it's pretty good I like to I like to grill out I like to cook I got a small Blackstone I have my my charcoal grill and then I have a little outdoor kitchen in the outside of my rig so between all that I can we cook usually when it's nice out we cook outside and we hang out outside my one of my favorite things to do is sausages um there's a brand of sausage I can't think of the name um they make them in Alabama and then I like making shish kebabs and trying different recipes of shish kebabs and I let them I say and you like to eat it right yeah Shob the sauce that's a nice simple meal very limited dishes which we like when we're camping so yeah good stuff yes yes and just sitting out there watching the Moon on the water because it is a beautiful yeah there's a chain of grocery stores called Publix and they have this uh bourbon marinated salmon so good and it's like to make a salad or you can eat it with rice or you delicious like it's so good good and you said that it was a pretty inexpensive Campground right so you have a little bit more on the F it's like $27 a night yeah you can't find a place like that not anymore that much and if someone were coming to this Campground and they had two complaints but not necessarily complaints things that they weren't prepared for what would those two things be not dumping their tanks and not having full hookups is one but there's a service you can call and they'll they'll come and you can they you know they'll they'll dump it for you and a lot of people have those little behind toeing little cart things but um but they have the servers that you can call and they'll come around to so that would be one and then internet they they have a decent internet for being in the middle of nowhere and actually the last time this last time we went we noticed that they had put more antenna up but when we first went there there was like kind of like yeah so non-existent kind of made you not go on your phone yes yes I take it even since it's a campground kind of out in the woods even if you have a starlink you're gonna have a hard time getting signal well it's funny because when we first got our Starling that's that's the first place we ever used it literally it came in literally yes I drove half hour home because I got the the notice that it was it was delivered we drove to our home base I picked it up drove back and then we set it up you know say you're right by the water it was opened enough and luckily where was had a point was perfect yeah it sounds like an amazing place is Clay County recreational Campground one last question we have and I feel like we'll get two separate answers here but what is one thing you simply cannot leave this Campground without doing not just the campground the park in general I would definitely venture out on the trail into like the woods because it leads to where the dam is and you just think go it's just another Dam but it's so beautiful and you can see out and there's an area where you can walk a walking trail so it's really pretty it's a really pretty um Trail so I would definitely do that Y and I would definitely try to get on the water yeah I was going to say more whether it's skiing or on a boat or yeah that's what I was going to say go kayaking go you know get in the water go fishing jump in the water it's usually for being up in the mountain you would think it's cold all the time but it actually warms up pretty good and it's not it's refreshing and not only that I will I will tell you I'm kind of a not like a water snob but coming from Florida and the beaches that are basically clear I don't like anywhere where you can't see your feet Y and this water's yeah and this water's pretty clear this water's pretty clear probably why I like it so much CU I can see my feet yeah I don't like walking like murky water not knowing what you're stepping on yeah

 

no well perfect thank you for sharing that I think this is definitely somewhere that we are going to put on our list of places to go on our next trip when you go there let us know and uh maybe we'll come camp we can meet you guys there we will yeah we're hopefully planning another southern trip in the next couple months here so we'll be in touch for sure but yeah Adrian and Ruth thanks again for coming on like I mentioned before if you haven't seen the first episode definitely check that one out too guys thank you thank you thank you for having us

Links

 

www.atravelpath.com

 

https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

 

Pushing Past Discomforts To Do What Makes You Happy @ The Route to Happiness

 

Welcome back, Pathfinders! We have an incredible show in store for you today. We sat down with Dedra and Garron from “The Route to Happiness.” Learn about their incredible story overcoming financial, physical, and emotional obstacles to live the life they love.

Facing Adversity and Embracing Change

In the midst of college life, a frightening cancer scare in Dedra’s thyroid forced them to confront mortality and make difficult decisions. Dropping out of college became a necessity as they focused on their health and began pondering the direction of their future. Embracing uncertainty, they sold off their possessions and embarked on a spontaneous journey to Victoria Island, where the seeds of their nomadic spirit were planted.

Van Life: A Fusion of Freedom and Responsibility

With a longing for freedom and a deep bond with their canine companions, van life emerged as a natural compromise. Beyond mere travel, it represented a lifestyle centered on autonomy, spontaneity, and a connection with nature. Exploring various job opportunities, they eventually found their stride in entrepreneurship, establishing a successful dog-walking business that provided both financial stability and a sense of purpose.

Crafting Their Sanctuary on Wheels

The decision to purchase a Ford Transit and undertake its conversion into a mobile home marked a significant milestone in their journey. Despite lacking prior experience, they dove headfirst into the challenge, dedicating two years to meticulous planning, construction, and problem-solving. Along the way, they encountered setbacks and frustrations, yet each obstacle served as a lesson in resilience and adaptability.

Conquering Fear through Exploration

Despite grappling with anxiety and self-doubt, the Route to Happiness refused to let fear dictate their path. Instead, they embraced the unknown, finding solace and empowerment in the act of exploration. From hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to flying a small plane over majestic landscapes, they continue to push past their comfort zone, discovering newfound strength and courage with each adventure.

Navigating the Road Ahead

As they contemplate the future, the road ahead stretches before them, ripe with possibilities and opportunities. Whether settling down or continuing their nomadic lifestyle, one thing remains certain: their journey towards happiness is an ongoing pursuit, filled with twists, turns, and unexpected joys. As they continue to chase their dreams and explore the world, they serve as a beacon of inspiration for all those who dare to embark on their own path to happiness.

Final Five

1 Thing You Can’t Live Without:

·        Toilet

·        Travel insurance

1 Thing You Don’t Need:

·        A negative attitude

Question For Your Past Self:

·        Where Do You Sleep? The Route to Happiness were pretty fearful about where how and where they would sleep during van life. They have since learned that if you are on the road for a while, you stop worrying about whether you will get a knock and have to move. They have also found that finding places to stay was easier than they expected.

·        How Do You Get Mail and Packages? This one took them some time to figure out, but now they ship via UPS to a UPS store they are headed to.

1 Thing Someone Can Do Now:

·        Learn online skills. It doesn’t mean you have to start your own business, but learning online skills is helpful. And start getting creative by thinking outside of the box. Don’t just listen to how everyone else does it, think about what would work best for you.

YouTube channels

·        Amen and Bec: https://www.youtube.com/@eamonandbec

·        Divine On the Road: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineOnTheRoad

·        Kara and Nate: https://www.youtube.com/@KaraandNate

 

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        02:45 How Did You Get Started Traveling?

·        10:45 The Route to Happiness

·        12:30 Funding Their Travels

·        20:45 Buying a Ford Transit

·        23:00 Conversion Process

·        27:15 Mistakes

·        29:15 Hiking the PCT

·        30:00 Delicioats

·        35:00 Pushing Past Discomforts

·        42:45 Travel Frustrations

·        44:30 Traveling with 3 Dogs

·        46:30 Honest Cost of Van Life

·        49:45 The Barriers of Traveling from Canada

·        52:30 Starlink

·        55:00 Coolest Travel Experience

·        57:15 How Long Do You Plan Continuing This Lifestyle For?

·        60:00 Final Five

 

Connect With The Route to Happiness

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/route_tohappiness/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theroutetohappiness

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671668523352712

·        Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theroutetohappiness

 

Past Episodes Mentioned

·        18 Chad and Eileen: https://atravelpath.com/show18/

·        Travel Tips: Alaska: https://atravelpath.com/alaska/

 

YouTube channels

·        Amen and Bec: https://www.youtube.com/@eamonandbec

·        Divine On the Road: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineOnTheRoad

·        Kara and Nate: https://www.youtube.com/@KaraandNate

 

Kantishna Air Taxi Through Alaska

·        https://www.katair.com/

 

Internet

·        Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/

·        Weboost: https://www.weboost.com/

 

 

Music • Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Disclaimer *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

www.atravelpath.com

Connect with Jim and Michelle at:

Home - Airstreamer

AirStreamer - YouTube

instagram.com/airstreamer.life

twitter.com/AirstreamerLife

facebook.com/AirStreamer.life

Vintage Insight Photography - YouTube

 

In today’s episode Hope and I sat down with Jim and Michelle Fisher from Airstreamer. The newly retired, full time travelers shared their insight on many helpful topics, including:

 

🥺The emotional toll of downsizing and

📆How to plan your stays around the big destinations you want to visit

🥳How attending Airstream rallies have given them a new sense of community

 

And much more!

 

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

#travel #airstream #fulltimetravel #rv

 

Resources:

🏕️Stays

RV Camping at Wineries, Breweries, Farms & More with Harvest Hosts

Top of Georgia Airstream Park (airstreamclub.net)

RV LIFE Trip Wizard - RV Trip Planner & RV Safe Routes

Corps of Engineers Camping Locations and Information (rv-camping.org)

RV Parks, Caravan Parks and unique RV Camping locations - Campendium

 

🎈Things to Do

Airstream Club International | We Rally Together

Red Rock Balloons | Hot Air Balloon Rides in Sedona, AZ

Their Video:  Hot air BALLOON ride over Cathedral Rock: fly high and conquer your fears! - YouTube

 

📫Mail

Americas Mailbox | South Dakota Mail Forwarding Company

Free Rewards Membership: Earn Shopper Rewards – Kroger - Kroger

 

📶Internet

AT&T Official Site | Our Best Wireless & Internet Service (att.com)

Reliable 5G Home Internet service | T-Mobile 5G Home Internet

 

YouTube Channels:

How to Be a Digital Nomad With Kayla Ihrig - Zero to Travel (the podcast mentioned)

LuvSubbin: https://www.youtube.com/@LuvSubbin
Keep your Daydream: https://www.youtube.com/@KeepYourDaydream
Today is Someday: https://www.youtube.com/@todayissomeday
The Grateful Glamper: https://www.youtube.com/@GratefulGlamper
Bound For Nowhere: https://www.youtube.com/@BoundForNowhere

 

Applicable Blogs: The Importance of Mobile RV Techs: https://atravelpath.com/mobile-rv-technician/

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript:

 

Jim and Michelle fiser thank you for joining hope and I on the Travel path podcast hey thanks thanks for having us here thanks for having us so hope and I know you on YouTube as airst streamer you guys sold your home in 2022 you're on YouTube you make all sorts of videos on travel tips things to do in your RV how to take care of your RV even a video on how you floated your 28t Airstream across Lake Michigan which I have to get into um why don't we start by having you share with the audience a little bit about yourselves and then what your travel lifestyle looks like sure absolutely we retired um both of us um in September from multiple jobs um we had doing a number of different things what we say we're empty nesters and we do um we did retire but we work travel basically we still are um working while we're on the road doing the new um YouTube channel and uh filming content for that and and editing and all of the stuff that comes with that so I know you asked about um what does travel look like for us we're still fairly new um it was on Labor Day this year that we actually left um Port here on Michigan and started our track South and for this full-time adventure and we're still trying to get our Rhythm so there's been sometimes we stayed just one night at a place they got a harvest host other times we stayed a week um where we're at right now top of Georgia um Airstream Park we've been here for 3 weeks we're just about to head out and then later on this year we're going to have our first month's day um at one location so we're trying to see what works for us and what we enjoy very cool yeah we can definitely relate to quite a bit of that um everything from beginning the editing process with the videos and all that and then trying out Harvest hosts and um just yeah just kind of learning as you go on the road so it sounds like that's great you guys sold your home you've been on the road for a little while now from the day you decided that you wanted to travel and do this full-time until the day you actually hitched up your Airstream and hit the road how long was that time frame it was about a twoyear process from when we decided that we wanted to do this and kind of the spark is um we actually did a two-e road trip we um our niece was getting married out in Arizona and um we both had time available so we decided why whyfly will drive instead so we packed a whole bunch of stuff in our little Jeep Cherokee and drove out to Phoenix and back and did Adventures along the way and since I had the photography YouTube channel I said well let's find some spots along the way to photograph and we found we we really travel well together we really enjoy traveling and it was on the way back Michelle looked at me and what' you say could we do this full-time do you think so we're actually driving I think we were coming back like in Missouri or someplace and driving along we started looking at other people Towing campers and different things and what do we want to do and the whole rest of the trip became a huge discussion about what would this actually look like what type of equipment would we need how big how small where would we go and uh what all does that mean that we have to do that's a really cool story and it sounds like so something you didn't really intend on doing when you did that road trip but after spending some time on the road you just considered we could actually do this full time would you recommend somebody do something like that instead of jumping right into it on our last podcast with brus they had mentioned that they knew many people that just jumped right into van life um with really high expectations and didn't really consider all like the downsides of living on the road forever um so it probably helped out having just being on the for two weeks to begin with to at least kind of get your bearings uh We've camped our whole life basically I my family we always camped and then when we had our kids we camped so we had camping experience you know one of the ways that we made this work was to be able to downsize if someone doesn't have to get rid of everything um and can just buy a van and go try that out um that's that's one thing but it definitely was a planning thing for us and I I think it just depends on the person and what their situation is and downsizing going from gu it a five bedroom Colonial a five-bedroom Victorian home down to 28 foot hairstream that must have been somewhat challenging what did that look like and were there any other big challenges you had to overcome before you got on the road yeah the downsizing was pretty interesting because it was a five five-bedroom 3200 ft High Victorian in a historic district so it was decorated to the at Christmas time I mean we're filming this pretty close to Christmas we put up five Christmas trees every year and invite a bunch of people in and and do all kinds of stuff so going from that size of a home to about 200 square ft was a pretty serious downsizing our kids had moved out at that point and it was just the two of us and we're starting to you know knock around in a big house with lots of empty rooms and um it was a lot for us and a lot to take care of yes a lot to clean a lot of to repair I would do pretty much all the maintenance on the house and um and I did all of the landscaping and garden work and you know keeping up the house we never hired anybody to do that it was we always did it yeah so it was you know kind of like why are we why are we doing this yeah the house the house was beginning to own us rather than us own the house so we were very fortunate in that the person that bought our house um loved how we had decorated and wanted to know if they could buy all the Furnishings so that made it easy for us but we were ready everything is becoming a burden rather than a blessing I guess the takeaway there is if you can sell your house with everything in it before you go fulltime then do that because that makes it a lot easier to take the downsize and plan when you're traveling I think it's a pretty pretty unique story in that one so it sounds like you got through the whole moving process downsizing process pretty easily um were there any adjustments you had to make once you were actually on the road full time I don't want to say it was easy cuz it took 2 years the furniture and stuff and some of the Furnishings he bought there was still we had an estate sale additionally to that and then we moved out of our house and moved into an apartment for a year continued to downsize and then you know eventually transitioned into the camper and we were still working full-time so it easy is not a word I use it's a lot of work it's it's a lot of emotional because he he bought the stuff but you have the things that are memories that are that are personal to you and your family and raising your kids in the home and um we homeschool our children all the way through so you had to kind of walk through the emotional parts of it and be able to you know recognize that your memories aren't in the things yeah that's a good point I think a lot of people might Overlook that aspect of it when they're down sizing it sounds easy on paper to maybe get rid of everything but yeah like you said you have a lot of emotional attachments whether it's know pictures you can't bring Furniture your house right a lot of memories in your house you've been living in for quite a long time so not very easy doing that we did make the decision to not get a storage unit or anything that you know a lot of people do that they because they just can't emotionally part with it there's some things that are sentimental but nobody wants them and so they do end up in a landfill and and but that's what's going to happen after you pass anyway someone's got to deal with it at some point we didn't want to burden our children with having to deal with all that stuff so I guess what would you say to someone who's on that edge where they do want to make this commitment and go fulltime but they're just really emotionally attached to whether it's their house their Furnishings things they own they just don't want want to get rid of what would your advice for them be they're not ready yeah unless they can handle financially having a home and and there's people who do that but um and then just kind of check in occasionally at their home base and mostly travel you know it's expensive to travel too we had a lot of people say to us you're so lucky um there you're so lucky to be able to do this and um I jokingly have started to say well you you too can live on the road fulltime if you just sell everything you own yeah that's funny we've gotten the same the same exact feedback as well like someone will look at us and say you guys are lucky you can travel and we say the same thing realistically anybody can do it it took us our kind of path to get there was three years we you know invested in things and quit our jobs and we I worked a job with scalable income so we could save up so you know it's that shiny picture perfect thing from the outside but there's a lot of work that goes into getting on the road that people often times don't see yes yes so since you've been on the road what are some big frustrations that you fa today or faced when you started out that you didn't expect to have to deal with we um knew we were going to have to change our domicile and everything so we did that and we got a mail drop service so we have an address um and then we just you know contact them like um once every other week and say forward our mail to us and that works great that works smooth one thing I didn't anticipate was packages if you order and we've had two pretty severe difficulties now ordering product from Amazon usually it's very quick it's very nice everything works great but I try to take advantage of the one of the Black Friday specials they had and course digital content creator you know you need uh flash or the the external ssds you need a ton of them so I ordered some and where we were going to be in about a week to one of the Amazon's drop boxes you know they have those little drop boxes you can have them shipped to they only store it for 3 days if you don't pick it up in 3 days it goes back we didn't know that we didn't know that we know that now we know that now and um so and I ordered a few of these things so it it's a few hundred and then when it's that much money they don't instantly refund you the money um they have to wait till they get it back and it's a lot slower going back than it is going there so it took them about six to eight weeks yeah for to issue a refund on that you know and then in the meantime I had to order more anyway because I still needed them and I then I missed the special that it had so we spent a few extra bucks not a lot but a few and then uh another one of all things it's Christmas time we were big decorators for Christmas at our house but I got rid of most everything and just brought a couple little things because I knew I'd want to have some festive but once we started putting it up I thought oh I brought a few ornaments with me and we don't have a tree um I didn't think we'd have room for a tree at all but we got looking at it and we fit a little you know just a little tree and so we ordered one online we're here 3 weeks we're like that'll be no problem it's been a problem we have yet to get it and it keeps saying out for delivery and and then goes back that the who whatever whoever truck get going on actually never makes it this far to deliver it and it goes back so I've called FedEx a few times and Amazon says if I don't get it by Friday they'll refund our money but we're leaving Thursday morning H so if they deliver it Thursday or Friday I don't know then it's delivered here and I don't have it and I can't get it so that's that's been the biggest thing um totally unanticipated well it's always those unanticipated headaches that you don't expect that are that tend to be one of the you know some of the more painful ones and that's a good tip I did not consider that you know you see those Amazon drop off locations pretty much everywhere nowadays but I did not realize if it's there for 3 days they send it right back so thank you for sharing that yeah there's a specific number that's not on their website that you can call to extend that stay but we didn't get that until afterwards they said you should have just called this number it's like you didn't have the number yeah it's on the drop box it's on the location but we weren't going to be there till you know so that's something good for people to know get that phone number so that they can contact the company direct yeah yeah good point now you said for a regular mail what are you doing for regular mail cuz I that's always something where I'm like how do you get your mail yeah yeah regular mail what we've done is we signed up with a mail delivery service in South Dakota um Box Elder South Dakota we chose America's mailbox and then we actually changed our domicile from Michigan to South Dakota so now our vehicles are out plated in South Dakota we have South Dakota driver's licenses and South Dakota Insurance on everything and so our mail is delivered there and then they will forward it to us um when we say please forward it to us to this address and they just pack it up and send it to you um you know there a fee for the service and you know they have money on hold and they just kind of chip away at that and as soon as that's gone then they grab some more but that's been very I mean very efficient and they always send it when they say and we always get it within a few days good tip okay and how much was that fee for America's mailbox well they have they have uh at least five different tiers services and I can't remember all of them um but they have a really basic um entry level service that is just enough for you to establish domicile where they'll you can get your vehicles registered before you go out and get your driver's license and get they'll mail them to you and all that and then you move up a step and different things and then they have all the way their top tier step is actually a digital service where everything is scanned and you can go online in a secure Dropbox and you can look at all of the envelopes they don't open it unless you request and then you can say forward these or open these or throw these away and they'll do all that that's really good if you have something that's really time critical I should say and then you can read it right on your computer on the road well hopefully you guys get your Christmas tree we have about 20 days left before Christmas and it's going to be tough going from the five trees you had in your old home to not having any so we're Ro for you thanks thank you we need all the rooting we can get all right Perfect all right we'll transition a little bit to some of the financials of living on the road so you've been on the road for a couple months now if you could break down a budget on what you spend per month what would that look like uh more more than we want um and a little more than we thought yeah and part of part of the trouble is we've only been doing it a few months and we kind of have an idea of what we spend for groceries and that's been more because inflation the prices of grocer have gone up crazy so and when we first left you know we're kind of like woohoo we're retired and um we'd eat out more because it was fun and and we were moving more often so that's harder when you're going from location to location in only a couple of days to figure out a menu and to figure out a grocery plan and cook so we figured out pretty quickly that we can't keep doing that this time we're here 3 weeks so we had a chance to sort of plan a menu and plan grocery shopping and then cook more that definitely is going to save us a lot more money um doing that gas has been about what we expected gas to be um and it's about about $3 a gallon roughly and um you know varies about a quarter well about two 290 is about the least yeah up to about 350 um and we get about Towing we get about 13 miles per gallon um with our r a setup so it's not too bad um but again that varies if you're traveling every three or four days then your gas expense is going to be higher than if you go somewhere and stay for a month sure and then you get discount stays if you stay you know for those longer periods of time and I think that's a good point is when you're starting out you're kind of in that honeymoon phase so you're probably going out more than you're expecting to so maybe the advice would be to somebody starting out you know on a retirement trip just to kind of expect to overdo it a little bit when you start out and just get a feel for how much things cost and then maybe you can kind of tighten it down and go over a budget after you've got a couple months of experience yes yeah sure okay yeah and if you save somebody here you can Splurge over there kind so it's got to balance out right yeah so we're trying to find less expensive places to stay day then it gives us some more funds to maybe go out to dinner every now and then or um treat ourselves to an Adventure how are you finding places to stay I know we've interviewed in the past we've had on like you know the van life people where they're it's a little easier they're more mobile and more hidden they blend in a little more with normal cars when they're overnight parking so Towing at Airstream obviously someone looking at that they know you're camping are you doing a lot of boondocking Harvest hosting what does your night stays look like we haven't really done any boondocking yet we want to try that I think we have about a three to four four days to be stretching it with our setup because we're still running lead acid batteries we have no solar um so we'd have to really conserve and really be careful but um I know with our old camper when the kids were little we could do three to four days with the four of us and one lead acid battery and that's before LEDs um we like Harvest host between travel we'll try to find a harvest host halfway um we try not to drive more than 3 hours um when we go somewhere because travel days are pretty taxing you got to pack everything up make sure everything is buttoned down you got to make sure everything is correct go through all your checklists and then you got to drive and then get there and then you got to undo all that so if you're doing that every day it's a lot it's a lot to tear everything down and put it all back together and that's when mistakes are made and bad things can happen so um so we do that but you asked how do we find places to stay we like a lot of State campgrounds and a tool that I found invaluable is the RV trip wizard from RV life um that is that is how we book or how we plan pretty much our all of our stays like we'll look at an area we want to be in the country or a a site we want to see and then start to look for places to stay around that and figure out what fits the budget and kind of fits our lifestyle so we'll put the big rocks in as we travel and then you try to to fill in the little stuff and harvest HS are nice cuz usually you don't we don't unhook we've also recently just started um using the Coe what they call Army core of engineer core of engineer parks and they're beautiful the everyone we've been to has been beautiful and very inexpensive and pretty easy to get into yeah in fact the last core of engineers we were at even had free laundry facilities um when you stay there now there was only one washer and one dryer so it was kind of hard to get to um to use that but we were paying what we pay $617 a night for Water and Electric we had 50 amp electric and water but that is because I have the national park pass and I have the lifetime senior pass I turned 62 um last year or this year some at some point in the past I turned 62 and and so with that the Army Corp engineer campgrounds are half price um that's really handy so if it's a $30 a night the normally is you're only paying 15 really cool all right and you mentioned the RV trip wizard we'll put a link in the show notes for all the resources mentioned in this podcast so I know you've had a kind of a limited time so far in your full-time Adventure have there been any money saving tips you've discovered along the way so far we like to do grocery stores that have the um Loyalty cards we from home we always used Kroger and and Meer but they don't really have Meer in the places we've been and you get you know when you spend money then you get money points towards gas so uh We've sort of chosen some more in the areas we've been and made sure we got that loyalty card so I think if if a store offers that it's really a really a good thing to do because you save off of the groceries and you also get points toward gas MH it's especially a good tip because when you go from home where you have a normalized fridge you're spending more money already because you're going to the the grocery store more often that's one thing we learned pretty quickly when we lived in our camper was we go to you know wholesale get buying bulk and you cannot do that when you're living in a van or an RV so no no no Sam's cup or crossco trips NOP do work Switching gears a little bit to some of the experiences you guys have had so far it doesn't have to be on your full-time Adventure recently but what has been the most memorable experience you guys have had while traveling the rallies we've been going to for Airstream that's really where we started to feel um plugged into a community one of the hardest things about leaving um all our friends and family and you know neighbors behind was the relationships and I'm a pretty extroverted person and I need close relationships so I mean they're still in our lives but they're still working so they have life they've got to keep doing so we knew we would meet people and we knew we would um be able to plug in but a lot of the places you go it's people come and go and come and go and I was our first rally um for Airstream the Airstream community and I'm sure there's other brands that do these same same things but um it was part of the reason we wanted an Airstream is they're very much about um gathering together and as you say you know we break bread and we have meals together and we you get to know them because you see them more than once you'll see them at this rally and then you'll go to another one or you'll see them in a park somewhere and so you begin to build some closer relationships and then as far as like a maybe an individual experience that we had you you really enjoyed the hot air ballooning we did out in Arizona yeah yeah I'm afraid of heights um but Jim had been up air hot air balloons numerous times through the years and I always thought it's something i' I wanted to do I want to kind of push through that fear and I thought Arizona would be a beautiful place to to see from the sky and uh we did it and it was an amazing experience wow what part of Arizona were you in Sedona that was in Sedona yeah it was almost exactly one year ago so was there was snow and everything oh very cool we um when we were in Sedona we did some we went to watch sunrise and we watched the hot air balloons go up and I remember we sat there and we were like that's what we should have done so that's very cool to hear that you've done that and I take it you you conquered your fear of fights there Mich your fear of heights Michelle doing the hot air balloon oh no no first of all being in a hot air balloon it was not you go with the wind so it's not loud except when the um burner the burner goes on but other than that it's quiet and still and you're with the breeze so it's very surreal it's it's like you're not really even moving but yet you're seeing all of this sight and I didn't do do a whole lot of looking down um I I did a little but mostly I looked out that was okay and Jim was recording down so I saw that when he you know made his video well I think RV life sometimes is about pushing your boundaries every now and then right getting outside of your comfort zone so good for you and fortunately there's plenty of other beautiful things to see in Sedona as well so there's no shortage there hey what do you guys do for internet when you're traveling internet so um I wanted to have a two-prong service and um something inexpensive our cell phones for years we've been with AT&T and we can hotspot off of those and AT&T has got a pretty good Network across the country so that's was our first line of attack and then looking at all the other things and around I'm trying out um T-Mobile's home internet and so it's $50 a month and absolutely Unlimited No data caps and it is a cellular type service and it is designed for home use but they kind of so far have looked the other way with travel um but it's been um blazingly fast in most places we've been um so then I either have that service or if we don't have that AT&T but I've yet to ever have the AT&T service faster I think than the um T-Mobile um we've been to two places that haven't had cell service at all and one was at Park in um was it in it was in North Carolina I think and um anyway there was no there was Zero cell we climb up to top of the mountain we could check test text messages oh yeah yeah yeah and um so there was no sell service or disconnected there and actually where we are right now um in Northern Georgia we're in a little Valley so there's zero cell service but the top of Georgia Airstream park has phenomenal Wi-Fi through the whole park and that's actually what we're communicating on that's R you can actually video stream on a campground Wi-Fi that sounds unbelievable to me you're watching this on YouTube the image is coming in pretty clear too so that's a really strong signal wow yeah it's it's an amazingly strong signal because it's it's sort of kind of a private Campground it's the local Airstream club and they run it but then they open it up to anybody with an Airstream you have to have an Airstream to be here um you know it's not like your normal um Campground that has kind of iffy Wi-Fi they've made sure that this is good and strong um in fact this is the best campground Wi-Fi I've ever had I think it's almost better than the home internet we had back in Port here on until I went to the T-Mobile service then I was getting 300 400 megabyte download it was crazy yeah that does sound yeah we know all about the spotty Campground Wi-Fi yeah is there one thing that you found living in your RV that you can't live without and then also one thing that you found that you need so um for me um I I can't live without my faith in God um I try I was thinking about physical things and I think that's one of the things when you get rid of most everything you have you realize um the things that aren't necessarily tangible are almost more important so um it really helps me to with how often we change and how change happens every day now when you're on the road um you just have you just don't know sometimes you really not in control of most everything and um it just helps me with peace of mind to just be able to trust that you know we we have a God that loves us and is with us all the time so that's me that's her she she went deep and I agree with what she said 100% but um also the U bathroom inside is great because at 3: in the morning if you wake up and you need to use it you don't have to go outside somewhere and truck on down to the the pit toilet or something it's right here it's convenient and uh clean because you clean it all the time yep yeah we agree yeah we're right there with you yeah that's that was one of the I think it's something you definitely I mean everyone has a bathroom but it's going if you living in an RV that didn't have one then you upgraded to having one with a bathroom I think people would say the same thing yeah that was one of our non-negotiables and we were looking around we wanted a bathroom and a shower and yeah yes definitely that we had one cool has there been something that you thought you would need that you realized after traveling for a little while that you actually didn't really need well clothing is one of the things we still have too much clothing we downsize so much but we still say part of it is we're going to wait till we get to warm weather um cuz the idea is we have sort of all seon clothing yet just to make sure and I'm glad we did because it's been cold here really cold here so you kind of have to keep some of everything but um I still think we can probably downsize more that's funny you bring that up that's one thing because we actually rent out our van when we're not using it and that's one way we'd be able to tell like a seasoned RV for someone who's actually renting it out for like their first trip they would bring like bags and bags of clothing for like a weekend trip or a week trip and like you guys are going to regret that yeah there isn't room for that you want to be able to move around and enjoy your space yeah that's it absolutely for someone who's listening to this podcast who wants to set up the similar lifestyle to yours they want to retire hit the road travel full-time what would be one thing they could start doing today to make that happen probably the best thing if if you want to do it you need to Envision the end product or where you're going to be and then kind of reverse engineer back all the steps you need to do what do I need to do to be there so like for us we knew we wanted to live in something about this size and full-time and not have any storage and we had all this stuff so we knew we had so if we need to be this and have things fit in a 200 foot environment then that you just can't work backwards what what steps do I have to do and so we've got you you've got to sell your house you've got to um get rid of all the various things you can't take You' got to decide what's going to happen with all the family heirlooms if this is what you want do if you want to live fulltime you have to make the decision that that's that's what I'm going to do and you have to be ready you have to be ready to to part with your things um if you're not if you're not ready I think a lot of people do put things in storage um but we've talked to quite a few people out on the road that have done that and they're regretting it because they're paying a monthly fee for stuff that they haven't gone back and looked at and um and ultimately they still have to go back and look at it and figure out what to do with it and if you're not ready then hold off you know say well let's give it another six months or whatever I like the point you brought up Michelle about not only you know the tangible you know the assets what what have you the artwork and everything all the memories but it's the people too um when you're stepping away from that life if you're living in a community where you have close friends close family you're just not going to be there for certain things and that's something you have to accept from the beginning too um whether it's birthdays holidays um you know even sometimes not to get morbid but funerals and things like that if it's if you're halfway across the country and you're just not going to be included in certain things I was listening to a podcast the other day where um people were talking about how sometimes like they'll see like their circle of friends just changes you know friends move on um you know you're no longer a part of their life they're going to be doing things without you as well um so there's a huge trade-off right you're traveling you're adventuring you're seeing all sorts of things but there are things you're giving up for that too it's important to know sure that is very important to consider when you were looking to get into traveling were there any YouTube channels that you looked up to and helped motivate you to get on the road and travel uh keep your Daydream is one of our favorites out there um really enjoy them and their content and then uh Phil and Stacy with um uh today is Sunday um they I binged a lot of their content and trying to look at things we needed and different things that would work with our lifestyle and uh there was a couple others there was well love s to they're a couple about our age a little spit younger than us that do the Airstream stuff so that's been really handy with that um a lot of good tips there and places they've been um there's a channel out there called Bound for nowhere the content they produce is it's next level it's movie quality and they they're just amazing they're young and they've been doing it a long time I think they started in their 20s you you just get immersed um they're I mean they're um PBS documentary type of quality in in what they do absolutely Next Level yeah but then also um we just as a reminder we did start off in vlogging with the Vintage um Insight Channel Jim started that and he he kind of got into that during the pandemic because he was off work and he was watching photography YouTube because that's his background and he came to me one day and he said I think I could do this I think I could run a photography YouTube channel and so he started it great well I'll put a link in the show notes for those channels that Jim and Michelle mentioned and while my audience is checking them out where can they find out more about you guys well we're on YouTube as the at a streamer um because we're small probably have to put the at sign in front to find us um and then vintage Insight photography that's a bigger channel so you can just put that in then uh airstreamer dolie that's our website and Instagram and Facebook and we're even on X um a little bit on that or formerly known as Twitter so but yeah I got the life domain for our website so everything is kind of populated out with the dolie so airstreamer dolie then on our website you can also join the Caravan and sign up for our email newsletter which uh Jim usually puts out every week most every week now that we're on the road he's been really consistent with that awesome Jim Michelle thank you thank you it was such a pleasure to meet you both thanks it's been great appreciate it

 

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Dylan Davino thank you for coming back on the show today what is the location we're talking about today and how much time have you spent there so today I'm going to talk about Hawaii um I I spent kind of over a year living in Hawaii so I've lived in Connecticut for most of my life but there was a year period where my mom ended up moving to Hawaii because she got um relocated for her job which she um she's a biologist and studies cancer and different things like that she ended up getting a job at Pfizer and I I live out there for a little while and I've gone on multiple trips back since then nice and where specifically in Hawaii yeah I lived on O’ahu for one year um during that time and then I've went back and I've gone to also Maui um which is a beautiful island as well so is O’ahu is that the one that has the road to Hana that road that goes Maui is the road Hana I I would have to double check I'm pretty sure I did that a long time ago and that's like an incredible Drive I mean you're driving right on the edge you're looking down you're seeing cars that have like rusted out cuz they've fallen over but yeah that's that's incredible down there Hawaii is a great destination for somebody who likes what uh I would say if you're looking to get away I mean you know you're so far from everything else when you're in Hawaii you're in the middle of the ocean there's nobody you know around you within thousand Like A Thousand Miles um it's very tropical year round beautiful temperature you know amazing Breeze and you know you've got like the best scenery on Earth and probably one of the best my opinion if not the best but um if you're looking to get away and kind of either grow spiritually just personally or just have fun you know I think it's a beautiful place for all of those things so you're talking like perfect weather is it like 80° year round or what does that weather fluctuation look like yeah for the most part you know between 70 and 90° um you know just in like a nice breeze all the time like that Coastal Breeze yeah it's amazing we were in St John's like the last uh last month or in August and like they were telling us how like the coldest it's ever gotten at night was 65° which now you know we're getting into winter time here and that sounds pretty nice right about now yeah at night time you wear kind of like a hoodie or just a long sleeve and then you know during the day you could wear a t-shirt and shorts and you're just always year round that's a great a great way to do it so now to get the full Hawaii or O’ahuo experience how much time would you recommend somebody plans to stay down there so there are multiple ISS um there's a wahoo Maui the Big Island a couple others as well um I think that you could totally spend you know a week or two at each island if you had that much time there's really no you know cut off amount of time like you only need three days here you could spend a year there and not want to leave um just one Island and you know there's many islands but between all of them it would be cool to spend at least three or four weeks if you had that much time cuz each island is different in their own way so like the big island is much more um Rural and it's not it's not as much of like the tourist scene necessarily as O’ahu which kind of has like um the night life in the city um and then you kind of have Maui which is a little bit more touristy a little bit more Rural and um like a lot of parts of these islands in particular there's nothing out there like you could drive around the entire coast of the island and see parts of it that are just straight um Forest nature and you know the coast and everything so there's the weird part about Hawaii is how much diversity there is um each island is it's got a different culture different people different types of tourists um and different activities going on and you kind of can look into like the differences between the islands and see what would be the best fit for you and I know we talked about the weather it's pretty consistent year round what is the best time of year in your opinion to visit Hawaii and are there any seasonal highlights that You' recommend or that you take a note of uh in my opinion because I'm coming from New England I would want to leave New England to go to Hawaii in like the winter time um I'm not a huge fan of the cold and I think that Hawaii is beautiful year round so it's not it's not really like their Seasons necessarily I know that leaving Connecticut to go to Hawaii in the winter time would be my ideal scenario yeah so it's not so much a place you go because of a certain time of year you just you leave house for a certain time of year it's Beach weather all the year yeah I I read somewhere that I think the waves are bigger in the winter time I guess our winter time like December but other than that it's pretty much you know the same weather there is some huge waves yeah especially like we one day in Maui we were kind of on this Viewpoint and there were surfers surfing these like 50ft waves and it was just yeah it's pretty mind-blowing do you ever do any surfing down there I did try surfing um you know once or twice I'm not like good but but it is really fun to try out different things like that kind of write a passage if you live in Hawaii for a year you have to try I've never tried it but you got to try surfing and you know maybe like the flower necklaces and the Lays right it's got such a cool Vibe and just you know it's very peaceful and everybody's just in a good mood tropical it's Island time everyone's no one's in a rush time yeah one of the kind of funny parts about the islands is you will see a lot of like stray cats and stray dogs throughout the islands because they can naturally survive there you know by just going around and eating things that are like like Fallen fruits or whatever they might eat there's a lot of stray animals there's like a wild boar population on the big island and they even get overpopulated with them and people end up going out and hunting them and you know eating the the bacon or whatever the the meat it's a a big thing over there so there's like a lot of uh you know fruits that are just naturally grown own there it is really cool to try out like the the avocados or the Coconuts bananas and different things like that um in terms of like full meals I'm I'm not sure it would probably just be combinations of all of like the natural stuff grown there and you know maybe some wild boar and they used to have the dle plantation I think the pineapple plantation I know pineapple must be a native fruit down there too everything can grow down there I I mean yeah it's just year round it's great weather for for growing um yeah my cousin he did his senior project for school there and he was working on a coffee farm and he he loved it too um it it's really cool a cool place to be yeah so in Hawaii what is there to do at night so um for night life O’ahu would definitely be your best bet and I I think like Malachi is a really great City it's right on the water and youve they've got tons of things going on like restaurants and bars whatever I was not 21 when I was on the trip so I'm maybe not the best person person to ask but I do know that there's a night life on O’ahu and uh I'm sure you could look it up on YouTube and find some great places to go I'm sure you'd have a much different experience going there now in hu than we weren't 21 what are the three things to do in or around Hawaii that somebody might not have known about without spending a decent amount of time there uh I just want to do the obvious one first like you got to go to the beaches and go surfing just lay out on the sand um just basic beach activities because they are the the nicest beaches probably on Earth you know at least the ones I've been to um so that would be number one and you could probably like um try surfing and whatever whatever like activities you might be interested in that would be a good place to try it out um the second one I think snorkeling they have some really cool like coral reefs and places you could check out and I did go snorkeling on Maui and um some really crazy Wildlife like you kind of see all these fish that you never even knew existed and they're colorful and um yeah that's a really cool experience that the snorkeling and then you can go on like a bunch of different tours on boats like boat rides and you could kind of go um like Wildlife watching as well tours like that are really cool cuz there's like you know a lot of cool wildlife in Hawaii and even just like if you were going on a tour um through any of the islands somebody could take you through and show you a lot of the really neat places so so dolphin watching well watching I'm sure I know the Sharks out there too right shark watching there definitely sharks yeah do you know of any like beaches or snorkel locations you were you went to or just you just can't go wrong when you're down there you probably can't go wrong yeah I mean I've went to multiple beaches and you know they're all uh they've got different scenes going on some of them are more calm and not many people and then others are packed so it it all depends on kind of what you're looking for if somebody were to have two complaints about Hawaii and they're not exactly NE necessarily complaints they could be things that people just weren't aware of or things they might want to have been prepared for what would those two things be everybody's main problem with Hawaii is how expensive it is um it's kind of really hard to to live there because of how pricey it is you know a small house could be a million dollars and and yeah that that's one tough part about it and then the second tough part is that you're really far from civilization you know it's like a long plane ride you're a th000 miles from from any Coast um and so if you're trying to live there or even go on vacation there for a while there's no chance that you're going to take a quick stop back to the mainland or anything and if you're living there you're probably not going to come back more than once or twice a year that's a really good point yeah cuz it is a long flight and I can relate to that I remember we flew out from Connecticut we flew to Chicago and then Chicago to Hawaii I think it was like an 8 hour flight and I was a kid I remember my game boy died like an hour into the flight so I was just sitting there for like 7 hours and had nothing to do it felt like the long flight ever so it is it is a very long flight but once you're down there I mean you're kind of stuck there but you're stuck in Hawaii so it's not that bad it's a good place to be stuck yeah absolutely hey man I appreciate that this was definitely an informative conversation about Hawaii hopefully somebody listening to this this helps them plan their trip to Hawaii or hu um any last words before we take off I would say yeah try your best to travel and you know experience different places whether it's Hawaii or anywhere else if you uh feel like you want to travel make the effort and plan the trip and make it happen great and where can my listeners find out more about you yeah so I'm on Instagram I'm Dylan Davino and then I'm also on YouTube if you just look up Dylan Davino um so my Instagram is more personal and then my YouTube is more about business and then you I also have a website davinodigital.com for my website agency awesome yeah check it out again he designed a travel path.com our website if you haven't been there before check out Davino digital Dylan thanks for coming on thank you so much for having me.

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   

www.atravelpath.com

We were so glad to be able to chat with Kyle and Renee Hanks from HappilyEverHanks! They shared their inspiring story of how they uprooted their lives to pursue full time travel in order to get the most fulfillment out of life. In this episode you’ll learn all about:

 

Getting Out Of Debt

Kyle and Renee attribute much of their Freedom to the habits they developed to getting out of debt and not having to constantly pay large bills and debts every month. We learn some actionable steps they took to get themselves out of $230k in debt!

 

How to Seek Fulfillment

Tired of the mundane 9-5 work life with only two weeks off out of they year, they wanted to pursue something different. They discussed how the loneliness of the road can be nerve-wracking at times, but it’s also proved to be a great source of fulfillment, knowing they are out on their own and getting through everything. They discuss chasing the addiction of finally getting one whole month off from work, and how they turned it into a game so that they could find ways to take even more time off.

 

When Things Go Wrong

Kyle and Renee shared a few things that cause them frustrations while they are on the road, and how they have learned to just laugh at times. They make a really good point about how when things go wrong, they have two choices: They can either get upset about it, or stay positive, share a laugh, and get through it.

 

Learn all this and much, much more during this inspiration-filled chat with Happily Ever Hanks!

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        04:30 What was some of the skepticism you faced when you started out in your RV?

·        06:15 How did you balance work and travel when you were travel nursing?

·        07:45 How long have you been out of travel nursing for?

·        09:30 How were you able to get out of $230k of debt?

·        11:45 When did travel become a priority for you?

·        12:45 What are the biggest frustrations you face currently while traveling?

·        15:45 Saying goodbye to family for the first time.

·        16:45 Any mistakes or embarrassing stories you’d like to share?

·        21:00 How do you handle it when things go wrong?

·        21:30 What do you love most about your RV lifestyle?

·        22:45 RV Techs

·        23:30 Do you have any advice for someone looking to buy an RV for the first time?

·        25:45 How do you get internet while traveling?

·        29:15 What does your budget look like while traveling?

·        32:30 What is it like traveling with a cat in your RV?

·        34:00 What has been your coolest travel experience?

·        36:15 What is one thing you need & don’t need while traveling?

·        38:30 What tools should every RVer have?

·        41:00 Using the trucker lanes.

·        43:00 Who influenced you to travel?

 

HappilyEverHanks on Social

·        Website: https://www.happilyeverhanks.com/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappilyEverHanks

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happilyeverhanks/

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happilyeverhanks

·        TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happilyeverhanks

 

Videos from HappilyEverHanks

·        Financial Independence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIOjC7eyl0&t=182s

·        Avoid These Mistakes When Buying an RV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VolVHbO1_L0

 

Past Episodes

·        Travel Nursing with Dakota and Courtney: https://atravelpath.com/travel-nursing/

·        Part 1 with Laura and Jason: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-with-kids/

·        Part 2 with Laura and Jason: https://atravelpath.com/florid-keys/

 

Resources

·        Dave Ramsey Books: https://store.ramseysolutions.com/books/all-books/

·        RV Dealer Mentioned: https://www.tomschaeffers.com/

 

Camping

·        Bahia Honda Campground: https://www.floridastateparks.org/BahiaHonda

 

Budgeting Tools

·        Tiller: https://www.tillerhq.com/

·        Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets

 

RV Tools

·        VIAIR Air Compressor: https://amzn.to/3TBoIrn

·        Pole Buddy: https://amzn.to/3xjiRQ4

·        (Commissions may be earned from purchases made on this page)

 

YouTube Channels Reference

·        Long Long Honeymoon: https://www.youtube.com/@LongLongHoneymoon

·        Keep Your Daydream: https://www.youtube.com/@KeepYourDaydream

·        Kara and Nate: https://www.youtube.com/@KaraandNate

 

Most Popular Blogs:

• Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

• Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

• How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

• Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

• How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

• Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

 

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

 

 

Transcript

Host: Kyle and Renee, welcome to the Travel Path podcast.

 

 

Guest: Thank you for having us.

 

 

Host: So we know you on YouTube as Happily Ever Hanks. You built a very large community with your mission of both educating people in the RV life and inspiring your audience to break free from their comfort zone. Before we start, I do want to give a shout out to Laura, Jason, and Alexis. One episode of our podcast mentioned that they had watched so much of your content that their younger daughter, Alexis, has been inspired to become a travel nurse herself when she grows up. So here we are talking now full circle. But why don't we start by having you guys share a little about yourselves and then letting our audience know what your current travel lifestyle looks like?

 

 

Guest: Sure. Well, first of all, that's really inspiring to hear. Yeah, that's really cool. That's neat that we're bringing up the younger generation and inspiring them. That's like kind of why we started all this. We first started as your nurses back in Pennsylvania in around 2015. We just got tired of the mundane lifestyle and wanted to explore life on the road a little bit. So we started looking at travel nursing and in 2016, we started applying for our licenses. Actually, in late 2016, we started applying for a California license for our nursing. And from there, we just kind of hit the road. And then we had no really idea where we were going. We went to San Francisco for our first travel assignment and then thereafter is kind of up in the air. But basically, over the time being, I'm sure we'll get more into this later on in the podcast, but around 2019, something there, you'd say we were kind of hit a hiccup with nursing itself and we laid off for a little bit. And then that's what inspired us to start documenting our adventures and the RV lifestyle, sharing all the things. When we worked in the ER, man, how many times we were asked by our coworkers and other patients, they were so fascinated with us living in an RV or like, how does that work? It doesn't make sense. You're not living in a house. You're living in an RV. And yeah, we were just educating. We had people gathered around and we were talking about how they can get into like RVing with travel nursing.

 

 

Host: So I feel like that's probably maybe we've got the ball rolling for you guys starting your YouTube. Was it everyone asking you questions in your career as travel nurses that kind of got your head scratching? Well, maybe there's a void here we can make start a channel and actually inform a larger audience.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, pretty much. We just we learned that there's people who are RV and there's travel nursing. And, you know, when you think of an RV or you tend to focus more on people who are retired, so to have these travel nurses who were younger, just so interested, they're like, I've never even heard of this. I never even thought to get an RV. It's just it's like we were teaching others. But, you know, we didn't know it was a thing either until we found it on the Internet. We were just going to do housing, like apartment housing that the travel nurse company gives you until we stumbled upon some article that talked about, hey, you can live in an RV and do this. And we were like, no. And then here we are.

 

 

Host: Now, the purpose of the podcast is to help people, you know, get started traveling and ultimately reach their travel goals. So I do want to dial it back a little bit on your website. You had mentioned that when you made this transition, you fought some skepticism and then also you were, quote unquote, bucking the trend when you sold your house and went to travel full time. What was some of that skepticism and how are you able to overcome that?

 

 

Guest: Well, I guess the skepticism was jumping into a different way of life. See, when we were working as nurses back in Pennsylvania before we even started living in an RV, we were kind of just doing the mundane nine to five. And it just like one week flowed into another. And we were having to wait for those two week vacations. You know, you work all year to get those two weeks off. And it's like once you get those two weeks, it's just like, where do we go? What do we do? It seems so condensed into one time frame where we just didn't know we were kind of fumbling around. We're like, why don't we just kind of make a lifestyle out of this? And then through working in the ER, you know, we met a lot of other travelers there and it just blew my mind immediately that nurses could bounce around the country and live this different lifestyle filling in the gaps within schedules across the country, you know, other hospitals. So, you know, I think that's a really good question. So that's kind of like what inspired us, you know, to kind of get there. Is there anything I'm missing?

 

Guest: No, I pretty much we just also the trend of like you buy a house, you get married, you have kids, it's like life teaches you to follow these certain rules. We were like, what if we sell the house now and just kind of do whatever, travel around the country. So yeah, yeah, get out of debt, lose the mortgage and travel the country.

 

 

Host: You mentioned that mundane, like the two week vacation, right? That's kind of the ritual, the path that most people follow. And on our last episode with Wanda with Katie, she had mentioned that she had many nurses or many friends in the travel nurse field where what they kind of do is they'll get to a destination, an assignment. They'll be working like crazy hours for however many weeks. And then they'll take like an extended break, whether it's a couple of weeks or a month in that destination where they are and just explore it. Is that how you pretty much lived it when you were travel nursing?

 

 

Guest: That's exactly how we lived it. Yes. So we got a little taste of that. A typical travel nurse contract lasts about 13 weeks. And from that point, when you complete it, you can either ask to resign at the hospital if they still need you or you can move along to a different state, different hospital. It's also flexible. So we got a little taste of that when we finished our contract. We're like, well, now what? We have this money. We saved up a little money on the side and, you know, we could go work another job immediately and start making more money. Take a little time off, go explore some surrounding areas. And that's kind of what led us into becoming debt free. But yeah, just so much like just work your boat off for 13 weeks and then take like a month or two off and actually travel.

 

Guest: It was such a liberating feeling to be debt-free and have the flexibility to choose how we wanted to spend our time and money.

 

 

Host: Do you find it easier or harder, the fact that both of you are travel nurses?

 

 

Guest: Oh, easier, much easier. Yeah. Yeah. When we went to San Francisco, oh, my goodness. We were just... I'm not a city person. So I was kind of thrown in the middle of everything. It was very busy, very hectic, and just fast-paced. So having each other to rely on in the new location was kind of nice to kind of get through some of those hiccups.

 

 

Host: How long have you been out of the travel nurse space for?

 

 

Guest: Oh, man, it's... we took an assignment in 2019, and then that's when they were saying they couldn't resign us. So it's been... it's been a minute for sure. And then, you know, when we got laid off, you know, at that temporary time, we had tried to resign with the hospital, like, you know, we can't afford to rehire you guys. This is right during all the pandemic just to be completely transparent. You know, the hospital took such a hit with the money, you know, depleted and they kind of afford travel nurses. So they really had to hunker down with the budgeting and everything. So luckily we had set up enough of a almost like a safety net for ourselves to take some time off. And, you know, we were always wondering, well, this may be the opportunity to share and document all of our experiences with others. Yeah. And we didn't expect that it was going to replace travel nursing.

 

 

Host: I'm sure the travel nurse space has changed a little bit since you guys exited that area. And I'm just realizing now this is like the purpose. This is like a perfect follow up from our previous episode with Courtney and Dakota, who are actually just getting into the travel nurse space. So the episode that came out actually hasn't been released yet, but it's going to get released before this one. So if you listen to this now and you're looking to get into it, they provide details on actually like modern-day, currently what it's like transitioning into that. So that's perfect. Transitioning a little bit, I want to talk a little bit about how you went out of debt, because that's a... I forget the statistic I read, but I know there's a lot of consumer debt in this country. And you had a video a while back on how you went from two hundred and thirty thousand dollars in debt to financial independence. I want to know what your definition of F.I. is because I know that's been thrown around a lot with financial freedom. But how are you able to get or to get out of debt, essentially?

 

 

Guest: Well, getting out of debt was just mostly, I would say... I don't know what would what would the term be that I'm looking for? It's kind of just mostly discipline and just having a goal and following through with it. So we broke it down in as simple pieces as we could. We usually referred to Dave Ramsey at the time. We had utilized a lot of his teachings. I don't know how familiar most people are with Dave Ramsey out there. But it's a really simple way of just setting aside like baby steps of like setting some money over here for an emergency fund and then tackling all your lowest debt and then going forward from there to your bigger, bigger debts. So financial independence was a huge thing because, as I said before, once we got that taste of finishing a contract and then having that time off, well, we kind of became addicted to having more of that time off. Freedom. That freedom was like, oh, my gosh, I want more of that. A month was like only a month now that we get to travel. We want two months, three months. And so it became a game to us, to be honest. It turned into a game. We just went all in over time. All of our pennies and dollars went to paying off every single piece of debt that we had. So that to actually qualify, what would the financial independence? It was like the freedom side of it. That's what it meant to us is like not being tied to a loan or like having to work because you have to pay all these bills. It was like, what if we didn't have to pay all these bills and we can kind of just... you can live frugally if you want to not have to work as much or you can work your butt off and save. It's just like you had freedom to do whatever you want with your money.

 

 

Host: Yes, it's like once you learn it's that delayed gratification. Yeah, it's a sacrifice. You're giving up certain things now. But once you realize what you're able to do with that extra money and that extra time in the future, that's when it becomes, like you said, like a game and it gets addicting. And then you just try and find every nook and cranny you can start saving and and growing from there.

 

 

Guest: Absolutely. Yeah.

 

 

Host: Twenty seventeen is when we started travel nursing, right? And twenty nineteen is when we decided to start going full time. At what point did travel become the driving factor in that?

 

 

Guest: So, not the answer for Renee, but for most of my growing up, we traveled around as a family, maybe a couple of hours away here and there. We had done some flights across the country to go see some places, but nothing crazy. So jumping into the lifestyle was very new for us because we knew we would have to drive all the way from Pennsylvania to California for our first travel nursing assignment. And there is a lot of land in between to sightsee and just explore and take it all in. So as we proceeded from there, I think it just became a little bit of an addiction over time of like, wow, you know, we only do have one life to live. We live it responsibly. You know, we're not out here discriminating YOLO and blowing money like crazy and doing whatever. We're actually trying to be really responsible people, but get the most fulfillment out of this life as we can. So to kind of answer your question, I just say it gradually increased over time to where we are now of, you know, eventually one day, hopefully we can do some international travel. Yeah, it's a lot to see out there. Lots to see.

 

 

Host: Fast forward to where you are on the road now currently. What are some of the biggest frustrations you currently face traveling?

 

 

Guest: Probably the lack of consistency. You know, you might be in one area and the cell service is great and the resources are close by. But the campground is iffy or I don't know the weather is not good. So it's like and then you go to another place and the Internet's bad and then you go to this place. And the grocery store is like 20 miles away. So it's like you can never have consistency, but that's OK, because the best part is that you could just pick up and move and go somewhere new all the time.

 

Guest: Yeah, and it may seem just to piggyback on that, it may sound kind of like... I don't know where we're coming from. You know, if you're living at home, you're like, that doesn't really make sense. But try to uproot your life and all the routines that you have, the typical grocery store, you know, where everything's laid out all the time. You know, your favorite gas station that has all the best prices, friends, your family, everything you can rely on for. You know, you're kind of out here by yourself and it's a little nerve-racking. But in that, you kind of find some fulfillment within your life that you're pushing yourself, you're exploring new places, and it's just fun to be immersed in that kind of lifestyle.

 

Guest: Going to a grocery store and everything's backwards. Yeah. Walmart. Hey, got to learn it. We'll tackle it together. It's like every time stop and shop, they rearrange everything, except for you guys. It's every time you go to a grocery store. Yeah, it's like there's no learning the grocery store. Like you're just you're always walking around like you're clueless everywhere you go. And that's just the way it is. Roll with it.

 

 

Host: Do you guys ask for help in the grocery store? It's the first thing I do. Hope will never.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, I don't know. I thought she would be more, but I'm just like you, Tyler. I ask for a couple of times. She's like, where is this? And I immediately just find somebody. I'm like, listen, we don't want to. What's... I don't want to be defeated. It's like if I can't find the eggs, like what she likes, you know, can I even get by in life? It's like a personal scavenger hunt every time.

 

 

Host: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I wonder if that's like a man and a woman like personality thing, because it's the first thing I do when I go to a store, even if I know where it is, I'm still asking. But I know with you, like I just ask somebody, no. OK, fine. OK.

 

 

Guest: That's because we want to still look at everything. We want to meander around the store. We don't just want to get that one item. I do want to say that the thing I always forget about. I don't want to knock our friends and family like that. That's a big part of travel. That's hard is, you know, he has family in California. I have family in Pennsylvania. So they're spread out and they're all up north. So it doesn't make it like a snowbird situation where we could be in the south and visiting one of them. So that's another inconsistency or an issue with traveling that we don't like. Yeah. Yeah.

 

 

Host: So yeah, family. So that's one thing you probably expected, right? Obviously, if you're traveling full time, you're going to be saying goodbye to your family. Was that harder or easier than you expected it to be?

 

 

Guest: The first time, the very first time we said bye. Guest: Yeah. Yeah. That was hard. That was hard. It was difficult. I mean, like Renee said, you know, with us having family on the other side of the country, it was like saying bye to them and then being like, oh, I'm excited to see the other side of the family. But it's still kind of it hurts like that, that first time, because it's like, you know, your your mind is telling you, oh, my gosh, this is forever. But in reality, it's it's not it's just it's just a new step in life. That's what it is. Still hurts because we'll go back and visit for a month or two and then you say goodbye again. So it's like you're constantly reliving the like, well, you know, I'll see you next time. And it's always you're always trying to delay it because you don't want to say goodbye. But you think we'll be back.

 

 

Host: Like I said, you're mobile, so you can always pick up and go whenever you want to. Do you have any — and I know you guys do because I've watched your videos — but do you have any embarrassing stories or mistakes you want to share that could potentially save a future listener some trouble?

 

 

Guest: To keep it as short as possible, we were in Mississippi driving and we need to pull over for some fuel at a Flying J at the time. Now, Flying J is a truck stop out on the road that we had used quite frequently. And why we liked it so much is they also had these RV fuel lanes there. So if you can imagine where normal cars would fuel up, then there's RV fuel lanes. And then on top of that, they have the other section for all the truck drivers and 18-wheelers, so we pulled into the RV fuel lane. But we have been so used to filling up in the trucker lanes where everything was diesel over there. If you don't know where I'm going with this, eventually I got out of the truck, started pumping fuel, but quickly realized I pumped about a gallon, maybe two, two gallons of diesel and two or, excuse me, of gas into my diesel truck. So I stopped, panicked, received his panic. We likely didn't do anything. Didn't start the truck, but I I had no idea what to do. I didn't know what happened if I would fill it up with diesel and start running it. I just said, let's not do anything. We'll call for a tow truck and see what happens. So we end up calling for a tow truck, having to get the truck towed all the way to like a body shop or somewhere that can deal with dropping the tank, cleaning out the fuel injectors, everything. Meanwhile, our RV, our travel trailer sat there blocking the entire fuel lanes for three hours straight.

 

Guest: Yeah, I think Flying J didn't care. Yeah, they're like, I just let it sit there.

 

Guest: So we forgot we lock it up or anything.

 

Guest: I forgot.

 

Guest: So at the time we traveled with two vehicles.

 

Guest: Yeah. So I stayed back and just parked the car.

 

Guest: Oh, that's right. In front of it and just blocked it.

 

Guest: We need to see the trailer.

 

 

Host: Yeah, on guard.

 

 

Guest: So just be careful. The reason, just one last thing I want to add to that story, the black handles is what got me. So when you're over on the 18-wheeler side, it could be green handles for diesel or it could be black handles for diesel. But unfortunately, in the RV fuel lanes, it was only green for diesel. And I had picked up a black handle.

 

 

Host: Well, fortunately, you caught it and then you didn't end up starting it. Do you know what would have happened if I know it's only a gallon or so you said, but I can't imagine that being good.

 

 

Guest: My buddy said something with the combustion of like gasoline. They are nerding out on this stuff, but they said somehow the combustion rate of gasoline basically could really like do some internal damage on a diesel truck engine so that he made the best. A lot of people out there had commented on the video to like, hey, I've done that before, filled it up the rest of the way with diesel. I was fine, but I like to look at it with it being a truck that was at the time paid off. It was under warranty. I'm not sure. We just didn't want a chance that, you know, no dad. I called dad. I called my buddy. They're like, I'm not sure what what to do. So we just called again.

 

 

Host: Yeah, when in doubt, you're better off just calling someone. At least you're you're safe that way. Plus, when you're on the road, I mean, you couldn't go on to you. There's a good chance you're going to be in the middle of nowhere at some point. You know, that thing breaking down. There's no service. There's no one, nobody to help you.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, yeah. On that same trip, we did almost break down a mile in nowhere, Texas, with my car. Then it needed a new alternator. I don't know where. So we were just like, OK, this lifestyle is great. Yeah, you know, everything's breaking.

 

Host: You mentioned your previous video every time like you guys just you laugh when there's problems, you said something about that. We just can't get any worse. And is that is that a coping mechanism?

 

 

Guest: I think so by now. I got to laugh or cry. So we just figured, let's just laugh about it. We make it a duty to like pick up the camera to show it. So the camera is in your face. You know, you kind of pep up a little bit. You're not. Yeah. There are so many kinds of words around. So yeah, like when things go wrong at first, it's like you used to get so angry. Like, why me? You know, why is this happening to me? Everyone's out at home and joined in or we're all stuck on the side of the road dealing with this, but we quickly realize that's just the way life goes. You know, either live at home. You deal with life or you live in an RV and you deal with life still. So yeah, you can laugh or you cry, but you can't change it.

 

 

Host: Yeah, exactly. You got to get it done. On a more positive note, what's the thing you love most about this lifestyle?

 

 

Guest: Probably just being able to go somewhere new all the time. You know, we'll be we'll be in one area and we'll love that area. But after a month, we're like, all right, it's time to go see something new. So the flexibility, you just go anywhere. You know, if you want to spend a summer up north, sure. Or if you want to be in the south, we're chasing all the warm weather. It's like, yeah, we're meeting some new people. Yeah, like our faith in humanity was restored. You know, once again, it was like turn off the TV and just get out there and have some conversations with people. And you'll realize that like people are awesome out there. There's a lot of great people to meet. We've met some amazing, amazing people during our travels. And still to this day.

 

 

Host: No, that's 100 percent sure. I do want to comment to you on your latest video when you had your leaf spring repaired, you talked about how you had called the RV techs and you weren't sure how they were going to be. But in our experience and at the end of your video, too, you mentioned it. They've been phenomenal. I have not met. We've worked with plenty of them so far. We've only been, you know, about four months. But everyone we've worked with has been great. And we've only heard good things like secondhand about them. I don't know what it is about our RV techs, but they're important to be aware of.

 

 

Guest: Absolutely. Yeah, we kind of agree more with that because a lot of people are sitting out there looking on the dealers to fix their problems and they're just not getting any answers. They're waiting. They're saying, hey, you got to wait six months before we can squeeze you into the schedule. And, you know, the RV technicians have been come such a great intermediate between the dealership and the consumer who had bought the RV and is looking for some help. So they're kind of just like that guiding light that could get some of those quick fixes done. Some of them are just beyond what we could ever ask for and repairs and done so much. It'll be to not have to pack up your whole home to take it to a dealership and sit and wait. It's just like they'll come to you and you just hang out. It's so it's so nice. Very convenient.

 

 

Host: Yeah. Do you have any advice for someone looking to buy an RV for the first time?

 

 

Guest: Oh, we did a video on this recently. Kind of where we talked about making sure you're doing your price checking and comparing. And I would say in today's world, like have an RV inspection, have like a certified RV tech that can do inspections. Come and look at your RV, whether it's used or buying it new off the lot. And if the salespeople or the dealership won't allow external inspectors to come in like a third-party inspector, I would probably not. I would. That's a big red flag. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes it's not going to be well received, but you always got to be your own advocate with these things and have as many, I don't know, people on your side looking out for your best interests because the dealership certainly isn't going to be that person for you. Unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah, we, the reason we bought at the dealer and the reason we bought new is because it was our first time ever buying an RV and we had no clue what to look for. And I didn't want to buy something new or something from a private person or a private dealer just because I had no idea what to look for. Yeah. Had I known I could have had the RV tech inspector available, I think we would have jumped on that and done that instead of buying new and going through all the loops and hurdles and the pain points of going through a dealer and warranties that aren't really warranties and all that fun stuff. For sure. For sure. We were through that too when we bought our first one. We didn't even know anything about tow ratings. I mean, we just showed up with our half-ton truck. And luckily, they were really good about not looking at any RVs. He said, well, before we look at any RVs, I need to know what your truck can tow. We were like, what do you mean? Like, so, yeah, we rolled the dice on a good one. Yeah. A lot of people out there said, well, we never got that. They just, they'll show us that, you know, yeah. I'll show you the rakes and that's that. So that was good.

 

 

Host: So there are good ones out there, but just are good.

 

 

Guest: Absolutely. Yes. Yes. Tom Shafers in Pennsylvania. That's where that was. Yeah. So, OK, we'll link down the show notes.

 

 

Host: Obviously, you guys need Internet when you're traveling, you're full-time content creators. How are you getting Internet?

 

 

Guest: Our main form of Internet is Starlink right now. Yeah. Do you guys have Starlink at all?

 

 

Host: We're getting it.

 

 

Host: Yeah, we've asked this question almost every episode. And so far, the consensus has been T-Mobile, the T-Mobile home Internet plan with this. So the Starlink has been the most popular, but more often than not. What they're saying is they're using it as backup. And then they're using T-Mobile for the most part for their Internet. And then if they're in an area where there's no service there, it's Starlink. That's really nice. Starlink, that's your go-to.

 

 

Guest: That's our go-to. Yeah, we always have that up and running. And it's been working out good. You know, it was a little touch and go when we first purchased it. It was very somewhat newish and not as many satellites up in the sky. But yeah, well, we are also in the eastern US. So like so much more heavily populated, more like we were in Florida during snowboard season, so everyone had Starlink. We were all fighting for the satellites. But last year, it is perfect. I mean, it's beautiful. And then when we go east, we're going to be complaining about it. But it's good to hear about the T-Mobile because we do have we have a basic cell phone plan with AT&T and we use the hotspot if we need Internet, if the Starlink is not doing well. So it's good to know about that T-Mobile because we'll have to look into this if we need to. Absolutely. Yes, Ben. So far, so good.

 

 

Host: And we have our phone plans with T-Mobile and then we have like a third when we transfer over, we got a third like bonus phone. So we have 150 gigs of hotspot before we ever have to do anything. And then we're using the T-Mobile for Internet. So we're kind of rolling the dice with T-Mobile, kind of putting all of our eggs in one basket. But we'll get Starlink too just to have that as a backup. Is that set up process? The reason people have mentioned they don't use it primarily is because of the set-up process. How long does it take to set that up?

 

 

Guest: We're less than five minutes. Yeah.

 

Guest: Less than. Yeah. It's just we've integrated it with our typical setting up routine. It's mostly just sneaking a wire through the side, through one of the slide-outs, and then connecting it to the modem, and then getting the actual Starlink mounted onto a pole.

 

Guest: A pole. We call it a pole, buddy. You can buy it off Amazon and it just gets it up above your roof of your RV to have better signal, better access to the sky.

 

 

Host: Does the boot-up time take a long time? Is that what it is or?

 

 

Guest: That is probably what it is, that they're mostly, you know, it's not as soon as you plug it in, it's up and going. It does take about three to five minutes, I would say. Yeah. But like you could like get that set up. And then while you're doing the outside, I'll plug in the router and then just finish setting up the inside. And by the time I even have a second to like go on the internet it’s already running.

 

Guest: So yeah, I guess if you need it in a quick pinch, if you pull over on the side of the road, take a break, it probably would be a little inconvenient because you'd have to set it up and wait a few minutes. So something like that.

 

Guest: But I will say, like, I think boondocking is becoming a lot more popular because of Starlink. Before, when you were off-grid, you were truly off-grid. There was like no cell service in a lot of these cool places you see on Instagram, you know, like Utah, Arizona boondocking. Yeah. Now, everyone's out there streaming and gaming. It's like a whole new, no longer off-grid. So it's really nice to have that.

 

 

Host: So you guys have been traveling for part-time, full-time. And I know you're pretty tight with your budget. You post videos on your YouTube channel. Have you ever been able to break down what a monthly or weekly budget looks like? I know it probably fluctuates quite a bit.

 

 

Guest: It varies. It just depends. Like we just had a very expensive month in San Diego, and our budget looked way different when we were trying to get out of debt. We still budget and track every penny, but we're a little bit more lenient. And then Alaska was kind of like a moment where we were strict. Yeah, I guess the best way to think about it was when we were getting out of debt. What was our budget? Did we go out to eat at all? Like, do you remember? Did we go out to restaurants and treat ourselves to something?

 

Guest: Yeah, we would give ourselves like two hundred dollars a month. Wasn't it like to go out to try new restaurants or go out to eat? And that included if you wanted to get drinks somewhere. So that ended up really quickly. So that wasn't even nowadays, like nowadays, I would get you a couple of drinks, two hundred bucks. Yeah, like a drink. Here's a cup of water. Yeah, like, wow, great. Yeah. And then groceries were kind of like, I mean, that's hard to control. Groceries are our biggest downfall just as a married couple. I don't know. You know, you get old, you get happy and you just like, oh, let's, you know, have some good dinner tonight and have some snacks. So that's one we got to like always keep coming back to. Yeah. The grocery bill. But to give you the other numbers, I can't really remember what it's been strict in the past. When we were really strict with our budget, we would just look at what we were already spending and then we would just try to cut that like a quarter of that and just try to chop that out and be better about spending.

 

 

Host: Do you have any budget apps or tools that make keeping track of that easier?

 

 

Gues: Now we use a program called Tiller, but we used to just do pen and paper and Microsoft Excel. And that was to kind of keep track of everything. Watch a quick YouTube video on how to line up with your expenses, highlight it all, and make a running total. And then it was really cool because as you paid off your credit cards or whatever debt you had, you subtracted that and then it would take away from the bottom big number. That was nice to see that. It's kind of like a little encouragement to keep going. So that was fun. Yeah.

 

 

Host: The visual is important. I'm glad you mentioned you had that starting out small, but bucks a month. You have to celebrate the small victories. Otherwise, you're going to burnt out. So being able to set money aside to celebrate, you pay something off. You're paying things down slowly. You know, those mini victories.

 

 

Guest: No, no. Yeah, it's crazy how when you don't track how much it slips away, because when we first started travel nursing, we weren't budgeting and we weren't being strict about our budget. It wasn't until we decided to see what our three to six months of expenses were. So we kind of got into it by accident because I was like, well, let's see what we are currently spending on every month. And then I saw how much we spent in restaurants because we were travel nursing. We wanted to go eat all the good food. We want to enjoy ourselves. And there was one month that it was close to a thousand dollars and just going out to eat. And I was like, oh, my gosh, like there's that there's a problem. I never guessed. So we saw that and we were like, OK, no more. And that's how like the whole budgeting happens.

 

 

Host: You guys are traveling with your cat, Dexter. And I don't believe we've had a guest who's traveled with a cat so far on the show. I would assume most people would assume that there's not much involved in taking care of a cat. But anyone to add to that?

 

 

Guest: Oh, yeah. There's, I say, oh, go ahead. I was just going to say that he we had no idea when we got in this lifestyle if he would take well to actually living in an RV. That was kind of what pushes into RV life, to be honest, is having a consistent home for him. So we always joke that we buy these RVs for him, you know. And because the other option was when we were travel nursing is to bounce between apartments and, you know, there's all sorts of smells and you don't know what the rules are with pets and especially cats. So I don't like not having a consistent home. Yeah. So we did it. Exactly. So, you know, I would just say if you do own a cat and you're a little nervous about taking him or her out on the road, you know, just take some car rides, maybe just put them in a kennel and start off small. There's no need to bite off a huge chunk and travel across, you know, halfway across the United States to get an idea of how will they travel? Yeah. He did pretty well right away. We knew he didn't get nauseated or have anxiety or anything like that. He mostly just slept. So it was a good fit for him. I mean, if it's getting close to his dinner time, he'll speak up and he will not be quiet. So like it's yeah, he knows to tell us like, OK, I've been good this whole time, but it's time to pull over.

 

Host: Don't we all?

 

 

Guest: Yeah, don't we? Exactly. Well said.

 

 

Host: All right, guys, what has been the coolest experience you've had while traveling?

 

 

Guest: Oh, yeah. This question is great because there's, there's just been so many. Like sometimes we would be like, remember that time we just got first, the first time we ran the AC in Iowa, but we were so happy that the thing worked. Yeah, small things. I think there was one of our coolest times was when we were in the Florida Keys, we were at a state park Bahia Honda, and we managed to get a site that was right on the water. So we could literally snorkel like right off where our view was part every day. And that was just like such a cool thing to do. That was nice.

 

 

Host: Yeah, we have not been there, but we've seen videos and pictures of actually Alexis and Lauren Jason, the podcast I mentioned you guys, their part to travel tips was all about the Florida Keys, so very detailed on that. And they were sending us pictures. And yeah, that campsite, no joke, it's right on the water.

 

 

Guest: And you can snorkel, sit and pull up a long chair. And yeah, so cool. It's like being in the Caribbean, but you're in the States. So that's like what's so cool about it.

 

 

Host: And same thing for you, Kyle, Bahia Honda?.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, I really enjoyed that. And I guess this to kind of cover your story that you brought up at the AC. It was funny when I said we hit the road at the first time when we left for travel nursing, we left at two o'clock in the morning, left her parents' house, and just drove to WalMart, stayed the night in a random WalMart. And then we kept driving and it was about to where did you say it was Iowa? I remember we made it to Iowa. We made it to Iowa. It was just it was so hot and humid for whatever reason. It was right around four o'clock. We finally pulled in an RV park. But then we turn on the AC for the first time in the RV. I know crazy, right? We tried this out when we got the dealership before we drove off. Now we waited till we got to Iowa before we ran the AC. But I kid you not, it was just like when that cold air was blowing on you and then you could turn around and look out and it's just something completely new. It is just like, wow, we are doing it and we're actually we're going to live like this. And yeah, that was really cool. That was a neat moment.

 

 

Host: After spending just about seven years traveling now, has there been anything you've learned that you cannot live without outside of the internet?

 

 

Guest: I would have to say, I mean, this is going to sound like something a young person would say, but my smartphone. Think about when you're out to get anything or figure out anything directions. Where's the nearest grocery store? Like, what's the Google reviews on this restaurant? It's like you gotta have your cell phone, like that little mini computer, to tell you so much.

 

 

Host: On the contrary, has there been anything that you've learned that you don't need while traveling?

 

 

Guest: Yeah, I think living in the RV when we started watching YouTube videos way back when we were first getting into it, there was a lot of unrealistic expectations of like, do I need all that before I hit the road and, you know, something like a ten thousand dollar solar set up or the same thing like crazy like that. You don't really need it to get it out, include knocking and blowing time off grid. You know, you can survive a night or two. Yeah, kind of what what what comes with your RV, just a battery, a water tank, water heater, you have everything you need. So I guess I just would say don't keep up with the Joneses all that much. You know, try to keep it realistic for the lifestyle you're looking for. Yeah, there's a lot of pressure online, social media with all these products. You gotta have this before you own this. And it's like just take your RV. Like, don't buy anything and just go like buy your basic stuff, your hoses and all the stuff to get by. But you don't need all the fancy digits and gadgets. Like, we still don't have a backup camera. And that was on our list when we first hit the road. We were like, look at one eventually. And now it's seven years and we're like, we don't really need it. You don't have to have it like you'll get by.

 

 

Host: If you wait and wait and wait until you have everything you need, you'll never hit the road. Exactly. A good point is kind of air on the side, especially with those expensive things. Air on the side of don't buy it. And then once you hit the road and you're traveling, you'll either learn that you need it and then you can buy it then or you're going to learn you don't need it and save ten thousand bucks on a solar panel set.

 

 

Guest: Well said. Well said.

 

Guest: Yeah, that's exactly how we feel, too. You can always get one battery and then add batteries from there. Any tools that RVers should have on them? Why don't you tell them about your favorite one?

 

Guest: Oh, yeah. We have a thing called a VIAIR and we just love it. It's amazing. Basically, it's an on demand air compressor that you can hook up to your truck battery and then it just creates on demand compressed air. They can fill up your tires if they're running a little bit low. Man, that was a huge concern for us because we were thinking when we get out there, how are we going to be able to fit into gas stations to fill up the tires if they're running low? This just eliminates all those stressors and you just have that whenever you need it most. And we had this huge normal air compressor like I think it's still in a storage unit.

 

Guest: Oh, yeah, that thing is huge. Really? Do we bring that? How do we fill up our tires? But I think we use that almost every time. This thing is lightweight. It's small. It doesn't take up a lot of space and it can pump up tires to like 120 PSI. So our trailer tires are 100 PSI maximum at cold pressures. So it does more than enough to handle those loads. So if you're thinking, oh, I drive a big class, say that's not going to help me. Actually, probably will. Yeah. And we just told people you don't need to buy stuff, but you do need to buy that.

 

 

Host: That's a good point. That's actually something we have not heard in the podcast yet. That's not one of those. I know you said it's smaller, but it's not one of those 20 volt compress bigger than that for your rig, right? Or is that something you can actually use? I guess you can charge it. I guess.

 

 

Guest: Well, I'm thinking of one. I've seen like people have like handheld ones. I don't know if those that's what you're thinking of. But this one is probably. Yeah, it's all it runs off the volt battery. So, you know, and you don't really charge it. It just literally plugs into the positive and negative terminal on a truck battery.

 

 

Host: And I think it's something else. And because it's the point I want to make was you really can't rely on gas stations. Like you said, you can't you might not be able to fit your RV, but also the air doesn't always work. We've had tire issues where we've pulled in. I've gone back and forth. I went to one gas station. The air didn't work. The next gas station. The air worked, but it didn't have the pressure gauge. So I go back to the first one and it was just the crapshoot going back and forth. But yeah, one person in the gas station had one of those. I think it was VIAIR, but it was smaller. It was like a DeWalt size volt compressor. And we just pumped it up right there. So, yeah, that's a good thing to have for sure.

 

 

Guest: Absolutely.

 

 

Host: If you could listen to this podcast when you were first starting out, is there a question I did not ask tonight that you wished I would have? And how would you answer that now?

 

 

Guest: Oh, you know what? There's, going back to the trucker lanes. I remember when we first hit the road, we had the diesel truck, but we were towing a smaller RV, and we kept squeezing into small, normal-sized gas stations because we didn't know that we could use the trucker lanes. We were like, "We're not allowed in there for the truckers." But if you're starting out, and I mean, basically, you're allowed to use the truck lanes. You're allowed to park in rest areas where trucks park. Like, basically, there were a lot of moments where we felt very timid. And then, just as you go along, you start to be more like, "Yeah, we own this road," you know? Like, you start to be a little bit more like, "Come on in and move over." So, and the reason we say that is because, you know, these RVs, especially the one we're living in, it's the same kind of tractor-trailer. So we measure 13 foot six inches at our first AC over our bedroom. So you've got to be really considerate of where is able to accommodate you. You can't just pull into any random gas station because you can get into a pickle pretty quickly. So, after some time of traveling and sweating it out, those trucker lanes look real nice at the end of the day. And you're like, "No, partaking that. Yeah, go in there, stretch out."

 

 

Host: That's a good point. I could definitely see myself being more hesitant like you guys. And once you start seeing, "Oh, there's an RV over there. Okay, we can go over there." And then once you start seeing that, "Okay, we can do that too." But I would be a little more reluctant to get over there.

 

 

Guest: Exactly, yeah.

 

 

Host: I know, you guys. It seems like you were kind of trailblazers in the digital creation space with travel nursing and traveling full time. But were there other influences or YouTube channels that influenced you or books maybe to do this travel full-time life?

 

 

Guest: What got us into travel nursing was just meeting other travel nurses at work. You met actually a couple that would travel together. That's how you found out they do it together. Yeah. But then when we started looking into RV travel, you know, we got on YouTube like a lot of people do. And I remember watching a lot of Long Long Honeymoon and Keep Your Daydream as a lot of them just to help get us, you know, give you, like, not you're not just learning, but you're gaining that confidence to, like, travel on the road. Yeah. And Kara and Nate is another one that's really fun. If people like fast-paced adventures that are like across the world, they're some of our favorite, or my favorites. Yeah, because they do. Yeah, they're really good with their storytelling, things like that. And so they inspire us to be better storytellers too.

 

 

Host: Yeah, I feel like if we were starting out, we didn't discover your channel. We were starting out because we were in the van life space. We were watching a lot of Adventures of A and K and Kara and Nate. But if we were looking for fifth wheels or camp trailers, we would have been all over your channel. I feel like we were like relate a lot to you guys and you're very entertaining. But also you provide a lot of useful information. So, yeah, I'll link your channel as well as the other channels you mentioned in the show notes. One last question for audiences in a ton of suspense before the next episode. Where are we talking about for travel tips?

 

 

Guest: So our destination we want to talk about is San Diego. San Diego. Yeah, we got a lot to say about that.

 

 

Host: All right. San Diego. Tune in in two days, everybody. Kyle and Renee, thanks again.

 

 

Guest: Thank you so much.

 

 

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Looking to visit Yosemite National Park but aren’t sure where to stay? You’ll definitely want to stay tuned for this episode of Trave Tips!

Garrett and Staci from Bronderlust return to the show to share one of their favorite FREE (at the time of this writing 😉) campsites just a short drive away from Yosemite

👂🏻In this episode you’ll hear all about:

🧭How they discovered this place

🗻The different scenery, from snow to beaches

🥘Some of their favorite meals they chef’d up while there

And More!

Free Spot Near Mammoth Lakes California (Grant Lake):

https://ioverlander.com/places/233452-best-lake-spot

Yosemite Falls: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/waterfalls.htm

 

Food:

Del Taco Sauce: https://deltacowebstore.com/

Bitchin Sauce: https://bitchinsauce.com/

 

Related Blogs: 7 Things to do at Yosemite: https://atravelpath.com/yosemite-national-park/

 

 

Transcript from YouTube:

all right Garrett and Stacy welcome back to we right now we're going to be doing the travel tip segment of the podcast and those of you who missed part one uh we have Stacy and Garrett on who talked about their van life Journey how they spent almost a year building out their van and they currently live there on the road Garett and Stacy what destination are we talking about today so we are talking about a free spot near Mammoth Lakes California it's actually called Grant Lake it's right north of the Mammoth Lake area and it is really close to Yosemite oh awesome how many times have you guys went and spend the night there so we've gone now we went one the first time we went we really liked it and that was about a week and then um on our before we passed it like a couple months later we came back so we've been maybe two total weeks there so twice you've been there so what made you decide to go back there for the second time like why was this so special to you this spot A it was free and B it was beautiful and it was secluded like very quiet it was right next to a lake and it had beautiful mountains there's not like a ton of space where you can enter where we did but there's like a couple spots that you can kind of space out so you have a lot of privacy I had no idea like in the middle of it was like a pull off road P off it almost looked like we were going to get murdered when we pulled in but then it turns into an oasis no it's pretty but it was funny because we were G to stay somewhere else there was another spot we had picked out on a Overlander and then I always like triple check because whenever he's driving and I'm like oh I'm going to look around the area and just see if there's anything else and so I did and I found that spot and I was like oh we're going here because someone had posted like a picture and I was like we're going here instead like unplanned it was something you just kind of stumbled across by accident literally on the way we made our changed our minds yeah happy accident it was meant to happen yeah exactly oh that's perfect I just loved how quiet and like the water you can just like hear it doing its thing it's really just kind of a good blend of everything like you it's maybe it's Baskin Robbins you know you get every little flavor so you got mountains you've got snow if you if you look at the top of the mountain there's a lake there's almost like Beach area there's like a little bit of walking trail um so it's just kind of a lot of cool stuff so and what's really nice that we enjoyed was in that particular spot since there's nothing there there's no light pollution and actually the second time we went we happened to go while it was coinciding with like a meteor shower so we went out at night and basically just rolled up and we're looking at the sky and yeah shooting stars it was really cool yeah it was so cool oh wow so it sounds like it's definitely someone who just wants to someone to go there if they just want to do some stargazing and just be like completely immersed in nature yes quiet and beautiful views a nice place to detox if you're tired of being in big cities oh that's awesome now do you guys have um like 4x4 on your van is this like super accessible to just about anybody so our van doesn't have 4x4 um but we just took it very slow it is a little bit of an aggressive like road but it's not too bad I think you could make it even just in a regular car you would just want to take your time depends on how far in you go too we went a little further down because there was some people parked so we went a little further and it got a little bit more like some big rocks and stuff that we had to like go over so it just depends on how far you go but just go slow oh nice so I know you guys have spent like a week there and so but if someone were just like go to this spot for a night stopping would they still to experience and like enjoy all that this area has to offer yeah because it's really not that big it's small big like it's a big space but in a small area so you could get in and you could still have your private area um and I don't think either time we've been there hasn't been so many people to where it felt crowded I think the most we saw was like maybe three people and it was spaced out enough to where like we had no idea they were there majority of the time um so I absolutely think they could enjoy it especially if you're just trying to enjoy the site and just have some tranquil quiet it's I think it's perfect for that when were you guys there what kind of months were you there the first time we went was this uh like early September we went for like a full week right when we pulled up there I was like I could stay at this place for months like it was so nice but we stayed for a week because we had to get to an airport nearby after that we went back towards mid so about month later I think a little over a month later we went back for another couple days I think I don't think we did a full week that time but it was like maybe three or four days that last time but we basically planned our route out of where we were so we could go back to that spot and we were also going to see which was right there one of the entrances is and so we stayed there before we went into it was definitely a lot cooler when we went the second time so yeah so October a lot cooler September was beautiful yeah September remember I think I had a tank top and shorts on every day and it was nice but then I went to a hoodie and shorts so good mix like at night it got cold but during the day it was pretty nice oh perfect now I know you guys don't have dogs or kids right now but is it do you know if it's pet friendly in that area can you bring a dog over there we didn't see a lot of kids but you could definitely stay there with your kids I think it would be a cool spot for them to just kind of bet I think one family had a bunch of kids and they were playing like football in the water but we've seen both kids and dog do yeah um and they just kind of run out and play in the water so absolutely friendly forum dogs for sure kids probably too but you got to potty them the same so yeah true now obviously we're a little bit secluded here you said it's right near Yos but what is there to do at like night once the start other than stargazing obviously that's like super high on the list but other than that what do you guys do at night when you're there um we have a mini fire kit thing that we have it was like a really small portable fire thing so we made a little fire and we made s'mores um s'mores we cooked and good that was nice watched some shows in our van and just enjoyed nature outside else weed a little bit yeah we went for like a little kind of hiked a little bit yeah really like a hike yeah but we explored but I will say um there was no service while we were there so having the starlink was nice um we would kind of retire to the van in the evening and watch like a movie or something and I had some that we had downloaded so we still had access to it that's a good tip one thing we cuz we didn't have the star link when we did our cross country trip but we ended up we kind of learned that there would be places where we didn't have service and if we were going to some place where there wouldn't be anything to do besides like watch a movie we would just download in our phone in advance well we had service to Amazon Prime so it would be there we could just stream it once we had no service right yes exactly and it was funny because I did have to work the first week we were there and I was like oh thank goodness we have starlink because if not not I could not have done anything while we were there because there was literally no service with anything else so it was definitely nice to have in that moment yeah that's awesome I think when we were in Yosemite it was just like complete blackout like no service we weren't getting in or out to anybody U which sometimes is nice you know I remember that we didn't have because that was one of those places I wanted to watch the movie free solo at yed cuz that would have been like really cool to do but that was one of those nights where we actually didn't download in advance so we just got stuck not being able to watch it but yeah quick tip now because this spot is so close to Yosemite have you guys adventured into Yus frequently when you were there so we stayed there before we went to Yos the second time we went we stayed outside of it and then the next day like we had gone into Yosemite and then we stayed in Yos in one of the campgrounds so we didn't have to drive back out that spot itself was about 15 minutes from the entrance and it's the east entrance of Yos not the I think more popular one on the west about 15 minutes from there but even closer to to Yos there is a little gas station with like a little gravel lot that a lot of people stayed at if they did have to come out of the park and they would just stay there overnight and then go back in yeah because I know that when we went to we had um we had a little bit of trouble trying to figure out where we were in as Sleep part of it was probably not having the best service and not planning that's good that we have now a few different spots that you've mentioned around that area that you know people can pull up at and actually get a good night sleep at yeah yes and all of those spots were on ioverlander that app and so even our spot I think when I found it it says like best spot ever and so I was like what is this and so that's why we went there initially and then um yeah the other gas station gravel spot is also on I Lander as well oh nice we'll have to like link the coordinates to exactly where this spot is um I know we don't want to give away like all the secrets but at least so you know somebody can find it when they want to go that way do you have any quick tips on um Yus that you guys or like any certain things you really loved since you ventured in a few times I will just say we didn't get our Full Yosemite Experience because right before that um we were in Lake Tahoe and we were um what were we doing paddle boarding oh yes we were paddle boarding and we jumped off this rock and basically I scraped the whole side of my foot on this rock and so it was like clean and it was super tender so I could barely wear shoes so we only did like very short like hikes when we were there and just knowing that we were going to have to come back to experience it fully but I will say if you can't walk a lot or you only want to do short things lower Yosemite Falls was like a one mile easy walk little hike there was another one that was like a mile but it's on the map that they give you and it was I think it was just a mile and so those are that's really all we got to do because of my foot well I would say for sure plan to spend at least like I don't know I feel like couple days three days would maybe be like the minimum um that I would recommend just because it's such a big Park and there's so much to do yes but if you're planning on staying in Yos book it way in advance because it I feel like year round it's basically full so if you're not planning at least like a month and a half out or so you're it can be a lot harder to find a parking spot we were super fortunate that we found one literally the same day um and we it kind of like just became available so we like must have just scooped into that window but it was it was really nice to stay in the park so if we could have done that more days um probably would have upgraded that experience a whole bunch which it was still great but not having to worry about going through all the loopy mountains twice was a was definitely a nice feeling service wise it definitely was very like no Serv like you said at The Visitor Center that was the main Yosemite village I think Visitor Center was the only spot that I've heard of and that we had actual service in it wasn't like amazing but it still worked and so that's where I looked up one more time I was like I'm going to look up the campsites just to see if there was a cancellation or something I really don't want to drive out of the park tonight and so we looked it up and there was one spot and so it happened it was great so don't perfect timing yes yeah I think you did the exact same thing too right yeah we same thing everything was booked up and then all of a sudden there was one that was open yes people cancel all the time yes they do you got keep checking and I can definitely add to that how you mentioned that one of the parks that does get crowded from what we had experienced none of the parks we went kind of in the late fall and they weren't overly crowded Yosemite was the first Park that we went to that was crowded now granted we went on a weekend it was the first day they had opened the park without needing reservation to get in and then it was also like their 100th anniversary so it was definitely crowded but it wasn't like it's such a big Park that we were kind of okay with it really wasn't that big of a deal we expected it to be a lot more crowded we waited maybe like half an hour to get in but really wasn't bad it wasn't like those lines you see at arches I think they were talking about last summer for some reason we only seem to make it to national parks on the holiday weekends unplanned we don't pure coincidence so we've gotten better at uh either planning in advance for that or not going on a holiday weekend so that def do that's a very smart tip definitely if you want the park to yourself don't go on those holiday weekends and especially if you've got a little time in your afternoon or evening during the week like you can get right in there enjoy that whole Trail to yourself it's so nice yes AB yep agreed all right cool so now we're gone to move into our 432 one section so just a few questions a little more rapid fire um if you have answers for them or maybe you'll have you know some unique answers but first one so you guys have a favorite breakfast lunch dinner maybe dessert spot in that area in that area no yeah I think we cooked all our food while we were there yeah we cooked all of our food I don't even think we went to any of their like if they have restaurants we didn't go to any of those I really didn't even look I'm wondering if we can almost like reframe that question because we've had a couple of people have answered that and they said that either in remote locations when you are cooking for yourself is it like a recipe or like a certain distance you make CU that's like amazing you want to share yeah that's a good question because it's always cool to find out like what other people cook and like is it like a simple recipe is it hard or whatever so yeah he's the cook now so you can answer your that uh first soy sauce I was going to saying how much soy sauce are we putting in here yeah so we have a gallon no I'm just kidding when we're making like simpler meals um a got is grilled some chicken and then cut it up into strips and then we have these raw tortillas that you throw on the frying pan and then you flip them over 30 seconds through that cooks them so they taste like restaurant style but we make quesadillas that were pretty easy the secret to a good quesadilla is either Del Taco sauce or uh the bitching sauce B sauce it comes in like a little tub and it's so good it is good he makes chicken fried rice or we've done shrimp fried rice so that's really easy you just throw it all together and cook it um and day old rice day old rice oh and just like fajitas like you know get the ingredients chop it all up and then just use it for f he does well most of our I say most of our recipes are pretty simple it's just like a meat a vegetable and then a delivery device so we kind of rotate through different genres there's an Asian style a Hispanic style sometimes maybe we get like an Italian I don't know but just rotate through the categories well makes it easy because you can buy food and bulk that way so that way you know fill up less often but still have some diversity in your food yeah and with the van it's like always good like if you just use one pot that you have to wash that's always my goal yes exactly so yeah like lunch and dinner uh breakfast we'll do either like egg sandwiches egg burritos or we'll do uh overnight oats are awesome in a van just throw it all together and just eat it in the morning well they're good out of a van too and out of a van Perfect all right so we touched on this a little bit but what are three things to do in or around this this little area that we're talking about the first thing definitely go to yed cuz it's like right there I would say honestly the little town of Reno is like 2 hours it's not right there but it's like two hours North and that's where we kind of went after that spot it's a really cute Town it has a lot of it's near like Taho uh which like Tahoe is very pretty as well so I would say if you have the time it's like two to three hours probably in the vicinity it's really worth it it's gorgeous just some really nice scenery there um it has like a very small town feel and just like a lot of nice Trails like we did that run Loop um there was a running trail that was just really beautiful where like the first half of it was just all grass and then you get to Lake and then you get to like the mountains and then just like um like little suburban houses so that was just a really cool spot so yeah South Reno was really cool I guess Mammoth Lakes could be another one like the actual Mammoth Lakes spot because that's very popular a lot of people know of that area for like skiing and Resorts and that kind of stuff so if you're into that would say it's like right there so yeah nice and if anyone were to have two complaints and not necessarily complaints but things that they might not have planned for uh regarding this kind of obscure hidden Grant Lake Campground area what would they be there is no bathroom so yes if you are a shy pooper um you can no longer be a shy pooper well if you're not even if don't have a way to do that in your van either yes if you can't do it if you're not self the rule is you know be amount of space I think it's 6 feet or 8 feet or something away from the lake so stay away from the water and then you dig a hole that's like six inches deep and then you can go outside and cover it up and then of course if you're self-contained you don't have to worry about that but it is a thing to know because you know things happen I would say that and then um I would definitely recommend like some sort of bug screen um there's not a whole lot of bugs a lot but um the first night I think we were there we just left the door open all day and then when we close it and we turn the like yeah we have like little like colored lights and we turn them on you could see all the Nets and we probably spent like 15 minutes with a fly swatter just like zapping them all so and then like squishing them with their fingers fly so we put up the bug screen the next day so bug screen and a designated shovel yeah or something thank you for your honesty there and that's one of those things that people they don't realize they need it until they need it the bug screen when you're out there and the bugs come out it's like it can ruin the entire evening when you got the mosquitoes and all that fun stuff and then also having a bathroom or a shovel especially if you're making those Mexican fajitas too in the hot sauce exactly it's multi-layered planning so oh my God so many good tips all right one last question guys what is one thing you simply can't leave this Grant Lakes Campground area without doing I really liked um getting in the lake oh yeah getting in was fun it was cold but it was fun well the first time we were there we had been there for about maybe four or five days and I think we hadn't showered for like maybe two days prior to that so we weren't feeling particularly clean so it was nice to go take a dip in the water and just kind of like Get refreshed but it was very cold so it was super refreshing it was more of like he went to go in there and I was like you know like sticking my hands in and like trying to wash my body best I could but it was definitely worth it I say go in if it's nice and if you can handle it if not at least go to Yos because it's Yos is probably a better answer Yos is not a bad fallback plan yeah worst case go to awesome all right guys hey thank you guys very much for coming on the show today we had a great conversation I think our listener is going to learn a ton about this area something we had not even heard of and we're going to try and make it to on our next trip out there awesome love it thanks for having us always love talking about the Mobile Life yeah and hopefully uh we'll meet up on your guys next trip yeah you got it we will see you guys on the road perfect awesome well thanks guys have a good night you too

 

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   

www.atravelpath.com

https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

 

Like we mentioned in the show, this episode of Travel Tips is a little different. Jeremy and his wife, Stephanie are authors of several books in the camping world, and today we discuss their latest release: “Where Should We Camp Next? Budget Camping.” Tune in to learn all about:

How The Price of Camping Has Changed

Since the pandemic, RVing and camping has become increasingly popular. As with everything, pricing comes down to supply and demand. With the increase in demand for camping, the cost of camping went up.

Jeremy explains how many new and existing private campgrounds have raised their prices over the years, so they wrote this book to inform campers that there are still budget friendly choices out there.

Types of Campgrounds

When it comes to camping, there are two broad categories: Public and Private. Public campgrounds feature anything from national forests, state and national parks, and basically any dedicated public camping site. These sites often lack amenities, utilities, and hook ups, but they tend to be in the more beautiful locations. Public camping sites are more budget friendly.

Private campgrounds are smaller and either owned by large corporations or mom and pop. They tend to have more amenities such as pools, playgrounds, and dog parks, and RV sites usually have hook ups. Because of all these extras, this type of camping comes with a higher price tag.

Memberships

We also chatted about the different types of camping memberships that a variety of campgrounds offer. Most privately owned campgrounds have a $20-40 reward system where you can pay an annual fee to receive discounted stays. We also discussed some of the more expensive memberships, that can cost thousands of dollars, but can be worth it if someone is camping full time.

Renting

Sticking with the budgeting theme, renting your RV and gear can save you some money as well. Renting an RV isn’t cheap, but if you aren’t completely sure what you want, or if you don’t plan on doing a ton of camping, starting with a rental could be a good choice.

We also briefly touched on the idea of renting camping gear. This hasn’t become popular quite yet, but it is something worth looking into before you buy a ton of stuff you only use once.

Camping Mistakes

We went over a few mistakes that new campers make. For one, most people overpay on their first RV. We went into a lot more detail with this during Part 1.

We also talked not making your first trip be too far away. It’s always best to do some sort of local “shakedown trip” after you first buy or at the start of the season to make sure everything is working well.

Lastly, planning last-second trips to iconic locations can be a mistake. These places get booked up far in advance. If you are planning on hitting a popular destination within the next year, you should check out the availability window and be ready whenever it opens.

3, 2, 1 Countdown

3 Favorite Camping Activities:

·        Cooking

·        Hiking

·        Surfing/kayaking

2 Camping Complaints:

·        Sites are too small

·        Camper lights

1 Favorite Campground

·        Fort Wilderness, Disneyworld

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        02:15 How Has the Camping Price Landscape Changed Over the Years?

·        05:30 How Can People Control Their Costs?

·        07:30 Campground Categories

·        10:00 Camping Memberships

·        16:30 Renting Camping Equipment

·        18:00 Budget Friendly Camping Gear

·        19:15 How Far in Advance Should Someone Book a Campsite?

·        19:45 Common Mistakes First Time Campers Make

·        22:00 Other Camping Books

·        28:00 Delicioats

·        28:45 3,2,1 Countdown

 

The RV Atlas Online

·        Website: https://thervatlas.com/

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thervatlas/

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rvfamilytravelatlas

·        TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thervatlas

 

Get The Book

·        Where Should We Camp Next? Budget Camping: https://amzn.to/3Qu0eQf

 

More Camping Books by The RV Atlas

·        RV Vacations: https://amzn.to/3Q6cTs8

·        See You at the Campground: https://amzn.to/49Foo0E

·        Where Should We Camp Next? 50 State Guide: https://amzn.to/4cYagCB

·        Where Should We Camp Next? National Parks: https://amzn.to/3xONm0f

 

Camping Rewards

·        Jellystone: https://www.delawarejellystone.com/special-offers/camping-deals/

·        KOA: https://koa.com/rewards/

·        Spacious Skys: https://spaciousskiescampgrounds.com/spacious-skies-loyalty-program/

·        Thousand Trails: https://thousandtrails.com/membership-info

 

Camper Renting

·        Cruise America: https://www.cruiseamerica.com/

·        Road Bear: https://www.roadbearrv.com/en

·        El Monte RV: https://www.elmonterv.com/

·        Outdoorsy: https://www.outdoorsy.com/

·        RVshare: https://rvshare.com/

 

Budget Camping Gear

·        LL Bean: https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/915?page=camping-and-hiking-gear&bc=29&csp=f&nav=gnro-29

·        Cabela’s: https://www.cabelas.com/c/camping

·        Lodge Cast Iron: https://www.lodgecastiron.com/

·        Blackstone: https://blackstoneproducts.com/

·        Weber Q: https://amzn.to/4cXXWSX

 

Future Camping Books

·        Where Should We Camp Next? Journal

·        Where Should We Camp Next? Children’s Journal

·        Children’s Book on Camping

·        Children’s Book on Hiking

 

Camping Locations Mentioned

·        Cape Hatteras: https://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm

·        North Bend Park, Virginia: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233563

·        Woodford State Park, Vermont: https://vtstateparks.com/woodford.html

·        Assateague Island Campground: https://www.nps.gov/asis/planyourvisit/marylandcamping.htm

·        Lower Pines, Yosemite: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232450

·        Fort Wilderness: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/campsites-at-fort-wilderness-resort/

·        West Glacier KOA: https://koa.com/campgrounds/west-glacier/

·        Delaware State Parks: https://destateparks.com/Camping

 

Previous Episodes Mentioned

·        Laura and Jason: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-with-kids/

 

Delicioats

·        https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

 

Music

• Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ready-as-ever License code: WYQ2IKRBMVFP3EJS

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

www.atravelpath.com

🌲The Perfect New England Retreat Looking for a storybook New England getaway? After tuning into this podcast, you’ll find one. In today’s show, I sat down with Jeff Czaja who has been venturing to the Franconia Inn his entire life. During the show he provides his insight on: 

📃 things to do in the area

🍽️places to eat

🥾his favorite hiking trails

🫎and moose tours

After the interview, you’ll see why he keeps wanting to go back!

Franconia Inn: Franconia Inn - Home

All trails flume trail: Mt. Liberty and Mt. Flume via Liberty Springs, and Franconia Ridge Trail, New Hampshire - 413 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

Echo Lake NH State Parks - Franconia Notch State Park - Echo Lake Beach

Restaurants

Common Man Lincoln | The Common Man Family in New Hampshire (thecman.com)

Gordi's Fish and Steak (gordisfishandsteak.com)

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript:

all right everyone welcome back to the travel path podcast I'm Tyler Hespeler I have Jeff Czaja with me if you missed his first episode part one he talked about his incredible story where he quit his job he didn't like because he just wanted to get out and travel he works full-time as a trucker um anybody who's who wants to travel is not sure exactly how to do it doesn't want to work remotely or not sure how to save up for a long vacation definitely tune in it's something I didn't really think too much of but I learned a ton listening to it so definitely take a listen um part two is called travel tips this is a segment where we have the guests come back and talk about one destination they know best so Jeff what's the destination today Franconia New Hampshire Fran it's a beautiful area it's a good getaway it's for everybody involved like your you know you could take anyone they have Cottages I we go to the Franconia Inn and uh it's a beautiful place sell service is a little lacking up in that area but we like that we put our phones away and just enjoy life great things to see and do up there canot say I've been there yet how much time have you spent there uh actually we go just about every year my family actually we have uh even my parents back in the day started going there and they're the ones that actually opened our eyes to it but now as adults even my sister and I we take our families we've been going for a long time uh probably every year somebody from my family has been there for at least 20 years or so I would say now it's just one of those locations that you just find a lot of Peace relaxation and and rest which we all need sure and having the no service definitely helps out with that sometimes you need to your phone it does there are some areas CU they have Lincoln nearby uh that's a t bigger town in that near Woodstock the Woodstock area or where geographically whereabouts is further north and it's up near Lincoln is the biggest town I think that they have up there I imagine it's a big ski town in the winter time oh they have skiing but it's also big in the summer for hiking you cuz they do have big mountains you know like the White Mountains but yeah skiing gondolas they have all kinds of stuff you can do kayaking they even have gliders that you can rent is that when you just jump off the mountain with a like hang no no no it's actually a plane but it just floats I I don't know it has no motor like you throw it like no no you get in it and you I think they call them gliders I'm pretty sure they call them GL probably yeah yeah and uh you just like float until you land I do believe they take somebody you got to go with somebody I'm not saying you go by yourself but uh yeah they have those right outside of the Franconia Inn right out in the front in the field there sounds like you sign a waiver for that I mean yeah you know a lot of areas though even when you do the hiking they have the Lost River up there and the uh The Flume if you're a nature lover you'll see a lot of animals they even have moose uh you know bus trips that go to look for moose that's the one thing we didn't see in our road trip we saw Al plenty of elk black bear we never saw a moose what else for wildlife have you seen black bear up there and bald eagle and black yeah tons of birds they have all kind Lon bald eagles they have a nice Lake the Echo Lake so you know you can do fishing I think there you can definitely take out kayaks take out P paddle boats and that's a nice um for scenery again if you're a nature lover it's you know or you're one of those people that just needs to get away from it all I'm telling you this is the place for you because I I I hate to sound like a commercial right now do they have a good mix of like day hikes shorter hikes as well as backpacking and overnight hikes yeah yeah I know New Hampshire's pretty famous for the backpacking scene oh yeah I know yeah they got they got they got them all like they even have Caverns that you can walk through at at the Lost River I mean even crawl they it's a great place to bring kids they say you know because the kids like to go in and you know hunt around and stuff because a lot of the parents they get their back start breaking and stuff when they try to get into some of these places that they call a cavern they have good food up there what are some of your favorite Trails hiking trails I like The Flume it's called the the great Flume I think it's called but that one always gets me because it's a nice it's a big loop I think it's a five mile Loop and uh you can cut it short if you wish to they even have I think a some sort of transportation that can catch you if you're you know halfway up and you don't think you can make it back if you need to cut it short and walk back down cut it short walk you know I think it's interesting that you know we're there's like all these hikers on these trails and and you always there's like this one roadway and you always see these people get brought down and I'm like come on you know like you got you're out here for a reason aren't you like some people underestimate it yeah no they did they don't they don't understand their own ability I guess that's my favorite place to go when I'm up there is I do like that Flume and the Echo Lake is nice too cuz you get out on those p boats or even the uh kayaks it's just nice to be with your lady or family even in the summertime hiking Wildlife fall time obviously foliage hiking as well in the springtime and then the winter time you've got big ski town what time of year do you typically go we like I like to go on the summer with my girl yeah cuz we're hikers we we like to hike we we just like getting out and and just walking and uh you know breathing the fresh air in the winter we we've gone they got sleigh rides and stuff if there's snow I don't know if we're ever going to get snow again though that was fun fun you know they they do dress it up and make it nice for winter and there are things you can do decorations kids yeah downhill yeah they got decorations they got the downhill skiing cross country skiing that you can do but again snow has been it's been a little rough lately yeah we went every Year's Hit or Miss we went to New Hampshire a while ago to Mount Washington I think that's New Hampshire and we uh we went to go rent snowmobiles and there wasn't any snow yet there was a Christmas Christmas Day we went a couple years after that and there was a ton of snow so it it's always it's always back and forth I just remember every Christmas was a white Christmas though you know like I said I've lived in Connecticut my whole life and I just think it's funny that sometimes you yeah you don't even have to snow by Christmas yeah if somebody wants to come visit Franconia how much time would you recommend they spend there to get the full experience we'll go for 3 Days sometimes sometimes we'll stay for like a week or two it all depends you know how much hiking you want to do how much you want to see even going on Echo Lake and such I do like that it's not a it doesn't have to be a week thing it could be a long weekend or even sometimes we like to go between like Monday and Wednesday in terms of of where you actually stay are you in a camper Hotel Airbnb oh no it's a it's an inn it's an in so they have separate rooms they even have a restaurant that if you want to have your breakfast and dinners there you can put that into your whole total as far as the stay at franconian we usually actually like to go visit some of the restaurants around town usually we'll get like the breakfast plan because we we eat breakfast there but then we hit the road and we'll do dinner somewhere else wherever we head any favorite breakfast lunch dinner dessert spots you want to give away well we love Gordies for romance and then uh the Common Man the common man is the one where if you it's if you're bringing a family that's where you want to go because it is loud in the Common Man the common man is a very loud Place lots of activity and action going on good food though for a relatively cheap price Gordies is more of your uh if you want to have a romantic evening with your lady and you want to spend a little more awesome breakfast Hotel lunch Common Man dinner Gordies any dessert spots well desserts actually they they actually have a lot of places like bakeries up there so they actually do have some nice little like Mom and Pop joints uh I can't name one in particular because we actually like stopping at a lot of them they have like fudges and you know they they give out some stuff that are it's all homemade but yeah they got some good desserts I mean we usually take an apple pie home or something you know nice so no shortage of good food cool I know you mentioned it's kid-friendly they have you know like The Flume you had mentioned and then there's Christmas time decorations they have things to do slay rides and Y do you see a lot of pets as a dog friendly area that I I honestly can't say I've ever seen a pet yeah yeah I don't think they they allow pets they do have new ownership though that just happened in the last year or so so I'm not sure if they changed that but it's weird though because they have a horse stable right outside the end so you can go hor so I I don't know why you wouldn't be able to bring a pet they also have um so you can stay in the Inn which has rooms and then a restaurant they got a fireplace you can sit and read there's a game room for the kids which is nice and it's a small smaller place there's not like hundreds of visitors at the same time it's more like I think they have maybe 20 to 30 rooms I want to say it's a big yeah yeah and they're um you know each room is actually a different price basically based on what you want out of the room you know they have one with a jacuzzi each room is a little different which I we like that too we try every room every time we go and stuff tennis courts are over there though if you want to do some tennis they have a nice little sitting room for people who like to read books in front of the fireplace type stuff uh they do have a nice porch where you can sit and it is small if you do try to make reservations you're going to want to call ahead though because in the summer especially uh from July to August it it gets packed like you got to call ahead to even try to get in that place at least in the old days now they do have new ownership we're still kind of feeling our way around this new or they actually try to get people up there in the winter which is why they've tried things like the sleigh rides and such is it like a log cabin feel is it it used to be like a big farm or was it always an inn I don't know what it used to be in the old days but it's not a log cabin I mean it's a nice it's an older looking place it looks like a big house that was on a lot of land so it could have been a Farmland I'm guessing they have walkways right outside on the property they have a INR pool and such you know you can go hiking right on the property and such um and that's where their horse trails are too are those trails that you mentioned previously is that all on the francone in property The Flume and the lake no no no see that's that's that's why we love it though again we're hikers my my lady and I we we love hiking yeah if you want to stay right there have your breakfast and just relax by a pool during the day and go for a hike you can they don't necessarily name those Trails they do their horse back riding right there too like I said my parents still going they're in their 70s I think it's a good place for all ages really sure are there campgrounds nearby I'd imagine there are there must be I mean I can't say I look for them but I'm sure there are because there's a lot of Wide Open Spaces up there you know and and like you know going back to your question yeah The Flume they have named trails nearby that aren't on their property per se so The Flume the Lost River great place to go Echo Lake you got to make a little drive but it's not like you're not driving forever you might have answered this question already but three things to do in or around the Franconia Inn well The Flume is is a the number one I think for everybody I think everybody should do the F they should try to make the entire hike too they have ventes all the way throughout the whole thing cuz people do have to sit down cuz it's it's a lot of uphill you know it's a lot of uphill but it is nice they have a where wolves used to den SE any wolves up there not yet than God I don't I don't ever want to run into a wolf myself but uh yeah I'm good with that moose moose is enough for me we we ran into one of those on the street driving one night and uh yeah how far away I guess thought we were going to get lifted up by the guy's horns and tossed on the side of the road when they get in the Rut season that that's uh they don't mess around yeah that's fall I think yeah I've not seen one I've seen elk and I know they're bigger than elk big they are 9 ft tall some of them it's like holy moly yeah if you don't want to CH seeing them by yourselves trying to find them yourself which you can do they do have the tours that will put out the meat we think three or 4 hours ahead of time and then you know you will see but yeah we've done those too we did we did we have actually paid and and take take the easy route cuz you see cuz every time they stop amazingly enough that there's one sitting there you know which is why we know it's a little bit of a setup but at least you get to same moose you know CU they are rare sighting right it's not like you're guaranteed to see one if you spend a weekend or anything right like my family has been up there for you know like I said every year for a long time now I would say we've seen on our own maybe six it's not like we run into them every year but they are up there you know so two things that they're not necessarily complaints about Franconia in but they're two things that somebody might not consider that you might want to prepare them for oh definitely the phone reception yep you're you're you're not going to unless they put in a new tower some up there you're not gonna get good phone reception up there I mean you can make phone calls I don't don't feel like you're going to be out in the middle of nowhere but you will have to like find like their Town services and stuff do they have Wi-Fi in the whole in or local coffee shops that have Wi-Fi yeah they do have Wi-Fi in the areas that you can uh connect to um I don't know if they have any in though I don't know if that I've been to ins before in the north and they say they have Wi-Fi and sometimes it's not the best Wi-Fi yeah make sure you have all your conversations that our business you know taken care of before you go on your vacation that's all I'm going to say on this trip you know you want to have plenty of changes of clothes the walks you sweat then you got the uh you never know what you're going to run into as far as you know sap or I mean there's all even when you get on the horses you know like you want to have plenty plenty of clothing uh on the trip uh Echo Lake too you know you want to be prepared take you learned that the hard way didn't have enough clothes the first time and well yeah cuz like everything you do is like you know you want to change God I'm one of those people you know are there laundry facilities there no no I don't really have laundry I think they have a laundr mat but it's in town like you got to drive down the road but you know that's about that I think that's about it though awesome man other than that the reception is the worst thing I would say yeah I can't say too many negatives about the place you know other than the reception sure that's what you want to prepare for but at the same time you're not going there to work so it's it's it's a curse and a blessing that's why we love it yeah you really are trying to get away from it and just be at peace and with nature type thing you know I know some people aren't into that but that that's what we like last question what is the one thing you cannot leave the frankone in without doing there's so much to do and I really feel like that's part of the whole experience why we keep getting drag like we keep wanting to go so there isn't really one thing that brings us back to that place it's like everything and we like doing it over and over and over again it's hard it's hard to really pinpoint one thing well that is a good enough answer for me that sounds like an awesome place of Franconia in in New Hampshire not been to it haven't heard of it hope you guys learned a ton listen to this episode I'm looking forward to making it part of our agenda hopefully next year we'll get up there and check it out and um yeah anything else you want to add to it uh no Tyler I I do thank you for this experience though I always like trying new things this is my first podcast I'm sure everybody watching realizes that it was a good talk awesome man hey did a great job thanks for sharing the Franconia in and you guys if you haven't tuned into the first episode where he started his journey he left his job he didn't like started Trucking so we could travel and explore definitely check it out Jeff thanks again for coming on thanks for Tyler it was good being here

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https://delicioats.com?sca_ref=2606128.heLxZNHtFuUse Code “PATH”

Welcome back Pathfinders! Today we have a great episode in store with Joe and Kalyn from Open Roading.

Going Full Time

Open Roading originally only planned on traveling for a year, but they soon fell in love with the lifestyle. Learn about how they were able to continue traveling and some of the obstacles they had to overcome that almost sent them back home.

Workamping

From python catching to gate guarding to a beet harvest, we discuss a ton of information about getting into workamping. We discuss the requirements to get into this industry as well as websites you can use to find jobs. And of course, I couldn’t change the subject without asking them their favorite and least favorite workamping jobs!

Budgeting

If you are familiar with their Instagram or YouTube, you’ll know that Open Roading are very detailed and open about their budget. We break down what a typical month looks like for them, and talk about some of the things they are spending most of their money on, like health insurance, fuel, and internet. Open Roading also shares their favorite budgeting app to make budgeting easier for them.

The biggest takeaway I found here was that they meet with each other once a week to go over their budget. Most people will sit down on a monthly basis to go over this. You could almost hear the glass shatter as I came to the realization that if you only sit down once a month and are setting a monthly budget, it really doesn’t do you any good…

Routines

We talk about the importance of having routines while traveling. Although it can be difficult because they are never in the same place for long, Open Roading provides us with some insight on some things you can do stay consistent. For example, you can always wake up early, schedule a meeting, and exercise or take the dog for a walk (weather permitting!)

YouTube

Open Roading has made three attempts with YouTube after getting burned out and pumping the brakes a few times. In their latest effort, they have been met with some pretty big success. We discuss what they have done differently this time around as well as some of the reasons they believe their channel didn’t take off at first.

 

And much more!

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        04:30 What is Work Camping?

·        08:00 Gate Guarding

·        09:15 Work Camping Requirements

·        13:00 Favorite/Least Favorite Work Camping Jobs

·        16:00 Balancing Work Camping with Exploring

·        17:15 Biggest Challenges to Start Traveling

·        18:45 How Did You Know When You Were Ready to Hit the Road?

·        20:30 What Adjustments Did You Make to Continue Traveling?

·        23:30 Delicioats “PATH”

·        24:30 What Are Your Biggest Travel Frustrations?

·        26:15 What Are Your Most Helpful Travel Routines?

·        27:30 What Do You Love Most About Your Travel Lifestyle?

·        29:45 How Long Do You Plan on Continuing Full Time Travel For?

·        30:45 Budgeting

·        35:00 What Are Your Favorite Money Saving Travel Hacks?

·        39:30 What Is It Like Traveling with a Bunny & Dog?

·        42:00 What Has Been Your Coolest Travel Experience?

·        45:15 What Can You & Can’t You Live Without?

·        48:15 What Tools Should Every RV Owner Have?

·        49:15 How Have You Been Successful Your 3^rd Time Around with YouTube?

·        53:00 How to Start Planning

·        54:45 Influential YouTube Channels

 

Open Roading on Social

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenRoading

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openroading

 

Videos From Open Roading

·        5 Years of RV Life Cost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVHSnw-1jI4

·        Solar Setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5De9SPEddfc

·        Clouds Rest Hike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX0dv05Z6yA&t=683s

·        Gypsum Cave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ajkUK1Iarg&t=135s

·        How Much We Make on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5h49_LH4Ag

 

Work Camping

·        Kamper News: https://www.workamper.com/

·        Workamping Jobs with Wages: https://www.facebook.com/groups/workampingjobswithwages/

·        Workampers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weloveworkamping/

·        The UNBEETABLE Experience: https://www.theunbeetableexperience.com/

·        Mackinac Mill Creek Campground: https://www.campmackinaw.com/

 

Budgeting

·        You Need a Budget: https://kalynbrooke.com/refer/YNAB

 

Camping/Boondocking

·        Harvest Host: https://www.harvesthosts.com/

·        Boondockers Welcome: https://www.boondockerswelcome.com/

 

Internet

·        Starlink Roam Plan: https://www.starlink.com/roam

 

Favorite Experiences

·        The Presidential Chain Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-hampshire/presidential-traverse-trail

·        Channel Islands National Park: https://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm

 

What Can’t You Live Without?

·        Portable Waste Tank

·        Solar Panels

 

What Have You Learned You Don’t Need?

·        Extra Clothes

 

YouTube Channels

·        Less Junk More Journey: https://www.youtube.com/@LessJunkMoreJourney

·        Kara and Nate: https://www.youtube.com/@KaraandNate

·        Flying the Nest: https://www.youtube.com/@flyingthenest

 

Books

·        Alyssa Padgett RVing Across America: https://amzn.to/43bcV7B

·        (Commissions may be earned through purchases on this page)

 

Music

·        Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript

Host: Joe and Kalyn, welcome to a travel path podcast.

 

Guest: Thanks so much for having us on. Yes, it's so exciting to be here with you.

 

Host: Yeah, we're looking forward to getting to know you guys. Um, so we know you guys on Instagram as Open Roading. You guys turned a year-long road trip into just about five years full-time in your fifth wheel. You post content on your YouTube channel, everything from RV how-tos to work camping, and very detailed budgeting videos, which I'll tell our audience right now to make sure they pay close attention to once that part comes. Um, but no pressure on you guys. Um, and I know you're very hard to miss driving down the road with your fifth wheel and your setup with your motorcycle attached to the front of your truck, so clearly, anything is possible. Um, but yeah, why don't we start by having you share a little about yourselves and letting your audience know what your current travel lifestyle looks like.

 

Guest: Sure. So, we both grew up in Upstate New York. That's where we met, and then we ended up transitioning down to Florida, just love the Sunshine State, and that's when we started thinking about a potential travel lifestyle. She says "we," she means her; I was the one that started the conversation, like, "Hey, wouldn't this be cool?" And Joseph was still working at the time, so he was in the news industry as a videographer. And um, eventually, I was, you know, working on my online business. I had a blog that I was writing on different articles and starting to earn some money with that, and it got to the point where it was a full-time income, and Joseph could come home and work on it with me. And that was kind of the catalyst for like, okay, like, can I convince you now that we can get an RV? We don't, you know, have jobs that are tied outside our house. We can work from anywhere with a good cell phone connection. And so in 2019, that's when we started off.

Yeah, and it was a whirlwind for that first year. We were traveling like every five days, and because we didn't have much black tank capacity, basically, we always had to dump and fill, so it was like every five days, why not move somewhere else? And we were trying to do the YouTube content all at the same time, and we really got burnt out over that first year. And then we tried again with YouTube a little while later, got burnt out again.

So, our travel style now is a lot different than it used to be. Like now, we are trying to settle into a travel style where we only move every about two weeks, maybe 10 days if there's a reason. But two weeks is kind of what we're trying to get into, where we can kind of settle into a place, still do our work, you know, do a 30, 40-hour-a-week job from the RV, and then continue on.

 

Host: Very cool. I'm not sure if you noticed there was a thumbs-down sign that got sent. I don't know if that was you or me, but that we were not giving you a thumbs down. I don't know where that came from, but that was weird.

 

Guest: We have somebody watching, so weird.

 

Host: Yeah, well, great. So, every two weeks or so, that's the path we want to take on this next trip. Is it... it would be a lot more relaxing going at that pace as opposed to getting up and going every... I mean, we were going every like two days when we were traveling. But our next approach will be closer to a week, maybe two weeks if we're lucky. Um, but you guys do a lot of work camping. What is that? Or maybe not so much anymore 'cause you guys are done with that now. We'll get into that later on, but what is work camping?

 

Guest: We didn't actually start out work camping. We actually... because we were self-funded by my online business, and then Covid hit and the economy tanked, and we realized that our funding was not working and not as much anymore. And so that's where we started to look at how can we stay on the road as much as possible and also earn money with it. So, work camping is basically you work for someone else, like a campground, a state park, or even agricultural work with the beet harvest. And they are providing a place for you to stay for free, sometimes more. Resorts offer a discounted site. They don't exactly provide free housing. And then some jobs, you'll also get an hourly wage on top of the free housing. So, it's a really neat way to be able to still travel around the country, but yet you have these seasonal jobs and commitments throughout the year.

 

Host: And how are you finding these jobs?

 

Guest: Oh, this is all you. Yeah, there's a few different websites that I really, really like. So, one is Camper News, which is with a K, camper with a K, and sign up for their newsletter because they send out once-a-week emails organized by state, what kind of jobs are out there. And there is anything from, "We need help in the camp store for a campground in northern Michigan," to "Python control in the Everglades." So, you get a wide variety of opportunities through that. So, that's probably my favorite. And then, I would recommend two work camping Facebook groups, which is Work Camping Jobs with Wages and Work Campers. Both of those, people that are like management and owners of campgrounds or even farms that are wanting ranch hands, they are posting in there, like, "Hey, we'd love a camper to come for the summer or the winter season to work with us." And I think most of those, you can correct me if I'm wrong, are like resorts, campgrounds, ranch hands, stuff like that. Gate guarding isn't so much in that. You'd have to look specifically. We've been doing some gate guarding for the past three months. You kind of have to look for the gate guarding Facebook groups for those. And then the beet harvest is kind of its own animal. They have... it's a... if you just search the unbeetable experience M, um, that's a one-month-long work camping gig in several different locations across the northern US for sugar beet harvest. But look specifically for either of those, and you'll find those as well.

 

Host: And are you able to negotiate at all, or is there so much demand for it that on the work side, that you kind of... you're stuck with what they're giving you?

 

Guest: We never negotiated. We did with one, and we didn't get the job. So either we're really bad at negotiating, or... But I do think there is room, specifically in maybe the gate guarding, but it depends on demand at the time. So, in the summertime for gate guarding, we've been told it pays more because nobody wants to be down in Texas in the middle of the summer. But in the wintertime, there's a lot of people down there who are looking for jobs, and so actually, the pay goes down. And you can easily have a job if you're not taking what they offer, but you can still be picky about the jobs that you take. Like, you don't work for a specific company and have to go to each rig. It's they'll call you and say, "Hey, we have this gate available for you. Would you like it?" And you can say yes or no based on your criteria.

And if people aren't familiar with what gate guarding is... Basically, it depends on the job that you have, but it's usually for the energy industry, the electric companies, or oil patch drilling sites. And you're basically just like checking people in and out, making sure that only the right people are there to work and keep the people out that are not supposed to be there. And our recent gate guarding job that we just finished was actually just security for an electric company, just watching their equipment, so we didn't have to check anyone in and out for that one.

 

Host: Very cool to get started with work camping. Are there any general requirements or certifications you need just to get started, or does that all depend on the job category?

 

Guest: It really depends on the job category, but I think the number one thing is a self-contained RV, one that has its own water tanks and waste tanks. We saw many, many work camping jobs that were just like "no tents," a lot of times no vans, no truck campers, unless maybe you could prove that it was completely self-contained. So, I would say that's the big one. Other than that, you just kind of look at each individual job.

Yeah, and for gate guarding specifically, you actually do need a Level II security course for Texas at least.nYeah, for Texas, you need to take that, you need to take a drug test and screening. There's a security application so there's a little bit more involved with that one.

 

Host: Okay, and then for the python control, you just can't be afraid of snakes, right?

 

Guest: Yeah, um, crazy.

 

Host: So, it sounds like... I was going to ask, does the work camping dictate where you travel, or the other way around? But it sounds like you're finding out where these jobs are and then you're heading in that direction.

 

Guest: Yeah, that's what we try to do, I guess. At least like, what area do we want to explore and be in and would be satisfied to be stationary for six months.

 

Host: Is that the typical time frame, six months?

 

Guest: It depends a lot on what the job is, like if it's a seasonal campground, they're going to want you for the entire season. So, like, your Florida campgrounds are going to want you for the entire winter and up in Michigan, they wanted you from April through September or October. So, we specifically wanted to go to Michigan because we wanted to spend the summer near Mackinac Island and then that was close to the Beet Harvest. So, we just kind of did our planning ahead. We're like, well, we know we can get a job at the Beet Harvest because we did that the year before. So, we went from there to North Dakota and then for our goal that you talked about earlier, like, we were like, well, to make the most money to save would be gate guarding so we knew we'd need to head to different locations. Like, the agricultural jobs like with the Beet Harvest, that all depends on the harvest, the length of time, like how good is the weather for you to be able to go harvest. So, it typically takes two to three weeks for the Beet Harvest. There's more volunteer positions with state parks and national park services that usually require like a one to two month commitment at a time. And then the gate guarding, I mean they ask for a 30-day commitment and our first job was done after 12 days and then the next job lasted like 83 days so that's more of a wide range there. So, you just never know.

 

Host: I feel like we're talking a lot about work camping, but I'm interested in it. It sounds... I hadn't really heard much about it. So, about six months roughly? I mean, it depends a lot on what the job is, but how soon before you start working are you looking and applying for those jobs?

 

Guest: That's a good question. A lot of it depends on the season, to be honest. If you're applying for a winter job in Florida, Texas, Arizona at one of the resorts, not so much the gate guarding, but those resort-style RV park jobs generally a year in advance, you want to start looking. It doesn't mean you might not be able to get one a couple weeks before, you know, because somebody didn't come or somebody had committed and just backed out. But about a year before for those, for the summer jobs, a month before, there you'll still see places hiring, again, depending on the location. If it's a very in-demand location, they're going to have their stuff down right earlier, but cool, good enough.

 

Host: What have been your favorite and least favorite jobs?

 

Guest: That's a really tough one. So, I did the majority of the work camping because I was trying to bring in a second income while Kalyn was working on turning her business around. It's tough because my favorite job was the one at the campground in Michigan, but that one also was just something that it was like meeting our monthly expenses, you know, it was just kind of there to help supplement. It wasn't helping us put money aside for our future goals. So, when we finished the work camping job in Michigan, we kind of felt like we were still at the same place we were when we started that job, as opposed to like making progress financially. So, I really got to work with people, got to have front-facing customer service type stuff which I really enjoy. So, it was my favorite, but if I'm trying to save money for something then I would go with the gate guarding just because it's the easiest way, you're not having any expenditures really, you're just sitting there and making money, almost printing money in our second gate guarding job. But the first gate guarding job, I think, was our least favorite.

I actually worked that one because it was a 24/7. So, we're there at the rig, we cannot leave together, we, it's like a constant, no time off. He's either sleeping or working, I'm either sleeping or working, and it just, even though it only lasted 12 days, was so exhausting. And it wasn't a busy gate. There are oil rigs we were checking in between 40 and 60 cars a day. There are rigs called fracking rigs where they have like over 100 cars or 150 cars coming in and out a day that you're checking in and out. So, we had an easy gate and we were exhausted after 12 days.

 

Host: Yeah, no, it sounds like it's a great opportunity, like you said, you were working full time, Kalyn, and then once your online business slowed down a little bit, you picked up this gig and it sounds like it's great for someone either starting out without that income or in your situation, you had to make that adjustment. And even if you have, it's even better if you have somebody who is working full time and then you have someone else like a spouse or a partner who is doing the work camping and you're getting a free site so your housing is basically free and you have that other source of income.

 

Guest: I did want to chime in there, are probably the majority of work camping positions look for couples. It doesn't mean the singles aren't out there because we're a prime example of that, like almost all our positions were singles, but Beat Harvest prefers couples over singles. A lot of the campgrounds prefer couples just because it's an RV site that they're providing and they want to have two people working from it. But don't let that deter you if you're a hardworking individual from applying anyway and saying, "Hey, I'm a super hardworking individual. I'm willing to work X number of hours a week and you can find a job."

 

Host: Were you able to have a good balance of kind of work and play when you're doing that? Like, in other words, would you work at this place for however long you were assigned that location then would you take some time off in between and explore? Or how did you balance your work and your travel lifestyle?

 

Guest: Yeah, that's what we did with the work camping. I felt like with the Michigan campground, it was a very nice balance of working and then being able to explore the area. When it came to like Beet Harvest and gate guarding, it was more you're just exploring in between driving to and from actual job locations. So, like when Beet Harvest was in North Dakota and the gate guarding, which was the next job was in Texas, so we kind of stopped on a couple places on the way down and then it was heads-down work again until gate guarding was done.

 

Host: You touched on it a little bit and I do want to dial this back to where this thing started because point of this podcast is we're helping people who want to reach their travel goals. They haven't quite gotten there yet, but they're listening to this because they want to get to traveling and reach their travel goals. So, you were starting out, you had this dream to go traveling, you were working on your blog, and you were, you ultimately had a full-time income that could support your travel lifestyle. So that's how you were funding your travels, yes. But what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in getting on the road?

 

Guest: This is kind of an interesting one. I feel like it was telling people that we were changing our lifestyle. It's a big hurdle to be able to go to people that you had commitments to and be like, "You know, we're selling our house, we're leaving the area, we're going to be traveling full time." And then it's even a little bit tougher too when you say, "We're doing it for like a year and then we'll see what happens." And now we're almost, you know, five years in and we're still not done. So, it's definitely having that conversation with people because they don't always understand like why can't you just do one to two vacations a year like normal people, you know, and have a house, an actual house. So that was probably the most challenging part. And then I would say on the road, staying on the road, something that I wish we had known before going on is that especially when you work for yourself, your income can really ebb and flow. And have a game plan, have multiple streams of income, you know, if you're getting on the road because you've spent years building a savings for a specific number of months, what are you going to do after that to fund? Just kind of like having a future game plan in mind of how you're going to be able to maintain staying on the road. It's like getting on the road is one thing but then being able to stay traveling is another.

 

Host: How did you know you were ready? Was it just a matter of how much you were making with your business? Did you have a number in mind and you said, "We're ready"? Or how did you know when it was time to hit the road?

 

Guest: I think when the right RV popped up. Yeah, we had a list of things that needed to happen, and one by one, they just started happening. We had a property in New York that we didn't think would sell because of the economy in New York, and it had been on the market for a long time, and it sold. Then we had an RV. We wanted to get an RV, but we had a specific list of, like, it needs to be this, it needs to be in our price range, which was not super high, and it popped up. The couple that was selling it was like, we told them we can't buy it until we sell our house, and they're like, "Oh, yeah, no problem." You know, and they actually sent us the deed in Florida before we even paid them a dime, so that we could get it registered. And it was just a super awesome couple, and like, everything just started falling into place. I'm like, "Oh, now's the time." And it solidifies that you're making the right decision, too.

 

Host: Sure. And once that house sells, you don't have much of a choice.

 

Guest: Yeah, now that doesn't mean we didn't have like nights of like tears or like, did we do the right thing, or freak out or anything like that. We totally went through all of that the first couple of months of travel, just like as we were getting used to everything.

 

Host: Well, I'm glad you say that because I've had those exact same thoughts, too, so it makes me feel better. Did you have to make any adjustments? So your original plan was to do a one-year-long road trip. You decided to extend it, obviously. Were there any adjustments you had to make to extend that and to keep going?

 

Guest: We had to, um, because we wanted to, like, Boondock more, I would say. We invested in... This is going to be like TMI, but, like, a portable black tank so that we could go longer because that was one of the things, like we had mentioned before, we were traveling, we thought this was going to only be one year, so that's where we're traveling every, like, four to five days. Um, and then we realized we wanted to slow down, we wanted this to be a lifestyle, and so we started buying things that would help us stay in places longer. Um, so things like that, yeah, the portable black tank, a macerator pump, a, uh, we have water storage that we have in the back of the RV, those are the only things that we really, we did buy a generator too, yeah, we bought a small generator, we have a, we have, we call it a minimal solar setup. It keeps us going, but it's not anywhere near what like some of these people have where the whole roof is covered in solar panels. Um, but the other transition I would say happened longer than a year, and that actually had to do with the work camping and everything, where we realized over the past year that if we want to keep doing this, we need to bring in another income stream. And so that has come down to, uh, YouTube and treating it as a full-time job to get that second income stream in so that we don't end up off the road because we literally did almost end up off the road uh, this last year.

 

Host: Yeah, yeah, keeps it exciting.

 

Guest: Oh, yeah. When, so when your back's against the wall like you try to do everything, yeah, now you got to find a way.

 

Host: You'd mentioned you like the water jugs. You, you, it seems like when we watch your videos, you have a couple of almost unique and original ideas. Like the one I'm thinking of is you have that it's almost like a 2x4 and a string of like 5-gallon water drums in the back of your truck for extra water. Do you think of that yourselves or where do you come up with these ideas?

 

Guest: That some people transport water with a like a 60-gallon water bladder. Some people transport water with a like a 60-gallon water bladder, to bring it from point A to point B. My problem with that is I can't, um, I can't functionally keep a 60-gallon water bladder full in the back of the pickup while on a travel day. Like, I want to have the RV full of water, and then I want to have extra storage. And so that's why we went with those, uh, with those, uh, six-gallon jugs in the back. And the 2x4 between it is literally when those jugs are empty and we haul the RV, they blow right out, like without the RV, they stay there fine. But when the RV is there, some wind suction comes in and just sucks them right out, uh, so the 2x4 is literally just to keep them from flying away.

 

Host: Did you learn that the hard way?

 

Guest: Yes, yes, on a, on a, like, 10-degree day. And so when The Jug hit the pavement, it shattered basically, yeah.

 

Host: Oh, man. Oh, it was full.

 

Guest: No. No, it was, it was empty, but it was, it was just so brittle. Brittle plastic and 60 miles an hour, just broken into a few pieces.

 

Host: Hey, guys, I wanted to take a quick break to tell you about Delicia oats. We've been enjoying Delicia oats for many years, and they have helped fuel us for those extra long hikes. They are flavored oats that come in a pouch and are very easy to set up. Just add water, give it a shake, and let it sit overnight and enjoy the next morning. Or you can add boiling water if you like them served hot. We've also added them to our morning smoothie, or I'll sprinkle some into my yogurt for some extra flavor and to help fill me up. You can make them in less than a minute, and there is no cleanup, which is huge for us on the road. Now, if you're like me, the first question you'll ask is how much added sugar is there? And here's a big one for me: no added sugar. They come in a variety of flavors. My personal favorite is Cherry Chocolate. Enjoy them for yourself by placing an order at Delicia oats.com and use the coupon code PATH at checkout. That's Delicia oats.com, D-L-I-C-I-O-A-T-S.com, and use the coupon code PATH.

 

Host: Well, on that note, we'll fast forward a little bit, talking about your past. We'll fast forward to kind of the future and leading up to where you are now. What have been some of the biggest frustrations you faced and currently face while traveling?

 

Guest: I would say our current struggle is balancing the work and the play side of things because, like, we've got sort of three types of days. We've got work days, we've got travel days, which will take a lot out of you, and then you have adventure days and exploring days. And so trying to make sure that, okay, we need to get in like five to six good work days that doesn't leave... that leaves room for maybe one travel day a week or, you know, one adventure day a week. Kind of have to choose, so it's not... I used to go into a location saying we have a list of like 10 to 12 things that we have to hit, and that's not enjoyable because we're so stressed trying to make time for it all. And now it's like I have a list of 10 to 12 things, but it's like we've prioritized them now, okay, these are the top three, and if we have time, we'll go to the next one on the list. And that's made a little bit easier. And this is somewhat Creator-focused but also being able to have an adventure day that isn't for YouTube. So getting to a location being like, okay, we want to put this in a YouTube video, this particular hike or whatever it is, but then we also want to go on a hike together where we don't have the stress of also trying to create content. That was something we failed on our first attempt to, maybe second attempt at YouTube, is we were just trying to film everything, which was just adding extra stress because we weren't actually having a day to ourselves.

 

Host: Yeah, I know, Kalyn, you have your business. It's you're helping women with planning, scheduling, and routines throughout their day, so clearly, I would assume like routines are your forte. Have you discovered any routines that have helped you specifically with travel?

 

Guest: Yeah, and we're also like implementing routines now that we're done gate guarding and work camping in general and we're on the same schedule because we were just on opposite shifts for so long. But the key to staying on the same page has been weekly meetings. As we plan our week, we go through okay, where are we traveling this week? What are our adventure days this week? What are our deadlines for work stuff this week? And making sure that we're on the same page, that everything's getting done. And then like a quick five-minute meeting in the morning. But I would say morning routines too have been really good for us. Just getting up at the same time, taking our dog Trinity for a walk or going running, and having breakfast, and then getting to work and just kind of having that stability because on the road, you don't have a lot of that all the time. You know, things are changing. We don't have a laundry day because it really depends when we can get to town, you know, to do laundry. So there's not those routines, but we try to establish structure, sure, where we can.

 

Host: So you put the routines in where you can control. You can't control where you are or what's around you, but you can control when you wake up, you can control those meetings wherever they are, um, and just that gives you more structure throughout your day. That's great. Um, what do you guys love most about your travel lifestyle?

 

Guest: I love the fact that we have a different backyard every couple of weeks. So we are very active people. When we're in our best element, we like going on hikes and exploring places. And when you're in the same place for years at a time, you run out of hiking trails, at least within a short distance. So the fact that we get to a new place, it's like, okay, now everything behind us is new, even just taking the dog for a walk. It's going to be a completely new area that we're exploring, even before going on a hike. And I think the other thing is just like getting to get a broader perspective on the country as a whole. And someday, maybe the world if we ever do any world travel. But just being able to see like, oh, this is where your food comes from, to sound super simple, like I grew up in the country so I was aware of some of that. But like you go to different states and see how different people live, and it just gives a broader perspective on how our country works and how people work and how people can work together.

 

Host: Same thing, Kalyn?

 

Guest: Yes. Sorry. Sorry. I was like, he's taking that question. If he wasn't going to mention the broader perspective, I was going to chime in with that one. But yeah, even things that we knew nothing about, like, su... Yeah, we had no idea there were sugar beets that people literally were eating sugar from sugar beets. So that's like a whole thing that you learn, the oil industry, you know, all the workers that come together and the things they do on the oil patch. So it's... It's... you really get to see like the American work ethic.

 

Host: Yeah, that, and I think going back to work camping, that's... that gives you those experiences at a deeper level. Like, yeah, you're in these areas, you can see things kind of from a distance, but when you're actually working those jobs, doing the gate guarding and doing the beet harvest, gives you even more of an appreciation for those things. That's great.

You had mentioned world travels in your future, so how long do you plan on continuing this travel lifestyle for?

 

Guest: It's unknown. It's unknown. As long as we are capable of, and Kalyn and, you know, things align, eventually, we'll probably transition into more like 80% travel and 20% at some sort of home base that we can come back to, especially if we start adding international trips, um, just to have a place where you have the same doctor's appointments and dentists and, and can come back and kind of recover before you go out again. So that's what we see happening in our future. I think no matter what it looks like, travel will always be a part of our lifestyle.

 

Host: Yeah, that's great. We'll transition, we'll switch to budgeting tips, and I'll just remind our audience you're going to want to bring your pen and paper for this section here because you guys post on your YouTube and your Instagram, you guys are very thorough. You have not only monthly expenses but you break it down what you're spending money on, you have how much you're making with YouTube with work camping, your whole Alaska budget. We'll dig into. So breaking it down, stripping it down to kind of a monthly or weekly budget, what does that look like?

 

Guest: Well, obviously, it's going to be different for everyone, but for us personally, for someone who tries to be really budget conscious, doesn't have like a truck payment or an RV payment, and also tries to do as many free activities as possible, we spend about $3,500 to $4,000 a month. And that includes everything. It includes health insurance, vehicle insurance. I think sometimes when people say, like, well, you know, this is what you can find that you'll typically spend in the RV lifestyle, they're not necessarily including everything that maybe $3,500 to $4,000 roughly.

 

Host: And keep in mind, everyone, that's without the RV, that's without the truck payment either.

 

Guest: Which we don't... we don't have any payments on those.

 

Host: Yes, that's outside of that. So if you were going to finance just... you want to factor that into was that budget a little bit tighter when you started out? Have you been able to loosen that up since you've... own your business?

 

Guest: It's actually a little bit tighter now because... I mean, everyone's feeling the effects of inflation and we recently did a... um... five years of RV life costs and at the beginning of RV life, we were spending probably around $350 for groceries, which was just food. And now we're struggling to come in under 500 a month for the two of us. So it's not like we've changed our practices, I think it's just that inflation coming through.

 

Host: Yeah, yeah. Do you have any budget apps or tools that have helped you track your expenses?

 

Guest: We highly, highly recommend You Need A Budget. Um, it is an annual fee, I think it's like last I paid was like $106. So it is a little pricey, but it takes... it connects all your credit cards and bank accounts, import the transactions automatically, very easy to reconcile and categorize things. And I think it's why we've been able to stay on top of all those numbers because we know exactly like where they're being attributed, um, so that would... I absolutely love that app and maybe they'll sponsor us in the future. We'd be totally game for that. I just love that you keep saying we track, we track this, we... I'm the one hiccup in the budgeting process. She does it. It takes her like 15 minutes every Friday to check in, do everything, and probably 10 of those 15 minutes are locating receipts that I've misplaced.

 

Host: Yeah, I don't miss the days of scanning receipts and to get the copy online, and yeah, that's just painful. So, I was going to ask, my next question was how much time, so you're spending about 15 minutes a week, so about an hour a month, sounds like you've come up with a system where doing it per week is more efficient than just holding everything for the end of the month.

 

Guest: Yeah, and because you can check, because you check in more often, you can pivot quicker, you know, if you see something like, "Oh, you know, our eating out spending is getting a little out of control," and we're halfway through the month, we know to rain it in and eat more at home. So, the more check-ins you can have, I think, I mean if you want a check-in daily, if you feel like that gives you peace of mind, do it daily, but we found like, I've found that Weekly a good Cadence.

 

Host: That is a good point yeah checking in once a week because if you set a weekly or a monthly budget of you know 300 bucks for going out to eat but you only touch touch base every month then it's kind of pointless so actually doing that per week and then yeah that's a good tip right there yeah awesome um what has been some of the best travel hacks you've come across that have helped you save money?

 

Guest: Boondocking one 1,00% boondocking we have so you can Boondock people Boondock with generators I don't recommend it but you can get a solar setup for your RV uh and it doesn't have to be the $50,000 solar setup like we set up our solar system I installed it myself so I did save myself some money there but for $6,000 we didn't have to use a generator our whole first couple years um we if we ever got close to the batteries running low which was rare we would get a campground for a night plug in get everything back up but but um but now we even have just a I think it's like a $800 or even less $300 generator that we can just use to charge us up if we have a couple cloudy days in a row but for that $66,000 we have 700 Watts almost 700 watts of solar and three 100 amp hour batteries um an inverter converter Char inverter charger converter something um does everything clearly he's an expert yes clearly and uh but it has run flawless for the 5 years that that we've been rving and you don't need all the fancy smancy now we also don't have uh some power sucking things like we don't have electronic uh stoves like it's a gas stove and and things like that and we also don't have a giant TV uh if you have a giant TV and that's a necessity then you might need more battery I don't know how much they take and we have the typical RV gas gas electric fridge that we just r on gas for we boondocking nice and I'm sure there's a video on there we'll Link in the show notes that you guys posted and you said $50,000 that's how much those things cost be50 Grand think that's a little I've seen I've seen I've seen at least $25,000 solar setups that people have like when their whole roof is covered in solar panels and they've got 12 batteries underneath like as a general rule when we started rving as a general rule 100 amp hours of battery was $1,000 that has gone down depending on the brand of battery you get um but yeah you can you can get expensive in a hurry with a solar setup.

 

Host: Sounds like it yeah um and you did it for six grand setting up yourself the um so you talked about boondocking are you boondocking because obviously that replaces your camping expense how often are you boondocking when you're when you reference that $3,500 to $4,000 monthly?

 

Guest: Um budget most of the time yeah it's we we Boondock unless we absolutely cannot it is obviously harder when you're closer to cities or East Coast or on the East Coast we will like stay probably an hour and a half sometimes two hours outside of where we want to go just so we can Boondock because it's it saves more money to even pay the gas to get there in back than it is in the campground fees that are usually near CI so we do that and there's also um Harvest host and boondockers welcome that you can take advantage of as well um so staying in people's driveways and sometimes it's fun to like just meet new people and and get to know others on the road so that's an option too.

 

Host: Wow so that's almost 4,000 you're spending a month and that's really not including um housing or or finding a place to stay so your biggest expense is probably fuel groceries and you said your health insurance?

 

Guest:Yep yep health insurance I was when we have starlink turned on for internet then our internet sell bill is expensive um because starlink itself is is $150 a month but we've opted for the ram plan so you can turn it off um like every month you can decide whether you want to keep it going or turn it off and so if we're on the East Coast where we have Verizon sell signal and T-Mobile sell signal then we'll turn it off and save that money there well when we have all three running that's going to be about 300 a month to 4 just for just for Internet yep.

 

Host: Wow yeah like I said very thorough thank you guys for sharing so much detail on everything that's that should give everyone a really good idea of how much this lifestyle can cost um so you guys travel with Trinity your dog and Cody your bunny what's it like traveling with two pets like that and do you want to share how you came across Trinity or rather how Trinity found you?

 

Guest: Yeah, that's, yeah, CU, she was at an oil pad for our first gate guarding job, and as people were showing us the ropes, we're like, "Is this your dog? Whose dog is it?" And they're like, "Nope, it just kind of hangs around here." And we got to know some of the workers, and they're like, "Yeah, she's been hanging around here for a few months," and she just seemed to get really attached to us. So we provided her water, um, she slept in our chair, she slept in our outdoor chair, and started providing her some food. But the problem is, we were like, we have a rabbit, and dogs and rabbits don't necessarily get along, so that's one of the things where really, really, really worried about if we kept her.

And we weren't looking for a dog. Um, we've always had rabbits since we've been married. So we actually ended up, like, outside the shelter, and we couldn't go through with it. We just couldn't drop her off because we obviously didn't want her to stay there on the oil pad trying to get scraps from trucks and sleeping by Slo pipe and like we wanted to get her a good home.

Um, and yeah, we couldn't go through with the shelter, and so like, well, we'll give it a shot. And we just slowly introduced them. And now it's to the place where we don't completely 100% trust her alone with the rabbit, like we put barriers in place, doors pens just just to make sure. But that's not based on her, that's just based on better part of wisdom, knowing that instinct is a thing. She's never done anything like Cody literally will jump off the couch onto her sleeping, yeah, and she'll jump up, you know, like what happened, but there's not like anger or growl or anything. So, and so it's nice that they are able to to live together and it also makes travel days a lot easier too because like Trinity can lay on the back seat of the truck and Cody's kind of in the in the back of the truck on the bottom on the floor um, and he can hop around and they're totally fine. So, it worked out really well and we love her and she's a great addition of the family.

 

Host: That's funny, unlikely companions.

 

Guest: Yes.

 

Host: I feel like if if if we brought our dog into a camper with a rabbit that place would get flipped upside down faster than we could even imagine.

 

Guest: I think that would happen if a cat strolled into the camper she's not a cat fan.

 

Host: What has been your coolest travel experience so far?

 

Guest: H, we have two, can we have two?

 

Host: Yep.

 

Guest: I would, you want to do yours?

Sure. So, we did, uh, was this two years ago, yeah, we did did close to your neck of the woods actually we did the presidential chain Trail in New Hampshire in the White Mountains. It's about a 21 22 mile hike and we set off at 5 6 in the morning and we had high hopes that we were going to be done by Sundown uh, we finished at about 4:30 the following morning um, Kalyn injured her knee about halfway through uh, we got up to the summit of Mount Washington and there actually is a tourist area there in roads and and we considered like do we jump off and it was at that we try to hit your ride back ride and Kalyn was at that point she's like no we I'm gonna do this I'm never gonna try this again we're gonna do it so she hoofed another 11 miles um through the dark for most of that and then we we got back and when we got down to the bottom her mom actually texted her and she's like oh I'm so glad you're back it looks like it's about to rain and we had the motorcycle and so we're like well we got to book it to our Campground so we booked it there and just the feeling of accomplishment I actually got back to the RV and just kind of like crashed and it was like at first it was like we will never do anything like that ever again and then after you kind of got over the exhaustion you're just like the feeling of doing something really hard um because we like Seven Summits yeah and we weren't expecting it to take that long we weren't expecting you know so we had a lot of roadblocks along the way but to come off the other side and just be like wow we accomplished something really hard was was huge.

Yeah, and I would say mine is um at Channel Islands National Park which is off the coast of California I didn't even know existed it existed until like a couple years ago and you have to take a boat out to it and there is absolutely no cell service at all no like real buildings nothing um and so we tent came camped out there overnight and there's also a really cute little island fox that like run they run around there they're only native to that Island um and we'll get into your tent if you leave the door open so you have to be careful about that but you have on one side of the island these massive Cliffs with the Pacific Ocean beneath on the other side there's you know Rocky beaches you can see seals swimming it was just a really really neat experience in a national park that like I said we had not heard of and then for it to you know become like one of our favorites and a day and a half was not enough time.

 

Host: It leaves you with more more to do I was going to add that's the worst possible time to get hurt on a hike is when you're halfway done you're halfway it's not like three quarters or a quarter the way you're halfway so you're going the entire length back you guys you guys are Troopers and you finish it up that's awesome good job yeah after spending just about five years traveling has there been something you've learned besides Internet that you can't live without?

 

Guest: We can live without the portable waste but we can't really... I feel like we can't live without the solar panels. Yes, that would probably be my answer, just because of the sheer amount of boondocking that we do. That would... We don't want to listen to generator noise, so the solar panels allow us to be able to have a peaceful time in the middle of where...

 

Host: Yeah, very cool. So, you mentioned the portable black tank, so you're still using the same RV you started out with, I take?

 

Guest: Yes, oh yeah, yeah, it's a 2005 JCO Designer. We remodeled the inside; we're in the process of updating some of the outside decals and whatnot, but yeah, it's... it's a beast, it's sturdy. We don't... I'm not going to say we're never gonna buy a new RV, but a lot of times when I see people with new RVs and their suspensions breaking and stuff like that are break, I'm just like, you know, this 2005 RV is looking better every day, very solid.

 

Host: Yeah, they don't build them like they used to. Um, contrary to...

 

Guest: I hate it that you can say that about 2005, like when somebody says that it's supposed to be like 1950 something.

 

Host: I know, it's crazy. Like my truck's 2013 and it's like, it's... it's over 10 years old.

 

Guest: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you look at it, it's like you look, it's, you think it's like 5 years old. But yeah, 2005, it's what, 19 years old?

Yeah, yeah, in 20 years I think is called vintage. Yeah, our RV is one year from vintage.

 

Host: Yeah, we had a 2002, we were going to, like, redo it and just make it vintage, where 20... it was, it was rough looking, so we just said it's vintage, yeah, exactly. Has there been something you've learned that you don't need while traveling?

 

Guest: There's... I would say we brought more clothes than we thought we had needed, especially like fancier clothes, and we just didn't end up wearing them. I like... we're not fancy people, no. So I, like, those, I think we ended up just giving all to Goodwill. I think maybe I kept one dress in case of something. But yeah, I don't know why you packed those. And if you have like sports equipment that it's like, "Oh, this is something I will do once a year." Like, I'm not a golfer, but I had some golf clubs, and I was like, "There's no point in having these if I'm going to use them once. I can rent clubs somewhere, you know?" Um, now we have paddleboards, but we use those more than once a year. Like, we just are very intentional about the sports equipment we have with us.

 

Host: It's a good rule of thumb: if you're not going to use it more than once a year, you can just rent it when you get to that destination. What tools should every RV owner have?

 

Guest: Oh, that's a... I hate this question because I'm not a tool person and I need to be. Um, but the one I'm using the most all the time is... is my drill. And like, I have a drill and a cordless drill. Like, those come in handy so often. I've got... I've got some drawers I need to fix and the idea of trying to do those with a like a hand screwdriver... I know it's like the most basic tool you can say, but if you don't have that in your toolbox, I think you should start with that.

 

Host: Sure. I was going to say WD40. I feel like you're using that in like every other...

 

Guest: I do use that a lot, on everything. Maybe that's the thing you can't live without.

 

Host: A few more questions before we wrap this thing up and I can't believe we're already at at 50 minutes. I do want to get into this YouTube thing a little bit because for someone who's looking to get into traveling full-time and getting into documenting and vlogging and creating content, um, you had posted on your YouTube channel that this was your third attempt. You had tried twice, didn't pan out, and this time you've been met with some pretty good success. Um, what's been different this time?

 

Guest: There's a lot of things. We are now like almost five years in, so our first year when we were trying to document and learn RV life, like, it was too much, too much new at one time and traveling so fast that we burned out quickly. Now we've slowed that down. The other thing was style. We wanted to make content around the locations we were going to and taking people along because we thought they'd just be interested in the hike because it was a hike. And we've learned that we are going to be primarily in the entertainment space and so we need to be more of a vlog style. And so that's what's completely different this third time around is it's much more doing projects around the RV, running errands, taking people with us to go grocery shopping and doing laundry and seeing what real life on the road looks like in addition to the locations. But we're very intentional about keeping those segments short and snappy. I feel like, yeah, we definitely have a lot more in terms of editing of like cutting and and making things shorter so that we can storytelling the shortest amount of time possible. I think a good example of that is if you look at our video about Cloud's rest uh, in yosity, yeah, I got that park right you look at that it's it's one video about one hike and it's about eight minutes long or so and then compare that to our video about uh, what's the thumbnail say it's New Normal I don't remember decision big decision and we explored some jips some capes and that and the whole video is about 20 our dog is snoring I'm sorry it's about 20 minutes it's about 20 minutes long and we have a cave exploring segment that is about two to three minutes long of that whole video and we still want to we still want to take people along for the journey through those things but we have realized that the attention span for those types of things it is much less so just keep things moving.

 

Host: Yeah, no, those are great points. Thank you for sharing that. And, as you touched on earlier, it sounds like with the editing taking longer, but you're also allocating time where you're not filming, so that kind of keeps you from being burnt out, right? So before it was go, go, go, but now you're actually taking the time to relax. It's not as hectic as it was.

 

Guest: Yeah, and I think being very selective about what we're filming. Like, a vlog is going to have, I don't know, three to five different segments of different locations and us maybe doing things, whereas we don't have to film the whole beginning to end of a hike anymore. So, you know, we're going on a hike tomorrow and we're just going to take a few B-roll clips, mention it in our next video, you know, show maybe talk about it for like 15, 20 seconds, and that's it. So, it does allow us to enjoy the locations more, because we know now that's not necessarily what people, at least for our audience, want to watch a whole video on. They would rather watch us do dishes.

Do dishes and travel in the truck, get propane, and all that RV life real-life stuff.

 

Host: Nice. And I would ask, how much you're making with YouTube, but instead, I will say, check the video out in the description, we'll link that video you posted on how much you're making so people can go check it out. If someone's listening to this podcast and they want to get started traveling but just aren't quite there yet, what is one thing they could start doing today to get them there?

 

Guest: It sounds stupid, but planning, and specifically, if finances are a thing, if it's, you're going to retire and you're going to travel, then just start planning what type of RV and things like that you want to get. But otherwise, it's start making your financial plan for it. Is your financial plan YouTube? Well, if it's YouTube, then you need to build up savings so that you have a runway until YouTube starts earning you money, or you need to have a work camping job plan. And if that's the case, you need to find work camping jobs that leave you enough time to also create content. And so just start getting those things down on paper so that it's not just an idea of "Oh, I want to travel sometime," it becomes more concrete of "Okay, this is the plan that I'm going to tackle."

Yeah, and I would say something that we had heard from other people that we actually followed was to not go super big. Like, when you're moving from a house into an RV, you think, "I've got to get like the 40-footer because I'm not going to have a lot of space," and we went with a 33-foot, and it felt... It's the perfect length for us. And I think that's another reason why we've stuck with the RV, the same RV for five years. See, it's not uncommon for someone to switch out an RV every couple of years, and they generally go smaller. They're getting a big fifth wheel, and then they're going to maybe a Class C, and then they're maybe doing a truck camper for weekend trips. So really trying to match your style of travel with an RV and making sure that you don't necessarily need all that space.

 

Host: You mentioned a few channels that influenced you. What were those channels? Any other like books or other influences that helped you?

 

Guest: Less Junk More Journey was the first one, and it was when I came to Joseph and I was like, "Hey, watch these people. They are a normal family like doing this." And we kept watching their videos, every single new episode that would come out, and it just kept inspiring us and convincing you to jump into full-time RV life. So we're really inspired when we see channels who are doing really creative things just to kind of see how that would inspire us in our own channel. So we really like Kara and Nate with their style that they do, and then also Flying The Nest. I think it's Flying The Nest. They are a family that travels the world, and their editing is really good. I was just going to say, to put a finger on what we mean by inspiring, we are ruined for YouTube now because when we watch YouTube, we're like, "Oh, that's how they're editing," or "Oh, that's how they're doing that." And Flying The Nest is one specifically that we were watching, and I looked at Kalyn and I'm like, "We're three minutes in, and they're on their like sixth background song. Like, they're not playing a background song for more than 30 seconds." And I said to her, "There's no way I'm doing that in our channel. That's just ridiculous." And we kept watching, and now we do that. But this wasn't before we were RV life, but I think Melissa Padet from Heath and Alyssa, she wrote a book. Now I can't remember the title of it, but working in all 50 states on, like, their journey through all 50 states, which was just so inspiring. And also with us work camping, kind of I don't know, felt like in a similar vein, like we're trying all these different jobs in different states. So I recommend them as well.

 

Host: Nice, perfect. And we'll link all those resources below in the show notes. And one last question for part two, travel tips. You guys are coming back. Where are we talking about for that?

 

Guest: We are going up to Northern Michigan and back in time to Mackinac Island. Awesome, everyone stay tuned. Joe and Kin, thanks again.

 

Host: Thank you so much for having us.

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Intro

01:06 Studying abroad in Rome

04:48 Have you always wanted to travel?

05:44 How were you able to get a job so you could travel so much?

07:20 Does remote work mean you are always “on call?”

08:12 What are the biggest frustrations you find with travel?

10:10 What makes Disney so special to you?

11:15 What does your travel budget look like?

13:50 What types of places are you staying in?

14:45 What are some money saving travel tips?

15:15 Delta AmEx card

16:30 Traveling with dogs

19:40 What has been your coolest travel experience?

22:00 What can’t you live without while traveling?

23:13 What have you learned you don’t need while traveling?

23:56 Shoe recommendations

25:09 Travel influencers

 

We had a fun time talking with Ericka from Ericka’s Adventures today! In this episode you can expect to hear all about how:

 

✈️Her study abroad in Rome

🧳How she and her fiancé manage to take a trip every 1-2 months while working remote full time

💵 A few budgeting and packing tips

 

And More!

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Full Episode At:

https://atravelpath.com/podcast/

 

Channels Mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/@Disney

https://www.youtube.com/@DFBGuide

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@brogantatexo

 

💵Travel Hacks

https://www.google.com/travel/flights

https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles/airline-credit-cards/american-express-personal-cards

 

🐶Dogs

https://www.rover.com/

 

📖Abroad

Michigan State study abroad program

 

📺Videos

Ericka’s Banf Playlist

 

(Commissions may be earned from the below purchases, but it will not affect your purchase price.)

👟Gear:

Packing cubes

Allbirds shoes

Vessi shoes

 

Blog Resources:

https://atravelpath.com/how-to-part-time-travel/

 

Most Popular Blogs:

Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

 

 

#travel #remoteworktravel #travelhacks #podcast #travelpodcast #erickaadventures

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

 

Transcript from YouTube:

Erica thank you for joining hope and I on this episode of the travel path podcast thanks for having me yes we know you on YouTube and Instagram as Erica Adventures that's Erica e r i c Ka a um you've got content and videos featuring everything from your travel Vlogs all over the country you've got some backpack Packing Tips you have some book recommendations so a lot of variety there and then you also have a ton of Disney so we're excited to jump in here um why don't you start by sharing a little about yourself and then letting our audience know your current lifestyle looks like yeah so um I am a travel content creator on the side I do have a full-time 9-to-5 job but um on Eric Adventures I just love sharing tips and tricks on all of my Adventures whether that's theme parks or Beyond so that's kind of what my lifestyle looks like right now no that's awesome you definitely have some awesome content I've enjoyed watching it I've learned a lot from you about places that you've gone so I'm excited to jump in here um before we dive too deep into your actual current travel lifestyle we want to take a step back and talk about um when you studied abroad in Rome yeah so that was a very very special time in my life yeah that was my junior going into senior year of college I did six weeks there I think I don't know the time time's crazy there but um yeah that was an incredible opportunity I really got to live in Rome I lived in an apartment um really got to like live in the culture there and explore all of Rome the Coliseum um everything and it was a truly life-changing experience and I cannot recommend doing a study AB broad if it's an opportunity for you like I think everyone should do that um if they can in college it just take you don't have to take the whole like semester off like I just went in the summer and just go for go for a couple weeks and it's going to change your life and give you a whole new perspective oh yeah that's awesome now did you have any initial fears or concerns doing that and if someone you know was thinking about going abroad what would your advice for them be yeah I mean I was excited and nervous I think that's everyone's feeling towards that especially that was my first time really going like out of the country um so you know I had to get my passport and like make sure all my travel documents were in order but I was really lucky to go with some solid friends so I knew I had people um that I knew very well going but I definitely met amazing people along the way so I just feel like it's that you just kind of have to take the jump and do it because it's only like a once in a-lifetime Opportunity you can't you know go back later and do it like study abroad you can go back and travel to Europe but you know actually being in the city for that long and and experiencing the lifestyle that's that's like a once in a-lifetime chance yeah absolutely definitely too with you know your group of friends and at that age you just experience things so much different than you know you do when you travel and you get a little bit older yeah absolutely and you mentioned six to eight weeks and that's news to me might not be news to our audience but I always thought like studying abroad you were there for like a year or a semester so I think that almost answers that question hope had originally where like if you have a concern or you're a little bit afraid to do that well you can actually do it for just 6 to8 weeks can you go for shorter or is that like the quickest time frame you can do in a broad study well for me so I went to Michigan State which has a huge study abroad program and a lot of the study AB Brads were semester and I had you know I didn't really want to take a semester off college cuz that's an experience in itself I really want to have the college experience um so I feel like 6 weeks was the shortest one at my school at the time uh there still might be other opportunities it's maybe four weeks but yeah it wasn't too long um it was I feel like it was the perfect amount of time to get that experience but also like come back home too what was the dayto day in like week to week like in Rome when you were there I pretty much had classes every day during the week so that was basically my morning to my afternoon some of those classes did involve like field trips going to like an historic site or something like that um but basically I I had a pretty similar schedule to what I'd have at home like I went to class and then i' come home and I'd either make dinner go out to dinner because I mean I ate pasta every day when I was in Italy that's kind of what like the week schedule looked like and then on the weekends that was free for us to do whatever some people actually would leave the country and go to like Spain or Barcelona for the weekend because you know that was like a short train right away and we did like a mai Coast or went to Florence so we tried to like explore outside of Rome too uh on the weekends awesome yeah it sounds like a really awesome time there yeah well great um I guess we can fast forward a little bit to your current travel lifestyle where you are now so growing up you've been traveling pretty consistently you've been back and forth the Disney World in Florida and you've lived pretty much all over Michigan has that always been a part of you and did that make you want to continue traveling absolutely I feel like I've always like I almost like live to leave I say sometimes like what really gets me excited is having a trip booked or like knowing I'm about to go experience somewhere new like that's always been a part of me I think I get that from my mom like she's always like let's go let's go here let's go there like yeah like let's do it and I've never really had any reservations about that that's just always been who I am and kind of like how I've grown up just I I I I love to go new places experience new things I do love being at home but I can't be at home for tooo long I have to go somewhere at some point so that's kind of always been a part of me so it sounds like the travel came first like when you're looking for your job your full-time job after your graduated college the travel part was a non-negotiable so how are you able to land a job so that you could have that opportunity how it's how it came to be so I've had two jobs since I've graduated college my first job was in retail which gave me five weeks off um a year so I was like perfect like plenty of time to travel um but I soon realized that that career path wasn't for me so I wanted to switch careers which I did and now I'm in marketing at my current job and I was supposed to be not fully remote like I was supposed to be in the office every day but when I got hired it was March 2020 and life happened and I got sent home and everything kind of shifted at this new company I worked for and everyone's like okay well you can work from home now just because that became our Norm so I feel like you know of course 2020 has its highs and lows for sure but I would say maybe like a good thing that came out of it is that there's so many more opportunities to work from home and that really helps like with travel because I can work you know from home and then leave right to the airport after like I I feel like it just gives me way more flexibility so I feel like in today's society we have so many opportunities so many um job opport unities that we can you know work remote or even hybrid my fiance Works hybrid and that still works with our travel schedule when you're working from home it's great you have the opportunity you can travel more you're not making that commute to work but your work and your boss like they kind of always know you're on call if that makes sense does that make your work hours longer than they might typically be or what does that look like yeah so because I do work in marketing so a lot of my job is communicating with our customers and you know if there's anything that they need um whatever time of day it is I'm just always like okay yeah I'll answer them I work a lot in our social media too so if someone messages us at 10 p.m. I'll need to message that customer back and that's just kind of how it goes thankfully I have a really great team where we always like you know pick each other up if I'm on vacation or traveling you know my boss will be like oh don't worry I got this or or whatever but we just really have a great collaborative team and I think that makes it makes such a difference when you have people that understand on your team that like okay this person traveling will help pick up you know anything that's going on at the office sure yeah finding a job in a team where you're like-minded it's group effort and get things done that way yeah what are some of the biggest frustrations you find with this lifestyle I would say that I feel like there's so much to do and so many places to travel to and I only have so much PTO or we have only so much time off and it's hard to like pick everything and then when you go to that destination it's like okay well there's like a hundred things I could do in Rome in Paris at a theme park like how do I you know pick and choose and I feel like that's kind of like the beauty of travel also is like we're never gonna be able to see it all you know so it's Al it's always like I love to do my plan and research ahead of time so that way I know like okay these are my priorities but I always feel like oh I left a place I'm like oh I didn't get to do that or that and it's like I don't know that's like a little struggle I have personally no I definitely feel that like when we're driving through a state it's like which way do we want to go right like there's so much up here on the Northern side and there's so much on the southern side so we definitely struggle with trying to you know feel like what you can get done in that time frame when you actually have off right and then you come back home and people are like so did you do that and you know and you're like no I didn't do that like oh well you missed out and it's like oh but I was doing this really cool thing it's like ah you know you know it's so true we did a cross country Loop we went North out and then back towards the middle of the country and we thought like once we did that we never have to like do that loop again but like what we found was we could drive that same exact Road the whole exact same path out and back and we could have a completely different experience because there's just so many things that we missed right along the way that we didn't get get to do yeah absolutely so it's funny to bring that up because you do go to and I know we're going to touch on this in part two of the Disney World in Orlando studios and all that but so if anyone's looking to plan a trip to Disney definitely tune into part two here but you mentioned there's a ton of places million one things to do and see but you're always going back and forth to Disney and you've been going there since you were a kid I guess we can do like a little bit of a teaser for the next episode is there something that makes that place so special for you yeah I mean well first of all I think the Nostalgia factor for me since I've been going there since I was a kid it's it's always been very nostalgic for me it's always felt like a place I mean kind of like a a second home in a way like I just always feel at peace when I'm there and it's it's just a place I go to when I just want to have fun like I just want to have a good time I want to be entertained and like just have a ball and honestly have permission to be a kid again and just have that Disney escapism um some people call it the Disney bubble like as soon as you enter Disney World all of your problems at home they don't exist anymore you get to kind of be in this like pretend world and just just have fun and just be a kid again so that's something that I do love about theme parks in Disney World like I just love to go and just just be a kid have a good time I love roller coasters and the entertainment so it's just a place I like to visit for sure yeah and they're always making more and more new rides and yeah yeah so everyone tune in to part two we'll be talking about that in the next episode so we'll transition a little bit to some of the budgeting and finance when you're on the road now we typically ask this question what does a monthly budget look like obviously you're not traveling full-time living in a van or an RV so how long are you typically gone for and then what does that budget typically look like yeah so it really depends on the trip um it could be a weekend trip or a week trip but I feel like when it comes to budgeting I really focus a lot of my budgeting when I'm at home like I I budget the most there so that I can save up for those travel experiences so for instance like I rarely really eat at eat out when I'm home like I actually moved to a new city um it's been over a year now and some people ask me like oh like what are your favorite restaurants in the new city you live and I'm kind of like oh I don't really try a ton because I kind of save that money to then eat out when I travel and do other experiences so it really just depends and then when it comes to like a a week or weekend trip if I can drive there that's what I'm going to do just to save some money there so it's all about kind of like saving money leading up to the trip so that way when I'm there I don't have to think so much about you know like oh should I really spend this much it's like well I've been saving for a month now for this trip so I want to spend that money on this experience that I can only get in this city sure yeah saving up when you're back home and yeah splurging when you take that vacation yeah that's kind of how I balance it that's a good point you're bring up and it's it's interesting because we learn that same thing I think the pandemic brought out a lot of people actually going out and exploring their own backyard because for a while like we have like some air Bean bees and people would ask us like oh the best places to eat at and things to do in the area and we'd be like yeah we'd actually never we'd be recommending things but we're like we actually haven't done these things before we spent like one day a couple years ago and just did everything we could in Mystic and it was like like this is such a fun you know such a fun time I remember you worked at a at a shop in one of the in the village and like people were coming in who've lived in this area for like their entire life and they're like I never knew this was here you know once you know there's a shutdown and people are forced to stay home and stay in their hometowns then they get out and explore but yeah it is funny how like little we knew about our hometown until we were like we should probably know more about this yeah no that actually that reminds me of something I saw on Instagram a couple weeks ago and it was this guy I think he was in Switzerland and he was at a bar and the guy next to him was like oh yeah like I'm a local here and he's like oh well tell me all the cool stuff to see and the Local's like no you want to talk to all the tourists at that table because they've done their research they know what to do it's like we're always bad that bad about being tourists in our own town but that's just funny you know that that happens so when you are staying is it air BNB Hotel how does that look mostly hotels um I guess my in September I did stay in Airbnb because we were there for a week and there was six of us we wanted a little bit more space a kitchen and everything but I would say you know if it's like a short trip four days or less I'm I usually do a hotel um but longer I think Airbnb works out best and how many trips a year are you taking I think well I guess I'll think I'll talk about this year because I feel like I got all my trips like in my brain now for this year it's might be like every month to two months which is exciting I'm excited for this year because I'm going to go finally back to Europe because I haven't been since the study abroad that'll be my honeymoon trip so I'm very excited about that so it'll be a big year of travel for me awesome awesome what are some money-saving travel tips you've discovered along the way I love trying to fly during the weekday that really saves a lot I always like looking at Google flights like I love tracking flight prices too to make sure I'm getting the best deal um I also do have a travel card that helps me a lot I earn a lot of miles on that so that helps pay for flights um but yeah I would say just I I really that's probably my number one thing is I really try and save leading up to the trip and that way when I'm there I don't have to worry so much about you know my budget while I'm experiencing what I want to experience yeah so true which travel car do you have I have the Delta AMX card does that get you into the lounges well you know they they changed that rule so I think I was leading up to I think I had to get so many miles and then I could get in but now I don't know they changed the rules and I'm like okay whatever like yeah that's like something we just or I think you had known about it but I just discovered it like you walk in the airports and you see these lounges and I've never thought twice about it but apparently if you have the right card you can just you know get in there and do your work and it seems like the perfect opportunity for someone who is traveling you know fulltime or you know they're away for a while and they just want to get some work done like some of these places have like free food showers it's like you have to be travel obviously but you could get there like half you know half a day early and crank out some work super nice if you have a long layover actually now that we're talking about it I think it might be I have to pay like a certain fee like maybe $50 but I think that includes your food while you're there too so yeah I forget but I know they just changed that rule so it's like people were all upset about that so I was like okay maybe I won't be getting into those lounges but oh well so you don't have kids but you do have two dogs right yep so what would you say to someone who wants to travel but has pets and are worth that's too much of a commitment what would you tell them how do you manage it yeah so I have a couple points on this so first of all yeah I do have two dogs so it can be a little bit bit of a barrier when I'm trying to travel it makes it a little bit harder to do last minute trips because who's going to watch the dogs you know they can't just be home alone um so first of all thankfully we do have family that are so obsessed with our dogs that they'll be like yeah like we'll take them and they get so excited so sometimes they stay with them but also I don't always just want to like dump our dogs on our family you know everyone has busy schedules too so we do board them as well and I feel like just dog boarding has really come a long way in the past couple of years like I remember as a kid when we used to board our dog she didn't really like it because she was just like in a kennel all day but these dog boarding places are like little mini Resorts now they have doggy playtime and like they get like walks and everything so I'm like okay I'm basically taking my dog on vacation while I while I go on vacation so that's really nice too um and then I'll also say like we like to take our dogs when we can um travel especially when we go to Northern Michigan we definitely bring our dogs along and I think they have more fun than us when we go honestly like they love being up there so there's I feel like there's a lot of opportunity nowadays to take your pets with you my my fiance and I just took a trip to Chicago not too long ago and when I was looking up hotels I swear all of them were like dog friendly and I feel like you wouldn't have seen that like five years ago like I don't know I was like wow like all these places are dog friendly not that we were planning on bringing our dogs but it was nice to know that that is an option nowadays so definitely just like do your research there's really cool places you can take your pets with you one word of caution I will just mention because we just took a trip to Florida and we had our dog scheduled to do the daycare we were boarding them and we got a message like I don't know like a week before and they told us that the puppy Co Kettle cough was going around we ended up having someone that just we paid her to stay at her house so there's always fallback plans like Rover um there's different things you can do too so I guess the word of advice would be to just have some sort of fallback plan and they do get pretty pricey right how much typically are you spending to have your dog be boarded we've been because we've moved around a lot in Michigan so we've seen a lot of different um kennels and they can be pricey some of them have been $50 per dog so when you have two dogs that adds up a lot um but sometimes they give a discount on the second dog which is nice but our recent kennel that we just found um really comes out to $30 per day for dog so that's way more reasonable so you just have to kind of do your research I feel like dog doggy daycares and kennels are popping up everywhere so just do your research and you might be able to find one that's not too expensive but again if it is maybe you just take a shorter trip so you can kind of balance out that yeah 30 bucks they must not have the balcony and the hot tub in their sweet for that price right all right awesome we'll transition we'll start wrapping up a little bit here what has been the coolest experience you've had while traveling so that is such a hard question because I feel like oh my gosh there's so many I could choose from but I think the one I want to talk about is a recent one I've had so in September of 2023 I went to bamp National Park which is like in the heart of the Canadian rocky and it was our first day there and we had signed up for horseback riding and we were riding these horses literally through the mountains I mean you couldn't have pictured a more beautiful place and I'm on a horse I feel like I'm living the cowgirl dream and it's like it was like a pinch me moment like this can't be real the beauty and just the experience was just like so awe inspiring and it was like that moment I was like yep I'm in love with this place like this place is so cool and just to like kind of do an Excursion instead of just like hiking the trails being on a horse was like really really really cool so let me ask you this and I think I know what the answer is going to be but would that experience be a contender if there were no horses involved do you think well I think it would still I mean maybe because it was also my first day so I was just still like whoa like with these mountains cuz I I'd never seen mountains like that before and the lakes and we even walk the horse through like a river so I was like oh my gosh like this is so cool I felt and also at the time I was watching Yellowstone which is like a huge like cowboy show so I was like okay like I am totally living living the dream right now but yeah just it was like one of those like Pinch Me moments for sure yeah I guess I asked that because we had a similar experience we did Cody Wyoming we went horseback riding completely different terrain it was red rock and we were in the in the woods but yeah if we had hiked it it wouldn't have been the same as just you know going I me we don't ride horses regularly that was like I don't know your first time right riding a horse and I think like my third time so just doing that just makes it so I guess my advice would be if you're looking to do something like this and there's like a horse back riding option available for the family look into it it's GNA be something your children your guys are going to remember for a long time it's it makes that moment just that much more special yeah I totally agree with that I mean it would have been cool on foot as much but like to be on the horse and I it's just a different experience and just added added a little something extra to it yeah everything you shared from that looked amazing and I think every single person that probably saw your post were like okay that's got to be a a bucket list travel next year so you've been traveling pretty much your entire life what is one thing you've learned that you can't live without while you're traveling and one thing you learned that you don't need okay so things I can't live without I have to mention two things first has to do all with packing because I love packing I love like I feel like that's just as exciting as going on a trip it gets me so excited to go and once I discovered packing cubes I swear it changed the packing game for me I just love it because it organizes your stuff I swear you can pack more stuff with them because it kind of like compresses it and I feel like it just makes traveling so much easier and again more organized especially let's say you're going to Europe and you're doing a couple countries in one trip just like kind of having everything in one spot is so nice and then the second thing I have learned is you always always should wear good comfortable shoes because nothing ruins a trip than blisters or sore feet like I I tell you just find the most comfortable shoes you can wear because whether you're going to the theme parks out on a hike or walking the streets of Europe like you should have good shoes it's going to like make your trip so much better and then the thing I realize that I can live without I feel like I I've learned that you know you don't have to have a new outfit every day of your trip I feel like for girls or anyone on Instagram like we always get this pressure to be like okay like we have to like pack all these things so that we have the best trip and the best photos but that's not really what it's about like I feel like I used to get into that like mindset that it's like oh I should you know have the perfect outfit for this perfect photo or whatever but you know what be an outfit repeater it's cool to do no one really cares and just it's that's not about what travel is travel is being there in the moment yeah such good advice now do you have any recommendations on shoes oh yeah um okay so one pair of shoes I love is called All Birds they are extremely comfortable shoes I love them I've worn them on so many trips and then the second pair of shoe that I've recently discovered are vessie shoes and what's really cool about them is they are 100% waterproof but they're like a tennis shoe and they're knit material so it still like gives you that nice comfortable tennis shoe feel but I mean I I can dump a bucket of water on them and water is not going to get through so I've worn those to Disney World in Orlando where it can rain at any moment and then I did wear them to bamp just because I wasn't sure and honestly they were great hiking shoes too I kind of had like this tennis shoe boot style from them and I love those shoes they're just so comfortable so those definitely those two Brands I really recommend we fit an insane amount of things in our van that I thought was not going to fit and then somehow she stuffed everything in the cube and we had like room to spare so packing cubes invest in your Footwear and it's kind of similar like an analogy is like your mattress you spend a lot of time sleeping you spend a lot of time on your feet know Splurge there because your body's going to thank you you know 20 30 years down the road you've been traveling your entire life did you have any YouTube or other influencers that influenced you to travel or maybe people have recommended books too yeah I think really I dove into the whole YouTube travel Community um especially during 2020 cuz all I wanted to do was go somewhere and I couldn't so like that was my escapism was to just like watch people go on trips um on YouTube so I would say a lot of those were Disney YouTubes because I was just missing Disney World so I watched um Disney food blog is a great Channel they have so many great tips on Disney World um there's another she's also like life style but Rogan Tate on YouTube is awesome she does a lot of travel um in Europe and also to Disney park so those are like two that I love to watch and just give a lot of tips from so we'll link those channels in the show notes below and while our audience is checking out those channels where can they find out more about you yeah so I am on Instagram and YouTube both erica. Adventures AA spelled e r i c Ka um and yeah that's where you can find me I have travel Vlogs a little bit of Lifestyle Vlogs too on my YouTube channel and a lot of travel content on my Instagram great Erica thank you for coming on thank you so much for having me this was so much fun

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Intro

02:15 How Much Time Have You Spent in Colorado?

04:15 How Long Should Someone Spend in Colorado?

05:00 When is the Best Time of Year to Visit Colorado?

05:45 What are the Four Colorado National Parks?

07:30 What Does Transportation Look Like Around the National Parks?

10:15 Any Good Camping Recommendations Near the National Parks?

15:30 Rocky Mountain National Park Itinerary

18:15 Black Canyon of Gunison Itinerary

19:30 Mesa Verde Itinerary

21:00 Great Sand Dunes Itinerary

22:15 Leadville Colorado

24:30 Sunrise, Sunset, and Nighttime Activities

27:15 Food Planning

28:45 Other Attractions

29:15 3 Things to Bring to Colorado National Parks

30:00 2 Complaints about Colorado National Parks

32:30 Cell Phone Coverage

33:30 What is One Thing You Can’t Leave the Colorado Parks without Doing?

 

Kati was the perfect guest on this show because she has a business creating travel guides and planning trips for others. As you’ll hear, Kati has knack for this and provided a VERY thorough itinerary for things to do and what to expect on a Colorado National Parks road trip.

Learn All About:

🥾Can’t-miss long and short hiking trails

🏔️Things to do OUTSIDE of the parks while you are enroute to the next

☔What you should be prepared for when visiting each park!

And more!

 

Links

Find Kati At:

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/

https://www.instagram.com/wanderwithkt/

 

Kati’s Colorado Blogs:

7 Day National Park Road Trip:

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/2023/05/08/epic-colorado-national-parks-road-trip-itinerary/

Colorado Itinerary Post (each park has a specific post):

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/2023/05/08/epic-colorado-national-parks-road-trip-itinerary/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=epic-colorado-national-parks-road-trip-itinerary&=1

Renting a Camper Van in Denver:

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/2023/05/01/kuku-camper-van-reviews/

Added Colorado Visits: 

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/2023/01/30/glenwood-caverns-adventure-park/

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/2022/09/08/sustainable-leadville-experiences/

 

Podcast Episodes Mentioned:

Renting and Scaling and RV Rental Business: https://atravelpath.com/renting-your-rv-out/

 

🏕️Camping:

Timber Creek Campground at Rocky Mountain NP: https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/tccg.htm

https://freecampsites.net/

Mesa Verde free and dispersed

Black Canyon of Gunnison free and dispersed

Great Sand Dunes free and dispersed

Zapata Falls Campground at Great Sand Dunes: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/riogrande/recarea/?recid=74116

Kuku Campers: https://www.kukucampers.com/

 

Rocky Mountain:

Sky Pond Hike and Lake Haihaya: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/colorado/sky-pond-via-glacier-gorge-trail?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

Ute Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/colorado/ute-trail-from-poudre-lake-to-alpine-ridge?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

 

Black Canyon of Gunnison:

Gunnison Route: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/gunnison-route--2

 

Mesa Verde:

Cliff Dwelling Tours: https://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/cliff_dwelling_tours.htm

Long House Tour: https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cd_long_house_tour.htm

Petroglyph Hike: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/petroglyph-point-trail

Spruce House: https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cd_spruce_tree_house.htm

Great Sand Dunes:

Zapata Falls: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/zapata-falls-trail

Dune Buggies: https://www.nps.gov/grsa/faqs.htm

Pet Policy: https://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/pets.htm

 

Leadville:

Mount Albert Hike: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/colorado/north-mount-elbert-trail--3

Tacos La Mina: https://www.facebook.com/p/Tacos-la-mina-100089715580810/

 

Garden of the Gods: https://gardenofgods.com/

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park: https://www.glenwoodcaverns.com/

 Colorado National Monument: https://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm

 

#coloradoroadtrip #coloradonationalparks

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

00:38 What makes the Bighorn National Forest so special to you?

01:25 Who should go to the Bighorn National Forest?

01:52 How long should someone spend in the Bighorn National Forest?

03:24 Is there any lodging or campgrounds nearby?

05:18 What is the best time of year to visit the Bighorn National Forest?

06:47 Is the Bighorn National Forest pet/kid friendly?

08:00 Is there any nightlife in or near the Bighorn National Forest?

09:00 What are some of your favorite food places near the Bighorn National Forest?

10:00 What are three things to do in or around the Bighorn National Forest?

10:55 What are two complaints someone might have about the Bighorn National Forest?

11:30 Is there an RV/rig size limit?

11:58 What is one thing you cannot leave the Bighorn National Forest without doing?

13:04 What are a few items you always take with you while backpacking?

 

Linnea and Akela:

Linnea & Akela (linneaslife.com)

Linnea & Akela - YouTube

 

 

In case you missed it, take a listen to Part 1 where Linnea discussed her transition to van life and some of the precautions she takes as a solo female traveler. In today’s show, Linnea discusses all about the Bighorn National Forest located in Buffalo, Wyoming.

 

 

🗻Bighorn National Forest

Bighorn National Forest - Home (usda.gov)

BighornMountains.Com - Rodeos and Other Events Schedules

 

🍴Grocery/Diner

https://www.facebook.com/southsidebuffalowy/

Home - DJ's Grocery (djsgrocery.com)

 

🥾Hiking

Mistymoon Trail, Wyoming - 173 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

 

💧Water Filter

GravityWorks™ Gravity Water Filter System | Platypus®

 

🏕️Camping

iOverlander | Find your next destination

The Dyrt | Camping near me: Tent, RV sites, Glamping & Cabins

Free Camping Near You | Go Camping for Free! (freecampsites.net)

onX Maps: GPS Map App for Hunting, Hiking & Off-Roading

 

#podcast #travel #linneaandakela #vanlife #bighornnationalforest #wyoming

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript from YouTube:

all right lanaa thank you for coming back on the travel tips segment of the podcast and joining hope and I how you doing today I'm doing well thank you guys for having me great so if in case anybody missed the first episode definitely take a look she told her story of how she went from Fitness Nutrition to doing that on the road and then eventually turning that into full-time van life she has an enormous audience on YouTube she's on all social media platforms so if you miss part one definitely check it out and part two travel tips we're talking about one particular destination so the name where are we talking about today we are talking about the big horn National Forest perfect now what makes this place so special to you why are we talking about it well actually this can get a little bit personal because when I was in high school my family did a backpacking trip actually in the Big Horn national forest and that was my first introduction so this area is um right near Buffalo Wyoming and so that was I I we loved that area and then a few years years ago Chris's bus broke down just south of that area I was like oh we're right near the Big Horns let's just hang out there for you know the rest of the month or whatever and so that was a really cool like reintroduction years and years later so yeah I'm very like attached to that area emotionally oh perfect now for the Big Horn national forest for someone who likes to do what who should go there anything outdoors so It's a Wonderful backpacking area It's a Wonderful fly fishing area and really just like Wildlife viewing is fantastic there too a lot of bears and a lot of moose and you can see some elk I believe I don't know if I ever saw elk actually a lot of deer yeah oh very nice now to get that full Big Horn National Forest experience I know you said that you've posted up there for a couple of months but if someone's just going to plan a trip there how long should they go for I would say at least three weeks so just like any area I think the longer that you're there the more that you really figure out the vibe you learn about the Hing gems from the locals and so I think three weeks is a great time because you have space to go and explore the national forest aspect of it where you can go and you can camp for free just like any national forest but then there are so many different Trail heads and so many different Alpine Lakes so even if you don't fish like insanely beautiful views of crystal clear Alpine Lakes anywhere you go and then the farther into the back country that you get the more expansive and um yeah just the more expansive views the more higher elevation the more dramatic mountains so if you're really into that you can kind of touch anything from just like hiking a few miles to go through you know you're flying a little bit or you can do like eight days in in the back country and just Summit some beautiful mountains or just do a cool loop and it it's an amazing Place nice sounds beautiful now if there's someone who maybe doesn't want to or the backpacking or Back Country intimidates them a little more you think they could still go and like you said do just a few miles to throw their line in is there a lot of campgrounds around or any lodging for anybody Yes actually there there are a few options for lodging and then there are a few campgrounds but just outside of those campgrounds are like national forests you know it's just like a BLM area where you can just park and be there for 14 days at a time and really from a lot of those areas you can even walk to Trail heads and I think there was a hike that we did that was maybe three miles in and you're at just a series of these gorgeous Alpine Lakes so it's really like all levels of of outdoor adventure and what's really cool about this area too is that I think because so many people are going to Other Des like so many people go to Teton so many people go to Yellowstone that it really draws a lot of the crowd away and so while you know at the peak season yes there are people there if you go in shoulder Seasons you're going to have Trails mostly to yourself you're not going to see many people and um you know even if let's say you do you know you do take three weeks to be there and you go looking for two days some of the other time can be actually just driving around going over the path visiting little mountain towns that are known for their ice cream shop or their coffee shop and so that's really fun too to get kind of the the lay of the entire area if you're not totally into the backc country space sure now you mentioned Yellowstone and Grand ton how far away are we talking from those two locations that's a really good question a few hours I think I don't know but it' be great like if you're in that road trip mode right you can make that a stop and you can go and you can enjoy some of that and then still be able to transition over do some of those bigger attractions and then also hit those small towns so I think it's perfect to talk about something that's not something everybody's heard of but allows them to stop and get just a different perspective of an outdoorsy dream for sure now you did touch on the seasons but what would you say is like the best months to go or when would you want to be there um I prefer fall and that's because of the bugs so like late summer or fall um because there is a lot of water up there of course and when you have standing water you typically have mosquitoes um typically late fall is a really or late summer early fall is a wonderful time to go because the temperature is perfect it's not super super hot like it's that at that time it's really good for Aila too she can be on trail all day and then the bugs are much much less so it's comfortable on all fronts oh yeah that's a really good point yeah not having bugs versus having bugs makes a huge difference in your experience now Wyoming gets cold in the winter time would you recommend not going there how cold does it get in the winter time in what in this area yeah I would recommend not going there um so when I mentioned buffalo buffalo is like the town right uh at the base of those mountains but to actually get into the national forest you're climbing a few thousand feet it's at least a 15 degree difference from the actual little town where you might restock or go to eat or whatever to like where you'll be adventuring so I would stay out of there for the dead of winter for sure good tip well that is good to know and you're obviously traveling with your dog so I know where you're going is pet friendly but do you feel like in this area pretty much anywhere you go is going to be pet friendly for you yes absolutely the entire National Forest Aila and I just did a weeklong so trip out there she was with me the whole time a lot of dogs are out there so yes very very dog friendly we even um had a place in town that we love to go eat and they loved our dogs going in they they had a back patio they would bring out water for the dogs the whole town is dog friendly it's fantastic perfect now you aren't traveling with kids but do you see a lot of families on these hikes or you know in some of these Trails sometimes I think the shorter ones yes yeah sometimes you know small small children in like the backpack carriers and whatnot um of course when I get really deep back there no probably SE a lot of people yeah it's definitely family friendly though um there's a spot that we would park and a lot of like our viers with families would be there for weekends and whatnot so yes very cool now aside from you know being in nature is there anything to do um nightlife wise like are we talking are there any restaurants in the area any bars yes a few it's a very small very small downtown but they um it's it was kind of fun in the summer they had a lot of like festivals going on there's like a rodeo in town and as far as restaurants they kind of have everything that you need uh my favorite place to go I believe was called the Southside Grill just good like bar food and um yeah I this might not matter to most people but having a really wonderful gas station is really nice so we had a really there's a really wonderful gas station there um where we would like hang out if we had to be in town overnight or if we wanted to like walk to go get a drink or whatever we could come back and sleep at the gas station which was super cool I think that's pretty much all of it though cool you mentioned that one spot that had really good um bar food but any other um breakfast lunch dinner spots you want to note uh I remember that there's a small Diner there as well that has great breakfast but I cannot remember the name but definitely the Southside Grill was awesome and then for groceries DJs is a really awesome little grocery spot um there's also some fancier restaurants that we went to that were really fantastic um but really you only have like one of each category like it's kind of just a main Street and like a few roads off of that that's pretty much it that's awesome it sounds like it's a great mix of you have the whole big horn National Forest where it's just Wilderness and it's an outdoor person's dream but at the same time you're close enough to civilization where you can you have restaurants gas stations all the Necessities absolutely yeah it's one of my favorite spots ever to be yeah we may have driven right by it and haven't heard of it but we definitely want to venture out there at some point maybe our next trip right awesome so we'll pivot to the final three questions the 321 countdown the podcast so what are three things to do in or around the Big Horn National Forest that we haven't talked about yet okay for a trail I highly suggest Misty Moon Lake Trail that's a really wonderful one it's pretty easy if you want to spend a night or two out there and then fly fishing basically any Creek that you can find and just to pay you back off of that they um if you're excited about fly fishing and you want to hike back a little bit most of their elpine lakes that are close to probably where people will be parking or camping are stocked with really beautiful trouts you can be catching brck trout you can be catching um tiger trout you can catch Cutthroat there's a lot of different variety out there that's pretty much it sounds like just backpacking just just enjoying the Wilderness in general that's right there that could be the answer to the last question actually but um what are two complaints they might not be complaints but that people just weren't prepared for about the Big Horn National Forest I would say bugs if you get there on the wrong season and you're spending a lot of time near water the bugs are going to be bad especially in the back country during like a muy season so I would say bugs and then two something that did surprise me if you care about your vehicle uh the climbing elevation to get up there it's just a lot on your vehicle if you're not used to that or if you have a really large rig you're really pulling a lot of weight up a pretty steep incline to get into the national forest and if you're towing something would is there like a limit you would recommend can big rigs get up there or is it just not very maneuverable they can they absolutely can um I don't know if it's just Wyoming people but there are big rigs in places that I didn't know big rigs could go so it's doable yeah great and one last question what is one thing you cannot leave the Big Horn National Forest without doing um you cannot leave there without backpack in you just can't do it because it's just so beautiful when you get into the Wilderness yeah I like that answer that's great that's funny so as far as wild life you had mentioned everything but elk you would seen there right I'm sure obviously elk yeah hang out there but yeah there have to be elk there I mean I met a lot of elk Hunters I just personally didn't lay my eyes on any while I was there um but a lot of moose and um elk scat and deer and fish and really good mushrooms actually too great mushroom hunting interesting we were just looking at mushrooms in a tree the other day and I was wondering can I eat this and we didn't because we don't have any idea but that's a do you bring like a field book with you or just the knowledge of having been in the outdoors for so long you know what's poisonous and what's not yeah I wish I knew more but I know a very very select few yeah so we actually uh we thought we were harvesting King bites and they were not um upon further research but that's okay we learned that they weren't now just because we did talk about backpacking a lot um and being in the back country what are a few items that like you definitely even if you're just going for like a day or two if you're doing a small trip like what are some items that you always take with you water purification always um one of my favorite things ever is a platypus um it's called it is a platypus it's the gravity Works platypus and it is uh the most fantastic water purifier I've ever used I spent a lot of my time using like a hand pump MSR water purifier that would like screw onto a NeNe but then I was introduced to the platypus a few years ago and it is so nice because all you have to do you take one side of the bag you scoop up the the labeled dirty bag with water four liters of water which is a ton of water and then it's just all gravity fed systems you hang in a tree the clean bag sets below it and it just in a half hour you have four liters of clean water so definitely the Platypus and then um a comfortable sleeping pad I spent many years of my life sleeping on a little foam pad and when I finally invested in a nice like actual like blow up little um like Camp pad it just your sleep it's so worth getting good sleep out there awesome all right so we got a couple Essentials in there and yeah tons of wildlife so we have have not seen a moose in our journey yet so maybe we'll head to Big Horn national forest and find one yeah yes do it yeah well thanks again lanaa for coming on again if you haven't seen part one lanaa she came on she talked about her entire journey I highly encourage you check that out I'll link everything in the show note descriptions below lanaa and Tequila thank you again thank you guys so much

atravelpath.com

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

Reach Out to Dylan:

https://www.instagram.com/dylan_davino/ https://www.youtube.com/@UCHXEKJ5Tyf6hBq4topC9hIw

https://www.davinodigital.com/

Links: The Four Hour Work Week: https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1700084287&sr=8-1

📝 Blog: atravelpath.com

📸 IG: https://www.instagram.com/the_path_beyond/?hl=en

 

Applicable Blogs: The Importance of Mobile RV Techs: https://atravelpath.com/mobile-rv-technician/

 

 

Transcript from YouTube

Dylan Davino thank you for coming on the show today I know you as a web designer and a bit of a digital Nomad I know you took a two-month long cross country trip you have an incredible story of how you overcame two days into your trip your camper flipping over which we'll get into a little bit later why don't you start by sharing a little bit about yourself and then telling the audience what your travel lifestyle looks like yeah well thanks for having me on the show Tyler um so my name is Dylan Davino um I'll just go a few years back to kind of start my story I was going to yuk on studying engineering and this was during Co I was not liking my classes it was all on my laptop I was miserable um no social life no parties physically didn't see campus once and yet we were paying $30,000 a year for school and I was going with my cousin at the time so we both initially decided to drop out of school and start our first business which was Modern Age marketing and we pretty much did that for a year and a half building websites doing marketing for local businesses and that was a really great experience I did end up kind of splitting off for my cousin um he bought a window washing company and I started Davino digital so I started Davino digital in January of this year and you know fast forward to now it's about November of 2023 so about 11 months in you know we're we're doing really well I'm super excited about it and I'm also super excited to talk about the cross country road trip and just a lot of the lessons I've learned along the way awesome I can definitely brag about your web design skills you actually designed a travel path.com which is our website so anybody listening if you haven't checked out our website yet it's atravel path.com got a Blog a community Forum feel free to jump on there hang out for a little while um but yeah you did a great job with our website so thank you for so much at travel.com check it out definitely I can totally see why you know working paying the $330,000 in tuition and not having the social life that would just drive you crazy so that's some very admirable you you know started your own business and here you are now talking with me so that's awesome man um so when you were on your trip your cross country trip I know you were periodically working right you were you were working remotely how many hours and what did that lifestyle look like yeah so I I really was trying to make it more of a lifestyle than just you know going on a trip and not thinking about work because really like when you're working in a digital industry you have the ability to work from anywhere on the globe as long as you have internet and I kind of figured like this could be a lifestyle for me I could be you know going everywhere and doing this non-stop as long as I'm getting the hours in now during this trip I I was aiming originally to do 30 hours a week and then you know things happened we had scenarios you know which we'll talk about but I ended up working probably between 15 to 20 hours a week and that was mainly like me sitting down in coffee shops or restaurants or hotels responding to all my emails and talking to my team making sure that they're on top of all the projects that we had running and campaigns um so you know mainly communication I also kind of counted other time of like reading and trying to just better myself while on the trip and you know probably 15 to 20 hours to answer your question so from the day you decided you wanted to travel to the day your actual attire at the road and you were traveling what was that time frame yeah so I did the trip with my brother I don't know if I mentioned that but we one day sat down at like a breakfast place and we just started talking about the random idea of tra tring and that was about one year before we actually set off for the trip so we we sat down we had the idea and then one thing led to another we started saying you know this we might actually do this like it's not just an idea oh we're going to do it throughout that year we started um really planning the details of the trip trying to figure out what the itinerary itinerary would look like and how long it would be um where we would go and what we would do for fun and you know those are all things that we were ironing out until pretty much like the day before we left for the trip but um yeah about a year so that's great I can totally relate till you know you have that idea in mind and it doesn't sound real you're repeating it you're telling people you're going to take it but in the back of your mind you're still not quite sure I remember when you beat me by a long shot it took us like three years we had that goal in mind to do a two-month trip similar to yours and we took three years to do it but um I remember like thinking you know telling people writing it down we're going to take this trip but really you know not quite sold on it until you know a couple months it doesn't hit you until you're on the road you're behind you're behind the wheel and it's like yeah you're you're doing it you're doing it yeah during that time frame when you were planning and before you got on the road what was the biggest challenge you faced and how were you able to overcome that yeah so I think the biggest challenge for me was being able to get myself and my business in a place where I could actually leave for two months and it's not as easy as it sounds like I had to pretty much be able to hire and train new team members and have them be able to understand what we do and what my job is because you know I'm not working as much I'm not here to to take full responsibility I needed to make sure that I had a project management system in place and that I trusted my team members and that they were able to do my job essentially without me kind of being there to oversee them all the time because you know I knew even going into the trip that there would be times where I didn't have internet there was a couple um stretches where I probably went to or 3 days without any internet and I didn't being in Tech is impossible yeah yeah so there were probably you know some some times when u i really relied on them to you know take take that responsibility so so you say the bulk of that year I know you had a lot more going on but in terms of the biggest obstacle getting you know systems in place and hiring people was that full years worth of work was that like the last six months or how much time if you could kind of ballpark that yeah I I probably didn't start focusing on it until about 6 months before we left I started the company in January of 2023 and I initially immediately brought on one team member her name's Amy and then you know throughout the whole year we were focusing on training her getting her up to speed and just working on the way that we cooperate because quite frankly she's a better web designer than I am anyways but really just trying to figure out how we work together and how the systems and communication all Loops in um that was like one of the things we were working on initially and then bringing on another team member and being able to get them up to speed and learn how our company works you know so it's kind of just being able to repeat that process and get people on board it does take a good amount of time I know you're a huge Bookworm like I am were there any books or other influences that helped you overcome that challenge H I'd have to look at my collection I mean I think initially the book I'm thinking about is the 4-Hour Work week um you know he talks about a lot of different principles that you would need to understand to be able to only work 4 hours a week and to be able to travel and do the thing that we're talking about right now um one of the things was delegation so being able to or Automation and delegation being able to either automate tasks or delegate them to other people um so that you can free up some of your time yeah the 4our work week I remember I I don't know if I finished that I read that a long time ago I remember I think after read that book at the right stage in your life cuz when I read that I was still working W2 didn't really know what I wanted to do and it didn't make a lot of sense for me but if I read that now I probably should pick it back up I'm in a position where you know I am self-employed and I'm working towards this lifestyle I would probably have much bigger impact on me right now so thanks for bringing that up I'll have to check that one out next yeah I feel like there's you know a lot of situations like that where you you don't really fully understand something until 6 months later when you're trying to put it in practice and you're like oh that's what that guy was talking some of the biggest frustrations and struggles you faced on the road I like asking this because like myself you know we worked really hard to get on the road and you know some people they think once they get there and they reach that goal it's all sunshine and rainbows obviously having been on the road for two months yourself there are things that happen probably frustrations you weren't expecting so any of those frustrations or hassles that you weren't prepared for that you might want to help a fellow listener before they take their trip yeah would now be a good time to talk about the trailer flipping that is a bit of a hassle yeah let's let's go on that one sure yeah so probably one of the biggest um hassles that we faced during the trip was so this was on the second night of the trip we yeah we we left we were in Tennessee we we were driving all day so we we left in the morning um and then we drove all that day and then um we drove all the next day and then that night um you know we were driving and uh essentially what happened was the weight distribution in the trailer was off so you need to have um weight in the the front in the middle of the trailer but not the back and we think that there was too much weight in the back which essentially when we were on the highway and kind of going around like a corner and maybe like a gust of wind came from a truck driving by but it started to cavitate back and forth and death's way they say right were you driving when that happened I was asleep and then so what happened it started going back and forth and then uh eventually the whole car and trailer ended up turning all the way around and then the trailer was flipping while that was happening and the way that ended was we were facing kind of the oncoming traffic on the side of the road um and yeah the trailer was in complete pieces hopefully we can get a little video of that going over this but yeah if you're watching this on you Youtube I'll overlay some of the the photos and the videos I saw Dylan and like thankfully you guys were okay but I mean that trailer was completely shredded there was no you couldn't recognize it yeah that's that is wild man yeah it was wild and you had the you had the sway bars on defin I think just the weight distribution was the main thing we didn't know at the time and you know um yeah I would say just study up on the way that you're going to be um mounting your trailer or just the vehicle that you're in and you know safety you know thankfully we spent a year preparing and had like a whole list of things that would be good for emergencies and we brought like everything you could think of all the tools all the this the that emergency supply and we ended up using all of it like you know we we had to use every every essential thing that we brought and bring all of that you know ask Chad GPT what is all the emergency items I need for a road trip and bring all that um it'll probably help you out was your car all banged up I mean I guess not oh it was okay yeah we had a big dent in the car cuz when it was turning around the trailer um hit hit the back of the car so man so walk me through what was going through your mind so that happened probably I think it was late at night you said and you're probably on the side of the road for all night right waiting for you know you have law enforcement emergency um what do you thinking you're 2 days into the trip you worked a year for thinking about turning around you're going to persevere I mean you don't really want to sleep in your car for the next two months with your with your brother so what what was going on in your head there I you know I was asleep when it was happening and then I woke up as it as we were starting to turn around and everything U my brother who was awake and driving um told me that there was a 30ft wall of Sparks when when the trailer was flipping and everything um and there was you know there was another kind of car that was right like behind us when it was happening and they ended up um seeing what happened they immediately called the police and you know tried to get us help and everything um and then the police showed up about 20 minutes later and um later on the tow companies ended up coming to try to look at what was going on and they ended up determining they wouldn't be able to to help because it was just too much yeah it was too heavy too big tooo much stuff everywhere and we essentially we ended up sleeping there all night on the side of the road on a like a blanket outside and then um we had the toe company came kind of like in the morning and in the during the night we were also Gathering all of our valuables and putting them in a pile and then we ended up taking that pile and going to early check in for a hotel at like 4:00 a.m. um so we brought it all to the hotel we got our stuff situated and then and yeah it was kind of the the next day that we found out that they wouldn't be able to deal with the trailer for almost a week so it sat on the side of the road um just for a week yeah man that must have been like I said just so emotional and everything go I mean you're probably having a little bit of you know post-traumatic stress too cuz you know like thankfully guys are okay but it might not have been I mean that's a pretty yeah it's a miracle that we all we all made it out safe and then to kind of go into what was going on like in my mind mind at the time um well my brother and I were talking like what are we even going to do like do we just turn back we're only a day into this thing you know well on our second night but um you know we we figured we spent too long and we worked too hard to just cancel everything and turn back so we ended up deciding to stick out the trip and just do it in our car and that was quite a challenge which I'm sure we'll kind of talk about throughout this as well changed the dynamic you have cites booked and you had to kind of reschedule everything or were you just going to um we didn't have anything booked yet which is good but we had um we paid for this thing called Harvest host which lets you kind of park at different wineries or Farmland different areas like that and we were just planning on Walmart parking lots that and anywhere we could pull over to sleep you know having the trailer and then when we lost the trailer we were like yeah well we don't have any sleeping plans whatsoever we're going to have to basically um just pull over wherever we can find and that's worst enough cuz Harvest hosts don't allow if you don't have a functional camper or trailer you know with water kitchen electricity you can't sleep in the car there I'm sure you try to talk to the host and everything but um yeah that's that is an incredible story of just adversity and I'm going to have a hard time getting another show that's going to Top This one in the future cuz that's that's incredible how you guys were able to not only get through that but then have the mindset and just to stay positive I'm sure there were some you know some moments where you were kind of shaking your head but to move forward and go through with it yeah I think optimism is definitely uh like one of the the key traits I would say if you're you know it just in life you know try to be optimistic and always keep your head up and don't let anything stand in front of your way of you know what you want to do yeah I'm sure this goes without say but obviously you made the right decision right continue on that trip memories it was great you know no regrets at all and even looking back on the whole trailer experience like there was a little while where it was really stressful and I was there was a good part of the trip where I was like freaking out I was like I don't have a room I don't have a bathroom like you know I'm dirty I haven't showered in four days and um you know it was not easy for me I'm kind of like a homebody um but you know the trip made me a lot tougher and it was like really good life experience that now I could take that and you know I can know that I can live in any part of the country in a car and I don't need anything except for my body and you know a few essential things and I can survive so feels and then you get old and you realize you were taking your bed and your hot water for granted for the past you know your whole entire life did you do I mean I'm sure you stayed at like a couple airbn bees or hotels throughout or was it we did yeah yeah we needed it every once in a while um and we also had friends that we stayed at occasionally like I have a couple friends in California um you know in Colorado my mom lives there so we were kind of like bouncing around staying with friends and then getting hotels um tried to stay some in some sort of house like once or twice a week to keep our sanity um but otherwise we had to be on the road and driving and going to new places so you can't always just chill in the hotel room you know you got places to be well Swit gears a little bit into kind of money tips and budget do you have a any travel hacking money saving tips that you learned along the way that would like to share with our audience so I think one of the initial things is if you have all your backup supplies and especially things that you're going to be using a lot of so like propane was a perfect example of um if you don't have all of the extra propane that you're going to need for the trip you're going to end up having to buy it from Super overpriced like rural convenience stores that are charging you like $20 for a little can of it and you know keep in mind this is to cook pasta or rice you know so you're talking about 20 meal not including the food you don't want to pay that much for propane or stuff like that so try to um stock up where it's cheap and then use it you know in the places where it's not going to be cheap so after traveling consistently I know you did two months what would your monthly budget look like did you have a budget in mind did you completely blow it like we did did you stay on track with it or what would that budget look like for a listener yeah so I had a rough idea of how much I wanted to spend and we kind of did like a spreadsheet calculation which by the way we were way off I mean it was like not even completely relate with that yeah yeah the gas was one thing because you plug it into Google Maps or whatever and it's going to say this is the distance that it takes to go from here to Florida to California to Canada back to Connecticut and it's going to tell you that that's 12,000 mil but what you didn't consider is that there's probably an extra 5,000 miles of going driving around the national parks or the cities or going back and forth to your hotel and um you know the roads are curvy and like there's just all these little things you didn't think about that ended up adding thousands of miles to the trip that we didn't anticipate um but that being said we actually ended up spending less on gas than we originally anticipated because we didn't have the trailer we're Towing it yeah you got much better gas mileage so we anticipated uh 10 m per gallon with the trailer and then we ended up getting 20 because we didn't have it the whole time but we ended up going at least 50% over the amount of miles that we predicted so that kind of balanced out I think that I roughly spent $2,000 a month to to go on the trip and to live and you know which is really not that bad all things consider you're probably eating out a lot too cuz you didn't have a kitchen for the most part buying food and eating out like at least you know probably once a day or every other day you know cuz we needed place to work too so um yeah gas was the biggest expense and then all the food and supplies that you need is the probably the second biggest expense and excursions can also cost a decent amount um if you were staying at hotels that price would go up a lot um and you know there was particularly we were in Vegas and I I spent $500 for pretty much one night in a hotel there that quickly adds up you you can't be doing that if you want to spend one or $2,000 a month but if you want to you know if you're young if you're dependent and you feel like you want to travel and you don't have a lot of money it's totally possible you just have to rough it a little bit and uh it's not a bad thing plus the the gas prices I know you were talking about earlier when we left it was like four in change the price of gas per gallon and then out in California we saw $7.49 I know you had it similar price so that threw us off a little bit too yeah definitely looking at all the different prices for everything across the country there were some places where it's cheaper too I mean you know we got to like Arkansas and we saw like to maybe $250 I don't know exactly but it was in the $2 range which was cool too um kind of seeing all aspects of it but definitely uh yeah you get a lot of like life experience just seeing all the different things that different states have to offer too so I know you were working periodically how were you getting sell service um was it coffee shop Starbucks I know you mentioned that earlier if you want to add to that a little bit I had an unlimited hotspot plan on my phone so typically I would just be creating which phone plan offers that um AT&T okay yeah unlimited plan and yeah we pretty much I would just create hotpots like whenever I had service but no Wi-fi which was a lot of the time I mean you know in the car if I didn't have the Wi-Fi password for somewhere um but alternatively if I was at a restaurant or a coffee shop I would hook up to their WiFi and um use that because there's definitely times when you don't have service and if if that does happen then you need to find a restaurant or somewhere that can provide Wi-Fi to be able to connect all right one last question I have before you wrap up it's not exactly the best destination your favorite place but just one cool experience that you want to share like one memory that really stands out when you think about it you think man I'm glad I took that trip um I really liked Colorado and that's where my mom lives and my sister moved there on the trip we actually brought my sister to Colorado um kind of dropped her off along the way and there was a lot of different things there like the 12,000 ft mountains you know beautiful if you're into like hiking and you know scenery I think that those were some of the coolest spots that we saw for that and then in particular like one of my favorite memories was going to the Red Rocks Amphitheater so it's basically like a a concert Stadium on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Boulder um and it's like super cool maybe maybe I can get a picture of it over here as well we'll overlay that listening on YouTube we'll have a picture of it here yeah yeah and you know we just went and saw like a guy named camp and I'm not like a huge fan of his music but my family my brother does like him and my mom as well um but just like the experience was super cool like thousands of people up on top of a mountain Red Rocks all around you and like the city lights you know behind where the person's like playing their music so it was really cool first time going there y yeah have not been but definitely I've seen pictures and you're definitely making me want to add it to my list so yeah yeah definitely add it for anybody listening to the show right now who would like to set up a similar travel lifestyle that you set up what would be your one call of action for them to start doing today yeah I think it kind of depends on the route you want to take it so there's kind of two routes I could see um route one would be you're in a digital business um and you can work from anywhere and then you're trying to do a trip where you're also working and that's kind of like the approach I took to traveling um which which is trying to juggle both traveling and digital work at the same time and if you're trying to do that then do your research on all the different industries that you can go into web design social media marketing email marketing copywriting you know there's a lot out there a lot of options um and once you can kind of figure out your process and it does take a while to start anything like that or really any business whatsoever um but once you figure out your process and you start to get it rolling it doesn't take that long to be able to go on a trip like this because it only costs $2,000 a month you know like we said and if you can just if you can build up an income of a couple thousand a month from you know your business then you are able to do that and then kind of like the other route would be if you wanted to be in any career whatsoever and then just save up the money and then you don't have to work on the trip and that's another great way to do it as well because you don't have to be thinking about work and you can just enjoy the strictly just the traveling part of it which yeah most people that's probably what most people would want to do uh and it's a great way to do it as well sure I think the toughest thing to do is just finding a career that allows you if you are W2 that allows you to leave for a month or two months that's one thing we had to make an adjustment for obviously you had your own business but yeah that's a great tip um any YouTube channels or other influencers out there that you watched that motivated you and inspired you to travel um your channel for one the path Beyond so I mean you you announced it we already kind of had our trip planned like before I knew you were going on it but then seeing your videos come out on Instagram um was definitely motivating and also talking toar that yeah when you got back talking to you and seeing all the pictures and everything you know kind of like we mentioned earlier it doesn't hit you that you're going on the trip until you're on the road and I didn't really know like what to anticipate but um yeah I was just seeing all the videos and I was like this is going to be crazy like I don't even I know that when you take take a picture of something it doesn't really capture the full effect of how cool it is and I was like man these look really cool on the camera on my phone just imagine how they're going to look in person um so your channel is is definitely a big one but yeah besides for that I actually didn't do like a ton of research or like um you know I kind of just wanted to dive into it and see what happened and I was busy as well I'm so glad to hear that man I know that's like I'm sure you've gotten the same thing but like when someone tells us that we've inspired them to travel it's like one of the things one of the reasons why we did that Vlog and one of the reasons why we're doing this podcast now and I'm sure you've gotten the same feedback like you've inspired somebody else and you know this episode will Air hopefully it'll Inspire somebody else and that just that chain keeps unfolding so that's great man yeah I think that's the point yeah just try to uh you know Inspire other people and do do good things and yeah good stuff hey man thanks for coming on the show again I appreciate you taking the time here where can my audience find out more about you yeah so I have a YouTube channel um an Instagram on Instagram Dylan Davino and on YouTube just look up Dylan Davino and you'll find me so my YouTube channel is more about business and then my Instagram is just my life personal so and in terms of your work your Davino digital.com that's something you can do pretty much remotely if someone's listening to this podcast from across the country they can reach out to you and you can help them right I know we did our Google remote calls when we were setting up the website so mhm definitely we can work with anybody across the world as long as we uh speak your language right um and yeah you can look us up at Davino digital.com if you are looking for any website help or you know boosting your online presence we'd be happy to help awesome hey thanks D again for coming on the show this was a great podcast what an incredible story thank you for sharing your story on the adversity you guys faced with the camper flipping over and all the helpful tips So yeah thank you thanks for having me I appreciate it

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   

 

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

05:37 What Did Your Travel and Work Life Look Like?

08:06 How Did Your Plans Change?

09:21 Money Saving Tips

10:26 How Did You Find Campsites?

13:06 Recreation.gov

14:11 How Do You Travel with Children?

17:06 What is the Junior Ranger Program?

20:06 Did Bringing a Child on Your Road Trip Hold You Back from Anything?

21:47 The Impact of Travel at an Early Age

22:06 Get Your Child’s Input

22:51 Bringing Your Dog to National Parks

24:19 How Long Did It Take to Plan Your Road Trip?

26:41 Homeschooling Tips

30:36 Travel Frustrations

32:41 What Was Your Coolest Travel Experience?

34:36 What Is One Thing You Can’t Live Without While Traveling?

35:06 How Did You Transition Back to “Normal” Life?

36:06 How Did You Take Care of Your House?

37:22 What is One Thing Someone Could do to Get Started with a Road Trip?

39:26 What Are Your Favorite YouTube Travel Channels?

 

Laura and Jason on Social:

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

Olympic National Park Video

5 Tips for Hiking with Kids

75 Day Road Trip Playlist

 

We had a great time chatting Laura, Jason, and special guest Alexis during this episode of The Travel Path Podcast! In today’s show you will hear all about:

👪How to make it possible to take an extended 75-day road trip WITH kids, as well as some tips on keeping them happy and sane during those long drives

🏕️Big camping tips on how to find last minute campsites in popular areas

🏠What it’s like to transition back to normal life after taking such a long trip

 

And more!

 

Read the Blog:

https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-with-kids/

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 8: Andy and Rachel

 

Channels:

Happily Ever Hanks (inspired Alexis to be a travel nurse)

Live 2 Journey

Keep Your Daydream

Long Long Honeymoon

Finding Your Someday

Less Junk More Journey (inspired them to record)

 

Links:

30’ Flying Cloud Airstream

Abeka Home School Program

Devil’s Garden Campground

Recreation.gov

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript from YouTube:

he Jason and Laura thank you for joining hope and I for episode 13 of the travel path podcast listen thank you for having us been great watching all your videos and yeah we look forward to answering some questions yeah likewise so we know you on YouTube as Adventures of Mom Dad girl and a little white dog which is pretty self-explanatory but for those who aren't familiar you guys took an epic 75-day road trip from your home state of Michigan all the way out to California you went to 19 States 17 national parks and you upload content to your channel on just educational and informative videos on your trip including one video on five tips for hiking with children and I want to dive into that quite a bit on the show today about traveling with children I think there's a lot of misbelief and questions about the possibility of doing extended travel and extended road trips with kids but why don't we first start by having you share a little about yourselves yes so we've actually we're coming up on our 20th wedding anniversary um at the end of January and we' always loved traveling that was kind of one thing that brought us together um we met online and I saw that he loved the outdoors he loved biking and I was like okay I like this guy and so we are that was kind of like the core of our relationship we loveed you know we live in Michigan and Michigan has you know beautiful destinations for a long weekend trips so we do that a lot we've been out to Maine we went to Hawaii we've been to Alaska we go down to Florida a lot because we have family down there and so at traveling is kind of always been like our core and when we had a daughter we had we had her after eight years of marriage right or 10 or nine somewhere around there eight nine years of marriage and then we had a daughter and there's this baby and it was hard to travel at first it took us a whole year to finally get out there again and then we went to Mao Island staying in the Grand Hotel which is like a super nice hotel so that was like the start of her travel was like this luxury hotel and then after we did that we're like you know what it's not so bad you you know you go a little slower you have to always have food available I think that's the one big thing with any age of child is always have food they're always hungry and most of the time if they're cranky eat him a snack you know that's what I feel about it doesn't stop when you're a child exactly I like like most people we started tent camping um and then we upgraded to a popup in about 2005 or six we had that for many years and we really used that a lot um that was kind of how we really started our journey down the RV travel Road I guess you can say um we were camping in our tent walking around looking at all the campers and like oh wow that looks really nice but how did they afford it you know we're in our 20s and you know tent camping and still having fun but kind of dreaming of that day when we you know could get our own camper and then yeah we really used our popup a lot yeah if you would have told me I'd have an Airstream and driving all over the country you know Towing it 20 years ago go out of it you're crazy cuz I I didn't like the idea even pulling a trailer really but even the popup I was not a big fan of it and just after a while you you figure things out and get over it and one thing leads to another and then here we are and now we can't get enough of it it's like anytime we have oh look there's four days off let's go somewhere where we want to go I'm already learning a ton here because I thought you guys just did this long 75 Day Road Trip you guys have been traveling for a long time so we could spend all day talking about travel I do want to talk and kind of narrow down on this road trip I think a lot of people this like a road trip like this is something a lot of people have on a bucket list and especially doing with a kid um so during this road trip what did your travel and work life look like so we actually because we don't work remotely we really had to take time off work and Jason was wanting to switch careers and so it was like this perfect opportunity to say well hey instead of jumping right into the next job why don't we take some time we've always wanted to go out west you know it was kind of it felt unattainable to us us because you want to have a certain amount of time to go out there so we really it was never really in our thoughts of Future travel but it kind of just happened and then with 2020 shutting everything down we were able to save up like a whole Year's worth of travel funds so we didn't even really plan to like um save money for this trip because we just naturally saved it because 2020 kept us home so so then we had the budget we had this sense of like it was just a golden opportunity was yeah it just really out everything everything worked out for us and not to say you you couldn't plan for it it was funny the urge of going west like we really planned we had everything planned out from Michigan all the way to Glacier National Park we were in Glacier National Park for two weeks and then we were just kind of mosy on back to Michigan maybe go through North Dakota the Upper Peninsula and you know just kind of head back home but then we were just like we kept looking we're like oh well Washington's not that far away that far like okay let's just go to Washington we'll just go to Washington and then we'll come back that's that's what we said then we're out and Washington and we're like oh the Oregon coast looks really cool and we looked we're like it's only a few more hours let's just go to the Oregon coast and then I was like I've always wanted to travel California ju and see the Redwoods so then we're like Okay and like every little tiny thing so that's why like like right now at this point on our YouTube videos we're kind of at that point where we're starting to head down the coast things move really fast because he's just checking for Reser you know cancellations we're we're here one night we're here two nights the rest of the journey back was like really fast because we kept like having this ansy itch of like we got to keep going for farther and farther well the big thing too was Alexis really wanted to be back at uh in Michigan for her birthday to spend it at Dunes Harbor Campground so they've always gone there for her birthdays and I'm like are you sure that's really where you want to be we're like we're in

California we we made it back y we did it for her

reluctantly so how long did you originally plan for so was it 75 days you were just going to stick around the glacier area or did it just continue your trip continue going it did kind of continue because um the you know we didn't have like a budget per se but we had a certain amount of money we had to spend and so that money lasted us longer than I thought I thought oh wow we still have all this money left you know so let's keep going you know so because things out west were not nearly as expensive as I thought people always say oh the cost of living it's so expensive so I was prepared for high grocery bills and you know we didn't know for sure like you know camping reservations gas all those things and the fuel and stuff yeah fuel definitely was our biggest um purchase for sure but yeah the money stretched farther than um we planned that it was we were we were utilizing a lot of anytime I we we could and we did a lot we camped in the national parks and those range from you know 20 to $25 a night so it's what say saves a ton of money right there and and you're right in the Parks and it's ideal and we had travel with a generator we had one uh suitcase style solar panel with us and we learned real fast how long our batteries didn't last um we only had uh two lead acid batteries at the time you certainly don't hear very often people traveling they have more money than they expect to so in terms of we can jump ahead a little bit to like the travel hacks and money saving tips but it sounds like you were finding camping spots were there any other things you found useful in saving money during your trip well and just in making our own food instead of eating out you know eating out can cost a lot of money I mean just buying a beverage is three to5 dollar you know whereas if you eat at home or eat in your camper you know you're able to save a lot of money and there were honestly times that we only ate two meals a day and just snacked because we were just so busy like okay I guess we're e almonds for dinner again you know so honestly there were some days where like popping in you know a hot dog you know so the eating was definitely probably on the lower scale yeah I'd say so not that we starve but right we didn't starve but we certainly we're not big restaurant people anyways we did a lot of pbjs and you know ham wraps in the van on a budget yep that saves a lot of money I mean it saves a lot of money so now you brought up you were able to kind of adjust your schedule and you were flexible with where you were traveling and you were staying in National Parks did you have a hard time cuz we've talked to people who have had difficult times finding places to stay and some people have told us you need to like book campsites months and months and months ahead of time how easy was it for you to maneuver and just kind of freestyle it in terms of where you were sleeping we were very fortunate uh I did spend quite a bit of time you know on recreation.gov just every so often just keep looking for cancellations literally from Glacier all the way till we got home that that's how we found our spots all right so literally half of the 75 days were just and that's why they were a lot of times only one or two nights whereas earlier in our trip like we had the two weeks in Glacier and then we able we're able to get two weeks in Washington because we found a first come for serf site on at South Beach which was really nice that's probably one of the biggest tips I give too is you try to find the area that you're going to um and lot out west there's so many first come first serve opportunities if you can get get some place for one or two nights go out and check out the the first come first serve and you'd be surprised how easy it is getting some of those right especially when you start talking to um this the manager there and letting him know yeah the camp poost um because we actually had one night at kaylock we only had the one night booked at kaylock and then we had like two at the whole river rainforest we were after the one night we like we asked the r the ranger there you know are there any first come first serve opportunities and they said oh yeah just right down the road at South Beach we just drove down there and you know as you start talking to people you know everyone who camps is always really nice too and somebody another couple saw that we were kind of looking around and they're like hey are you looking to Camp here we're like well yeah and she said we're actually going to leave here in like 30 minutes so that was Ocean Front too ocean right on the Pacific Ocean so so she's like well you guys want to hang out here because and Jason's like he just he went back himself to get the camper Alexa stayed on the site to you know hold it for us and then we're like we were I think we did seven nights at first and then we're like we need to stay here longer and we did five more nights that was only $2 yeah 20 there's no hookups or anything but I mean right on the Pacific Ocean it was so pretty it so it sounds like just recreation.gov we'll put a link in the show notes for that and then just being persistent constantly checking it people do last minute cancellations and just being on it to be to pick that up yeah I think early morning didn't you find like you did pretty good early morning I was just trying to utilize whenever I can get a signal too because that's sort of thing out west it's is pretty spotty and you kind of have to know where you can get the signal sometimes different parts of the campground is better than other parts as I'm sure you've discovered and it took a little bit of doing but it's possible even getting the glacier reservations like to start I was on there 8:00 a.m. the day they opened up and I had a really hard time getting campsites there but I was able to get the two weeks there but that was even a struggle and I was like on top of that like right when they opened up I will say too with recreation.gov it does take a minute to kind of figure out how it works so for anyone listening that hasn't used recreation.gov before I would say go in do some test runs figure out how it operates before you're in that crunch of like keep refreshing to find your campsite for where you are that night it's not an app right it's no very old school just keep refreshing and there were times that Jason Alexis and I were all on a different device refreshing the page you know okay this because it would show on Florida State Parks it will show that they're locked and so like you see one's locked and you're like okay and you just keep refreshing it and it will open up but yeah it's it's a little bit of a stressful situation what time of year was your road trip it was um we left Memorial weekend and then we got back by August 11th which is my daughter's birthday ah just in time yeah we were like barely getting back cuz we were trying to utilize as much time as we could so you're traveling with your daughter Alexis and when hope and I were traveling people would talk to us they'd see us in our van and the first comment we'd get like clockwork was well you don't have kids yet right people there's this misbelief and I think a lot of people think that you just can't do this you can't do this if you have commitments like kids or pets or any other commitments like that how would you answer the question if somebody were to say that they can't travel because they have children they can't do an extended road trip because they have children I think start small you know go for a weekend somewhere and kind of see okay well how do they do what adjustments do I need to make is my child asking are they hungry all the time do they need maybe a little more stimulation you know there's a lot of fun little road trip um games you can do and I know one thing that that I of course I probably enjoyed it more than Alexis did but every time we cross a state line I would have a book about that state and so we'd learn about the state we'd ask we had this like kind of trivia game where I say I Jason and Alexis I would ask them okay what do you think the population of Nevada is you know and so we kind of like so that kind of helped get entertain in little pockets there um you can also make little goodie bags we never had to do this for Alexis because she was driving down down to Florida to Michigan and back since she was a baby so she was used to um traveling long distances but if you're child isn't you can have like an hourly goodie bag so like 8:00 a.m. they get a little bag that get to open up and it's a dollar store Toy 9:00 a.m. so that way like every hour they have something new you can get like little markers that you can draw on the window that can wash off pretty easily squishy balls I mean there's so many little Dollar Store goodies that you can actually package up hour by hour and hand it to them so that way the road trip goes much faster for them and of course there was screen time oh yes and there you know screen time when you're on that long of a trip screen time is kind of inevitable you know I wonder what my mom did on our 4-Hour trip trips down to Ohio like Mom what did we do but I'm glad you mentioned some of those other tips obviously there was screen time involved there but I think it's great that you had her engaged in you know reading books and doing these other games instead of just giving her an iPad and having her consume FaceTime all day the entire time right because that does make for a cranky kid I was also a teacher um before I had Alexis I was a teacher and I could notice when a child had had more screen time at home because they acted very different at school so Behavior can actually be really affected by screen time and sugar so I would say the snacks try not to do snacks with too much sugar and like one of our of course Alexis loves carrots cucumbers and hummus and those take forever to eat so I mean she it would like three state lines I think one time that bag of cucumbers and humus lasted or the other thing we did too was once we got into some national parks is we would use the Junior Ranger programs yes be asking questions based on those books and criteria and that was very very cool to uh to do that she I don't know how many badges she got one for every part 18 I think yeah 18 badges I would highly recommend people take advantage of that for their kids and then we also discovered that not just national parks but state parks often have Junior Ranger programs too so even if you're just visiting state parks in the area so we can dive a little bit deeper into that program um so is that something is like you get there is it a class is it a guided tour by some of the um Rangers at the park what does that look like how much of a commitment is that if you're spending time at a national Park so there there is a decent amount of commitment involved um you just go to the visitors center and ask for the junior Ranger book and then depending on their age will depend on how many pages they're supposed to fill out and so even if maybe her designated page is only eight pages but I knew we were going to be there a little while I'd have her do the whole book anyway so you can kind of gauge it as a parent as well and then you usually have to do at least one Ranger program that they provide there and then you'll have that Ranger sign the book and then you just turn it back into the visitors Center you have like a whole little oath that you get to do and then you get the badge and it I mean it's a really it's really cool because each Park is different so even though in the National Park system is one system each national park has it makes its own book so each book is very different they have their own they can pick their own badge they have their own oath that they say oh that's awesome now is that a free program everywhere but Yellowstone so Yellowstone charges $3 um that just for the badger actually they gave a patch I believe yeah they gave a patch so was for the book in the patch um but everywhere else was free so that was the only one it came across that did charge very cool that's wonderful in terms of that commitment is it like a half a day couple hours are you outside I imagine you're doing some hiking trails and they're showing the children you know types of you know species trees plants animals I would say half a day it just depends on the program that they you like Laura mentioned you you would most of the time be required to go to a ranger program I think those were kind of you could pick which ones you wanted to go so I remember the one we did at Glacier she was talking about the grizzly bears and they had a grizzly bear fur there and they talked about you know how you're supposed to be bearware and all that kind of good stuff relating to pairs you're not just filling out the book you also have to do a ranger program which are usually about an hour I would recommend the ranger programs anytime you can take advantage of those anyways they're always well done and definitely going to leave learning something oh yeah I actually met a man from Japan that his goal he was probably 50 or 60 and he was traveling by himself but his goal was to actually get the junior Ranger badge from every National Park while he was here in America and then one of the um up at uh Rocky Mountain the ranger there mentioned that there was a group of um the golden 50s I think they called them there was this 50-year-old women this group and they were going around becoming Junior Rangers at all the national parks so it's not just for kids it's never too late yeah it's never too late to be a junior Ranger yeah Lexis has she's got 17 Junior Ranger padges so she's ahead of a lot of other kids her age were there any things on your trip that you thought not necessarily having Lexus like was a hindrance but were there any things that you realized you just couldn't do I would say at this point no because even when we got to Maine she climbed Mount Kaden with us we did we actually didn't get to the top so i' say the only hindrance is we didn't go to the top because we didn't want three quarters of the way we we we want yeah three three quarters of the way and I would say we may have pushed ourselves to the top if it were just the two of us but other than that like she's really a trooper and again that kind of goes back to her Beginnings when she was a toddler we were taking her out on Trails you know so yeah we didn't just start with something like that you know she's done a lot of trails in Maine she's done the Beehive we've done Blood Mountain in Georgia she's done quite a bit of hiking that's great I think it's great that you're doing that and it reminds me a little bit of what Andy and Rachel said in episode 8 where they talked about on birthdays and Christmas and holidays they give their kids gifts but they also make a point to take them on adventures and get experiences in and they mentioned it just makes them more well-rounded and my parents they took me and my sisters on a trip when I was little cross country trip and I think I attribute a lot of that to kind of the desire I had to take Hope on a trip and show her some of the amazing parts of this country and you know here we are now doing this we have kind of a passion for travel we have this podcast this website we're trying to help people reach our travel goals so you never know what type of an impact something like that can have when you get those experiences in at a young age yeah that's that's the hope that she'll want to continue outdoor Lifestyle on her own as an adult and she's already talked about it because she really wants to become a nurse so she wants to be a travel nurse so she's already talked about a travel nurse she said she wants to get a van get some dogs so she's already kind of have this plan of it she wants to continue traveling so that's kind of cool yeah and if you're listening we'd love to have a travel nurse on the show at some point too and talk about that lifestyle um I know there's a lot of people that's becoming more and more of a popular thing so if you're listening and you're getting into Travel Nursing contact us at at travel.com we'd love to have you on I'm sure sure you've heard of Happily Ever Hanks they they were they were travel nurses maybe we'll have to reach out to them yeah and I will say another thing for for children would be that kind of get their input don't make them feel like okay Mom and Dad are like planning the whole day the whole week get their input say you know what would you like to do in this area you know she offers some information of different options what's something you'd like to do while we're here and that's kind of so she does really feel like she's part of a team you know she's not just the kid tagal kid doing what Mommy and Daddy want alth say we did more scenic drives than she would have probably chos that's that's what I like to do so like well see I said you daddy likes a scenic drives you want to go play in the water so we do both see it's all about balance now speaking of pully you said you go to a lot of national parks and a lot of national parks on those Trails don't allow dogs so what is your game plan with pully when you're doing those hikes so we honestly often just don't do the hikes um there are times you know that we will as long as the temperatures are okay and we know we can safely leave her in the camper you know we have hookups it's not GNA be overly hot or cold because even if we have hookups and it's going to be really hot we wouldn't want to leave her in there we don't trust it lose electricity yeah and like even at Yellowstone when we did the scenic drive you know she can't come out to maybe like the um grand prismatic but because it was only 15 minutes you know we can leave her in the truck we can actually leave the truck running he has an on his phone that monitors you know whether trucks on or off and so we could safely like do a quick little Boardwalk comeback um dogs are also allowed in Yellowstone to go anywhere like with 100 feet of the road so if it's just a Scenic Lookout she could actually come with us you know check out The Cauldron or check out boiling pots but she just couldn't go on the boardwalk Trails well I think it's proof you guys are certainly navigating traveling with not just a child or not just a pet but both and making it work and still getting some really epic adventures and so so good for you guys so you guys backtracking a little bit I know you didn't do a ton of planning before taking this road trip you kind of freestyled a lot of it but obviously you didn't just wake up one day and decided to do a 75 Day Road Trip how much what was that time frame between when you decided you wanted to do it and when you actually left and what extra steps were involved to plan around Alexis yeah well I think it kind of started off with we purchased our Airstream in November because we knew he wanted to go down to Florida to visit my grandma you know he didn't want to bring we had a rock camper at that time a travel trailer he was like I do not want to pull that thing down to Florida that thing is it's just bulky like I could even feel it in the passenger seat it felt like there was a backpack on your truck kind of thing it just didn't tow well with our vehicle at the time and that you know airst streams are known to you know togue well and and they do it's very it's quite a bit noticeable and the difference between your typical box trailer and versus Airstream so that's that us going down to Florida and back and realizing wow this is actually doable that's kind of what triggered us to plan the 75-day road trip it was that and then also we had friends who had moved from Colorado to Michigan for three years they're like okay no we're going back to Colorado and so they planed to they actually had never camped before they bought a truck bought a camper decided to travel for a year and then settle back down in Colorado and seeing her pictures of out west really kind of was like wow if the Wilsons are doing it like we could do it you know we've been camping for years and years and now we've got the airom we feel comfortable traveling long distances with it so then that January when we got back from Florida that's when we started because that's when the Glacier National Park um reservations opened up as well and we're so glad that we did it because it literally is like one of those things that was it's lifechanging honestly it's life changing because now we're kind of in the works of trying to you know get rid of things we're going to sell our house and we're planning to go out for another year and it definitely like you said it was addicting extremely addicting so now it's like we we honestly have not found the flow to get back to normal life you know stationary life because we just find that you know we just crave it too much but yeah that's that's what this 75 Day Road Trip did to us it it ruined us you never know the long-term effects so it sounds like about six months roughly November is when you purchased the Airstream and then you took off run Memorial Day in May so it's 6 months you can plan this trip you know start giving up in that time frame make the reservations for excursions and things like that as far as Alexis and schooling is that you're going to be moving towards homeschooling at that point we've actually I've homeschooled her since um since kindergarten so I was a teacher for eight years before I had her and I just we're we're kind of out in the country I'm not as fond of our um school system here and there's just certain things when you're a teacher it's harder to like say okay this is this is what I kind of want her to learn and there's so many great programs out there for homeschool that you know it's so easy to homeschool your child I wouldn't say it's for everybody I think I think because of your teaching background is is made it work that you just have to be dedicated you have to put the time aside so they can learn and and I feel like there's so many more people going towards homeschooling now that even if you don't have a teaching background and you want to move into doing this with your family you know there's so many resources now I was homeschooled up until 8th grade and it was like nobody did that unless you were like like you know like nobody did that nobody homeschooled it was a very small community but now there's just so many resources there's so many people homeschooling and moving to that that even if you don't have that teaching background I feel like you could make that a step towards your travel goals sure oh definitely and there's like video curriculums as well so it's like you can have your whole Le your whole school day on video with the teacher and um yeah just it's so laid out and there's so many different options that it's very easy for people at least attempt homeschooling now my friend um who did attempt it for a year she's like I can't do this anymore so it's definitely not for everybody even with everything laid out because it does take it takes a little more patience again there's that patience again um takes more patience it does take a little more planning and it takes um dedication too you know because that's the tricky thing it's like it's so easy to say A you know okay we'll do that tomorrow you know so you really have to be dedicated and know okay this is what you have to get done for the week you know that there's a lot of kids out there too people like I want my kid to be socialized you'd be surprised how fast they make friends with in the campgr with whoever or just in the community you know there's a lot of homeschool groups so if you are stationary you know there's tons of homeschool groups in almost any area I've heard of something that a lot of people don't think about when they talk about kids being socialized they're thinking about kids always being with other kids their age which isn't always like a good thing for them to be around kids they're same age all the time you know they need to be around younger kids older kids older people like we actually go to nursing homes and we'll sing and and play games and we share the puppies or you know P loves going to nursing home so even just that kind of interaction learning how to talk with all different ages and different kinds of people is super important with socialization because a lot of times when people think of children's social socialization it's always about their same age but there's a broad broad spectrum of who they should be socialized with as well like so many little kids are afraid of like seniors like they they kind they're taking back they're afraid of an older person so letting them be exposed and you know sharing things with them is super important yeah oh for sure you mentioned a few resources um did you want to just mention those what those were and I'll put them in the show notes below but in case anyone's interested in learning about some of these homeschooling programs or online resources what were those um the one we use actually is a becca.com they have a full range and it's interesting because I went to a Christian school and I used ECA during my schooling and so it's really cool that I remember like her sixth grade right now she's doing uh creative learn or creative writing and I Saidi remember doing creative writing and sure enough at my mom's house I found my sixth grade creative writing book so we're kind of comparing notes with like what I would write and what she would write at the same age so for us it's kind of nostalgic too doing a BCA program because that's what I used when I was in school yeah okay very good it will add that below thank you for sharing we have a 17 Junior Ranger badge holder Alexis welcome to the travel path podcast so we heard during your 75 day trip you had a couple of frustrations yeah so one of the main ones was so I was sleeping on the dinette and I called it the cracky dinette it was hard as a rock and our airst stream that we had at that time was a 27 foot H Flying Cloud you know it had the two twin beds for us but then you know the dinette would make into a bed and even had like a couch next to the dinette they would pull out and almost be like another twin bed so there's a lot of sleeping opportunities in there but I wouldn't say it's uncomfortable I anybody to see this and be like oh that's really uncomfortable it's it's better than your average travel trailers dyette but it's maybe not for 75 days it's more for you know a week trip or a weekend so I spent a lot of nights on there D that Laura did as well you're kind of rotated but it wasn't ideal um so that's you know we did upgrade to a bu model Airstream you now have a 30 foot Flying Cloud with the bunk yeah it's much better was that the worst part of the road trip or there anything else that any other problems you had I don't really remember any other problems except for the bed situation yeah but I I just want to put you know say something about that and people always say it online start with what you have don't don't wait for you know the perfect rig or you know the perfect truck or whatever just start with what you have because it if you like doing this you're more than likely going to change it anyways we saw on some of your YouTube videos a junior Ranger program it looked like you were having a ton of fun how was that the junior Ranger program it was really fun um my favorite par was probably um Olympic so I remember I really liked the um I thought the tide pools were really cool I remember I learned a lot we went in like didn't we go on like some sort of a um like a tour through the we did yeah I remember we saw like a lot of cool sea stars and enemies and stuff awesome we asked this question in every show but now that we have Alexis here I want to ask it here we'll ask each of you guys but what was the coolest experience you guys had during your 75 day road trip I know for me that first boondocking experience in the Badlands was like my jaw just dropped that like wow this is like so cool it's so different you know our first look at bison and like all the wildlife there and just like kind of that little taste and then just at each each aspect there was something unique the first tons were the first view of the Rockies Mount rer was like completely wowed us and you know all these different things and then you know tide pooling and then we go to Utah and Hike the hoodo and like everything was just so cool and so fresh and new and interesting to us that it was like the whole 75 day road trip for me at least was like the coolest thing I know you have some specific things right yeah I really liked obviously I like Olympic National Park and I also really like Zion and Bryce in Utah I like I remember feeling like I was like on like Mars or something cuz I never really I never really like saw like red dirt or like Red Rocks really none of us had it is different out there especially coming from Michigan or New England yeah people always ask what my favorite is I'm not a person that have favorites but one thing that kind of always sticks in my mind about a cool moment for me was they were off doing something we we were lucky enough to be uh camping in inside Arches National Park I was just sitting there there was the sun was going down it was getting dark I was all by myself it was super quiet and then this this coyote just like walked right past me looked at me and just kept going I thought that was that was just that was just super neat that doesn't happen every day absolutely I don't know that camp just had such a out of this world feel to it was Devil's Garden campgr is really hard to get into so you did a 75 Day Road Trip what was one thing you guys learned that you could not live without a real

bed honestly for us it was a little bit of the opposite we actually realized how many things we didn't need like after being gone for 75 days and like realizing all that stuff back in our house I mean I would have rather had a few extra sets of civilware but other than that it's like you kind of realize what you don't need do you have any tips in terms of transition in back to normal life so you took the 75-day road trip obviously um you're vacationing you're having a blast and then you're going back to work back to normal life any tips for somebody when they're going through that transition don't do it just keep going I say for us it just it hasn't been an easy transition I don't think we've made that transition yet no it's it might be different for everybody I think rving is one of those things where either especially longterm travels you either love it or you hate it and if you love it I think you're it's going to change your life well definitely I know our friends the Wilsons I had mentioned you know that had been on their one-year road trip they were pretty happy to get back to regular life like they were like okay you know it was fun while it lasted kind of thing but they were ready so I think it's it depends on the person one thing I missed maybe out on the road was I'm a very scheduled person I like having a set schedule I like you know I have a morning routine and all these different things like the whole time we were out I never did any stretches any ab exercises I literally did nothing like that because it was hard to fit it in my day so that's probably one thing I'd say that was an interesting uh transition is that it was kind of nice being getting back to a normal schedule now what did you guys do you were gone for 75 days straight what did you do with your house and your mail well we have the advantage of my parents live very close and so they they kind of used our house as an Airbnb kind of thing so it was kind of fun place for them to stay my mom lives way out in the country she they don't have cable or anything like that so she loved watching like her Fox News is her favorite thing to watch we actually had uh my nephew cut the grass it sounds like too just putting those systems in place right so even if you don't have family you know buttoning things up getting your mail forwarded I mean it's certainly doable but it definitely has a perk when you've just got those people you trust real close by yeah right and actually my friend who's in a position of she doesn't really have a family member in town and we won't be around to help her as much but she has two birds that and she's going to be gone for six weeks in Florida so she just posted on Facebook saying if there are any other bird lovers out there and then she met them in person she felt like they were a trustworthy person and um that's how she found someone to care for her Birds while she was gone for somebody listening to this podcast right now who wants to set up a 75 Day Road Trip what would be one thing they can do today to get them going there you know researching where you'd like to go is a big thing and like learning about the area but not only that like if you think about our everyday lives and our even our monthly expenses there's something that you can cut out you know maybe you buy coffee every other day or every week you know all those little tiny expenses really add up I feel like if you just cut out like with us we didn't purposely cut out restaurants and traveling for the year but because it was cut out because of the pandemic that's how we were able to save up a you know large chunk to be able to take this road trip I would just say educate yourself especially with your rig you want to know you know how to make adjustments to your hitch if you need to or or you know change the fuses or just kind of know you know what problems you might have and you can learn all that stuff on YouTube watching different channels you know have a tool kit for anything you might need to work on while you're done in your rig and uh just just educate yourself on on the whole thing and I would say start taking small trips at a time I would even say that too for people that don't know if they're going to like rving before you make that investment if you don't anything just rent something because unfortunately it's not like it used to be where if you buy something now you're going to take a loss where you know we we bought a couple campers and we pretty much sold them for what we paid for them and it's starting to take a shift now and an RV Show RV Show going to an RV Show and going in and out of all those different RVs like you really get a little bit of a feel and the ones we did like we would sit in them for a while and so like you know we'd see probably 20 different people coming in now as we were sitting there but we wanted to kind of really get a feel of do we like this space does this feel comfortable and like imagine yourself imagine yourself doing your daily routine you know getting up in the morning making your tea or whatever you do in the morning like sitting there imagine yourself in your daily routine and how is how would that look like in this rig yeah and apart from RV shows those are all pretty much free actional steps you can take to get you going there and then once you actually take those steps you're you're in that mindset now and you are a little you know that much more motivated to get it done so great okay you mentioned live to Journey were there any other YouTube channels or influences that you guys watched or books you read to get you going on your journey um we're big fans of keep your Daydream learned a ton from them um same with long long honeymoon those are probably my two go-to channels of how to RV what problems to you know you can how you can avoid the issues on the road they're they're very open and sharing you know their experiences um we we enjoy finding your someday he's guys finding that's is finding our someday sweatshirt on the happy L um there's who else we want L junk more Jour Le junk more Journeys been a good one there's and actually less junk more Journeys what inspired me to want to record our trip because I would watch them and they have a young daughter named Hensley that's just a little younger than Alexis and I would see oh I wish I would have recorded Alexis you know I wish like well I still can and so that's kind of really what inspired me to record and and want to put them on YouTube is because I I enjoy their you know Hensley watching Hensley grow up so much that I thought you know I wanted to keep that record of Alexis as well how about you Alexis any YouTube channels you are watching I like happily ever Hanks and that's pretty much well and well she was really liking Cara Nate for a while oh yeah Caren Nate she's my go-to to help me with music on our YouTube channel and so if this s the song sounds too much like Caren Nate music she's like Mom that's not your style that's Ken Nate music that's funny at least she's honest there we go go all right guys well while our audience is checking out those channels one more time where can they find out more about you guys um so you can find us on YouTube Adventures of mom dead girl and a little white dog um we do have a Facebook page with that same name as well and then we're on Instagram as Iridessa Airstream and I I did want to add too that we also really enjoy watching the path Beyond it's been really fun it's been really fun watching your journey that's like I said so similar to ours but yet very different and it's and sometimes I almost prefer watching someone be to a you know a video on some place that we've already been and seeing their take on the place you know and not just watching new places that we can explore well so true yeah I think you commented on a video a while back that it was almost like we we did the same trip but completely different experiences thank you for the shout out awesome all right guys I'll put a link below in the show notes for all those channels and yeah Alexis Jason Laura thanks again thanks

Welcome back, Pathfinders! Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kevin and Taylor Mathers from Mathers on the Map. Their story is nothing short of inspiring – a tale of wanderlust turned lifestyle. Once they dipped their toes into the world of travel, they were hooked, and they took actionable steps to turn full-time travel into their reality.

While their journey takes many forms, van life remains their favorite mode of exploration. For Kevin and Taylor, it's not just about the destination; it's about the journey, and nothing encapsulates this better than life on the road.

From a Long-Distance Relationship to Travel Hacking

Their journey began with a long-distance relationship that prompted them to seek out ways to save money on travel. Enter travel hacking – a game-changer that allowed them to snag $20,000 plane tickets for a mere $100, thanks to credit card bonuses and strategic spending. This savvy approach to travel has saved them over $100,000 over the years, making globe-trotting more accessible than ever.

Escaping the Rat Race: From Corporate Careers to Mathers On The Map

The conventional nine-to-five grind wasn't cutting it for Kevin. While on the path to becoming a corporate IT VP, a glimpse into the world of Instagram opened his eyes to a new realm of possibilities. Inspired by those making a living through social media, Kevin dove headfirst into entrepreneurship, trading endless hours at the office for a more flexible and fulfilling lifestyle. Today, they've transitioned from side hustles to full-time YouTubers, proving that with dedication and ingenuity, anyone can craft their dream career.

Benefits Beyond the Rat Race

Leaving behind the security of a traditional job can be daunting, especially when faced with the allure of benefits and pensions. However, Kevin and Taylor stress the importance of evaluating these perks critically. Not all benefits are created equal, and understanding what you truly need versus what you're sacrificing is essential before taking the leap into full-time entrepreneurship.

It Started With a Road Trip From Coast to Coast

Before they were Mathers on the Map, a seven-day road trip across the US for a work relocation marked the beginning of their adventure. From the Grand Canyon to Elvis's House, each stop fueled their passion for exploration. This journey kickstarted their travel goals, ultimately inspiring them to aim for 30 countries before turning 30.

Nursing Per Diem: Balancing Work and Wanderlust

Taylor's career as a travel nurse provided the perfect balance between work and travel. With flexible contracts and ample time off, she was able to explore various destinations while still pursuing her passion for nursing. Transitioning to per diem nursing allowed even more freedom, aligning perfectly with their nomadic lifestyle.

House Hacking: Building Wealth Through Real Estate

Their duplex was a game-changer, allowing them to offset their mortgage while building wealth through real estate. Inspired by the concept of house hacking, they transformed their living situation into a profitable investment. By leveraging Airbnb and long-term rentals, they've created a sustainable source of income that allows them to travel.

The 30 Under 30 Challenge: Chasing Adventures Around the Globe

From Costa Rica to Bali, Mathers on the Map embarked on a mission to explore 30 countries before hitting the big 3-0. Breaking free from the conventional vacation mold, they embraced backpacking and gap years, opening themselves up to a world of adventure and cultural immersion.

Van Builds: Crafting the Perfect Home on Wheels

Two van builds later and they've perfected their mobile abode. From climate control for their baby to a custom crib, each upgrade reflects their evolving needs and priorities. By prioritizing functionality over luxury, they've created a cozy haven on wheels that accommodates their growing family.

Current Challenges and Memorable Moments

Balancing home life with their nomadic lifestyle poses its challenges, but the memories they've created along the way make it all worthwhile. From impromptu house tours in the Philippines to slowing down to savor moments with their son, Wyatt, every experience enriches their journey and strengthens their bond as a family.

In the end, Mathers on the Map isn't just about the places they've been; it's about the people they've met, the lessons they've learned, and the memories they've made along the way. As they continue to chart their course through life, one thing remains certain – the adventure never ends for this inspiring duo.

Final Five

1 Thing You NEED While Traveling:

·        A No international fees ATM card and Credit Card

1 Thing You Learned You DON’T Need:

·        Half as many clothes

1 Question:

·        What is your favorite destination?

·        How much do you make on YouTube?

1 Thing to Start:

·        Start a side hustle

·        Look into travel hacking.

YouTube Channels

·        Kara and Nate

·        The Van Wives

·        Flying the Nest

Travel Tips

·        Baja

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        03:30 Travel Hacking

·        07:45 Exiting the Rat Race

·        12:15 What Are Your Benefits?

·        14:15 It Started with a Road Trip

·        18:00 Nursing Per Diem vs. Travel Nursing

·        21:45 House Hacking

·        26:45 Delicioats

·        27:30 Commitments of Owning Real Estate

·        30:15 30 Under 30

·        41:45 Van Builds

·        47:00 Mistakes and Embarrassing Story

·        48:30 Current Travel Frustrations

·        49:45 What Do You Love Most About Your Travel Lifestyle?

·        55:00 Coolest Travel Experience

·        57:15 Final Five

 

Mathers on the Map Online

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MathersOnTheMap

·        Website: https://www.mathersonthemap.com/

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathersonthemap

·        Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mathersonthemap

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MathersOnTheMap/

 

Links

·        Real Estate

·        BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/

·        Rich Dad Poor Dad: https://amzn.to/3QAxyoz

·        The Book on Rental Property Investing: https://amzn.to/3UySFsJ

·        (Commissions earned through purchases on this page)

·        Ultimate House Hack Blog: https://atravelpath.com/become-the-ultimate-house-hacker-by-buying-an-rv/

 

Past Episodes

·        Laura and Jason: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-with-kids/

·        The Miles Van Life: https://atravelpath.com/show18/

·        HappilyEverHanks: https://atravelpath.com/happily-ever-hanks/

·        Koda and Court: https://atravelpath.com/travel-nursing/

 

Mathers On The Map Content

·        Van Build Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfHkUGUkCAgw1D-RgEz262fOdf3RjNad8

·        Their Van Build Series 2.0: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfHkUGUkCAgzxf-EkF3-0foL8WLZecptt

·        Van Life with a Baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLmsySs2e7M&t=1276s

 

Products

·        Ogo Composting Toilet: https://amzn.to/3Wx3aPU

 

Travel Hacking

·        Charles Schwab No International Fees Debit Card: https://www.schwab.com/checking

·        The Points Guy: https://thepointsguy.com/

Delicioats

https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

Music

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

www.atravelpath.com

 

Andy and Rachel:

Andy and Rachel - YouTube

Andy Rachel (@andyandrachelvlog) • Instagram photos and videos

AR Treasures (artreasuresphotography.com)

 

It was great to have Andy and Rachel back on the show to chat about their favorite place. If you missed their incredible story on how they use house-hacking and created multiple businesses to support their travel lifestyle, don’t forget to listen!

 

☕

Kona Coffee & Tea – Kona Coffee & Tea (konacoffeeandtea.com)

 

🤿

Ka'Awaloa - Captain Cook Monument Trail, Hawaii, Hawaii - 2,675 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

Shark’s Cove - Hawaii Travel Guide (hawaiiactivities.com)

Things to Do, Tickets, Tours & Attractions | 2024 | Viator

 

 

🏠

Vrbo | Book your vacation rentals: beach houses, cabins, condos & more

Airbnb | Vacation rentals, cabins, beach houses, & more

International house-sitting community - Nomador

 

Blog Resources: https://atravelpath.com/hawaii/

 

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript from YouTube:

Andy and Rachel thank you guys for coming back to the travel path podcast thank you hey guys so we're doing the travel tips segment where we have the guests come back and talk about the one destination they know best before we get into that if you haven't heard the first part definitely tune in and you'll learn that you can definitely travel without needing an RV without needing a van and you can travel with kids so definitely check out Andy and Rachel story it was really inspiring and I encourage everyone to listen you'll learn a ton so Andy and Rachel what is the destination we're talking about today Hawaii are we talking about a specific Island let's talk about all of them all them yeah we'll try we'll cheer pick maybe yeah pick favorite things from each basically I love that why is Hawaii so special to the both of you for me I think Hawaii just has a a really cool Vibe I think we kind of just align with it really well we've always it just it's like that feeling when you when you get off an airplane or you you know you finally get to a destination and you can just feel it in your like gut you're like I like this place you know we feel home there yeah so I think that's why yeah um also I think the diversity of the Landscapes really really attract I'm like doing a little hus it like really really attracts us because there's just so much diversity on each island from the waterfalls to the mountains to the beaches to Wildlife to the flowers like there's just so much going on and how much people rece ECT the Land There the locals like it's huge to respect the land that's really important to us too yeah that's awesome now how much time have you guys spent there we typically we usually can't leave for too long so what what we have done is about a week in each island and so so far the first island we went to was Maui we spent about a week there um second one was Big Island spent a week there and the third one just recently this year we we finally got to go to aahu and now we're in research for for Kawai because we're heading Kawai in March but also we ultimately would like to end up in Hawaii and so we're testing out all the islands and trying to explore like every inch to try to decide where we might want to land oh that's awesome now Hawaii obviously we know beautiful beaches like you said tons of different landscape but for someone who's looking to plan a vacation in Hawaii what do you think would be their thing that they'd want to do when they're there oh that's tricky yeah I guess it depends I mean some people love to you know go out and see the night life there in in wyi and and a aahu some people you know want to go get a little more of a chill Vibe and Maui you know there's a lot of like surfing and and just a little bit more relaxing there big Island's very cool for like a certain people who like to go want to go see like the volcanoes there or they want to see more natural um you know Le there's less people there less chill andai yeah and Kawai and stuff so so yeah it kind of depends on the person but there's so much to do there like we were saying earlier you know you could you can even go skiing you know up in the mountains there you know certain times of year so no kidding wow I don't think I knew that so that's pretty cool yeah yeah yeah have you guys ever done that we didn't go skiing but we went up to see a sun set on the mountain and we were above the clouds watching it yeah Maui the Big Island I I I'm probably gonna misquote this but I think the big island is like one of or if not the only place in the world that has like all four or of the micro uh like the climates so like the big island has like you know it has a desert area where it's just super dry and there's Cactus and there's rainforest area where um in Hilo is like the rainiest place it's like the second most rainiest place on the you know on the globe and so yeah it's kind of cool to be able to just kind of drive an hour or two hours in a different place and it and your landscape just be like completely different that's cool now I know you said you guys have usually gone for about a week but how long would you say someone really needs to enjoy the island they're going to I'd say week minimum yeah I've heard of people island hopping a lot during a week that would be rough for us we feel like we don't even see it all that we okay we'd like to say longer than a week really really to see the islands I think anybody would we try to plan like one or two or three nights in each like area around the island so we'll go to like we'll stay in the South for two nights you know and then go to the West stay for two nights go to the north stay for two nights and that we can kind of kind of see the whole island yeah um but even then I mean it there's there's a lot to see people you know think it's a small little island but there's there's so much it's it's to do yeah very true now you guys are planning your next trip you said in March to Hawaii what other months have you been or what would you say is the best month to go to Hawaii so that's the really cool thing is that it's like pretty similar to the same weather all year um like it's really small difference in temperature from any time of the year however um there's certain months I want to say it's like November to May is whale watching season we haven't actually gone whale watching we want to we missed it by a little we either missed it in the beginning or the end but we'll be there this time for it but yeah this time we love Wildlife watching so we would definitely plan our trip around that yeah as far as Wildlife I know you guys love snorkeling too are there certain beaches or any of your favorite beaches you go when you snorkel yes Captain Cook yeah our favorite ever was Captain Cook on the big island it's close to Kona we had to hike a couple miles really Rocky we're the only ones there crowded yeah if you're if you're like a hiking type of person I would definitely recommend doing the hike yourself but if you're not into like a solid I two or three mile straight not straight down but pretty pretty treacherous path he saw a wild there were goats I mean it was it was nuts but yeah I would I would recommend anyone who's not super into hiking and travel and and super hardcore traveler to probably just get one of those boat rides that are like you know 60 bucks or something they have boat rides that bring you there they bring you right to the same similar spot and yeah it was almost like we were living in like a I don't know I feel like I was in a Little Mermaid yeah we saw like every creature it felt like yeah and and being the only person there is intense like you know mean it's kind of like one of those things where you're when you see 20 or 30 other people also doing it it kind of lowers the like like is there a reason no one else is here yeah there's a lot of cool places though we went to sharks Cove theth the NorthShore of Wahu and that was amazing supposedly there it's called sharks Cod because there's this kind of like drop off in a cave and supposedly there's baby sharks that um hang out down there and uh I'm not that good of a free diver yet to go down like I don't know was it 30 or 40 60 feet down and then you can actually swim through this cave where they have baby sharks and stuff and then there's like another exit Point like 100 feet or 100 yards like out people like go through like snort you know scuba people do it all the time but there's free drivers who go down through there but I'm not to try that yeah I haven't gotten there yet but no we have K so I know you said in your um first podcast episode that you guys have you've done home exchange when you've gone to Hawaii but how have you stayed other ways when you've gone to Hawaii so we actually mostly done pet sitting in Hawaii um which was really cool especially on Maui oh we had to pet sit there and the dog had like a fence and yard that and free access so so it's really cool we didn't have a lot of responsibility to be honest yeah they were cool they they had a bunch of rentals too they were big in real estate they had a unit there that they rented out on Big Island we had a res ridiculous deal of vbro um yeah verbo verbo I don't know what is verbo or V I think I say verbo I say

yeah who knows either way we we found this crazy de we found this randomly one night she was like man these prices are ridiculous we got to find something in the Big Island like you know so we were looking around I was like what about Vero like let's just go look and so we looked we found this place for $19 a night and it was a tiny house on the big island we're like no way and so so anyways it was actually really close to where I I've wanted to buy land but it's it's really kind of a sketchy area it's in it's in this place called Volcano which is clearly right near the volcano and it's in like lava Zone you know one or whatever and it's like it's kind of a sketch area you can you can buy like three acres there for like 30 grand like it's it's really cheap there but um when you it was really good that we went there to know that there's no way we could live there ever yeah we were going to buy land there but but we were like let's test it out first you so anyways we stayed in this place 19 bucks a night and it was like long story short it was scet we had to drive through like these gravel roads with these like burnt out cars signs everywhere we have guns yeah I was like it was super sketch and so we we ended up getting there and and like was like a code on the gate to get in right there like this to get in the gate and the place is like kind of like a compound like there's all these different buildings and kind of like stuff everywhere and like burnt out cars not burnt out cars but like kind of junker cars but that's kind of like the big island kind of like that area's Vibe though like it's just that part kind of like Island Style just that part yeah just that part um but anyways it was like this like he had like five units in this one building and these like really tiny unit it was actually really the actual unit was fun yeah it was actually really Co cool it was all off grid and I think we only end up staying there for like one or two nights yeah we didn't stay as long it for like five nights and the total was like 120 bucks we decided we could give the $20 we weren't really that into it we it was safe we didn't have any issues but yeah we see something listed that cheap in Hawaii it's either a typo or there's a reason for it I take it that's great so you can look on so vbo you can look for deals and then what was the app I know we touched on it in the previous podcast but for the pet sitting how did you find that no matter no matter that's right okay when you're there are you renting a car ubering what does transportation look like you'd likely want to rent a car unless you're going to bik Kei in Honolulu aahu Island and your plan is to just chill there and even if you aren't staying there the whole time it what we did when we went to Honolulu was we rented a car for only part of our trip our last part of the trip we were just downtown Wy key and we just you know turned the car in so that's kind of a a hack I guess a little yeah downtown Yi has so much to do so much food so many beaches that are in walking distance definitely don't need a car tons of entertainment yeah so some good night life there I take it yeah yeah in terms of night life is yiki kind of the spot to go any other places you'd recommend yeah so each island generally kind of has a spot the Big Island it's Kona and so sadly um in Maui it used to be L lah yeah with the fires I can't imagine yeah it be some time before that's build up again there's other cities kind of smaller in like the different corners of the island but usually there's like a main you know Kona is the main one there in Big Island and you can travel around and find restaurants and you know food trucks and farmers markets lots of food trucks which we love yeah food trucks yeah we love going to food trucks yeah I know and cuz we went there my family a long time ago and they had the Dole Plantation and I remember the pineapple was like like delicious down there are there any other like native fruits or even like restaurants or shops you'd recommend going to yeah rambutan is like my favorite fruit ever looks like a little spiky ball with like red in the middle almost looks like a grape I love Rotan um the last pets set we stayed at they had all kinds of fruit tangerin yeah they had m i mean mangoes and oranges and I always joke with her because one of the other reasons why we like to travel to a lot of tropical places is like the mangoes and oranges lemons and apple and all this stuff just grows naturally so like you could just be on like a walk and grab a mango and you have breakfast so you know it's kind of like yeah it's more expensive but you you can get free Fruit like I've got coconuts you know so yeah it's kind of a weird weird thing to do but it we've seen it bananas that's just part of the experience though right like yeah that's awesome you can't do that at home in your own neighborhood when you're taking away you get some apples that's about it food um very Hawaii thing is coffee Hawaii has tons of really good coffee yeah Kona coffee it's especially famous but that's our favorite thing to do for breakfast is to go to different coffee Farms lots of the coffee Farms have like a little shop there where you could get at least coffee sometimes a snack and or breakfast banana bread yeah we try to go to a different one every morning awesome that's a good tradition yeah this is you guys are doing a great job talking about Hawaii and as if we didn't want to go to Hawaii to begin with her defitely Mak us want to go now um so we'll transition now to the 321 countdown segment the final three questions so what are three things you'd recommend somebody do in Hawaii I'd say definitely snorkeling definitely need to get in the water there and if you're not comfortable snorkeling I would definitely get a boat ride see some dolphins whales and I feel like I have to say this because I recently saw people trying to snorkel a lot and I they were struggling I was trying to tell people if you're like new or whatever you really need to know that you need to look by rocks that's where the they're generally trying to hide in reefs or like Rocky areas is where you're going to see far more fish yeah you can almost look at a map and see if there's like a little Jetty coming off a map like you can almost guarantee that there's going to be fish like hiding in that little area and yeah we did that in the Bahamas because we couldn't see anything where we were staying in the Bahamas we didn't see anything we seen no fish nothing and then I remember like that night being looking at the map being like there's got to be a place nearby and it was like uh I don't know like 3/4 of a mile out to the right there was like that little Jetty kind of thing that was like a little you know defensive thing and sure enough we went over there it was a bunch of fish so we brought our daughters there yeah we brought our daughters there and they checked it out and stuff so and then you were saying skydiving yeah I wasn't looking into skydiving in Hawaii because Hawaii's based I think most people go to Hawaii to see like the beautiful beach and and all thate stuff and uh anyways long story short our Airbnb host was a Skydive instructor from Serbia it was a whole story point you have to go he's like yeah you come H skydiving with us I was like okay like let's do it and so yeah we went skydiving there and that was amazing be able to see Hawaii from you know 16,000 feet in the air was was insane so yeah skydiving you know probably not a lot of people think about wait let me just threw out there that he um he was like we think he wor C to get to work he literally like we booked his Airbnb last minute because it was another failed attempt at camping um that we needed an Airbnb last minute and he had rooms in his house available we never were that desperate before but um on the islands where it's more expensive we're like yeah we could stay in a room and he actually had like a separate hallway with three different rooms for Airbnb people and so we booked it for that night like an hour before we could check in we're like yes let us in and it just automatically let us in and he was like when we got there we I guess we were in the wrong room he had sent us information or whatever he was like oh sorry I didn't see it I was busy surfing like he was like he was like always like skyd or like on his motorcycle beard was like down here he was a legend yeah he was a legend that's the island Vibe down there right just everything nonchalant yeah remember Airbnb uh lucky lucky so if you're on a waho and you want a cheap place say look luy's place he also he was like do you want to use my um SN he gave us his snork gear yeah he gave us his snortable gear use you know no cost he like said we could use his surfboards like he's just like super welcoming and like once you have the experience yeah yeah and I and I when he was like hey you should go skying I in my head I'm like no I'm good you know was that your first time going yeah and so like later that day after we checked in we were we went out to this like State Park and we were just like doing our own thing and checking out beaches and stuff and we like and she's like what is this place and she's there's like people falling out of the sky and so like I pulled in I'm like oh those are those are like parachuters you know so we stop and look and I swear it was our Airbnb host it was coming down out of the sky and we're like is that him awesome so we like drove into like this like air field and like went and parked and like sure enough he was there and I was like okay this is a sign like I have to go skydiving with our Airbnb host so anyways yeah that was that was basically the story but he was nuts he was he was crazy that's awesome yeah I can't say we've gone but if we were in that situation and we're in Hawaii I mean it's hard to not go you you really had no choice there I'm sure you guys are glad you did it obviously right yeah yeah it was cool it was funny well technically he did it and now I regret it and want to do it oh yeah that's okay you'll be back right yeah that's right and we'll put a link for that air Bey listing in the show notes as well as the other uh links and resources we talked about in today's show uh what are two complaints and not necessarily complaints but things that somebody might not know about Hawaii that you might want to prepare them for oh yeah so even like the islands that have less people have less roads so traffic can be stopped a lot but I mean we just combat that by being like oh we're in Hawaii like just be chill well we learned when we first went to Y and they told us about Maui like like what we were talking about earlier the road to Hana is that there are a lot of and you would think it' be the other way around but the tourists are the ones that are driving slow like looking around with you know looking around looking at everything and the uh and the locals are like Mad At The Tourist so the locals will like speed by you and honk and stuff like that so it's so yeah the traffic can be for various reasons it can be construction you know there like oneway streets oneway yeah so yeah it's hard to build roads on mountains and you know so U but yeah Wy key is busy the same reason like Los Angeles is busy there's a million people who live in that little city there so so yeah the traffic is definitely something I think a lot of people probably don't know about and the second one I think people know about cost yeah the cost of things but like you know if you aren't eating out at these like expensive restaurants you can eat out and get just as good if not better food at food trucks um or even like uh local farmers markets and stuffff we we tend to like to do the the food trucks and the farmers market because we're giving back money like directly to those uh local families and business owners and stuff and so it feels good to eat you know give your money to them sure tastes good too how was cell service out there on the island any troubles with that mostly okay I don't think we had trouble yeah mostly okay there's some dead spots when you're up in the mountains and stuff but mostly it it worked out better than you thought yeah awesome one last question what is one thing you simply cannot leave Hawaii without doing we've mentioned it so many times but snorkeling was yeah probably snorkling was Cooks Beach any other recommendations there or you just can't go wrong when you're snorking in Hawaii yeah Captain Cook and sharks Cove so far are our two favorite spots sharks Cove is really cool because it's a like a hidden area or it's like it's it's got a wall of rocks around the whole thing so if you're like a person with a young kids you're not going to get like washed away you know it's only like three or four feet deep at the at the deepest so so you can sit on a rock and see sea turtles just like you don't even need goggles right to enjoy it so that so that's yeah if you got young kids or you're an entrylevel swimmer Shar Cove in aahu definitely highly recommend oh very cool now you guys have mentioned snorkeling a lot so I know you said you have your little goggles that you bring but are there places on the island where you can rent goggles oh yeah there's like Endless Possibilities like using Viator a lot for experiences personally but because it also getes back to locals essentially we and we've also done uh sometimes you can go if you're into thrifting um and going to thrift stores we've done this also is you can go to a thrift store and pick up goggles for like a dollar or five bucks or fins fins fins are surprisingly people think fins are expensive but at at you can get them really cheap so we we've done that before too like um like for example if you're going to a place and you know you're going to go snorkeling at least a couple times or for for a week or whatever you can go and get your own pair of snorkeling you know snorkel gear for like 10 or 20 bucks versus going and renting it for like three hours and you can have it all your whole vacation and then uh what we've done too is we've given away to people like we're like you know find some people who look like you know oh hey do you want some you know or leave them at a rental for people to yeah a lot of times we leave them at our Airbnb or home exchange and we'll be like hey you know pass this along to people who are you know going to rent here so that's a really good tip pay it forward that's it all right guys awesome thanks for coming on again and explaining all your insights and ideas about Hawaii um this has been a great show this is going to help a lot of people plan their trip which was the point of the podcast so thanks again guys and um once again if you haven't listened to the part one podcast tune in to that uh Andy and Rachel talk about everything from travel planning money saving tips I know we touched on it briefly today the home exchange thing we go into much more detail in that in part one so definitely check it out and and Rachel thanks again thank you thanks so much for having us

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

03:30 How to you Balance Teaching with Travel?

04:30 What Sort of Commitments Outside of School do You Have with Teaching?

06:00 What Has Been the Longest Trip You Have Taken While Teaching?

07:00 Where Are You Staying When You Travel?

08:30 What Have Been Your Biggest Struggles to Get on the Road?

10:00 What Are Your Biggest Frustrations While You Travel?

14:00 What do You Love Most About Your Travel Lifestyle?

16:00 What Tips Have You Found Help 9-5ers Travel More?

18:15 Why do You Think People Are So Reluctant to Plan?

21:30 What Are Itinerary Creation Guides?

25:15 Are There Other Careers Where People Have a Long Gap From Work?

26:45 How Can People Save or Make Money for Travel?

29:45 What Has Been Your Coolest Travel Experience?

31:15 What Is One Thing You Can’t Live Without While Traveling?

34:00 What Have You Learned You Don’t Need While Traveling?

36:00 How Do I Start Planning my Trip?

37:30 How Would Someone Transition to a Career in Teaching?

40:00 Where There Any Influencers that Inspired You to Travel?

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

We had the pleasure of hosting Kati on our show who provided some valuable insight on how to balance a busy teaching and coaching career with travel. In this episode you’ll learn all about:

✅A few simple steps to get you started planning your next trip

🍎Taking advantage of time off teaching and coaching to take a 20+ day road trip

🏔️How to get more travel out of your 9-5 work life

And more!

 

Links

Find Kati At:

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/

https://www.instagram.com/wanderwithkt/

 

Episodes Mentioned in the Show:

From CPA to Trucker: https://atravelpath.com/trucking/

 

Kati’s Blog on 10 Ways to Save Money for Travel:

https://expeditioneducationblog.com/2020/04/01/making-extra-money-for-travel/

 

Save Money:

https://home.ibotta.com/

https://poshmark.com/

 

Gregory Backpack & Gear:

https://www.gregory.com/

 

YouTube Channels & Books:

Steve Yalo: https://www.youtube.com/@SteveYalo

“Through Hiking Will Break Your Heart” https://amzn.to/48BGArt

“Wild” https://amzn.to/3TfM8Ue

“Thirst” https://amzn.to/49TVYAv

“Nowhere for Very Long” https://amzn.to/3Vi2Nbl

(Commissions may be earned through purchases on this page)

 

Restaurants

Martins BBQ in Nashville: https://www.martinsbbqjoint.com/

Noble Smokehouse in Mystic: https://noblesmokehouse.com/

 

Relatable Blogs:

Goal Setting for Couples: https://atravelpath.com/2024-goal-setting/

 

Most Popular Blogs:

Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

travel #travelpodcast

 *All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript:

 

Tyler: Welcome to the show.

 

Kati: Hello, hello. Thanks for having me.

 

Tyler: Yeah, so we know you on Instagram as "Wander with KT." You post content on your Outdoor Adventures, and you also have your website, ExpeditionEducationBlog.com, where your goal is to make Adventure travel as accessible as possible on any budget. You've got all sorts of posts on travel tips, Gear reviews, and itinerary creation guides, which we'll talk about later on. Why don't we first start by having you share a little about yourself and then letting our audience know what your current travel lifestyle looks like?

 

Kati: Yeah, so I'm Kati. I am 31 years old, and I live in central New York. I'm a teacher by day and a coach by night, and then I try to travel as often as I can on my school breaks, on my weekends. I might take a personal day here or there to extend a weekend for some travels, but pretty much traveling on the school breaks and on the teacher budgets, so that is what the travel plans are.

 

Tyler: Sure. And your husband, Spencer, he's a teacher as well, right?

 

Kati: He is also a teacher, so we are both busy teachers. I teach secondary, so I teach grades 7 through 12, and he teaches elementary school, so he teaches pre-K through six. And we teach in the same district but different buildings since it's different age levels.

 

Tyler: Now, during the school year, particularly the school year outside of, like, summer vacations and winter vacations, how are you balancing your work and your travel life?

 

Kati: It can definitely be really hard, especially when you're coaching because when you coach, you don't normally get the full weekend anyway. You wind up having to leave after an early practice on a Saturday or not doing Saturday practice and coming back Sunday night for practice. And even school breaks, I mean, over like the holiday vacation Thanksgiving break, we have practice. So we definitely take shorter trips during the school year, which is not our style. We're definitely more like long road trip kind of people. But it can be hard to balance, but we just do what we can to get out there when we can get out there, especially during coaching.

 

Tyler: The high school level gets pretty competitive, and I remember doing high school basketball, you're going, basically, I think the only days we had off was Christmas Day and New Year's Day, that was it.

 

Kati: Yeah. Luckily, we both coach the junior varsity team, so we travel with varsity, and we're their assistant coach, so we have to be there to help them. But it's not as big of a deal if you give JV an extra day off over break. But at the varsity level, definitely, you know, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, then you're back.

 

Tyler: Do you have a lot of commitments outside of coaching, like more school-related on the weekends that take up a lot of your time, or is it just mostly coaching?

 

Kati: Generally, not mostly coaching. During the school year, I might have the occasional chaperone dance or I'm the Outdoor Adventure Club advisor, so we have weekend events and fundraisers that we do as well. So here and there, I have a weekend commitment that isn't related to coaching, but it's usually coaching-related in the school year.

 

Tyler: So for the most part, it sounds like if you want to get into teaching and you want to be able to travel, as long as you're not doing any of those extracurricular activities, just the teaching lifestyle allows for that flexibility on the weekends, the extended weekends, and then, obviously, the holidays.

 

Kati: Yeah, absolutely. You get extended weekends here and there, you get obviously your holiday breaks. The summer vacation is big there. There are definitely commitments from teaching over summer though, so you have to kind of plan around those things until you get to the point where you can just say, like, you're not paying me, so I'm not coming.

 

Tyler: What are some of those commitments over the summer?

 

Kati: Summer curriculum hours, different trainings, meetings, sometimes you'll have, like, seventh-grade orientation. And some of those commitments are also coaching-related too, such as, like, open gyms or going to a training or a coach's meeting.

 

Tyler: So it sounds like it's kind of a random amount of commitment. It's not like it's not enough where it's like a full-time job type thing, but it's not really enough where you can take a super extended travel vacation. What's been the longest trip you guys have been able to take?

 

Kati: We've been pretty lucky. We've gone on a couple really long trips. I think most recently we spent 23 days road-tripping from New York out to Colorado and Moab and then back. But we've also spent 17 in Utah and 20 days doing, like, the DTAs in Wyoming. A lot of our summer requirements too wind up popping up in August because you're getting closer to the school year. So it's like, oh, we have to get this in, oh, we got to do that training. So we pretty much have the month of July to do whatever we want.

 

Hope: Now, when you take those little bit longer trips during your summer break, how are you guys traveling? Are you traveling in your car, right? And then where are you staying?

 

Kati: So when we went to Utah, we flew there. It was one of our first times really doing that. And we flew, rented a car, and just did the loop from there and flew back. So we threw all of our camping gear in a big duffel, like, massive rolling duffel because we like to camp, because that's the only way we can afford to go on those trips. But since then, all of our trips have been road trips. So we drive, my husband has a Jeep, and we drive the Jeep out with all the camping gear, our bikes, everything we could need. We pretty much live out of the car for however long we're there. We'll snag hotel rooms here and there, whether it's like, oh, bad weather or just we need a shower and a bed or something of that nature. Yeah, we mostly camp, and we'll pay some, like, we'll pay for camping if we're going to National Parks. We like to camp inside the park, so it's worth it to us to pay whatever it costs to stay in there. But a lot of places will also camp for free because it saves you a lot of money and usually the views are better at those places as well.

 

Tyler: And those places are just like the public land, the National Forest lands, Bureau of Land Management lands.

 

Kati: Yeah, public lands like National Forest lands, Bureau of Land Management lands. So depending on what state you're in or like what section of the country you're in, they kind of have different names like National Grasslands. All over the DTAs have gorgeous places to camp and they're just free. You just pull up and go, free and dispersed camping.

 

Tyler: In terms of when you're teaching and you're looking to plan your trips both short-term and long-term, what have been some of the biggest struggles to get on the road?

 

Kati: My husband and I live in central New York, but his family is from Western New York and my family is from Long Island, and they still live there. So we're kind of like in our own little bubble living where we live, and we've lived here for the last nine or ten years. So I think the hardest thing for us is we see a break and we see an opportunity to travel, but then we also know that that's an opportunity that we could use to go see our family. So I feel like that sometimes is the hardest thing to get us out on the road, is like, what is right? What should we go do? My little brother's 14; he was born when I was a senior in high school. So, like, it's hard to not see him as often. And, you know, obviously our parents are getting older, so we have nieces and nephews at my husband's hometown area. So that's definitely the hardest thing that will get us on the road, is should we do that or should we go see our people.

 

Tyler: The guilty conscience, yeah. I was going to say, too, I would imagine just having your schedules line up, both being full-time teachers, both coaching all those extracurriculars. So that, on top of having all that family close by, I'm surprised you travel as much as you do.

 

Kati: Yes, it's a big, like, I don't know, it keeps us sane, our adventures, our travels. And for him, biking is his big thing, and I love to bike too, but Spencer is big into mountain biking, I'm big into the hiking. And both of those things kind of keep us level-headed.

 

Tyler: Outside of what we just talked about, kind of the frustrations of planning, once you're actually out there and you're camping and you're traveling, what are some of the biggest frustrations you face then, especially now with all the permit systems sometimes to enter Parks?

 

Kati: I'm really a big pre-planner. Like, our road trip for this summer is already pretty much entirely planned, all the camping has already been booked. I have, like, a spreadsheet where I put everything in. But if we are going somewhere that you need a permit for, I try to get camping there ahead of time. For example, we are going to Glacier National Park this summer, and they have a permit system to enter the park between certain hours, but if you are camping there, then you can just get it. So I try to plan all of that ahead of time. But there are places where you can't, or maybe I just can't get camping or I don't want to camp in the park, so that is a frustration. But one that I understand. I understand the permit system and have full respect for it. It just stinks sometimes. And then some people are just so, like, out to lunch, they're so rude, they just have no regard for nature. We're constantly cleaning up people's garbage, especially in free and dispersed camping spaces. And that is a huge frustration as well.

 

Tyler: That's interesting you say that because that's one thing we found, like, it just seems so clean everywhere we went. A lot of the national parks, I know they take care of the parks there, but even we were doing dispersed camping. I always was under the impression that that's just, like, that lifestyle, that mindset, people who travel, they take care of where they go. But apparently that's not always the case.

 

Kati: Yeah, some places are great and other places are not so. That's definitely a frustration that we face, just cleaning up people's stuff or seeing things that we can't clean up, like, you know, food waste and things that just shouldn't be left on the ground.

 

Tyler: And those are the people that make the new rules, where now, whatever, wherever that location was where that trash was found, that's now off-limits. Like, I remember we were in Redwood National Park, the biggest tree in the world, Hyperion, you can't visit because too many people are visiting it and, like, leaving trash and kind of destroying the area around it. Yeah, biggest tree in the world but you can't see it because people were being people.

 

Kati: Yeah, and I'll never understand that mindset. Like, I just, I don't get it. But that's definitely a big frustration. And then, this is a fun frustration, but when people are just, I don't know what they think, but people are like, "Oh, I have no idea how you travel for so long." And we're like, "Well, we literally sleep on the floor." And, you know, people be like, "Oh, like, you're so lucky." And yes, we're lucky. We're definitely, you know, lucky that we have that time off. But it takes a lot of planning. I'm like, "Would you sleep on the floor for 20 days?" "Oh, no." Okay, so it's a little more than luck. Like, that's a frustration too that's not really directly related to the travel, but having those conversations with people usually after we come back is always like, "Oh, like, oh, you're so lucky, that view is amazing." I'm like, "We hiked 21 miles to get to this view."

 

Tyler: I totally relate to that because we've been told that like countless times, you're so lucky you can do this. And we were traveling in our van but like anybody can do it, it's just a matter if you want to put the work in.

 

Kati: Yeah, everybody sees the nice picture, they hear the stories, but they don't see the work that was put in, whether it was hiking to that location, putting the time in to put signs in place where you can take a long vacation. There's a lot of work that goes into it that anybody can do it's just a matter of do you want to do it.

 

Tyler: I look at it like, yeah, we're lucky, we're blessed in a sense where we're alive, we're healthy, we took this trip and everything was okay. But outside of that, anybody can do it, you know?

 

Kati: Exactly, yeah. I will always be thankful for my ability to be here and doing what I can do, but you could do it too if you try.

 

Tyler: One hundred percent. So transitioning outside of kind of the bad news, what do you love most about your travel lifestyle?

 

Kati: I love, we're so busy during the school year that we hardly see each other. Like, all volleyball season, I usually have the early practice slot, and then my husband, he practices tonight until 9:00 PM. So we eat dinner very, very late. We'll eat dinner at like 9:45 when he gets home, and then I go to sleep because I wake up earlier because my school day starts earlier. And he'll just stay up and watch whatever anime show he's currently watching. And then we just don't really get to spend a lot of time together all school year. So it's nice to be like, stuck together for however long we're on vacation for however long we're traveling for. So that is definitely nice and, like, truly being stuck, stuck together, like, you got to talk, you got to hang out, you got to talk about what you're doing next, if you're mad at each other for some silly little reason, you got to talk about it. So that's something that I really like about it. And then I like how physically demanding, like, camping and hiking and biking and, like, the itineraries we plan for ourselves because we're trying to squeeze as much as we can in, it's go, go, go, go, go. And I'm a mover, so I love that part of it. I like the challenge of it.

 

Tyler: You bring up a good point. It's fascinating how many times people have told us they could never be alone with their spouse for a month or two, but for a long period of time. It's like, well, you probably should be able to be with them for that's kind of why you married them, right?

 

Kati: That's kind of what my father-in-law's like. I don't know how you do these trips together. I don't even know how, like, I don't know how you drive straight back together. I don't know how you spend 25 days together. And I just laugh. I'm like, those are my favorite days of the whole year, the 25 days we're stuck together.

 

Tyler: You mentioned on your website, ExpeditionEducationBlog.com, that one of your goals is to help individuals seek adventure whenever possible. What tips have you been able to find that help people do that?

 

Kati: I think if you can look at your... well, first, I like to tell people, when they reach out to me or whatever it may be, my friends at school say, find like five or six places within three hours of where you live that you have some type of interest in for whatever reason. Like, I'm outdoorsy, so I'm looking for outdoorsy places, but that might not be what your interest is in. So whatever type of adventure you want to take, think of that and come up with five to ten places. You'd be shocked at how many places are within three, three and a half hours of where you live. And the reason why I use that number is that it's easy for a weekend trip. Like, you can leave work on a Friday and be somewhere within three and a half hours with still enough time to eat dinner, check into your hotel, or whatever you're doing. And then you have the whole weekend to kind of just enjoy it. So that's my biggest suggestion is like find those places and then look at your calendar, look at your schedule, and plan when you're going to go and hold yourself to it. Like, if you're gonna book a hotel, book it, because then you're forced to go. And once you go once, you're gonna be like, "Ah, I need to do it more."

I'm lucky I have worked work-in days off. Teachers don't really get time off that they can choose. I get three personal days. So like, I can pick and choose to use those where I need to. But people who have, like, an office job and such, I always tell them, like, just plan it around a time where maybe you have a day off for a holiday or, you know, if you add two days to this weekend, it now becomes a five-day weekend and plan your longer trips ahead of time. Like, get a whole calendar out, just plan it out. If you plan it, you're more likely to do it, as opposed to just saying on a Thursday, "Oh, I think tomorrow I'm going to fly wherever." Like, probably not going to happen. So figure out what you want to do and then look ahead of time and plan, because even if you work a job where you have to be there most of the year, like, you can figure out where to go and when.

 

Tyler: Do you find people are reluctant to just start looking and why do you think that is?

 

I think some people, and I feel like it's like the age range of like 25 to 40, where they're willing to, like, get on Google and look things up. I feel like we were just, like, outside of the cusp of you could Google anything when you were in school and now my students are like, "I could just Google it," and they're, like, so annoyed by it. I'm like, "You just pick up your phone and you could figure out anything." And I feel like there's a group of people that are in that range of willingness to do it because they didn't grow up with it. They've learned it, though, and it's so easy to do. And then you have, like, people who grew up with it and think it's annoying and they don't want to do it. And you have older folks who maybe they do it from their iPad, but they don't know how to organize all of their online thoughts. Like, my mom plans everything from her iPad and she just starts sending me links here, there, and everywhere, which is great, but I'm like, "I put it in a spreadsheet, Ma. How are you organizing your trip? You're sending it to me."

 

Tyler: Yep, we're spreadsheet people.

 

Kati: I think people are just reluctant to do the work because the research portion does take time. And if you don't know how to organize all of your thoughts online, then it can be really overwhelming.

 

Tyler: It's funny. I'm not sure why it is because, like, even right now, like, we planned our first trip a while back and right now we're planning our second trip, but every time we go to do it, like, I don't know about you, but I'm just, like, dreading it. I don't want to sit down and do it. But the second you start planning something, it just becomes addicting, and you find one place and you find the next place, and it just gets that ball rolling where you want to go. But I don't know what it is about not wanting to sit down and just start. I love it. A couple weekends ago, I sat down with... I said to Spencer, like, "Hey, let's do some trip planning," because I pretty much plan every single trip. He just comes along for the ride. So he sat here with the maps for maybe 20 minutes, and he then retired himself to the living room, and I finished booking campgrounds and all that stuff. And I always send him the spreadsheet as soon as I started, like, "Hey, here's the summer spreadsheet. Here's the Norway spreadsheet," like, whatever it may be. And he never opens it. We were driving through Norway this August, and he's like, "All right, where do we go next?" I'm like, "What do you mean?" He's like, "Where do we go after we're here?" Like, how do you not know that you flew across the ocean to come here, and you have no idea what you're in store for? Like, what if I told you we were cliff jumping?" He's like, "Okay."

 

Hope: I plan about 99% of our trips, mostly the weekend ones and the small ones, things like that. Tyler really only gets pulled in once we're doing those longer, extended trips. We do struggle to get started, but like he said, it is addicting. Once you get going, the spreadsheet definitely helps us.

 

Tyler: We'll be leaving for an airport to fly out somewhere, and I won't know which airport we're going to. That's how bad it is.

On your website ExpeditionEducationBlog.com, you have a bunch of services on there: you post blogs, travel tips, gear reviews, and one of your sections is the itinerary creation guide. What exactly is that?

 

Kati: So, with the itinerary creation, you would fill out pretty much a Google form, and it asks a handful of questions. You have to have an idea of where you want to go first, but then it'll ask you like what your interests are, what type of lodging you're looking for, and it'll kick it out to me. Once it's kicked out to me, I will kind of write an email back to whoever it is with like a summary of what I think they're looking for, so they can either say, 'Yes, you're on point from these questions,' or 'No, you're really far off,' and then kind of an estimate of, 'Hey, this is what you can expect to pay for an itinerary of this length.' I organize it into a really nice PDF that if you have it online and you click links, it'll pull up like your Google Maps, your link to your Airbnb, your hotel, whatever it may be, or you can print it and just look at it like that. It's a service that a handful of people have used. Some, I planned somebody's trip. They were spending five days in Paris and then five days in Ireland, so I got to plan like their whole trip for them. And then these people were coming from England to the Adirondacks to do like a leaf peeping loop, and I got to plan their whole leaf peeping loop. So, I pretty much do all the planning for you, but you have to do all the booking for yourself, because I'm not a travel agent. But, you know, for the Paris trip, I way ahead of time I was able to get it out to her. And for each thing, it was like, 'All right, you're looking for this type of Airbnb. Here are two options for you to choose from.' The people who were leaf peeping, they rented a van in New York City, and then they were camping. So, it was easy for me. I gave them a free and dispersed site and then a campground option in each stop for them. So, yeah, it's really fun when I get to do it based off of places I've already been. So, like the Adirondacks are my playground. So, that was super fun because I was able to give a lot of different suggestions for like where they should eat depending on what they're looking for and things like that. But then the other, like I've never been to Paris and I've never been to Ireland, but pretty much she just didn't want to do the research herself. And I find joy in the research. So, I was like, 'Cool, I will research up your honeymoon sister, and you're gonna have a great time.'

 

Tyler: Perfect. Yeah. So, they do the booking; you do the planning. It sounds like a great alternative for someone who just doesn't want to do the planning.

And we can definitely vouch for it. It was funny; we brought this up last night. But Hope saw your template on your website, which is the Nashville itinerary. And we went to Nashville back in, I think November. And one of the places you recommended was Martin's Barbecue. Oh, so good. I remember it was probably the best barbecue we've ever had. Like, the ribs, the dry rub, they were juicy, they were amazing. I'm hesitant to say they're the best because we have a place right down the street, Noble Smokehouse Mystic, which is great. I have to have them, like, back to back. But they were amazing.

 

Hope: I think you posted that reel, like, as I was at the airport waiting to go to Nashville, and I was like, 'Oh, perfect, okay. Saved what you said,' and we hit a few other things that were in that itinerary that you did. So, we definitely took advantage of it.

 

Kati: Yeah, Nashville was fun. That was a Mother's Day trip with my mom; we went together and we had a blast. But yeah, for any of my itinerary-style posts, I'm sometimes a little behind, but I make a PDF of whatever the itinerary is, and it just goes into a folder. So, if you follow me on my blog, join my newsletter, which maybe comes out four times a year because of teacher life, you get access to that folder that has all of the itineraries. So, it has things like Nashville, and then it also has national parks and things of that nature, too. And it's the version where you can click, and it'll give you the link to whatever the Google map of the place or whatever it may be. So, that's a fun little side project that I like because I love Canva. If you're a teacher that doesn't use Canva, like, email me; I will help you. It is amazing.

 

Tyler: Have you discovered any other careers that are similar to teaching where people can have these big gaps in between work and take time off?

 

Kati: I would say if you work, like, I guess not necessarily as a teacher, but if you work in a school building, like our school nurse, our school counselors, our social worker, our psychologists, like, they are not teachers; they have different degrees and different backgrounds, but they do still get those breaks. I do follow a lot of travel nurses who will do, like, they'll do their gig for however long, and then they'll give themselves a gap before their next one, and they go and they do whatever they couldn't do wherever they were. So, I wish I could crack the code, but I could never be a nurse, bless them. Angels. But if I was, travel nursing would be it. I mean, my friend who wound up moving down to Nashville, she was like, 'You make so much more money travel nursing, too.' She was like, 'You don't have the benefits of working for a steady corporation, company, whatever hospital.' She was like, 'But you make way more money plus whatever your stipend is for your living expenses.'

 

Tyler: So, do you have any travel tips on how people can save or make money for traveling?

 

Kati: Well, like I also freelance write. And there's a company that I've been working with since 2020, same company this whole time. And it's very nice because I can write as much or as little pretty much as I want. If I have a lot of time, I can get a bunch of posts done. If not, it can take me a whole month to write a post for them, and they're fine with it. So, that's a nice little, just, that money goes straight into our savings account, and I put it towards whatever we do to road trip for the summer. So, I mean, there's definitely little things. But teacher life, I have all those little things at school that I do to make a couple extra dollars. But then, if you like to write, you're a good writer, whatever it may be, freelance writing is definitely a great option."

 

Tyler: Is that through Upwork where you were found or was it through a different platform?

 

Kati: They found me through my blog. I've just been working with them pretty much ever since, but I was on Upwork for a little while.

 

Tyler: You had a blog post I read, the "10 ways to make extra money for traveling." I wasn't sure if you wanted to reference that at all.

 

Kati: That's an old one, but it's a good one. Yeah, that's from before I even owned my house. It's funny. And all those ways are still solid. I still use Ibotta, which is like an app that you use when you go grocery shopping or anything of that nature. You can look ahead of time, and if I was already going to buy something, I'll put it in and then you scan your receipt at the end and you get money back. It also works for things other than groceries, like Booking.com. I just booked my husband and me a hotel room in Orlando for next week, and since I booked it through Ibotta, I'll get 8% back. So, it'll come out to like, I don't know, 20 something dollars in that account. It's seemingly pennies, but it does add up. I have probably made like well over $3,000 on Ibotta over the years, just grocery shopping, things here and there. Like Dick's Sporting Goods, 2% back on your order. You just have to look ahead of time and kind of buy it through there. So, little things like that, like coupon apps, I guess you could call them. Just selling your old stuff. I sell my old stuff on Poshmark all the time. Or like, I don't know if you guys have Plato's Closets where you are, consignment shops, those kinds of things. And it's one like, "Oh, I need new gear" or "I'm getting new whatever." So, I'll bring it here and then sell it. And it's not like you're going to make a killing off of it, but it's better than it just sitting around. And then you can put that money towards something else. I'll link that blog at the end of the show notes for people to check out.

 

Tyler: How do you get internet when you're traveling?

 

Kati: If I don't have internet on my phone, I don't have internet while I'm traveling. And when I'm traveling, I'm just traveling.

 

Tyler: I like that if you don't have it, you don't have it.

 

Kati: I always bring my Chromebook. I don't think I ever take it out of it. Never comes out of the bag.

 

Hope: That's okay. You're just there to travel and experience it. So, it's perfect. What has been the coolest experience you've had while traveling?

 

Kati: I feel like it's going to be a general statement because I've really done so many cool things. But I think the meeting of new people when I'm traveling, especially when we travel to national parks and other outdoorsy places, I feel like it's not somewhere that people think, "Oh, you're going to meet people and make friends." I feel like you think you'll do that in a city at a bar, at a restaurant, like whatever it may be. But we've met some really cool people just out at the national parks. We made friends with this older gentleman and showed us his rig with his gorgeous dog. And then a couple of days later, we ran into him in Grand Teton National Park. We had first seen him in Yellowstone, and he was like, "What are you guys doing tomorrow?" And we're like, "Ah, like, we're hiking to Lake Solitude. It's 24 miles. It's a long day." He's like, "Meet me for dinner in town. Like, I'll buy you guys dinner." He was just an older man, but we had such a good conversation. We had dinner and drinks, and it's just fun to meet people and laugh. Most of the people we wind up chatting with are significantly older than us, but they have so much knowledge, and it's so fun to talk to them. And my husband is a talker. It's probably a good thing that he's at practice and not sitting in front of you guys right now so he can make friends with a rock, pretty much. Yeah, he's good like that.

 

Tyler: Through all your travels, what has been one thing you've learned that you cannot live without?

 

Kati: This was a question that stumped me. This is going to sound silly, but I couldn't survive without my phone because my whole spreadsheet gets downloaded onto my phone, and that is how we do our travels. So, in a silly sense, like, I couldn't live without my phone for that purpose. But in a more literal sense, I also couldn't live without a backpack that is functional for day-to-day things, and that changes, I guess, based on what the travels are like. Obviously, my hiking bag is my hiking bag, my day pack, and that's coming with me no matter what. But if I'm doing more like city travel, I have a different backpack that I use for that because just function-wise, it works better. And that seems like such a silly thing, but I hate nothing more than not being able to find something that I need.

 

Tyler: Yeah, I've been there before. Do you have any backpack recommendations?

 

Kati: My day pack for hiking is a Gregory, and it has been for the last 10 years, and I am dreading the day it breaks or something is wrong with it because I love it to death. Although I did recently get called out in a very nice, friendly way on Instagram because one of my Instagram friends was showing her washing her same exact Gregory pack as me, and she's like, "How often do you wash your pack?" And I responded, "Never." And she was like, "Well, how long have you had it for?" I was like, "10 years." She was like, "That is disgusting. I can't believe you've never washed it." I'm like, "It never even occurred to me to wash my backpack." And I'm such a clean freak that it's wild to me. So, I'm going to wash it, and we'll see how it goes. But that's definitely my day pack recommendation. So comfortable, so functional, and I've had it for 10 years. It's probably traveled like 2,000 miles, gone across the ocean, across the country. So, that is definitely it.

 

Tyler: Comfortable, functional, and after 10 years, I'd say pretty durable.

 

Kati: Yeah, definitely.

 

Tyler: It may not be the same color it was when you bought it, but it's still working.

 

Kati: I know. I said to Spencer, I'm like, "Uh, we have to wash our backpacks." Like, that's a good idea. I'm like, "Right?" He goes, "Why haven't we ever done that?" Like, I'm not really sure. But, and we're both super clean freaks, so we both like it.

 

Tyler: Yeah, I don't think we ever,

 

Hope: I was gonna say, now I feel like I need to go wash my backpack. We definitely haven't. I've never, never occurred to me. So, thank you for that. It's a good tip.

 

Kati: Yeah, so a very good call out, actually. I was called in. I have to clean my backpack.

 

Tyler: Contrary to that, what has been one thing you've learned that you don't need while traveling?

 

Kati: I don't need even half of the clothes that I pack for myself. And that is also silly, but I am a chronic overpacker. You should see my luggage for next week to go to Florida for the week. My husband today, he's like, "Oh, I see that you're packed for a full road trip." I just, I always want options, and then I don't wear half of them. So, I've learned that, but I've never actually done what I said I'm going to do and take less. Something's wrong with me here.

 

Tyler: But, yeah, she makes fun of me for how little I pack. You're only bringing like one pair of shorts and three shirts, like, yeah.

 

Kati: I, well, and I'll say this to my husband too, like, if we, like, go out. So, like, we were in Leadville a couple of years ago, and he was just able to throw on like a cleaner pair of hiking pants and a flannel and a hat, and he looks like a normal person. I'm like, if I throw on like my hiking pants, I look like a nerd. I don't want to go out like that. I want to look decent. So, I feel like I have to pack additional clothes so that I'm not looking like I just came out of the woods like a creature, I don't know.

 

Hope: Very true. Men have a different ability to transition their outfits from day to night, rather than we have. And I was laughing because he doesn't pack himself.

 

Tyler: But, but in my defense, our clothes are bigger, so I should take out more space, but I don't.

 

Kati: Yeah, my husband and I are the same size, so our clothes are the same. We, we're both like five ten, weigh the same. We are the same, exactly.

 

Tyler: I’m like 6'4 and she's 5'6 so like my shirts are like five of her shirts. Um, if you could have listened to this podcast when you were first starting out traveling, what is one question I didn't ask tonight that you wish I would have, and how would you answer that now?

 

Kati: We, we, I feel like we kind of talked about it, but just the planning process, like where do I start? How do I start to plan? Maybe like a planning, um, what's the word I'm looking for, planning template. It can be, once you know kind of where you're going, I guess planning gets easier. But maybe like a drawing board template, like how do I start planning my trip? I think that can be the hardest part. Like Spencer and I are really into the national parks. We pretty much plan every trip around them. And then once we have MapQuest, Google Maps, ever, like do our route, then from there we'll be like, "Oh, this is close to here, so we'll branch off and do that. Oh, that's close to here, so we'll do this too." But we always know like national parks are like the pillars of our road trip. I feel like some people don't know, especially if national parks are not their thing, like where do I start? How do I put my thoughts together and then plan?

 

Tyler: Yeah, that's true. It sounds like the solution is finding those big places you want to go, the big national parks, the big destinations, and then just, yeah, like filling in the gaps.

 

Kati: Yeah, even like big cities, right? Like what cities do you want to visit? Are you going to like plan around that? But I do think that when I first started, it felt daunting to plan any type of trip, whether it was a, like when I first started backpacking, I'm like, "Oh my god, get me a map, like help me." Just in general, the starting of planning. And now I've become a planner because I'm like a neurotic type A perfectionist. Some people are not, I don't know how type B people go on vacation.

 

Hope: They usually have a type A person planed, I think.

 

Tyler: Yeah, there a couple more questions before I wrap up here. If somebody wanted to pursue a travel lifestyle similar to yours but is in a completely different career, um, what is one thing they could start doing today to get them there? And the reason I asked that, because it, it does, it sounds kind of silly, someone to completely change their career to pursue travel. But we had an episode four, um, Jeff, he was a CPA for eight years, decided he wanted to travel and got his class a trucker license and loves it and just did this complete, yeah, did a complete 180 with his career, but loves what he's doing. He's having a blast. He's been to all 48 states in the continental United States. And, yes, you never know what people want to, if they're going to take a drastic change in their career.

 

Kati: Yeah, no, that's awesome. Yeah, I guess so if you want to teach, it's different for every state. Um, in New York, it's one of the harder states to be a teacher in. You have to have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. Um, you can start teaching with just your Bachelor's as long as your Bachelor's is in education and you're a certified teacher. So, like, I had to do my entire Bachelor's and then take three tests and do a project. And then I was initially certified in New York state, and then I had to start my master's before I could be professionally certified in New York state. So, that's how New York works. So, there's a lot of schooling involved in teaching, which is funny because for a master's degree, you don't make enough money to be master's degree required. Um, but then you go to other places, and that's not a requirement. My, my, um, my stepbrother lives in Florida, and he did his undergrad in like sports management, and he is teaching right now. He just had to take a test, bachelor's degree, and a test, and then he can teach. And he has all the same perks, the health insurance, the time off, all that stuff. It's just different based on where you live. Interesting. Yeah. So, okay. So, if someone has their bachelor's degree, depending on their state, they could just take study up and take a test, and they could be on their way teaching.

Tyler: Yeah? I Didn't know that.

Kati: Yeah. I know like some states are, are a little more stickler about it than others like New York, California, Ohio, of all places are very like bachelor's Masters must be certified, uh, but then other states, not so much. Florida, you just have to have a bachelor's degree. You take your test. Um, then you're, you're in that school system. That's what my stepbrother had to do. And he's doing it.

Tyler: Have there been any YouTube influences or books that have inspired you to travel?

Kati: I, I feel like I got into the travel scene like before I want to say like before the influencer age, but like before the influencer age, it was when people were still using weird filters on their Instagram square photos, you know what I mean? Like so in that sense I, I, I just feel lucky that my parents value travel a different kind of travel than I do. We were like all-inclusive resort people and like go to Florida. But um, since then, I guess there are definitely accounts and books and things that kind of have made me feel more passionate about travel. A kid that I graduated from high school with went to college, was doing whatever, and then he just became a like a YouTuber for travel. He was doing like Southeast Asia, South America. I don't even know what I, his, his name is Steve Yalo, Yalowitz, and that's his like YouTube channel. But his stuff is, he's a fun guy. Like you watch his stuff and you're like, like, wow, he's so happy. Um, he definitely inspires me when I, when I see his stuff posted, different kind of travel than I really do, but it always makes me feel like, all right, I could do a little more. I could be a little crazier, I let loose a little bit. I read a lot of through-hike, so and I think my husband would divorce me if I was like, Hey, we're doing a through-hike. That's our next trip. I just find it so inspiring and it seems like such an incredible way like, you know, the big thing now is slow travel, right? And like can you get any slower travel than a through-hike? I'm not sure unless you lived somewhere, right, for a long period of time. So reading books on on through hikes and through hikers really, really give me a new appreciation for traveling and nature in general.

 

Tyler: Good stuff. Any titles in particular we can link below?

 

Kati: Uh, "Through Hiking Will Break Your Heart" by Carrot Quinn is so good. It's like one of the first ones that I read after, you know, the typical "Wild", which is also very good. I'm not saying it's bad. Um, I currently have "Thirst" lined up to read. I have not read it yet. I'm currently reading "Nowhere for Very Long", which is not a through-hiker book, but it is um, an like an outdoorsy influencers book that I'm really enjoying.

 

Tyler: While our audience is checking out those channels and those books one more time Kati where can they find out more about you?

 

Kati: You can find me on Instagram at wanderwithKT, um, or you can find me at uh, Expeditioneducationblog.com or Expeditionedu.com both will bring you to the same place.

 

Tyler: Perfect. And last question part two, you're coming back to talk about the travel tips segment and what are we talking about for that?

 

Kati: We are talking about a Colorado road trip that you could do in a week's time and you will get all of the national parks in plus I'll give you a couple bonus locations where if you find that you want to be in a place more or less you can add one of these in and enhance your trip.

 

Tyler: Great. Perfect. All right everybody keep an eye out for that and Kati thanks again.

 

Kati: Thank you.

www.atravelpath.com

 

04:45 How Long Was Full Time Travel a Goal For?

10:20 What Were Your Biggest Challenges to Get to Full Time Travel?

17:50 Is Full Time Travel Sustainable?

19:20 What Does Your Budget Look Like?

22:10 Why Did You Buy Brand New Before You Hit the Road?

21:57 What do You Like to Cook in Your RV?

26:15 How Has Your Experience Been Owning Brand New?

27:30 What is Your Advice on Backing in an RV?

33:00 What is Mooch Docking?

35:05 How Much is Internet Costing You?

36:20 What Has Been Your Coolest Travel Experience?

37:50 Has There Been Anything You Learned You DON’T Need While Traveling?

39:30 How Did You Downsize?

 

What a great show we had with Duane and Belinda Banks! The show was filled with a lot of laughs and valuable insight as they shared their story of going full time in their fifth wheel RV. Learn all about:

 

🛣️Facing the fear of “going against the norm” when you sell your home to travel full time

😊How to CALMLY back your RV in without getting into a shouting match

✅The importance of selecting the right RV for you so it will fit your needs

 

And Much, MUCH more!

 

Links:

 

All About The Banks on Social:

https://www.youtube.com/@AllAboutTheBanks

https://www.facebook.com/groups/400022101306484/

https://www.facebook.com/duanebelinda.banks

https://www.instagram.com/allaboutthebanks_/

 

🥹Their Emotional Video on the Last Day in Their Home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx9X0HHjlhw&t=1136s

 

Episode 7 With Adrian and Ruth discussing a Home Base

https://atravelpath.com/full-time-rv-home-base/

 

 

YouTube Channels Referenced:

https://www.youtube.com/@KeepYourDaydream

https://www.youtube.com/@LongLongHoneymoon

 

Relatable Blogs:

RV Technician: https://atravelpath.com/mobile-rv-technician/

Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

From Empty Nesters to Full Time Rvers: https://atravelpath.com/retired-full-time-rv-living/

How to get internet while traveling: https://atravelpath.com/internet-while-traveling/

Thinking of retiring in an RV? https://atravelpath.com/retire-in-an-rv/

 

 

Most Popular Blogs: Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

How to get internet while traveling: https://atravelpath.com/internet-while-traveling/

 

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

www.atravelpath.com

 

Andy and Rachel:

Andy and Rachel - YouTube

Andy Rachel (@andyandrachelvlog) • Instagram photos and videos

AR Treasures (artreasuresphotography.com)

 

What an exciting show! Andy and Rachel sat down with us to share their interesting and inspiring story of how they manage to travel and creating a work life that supports them meeting their travel goals.

In today’s show you’ll learn all about:

🏠Using real estate to house-hack your way towards your goals

🐶Finding creative ways such as pet-sitting to stay in places for free

🥚The importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket, so you have multiple streams of income to rely on

And much more!

 

🔗Links

 

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

💵Hacks

International house-sitting community - Nomador

Google Flights - Find Cheap Flight Options & Track Prices

 

🏠Real Estate

Airbnb | Vacation rentals, cabins, beach houses, & more

Travel Nurse Housing - Search For Monthly Furnished Rentals (furnishedfinder.com)

 

💡Influencers

Eamon & Bec - YouTube

The Nomadic Movement - YouTube

Kara and Nate - YouTube

Create & Build Wealth With Real Estate Investing | BiggerPockets

Scott Trench Set For Life: https://amzn.to/48HxJVH (The book mentioned during the show)

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript from YouTube:

Andy and Rachel thank you guys for joining hope and I on this episode of the travel path podcast hey thank you thank you guys so we know you guys on Instagram and YouTube as Andy and Rachel you've got a ton of content everything from product reviews you've traveled all over the world you have your wedding photography business and it might be a foreign topic to most of our audience the house hacking and Airbnb hosting but it's speaking our language we're excited to dig in there why don't we start by having you share a little bit about yourself and then letting the audience know what your current travel lifestyle looks like so I'm ra obviously and um I actually right out of college did social work for 14 years I had a huge life change and um went through a divorce I have three daughters and when I met Andy I had three daughters and was kind of like done with the social work thing I had done it and I wasn't I just thought you went to school for one thing that's what you do the rest of your life and he comes from an entrepreneur background he's like what do you want to do like that's like an option so but I'm also um um kind of like jump into a person like I'm like ready for adventure so I quit my job like really soon like a month into knowing him or so and tried different entrepreneurial things and so wedding photography was what stuck so that's currently my full-time job as a wedding photographer we tried a lot of things and we'll probably touch on that a little later with the whole entrepreneurial and house hacking and all that I came from an entrepreneurial family my dad was a big entrepreneur we started a business a family business buiness early on so that I kind of knew it was possible I uh grew up in Ohio I went to college in Florida I lived out in Los Angeles for a while uh San Francisco eventually came back to Ohio met Rachel know we uhhuh and first he had bought a van was running a business I kind of like always wanted to travel and I was thinking well I can I can work remotely I might as well like buy a van and and fix it up and live in it and and and travel around the world with it and stuff and anyway so that's basically what I did for a year because you know the the rent was you know $1,500 a month and living in this van I could basically essentially save that $1,500 a month and and then I would would take that money and kind of snowball it into the next kind of investment and that's kind of what led us into our first property was using the income that I had saved from living in My Van Into the rental income and then you know once that rental income turned into another house and yeah then we we created a photography business and kind of worked our way up and you know along with other entrepreneurial things so awesome so it sounds like that goal of travel came first and then and you were putting systems in place the real estate the photography business to get you towards that goal right you mentioned house hacking what exactly is that so B yeah so so basically I had heard about it a while back my brother bought a a duplex and he lived on one side and he rented out the other side and um the person that he rented out the one side basically paid the entire mortgage so he wasn't paying any money for you know he was basically living for free and so me and Rachel kind of talked about it and we were like yeah it would be ideal to to eventually get a property to do that so we bought and sold one house before we finally found our first house hack it was ended up being a Triplex so we had three units we lived in one and rented out the other two yeah there's a lot of work involved I me we had to remodel both the the two units we we rent it out and so we learned a lot with and we happen to rent them app through Airbnb actually right great yeah think I saw that when you had a video posted on that it's the studio you have two studio apartments up top right and then you were living in the downstairs when you were renovating yeah that's great I'm I'm glad you bring up the the work involved because we're the same way we did the whole YouTube University thing and I like the the point you brought up too about how you can accumulate wealth so quickly and I tell people your cost of living is like the biggest expense you're going to face and if you can buy something that essentially either eliminates that or reduces it greatly you're limiting that huge expense you can put that towards whether it's another property towards travel whatever it is right yeah and there's tax incentives if you you know and you can get you can get deeper and deeper with it because the you know the the government gives you tax write offs for owning real estate and so yeah it can compound really quickly you know so it absolutely does yeah so what would you say to somebody who doesn't want to get into real estate because of the headaches they hear you know you're you're a landlord especially Airbnb host you're getting text communication all the time there's leaky toilets what would your response be to someone who's avoiding real estate because of that yeah that that was my concern because my my brother was renting out the traditional way with with monthly or with yearly rentals and and he has problem clients and and that and I I didn't really want to deal with that type of stuff so we started we aligned kind of kind of like Sy Synergy a little bit we we rent it out we were like well let's Airbnb first and rent it out to vacationers and just kind of see how it goes and that seemed to work pretty well for us we didn't have if there was anything to fix we would catch it when we were doing our cleaning or or whatever um and it made us more money than the traditional route and then we had discovered that we lived near a big Medical Campus so we had a lot of doctors and nurses and those people coming through so we eventually transitioned our model from vacationers and travelers into like 90% traveling nurses and and doctors like on rotation on rotations and so we would advertise that way we would say great for medical students and it was a quiet place that was really close to the hospitals as well so we just we would just say it in the wording but then most of our reviews they would also say like I'm a medical student or I'm a doctor most of them were medical students and so so they were semi longterm renters I mean like a month to three months month sometimes or six months and they were paying premium so you know cuz it's furnished and yeah do you use furnish finders have you heard we looked into it yeah our area where we live isn't as big city so it's so there's less you know what I mean we're kind of five 10 years behind the we're lucky in a way because it's it's like we're cutting edge all the time when we're like behind yeah that's true we're a big fish in a small pond so ahead of the crowd yeah something else I would say if someone hesitates because they don't want to get into it um we no longer own that property yeah we we ended up selling because it just worked out you know you you got to kind of time the market and yeah like I kind of thought well I could make 10 times as much as it would take me to work 10 more years at this right now and then do like we were talking about earlier I can take that capital and roll it into the next so we ended up selling this year yeah so the point could be too is like it might not be a long-term thing for you maybe if you just think of it as like a temporary thing of dealing with tenants and communicating and stuff that you can use that money when you sell it there's always exit plans yeah for sure so you had that property I'm sure that helped fund your business it was a passive income source for you it eliminated you know your your cost of living essentially and then did that allow you kind of that opportunity to start that wedding business or how did that work we basically did it kind of at the same time yeah the winning business was kind of going ahead of time actually yeah yeah we we we started the photog every business around the same time we bought our first property our first property was uh we got it for super really cheap property it was but you know it was a it was a 1880 Historical house that was like 70 grand and it just I mean and it was like pretty much dumb but no one could see the vision it was a very odd house and so and it was like a cabinet shop and it was just very odd so we ended up buying that we sold it unfortunately we wanted to keep it for a little while we ended up selling it making a profit on that took that profit Prof bought the triplex and so but yeah while doing that we also built a photography business and we you know did e-commerce Amazon eBay we dog walking dog sitting driving buil yeah we built a dog sitting business and and uh yeah I mean we I think at one point we had six or seven businesses just you know K going so but like you know each one is like one makes five grand a year one makes 30 grand but what I had told is it's like you're diversifying your income so like if you have three incomes going at once and you lose one you're still still above doesn't hurt as bad yeah right so and that's kind of what's scary for a lot of people who work N9 to-5 is like they're you know the 100% of their income is built on this job and and so it can be scary you know people don't want to quit when they should quit you know and I will say what's he had asked about how I'm starting the photography business so in general we try to start businesses where there's very little money forward like he already had cameras because of the business he already had so our startup C was essentially nothing so we didn't really need anything to help start the photography business yeah that's a good point that's a great tip we could talk about real estate all day but this is a travel podcast so why don't we switch gears and talk about what your current travel lifestyle looks like are you traveling full-time part-time so that really goes back to um like when we met how where we were at so I have three daughters and I have them half the time so that's why we are based in Erie Pennsylvania and so our travel schedule really for now really has a lot to do with the girls sometimes we travel with them but they're in Traditional School so that's very much based around their school schedules besides occasional I just brought my daughter for her first our first trip just a daughter of me she turned 16 we're going to do that with all the girls so we tend to go on short trips actually throughout the year so like when the girls are with their dad we go on a trip here and there or if they go on a longer trip with their dad we go on a longer trip the two of us or sometimes we take the girls on longer trips when they're off school yeah I think I think at our Peak we were like we do 10 to 12 like three or four day trips throughout like once a month we would go on like a three day or four day yeah and we do some still because of photography as yeah so because you had so many businesses rolling at one point how did that affect your travel lifestyle when we had a whole bunch of them going it was tricky you learn what works and and what doesn't for example we stopped doing Amazon FBA and and e-commerce stuff a lot because you had to be home to package things to ship out you know and same thing with the dog sitting and that type of stuff it it limits your your availability to travel and so we we learned that and we were like Okay cool so we're focused more on you know remote type of stuff I still do graphic design remotely for you know businesses and we can do editing on the road and you know that type of stuff so yeah so honestly it was like we learned that the ones that we couldn't travel with as well that we weren't interested in and and I think we just put more energy then into the photography business and that's probably why it grew I know you have some videos on YouTube you talk about it sounds like you have these weddings that you shoot all over the country how are you marketing that so that you know you're living in Ohio but you're shooting a wedding video I think the last was in Florida right yeah yeah so mostly I think it's just because we share on Instagram we got we've mostly got travel weddings through Instagram which is not how we get most of our weddings in general however um I just put on there that we travel and I put that like on our stories when we are traveling and then I share weddings and I just think it just comes together that way where people who are more open to where their photographers from sometimes just reach out to us because they like our style and it works out that way but um I'm also on like Facebook groups at various locations when people are looking for a photographer I'll say oh we're interested there's also like SEO and you can add in alopen and you know that that type of stuff which we're working on that's kind of like our new kind of goal is to to try to get more like uh organic you know people to come to us for that type of stuff sure that's great I wasn't sure if it was like I know we have like the mobile RV techs they just drive all over the country and they'll just update their website for where they are and then if you need someone you can call them and you just do Google search so while you're traveling what are some of the biggest frustrations that you face so the camera debate oh yeah I don't know if you guys have this but it's always like the biggest um decision for us to decide what cameras we want or don't want to take with us for vlogging obviously if we're doing a wedding we take the big nice cameras but it's not necessarily sure it's how much we can fit in our bags but also like how much you want to worry about when you're on vacation like if we want to go to the beach do we need to worry about if our camera is safe and so it's really funny we always have this huge debate like what we really want to capture and the quality that we care or don't care to capture when we're traveling sure now when you're traveling is it did you sell that van Andy that is that where you're still traveling in or do you fly stay in airbnbs what does that look like our favorite ways to stay are is home exchange so it's similar to Airbnb but instead of cash you use points so people can stay at your house and you earn points for it to go stay anywhere in the world it's actually based out of Europe um but it's growing so there's more and more places to stay at you can switch actual places at the same time but we've never actually done that house to house like complete swap right yeah yeah it's hard to do that was where it's it was founded like that but that's it's hard to do that when the stars have to kind of line up for both to be going to the same place it's it's already pretty difficult to to get it to work perfectly um because it really depends on where you're going like if you're going to New York City like it's pretty easy because there's a lot of people doing it there but like like we're we're trying to go to Kawai next year and so finding people there to let us you know do the home exchanges hard because there's only like four people on the entire Island you know so on the yeah when we first started dating and and traveling we actually did a lot of taking care of people's pets because we didn't have to pay um any money to stay at their house so that was that was really nice but then we slowly learned over the last four or five years it's kind of just this added responsibility where you know you need them to take care of their pets and their house and and you know we're responsible people so so it limits the amount of time um that you can go on vacation but we still do it from time to time so yeah there's there's options out there you know a lot of people don't travel because they think it costs so much money but um there's a lot of ways to to to do it for cheap so there are yeah and that's one thing that we discovered when we first air beat our house we were living there and we rented it out we took a vacation and we realized that renting our house out basically paid for the trip and it's similar with home exchange where it's that point exchange but yeah it's incredible that that hack right there if you're going to take a two-e trip just furnish your home it takes a little bit of work if you have a home office you need to lock some things up but it does it it makes it way worth it for sure yeah that's a good point we we we talked about that we never actually did it though renting out where we actually live no there there's not a lot of big interest to people coming here that's probably why but yeah we we actually ended up owning um we bought a property in uh Southwest Florida we rented rented that out on home exchange and that was an Off the Grid tiny house in the jungle so it was a very different experience all the great tiny house in the jungle let's hear about that yeah a goal of mine like I don't know at least 10 years ago um one of my best friends I I've wanted to live in Hawaii and buy land there and he kind of got me onto it and and so I'd look every every once in a while and at some point he sent me a link to this Craigslist posting of of uh like three it was like three and a half acres in basically the Everglades it wasn't in the Everglades but very close to the Everglades um it was only a 10 10minute drive to Marco Island which is right on the right on the Gulf Coast and you know it was cheap it was like 40 Grand it had a off a fully Off the Grid um tiny house on it with solar and just it was brand new brand new it was beautiful and uh so anyways long story short we went down there and my friend and I checked that out you know I bought it and and we originally planned we were like well this would just be our place we come down to and vacation at and and then we were like well we can rent this thing out we ended up renting it out basically letting people a lot of people from France came and stayed there and we did home exchanges with them and but then we had to like constantly go to Florida and clean this house and yeah it was so yeah so yeah cut back that literally had to cut back the jungle with a machete to get to the house is maybe a little too much adventure for us yeah it was it was it was a three and a half acres like dense jungle with only like 5% of it carved out into the middle with with the tiny house there there was only six months of the year where you could live there because during the rainy season during the summer it's just filled with mosquitoes and rain and the weeds will grow up like six to8 feet tall and just we would go down in October like October what the hurricane season would be over we'd go down and I like the first couple years I I literally used a machete and would just like cut and just be out there with like you know all this mosquito gear on cutting it down and getting it prepped and stuff and then he felt like a Rambo yeah totally it was it was he got to live his childhood dream it was and I have to like buy a knife every time we flew down because you couldn't fly with knives that's a good point yeah because I was scared that a that a cougar would jump out because um there's like Mount they like introduced mountain lions and into Florida to like rebuild their like cougar population and anyway so there were black bears alligators Turtles it was a pretty nutso experience but that sounds like an adventure yeah and I know what tiny house is something that's on her list she really wants a tiny house really bad apparently our van doesn't count so we're gonna have to buy one at some point yeah it's it's a nice upgrade from a van you know I I lived in a low top van with like I don't know 70 square square feet so upgrading from that to that tiny house it was a little extended it was it was 10 by 16 um so it was nice we had a little area for living uh you know like a living area with with a couple chairs and table and it like took too much of our vacation time up yeah it took too much you know too many plain chicken too much too much time cutting down the jungle turns out that's not fun in the long term yeah so we so we basically learned that when you get into real estate the best thing you can do is that if you if you're owning property is to own it really close by because even that like 20 minute or 30 minute drive when you need to go do something over there is plane ticket yeah yeah it really takes a toll on you so miss real estate prices were cheap like that but I guess there was a reason for it now You' mentioned I know the home exchange you had mentioned there were a couple of other travel hacks that could potentially save money what were those um so pet sitting no matter is a app that we use and so that's really cool you can like literally travel and take care of someone's pets have a place to stay and often they have a carf to use especially if you're on an island which we like to go to Islands actually Hawaii we did with that yeah three three or four years ago we stayed in the Bahamas the lady we got to stay there for free in her house she took care of her two dogs and she left her car for us you know so you didn't have to pay for a place to stay and you got a free car like you get the authentic experience they usually have food in the fridge for you that's like local food yeah it's definitely a game changer when if you want to travel for for on a budget it's it's a big game another really epic one we had right away as soon as we got together was um watching what kind of dogs were they called it's a great pise yeah Great Pyrenees so it was like mountain dogs and one of them she was like leave her off the leash because she'll protect you and I'm like oh I'm not comfortable that like you don't want to lose someone's dog she's like no there was a house sitter it was a house sitter there and she went ahead and she literally fought off a bear so that the house so that the sitter was okay okay yeah we'll let her go ahead of us I will take your word for it yeah yeah we that one was fun too we we arrived the lady had like bread with like butter and just like we had their own little like studio in their basement a hot tub hot tub that's awesome if you're a pet lover you're watching a dog and it's really not that big of a commitment yeah it it was fun and and yeah we stayed in Hawaii once with twice yeah twice through that yeah twice where where we you know got a car and cool uh puppies to play with and if you're into that type of stuff stuff you know it's definitely untraditional but it can be cool awesome yeah so no matter home exchange I'll put links in the show notes for all the resources we talk about today so that's great through all your travels what is the coolest experience you guys have had together or it can be you each can have your own cool experience too we actually landed on to they actually were both of our girls yeah the first one that came to mind for for us was uh we got married at a courthouse but then secretly secretly and then um you know the a day or two later we surprised our our daughters and the next day we had a flight out to California so we brought them to LA and then the next day we got married on the beach in Malibu in Malibu and it was like a Valentine's Day weekend it was like they had a long weekend from school and so like everyone else knew that they were going but they didn't know and so so was fun yeah it was their first time on the west coast and they were just like Jaw drop the whole time yeah so our other one was to the Bahamas with our girls it was like such a local experience it was an Airbnb actually and it was right on the ocean it was not in a tourist area at all and so it could have gone either way we didn't rent a car we were trying to save costs and trying to just be like chill and give them a chill experience of like just being on the ocean and they're like older they're like teens so it's like you don't know if they're going to like miss all the excitement and they didn't want to leave it was phenomenal it was the person had a pool and it was an Airbnb with like four units in it on the ocean and it wasn't even like a nice Sandy Beach it was just like you're basically like in the ocean yeah we walked to the grocery store so they like saw locals like we literally had to walk every day to get groceries because we only had whatever our hands to carry the food so we would go to the grocery store every day and our big like final meal was literally everyone came to the grocery store together and ate outside the grocery store for a big fancy meal yeah there weren't there weren't like restaurants nearby I mean it was yeah we walked to like this little convenience store and they had like a food truck that was like closest thing to to a restaurant we told the girls a while ago that like we we would we buy them stuff whenever they needed any clothes we'll buy it but for Christmas and like uh summer break and stuff like that we we we'd like to buy them experiences you know through traveling and so that they can just be a little bit more you know well-rounded a as an adult when they grow up and kind of understand there's more out there than just you know your your surroundings and your kids so then not renting a car thing is kind of a new thing for us so we've been doing that a lot lately we've been trying to find like cities that have a lot to do within itself so like San Juan Puerto Rico was like one of the first times we were like well let's just go here and just not run a car and we'll just kind of see if it's fun you know we don't have to drive around and go see mountains and all these different areas because we which we love to yeah we love that but we were so we were trying to do the opposite thing we were trying to to figure out if it was doable and and so far it's been fun mhm we did add one question I don't think it was on your list but we we asked um if there was one thing you learned that you can't live without while you're traveling and then also contrary to that like one thing that you learned that you thought you would need but didn't need does that make sense I will preference this by that we are extremely minimalist Travelers we only travel with a book bag yeah we just do we just do a carryon which just a backpack small um the only time we do use a a check bag or even a carry-on we don't even do car we do personal items when it's included we'll bring a carryon uh but most of the time we're trying to keep the cost down so we use like Frontier spirit and we don't really we're young enough we don't really care about extra room and you know and all that stuff so we we'll min max it so we'll we'll spend as at least amount on airfare as we can and then spend the rest of our money on experiences or like fancy restaurant or whatever I since we travel around town a lot and stuff it's nice just to have a book bag instead of carrying that's another big tip too especially if you're in a place that's like kind of dangerous you don't really want to be that person rolling a carryon down the road you know oh but he asked for something we can't live without and I think we have one I maybe you'll agree with me just goggles we actually love snorkeling but if you like make it into a really tiny thing really you just need to see underwater so yeah small goggles are great to have I love that tip on Min maxing too it's kind of that goes hand in hand with the whole real estate delayed gratification you can you know suffer on that plane ride for a couple hours and then just Splurge when you're down there exactly yeah you can stretch your dollar and not a lot of people do that I don't know I feel like I grew up that way or something because I I I do it with like everything if you could have listened to this podcast when you were first starting out traveling what is one question you wish I would have asked tonight and how would you answer that now I think we kind of already talked about this a little bit um and I don't really know exactly the proper way to to say this question but basically something to the effect of like how do I get to the point where I can travel as much as I would like to or you know have a job that I that allows me to travel and explore the world my answer I think we already kind of touched on this a little bit you kind of have to be doing two things at once at least it worked for us was we were building our long-term goal of having a successful photography or successful wedding business but at the same time we were also building these other businesses and rentals and uh you know e-commerce businesses and dog sitting and all these other types of things to to help push that goal into where it needed to be and I think yeah I think a lot of people just kind of stick to one thing and and and they just do that but like if you're if you're able and capable of doing a couple other things and it doesn't necessarily mean you you spend like you know instead of spending eight hours a day working you're spending 16 hours a day working but just like a little extra every day on another couple goals and and really it's like it's like growing plants and stuff all you got to do is plant the little seeds and you know you just you water it once in a while and and eventually it grows that's great advice if you set a goal you want it bad enough so you can set up those side hustles while at the same time making sure you have a lifestyle while you're trying to make it there and then keeping that mindset knowing that one day you will be there and at the same time those side hustles you're not going to be doing those forever either and so thing that makes us jump right into things I just feel like it's just worth mentioning is both of us lost a parent really early and so both of them had Big Dreams for their retirement that they never got to and so when we met that was like a very joining point and like a very important thing to us is that we live now and plan for the future right very inspiring story and I'm sorry to hear about your parents but it's I'm glad to see you guys put the work in and it's working out for you guys are enthusiastic and happy I can tell yeah so how many trips have you guys taken this year we're almost at the end of a year we went to Mex meico oh yeah January we went to Cancun we brought her parents Honolulu oh before that we went to New York City with the girls like a million small trips all over the place but it sounds like all those little travel hacks you're doing all those moneysaving things they're really allowing you to take all those small trips because most people will be like oh I didn't go anywhere in a year right so just the fact that you went to three plus a bunch of other small trips throughout the year shows that all these steps you guys have been taking really do help you get to those travel goals throughout the year right yeah it adds up you know if you're you're saving money you're able to kind of look for deals and and and uh one of the big travel hacks that we have is we use Google flights to find cheap cheap flights places and so you know some people don't know this they just go to like American airlines.com and they type in roundtrip to whever we spend an extra 20 minutes and and and look okay what's the cheapest one way to Chicago and then we find a new search what's the cheapest one way from Chicago back and they could be two different completely you know Airlines but you're saving like hundreds of dollars and so so yeah like over the course of the year if you do three trips that way you're saving a thousand bucks so yeah you can you can do you can do a lot and especially if you're doing it in all areas you know you're saving money with Airlines you're saving money with uh rental cars and you're saving money with your with your Airbnb you know is I have to say one thing in case in case Talia watches this I I can't forget I just got back from s ju with my daughter too so at least four big ones this year yeah like we travel from like Michigan to Pennsylvania Ohio at least for weddings throughout the wedding season pretty much went to Philadelphia we went to Vermont West Virginia we did yeah starting to come back I'm like okay yeah we went on like 10 trips this year it's a good problem when you're starting to lose track of how many trips you took said 3 to five whether it's 3 to five or 10 plus that's a lot more than most so you guys are doing it right I love that analogy about it's it's every little thing that adds up yeah sure the plane tickets might not seem like much but you know not doing a rental car and that's a good analogy for life you know if you can save a couple bucks here and there it it adds up you know your weekly monthly expenses if anybody did an audit on themselves with you know you're streaming bills uh there's a there's a platform for everything nowadays Netflix Hulu peacock everything if you sit down and figure out what am I actually spending money on is it worth it and then you could start saving a lot of money pretty quickly and the money save you're not getting taxed on I I read somewhere and it blew my mind is when you try to pick up an extra job you're getting taxed you know whatever that tax bracket is but when you start saving money you're saving 100% of that Penny yeah that's a good point that's a good point for anyone listening who is just starting out and they want to be in a similar travel lifestyle as you guys what would be one thing they could start doing today one of the first things that you know I had helped Rachel with when we first started dating was she was in kind of uh you know the typical way of life where people have like a brand new car and they spend $700 a month on their car and and so I was giving I was kind of like let's start correcting these these things because I was just brought up that way I I just figured everyone else did this but so we ended up buying um you know we bought like a $3,000 Toyota Sienna minivan because she had a sedan which is like with me and her and three kids in the back seat like it just didn't it wasn't very practical so not little either yeah so I'm like well let's get a minivan that's very reliable and that we own outright so so yeah we bought this $3,000 minivan and ended up eventually selling her car and so that takes care of a monthly payment like that's a huge difference in being able to travel just that one thing yeah so I I did the math you know a couple years ago we were we were spending on average about $75 a month on this minivan for taxes Insurance uh maintenance tires oil change everything so 75 versus 700 you know it's $625 extra in your pocket every month so multiply that by 10 or 12 like you're at $66,000 a year and that's just one thing yeah you add that and then you start you start house hacking and so instead of spending 12 Grand a year on rent you're making 12 Grand a year on rental income so now you're at 20 grand extra in your pocket or even like if you can't afford a house yet you don't have a down payment yet or something like you encouraged me to find a rental that was like way smaller than the rental I was in and like yeah if you think of people in other countries like it might seem like everyone needs their own room and everything but it depends what's important to you and like for a while we sacrificed yeah and now we have a big house again but you know sometimes you have to make sacrifices yeah she lived she lived in a in a one room apartment it was a big room three girls with three daughters for like six months it was like 400 bucks a month so it was like she went from 850 to 400 so she cut her rental cost in half and I was living in my van at the time you know it's doable and like like you were saying earlier it's just for a brief amount of time it's not saying saying that you're like well I want to live in this $400 a month one room apartment forever like you only did it for six six months at the most yeah so yeah and so I always put my myself in perspective other it helps to put yourself in other perspectives there's tons of people around the world that are like living in dirt houses with you know no shoes and happy yeah and they're like happy running around with one toy it's good that if you can kind of switch your brain and go like you know this is really nice that I live in my tiny little van you know and like it's all perspective absolutely yeah Tyler always said we need to live below our means yes I know what not to contradict what we said earlier about all those little things adding up but at the same time if you have big things you can slash immediately you know for that house hacking or getting rid of that van payment or getting rid of the car payment that would be worth way more than cutting out those small little things if you have those big things you can slash do that first and then little things add up after that there's a million different things you could do you know you could sell stuff sitting in your closet for 10 20 bucks a pop and you just you you spend an hour one night listing it all on eBay and just get rid of it and all right one more question before we start wrapping everything up um were there any YouTube channels or other influencers that motivated you guys to travel first of all I will say that like I had like a deep burning passion to travel but I wasn't traveling really much besides for work I was traveling for work when I met Andy when I had like the idea to to get a van and live in it and stuff I remember typing in YouTube I had well I originally bought this really crappy like $2,000 uh Ford E150 that was like rusted out it was just like a total junker and I remember I bought it and I did like what I call like the Walmart special where I put like a mattress in the back and like a cooler and like you know a sleeping bag and just I was just like well this is I'm going to live in this my hack at the time was where we live it gets to zero degrees in the winter so it was like you freeze to death so I would pull my van down I I worked in this office building and I and I rented a a heated underground garage spot for like 40 bucks a month and so I would pull my little low top camper band down into that spot and it would keep me like pretty warm you know during the winter as he was running a successful business no one really inspired me to do it I just kind of did it myself and then and then I was like you know this kind of works I'm gonna buy I'm gonna like build this thing out and so I like remember typing in YouTube like how to build a camper van you know and this was this 2016 so I like typed in like how to build a camper van so then I went down that rabbit hole of like travel influence was like Aon and backck and nomadic movement Jordan and Kaye and well car and Nate but they weren't doing that yet yeah Karen Nate was like later in the game but yeah I found all these van life people that were building out their Vans and stuff and I was like well this is like a movement actually ended up buying a totally built out camper van out in Oregon and I flew out there sight unseen bought the camper van and drove back to Ohio cuz I didn't had the time to build this thing it died on me in the middle of the mountains and he decided you needed a girlfriend yeah but yeah they're they're yeah Jordan and Kayley from nomadic movement aing and back sure yeah we've definitely heard of most of those channels and we'll put a link below in the show notes for all those channels you mentioned there and while my audience is checking those channels out where can I found out more about you guys uh we're primarily on YouTube We also are on Instagram yeah Andy and Rachel Andy and Rachel excellent all right guys Andy and Rachel thank you so much for coming on you guys are a proof that you don't need a camper you don't need a trailer you don't need a van to travel fulltime and you can do it with kids and you can travel and meet all your travel goals and dreams so guys thank you for sharing your inspiring story and um looking forward to meeting up with you at some point soon yeah thank you I appreciate it thanks guys

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

01:42 Overview of Skyline Drive

07:40 How Long Should Someone Spend in Shenandoah National Park?

09:00 When is the Best Time of Year to Visit Shenandoah National Park?

10:54 Is Shenandoah National Park Dog and Kid Friendly?

11:00 Can You Bring a Large RV to Shenandoah National Park?

12:45 Where is a Good Sunset Spot along Skyline Drive?

15:00 What Are Your Favorite Places to Eat in Shenandoah National Park?

16:00 Other Attraction in and Near Shenandoah National Park

17:30 What Are 3 Things Someone Should Pack to Shenandoah National Park?

18:00 What Should People be Aware of Before Visting Shenandoah National Park?

19:00 What is One Thing You Can’t Leave Shenandoah National Park without Doing?

 

We were so glad to have the Banks back on to talk about this great destination. Lear some of the best sunset places, places to dine, and fun things to do nearby Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive!

 

Links

The Banks’ Video on Shenandoah National Park:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2qpXxuJW7k

 

Big Meadows: https://www.nps.gov/places/big-meadows.htm

Spottswood Dining Room: https://www.goshenandoah.com/dining/big-meadows-lodge?utm_source=google&utm_medium=yext

 

Luray Caverns: https://luraycaverns.com/

 

Heritage Village: https://luraycaverns.com/explore/shenandoah-heritage-village/

Massanutten Water Park: https://www.massresort.com/play/waterpark/

Harrisonburg KOA: https://koa.com/campgrounds/harrisonburg/

Endless Caverns Camping: https://endlesscaverns.com/

 

Shenandoah National Park Pet Policy

 

America the Beautiful Pass: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

 

Relatable Blog:

9 Scenic Places in the US:

https://atravelpath.com/america-the-beautiful-9-of-the-most-photo-worthy-places-we-have-been/

Thinking of retiring in an RV? https://atravelpath.com/retire-in-an-rv/

 

Most Popular Blogs: Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

 

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

www.atravelpath.com Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Transcript:

Hello Pathfinders and welcome to the travel path podcast a show that empowers you to achieve your travel goals and live a lifestyle so that you can travel on your own terms. I am your host Tyler Hespeler join me as each guest I interview shares their wisdom and knowledge so that you can take the actionable steps necessary to begin carving your path. 

 

Hello Pathfinders!

Thank you for tuning into the first EVER episode of the Travel Path Podcast. My name is Tyler Hespeler, and if you haven’t already, check out my website at atravelpath.com. Here, you’ll find a blog and a community forum, so feel free to ask questions or share any travel knowledge you have that could potentially help a fellow traveler.

It will just be me and you today in this brief intro episode.  

I want to start by sharing my vision for this podcast, and then diving a bit deeper into Hope and I’s journey.

Starting next week, I’ll begin the interview-style podcast where I’ll be having some exciting conversations with people who have been able to quite simply, travel. Whether it’s taking a multiple month trip work free that just seems impossible for so many reasons, or you’d like to structure your life so that you can start some remote work and make money online, this podcast is for you.

Every listener will have their own unique set of circumstances in life. As such, each listener will have a different path to get them where they want to go. The beauty of this podcast is I’ll be talking with guests from all walks of life. While some guests may be more relatable to you than others, I’m confident each episode will deliver valuable information to your ears.

I think it’s important to let you know how this podcast was born. When Hope and I were taking our two month long road trip, by far the most-asked question we got was “How are you able to do this?”

It was not uncommon that an older couple would stop and tell us how they wished they could have explored in their younger years, before they retired. They were happy for us, but they were also envious that we were able to travel to all these places and go on those long, steep, scenic hikes that, at their current age, they just couldn’t do. We made many friends on the road, and I soon learned that while the desire to travel is shared by many, what some people seemed to be missing was the path it took to get there.  

Whatever your goals are, my mission is to have this podcast serve as a guide and to get you on the right path, YOUR travel path, wherever that may lead. It’s a big, beautiful world, and I believe most people want to see it.

Whether you are stuck in job you aren’t satisfied with, like I was, or want to set up a lifestyle for yourself or family so that you can reach your travel goals, or both, you’ll want to be tuning in each week.  

There are so many questions, it can seem impossible to know where to start. How much should you save up and when should you begin? What about kids, pets, or school? How will you be able to quit your job or talk to your boss about traveling? Can you make money online or find remote work? Should you stay in hotels, airbnbs, or what type of RV should you buy? How can you restructure your days and change your mindset now, so that you can take actionable steps to make extended travel a reality in the future?  

Fortunately, each week will bring a unique and motivational guest who will answer these questions and more.

 

One of the things I’m most excited for is to be able to share not one, but two episodes of the Travel Path Podcast every single week. Each inspiring guest I interview will have a two-part, thirty minute or so long podcast.

In Part 1 we’ll be diving into the nitty-gritty details on how my guests have been able to set their lives up so they can travel. Together we’ll be gaining knowledge, as well as learning from mistakes, on exactly what it takes to achieve your travel goals. We’ll cover everything from what their travel lifestyle looks like to money saving travel hacks and more. I’ll ask each guest about some of the frustrations and problems they still face while traveling and, my personal favorite, what is the biggest challenge they faced to get on the road, and how they overcame that.

And of course, I’ll be asking them to share the coolest experience they have had while traveling.

The aim with Part 1 is to combine the knowledge and expertise we’ve learned from each guest, as well a pinch of inspiration, to get you going full steam ahead on your own path.

Part 2 will be a change of pace. During this episode, I’ll be asking each guest to give us all the details on the one place they know best. Whether it’s their hometown or a destination they’ve spent a lot of time at, we’ll be digging up all the secrets.

I’ll be asking everything from the best time of year to visit, things to watch out for, their favorite restaurants, nightlife, kids, pet friendly, and rainy day activities, and more, and I’ll wrap up with asking them what is one thing you simply can’t leave town without doing.

The goal with Part 2 is to provide you with knowledge that you probably wouldn’t find online or know without having lived there for a little while so that you can best be prepared for your trip. Overtime, I hope to have an entire library of destinations that you can pull up and listen to as you create your list of places you want to visit. Like Part 1, Part 2 will bring value to you from either end of your path. If you are just starting out, you’ll be finding out more about a destination you’ve always thought about, or you’ll hear something for the first time that really resonates with you that you’ll want to work toward experiencing. And of course, when you are ready to make your trip, it will be a great guide to relisten to as you pack your bags. Or if you’re really last minute like me, play in the car as you are approaching your destination.  

 

Whether you are making your commute, going for a run, or putting away the dishes, you will have two new episodes of The Travel Path Podcast each week that will accompany you as some extra motivation and encouragement.

I know that when we began carving our path, this is something I would have loved to have been able to listen to, and I look forward to you tuning in.

A little bit about me.

My wife, Hope, and I had pretty normal jobs and lived in a small town in Southeastern CT. At a young age, I went on a cross-country road trip with my family, and at some point I decided I really wanted to set up a life so that I could take Hope on an extended road trip and show her some of the amazing things this country had to offer. Together, we set a goal to take a two month long road trip before I turned 30, and over the course of three years, Hope and I worked really hard to make that happen. We educated ourselves, made some passive income investments, and I left my job to work for myself so I had a scalable income source which would help us save up. Sure enough, on my 29^th birthday, we picked up our new class b van, and a few months later we hit the road.

The trip was amazing, and I can’t explain how free it felt to be behind the wheel. Our experiences and the things we saw made all our hard work worth it.

I’ll get into more detail as to the specifics on how we paved our way in a later episode, but as I mentioned earlier, I am keeping this show brief.

We are by no means retired, have definitely made some mistakes, and just like a lot of my listeners, I have a lot to learn as well. But by combining my passion for travel with the opportunity to learn from others, I am confident this podcast will help you in your journey.

In putting this show together, I tried picturing myself several years ago and asking myself what I would have liked to have listened to and questions Hope and I would have had as we were starting out.

It’s been very gratifying whenever someone tells us that we have inspired them to travel. I hope to do the same with this podcast, as well as provide you with the tools and knowledge it takes to get you there.

But it doesn’t stop at this podcast. My goal is atravelpath.com become the place to go for travel seekers everywhere to both seek guidance and share their wisdom. So go ahead and checkout our forum at atravelpath.com and become a member of our community.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned its that life is short. If you want to experience some of the awesome places this world has to offer, there is no better time to start planning then right now.  

Thanks for tuning in. I’m so excited for what this podcast will bring, and I hope you are ready to lace up your hiking boots and find your path.  

 

And that's the show thank you everybody for listening I hope you learned as much as I did on this episode of the travel path podcast if you found any value please consider writing review on whatever platform you listening to. I read every single one and it will help me understand what content matters most to my Audience. By leaving a review you're helping me reach my goal of empowering as many people as I can reach their travel goals. Speaking of that please share this episode with anyone who you think could benefit from it check out atravel path.com for access to Today's Show notes resources and to join our community. Before I Let You Go what is one thing you can do today that will bring you one step closer to reaching your travel goals? my name is Tyler Hespeler signing off.

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   

www.atravelpath.com

https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

 

00:00 Introduction

03:00 Why They First Visited Thailand

03:45 How Long Should You Visit Thailand For?

05:15 Best Time to Visit Thailand

06:15 Flying a Dog to Thailand

07:00 Transportation

09:15 Lodging

10:15 Nightlife

12:00 Cost

13:00 Delicioats Ad

14:45 Internet

15:00 Experiences

16:45 Food       

21:00 Exploring Thailand

27:30 3, 2, 1 Countdown

 

In today’s show we welcome Chris and Sara back to Travel Tips. Join us as we take that far journey across the world to learn all about visiting Thailand!

 

Why Thailand?

While Thailand is renowned for its breathtaking beaches, it's the digital nomad lifestyle that truly captured Chris and Sara's hearts. The abundance of coworking spaces, high-speed internet, and affordable living costs make it an ideal destination for remote workers and entrepreneurs alike. With a plethora of outdoor activities, from surfing and kayaking to exploring majestic mountains and ancient temples, Thailand offers a diverse range of experiences for adventurous spirits.

 

Planning Your Visit

For those considering a trip to Thailand, timing is key. The months of November to February offer the most favorable weather conditions, with cooler temperatures and minimal rainfall. However, it's essential to avoid the burn season, typically occurring in April, when air quality deteriorates due to agricultural practices. Planning a visit during the winter months ensures optimal conditions for exploring Thailand's natural wonders and bustling cities.

 

Transportation

Getting around Thailand can be an adventure in itself, particularly for first-time visitors. While motorbikes and mopeds offer a convenient and affordable mode of transportation, they also come with risks, as traffic can be chaotic and accidents are not uncommon. For those less confident in their driving skills, alternatives such as songthaews (shared taxis) and tuk-tuks provide a more relaxed way to explore the country's diverse landscapes.

 

Accommodation and Nightlife

Finding accommodation in Thailand is relatively easy, with options ranging from budget-friendly hotels to cozy Airbnb rentals. Chris and Sara recommend staying near popular areas of town to maximize convenience and accessibility to amenities. As for nightlife, Thailand offers a vibrant array of experiences, from bustling night markets to lively clubs and bars. Exploring local night markets provides an opportunity to sample delicious street food, shop for unique souvenirs, and immerse oneself in the vibrant atmosphere of Thai culture.

 

Embracing Thai Time

One of the unique aspects of Thai culture is its relaxed attitude towards time. Visitors are encouraged to embrace the concept of "Thai time," where schedules are flexible, and patience is key. Whether waiting for a restaurant to open or navigating transportation delays, adopting a laid-back approach to time management enhances the overall travel experience and allows for a deeper immersion into the local way of life.

 

3,2,1 Countdown

3 Things to Pack to Thailand

·        Sunscreen

·        Modest Clothing

·        Bug Spray

2 Complaints or Things to Be Prepared for in Thailand

·        Bugs

·        Heat

·        Culture: shoes off, lots of bowing, land of smiles, be respectful

·        Thai Time: Don’t be in a rush

1 Thing You Can’t Leave Thailand Without Doing

·        Any of the temples

 

Chris and Sara Online

·        Website: https://www.chrisandsara.com/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisandsara

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisandsara_

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisandsaratravel

      Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chris-and-sara

 

 

Flights

·        Going: https://www.going.com/

·        Google Flights: https://www.google.com/travel/flights

 

Travel Hack Resources

·        Lisa and Josh: https://www.youtube.com/c/LisaJosh

 

Thailand Locations

·        Phuket Beaches: https://www.phuket101.net/phuket-best-beaches/

·        Ko Chang

·        Thailand Water Festival (Songkran)

 

Music

Music • Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ready-as-ever License code: WYQ2IKRBMVFP3EJS

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

www.atravelpath.com

https://delicioats.com/discount/PATH Use Code PATH

 

What an exciting episode about Sedona, Arizona! We welcomed back Marc and Julie from RVLove and they told us all about one of their favorite places to visit. In this episode you’ll learn all about:

Camping

Unbeknownst to many (including us during our first visit to Sedona), Sedon has a strict policy regarding sleeping in your car or RV. They told us about their favorite campgrounds near Sedona, as well as an incredible boondocking location.

 

Hiking

There is no shortage of beautiful hiking trails that offer spectacular views of the surrounding red rock in Sedona. Marc and Julie named a few of their favorites, including Boynton Canyon and Bell Rock.

 

Sunsets in Sedona

You can’t leave Sedona without experiencing a sunset, and how the fading sun casts growing shadows across the vast landscape. They shared a view of their favorite sunset locations in Sedona, although they also mentioned that as long as you have views overlooking west, you can’t go wrong!

 

Restaurants

Whether you are looking to fuel yourself for a long hike, or catch dinner with amazing views, Marc and Julie listed several of their favorite restaurants and Sedona. And don’t miss their tip on how you can sometimes find the best tasting food at popular destinations.

 

3, 2, 1 Countdown

3 Things You Should Pack to Sedona:

·        Hiking Boots

·        Layered Clothing

·        Bikes

·        Sunscreen

2 Complaints or Things You Should be Prepared For in Sedona:

·        Crowds

·        Planning Ahead & Limited Camping Options

1 Thing You Can’t Leave Sedona WITHOUT Doing:

·        Boynton Canyon

·        Watch sunset over the red rocks

 

00:00 Introduction

03:30 Favorite Activities in Sedona

07:30 How Long Should Someone Plan to Stay in Sedona?

09:30 How Far in Advance Should You Plan to Visit Sedona?

12:45 Is Sedona Dog Friendly?

15:45 Boondocking or Campgrounds?

18:30 Restaurants

22:45 Internet and Cell Service in Sedona

26:45 Overall Cost in Sedona

28:00 Nearby Attractions

32:00 Delicioats

33:00 3, 2, 1 Countdown

 

 

RVLove on Social

·        Website (take the quiz!): https://rvlove.com/

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rvlovetravel/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Rvlove

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RVLoveTV

 

Hiking in Sedona

·        Boynton Canyon Trail (with Subway Tunnel): https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/boynton-canyon-trail

·        Bell Rock Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arizona/bell-rock--3

 

Sunsets Locations

·        Boynton Canyon

·        Enchantment Resort: https://www.enchantmentresort.com/

·        Airport Overlook

 

Nighttime

·        Sedona UFO Tours: https://visitsedona.com/things-to-do/tours-sightseeing/ufo-tours/

·        Restaurants

 

Restaurants

·        Mariposa: https://www.mariposasedona.com/

·        Pisa Lisa: https://www.pisalisa.com/

·        Cucina Rustica: https://www.cucinarustica.com/

·        The Vault: https://www.thevaultuptown.com/

·        The Indian Gardens: https://www.indiangardens.com/

·        Steakhouse 89: https://www.steakhouse89.com/

 

To Do

·        Holy Chapel of the Cross: https://chapeloftheholycross.com/

·        Vortex ATV Rentals: https://www.vortexatvrental.com/

·        Our Sedona Video: https://youtu.be/mXY8S3Fhg_k

·        Our Sedona Blog: https://atravelpath.com/sedona/

 

 

Nearby Attractions

·        Jerome Ghost Town: https://azjerome.com/

·        Grand Canyon: https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

·        Flagstaff: https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/

 

Camping

·        Cottonwood Campground

·        Verde Ranch: https://verderanchrvresort.com/

·        Verde Valley Fairgrounds: http://www.vvfair.com/camping-and-rentals.html

·        Campground INSIDE Sedona: https://ranchosedona.com/

·        Dead Horse State Park: https://azstateparks.com/dead-horse

 

Dogs

·        Bring Fido: https://www.bringfido.com/

 

Music

·        Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ready-as-ever License code: WYQ2IKRBMVFP3EJS

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript:

Host: Marc and Julie, welcome back to the Travel Path Podcast. It's great to have you here again.

 

Guest: Great to be back.

 

Host: So, if anybody missed part one, we got a crash course on everything RV. You guys have been traveling for 10 years, talked about all the five different types of RVs you've been into or five different types of RV you guys have had over the years, talked about budgeting, planning, preparing—a whole bunch of information. Everybody, check out part one. For part two, travel tips. We're talking about one particular destination. So, Marc and Julie, where are we talking about today?

 

Guest: I say we talk about Sedona. I say we talk about Sedona too.

Sedona, Arizona. It's one of our favorite places that we've visited multiple times on our travels. And, yeah, yeah, we were just there last month. Actually, we're not currently there. We're in AR-Iona, but we're not in Sedona right now. But we do love it. In fact, in all of our years of travel before we actually got a home base back a few years ago, when people would ask us where we thought we would settle, it was on our short list of places because that surrounding area, yeah, that it's getting really expensive now and very touristy now too—very touristy, very busy.

 

Host: So, obviously, you've been to Sedona multiple times. It's something that's very special to you. What made you decide to talk about Sedona out of all the places you've been?

 

Guest: There's just something magical about it, you know? And anyone that's been there knows. And it is actually known for having what they call vortexes of these, and I should have looked up what's the proper explanation of what they, these special magical energy. It does attract a lot of people that are healers or spiritual teachers and authors and people that are going through major life changes and reinvention. There's something about it that just envelops you. And it's just incredibly scenic. It's very beautiful—red, scenic, very beautiful. If you like that kind of thing. If you're somebody who prefers like the keys and trees, maybe not. But we happen to love Red Rock scenery and landscape. And it's just quite stunning and in different times of the day, so beautiful. Amazing hiking, fantastic biking, yeah, biking, off-roading, Jeeping. And there's even some, if people—there's some Rivers there too. And it's also reasonable proximity to get up into altitude into the mountains, so there's a lot of really cool stuff with a reasonable too.

 

Host: Yeah, yes, that's a perfect opportunity to talk about all the different activities that you can do. I know when we were there, we did atving through the Red Rock, which was amazing. Have you guys done anything specific that you've really enjoyed?

 

Guest: You know, one of my favorite memories of Sedona is when we actually boondocked. We weren't in a campground. We were off a road called Forest Road 525. And we probably took—it was our first RV. It was the one, I think we showed in the last episode actually where that picture was taken. Right, so that is actually where we were parked. This is not a Photoshop of the RV in this scenic spot. This is the whole big photo that Marc took with the Drone. But we found this parking spot right with this 35t class A Motorhome that is not really well, not at all designed for off-roading. And we ended up with this fantastic spot. We did have to do a little bit of slow and yeah, get a little creative and slow to get in there. But what I think, I know what you're gonna say is what was so fun is we were at the day after we were there. You know those Jeep tours in Sedona, they have the pink Jeep tours, you know, and then the yellow ATVs. This road we're on is one of their popular exit points for one of their big tours, right? So they go on this big long super technical off-roading Trail, and then they come up to our RV. And because we came, we backed in from the end where they come on the big long route. And then so they see us and the looks on their faces were so classic because they're like, how in the world did you get that here? So that was a really fun memory. But we came in from the road, they came in from the trail, so we saw a lot of that there. We actually, funnily enough, haven't done Jeep. Well, we have done Jeeping, not one of the Jeep tours, but we do have a Jeep, and we did do some of the trails with our Jeep. Yeah, we've done a lot of biking and hiking out there too, though. Just the trails are so amazing and just even just watching a sunset or a sunrise because the land is so textured with all the red rocks and so much texture in the shadows. It's really dramatic for sun when the sun is setting while it's still craning the shadows and even just from the airport is actually one of the good spots for vantage points. There's a lot of great vantage points in town, but that's one of them. And in the last episode, we talked about sunsets, right? So any RV would be familiar with this. It's something we talk, we as RVers as a community talk about a lot. And it's like there are so many vantage points just to get an amazing sunset view from Sedona. So that can just be a fun thing, especially if you're there for a week or two, go to a different spot every night to see the sunset. That's actually one of the things we love about RVing is people can still enjoy the same sunsets, the same experiences of an area, whether you're driving a $5,000 motorized or if you're driving a $3-4 million bus conversion. That a lot of that lifestyle can be had from whatever price point. So.

 

Host: Yeah, very true. There are definitely a lot of areas for sunset and sunrise. We went to one sunset particularly and it was so crowded. So I would say definitely give yourself the opportunity to see maybe where you can find less of a crowd. Just because sometimes.

 

Guest: Good luck with that. In years ago was easier, less so now, yeah. But you know, also just try to avoid, and this, this goes for any touristy place, not just Sedona, but just obviously try and avoid weekends if you can. That's when the people that just have the weekends off. I think as RVers, that's one of the huge advantages of the lifestyles, you get to enjoy things because you're already right there. So you don't have to wait till Friday or Saturday or Sunday to go see something special. You can often do it, especially in the summer time, go and see it after hours or, you know, if you can get out in the middle of your workday, if you have a flexible schedule, go and do that. But yeah, absolutely.

 

Host: So, to get that full experience of Sedona, how long do you think someone should actually plan their trip for?

 

Guest: Now, we're talking about somebody who's just going for a little short vacation, like, do you want to, or somebody that's like an RV traveler that wants to either...

 

Host: I think, you know, mostly we're talking van RVs that are typically listening. But, I know, of course, you could do Sedona in a little extended weekend. But for someone who's going to take their RV and really wants to enjoy some of those hikes, the Red Rocks, the food they have, how long do you think they should go?

 

Guest: I think at least a week. I think so too, yeah, because there's a lot of great food, there's a lot of great hiking, and a lot of exploring. And especially because there's so much other stuff that's a reasonable distance drive from that area as well. You can drive to the Grand Canyon from Sedona if you want to do a day trip or get up to Flagstaff, you can go up to Jerome, that little quirky up on the hill. But I think it's really, it comes down to a couple of things. One is, what's your pace, you know? Do you have to work or have you just got the whole week off? Are you somebody who just likes to run around and see a bunch of things or take a more leisurely paced? But I think if you can give yourself a good week there, it's... there aren't a ton of campgrounds in the area and they are popular, the ones that are there, and they're not necessarily inexpensive because it's such a popular touristy area. But you can stay a bit out of there. You can stay half an hour away at places like Cottonwood, which is where we've stayed. There's a really nice state park over there as well. I think it's called Dead Horse. Terrible name. T-Ran State Park or something. But it's a nice location and, you know, if you're an RVer, you're a driver. So I mean, we don't necessarily have to be right in the heart of everything. Sometimes it's nice just to be out a bit of the main touristy area and we'll just drive in for a restaurant or drive in for or park somewhere and go do that biking and hiking and just try to avoid those downtown tourist areas at the busy days.

 

Host: Yeah, of course. Now, when you're planning your trip to Sedona, how long in advance should you start planning? Because I know for us, we typically don't plan, but with Sedona and having some of the ordinances of not being able to just pull over and sleep anywhere, I think you do need to plan ahead a little bit because the camping is popular and those campgrounds fill up. So what do you think the planning time is for your trip?

 

Guest: No, just as soon as you can because I don't know what the booking window is for that state park. You'd have to go in and check their website. But as soon as you can. We have a camping membership that we use. There is a campground in Cottonwood that, and that is one of the most popular parks in Arizona. So we probably, you know, when we're full-timing and we would go and stay there for a couple of weeks at a time, we probably planned that a few months in advance, yeah. But also, I recommend trying to go on a shoulder season when it's less crowded too. So that's a big part of planning is if you can go avoiding the peak times both on the day of the week but also the peak month, you have a much better opportunity which is usually outside of, you know, from Memorial Day to Labor Day is typically your busiest time anywhere in the summer. So you know, go in April, May, or go in September, October, something got nice times a year to be there. But I would say if if you are a planner, because not everybody is, three to four months or, you know, you could even plan one or two months out. Really just depends on your your stop.

 

Host: Do you have a specific month that you like to go in or is it when it fits into your schedule?

 

Guest: It's usually just when it fits into our schedule. We were there for a couple of weeks in June when we were doing that boondocking location we showed you at the beginning. And that got really hot. We were boondocking, so we weren't in a campground. We weren't plugged into power, so we weren't running the AC's. We positioned the coach in such a way that we could take advantage of the climate. And that's a really important part when you are boondocking, is to learn how to park your RV to work with the areas where the sun is coming up and going down and where what patio side so you can get the shade. So, just something to really be aware of when you start doing boondocking. I would say if you're going to Sedona in the spring in particular, just be really mindful of the weather because it can rain and even snow. It is an elevation and if you're boondocking out off that road like we were talking about, I mean, we've seen friends that have been really stuck and bogged in that and that red dirt turns into clay and it's sppy pretty and that can be raining and snowing right up till April or May. We, I don't think, I don't recall any significant rain when we were there the month of June, but boy did it get hot up to, you know, 95 and high 90s. And so, there would be a little bit every day that we would just run the generator and turn on the air conditioner just to cool things down. So, that was probably... I wouldn't want to go there July, August. I think that would be too hot. I would avoid it. It's still hot July, August is very hot. So, I think, you know, June, September, you know, May, June, September, October, I would say would be the optimal months to visit Sedona, yeah.

 

Host: Perfect tips. And you guys are a dog family. So, how is Sedona traveling with pets? I found it to be pretty dog friendly when we were there.

 

Guest: Yep, yep, it's dog friendly. And, you know, that is definitely a high priority for us when we travel. We use an app called BringFido, which I mean, you can search on Yelp and Trip Advisor and things like that and put in the dog friendly, and we usually search for restaurants with outdoor patios anyway, but they are the ones that are more likely to be dog friendly. So, for restaurants, but BringFido is a really great app to be able to find anything that's where you can bring your furry friends. Perfect.

 

Host: Did you find a lot of dog friendly restaurants with patios in Sedona specifically?

 

Guest: Well, actually, I don't think we had a dog when we went to Sedona because, um, sadly, we lost our first dog only five months into our travels. And so, we hadn't been to Sedona then. And then we were without a dog for about six years, which and the times we visited Sedona. And we do have a dog now, but we left him with somebody who took care of him just for the day. We just rented a car for the day. We were staying in the Phoenix area in Mesa and we just rented a fun convertible for the day. And we just took a day trip just to go and take a drive, have lunch at in Sedona, and left the dog behind. So, it was a date day. So, I wasn't paying much attention to the dog's needs that day. It was all about us.

 

Host: But I'm sure they'll make it to Sedona at some point. Sounds like you'll be going back, yeah.

 

Guest: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, that's the other thing too, like when you ask about the time how long someone should spend there and this is something we learned in all our years of travels is it's a shift of mindset when you go on a vacation regularly before we started RVing you feel like you have to jam it all into you know however long you've got to be there for a week or two but you need to switch gears in your mind that no this is this is a lifestyle now I don't have to see everything now and check everything off the listes let's just see what we see and do here now that fits our desires is suitable for this particular time of year and fits our budget and fits our just your own personal Cadence of of what feels good for you some people are more on the-go people and some people want to go a little bit quieter and slower uh is just remind yourself I can always come back and you you know you don't like we we're here in Tucson right now and I don't think we'll ever run out of things to do here there's just so much great and that's almost everywhere you can always find great things to see and do so I think um hit your first hit your main high points but then keep some things for later to come back.

 

Host: Yeah, absolutely. Now, of course, you have mentioned you've stayed in boondocking which you shared an area there. You also have stayed in campgrounds there too. What do you prefer when you go to Sedona?

 

Guest: Well, we like mixing it up. I think if the weather's right, it's hard to beat the boondocking. But if the weather's on the higher or colder side, we definitely like to have the convenience or a longer stay if we're staying multiple weeks. It's really nice to be plugged into, especially when you're working a lot of the time. It's like us, we stayed at a few different places. We stayed at the state park and then the Thousand Trails Park in Cottonwood. And then there is an RV park right down in town, but we haven't stayed at that one. And we've tried to can't quite recall off the top of my head, but it's with the solar panels too. That one's nice too. Verde Ranch. Verde Ranch is really nice too.

Verde Ranch is really... it's not quite in Sedona, but it's one of those locations it's great to drive in. It's got really nice amenities. But there is one that's right in the heart of Sedona, and the name escapes me, but it's really easy to find in a Google search because I think there's only one and it is walking distance to everything. But it is hard to get into. It is very popular, and it's definitely a bit more on the more expensive side. But sometimes it's nice just to be at a place where you could just walk everywhere.

 

Host: Yeah, absolutely. Do you guys have any favorite hikes that you've done in Sedona?

 

Guest: Yeah, there's a couple. I love Boynton Canyon. But I would say my favorite hike is the Boynton Canyon. And I also really like seeing Boynton Canyon with the sunrise. Sunset from Boynton Canyon is beautiful, less crowded too.

 

Guest: Yeah, it's less crowded. There's this Trail Angel who helps people get every time I go. I have... I didn't... we didn't go there on the last trip because we just drove up for the day and back. But there was... there's a gentleman from Texas called Roger. This is how much of an impression he had on me. I saw him more than once that I would go, and then he had these little red rocks and were in this heart shape, and he just would hand them out to people going on the hikes. It was really sweet, very nice.

 

Host: Have you ever done the Subway cave? It's off the Boynton Trail.

 

Guest: No, I haven't done that one. Do you recommend it?

 

Host: We did that and then continued down to the Boynton Canyon Trail, and we did that more in the middle of the afternoon. But I imagine for sunset it would be absolutely beautiful.

 

Guest: Yeah, we actually saw the sunset from the Enchantment Resort, and you can go out, but you have to get there earlier than normal, then the sunrise time because of the mountains and the shadows. It actually sets much earlier. So, get there earlier in the day. That gets very crowded as well, but it's beautiful, a terrace to sit out there, and they've got the little fireplaces and really just gorgeous.

 

Host: Yeah, sounds beautiful. So, what do you guys like to do at night then other than the sunset?

 

Guest: I... to go out to eat. So, there's some great... I think have you done anything else apart from going out to restaurants at night?

I think that's it. Yeah, other stuff that's good. We like to eat, so it's just being cheeky.

Yeah, it's a dark sky town too, so the star viewing is really nice.

 

Host: Yeah, nice dark sky watching is amazing.

 

Guest: Yeah. And we haven't done these, but we've heard of people going. You can go and, like, I think they... you were... or you know, ghost hunting tours or something like that. But we haven't done those.

 

Host: Yeah, we heard about them, but we didn't do them. But mostly, and because it does get darker there with the canyons, it's mostly just going out to... going out to restaurants is our favor to do.

 

Guest: They do have some great ones too. And especially, you know, Mariposa and Piza Lisa and...

Thea by the same person, yeah. Lisa D has a restaurant who has several restaurants. We haven't been quite to all of them yet, and we've been to, I think, maybe three or four and always really good and really different. And then, are we up to the restaurant part of the podcast now? Can I talk more about the restaurants?

 

Host: Yeah, we can talk about restaurants now.

 

Guest: I wasn't sure if I was jumping the gun.

Piza Lisa is great for, as Marc said, for really nice pizzas and salads. And you can sit out... they've got a little terrace out there where you can sit out if you get there early enough to... it's on the main highway, so it's not like you have the majestic open view like some of the other places. But the price point of that restaurant is more, you know, midpoint, which is great. Always really good food and a good vibe in there. Um, we recently drove up there for the day and had lunch out on the terrace at a place called The Vault Uptown. VLT that had a great big patio with amazing views. Amazing views and that's some great food too. But if you also want that view, you can also go to... you can go to Chipotle right next door that has a patio as well. So, yeah, we had a great lunch, and, you know, they have nice cocktails and everything at The Vault. But that's when we left, I said, you know what, if we're in this area again, and I do really like the idea of trying that Chipotle out. And another place that I really like is called the Indian Gardens, and it's an Indian Gardens Courtyard or something like that. And it's a little bit past all the rest on 89, and it's this cute little place on the left-hand side, and it's got like a little market, and you can get things to go, coffees and sandwiches and wraps and things to go. But they've got this really darling little courtyard out the back where you can sit and have some lunch or have breakfast. And that's not open for dinner, that's a daytime place. But that's really lovely. I think that would be my favorite so far.

Yeah, that's... anything you try and get off the main bit is always a good thing. Oak Creek Canyon's also got good choices. That's where Kachina Rustic is, which is that Italian restaurant that's quite big actually. Another one of that's actually a tip from our travels is from all the years and we travel when you go to a touristy area, you often find better food if you go off the main strip because to find someone that's a smaller restaurant that's more focused on the food instead of the tourist attraction. And in fact, sometimes some of the best restaurants we've had have been strip mall restaurants that are just small family-owned ones that are really focused on the very unassuming. Sometimes we've gotten to places because they were really well-reviewed on Yelp or Trip Advisor and then we'll pull up in the parking lot and we'll go, oh, really, it's I had, and it was this strip mall restaurant, and I remember the first time being really let down. But we went in anyway, it was fantastic. And then, so the next time we're like, you know what, this is a good sign. So, now we almost always find that strip mall restaurants, if they're well-reviewed, be turned off by the fact that it's a strip mall. You're not going to get views mostly, hardly ever, I don't think ever. But the food's really good and the service as well. So, they can be some real hidden gems. I don't remember any of those in Sedona.

 

Host: That's okay. So, how's the Wi-Fi situation in Sedona for you?

 

Guest: You know, it depends on where you stay, and we prioritize our travels around internet connectivity. But the campground that we originally can stay at with our camping membership for no nightly fee has really poor internet connectivity for the bulk of that campground. So, that's part of why we don't stay there as often because only a small percentage of that campground has connectivity. So, that does play a factor, and especially if you go on peak times when you go to any small areas when you have peak times, the crowds can start reducing the speeds on your connectivity when you overload the towers. But what we found, the... this is why we moved from that. And here's a little tip: that campground that we mentioned that's part of our membership, it's called Verde Valley, and we've been to some others. So, if it's got Valley in the name or Canyon in the name of a campground, that's usually a tip that the internet's probably not going to be great. Right, like Hidden Valley. Oh, be careful, that one.

 

Host: Yeah.

 

Guest: So, anytime got Canyon or Valley in the name of a property, call them and ask them what the cell coverage is like. And if you're speaking to just somebody who answers the phone, make sure you ask what carrier they have because they might say, oh, yeah, mine's great, and they might be Verizon, but you might be T-Mobile, so you know that doesn't really mean anything if there's not a T-Mobile tower in the area. So, that's why we actually left Verde Valley years ago to go down to and we discovered the Dead Horse Ranch State Park, and that had really good cell coverage there. So, that was great, and that was a nice drive into Sedona and also Cottonwood. That's not far. So, it's got some good restaurants too, and it's not Sedona proper, but I would call it in the Sedona area, has some really good restaurants and a nice vibe down there, some murals, and it's a fun little town. So, sometimes there are just neighboring those really higher in more exclusive towns like a little enclave like Sedona, just the neighboring towns can be really cool as well.

 

Host: Yeah, absolutely. Now, are you guys traveling with a Starlink or like a T-Mobile home internet base or how are you getting internet right now?

 

Guest: We are just using our cell phones on T-Mobile network. But that's about to change this week. We're getting a new Peplink. Most of our travels, the last seven or eight years, we've had a mobile router of Peplink right antennas. And we're missing that right now, and so we're going to be getting that put back in here this week. But we don't have Starlink yet. We haven't... I think if we were full-timing, you know, it might become more of a priority. I'll be really honest. We had redundancy with our... with our Peplink. We would have like... well, we used to have three carriers. We had T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. So, if we weren't in a good area for one, then the other would kick in. So, we actually never found the internet to be lacking to need Starlink. But we have seen places in our travels that are. But when we had connectivity and we were full-time, we would just move. But now with Starlink, there are a lot of other options, you know, like one particular we can think of is Blue Mesa in Colorado. No cell coverage from any carrier there, so Starlink is gold there. Very good. So, if it's important, you should have it. Now we have heard good things about T-Mobile home, and we did look into it, but when I put in our address, we weren't eligible. So, I might try that again. It might have changed. But I have heard good things about T-Mobile home. We do have T-Mobile on our cell phones, and we've been with them since 2017. So, we've had Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile for ourselves, and I would say I'm the happiest with T-Mobile. Very good. But really, we're just happy with Jebin Works. We've had really good experiences with T-Mobile, and the service is great.

 

Host: Yeah, absolutely. So, transitioning back to Sedona, what did you guys feel like the overall cost was when you go? Do you feel like it's more expensive or less expensive than, you know, you typically...?

 

Guest: It's more expensive, but it's worth it. There's nothing like red rock. Yeah, it's... we don't mind. We don't mind. I mean, you're not living there. Like, we didn't end up buying a house there, but it's nice to go visit. And that's when we... you know, this is one of the things we like when you're traveling, you might stay in some places and be spending less so that when you go to other places that you really want to go that are more expensive, it's a bit more of a splurge, and then you treat that more a bit like that's your vacation, you know, within your life on the road. So, we do that with... with our living. There've been times we're down in, you know, the Florida Keys. No, I'm taking that week off work because I'm spending a fortune on my nightly fee, so I'm not going to sit here working away. What a waste. So, that's what we do. And we try to do that in Sedona too, is to just really immerse and explore it more and do less work. And then when we go to the other places that maybe aren't as exciting, then we hunker down and do work. So, it's good to have that flexibility.

 

Host: Yeah, perfect. Now, if you haven't mentioned it already, are there any other nearby attractions that people should be on the lookout for when planning their trip to Sedona?

 

Guest: Oh, you know, again, I think it's... it's the surrounding areas. So many people just head straight for that downtown area, and it is really nice. It's... if you can just get... go park and just walk, there's some little boutiques and coffee shops and things. But just... just go out, even just go for a drive. What's that little loop where you did your biking that we drove through last week? What was that called?

Was that a little park, was it?

No, it's off 89, so if you're coming in from Cottonwood heading into Sedona, it's off to the right-hand side, and it's like a little park, like a little loop.

But I forgot. Red Rock Loop or something. Red Rock Scenic Loop, it might be called. Don't quote me on that. Might be, actually. But it's a really lovely little drive. We saw this really cool architectural feature. There's some gorgeous homes around there. So just seeing the architecture. The Holy Chapel of the Cross is a really beautiful, very well-known tourist attraction there that's a really gorgeous place to visit. But again, just getting out, you know, we... for us, we just like getting out of the crowds. Yeah, the little town Jerome, the little mining town, is a quirky little place that if you want something unique. And they had an amazing... what was it? Kaleidoscope store there that was fantastic. They shipped all over the world because they were a specialty shop. But yeah, and then again, getting up into the mountains too. So, if you get tired of the Red Rocks, you want to get up into some green forestry stuff, it's an easy drive as well. And in Cornville, we even just did the loop. So, sometimes we'll just drive with no destination. We... I remember once we were, you know, over in the California area, and we just couldn't stand the traffic, so we just got out of there, and we just... we just drove. So, we do that with Sedona, around that downtown area. We're not really big fans of those crowds down there. So, just... almost any direction you can take that drive up north to Flagstaff, 89 is quite a curvy road if you like that. And that's... and there's some great places to stop and hike along there as well, and some stores, that little Indian market as well. So, yeah.

 

Host: Yeah, perfect. Yeah, no shortage, that's for sure, of any activities in or around Sedona. The only thing I'll add, we did... so the Jerome ghost town, which I think you were talking about the mining area, we went to the Jerome ghost town, which is a really cool place to visit. And I thought it was brilliant how the people there, it was a mining area and then it shut down and they didn't know what to do with all their equipment, so they just left it there and turned it into a destination. And now it's a big tourist attraction.

 

Guest: Yeah, now they're making money instead of having to hold it away would have cost money.

 

Host: Yeah. And I'll link our video in Sedona and the show notes as well because we did... there wasn't a ton of overlap because there's a ton of things to do in Sedona. But there's a... we did some things you guys mentioned but a lot of things we actually... we did differently. We did... we stayed at the fairgrounds in Cottonwood. I can't remember the name of the fairgrounds, but we had a hard time finding a place to stay. And we did our Vortex ATV rides through Cottonwood, so it was a little more economical 'cause it wasn't in Sedona. But we could look out and see the Red Rock. And the best part about that ride was they gave us an iPad with a map on it, and we were by ourselves. So, it wasn't guided. We did it on our own time, and that was amazing, just driving through the off-road, the dirt gravel roads, looking at all the Red Rock in the distance. So, we'll add a link to everything that we did as well in the show notes.

 

Guest: Yeah, looking forward to watching that. Yeah, and this is what I love, is that, you know, you can learn from other people where they went, what they did, what they saw, but you'll always have your own experience of it. But just... and know that you can watch someone can watch your video, listen to this podcast, watch someone else's video, read another blog, and then they'll go there and then they'll never have the same experience that any of those other people had. It's always just so different. I mean, there's one thing that's really cool about.

 

Host: Like you guys said, we were there a day and a half and we really want to go back, and you guys have been there a bunch of times and there's still things you haven't done yet. So, it just goes to show there's... like I said, there's no shortage of activities. We'll start wrapping this thing up, the 3-2-1 Countdown, the final three questions of the podcast. So, what are three things you are bringing with you to Sedona?

 

Guest: Hiking boots, layered clothing because the weather can change your climate with altitude quickly, and a bike. Bikes, it's great for biking, biking, hiking, and yes, the weather can really change.

 

Host: Sunscreen. That's it. What are two complaints or things people wish they would have been more prepared for when visiting Sedona?

 

Guest: Like I've said before, the crowds downtown, take that Highway 89 right, and there's such... back in 2014, it wasn't near as bad, but now it's much... there's a bottleneck around that, around that roundabout coming right into 89A. So, yeah, just plan your trip accordingly and try to avoid the weekends. One other thing... are only one... oh, one other thing would you warn them about, PL?

Yeah, I think we already covered this earlier too, but plan ahead because you don't just expect to roll up and be able to park anywhere, like you said, if you have a van, you know, stealth camping on the... yeah, even... even we... we looked at maybe ending up in Sedona one day, but it's actually really strict with rules around RVs, like even having them on your own property in the town of Sedona in that area, so that kind of was taking it further down on the list. So, not as... be prepared to drive in. I would stay out of Sedona and then just come in on the days you want to come in.

 

Host: Yeah, we had a really hard time. We drove for hours trying to find a place to stay in Sedona, so that's a very good point. All right, last question, guys. What is one thing, if you had to pick just one thing, you can't leave Sedona without doing? What would that be?

 

Guest: Hike Boynton Canyon. What would you say? Watch a sunset over the Red Rocks.

Yeah, you can't... you can't go there and not watch that whole progression of watching the shadows change the whole valley as the shadows change the rocks, and then the colors, because the colors get much more vibrant at that time of day. So, I don't think you can go to Sedona properly without having the sunset.

 

Host: I agree with both of those.

 

Guest: Yeah.

 

Host: Did you have... did you have any sunset locations, or can you just not go wrong when you're in Sedona?

 

Guest: I think you can go wrong. I don't think you can go wrong if you can get some elevation to be able to look down across a valley. I think that's important.

 

Host: So... oh, what I liked about Boynton Canyon too is we talked about the temperature change. I remember we were hiking, it was hot out, but Boynton Canyon is so shaded, it was almost like 10 degrees cooler, and it was so refreshing doing that trail after we... we went off onto the subway tunnel and came back, and it was... yeah, it was really nice hiking that trail.

 

Guest: It's not exposed like, I think the Bell Rock hike is beautiful too, but there was more... you're more exposed there, getting in and out. And that's why I like the Boynton Canyon too.

 

Host: Perfect. Well, great, guys. Marc and Julie, thanks again for coming on the show. This was a really great podcast, informative on Sedona. This is definitely making us want to go back.

 

Guest: Yeah.

 

Host: Yeah, like we... we, for us, guys, makes me want to go back again too.

 

Guest: We were just there last month. It wasn't that long, but it's... it's a wonderful place.

 

Host: And last question before I say goodbye. Where can our audience find out more about you guys?

 

Guest: You can find us at rvlove.com and on social media at rvlovetravel. So, come and hit us up and send us a note, and we'd love to say hi.

 

Host: Great. Right. Marc and Julie, thanks again.

 

Guest: Thank you, guys. Bye.

 

Guest: Bye.

www.atravelpath.com

Ryan and Katie's Social and Website:

https://www.instagram.com/smilkos_lens/

https://smilkoslens.com/

Ryan and Katy Smilko share how they made their travel dreams come true after many, many years of trials and tribulations. Their itch for traveling together began after their wedding in Maui and they soon discovered the online content creation world and were all in.

🐾They share their insight on how they are able to travel in their van with their dog and have some advice for people who are planning any pet airline travel.

💸💣TONS of money-saving, value bombs on how they use credit cards, websites, and applications to save money both driving and flying, and how it can allow you to travel “without paying hardly anything out of pocket.”

🛜They discuss the different devices they have used over the years, so they have internet access, both in the US and internationally.

🔨🚙They share their story on how it took them 13 MONTHS to build out their van, followed shortly after by transmission and engine problems that wiped out their savings.

🧳They share their insight on how they both shared a belief growing up that you needed to be wealthy and rich to travel. Over the years they have come to the realization that by being smart with their spendings and taking advantage of airline and credit card points, anybody can do it.

Resources:

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

https://smilkoslens.com/booking-travel-with-points/

https://smilkoslens.com/credit-cards/

https://smilkoslens.com/activities-in-redwood-national-park/

https://smilkoslens.com/redwood-national-and-state-park/ Internet:

https://soliswifi.co/

https://www.starlink.com/

Epic California Map & Guide:

https://www.rexby.com/Smilkos_Lens/unitedstates

 Within the above map/guide, there is an itinerary for Redwood National Park. If it’s easier to link to that directly, you can use:

https://www.rexby.com/Smilkos_Lens/i/B4saWK_JTcanSHqGSwxV2Q Other services/links

 

Travel Hacks: 

https://www.going.com/

https://www.google.com/travel/flights

https://www.travelzoo.com/

 

Transcript:

Ryan and Katie thank you guys for coming on the show I'm looking forward to this conversation so we know you guys you're on Instagram you've been to 49 and a half states which I have to get to at some point over 40 national parks you've lived in your van you've explored all around California so why don't you start by sharing a little bit more about yourselves and then letting us know what your travel lifestyle looks like oh man um the short I guess version of it is uh we met in 2015 we got married in 2016 and we ultimately began our travels in 2017 at that point we both had full-time jobs we were doing sort of the typical you use your PTO time off from work to go you know take a vacation somewhere um we would do that a few times a year over time we basically just realized that travel was sort of our passion it was what we wanted to do more of and we didn't want to wait to travel and to experience all the places that we wanted to see and so it grab gradually built up and snowballed over time um but It ultimately led to us today where we're now living in a van fulltime we've as you've mentioned we've been to pretty much every state around the US tons of national parks our dog Jor uh has been with us on all of these van lifee Adventures so he's been to the lower 48 states and yeah we're basically just out there trying to see it all so 49 and a half States let's talk about that I have been to 50 states all 50 Katie's only been to 49 we typically only track places and things that we've done as a couple and so if either one of us have gone somewhere in a past life we don't count it as far as like our our own travel track we're kind of the same way yeah but I was like we're so close to 50 and the fact that I've been there I'm like nah I'm just gonna put 49 and a half I can't believe how many people read it and are like what is this mean hey it it raises questions got us talking about it yeah that's smart so what's the what's the last state uh Alaska Alaska Alaska for work yeah I've been there for work but we have not gone to any of the national parks it sounds like you guys have been obviously I think you said 2016 so you're you know many years in the works here um in terms of your travel lifestyle are you currently working full-time part-time what does that look like we are working full-time as content creators on the road um our own business smos lens and we are the smokos um so that explains our handle a little bit hopefully we both had full-time corporate jobs I worked at a bank for 18 years and Ryan worked at a company for 12 years I think before we quit so it was a really big jump to uh start our own business but yeah now we're working full-time on building our own business on the road when you first discovered your content creation I said around 2018 was that through Instagram or what platform was that it was it was Instagram there was a big influencer do you travel I think is what his account name was and his his Jack Morris he was sort of the pioneer of influencing that kind of made us aware of the fact that you could travel and earn money doing it through influencing and brand deals and all that stuff yeah I very very much remember him showing me a photo he's like he got $5,000 for this photo I was like I could do that so the time frame I know you kind of touched on this from the day you decided you actually wanted to travel um until the day you actually started in that around that 2016 time frame how long did that take once we got married in 2016 and realized that we wanted to travel it became our priority any time off that we had any savings that we had it went towards travel it was it was our goal it was our priority and we didn't really wait for it it was like that thing that lives in your brain and you're like you know I want I want to travel fulltime like I want to go to these places and get an apartment for a month and then go to the next place and go to the next place 2020 the pandemic hit we were working from home and we basically realized we didn't want to go back to the corporate office life I think everybody kind of went through those you know reassessments and evaluations we really thrived being this close all the time but it really came to the Forefront of our minds that we really want to make travel full-time feasible for us we wanted to have the dog with us and so then became how do we figure this out and I'd say that was mid 2020 in September of 2020 we bought our van it was a very very quick turnaround from having this realization of we want to travel fulltime we want to have the dog with us we're not sure how to do that she found van life on Pinterest it became this big eye opening thing to we're now shopping online for a van and we buy a van unseen we had to fly across the country to get it unbuilt it was just an empty cargo van and we spent the next 13 months building it it wasn't until December of 2021 one that we officially moved into the van and hit the road Vans were going for like double what they would normally cost and like materials were like if you wanted like a van fridge or like a van toilet like there was a weight list take it that's why it took 13 months to to get the whole thing done we could have an entire other podcast episode just on our van build we only had weekends to build it was definitely like a very very very long process yeah but we had my dad my dad's a carpenter so he had all the tools and he helped us took a really a long time even having like a professional on hand so those people that do it like they're like I have no experience that I'm using a power saw I'm like when we bought the van I was like three months tops my dad's built 200 houses this is g to be so easy so I guess that really getting the van done was probably one of your biggest challenges you had to overcome before you could actually start your real travel and your next Journey right I think there was different challenges when we were trying to travel internationally money was kind of probably the biggest like how do you overcome your spending and saving and how do you afford travel like you know as a whole any capacity I think that's that was definitely one of our biggest challenges and hurdles and I think it's it's something it's a roadblock that tends to keep a lot of people from traveling to places it's just that that fear of oh it's going to be too expensive or I don't have the money or you know whatever and plus every time you try and budget something it always ends up going over budget whether it's your monthly grocery fuel costs I know when we budgeted our trip it was almost like double what we expected to have to pay that brings up a good point so I know in terms of like your biggest struggle your biggest challenge to get on the road mine is actually building the van so the financials right you want to save up enough money so you can give yourself that safety net whether it was like a passive income Source I know you picked up the social media in making money you know as an influencer I would imagine going from your current jobs to just getting on Instagram so you're not going to probably start making nearly as much money as you were making previously so was there a um like a side hust you guys were doing any way you were making other income to save up for the trip or was it just kind of through social media that took off it was definitely not the ladder we're still waiting for that right there with you I would say like to anyone who's looking to travel whether it's like one trip or going full-time it never ever feels like there's a right time like it always feels like you could work two more weeks and save like for one more paycheck and like have like a better hotel or you know more savings and we had saved up what we thought was enough to live one year on the road and the three days after I quit my job our transmission blew and it cost half of what we had saved oh no and then like six months later our engine blew and cost the other half of what we had Sav go and that was a van you just completely renovated right yeah so there was no trading it in or like over I would say which is why I don't recommend doing what we do uh which is counting on our business to take off in the future and just sort of uh living off of savings and or debt until we get it really going we definitely get jobs working with tourism boards and like as content creators um but we're not getting $5,000 for per post if anyone's wondering if we not even close if that happened uh we would definitely tell you guys how we did it but that's that's not that's not the case in our van yeah the the plan and the goal was we've got this sort of savings that we set aside we budgeted thinking theoretically this money could sustain us for an entire year on the road that gives us a year to try and ramp up our business and hopefully get it to a point where we we don't have to use up that entire savings and maybe halfway through we're now earning enough money to to cover our expenses and whatnot but uh that obviously did not pan out and come to fruition social media is like it's such a tough algorithm like like we're kind of the same page our first year we got like a whopping $30 off of Instagram it was like right in December like end of the year but it's one of those things congratulations thank you it's something yeah it's something um paid for you know half a tank of fuel not in California I can that no back in California has been like oh my God I almost missed Texas yeah it's like a sickening feeling when you pull in and you're like I know I have to at least get some right like I need enough to get where I'm going yeah so saying on the topic of money and finance have there been any travel hack money-saving tips that you've discovered along the way that could help future Travelers definitely yeah and this is this goes way before our van life adventures um but I would say a credit card bonuses uh incentives for you know signing up for a credit card and you know you spend a certain amount within a certain amount of time and then you get you know 60,000 miles or 880,000 points or whatever those deals can be hugely beneficial when it comes to travel because those points can literally cover the cost of multiple roundtrip flights or multiple hotel stays or both and so in many ways those can help really offset any kind of outof pocket costs you might need for a vacation or trip or any kind of travel that you're doing and then the other one that I would say is um things like uh Google flights um or there's a service called going which used to be called Scots cheap flights um it's basically an email subscription service that emails you deals and mistake airfares so if an airline accidentally puts a decimal point in the wrong place they'll send youil and be like this roundtrip flight to Italy from Atlanta is only $175 right now it's a mistake airfare better jump on it fast it's only going to be there for an hour or two but um those sorts of things and if you have flexibility in the timing in which you want to travel they can really make it so that travel is not only super affordable but in many ways you can do it without paying hardly anything out of pocket awesome those are great two things I have not heard of and I'll put a link in the description for those um websites down below um in terms of credit cards do you have any recommendations that you guys use there's uh Chase has a platform called um Ultimate Rewards and the thing that's so great about Chase is that when you're spending you know using your credit card for your purchases or any kind of spending that you're doing you acrew Chase Ultimate Rewards points now what's amazing about it is that chase has this huge list of Partners Hotel Brands Airlines Etc where you can transfer your chase points at a one: one ratio to those Partners so for example if you build up 20,000 points with Chase you can transfer those points to Southwest and Southwest it'll be 20,000 points or 20,000 miles on Southwest whereas many other credit card companies whether it's Capital One or American Express when you transfer your points to a partner there's some kind of conversion rate like a currency exchange where you're usually losing value by transferring those points over um making it not worthwhile in many cases to do it um whereas Chase it's because it's one to one it makes it super super like valuable and they've got Partners like hayatt and Marriott uh Southwest Airlines United Airlines a bunch of different International Airlines and so no matter what kind of traveling you're trying to do there's there's Partners there that they've got that you can transfer your points over to and really makes um you know your your flights or your stays uh much more affordable in terms of I know you guys work from the road so you do need internet I take it um how are you getting internet Wi-Fi cell service all that good stuff so I think our Situation's probably pretty unique and specific to those who are doing kind of van life for RV life um we use um spacex's uh starlink for our internet so it's basically a a little portable satellite that we can throw up on top of the van when whenever we're parked which is what we're doing right now we're in a CVS parking lot we've got our satellite up on top of the van and it uses uh the SpaceX um satellite service that being said when we were doing international travels and before we were in the van um we were using like a little portable hotspot device and the one that we were using was called soless s o l i s uh it's this little orange Puck looking thing um but it basically gives you internet service in like like 150 different countries all over the world and they have U month-to-month um options that you can select from so it's not like you're signing up or database yeah or database so it's not like a you know you're signing into a one-year contract or two-year contract or anything you can literally pay as you go and do month to Monon based on your own needs it worked better out of the country than in yeah no kidding oh good to know I think because it uses like cell towers for some reason here it was just like just use your cell phone but like the whole country it was crazy is that one of the reasons why you gave that one up for the starlink because the service in the country okay that was part of it the the other thing that I would say is those like mobile hot spot devices are are great if you're needing them for like just basic you know web browsing or email or a FaceTime call or something like that um but the content for creation and uploading downloading photo editing for the business side of things need needing to be able to upload tons of content it just couldn't handle the amount of data that we were trying to put through it is it true you can't have be like near trees or any um big upu if you're using the starlink yes definitely hence the CVS parking lot right now right yes exactly we got our starlink earlier this year we were in Utah and we've used it all over the country yeah we've had really good luck we've heard other people not have as good luck I've heard mixed things too yeah and there's I guess two different models of that right there's two you can either put it on top of the roof or one you can plant into the ground and then one of them's like less per month startup cost the one in the ground I think is for houses or it's a permanent there's aent RV one the one in the ground is the one that we have which is it basically has like a new every day Ryan take over that's funny basically has like a 50 foot cable um and so you can literally just place it anywhere you want um based on you know visibility and and obstructions there is one that you can permanently mount the roof of your RV or camper um that one is more expensive and the downfall with that one is that because it's permanently a fixed like this you don't really have the flexibility of being able to position it in different locations or places based on visibility and trees and such so you would basically have to have your van parked exactly where you've got visibility to the sky whereas the one that we've got you can you know Park in the shade and then walk you know 10 feet out the shade and yeah I feel like I would like that better I mean it's obviously a little bit more of a hassle because you have to get out and walk around but you're right I mean it gives you a little more versatility you can put it and point it in whatever Direction yeah really but it would have been nice to have service when we drive that's a good point oh true that is that's a big one too yeah we were like if we get this one we'll get more done when we're stopped and we'll try not to work when we drive and then we're driving and we're like I can't even open the Internet it's like yeah y been there before and I have heard good things about that when people are driving with it it tends to stay the service tends to be pretty good from what I've heard so I think I've talked to anyone that's had it so I would be very interested to hear if they like it okay we touched on it a little bit earlier but you do have a dog what are your tips and tricks for traveling with a dog um any learning curves I know we had mentioned we had a really hard time getting our dog to like the car yeah Junior hated the van when we bought it like we could couldn't it was like getting a cat in a bath literally we could not get him into the door if we even so much as walked towards the van he would plant his arms like a cat on a b and be like nope I'm not going anywhere near that thing and he's 70 pounds so moving him was difficult he warmed up to it yeah I think that if someone is doing any kind of travel with their animal I would say put them in the car or van when it's not on for a bit and like sort of just stationary almost just like hang out with them in the vehicle I wish we had done that um we put him in when it was empty and loud and every noise scared him and then he never he never want it in again it's that first impression that kills him yeah so I think that would be like our number one thing if you're traveling with pet um but we've had friends that flown with pets and they're always pooping their things so just FYI now what would you say to somebody who kind of argues that they can't live on the road and live you know a travel lifestyle because they have a dog oh my gosh um wrong yeah I mean we we traveled internationally like we we were really lucky when we we had a ton of family and then the family moved away and we were now we can't travel because our pet sitters are gone and so we used Rover um we hired we hired pet sitters um to stay in our apartment because Junior doesn't always love other dogs so he um yeah we paid pet sitters and so that was our way around that and then in the van I know people worry about like heat cold like they can't leave them in the van at all um and there's so many resources out now on like there's pet monitors there's temperature monitors like there are so many dog friendly places now too like we went to a restaurant the other night that had a Dog menu and he got his own dinner and it's like you wouldn't find that if you weren't traveling so yeah I think there's there's two very different scenarios there one you know if you're if it's someone who's doing flight travel with their dog like that's a very different situation but I think at the root of both of them it really just boils down to doing research and trying to find how dog friendly is the place that you want to go to whether it's the activities know if it's hikes or if it's going to the beach or is it you know parks that you're going to like how dog friendly are there and then accommodations are the accommodations pet friendly are there bees associated with having pets and if so how expensive are are they so it's really just a lot of like planning and research to go into figuring those things out beforehand so that when you get there you're not blindsided by something you know whether it be oh your dog is over our weight limit we can't let you stay here like you don't want to run into that type of situation yeah very cool it's all about planning one last question before you kind of start wrapping this thing up and it's not necessarily the best destination or the most popular place you've been to and I feel like I'll get two different answers from you guys here but what is the most memorable experience you've had while traveling I think that inside or outside of the band either or man I think the best experiences that we have are like the people that we've met through traveling and like continue to get to see through travel um one of our favorite memories ever is we met a couple on Instagram and we became friends like we started we did a giveaway together so like we had a couple FaceTime calls and somehow this led to us going to Iceland together and meeting them for the first time in Iceland Iceland wow wow and so it's like we get off the plane and meet each other for the first time and then that night we shared a room and had bunk beds and like Road tripped the country together and we're Inseparable for 12 days and it's like you can't get an experience like that without traveling like it's just so unique to meet people who you feel that way about and you can spend that amount of time with and have so much in common without even meeting in person and so I think that'll always be one of like our one one of our top memories from travel I think the other one that I would say is whether it was international travel or it's Dom IC travel road tripping is easily our favorite and like most memorable travel experiences and it's largely because you know if you fly into a city and then you never leave that City and then you fly back home you've only seen like this ity little little bit of whatever that destination is whereas when you're road tripping you get to see so much of everything and you get the divers of the rural areas and the Suburban areas and the metropolitan areas and like the different Landscapes and the different cultures and the different people and the different food there's just there's so much more that you get to see in experience that you wouldn't otherwise get to see if you were just flying in and flying out mhm so true so it's the it's the journey right there you said it that's awesome guys um if you were listening to this podcast when you were first starting out um is there a question that I didn't ask today that you wish I would have and how would you answer that what do we wish we knew before we started traveling so the the question being what do we wish we knew before we got into travel So my answer to the question what do I wish I knew before was that you didn't have to be rich to travel and he mentioned that I hadn't traveled much before we met and um I when I found out that I could travel um when I was a kid the only time I got to go anywhere was when family members sponsored I call it sponsored trips um so like Grandma and Grandpa would pay but we'd visit family or like an aunt and uncle would take me somewhere so that my cousin had a friend I grew up in a really affluent area so I just thought rich people traveled and people without money didn't and there was no in between like it was just I'm just going to stay in my town forever and I'm okay with that and then I meet him and he's like I want to go everywhere and I'm like good luck okay whatever and he really showed me like through all like the travel hacking and points and you know saving and making it what you want to do it's very very much more attainable than I ever thought I had no idea like at all so it was very eye openening for me from the start so I wish you knew you didn't have to be rich to travel that's a good one earlier in my life I always had the travel bug I always knew I wanted to travel but there was always this kind of stigma that and it's very similar to yours but it was the places I want to go to are not affordable to me they're too expensive so maybe one day I'll get there and maybe it's 20 years from now maybe it's 40 years from now I don't know fast forward today it's so eye openening to me especially international travel like if you have any kind of aspirations to get outside of your country whatever your country is flight travel can be so incredibly affordable being a typical teenager early 20s adult you know I'm spending money on video game systems and clothing and whatever you know I'm just money is just going wherever I want it to go had I known back then that $500 could take me to any place around the world round trip and instead of spending $500 on a PlayStation or an Xbox I could then go fly somewhere on the opposite side of the world I think that would have really opened my eyes much much earlier on and I think my savings account would probably either be it would be empty but You' have gone places I'd be Fuller in experiences and memories that's for sure well guys thank you so much for sharing your story it's very inspirational um you know having you two people you had your dream of traveling and you know you made it happen over the course of whether it's 5 8 10 years wherever that number is I know it's kind of a gray area there um I think I think your tips on you know the travel um flying the credit card tips definitely some very helpful information I think a lot of viewers are going to find that informative and valuable so thanks for sharing that and uh where else can our audience find more about you guys Instagram would probably be the best place to check us out our handle is smilo lens so it's smilkos_lens and then our website is smilkoslens.com awesome all right thank you guys again yeah thanks for having us it's great talking to you guys

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

01:45 Why are the Florida Keys so Special to You?

02:22 Who Should Go to the Florida Keys?

03:40 How Long Should Someone Spend in the Florida Keys?

04:40 What is the Best Time of Year to Visit the Florida Keys?

06:50 The 7-Mile Bridge Drive

07:30 Kid and Pet Friendly Activities

08:34 Flying into the Florida Keys

10:15 Campgrounds in the Florida Keys

13:40 Duval Street

15:20 Nightlife in the Florida Keys

17:00 Dog Friendly Beaches

18:45 Favorite Restaurants and Key Lime Pie

22:40 In & Around the Florida Keys

31:13 Two Complaints about the Florida Keys

32:43 What is One Thing You Can’t Leave the Florida Keys without Doing?

 

Laure and Jason on Social:

YouTube

Facebook

Instagram

 

This was the ULTIMATE guide for visiting the Florida Keys! Jason and Laura did a fantastic job explain everything to do, from dining, snorkeling, museums, camping, things to watch out for, and much more. We feel like we have three weeks’ worth of activities all planned out! Hope you enjoy!

 

Links

Blog Resources:

https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-with-kids/

 

Key West Calendar of Events

 

Catamaran from Fort Myers:

Key West Express

 

State Park Campgrounds

Bahia Honda

Curry Hammock

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

 

Dog Friendly Beaches

Sombrero Beach

Anne’s Beach

 

Key Lime Pie

Publix

Key Lime Pie Bakery in Key West

 

Key West

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

Garbo’s Grill Airstream Restaurant

Sloppy Joes Bar

Key West Cemetery

Mallory Square

Hemingway House

Key West Lighthouse

Southern Most Point

 

Key Largo

The Fish House

Mangrove Tunnel Kayak

 

Islamorada

Divers Museum

Hurricane Monument

Robbie’s of Islamorada (restaurant and tarpon feeding)

 

Around the Keys

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand

Everglades National Park

Big Cypress National Preserve

Dry Tortugas National Park

 

Paws for a Cause Old 7-mile bridge fundraiser

Modern Marvels Episode: Overseas Highway

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

 

Transcript from YouTube

hey Jason and Laura welcome back to the travel tips segment of the travel path podcast yes thank you for having us stat nice to talk again yes if you guys haven't heard we had episode 13 Jason lore and their daughter Alexis came on the show talking about their 75-day road trip they took with the three of them and their dog Polly um they talked about everything from the frustrations some of the hurdles and obstacles traveling with children so if you're looking to get into an extended road trip with kids definitely check that one out today travel tips we're talking about one destination they know best so Laura and Jason what are we talking about today the Florida Keys awesome I'm particularly excited about this because that is very high on my list where we're going to end up for a little while at some point this year but tell us why this is such a important special place for you guys I think just it's very versatile I feel like there's just there's a lot out there and there's a lot of availability and um it just it's a great it's a fun place you feel like you're on vacation it's one of those plac as you go and you're like okay I'm on vacation and you can drive there and you can drive there it's accessible I would say and uh you you feel like you are far far away from anything normal absolutely now obviously this is a great vacation destination if you want warm weather this is exactly where you should go but what would you say for someone who wants what type of experience who should go to the Florida Keys well and that's great because like it's be there's Beach there's a lot of water sports but there's tons of like history there as well that's super interesting if people are you know it's not our thing but people just like to go bar hopping I mean you can't beat Deval Street and Key West or fishing a lot of people go fishing is huge um but again she mentioned the history the beaches there's not a ton of beaches actually in the keys people might think oh there's beaches there's not a ton of beaches we'll mention we can mention some few of those that we like and but again it's there's a lot to offer for a lot of different types of people there and a very laid-back Vibe I think that's the biggest thing is you really do feel like you're on vacation when you go I mean just it is very laate back it's not for somebody who wants to climb mountains or anything like that there's not a lot of intense sports to do probably but um I guess snorkeling you know that that can work up a good a good workout but yeah it's definitely like that laidback I want to be on vacation Vibe perfect and sometimes you need that especially you know for us who are doing these extended road trips and you know Are Climbing like you said climbing mountains and just constantly on Trails sometimes it's nice to get that vacation in where you can actually just wind down reset relax get your vitamin D and fuel you a little bit more for those longer trips that we're going to take later to get that full Key West experience how long do you think someone should plan to take their trip there I know for us like we say we want to have at least five days there but you can actually do a day trip go down to Key West and come back you can spend months there it's again it's very versatile with timing is that you know there's tons of stuff to do down there or if you really ever like I only have one day or I only have one evening or two days still do it yeah it's uh just so people realize from Mainland Florida to Key West depending on traffic you're looking between two and three hour drive yeah which really isn't that bad especially if you just want to be able to go down and experience it for a day or a night and then you know head back into like you said the mainland I'm sure we'll talk about it later on but that two or three hour drive is probably worth it just for the keyan Pai alone right it is it definitely is the type of driving that you're going to do there is not like anything else that you can do either so it's it's worth it just to make the drive MH yeah very true what would you say is the best time of year to visit or what time the year do you guys like to go so I will say we have two opinions so this is this will be interesting so I love to snorkel and be in the water but I found that going in the winter for me I don't like being cold the water was so cold I couldn't even breathe in my snorkel mask properly because I kept getting salt water let's let's get this up straight though it's it's maybe cold by Florida standards it's not cold by Lake Michigan standards or anything in the Northeast 70 degrees it's 70 degrees is what the temperature is it's probably a little bit cooler in the winter time than you would might think that it is right so the water itself is 70 degrees on average um in the winter time and for me that's just too cold to I just I was shivering so much so um I now I've only been in the summer the fall and the winter I haven't been in the spring um but I actually really liked the fall even though it's hurricane season so I know you do need to watch the weather but for me the temperature was just perfect it was it about 90 degrees the water felt wonderful and because I love being in the water and Alexis agrees we both really liked the fall even though I miss the Fall colors you know that we have in New England and Michigan we have beautiful fall colors but I really liked going that to my year because of the temperature the summer is very very hot and I haven't been the spring so it could be the actually Springs the best time to go and we just don't know so we haven't been there in the spring so we were actually just there a few weeks ago and it was high 70s low 80s to me I don't think you can get more perfect than that right so if you're just going and not going in the water winter is probably the best time to go because the yeah it's perfect temperature and that's a few weeks ago just for context recording this right now end of January mid January so that's yeah beginning of January yeah yeah we were in Florida right around the same time you were and I you couldn't have paid me to go snorkeling in that water I touched and I was like absolutely not way too cold I was like walking way away from it yeah and well I made myself go in the water I'm like I know I'm like we're here in the Florida Keys and like I need to get in the water but I was like okay I'm in the water there are a couple people with West suits but yeah not many yeah most people just we in their swimsuits Yeah you mentioned that drive to the Florida Keys was a drive you can't get anywhere else what did you mean by that well especially the seven mile bridge that is a very unique Drive you're literally driving over the ocean the views are awesome especially if you're driving near Sunset but I will say up in between kargo and Marathon you may not really feel like you're in the keys you really have to get south of marathon Marathon to Key West where you really are going from one little island to the next Little Island going over all these different Bridges um I think there's over 100 different bridges in the keys that you drive over you get more of a water view more frequently South America okay oh that's a good point now you obviously are traveling with your daughter and your dog most of the time so is that completely accessible I know you said she likes to go snorkeling with you but how do it go with the dog and her when you're down there oh yeah it's actually great there's Key West itself is super dog friendly tons of restaurants um are dog friendly and even the stores at first we were having somebody weit outside with the dogs while the other two P went into the shops and I started noticing I don't see any signs saying no pets allowed on many of the stores and so we started taking the dogs in and everyone the people that worked there were like oh they're so cute so even the stores like so most places you can take your dog in Key West Key West kind of anything goes anyway yeah key again it's that laid-back Vibe where you're just like you know even the mannequins Alexis noticed the mannequins in the store she goes mom their hair is really messed up I'm like it's because anything goes in Key West it doesn't matter if the mannequin is crazy hair that's nice that very relaxed Vibe so transitioning a little bit to um you guys are going to Key West you're probably bringing your Airstream right yeah have you ever flown from home to Florida and we actually recently just looked into it because our we're coming up on our 20th anniversary which is the emerald anniversary so we wanted to kind of do something with Emerald Waters and we were looking into flying directly to Key West and from in in January from Michigan to Key West is about 700 a person so you can fly to Key West you can fly into Marathon um but marathon's even more expensive than Key West so what a lot of people would do is fly into Miami is pretty low cost to do and then drive to the keys but Key West does have a I think a pretty large airport by you know Island standards um there's quite a bit of traffic in and out so if you have the budget for it you can fly directly there just not in our budget right yeah well we want to save the uh funds for those uh excursions and experiences right now when you fly into Miami how far is that drive you're probably looking around three hours because you just never know what kind of traffic you're going to get um even from Miami uh even you know Highway One going down through the keys you never know what you're going to because it's one way in one way out we haven't experienced any horrible traffic there but I know people have right well sounds like whatever your budget is however you want to have your transportation there's a lot of different options yeah you can even take a boat we've never done this but the Key West Express Key West Express leaves from Fort Meers and I think it's aadar that takes you directly to qf well that's arriving in style yeah exactly and it was pretty low cost from what I remember it wasn't a horrible price yeah it was a reasonable cost for you know getting you down to Key West now obviously in Key West there's going to be a ton of different boutique hotels and you know Cottage options when you guys bring your camper what are some of your favorite campgrounds we love state parks just in general Across America and the Florida Keys especially because they're pretty pricey um any you know unless you're in a state park so bah Honda Isa very favorite place to stay they have about 40 campsites total so it's a small Campground and maybe 15 of them are Waterfront so those were are very very nice obviously and we were lucky enough to get a couple of those a couple times ago uh they have cabins there that you can rent they do have cabins and tent camping but if you know I want to make it known that anywhere other than the state parks and anywhere in the Florida Keys you're $200 a night for a campsite or more usually if if you can find anything wow now I have heard that um from some fellow campers that we've come across they said it's very hard to get into those campgrounds that you have to be way ahead of time with booking so how how have you guys experienced that how far Advanced are you looking for your for your campsites it's it is it's it's like you said it's pretty stressful because honestly I would get on at 8 o' the day of that they would open up I did that for a whole month did not get any key sites and I would look at um bahah Honda Curry Hammock and John Penny Camp there's three different state parks I would look at all three of them I start always with theah Honda I couldn't do it it was like over a month I tried so he again he just keeps looking for cancellations and that's how we got we were able to get for nights at bonda and two at John Penny Camp so you really just have to keep on the cancellations because it's very hard to get into people are always cancelling I don't care what the campground is even small campgrounds like I said are only 40 sites at Honda people are always changing in their plans and you will find a cancellation if you can if you stay at it and even if you can get there for you know two nights the staff there like the Rangers are very they're very easy to work with like you just let them know hey we'd like to be here a little longer and just go into the ranger station every morning and check in with them if you only have two nights say hey were there any cancellations and we even um the one time we had one site for five nights but we really wanted a waterfront site because it was just it's so nice and we said for us it's worthwhile to move there for one night and go back to our site and they were actually able to find us a cancellation for a waterfront site we moved over there for the one night and we went back to our other site this that the Waterfront sites are just they're amazing oh like one of the best when you have that Waterfront site you you really don't want to go anywhere you just and bonda the other nice thing about that state park is you have like I love Sunrise I love Sunset and you have a Sunrise Beach and a Sunset Beach so in the mornings we would wake up we go see Sunrise you could do the walk around and then again the walks the beaches are not dog friendly on bajah Honda but you can still walk the whole Little Island there with your dogs so we would do our morning dog walk and um and loop around and yeah to me bah Honda is the best place to Camp so when you guys go just keep keep trying to get BAH Honda yeah it's worth it in terms of booking those campsites are you using websites those Campground websites or is there another website you're using for booking no this the Florida state parks website and we'll put links Below in the show notes for all the resources talked about in Today's Show Now obviously you know it's Key West so there's tons of restaurants there's a lot of bars like you've mentioned where you can hop in and out I'm sure it has a very Lively night life for um the bachelorette parties things like that but as far as families at times maybe not kid-friendly it was when we were there for around Halloween I can't remember the Fest is called but there's some sort of Fan Fest during Halloween where when you drive down dual Street people are not close and dval street is really the street that if you're worried about what your kids might see just don't go down dval street anywhere else is going to be normally okay so we turned onto dval Street and I didn't want to make a big reaction because then kids were gonna want to see everything so I'm like oh hey Alexis did you want to watch a show she's like yeah so we just gave her the iPad the headphones and we just and she she saw nothing well that's a good travel tip so as far as that is there anything else that maybe if you are a f traveling with you know small children that you should kind of avoid in the Key West area it's more just if there's a festival going on because like we walked down toal street just this last time and it was just F dur during the day it's okay you'll might see some things that you may not want your kids looking at and some of the windows but you might take the opportunity to distract them like Laura mentioned right when you see something just oh look at over here there's a chicken because there's tons of chicken CH are walking all over the place so there's always a way to distract them from seeing something you may not want them to see but during the day because everybody I think is sleeping still it's this a totally different vibe Walking Down the Wall Street but when the Sun goes down it changes yeah but again that's just the Wall Street right so the rest of the Key West is still very very kid-friendly for sure and like I said extremely dog friendly for sure awesome so what do you guys like to do at night when that sun goes down we're not really night lifers I'll admit we love to go see Sunset and then but the one night we were out a little bit later we went to Robbie's um to feed the tarpon and that was pretty fun too and then again I I'd read mixed reviews of dogs were allowed or not um but we brought our dogs and they let us go out on the decks to feed the tarpon but the Pelicans were just they were really aggressive bold it was hard to feed the tarpon you know and Alexis is trying to like you know shoe the Pelicans away and they're biting at her feet and everything ply wouldn't even bark at her no ply was hiding behind us we're like P do your job bark at them but one thing I would say about NTI and it never gets talked about the Nik at least not that I've heard is they have a a beautiful night sky yeah the stars there so if you're into you know you know nighttime photography or just stargazing especally at beah Honda it it was pretty nice pretty nice night sky so honestly like if you camp at bajah Honda you can really just stay there for your whole time because there's just there's so much even just right there like if you really just want to take a really late back you know vacation to the keys I mean yeah B Honda is where it's at well they have the snorkel tour there so you can you have an Excursion you can take right from the state park their their dive shop has a small restaurant in there they even sell key lime pie from there um so literally you you you have two or three different beaches there you can check out there's kayak rentals there so like Laura says there's a lot of opportunity just to stay put if you'd like to and it can help save money as well right but I wouldn't recommend that you got to at least go down to Key West you had mentioned there weren't a ton of beaches and going back to talking about the pet friendly activities and we're both frequenters of Honeymoon Island in Duneden which is a dog beach are there any dog friendly beaches in the keys yeah so in like I think it was the marathon area there's Sombrero Beach which is a really pretty nice Beach actually small but there's really pretty palm trees on the beach and yeah that's completely dog fry the dogs can go in the water there's a few others that we didn't go to there's one called an's Beach that's right off of the road that look kind of like a neat spot dogs are allowed there um um but one of our favorite beaches that dogs are kind of allowed at is the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park which is at the you know to of the Florida in Key West there dogs aren't allowed on the Sandy part of the beach are in the water but there's just this beautifully shaded palm tree Beach area that the dogs are allowed so like since Jason doesn't really want to be in the water anyway he would hang out with Polly in that beautiful Beach area shaded and Alexis and I would go in the water and you're really on the beach you you are I mean you you're sitting there looking at you know all the beautiful views that the beach offers and you're still sitting in sand but you may have a nice palm tree over the top of your head keeping you out of the sun right so yeah so it's and to us we feel like that was one of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen it's one of the nicest beaches out there I think and it's nice too and then if you don't have your dog with you then um the fort Zachary Taylor is a very cool tour to take you can tour the whole Fort and there's just all these really cool little nooks and cranage I mean you could spend a couple hours over there just touring the fort they have historical reenactments sometimes so there just that was like one of our favorite places I think in in Q West was the for Zary Taylor State Park very cool history beaches nightlife dog friendly there's Little slice of everything for everybody cool good stuff transitioning a little bit and talking about food what are some of your favorite breakfast lunch spots or just spots you think you should definitely hit when you're in Key West or the keys area well we are huge key lime fans so we actually found Forbes Top 10 key lime pies we only made it through five of them because um some of them were just a little bit farther for us to drive and we didn't want to make the drive but each one was very very good um I will say Honestly though one of our favorite key lime pies is at Publix oh yeah really the grocery store the the grocery store wow but the one that we went to where was it the Key Lime Pie Bakery in Key West yes we feel according to our t bu is the best right and it said that it was the original key line place from like 1865 but of all the ones we've tried and that wasn't even on the top 10 list yeah some of those lists you wonder who put them together and but that one we really enjoyed it but you can't really get a bad piece of key pie anywhere in the keys um but surpr if you just in Florida you're not in the keys and you like key line pie just go to Publix pretty good Publix has a very good key line pie and then the other thing that's kind of neat too is that each place has her own take on key lime pie you know some will do whipped cream some do the mering some people drizzle it with raspberry chocolate covered um we actually found one we really liked um that was a coconut key lime pie that was probably one of our favorites as well so it's kind of neat so if you're a key lime pie lover just have at it from a restaurant standpoint in kargo we went to this restaurant called The Fish House for for dinner and it had a really nice you know being a sea type Vibe you know it felt like you're on a boat and uh they had really good food as well there and in Key West being airst streamers there's a restaurant called garos in Key West that has the food is cooked in an Airstream and it's all outside seating and they have live music there and then there's like a separate bar that's in like a old Cottage House that the drinks come out of there and the food comes out of the Airstream and really awesome Vibe and pretty reasonably priced for being in t West really good tacos yeah I got like the Fish Taco Trio I had the uh the burger I always from Burger man but uh those are two places that we can highly recommend and it was nice because it was super dog friendly because they had this big sign that says dogs preferred humans tolerated you always know that's going to be good you go in the bar and there was I think three golden retriever laying on the around in the bar by the bar area and yeah it was just yeah super dog friendly and then I know there's a whole list of restaurants that are dog friendly so and one we didn't eat at but we've heard good things about was Sloppy Joe's Sloppy Joe's Bar is a landmark a lot of celebrities are known to frequent that County chz just played a surprise concert there so that that's one that we could recommend there's there's just a lot of options for whatever your taste might be right and we haven't had a bad bad meal in in the Florida no robbes even robbes Robbie's where you feed the tarpon yeah and what was that uh Alam marada that's in Al marado so it's like halfway down the keys they have a good restaurant there we have their key lime pie um outdoor seating right on Waterfront so that's that's another place we'd recommend that place had a lot of neat stuff to check out other than just the restaurant again you can feed the tarpon the fish how was it five bucks for a right yeah for a bucket of fish or something very reasonably priced yeah so yeah I don't feel like can really go wrong because most of the food is you know fresh fish you know key lime pie can't go wrong with that well you guys are definitely making me hungry and now we have our nice list to follow when we get to uh the keys so if you haven't mentioned them already are there any nearby attractions that you want to mention well honestly the other thing too I know not this is not everybody's cup of tea but we went to the Key West Cemetery that was very interesting and very educational like in just the different kinds like the graves are all above um the ground because of the water level and just reading about some of the different people they had some really interesting gravestones like one was a big conch shell one was like a um a bookshelf with books on it of all her favorite books and I don't I I've always really enjoyed going to really old Cemetery like that I don't remember what the year what the year is on it but it's either somewhere in the 1800s I believe well Key West is Florida's first city right a lot of people don't know that but um cool places to check out is merer square uh oh yeah you definitely want to be there for Sunset that's a bucket listing we we just were able to do that this last trip there's three performers that perform right there there usually cruise ship import again it gives you that feeling that you are somewhere far away uh another cool place that we didn't go to that we want to may get to pretty soon as the dry to ugas National Park you have to take a a float plane out there or boat it's the only way to get there but that place is really awesome from what we've seen uh Hemingway houses there and so is the Key West Lighthouse there's a lot of different museums also in Key West for you know whatever your interests are you know there's there's just tons to do in Key like even just in Key West there's just tons to do awesome so you really could spend probably a couple weeks there and have just a bunch of different experience oh yeah and actually when I asked Alexis how long we needed to spend there she's like oh at least three weeks that was her that was her answer I'm convinced that you can spend as much time as you want in almost any place right because there's just there is so much it sounds like and it sounds like you guys just planned our entire 3-we trip down to the Key West and we'll definitely be listening to this podcast when we're making our trip down there cuz yeah this was really really informative yeah oh actually there's one more really cool thing that um you can take the you can actually walk or bike the old seven mile bridge to Pigeon key which you can only Access Pigeon Key by the old bridge now the interesting thing is dogs are allowed on the old bridge but they are not allowed on pigeon key except for one day a year there's sometime in January they do some Ser of a dog fundraiser so dogs are allowed on pigeon Key island but that looked like a really cool thing too it's like I think it's about two miles two miles of the old seven mile bridge like the original one that the train tracks were on um and just even the history of the Overseas Highway is really very interesting I think Modern Marvels Modern Marvels has a good episode about the Overseas Highway that I highly recommend anybody to check out if you're going to be headed down there because it's nice to know how it all came about and there is a hurricane Museum there as well because there was a huge hurricane in the 1930s killed a bunch of people and kind of impacted the Overseas Highway and there's I believe that museum is in is it Marathon or Isa marada I'm not sure which one but that that's there to check out as well the divers Museum divers Museum there's a lot there's a lot to do the list goes on and on yeah we could probably have a three-hour segment on what to do in in the keys the Florida Keys yeah we'll transition into the 321 countdown segment of the podcast the final three questions so what are three things to do around the Florida Keys area one thing we super duper recommend is the Robert Was Here Fruit Stand you heard that right Robert was here is the name it was called Robert was here for say I believe they've been operating for about 60 years it's in Homestead Florida it's just outside the Everglade so that's more of you're coming on the east side and they have just the most amazing variety of tropical and exotic fruits and not only that they have the best milkshake we have ever had hands down the best milkshake ever like I got um it's all made with fresh really fresh fruit um I got the coconut lime vanilla milkshake and Alexis is a huge fan of dragon fruit so she literally just got dragon fruit and ice in her smoothie um but the interesting thing too is that they have three turnovers as far as like different fruits so when we were down in October it was a whole different set of exotic fruit in January it was like a whole another set of exotic fruits it's kind of interesting we got to try these things called SEL and pomy and like all these really interesting C you know just very interesting names and very interesting flavors and then when I asked they said also June is another turnover so the big times are like summer winter and fall they have totally different fruits and you can actually just buy the fruit or you can put it into a smoothie or a milkshake but that is hands down a big recommendation and when we go because we're off we're Towing our Airstream either down or back from the keys there's RV parking there as well so don't feel like you can't go there if you're you're towing your rig right and not only that like we always just kind of stop get our fruit get our milkshakes and go but they have tons of stuff around there they have like a little petting zoo um they have different um like a I saw blacksmith little area so they've got a lot of things so it can be like a whole little stop if you want it to be couple other things though I mean you're right there at the Everglades National Park is literally right there and so is Big Cyprus just a little bit further north that's a really cool place if you want to see alligators there's tons of alligators all over the place you want to take an Al those uh swamp boat tours oh yeah you know those are right there check those out highly recommend doing that if you never done that before it's a really great experience so yeah basically is if you're coming down from the East side you know instead of taking the main Highway what's the road that 41 so 41 goes through the big Cyprus area and at every single little turn off that you can go on they have like a little Boardwalk you can see alligators like all over the place it's just it's really a cool kind of aspect of like getting down there and like we've talked about wanting to spend the night there we haven't yet but it's definitely a there's multiple there's multiple campgrounds along 41 between Naples and Homestead that you can you can spend time there if you'd like to and I highly would I highly recommend that like say we want to do that just for airb rides or if you want to hike Che ey alligators just a different vibe there oh yeah again it's a just that laid-back Vibe even in that at the national park there is super laidback and actually I talked to a lady at the visitor center I guess her and her husband don't sleep very well they said they were out kayaking at 2 the morning and they saw a cougar like just steering right Florida pan oh I'm sorry Florida panther yeah they have signs all over the place for Florida panther Crossing even when you're in Naples which is you know a high-end area they have signs everywhere Panther Crossing and the lights are flashing you know like you're gonna see one at any second so we we've watched we haven't seen any but I bet if you drove at night there's a slight chance you might see going across the road that's cool it's cool how informative this episode has been in terms of things you've done but at the same time you're talking about things you want to do so you've been here so many times you have so much experience here but there's still a ton of things left to do that's great so so in terms of three things around the park I have the Everglades National Park the Robert Was Here Fruit Stand and then the Big Cypress swamp why I got kind of one more so we can kind of combine those two but um kaying through the mang gr now you can do this at John Penny Camp State Park um I actually haven't gotten the opportunity to do it because the first time we were there there was eoli in the water which kind of brings up another point that very good at monitoring the water to make sure it's safe for people to go in they're constantly checking the you know bacteria levels um but there's also a lot of other independent places where you can kayak the mangr and even take your dog with you as well and I think that to me that's it's on my bucket list of of kayaking the mangr giant Penny Camp is another place that you that offers offshore snorkeling opportunities we weren't able to do that because of weather both times that we were there but they do have it and it's supposed to be really good and they have the glass bottom boat tours which is nice when you go through the state park it's only like $30 a person whereas if you go go to an independent you know person it's going to cost a little bit more so that's a pretty low cost activity to do what are two complaints somebody might have or not necessarily complaints but things they wish they prepared for before visiting the Florida Keys I think one of the the biggest thing preparations is a mental thing like sometimes you can research a place and all you see are the most beautiful things you know something that kind of happened with us at Glacier too where all we saw these all these amazing views and like it's not all amazing views there are just Woods which are beautiful but the same thing with the Florida Keys like when you you kind of expect that it's all going to be the seven mile bridge kind of look we're really driving from you know up until Marathon it kind of just looks like Florida does you know there's just you don't really see the water that much once you get to the seven mile bridge to Key West that section is you know that's that has that feel the Florida key you see the water you go to these little Islands but that was something that especially for Jason he was kind of like whoa this is the Florida Keys like it was kind of like a little bit of a shock to him because he was expecting seven mile bridge and like all these water views the whole time where it really is from Marathon to Key West is where you get those views so that was one and I think the other one which I know we touched on a little bit was the cost is that you know if you can get into a state park and utilize a state park it's great but the campgrounds are super expensive hotel are super expensive flying they're super expensive so you you can do it on a lowc cost budget but it can also be a very expensive thing to do yeah those are great tips it's planning ahead and then managing expectations in terms of getting into the Florida Keys yeah now we talked about a lot today and I mean a lot but if you were to leave the Florida Keys what is the one thing you cannot leave the Florida keys without doing and we we kind of had different answers on this I also agree with this his answer but for me you have to snorkel because part of like the Florida Keys is getting in the water that's part of the cool thing about the Florida Keys is that has all the coral reefs that are surrounding you know all the Florida Keys I know he had something that I also agree with but you can't go without going to Key West and you know visit the southernmost point um get to your picture by that it's a large like a buoy that's on land if you're not familiar with it there's always a line to take a picture so be prepared do that cross that off your bucket list go to m Square for the sunset and I think that'll complete the trip perfect now any you start talking about snorkeling any favorite snorkel spots in the Florida Keys well I found I know I gu you never got to do a boat tour because it just never worked out in our schedule so I hear that those really are the best if you can go to a boat tour but if you are just snorkeling um by yourself and you're just going to Beach Fort zre Taylor State Park they have four different little sections of rocks and when you when you s those rocks and we saw so many different fish we saw jellyfish we saw Alexa saw an octopus even at the one little section but to me that place was like just magical like you really like I said you felt like you were swimming in an aquarium it was absolutely beautiful and that was one place you can go that you don't have to take a snor boat tour or to now do you guys bring your own snorkel gear or do you know if there's a place you can rent them if you're just flying in for the weekend so John Penny Camp State Park and beia Honda offer all rentals and you can purchase things there as well and there's also tons other dive shops in the area as well yeah I would say like every every little section of shops you'll have you know scuba and snorkeling gear key lime pie and you know it's kind like you kind of see the same things like over and over so yeah there's tons of places to buy things or yeah the state parks rent them and I'm sure even other places rent them as well perfect yeah awesome wow yeah this was a ton of information here everything from from cruise ship location snorkeling spots restaurants dog places um yeah thank you guys a ton for coming on and and sharing your experience and your advice on planning a trip to the Florida Keys we definitely have a full itinerary for sure good good well we looking forward to seeing that video that's right awesome Jason and Laura thanks again for coming on the show and once again if you haven't heard the first episode episode 13 of the travel path podcast they talked about their 75-day road trip across the country how they did that with their daughter Alexis and all the cool things they saw out there so give that a listen and one more time Jason Laura where can my audience find out more about you guys so we are on YouTube as Adventures of Mom Dad girl and a little white dog we're also on Facebook with that same name and then on Instagram um as idesa Airstream but I will admit that I'm not a big social media person so you can find me best on YouTube I try to I try to answer my comments as much as I can Perfect all right we will link those channels below Jason and Laura thanks again thank you thank you

www.atravelpath.com

 

🚛 What An Awesome Episode We Have In Store Today!

 

In this podcast, we talk to people from all walks of life on how they have been able to set their lives up for travel. Although we see them all the time on the road, did you consider that being a full time trucker offered the flexibility and freedom that could satisfy your travel dreams? I certainly didn’t and in today’s conversation with Jeff Czaja, I learned all about it.

In Today’s Show You’ll Learn All About:

🪪 How to get your trucker license.

📉 Just how real is the trucking shortage?

💡How to handle some of the self-doubt when you make such a drastic career change

 

📝And much, much more on this episode of The Travel Path Podcast. Buckle up and enjoy the show!

 

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Show Resources:

New England Tractor Trailer Training School Somers, CT

https://nettts.com/

 

Werner

https://www.werner.com/

 

J.B. Hunt

https://www.jbhunt.com/

 

Trucker Path App

https://truckerpath.com/trucker-path-app/

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts, and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.  

 

Transcript:

 

Jeff Czaja how are you doing today thanks for coming on the show I'm doing great thanks for having me so I know you as your past client of mine we were on the topic of travel we were talking one time and you had a pretty unique story on how you travel it's something I hadn't really thought about too much of and that's why I wanted to have you on the show was a very intriguing kind of a lifestyle so yeah it's different definitely it is different yeah why don't we start by having you share a little bit about yourself and then telling the audience what your travel lifestyle looks like I grew up in Connecticut uh I've lived here my whole life uh I do have have relatives in the New York area I spent a lot of time in the city I grew up a Catholic so my road was always set you know like I always had a direction my whole family always kept me on that that path I just kept going with it but I I found it to be a little boring and constrictive there's a lot of things that happened in my life that put me toward the path of trucking to try to get away from it all my grandfather passed away he was a big role model in my life when he passed away that was uh the start of a snowball where you know I had a lot of issues actually and uh you could say I kind of hit rock bottom uh I had a high school sweetheart that I had been with for a very long time and uh that that ended at around the same time my grandfather passed away then my cousin who was only 16 at the time she uh committed suicide so there's a lot of things that actually started to happen in my life right around mid 20s and uh I started saying to myself you know what am I doing you know I want to get out more I want to see more I want to be more and so uh that's when I decided you know I'm throwing away my four- wall office I I used to be an accountant I I was like I just want to break out of this whole little cocoon I felt like I was in that's when I said I'm going to go get this CDL and see what see what it brings me I mean I knew it would give me a lot of ability to network you know cuz once you start going around the country like you you meet people and people are not bad I mean you know I I really feel like you know it helped me open up which is what I wanted to do spread my wings so to speak so but it was a big big deal for me to just I just wanted to not quite be the same as everyone else in my family like you know go to college you know get your degree get the job that you want to have and I did go to college I went to Marshall University so I'm not one of those truckers that you know just uh you know their family history is a bunch of truckers that that is actually the way it is uh to for a lot of truckers they come from a long line of truckers and they start when they're 10 their dad's put them in the truck and get them I am completely different than that I I I went the college route I got my accounting job I did it for a few you know a good eight years and I I I was like this just isn't for me and uh that's when I was like I got to just see the world a little more it was ended up being the country the entire country I saw all 48 states to me you're not learning and experiencing life if you're just in I'm sorry to say I'm not a big person on just staying home yeah I I feel like if you want to really experience life and you only have one life to live you got to go you got to go take it by the rains and like you got to see things you got to meet people too that's another reason why I actually jumped into Trucking myself I thought that was a good way to actually meet people who live in these areas and can tell me about the areas that I'm going to and visiting and now I have friends in California Oklahoma I mean I could go all over the country and stay for free it was what I needed to do my cousin dying you know that that she was the one cuz she was only 16 and I was young at the time when she did you know commit suicide but she was the that really like made me think to myself what am I doing you know like I want to I don't want I want to be more than this like I want to be more than Conneticut I want to you know I want to be somewhere I want to go somewhere I want to you know know more people than just my my small little crew that I had at the time you know family and friends I can relate to that quite a bit where you're you have you're in one job location you you have vacation time but you're not able to take enough vacation to really see everything I remember I we had a big Cal we wanted to go cross country and I wanted to take off for 2 months and my work told me you know they kind of laughed and said the longest anyone's ever left for is one month and they were really lucky you'd be lucky if you got you know two weeks yeah I I agree wholeheartedly on that too I I feel like in our country we are a little too strict especially when you have these office jobs with you know being like stuck to a certain amount of time which isn't enough time like you're kind of pointing out it's just not enough when you're trying to go away for a week you don't want to actually spend all seven days away you you'd like to rest get prepared to go it just to me it's too rushed when you take a week off and you got to go do it and then get back you know it can be rushed yeah yeah I feel like it is a little bit rushed I do wish we had a little more time as a whole as a whole I just feel like we don't have enough time off to experience more things than just what we do it's not just in your family where that routine and that tradition of you know going to college getting a job that's just the way Society is it's go to school get to college get a good job and then work till your 60 retire and then go and explore then that's the reason we started this podcast because we met people when we were on our trip taking long hikes we're pulling up in this you know a brand new van and older couples especially would ask us how are you able to do this you know we wish we could have traveled in our younger years while we still had our knees and could take these long hikes versus you know waiting till you're 60 years 70 retired and you can just go to the overlooks and you really can't do the the real Scenic things so what was your family's response when you said um I have this great accounting job benefits I would imagine and all of a sudden hey guys quitting and I'm going to get my Trucking license well they they were actually shocked I mean obviously cuz none of them trucked none none of them I mean my grand parents they came from Europe to to live here so they understood travel a little as far as just dropping everything and getting going but for me like when I told my parents they were a little bit uh a little bit like taken aback like you know they're like well what are you going to do with your diploma what are you going to do like you know why why do we send you to college me personally I just believe that in any profession if you you want to make money you can make money to me that's another thing that I feel our country puts on people is uh you know you got to do it this way and that's the only way you know artists can make money if they work at it you know what I mean like I I I just don't think that you have to go to college and you have to make the money that way I I do feel like you can make money in any field you want to and I I you know once I have kids I'm going to definitely tell them that I I feel like you know that's got to get out there more like you don't have to do things by the book per se I hear that more and more I don't know if it's just the podcast I'm listening to but there's more and more of that you don't really need to go to school unless you know exactly what you want to do or otherwise it's four or five years of your life and a lot of money a lot of money that you I have friends that are still paying off loans yeah that you're potentially going to be walking away doing something you don't enjoy doing that you're doing for the rest of your life and there's a lot more to consider you know if you don't know what to do like my what I my response to that is just get into sales if you can sales is a very easy thing to get into it's it's cheap you don't really need money to get your real EST license or if you want to sell cars whatever it is it's going to get you skills where you can talk to people communicate and the cost burden for you know getting a real estate license is $300 you can start selling houses in you know six months and start making money versus you know doing the four years and not really knowing what you're doing it's it's a good path to take if you're not sure what you want to do so speaking on that it's we we'll kind of switch gears into the requirements to get your it's a Class A Class so class 18er I would imagine you made the decision first you wanted to kind of exit your accounting job did you have any other ideas you wanted to do or is it immediately Trucking well you do want to always save up money when you're making a big business move as far as your life is concerned you know so I had a little foundation and I did check out I I went to New England tractor trailer training school right here in Summers Connecticut that's where I decided to go so I looked up how much it would cost and you go there and you have to go through they do have uh you know regular classes that that's all written exams and and you know you got to learn some history about Trucking some of the rules obviously and then they also have a drive driving portion so there's a two it's like a two-part thing that you go through with them and then of course you got to have the do will come and that's the big day is when you got the dot there and they'll give you the same you just like a regular license you go for your little written exam and then you have a uh the driving portion and now on the driving portion with a CDL though you will have to do a pre-trip because you got to make sure these big rigs are good so you're not going to hurt anybody out there so that's very important to know and you know I feel like that's some of the things when you talk about the bad drivers out there the bad Trucking drive truck drivers you know they uh they they don't pay attention to the pre-trip which is very important you got to make sure your wheels are good and and all that but yeah that's another portion of the test for a CDL which I don't think they do for cars I don't think they have a pre-trip exam for the I don't believe this a pre-trip I know actually I didn't tell you this but I got my Class B A while back and I remember doing the pre-trip inspection I used to when I plowed snow but I remember doing the pre-trip it's obviously way different than me having to backup tractor trailers but I take it the barrier to entry in terms of finan it's not how much roughly does it cost to get into your class A license honestly I'm not sure cuz I did mine about 17 years ago and I did hear now that it actually went up uh mine cost it about $5,000 back in the day yeah now I I think it's actually more um but I I'm not I could find some numbers on that for you maybe down the road so you can maybe say something and if I find any information on that I'll link it below in the show notes so you can check that out roughly 5,000 maybe give or take the startup cost and then the time frame how long roughly since the day you start your school till the day you take the test each person is different cuz again as a trucker like there's there's many people that won't make it in trucking and then there's people that will the length of the course it actually is dependent on you I mean if you work hard and you you know you you study and then you go out and you do what they ask in the driving uh they have little obstacles set up and they try to have you pass each one and you move along and then once you do take care of all of that that's when they'll send you to to have your test taken so you know for me it was about 3 months I think sure yeah and uh so it could take a little less there's a few usually it's two months is the best people you know like those are the guys that actually do come from the families I they can get in and out of there pretty fast to get their license because they've done it before you know me being a guy that had never been in a truck before until that moment actually that was a good 3 months I would say to have the ability to take the test sure so not too long I means heck of a lot quicker than a four-year degree and you're looking at like a $5,000 startup cost and then after that you're pretty much making money right you're even when you go out um most of the big companies they'll have you train with their drivers for a a good month at least some more they make sure you're actually driving their trucks good because it's funny I do find it interesting in the profession that when you go to these big companies they're really good about not paying much but they will give you the nicest trucks you've ever seen like I started with wner myself and I'm not trying to knock wner at all but they give you this big beautiful truck with all the amenities in the truck and then uh you you you don't get paid quite as much as you would with a smaller company but they take care of you as far as comfort you know when you first start out so I did like that actually you know being a guy that never trucked before I I needed all those amenities you know like having the refrigerator and the TV and the truck and yeah all that stuff so yeah that helped me you know be comfortable out there you know all right so about roughly three months $5,000 in you you've got a job with Warner yeah and you train and they did do give you training pay and it's not as much as uh you you make when you get out there on your own because you're you're with a guy um or a woman and they do pay you though through the whole period Mo most of the good companies will feed you too in that process like they'll pay for all the food like they even tell their trainer to buy you you know like I had one he actually took me to some of the nicest restaurants we would walk in with jeans you know into these fancy restaurants cuz you know that's just what we're wearing on the road and we sit down and they they wouldn't like throw us out that you know he explained that you know we're just over the Road Truckers and just looking good food so yeah and and you know we'd sit there in our jeans and have a nice meal you know um I will say a lot of meals are fast food sadly but you know overall like you can stop you know you find ways to stop again it's all about being smart out there if you just sit in your truck all day it's kind of like being in the office so me I I always found ways to get out and about and see things you know as I was out there and I had heard during we talked about this during covid they were talking about the whole the trucker shortage and when we were talking you had said that there's no shortage whatsoever there's a ton of truck drivers out there is that still the case or I don't really believe that there's a a truck shortage I mean there's I know again I have a lot of friends that truck now and and they always say like they're looking for work they just want more money yeah so like the the people that say there's a shortage there's not really a shortage it's just like the drivers want to take the loads that are worth some money so the people that are like claiming that there's a shortage are the ones that are trying to pay people nothing for the load you know to travel 7,000 000 miles or 2,500 miles across the country you know that's something that really does get me CU there's no shortage there's guys that want to work but they can't work for pennies on the dime you know we you know we are trying to make a life out there and and stuff like that so I I don't believe in the shortage thing I now when you first get your class A and you're you're going to all these different companies trying to get a job so you were in a position where you wanted just to get out travel as much as you could someone who has a family back home say they want to stay a little bit more local how easy is it to try to negotiate how long you're away from home versus how much you're actually traveling all over the country if you want to really do this and you first get into Trucking my suggestion is to just work a year and be solid be take your time out there all you want to do is is you want to go in in my opinion you should work for a mega carrier the column because they will give you the nice truck you'll be as comfortable as you're going to be as a trucker again not everybody's cut out to be a trucker you want to take about a year out there you tell your family you know hey I'm going to have to get away for a year do a year once you do a year even six months they say but I I believe a year gives you a solid foundation you can then work wherever you wish to work like uh if you want to work local very easy with a year six months you're you're taking a chance but even then like that's why I'm saying if you believe this is a field for you like you want to do like uh the six months can get you your foot in the door the year will get you in the door wherever you want to go is what I'm trying to say so if you want to work local and and be home every sing SLE night then after a year you'll be good I got to stop hitting that table kind of like any like the medical field or whatever field you're in you um once you have that first year of experience you have references and then you can kind of shop around and now that you have that experience you can apply for other places more local yes yes and you can really start to hone exactly what you want to get out of your your career too and for me I you know I I wanted to see all 50 states so I was traveling off you know 48 states you know got into Alaska and Hawaii I feel like that's that's how you want to do it you just want to get out and tell them what you want to do you know one thing I will say that's fun about it is you can meet your girlfriend your wife your family like I actually one time impromptu didn't even mean to my parents actually took a trip to Kentucky at one point and I ended up being in Kentucky so we got to hang out and I told my my boss I'm like hey I'm I didn't realize this but my parents are out here in Kentucky which was very random and uh I got to hang out with them for like a couple days and show them around I actually knew the area more than they did so Random stuff happens like that but you can also plan trips I was going to say so how much that once you have that experience and how much of that is your boss your employer telling you where to go versus you telling your employee hey I want to go here and then they they're coming up with the path it takes to get there when you get into a field like this and you want to use it to your advantage you want to learn to use it to your advantage when you work hard and you give your boss what he wants it's basically any profession if you give them what they want they're going to be nice to you too so I I found like you know after with with some time put in I'm big on putting some time in then they'll start to give you whatever you really want like I was starting to tell them hey I'm going to take a weekend here in Daytona Beach uh hey I'd like to stop in Vegas for a week I I actually met my girlfriend out there one time and we hung out for a week you know she flew out so there's pros and cons I mean that's a sacrifice yes you're living in a truck but everything you were able to see and obviously going back to that your original decision obviously made the right choice the four wall cubicle versus where you are now for worked and like I said you know everybody has their own opinions on life and what they want out of it and for me it worked and you know not everybody will be able to be a trucker I I I will say that because it's a huge vehicle that you got to get around some tight streets and and you know areas with that without hitting things because then you won't be in that career too long but if you can do it and you start to use it to your advantage which I I'm at that stage now where I basically tell people what I want to do and they let me do it I mean I'm and I make the money I want to make the first year to me is the toughest year because that's the one you got to sacrifice a lot I feel like you know that's the one where you have to realize you're going to be in a little confined area in your truck and that's basically your home you you don't necessarily stay out for the whole year though they will send you home every once in a while but once that year is done I promise you you can make some things happen with the with the career think you said like not everybody can do it but you're someone coming from you know no Trucking experience no family history of trucking and probably had never backed up an 18 wheer before and you were able to license I can attest if anyone if anybody saw me back up our camper this past summer you can you'll see how difficult it is to do something like that so it takes time it's everything's completely reversed but it is possible so speaking of that I know you touched on you said you know you are living in a truck what are some of those amenities you mentioned there's a fridge um you got a TV a fridge bed obviously you know and there is um you know another thing that's really nice about where I was working anyway I'm not sure if every place is like this but again that's why I say go with mega carries if you start out the you know they understand you want to live like a regular person so you tell them you want to stay up in a hotel and they usually will pay they'll they'll pay for a hotel stay for like a weekend you know if you want and once you start making your own money though that's when you start taking your weeks here and there you will be able to get showers too they have truck stops so every night like if you plan right and again that's a whole big part of this planning you got to know how to plan if you want to be a good trucker that's experienced the way I've experienced the the country but in the truck it's basically the TV the microwave uh they they have a refrigerator you know and a bed obviously night comfortable beds usually I mean are there like apps you can use and find like certain places to sleep oh I know you have the CB radio too there's trucker path there's CB radios uh the trucker path as an app that you can check out places that along that trucks can get to you know if you're not familiar you can you can radio put a call out on the radio and someone might pick up yep yep and then your company sometimes will even tell you like where a nice place is that you can stay while you're visiting so and so area once you made up your mind you wanted to transition to trucking to actually getting on the road what was the biggest challenge you faced to getting there and how are you able to overcome that when I made that leap from being in an office working on math which is my forth day and I knew I was smart and that and I could handle it when I decided that hey you know I think I want to see a bigger world than what I know you know I I was thinking to myself this isn't going to work is it once I made the leap and actually started going through the process I really was like I don't know if I could do this cuz I don't I didn't come from a long line and and it is one of those things like some people just aren't cut out to be truckers but luckily I I made it through but I I certainly was nervous especially when they first gave me my my own truck like you know when you're driving with other people I mean I looked out I actually got a guy who was a million mile he'd been driving for like 40 years uh he was my trainer and so it was really easy to learn understand things but I heard horror stories with guys who ended up with some trainers that were not so great he he really taught me a lot and he always said like you know just take it easy then that's what you got to do and when you take it easy out there it turns into a job that's nice and calm and I just feel like it's great because it enables you to do so much like I've already pointed out so it sounds like the the challenge was it wasn't so much getting your license and and the cost it was more that mindset just your self-doubting and can you do it and then yeah there is a lot especially early on a lot of self-doubt like am I going to be able get into this spot you know I mean I there are times I was in the Bronx like you know trying to cross a street in with that's in a building and I I would just be like I don't know if I'm going to be able to travel like this cuz I'm not sure I'm going to do this without crushing seven cars you know knocking over 10 JW Walkers uh you know and and breaking the building on top of it that I'm trying to get into it's all about taking your time just keep that end goal in mind try if you can get good help a good Mentor to help you I can relate to that you know coming from a place where I didn't really enjoy my job and as much as I disliked it and I wanted to quit after I quit I still had those self-doubts am I doing the right thing can I even do do this what are some of the big frustrations that you still face on the road oh wow jeez there's there's a lot of those a lot of people think trucks can stop on a dime you got to be careful of that we can't stop on a dime you know that's one thing that needs to be understood there's like 880,000 lbs on these trucks so that that's one big thing direction is Big you really have to understand where you're going with a truck cuz you can't go on every road like a car you got to learn many more new routes to places you used to just drive to in your car like even your house you got to be careful where you you choose your house you want to be near a route usually so that way you can park your truck if you have to like me I'm lucky my position now we have a parking lot a lot of companies the mega carriers like you know Werner the one that I work for they're based out of Omaha Nebraska so you know they're they don't have a lot of parking spaces over here in Connecticut they do though they had a few but you know again that's why I'm saying if you do start out you do want to start with the Mega Car even though they'll pay a little less I feel like there's a little more Comfort cuz you know some of these places that will take you on as a newer driver they'll take you on and let you run for as much as you want but then when you want to go home to a place you know like Delaware or Connecticut the smaller States they don't have places for you to park so it's going to be up to you to figure out where those places are great so you're on the road I know you mentioned you got out to e sometimes your work pays for things sometimes once you're on your own you tend to pay for a few more things what does a typical monthly budget look like each month like you probably I always tried to keep it like $200 cash a week and then like if you need need to use a credit card for something important that's when you break that out but you know you want to set boundaries for yourself see Trucking is a little tough to like just put a set number on because it's really up to you like how you want to spend your money the other side of that though to me is I feel like in trucking you can make anything you want to make honestly I mean you're not going to be a millionaire I don't think ever Trucking but if you play it smart your car is right on the side and your side hustles are good and such you can make some money but even as a a regular trucker I do believe you can make over 100,000 I mean there's no no issues you know doing that once you get some experience under your belt and you start doing what you want to do your large expenses your fuels pretty much paid for all fuel is paid for and if you're traveling a year at a time you can rent your house out and have your you know your mortgage paid for and you could do that yeah you could do that I've never done that I know some guys that did though that's where that's where mind mine goes no that that's smart stuff though if you want to stay in hotels every weekend if you want to like you know eat the finest Foods you're going to pay a lot more money and some guys do that you know they they like to eat well you know every night and but you know if you do some fast food here which is that's how I do it I like to go cheap you know during the week while I'm working basically and then I'll I'll treat myself on the weekends you know and that's that's how I would run how many hours a week are you typically working that is a yeah that's again it's probably something where you can work as much as you want right yeah it is it is but um I would say a good trucker that's making good money will be working approximately 50 hours there's law that says that you can't work any more than 70 as a trucker in in a week so that's the most you'll ever be able which is a lot that's 10 hours a day so it is a lot but I would say as a if you're a good trucker and you want to make good money and you want to have your fun you you'll work about 50 hours a week 40 to 50 hours a week and then how does vacation work for something like that that's where Trucking I love Trucking because I feel like anytime you want to take a vacation they're pretty much going to bend over backwards for you because they understand it's a very tough tough thing to do it's a lot of stress especially again like that's why I I suggest being clean that the early on 6 months to a year just take it slow be clean I mean I would tell them I'm stopping here and I want to just spend four days you know and and then like they'll be like all right now if you want to like you know visit family for Thanksgiving they do like you to tell them that hey you know give me a couple weeks notice cuz they can't have their whole Fleet off at the same time so they will like holidays are a little interesting because they'll try to have their guys Jagged they will try to make it around the holidays is where it's a little tough but vacations during the year I mean anytime you want really as long as you're working putting the time in that they'll let you stop where you want or you can say hey uh I'm going home and then I'm taking a trip to France you know for two weeks they they're actually they're very good about letting you get your time off that's one thing I didn't really I didn't consider that it's one of the reasons why I had you on too is because of a lot of people like myself we wanted to take a longer trip and I think you had said you took a multiple month just you took off one time yeah yeah they they really are good about time off that that's one thing I will say again you got to put the time in but once you put the time in they're they're very good about like you know hey you know you've been working hard out here you know for a mental breather and regular uh I don't I don't know how to word this because it's like we we live a regular life but it's a little different they don't want you to feel like you're just stuck in a truck all the time so they'll say you know if you need a month off go ahead if you need two months off take it is that Universal through all trucking or is that with your company Warner they're more loose with that yeah I'd say the mega carriers again or the ones that are company owned the smaller companies might not be able to be so lenient because their trucks do have to make money so they might not be so keen on the long vacations months at a time the mega carriers are a little easier with that Mega carriers just got a certain number of employees or what's it what defines that I would say like the top 100 trucking companies like your JB hunts the ones you see on the road the schneiders the orange the Big Orange drugs they're they're called the mega carries CU they just have a lot of yeah it's like tons of drivers and trucks you see them around basically we'll switch back to kind of budgeting have there been any travel tip money-saving hacks you've learned on the road while Trucking do that's where I I'm big on a debit card as opposed to a credit card out there because I feel like the guys I have some friends and they would just credit card everything and they then they'd be crying to me at the end of the month like oh my God Jeff I spent like $88,000 this month and I didn't even realize it to me it's very important for for yourself even if you don't want to get a debit card just make sure you're taking the cash you want on the road each time you plan on going out like you most companies want you to go out for at least two weeks and that's not the local local you can get home every night but most of the ones that want you to run around the country are they want you out there for two weeks so they can get a few loads on you before you head home and you'll have an idea of when you want to get back home so you'll start to learn yourself how much cash you want to use each time you head out for the time frame that you want to be out do you have trouble at all with internet and s service or not because you're really on the the highway that is funny I thought I would that was actually going in I thought that was going to be a future frustration for me when I first started Trucking I'm like I'm not going to be able to use my computer I'm going to be in No Man's Land Texas you know because there are some areas of Texas you're like where am I it's like one of the biggest states in the world and amazing enough though I I actually had great service I was with Verizon uh you know and I have been you know my whole career I feel like they've covered me well I I use my phone as a hot spot for my computer sometimes and I've never actually had an issue where ever I can't say I've ever been like oh my gosh I can't do anything you know I have no I've never had that issue I certainly can't say the same but I was sleeping in the middle of the woods so oh gee one question we actually just added to the podcast which has been interesting but has there been one thing that you thought you needed that you didn't need and one thing the contrary to that that you thought you wouldn't need that you absolutely need while you're Trucking um I would say just the knowledge of where you're going is needed planning is huge you have to have it so you got to get your atlases you want to get like you want to even look up like Trip Advisor stuff like where you might want to stay visit you might even want to have a travel agent to call like honestly while while you're on the road like you know hey I'm down here in uh you know Missouri is there something I can visit you know like the Ozarks what has been the coolest experience you've had while traveling that your jobs allowed you to do I just love meeting people I mean I actually met randomly down in New Mexico I I met a couple from from La Vietnam I got to talking with them and I I just thought it so interesting because they moved to the US for no other reason but they were worried about their children um still walking over mines you know from the war in Vietnam because there's still live mins that weren't found you know in and and like stuff like that is what I love about Trucking like stories like that just stick with you I couldn't believe when they told me that and I I was like I felt horrible almost you know even though I nothing to do with that war how could you live with like go you have your kids out on the farmland and you know there's a possibility they could step on a mind that's stuck with me as far as like seeing things though um I love Georgia Georgia is just to me a great state it's like for me the New York City of the South they have the big metropolitan area they have Savannah so I always love traveling through Georgia I always would try to stop and stay and visit a new new place like Athens or even mon Georgia if I was to move South I actually even think about moving to Georgia no kidding yeah Savannah in particular or just Savannah's really nice yeah Savannah is really nice another state I really loved that I always loved you know stopping and it was Virginia because you got the mountains on the west and then the coastline on the East and I was able to meet my girl there a few times and we hied the you know the alagan and stuff and if you could have listen to this podcast before you started Trucking is there a question you wish I would have asked today that I didn't and how would you have answered that I would I would say like you know what the hell are you going to do out there you know like what what why would you jump in the trucking you know like what would make you take that leap and I asked myself that to this day what interest you and like as a guy that's never known anyone in trucking you know I I don't really understand and that's where the travel comes in from you that was one of my focuses when I went out there you know was to see things and mission accomplished yeah exactly 48 states later awesome man when you were starting out were there any YouTube channels that motivated you or helped inspire you to get on the the road at all well one thing I I would say like if I looked back at my life like as a young child I I was one of those Matchbox car guys I would take over my grandparents house my my parents house and just have cars traveling everywhere looking back I I would say to myself like you knew all along you wanted to be a guy that was out on the road and and seeing things you know Trucking was just the thing to do for me I mean you know as a child was when I I probably should have known I wanted to be a guy that got into this career so yeah was it necessarily this career or was it just something that would enable you to travel the career is nice but yeah I don't know it's that's a tough question because I don't know if career is more important than what I've been able to uh like LifeWise experience life experience as opposed to Career the career side of it it has enabled me to pay for things that to do the things that I've done and then on the other side of it like I would never I would never want to go back on what i' I've made as a decision because again I I I have friends in a lot of places now and I I really appreciate that you know I I saw this meme somewhere if you're eating in peace thank a soldier if you're eating fresh food thank a farmer if you're eating food that was delivered which every pretty much all food is thank a trucker so there you go I mean if without truckers the one thing that you know you have to understand is you'd be traveling a thousand miles to go get your you know whatever you wanted you know whether it's a lawn mower or you know the P PPE for the co you know situation that we just had or truckers are important to the world and you know I would like to make that known I do wish we got a little bit more respect from some folks because uh we're not all dumb when we're not all dirty I promise you know we we've done stuff just like you have hey Jeff this has been great You Dropped a ton of knowledge at I I know I learned a ton everybody listening at home definitely learned a lot from this it's I never knew there was such an opportunity obviously you see truckers all the time on the road I did not know that there was an opportunity to actually have you know such flexibility and freedom and everything else with it so there is a lot of flexibility to it yeah so like I said thanks for coming on again um where can my listeners find out more about you I just kind of keep to myself I'm not really a big guy on the internet social media front but uh if you have any questions just I don't know even maybe message Tyler and he could get to me but you know sure and your company's Warner Warner Tru I'm actually with JB Hunt now JB hun H I work now with uh Bob's Furniture right here in Connecticut uh that's what I focus on their loads more than anything but we do help Costco and um we also helped CNS which is a grosser in this area but yeah I'm I'm more now in the Northeast than I was uh I don't do the over the road so much anymore I might get back into it when I get older but I am now trying to work on my relationship side of life which is one thing that is a little stressful with Trucking it's hard to keep your ladies happy you know because you are away sometimes so I I am closer to home now oh there you go good stuff Jeff thanks again man I appreciate you coming on thank you Tyler I appreciate it

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Banff National Park Travel Guide

Welcome back to Travel Tips! We joined Dedra and Garron to talk about one of the gems of their home country: Banff National Park in Canada.

Nestled in the heart of Alberta, Canada, lies a natural wonderland waiting to be explored – Banff. Having grown up not far from this pristine here, they had the privilege of visiting Banff numerous times, each visit revealing new adventures and hidden treasures. With insider knowledge and tips garnered over the years, they are here to guide you through an unforgettable Banff experience.

Outdoor Adventures Galore

Banff isn't just a destination; it's an outdoor enthusiast's paradise. Whether you're into hiking, camping, snowboarding, skiing, backpacking, or simply exploring with your furry friends (yes, Banff is dog-friendly!), there's something here for everyone.

Duration of Stay

While a weekend getaway is feasible for locals, they recommend dedicating at least two weeks to truly immerse yourself in all that Banff has to offer. If time permits, extend your stay to three weeks to explore the surrounding area.

The Enchantment of Blue Waters

Banff boasts stunning azure waters that captivate visitors from around the globe. While Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are iconic spots, they can get crowded. For a more serene experience, head to lesser-known gems like Saskatchewan Crossing in the northern part of the park, where you'll find equally mesmerizing blue waters minus the crowds.

Best Time to Visit

Timing is key when planning your Banff adventure. Summer, particularly July through August, offers ideal weather for outdoor activities. However, be prepared for potential snow in June and forest fires in August. For winter sports enthusiasts, the period between December and February promises snowy escapades.

Getting There and Around

Calgary serves as the gateway to Banff, with a scenic drive of about 1 hour and 40 minutes. While Banff town is easily navigable on foot, renting a car is advisable for exploring attractions further afield. Shuttle services are also available for those who prefer not to drive.

Currency Exchange and Budgeting

Ensure you exchange your currency for Canadian dollars (Loonies and Toonies) before arriving, as foreign denominations are not accepted. Budget around $100-150 per day for a comfortable experience, but savvy travelers can save by cooking meals at campsites and stocking up on supplies in Calgary to avoid inflated prices in Banff.

Accommodation Options

Finding free lodging in Banff can be challenging, but the national parks offer a plethora of campgrounds for outdoor enthusiasts. Tunnel Mountain Campground is a prime choice for its proximity to town, while the Canmore area boasts more budget-friendly options.

Embracing Banff's Nightlife

Banff has a small nightlife with bars, great dining, and clubs. That said, many visitors opt for quiet evenings by the campfire, soaking in the starlit sky and relishing the tranquility of nature

Chasing Sunrises and Sunsets

For unparalleled views, ascend Sulphur Mountain via the Banff Gondola or embark on a mountain hike to witness breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. Each vantage point offers a unique perspective of Banff's majestic landscape, so don't miss the opportunity to capture these magical moments.

Money-Saving Strategies

Maximize your Banff experience without breaking the bank by prioritizing free activities like hiking and stargazing. Limit dining out to a few special occasions, opting instead for budget-friendly meals around the campfire. Stock up on groceries and fuel in Calgary to avoid inflated prices in Banff.

Banff isn't just a destination – it's an invitation to connect with nature, embark on thrilling adventures, and create unforgettable memories. So pack your bags, lace up your hiking boots, and get ready to unlock the wonders of Banff. Your next great adventure awaits!

3, 2, 1 Countdown

3 Things to Pack:

·        Marshmallow Sticks

·        Tent

·        Hiking Boots

·        Water

·        Swim Shorts

·        Sunscreen

·        Bear Spray

·        Passport

2 Complaints:

·        Crowds

·        Limited Parking

·        Costs

1 Thing You Can’t Leave Banff Without Doing:

·        Beaver Tails

·        Mount Yamnuska

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Introduction

·        03:30 How Long Should Someone Visit Banf?

·        04:45 Where to find Blue Water?

·        05:30 Best Time to Visit Banff

·        06:45 Transportation

·        08:30 Currency and budgeting

·        10:30 Sleeping Arrangements

·        14:15 Nightlife in Banff

·        15:30 Sunrise/sunset

·        16:45 Money Saving Tips

·        19:30 Restaurants

·        20:45 Nearby Activities

·        23:15 Delicioats

·        24:00 3, 2, 1 Countdown

·        22:45 3,2,1 Countdown

 

Connect With The Route to Happiness

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/route_tohappiness/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theroutetohappiness

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671668523352712

·        Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theroutetohappiness

 

Near Banff

·        Canmore: https://www.canmore.ca/

·        Yoho National Park: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/yoho

·        Lake Louise: https://www.banfflakelouise.com/

·        Icefields Parkway: https://icefieldsparkway.com/

·        Kananaskis Mountains

·        Mount Yamnuska Hike: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/mount-yamnuska-traverse-and-west-col-descent

 

Blue Water

·        Lake Louis and Moraine Lake: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/les10-top10/louise

·        Saskatchewan River Crossing

 

Transportation

·        Calgary Airport: https://www.yyc.com/en-us/

·        Shuttles: https://www.banfflakelouise.com/explore-the-park/transit-shuttles

 

Camping

·        Tunnel Mountain: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/activ/camping

·        Canmore: https://www.hipcamp.com/en-CA/d/canada/alberta/canmore/camping/all

·        Very inexpensive camping at Abraham Lake

 

Sunrise

·        Sulphur Mountain: https://www.banfflakelouise.com/experiences/sulphur-mountain-trail

·        Any mountains or hikes

·        Banff Gondola: https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/banff-gondola/

·        Lake Louis

 

Restaurants

·        Park Distillery: https://parkdistillery.com/

·        Grizzly House

·        Fairmont Hotel: https://www.banff-springs-hotel.com/dine/

·        Beaver Tails: https://beavertails.com/

 

Music

Music • Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ready-as-ever License code: WYQ2IKRBMVFP3EJS

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

www.atravelpath.com

 

00:00 Introduction

04:37 What were the biggest challenges in getting started traveling?

06:58 What YouTube channels or books influenced you to travel?

09:10 How much should someone prepare before starting van life full time?

11:55 What have you learned you can’t live without in your van, and what have you learned that you don’t need?

13:20 What tools do you bring with you?

14:20 What are some of the biggest frustrations you face during van life?

15:16 How do you find places to sleep?

18:35 What does your van life budget look like?

21:00 Any money saving tips?

22:30 How are you getting internet?

24:30 How do you travel with Akela?

30:03 What would you say to someone who has concerns about being a solo female traveler?

32:37 What has been your coolest experience while traveling?

36:20 Is van life sustainable?

 

Linnea and Akela:

Linnea & Akela (linneaslife.com)

Linnea & Akela - YouTube

Linnea & Akela 🏔 (@linnea.and.akela) • Instagram photos and videos

Facebook

 

Linnea has always had a craving for the outdoors, and one day she decided to give up her “normal” life and trade it in for a home on wheels with her dog, Akela. In today’s show she discusses:

 

🔨The essential tools for van life, including impact drill with bits, electrical fuses, wire strippers, and an air compressor

🐶How she is able to make her lifestyle work around Akela

🚺The precautions she takes being a female solo traveler

 

And More!

 

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Videos Referenced from Linnea’s Channel:

Van Build BASICS as a SOLO FEMALE (youtube.com)

VanLife EXPENSES | How much does it REALLY cost? (youtube.com)

 

Episode 3 of “The Travel Path Podcast” with Bronderlust:

https://sites.libsyn.com/491798/3-bronderlust

Garrett & Staci | Vanlife•Adventure•Lifestyle (@bronderlust) • Instagram photos and videos

 

🔗Links

 

⚡Power

Blue Eti power source

 

📶

Starlink

 

🏕️Camping

iOverlander | Find your next destination

The Dyrt | Camping near me: Tent, RV sites, Glamping & Cabins

Free Camping Near You | Go Camping for Free! (freecampsites.net)

onX Maps: GPS Map App for Hunting, Hiking & Off-Roading

 

🚫Sedona Camping Ordinance:

Ch. 9.10 Offenses Against Public Peace | Sedona City Code (municipal.codes)

 

📺Channels

Brianna Madia (@briannamadia) • Instagram photos and videos

Van Kookz - YouTube

 

📖Book

Normal to Nomad Book — Normal to Nomad (normal2nomad.com)

 

#podcast #travel #linneaandakela #vanlife

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript from YouTube

lanaa thank you for joining hope and I on the Travel path podcast and happy New Year Happy New Year to you as well yeah so we know you on YouTube as lanaa and Aila you travel in your van fulltime with your dog you cover everything basically from Van life building van lifee in general traveling all over the world you even have a video on making sourdough bread so there's quite a variety of content you have on your website um I do want to give a shout out to BR lust Garrett and Stacy who on episode three had mentioned how they loved your channel when they were starting out and you inspired them to travel not only because you did the whole van build thing and had the highlights of Van life but also was really authentic and you showed the mistakes kind of the downsides and frustrations with Van life in general so why don't we start by having you share a little bit about yourself and then what your current travel lifestyle looks like I started this whole Endeavor much longer than you know a long time ago um which I think is the case for a lot of people they have this idea and then they have to work towards it and go through all this struggle really a big goal of mine was to be able to work remotely as it is for a lot of people and to have the freedom to do the things I love which for me is outdoor things outdoor activities I like to spend a lot of time in the back country and when I had kind of been set on the goal of Van life I was working for a company where I was spending eight days in the back country and then six days in the in the front country in the real world however you want to say it and so that actually set up my current life style a lot so right now I am living in a ram promas it's a 2016 it's the smallest one it's the 136 wheel base I did the build completely by myself because back then I did not have the money to pay anybody in fact I I did have a call with a van Builder and he gave me a quote it was a very gave me a very kind discount and I still couldn't afford it and so I was like screw it I'm doing the whole thing by myself whatever it doesn't have to be great you know I went through the whole process of figuring out how to work remotely that I mean that I could talk about that for three hours but I tried many different things I decided to start my own business which was a huge risk um but I started my own Fitness business that allowed me to get on the road and build my van out I put a lot of it on a credit card a lot of my van build on a credit card the van build it's very simple I have made some changes over the last few years but that allows me right now to be living a life that kind of reflects what I had been living so um I have comforts have heat I have a you know a wood burning stove now I used to have diesel heater um we have a bed which is different than like a uh sleeping bag on the desert ground you know and um place for food and so a lot of my life in the van is spent out on Forest roads in BLM land yeah it's very simple my goal was never to make my van feel like a house because I knew if I wanted to feel like a house I would probably be disappointed so so I wanted to maintain the like campy feel with some luxury or in my eyes some luxury uh but really have it be a vehicle for me to get out into nature so that's kind of how I'm living right now awesome really cool and I can imagine on the prices way back then before the co surge of doing the actual van builds cuz we thought about that briefly and that was after the Ford transits they went up in price too when we were looking around and we ended up not doing a van build cuz we just didn't have enough time and after speaking with so many people on doing a van build it seems like it always takes much longer and much more money whether you're doing it yourself or not oh absolutely oh my gosh when I started I had planned to do well I didn't really plan my build because I didn't know what I was doing but I was like it's going to be so simple very like it'll be just what I need to get by for the next however many years I want to do this and I I thought I was going to finish it in like three to four months and I didn't finish it um until I think eight months later it took literally twice as long I feel so great f for when I was able to purchase my van because I got my van it was at 70,000 miles and I got it for $117,000 which would be absolutely unheard of now so yeah I am really really grateful and though surge of like materials and wood hadn't happened yet M now as far as experience and some of the challenges I watched a video you put out before you started the van build where you literally just called somebody I think it was called van build Basics as a solo female and you literally just called somebody that you knew that you knew knew more than you about electronics and powering your van and just recorded the entire conversation I thought that was brilliant because a you just proved to yourself that all you have to do is call somebody that knows more and can explain to you how to do it but also you're putting this on your channel to educate and help other people so was the biggest challenge the van build itself were there any other emotional Financial challenges to get on the road or was it just a van build oh the financial aspect I think was the biggest hurdle I mean I think that's most people's biggest hurdle is to figure out how they're going to fund a project like that um but once I had some of that figured out and was willing to take the risk and like kind of go in the hole for it I'm going to try my best to explain this but the biggest challenges then when going through the actual like building process was this like cycle of each project where you have this overwhelming Doom of like I have no idea how to do a electrical I can't I I couldn't even explain to somebody how this works how am I supposed to build it and so it's this like overwhelming anxiety of like I don't know if I can do this and then the whole painful process of learning and doubting and not knowing if you're ever going to figure this out if you have to pay like pay somebody to do it for you that's a really hard process to be in but also one that the more you practice the easier it is and the more confidence you build within your own you know that own cycle and then when the first thing clicks even just that first first like oh my gosh I know the difference of AC and DC that's incredible I didn't know that a month ago it's like that confidence starts to build and then you do the project you finish the project and then you move on to the next one and it like starts over and I think for me that cycle was the hardest thing to just like keep chucking and keep learning and and yeah I think that was the hardest plus you had not only were you doing this van build and you were you know you were trying to prove to yourself you could do it but you had your entire audience you went out there put on YouTube that you said you were going to do this you kind of gave yourself no choice but to go out there and do it yeah absolutely but I was able to use the channel because it wasn't big at that time I didn't I didn't know you could make a I didn't know you could make a living off of YouTube I had no clue so I was like okay this will keep me on track I have to do a video per project and try to do it every week and so it actually really helped it felt less like pressure and more like I told myself I do this I just have to do it now so that was really helpful actually as far as other influences in your life were there any any other YouTube channels or books that helped you kind of get on that path of living on the road so I would say the first person that I came across that like when I saw it visually I was like oh you can do this was um Brianna Maria media she yeah back then she was living in this big orange van with her dogs and her then husband out in the desert and I had fallen in love with the desert at that point and I'm like man that's cool I want to be camping all the time anyway if I just did it in a van that'd be more comfortable and I could figure out the rest she was the first one that I was like okay that people like I can do this if she can do this I can do this one of the first people that I followed was Travy wild I I didn't follow many like um big like van lifers or anything at that time but I had come across one of Travy Wild's builds and he was the only other person that I saw who didn't have a bright white really clean um like aesthetic and I'm like man I really want to just use a lot of natural wood and a lot of natural colors even if it's dark like I don't care I like that and he did and he had this beautiful bookshelf he is like a beautiful Creator he he builds stuff on the road I have one of his um cutting boards too so yeah he was a lot of inspiration for me of like I can build whatever I want and it's going to be like cozy and comfy because it's going to be for me so I'd say those two were kind of the initial people that I followed and then I really as far as the build goes and I'm doing it myself the van Cooks I don't know if you guys ever came across them but the vancs they just put out really authentic and like easy to learn from videos um like very simple like build step type videos so I enjoyed them too it's great we'll put a link in the description the show notes for all the references we talk about in the show today so it sounds like you clearly did your homework you had your influences that you watch videos you did all your homework when you're building your van and you spent a lot of time in the outdoors before getting into van life and transitioning to that lifestyle have you come across a lot of people who have just recently learned about van lifee and they've done the whole conversion and they've jumped right into it kind of too fast too soon what are your thoughts on how much you should prepare before you get into van life full-time I think that's hard because I had so much experience in the back country so this felt really luxurious to me so yeah I I have seen and I've heard a lot of cases like that I think as far as prep some of the best things that people can do is travel and sleep and live for short periods of time in their current vehicle um I spent a lot of time traveling in my little Camry it was like a little beat up Camry for a while and then I had a um 1994 4Runner that ail and I traveled out west with often and if I hadn't had some of those experiences living you know not out of a backpack but in a vehicle I would have had less of an idea of what I actually needed in the van and so taking what you have and just traveling living out of it and that'll just clear up probably a lot of people's questions of what do I actually want in the van what and it's going to be so different for everybody like the things that I value that I have in my van other people would be like oh heck no I need this thing to be comfortable and to like have that be a sustainable lifestyle so that that's what I would say for prep and also to add to that there are a lot of people that I hear say like invest a lot into your van fi and do everything you can to make it feel like a house and I know I touched on this before but I think also having space when you move into the van to to make changes along the way is also really important because if you can't make changes or if you don't know how to fix things then you're absolutely stuck with what you thought you wanted and I feel really grateful that I had the the flexibility of course I did the build so I knew how things were put together but I'm grateful I had the flexibility to rip out this whole side of my van so I could have a freezer cuz I was like man I want to be able to spend more time out there and not have to go shopping I'll just put in a freezer or the different type of sources of heat you know like all those different things I think it is really important to have space to make changes along the way especially if you're wanting to do it for many years sure you have to have that Vision to plan ahead think ahead I know that the wood stove you put in that was an addition right that wasn't an original modification to the van right correct yeah I had a diesel heater for two years first which was great the diesel heater was great there were things I didn't like about I didn't like the smell and when I like drip Fuel and stuff but um yeah I love my wood stove but other people don't other people don't want to do the work of a wood stove but I love it smells a little better than diesel does yeah makes it nice and cozy too in the winter yeah staying on that topic have there been has there been something in your van that you've learned that you can't live without and then at the same time something that you've learned that you actually don't need that you put in there originally um I for me and this might be a little bit particular to my build but something that I can't live without is my external power source so like my blue etti is what I use and I use it every single day and I charge it every single day and it Powers every electronic I have because I removed my my AC power so for those that don't know the difference like AC is like a plugin that you would use in like your house wall so I removed that actually I remov my inverter and just ended up sticking with my external battery source to charge basically all of my AC appliances and like my phone and things like that floating around the van and I left everything um that is in my van appliances that are wired into my my house all of that runs from the like electrical system that I put in with my batteries and my solar on top of my van and I think that's one thing um that I didn't realize was going to shift so much but I love that um separation now and I love having my external power source it's great now we've talked to a lot of rvers who have campers trailers motor homes and they had mentioned to us how they have all these tools they bring with them and one thing we didn't really consider we brought a few tools with us but in the van it's very limited space what tools do you bring with you on the road so I have actually when I rebuilt half of my kitchen to include my freezer I built a a large like storage space on top of my freezer just for tools um so I have really really basic tools so I keep my drill my impact drill with me at all times and then obviously a huge array of bits and um I I keep a lot of electrical little components with me too so I always have like little fuses and then um wire strippers and anything that I need to fix or shift any of my electrical and that's pretty much it it's just like drill and then electrical I also should be um traveling with a air compressor too that's one thing that I need and I would have mentioned if I did travel with it but I don't so kind of fast forwarding after the van build having been on the road for three years now what are some of the biggest frustrations that you face dishes it's really just dishes man I hate doing dishes and I really didn't do dishes before I met Chris because I would just like wipe out my stuff and and go on my way but now that you know I have a partner it's important but he does the dishes now but other than that like that is really my only gripe of having I don't really have running water and I have a really small sink um I think the only other thing that I would say is traveling anywhere east of the Mississippi that's really hard because of lack of public land I wish that I could answer this and like really give you some big struggles or some big gripes that I have with living on the road but as long as I'm out west and have access to public land in towns every once in a while it's really smooth going once you kind of get the flow of everything so you don't have too many issues in terms of like finding places to sleep for the night no that's interesting that's that's like one of the big that was probably our biggest frustration during our road trip was it seemed like we were talking to people who had done road trips like 20 years ago and when they got tired they slept they pulled over they woke up they just kept going and it seemed like for us for some reason we just saw signs everywhere where it said you like no overnight parking even like some of the Walmarts there were security you know cars going around if they didn't own the actual parking lot uh maybe that's cuz we were closer to like national parks and destinations so are you traveling kind of more remote than that yeah I typically do because of Aila so she there dogs really aren't allowed in National Parks I mean enough for you to really see the park so we stay away from Big destinations like that not to say that they're not worth going to because they are like national parks are national parks for a reason they're beautiful and very cool my whole goal was to be away from a lot of people uh so that's kind of why I mentioned you know out east is very different than out west so out west there's just enormous amounts of public land if you know how to how to search and and that's kind of something that you get into the flow of too or that I found that I was able to get into the flow of and you kind of have a sequence of what you do first so for me I do like apps like I Overlander or the dirt or free campsites done you know those those classic ones but then I'll look at that area and then I move on to onx so I I use onx for a lot because it's so easy to see if there's public land versus private land it's very very clearly marked and it's it has a lot of really great roads that are marked so typically I'll be like okay cool I know this area people can stay I'm G to move to anx and then I look and see what the what what kind of borders that property or that public land what roads go through that and I'll kind of make my own route through there CU I remember we we were in like Sedona Arizona and it took us like 3 hours to find a place to sleep we're tired it's dark out and we didn't realize that Sedona there was an ordinance where you can't sleep in a car anywhere in that town it wasn't like every night it was probably like I don't know 10 nights for o over the span of our two month trip but it was enough to we're we're like yeah that was definitely one of the top frustrations traveling was just trying to find a place to sleep we figured you know in a class B in it's it's not a camper you don't look like you're camping out or you can easily kind of conceal yourself but yeah that's um that's good advice thank you for sharing that yeah of course and it can certainly be frustrating in those larger cities I go to Salt Lake often because I have a few good friends there and it's even rough there knowing people and just staying on the road even and you know it's not illegal there but people don't like it so there there are a lot of things that you've run into in those larger cities but yeah going a little bit more remote it gives you the chance to see a lot of hidden gems as well and rather than national parks especially if you have a dog focusing on national monuments or national forests like there's beautiful national forests and national monuments all around that you know are usually really dog friendly so we'll switch gears a little bit to some of the financials and budgeting when you're on the road um you've been on the road three years now if you were to break down kind of a monthly budget what would that look like so I truthfully it changes so much throughout the year um these last for example these last few months we've been staying in the same spot for a while and that has saved an incredible amount of money because of gas prices so my budget shifts with well a where I want to go B the seasons and then where like prices are at with everything if gas prices are skyrocketing I chill in one state for a few months because I don't want to pay thousands of dollars in gas you know in gas bills or whatever so um I would say my highest expense is food um right now so my van payment is less than $300 a month because my van was so cheap and so that is like a very minimal payment for me my food food I care a lot about food I love food I love cooking and buying good ingredients our dogs eat fresh food too so um several hundred dollars a month go to food and then I would say right after that is gas because really if you live in a van you can't escape the fact that you're going to be paying a lot for gas and that will fluctuate from anything you know I mean this month I might have spent $50 on gas and but some months it's a few hundred when I have to go back home to Wisconsin to visit family or if I go down to the keys to visit my brother that's a lot of gas money but after that expense I sit in that place for a while to kind of recoup a little bit that's true you can kind of make up ground right so if you're spending more to get the place then just stay situated for there for a little while and then you're you know you get some of that money back it's a good tip absolutely and even like this might be minimal but with my freezer and now because I can store a lot of food so I have a a 50 L fridge with like a tiny little freezer on top and then I have a 60 L freezer that's I have a bigger freezer than I do fridge so that really cuts down the amount of times that I even have to leave my like BLM or Forest Service land spot and go into town that saves a lot of trips to town and that also saves money it's like an upfront cost but it it saves money in time sure that's a good point have it been any moneysaving travel hacks you've discovered over the past three years no I wish I could but no honestly there haven't been the only thing that I could say when I first started out because I was really behind financially I ate very simple Foods um and then I never paid for showers and that saved a lot of money so I only showered just outside with my little like MSR Dromedary drip thing and never PA for showers that Sav that that was great take you there was no water heater in that right oh no I still don't yeah I my water on myself oh man so it sounds like and we can't really put a button on it but if your biggest expense groceries is 3 400 bucks a month would you say somebody could live a lifestyle similar to yours for around 2,000 a month is that reasonable 100% when I started out I was I I was spending less than that yeah my budget was super tight when I first started and I was spending much less than 2,000 and that's all of my bills and I did a video on that at one point and it was I think I was on the road for maybe a year at that point so I was making a little bit more money but when I first started it was under two grand and that was cell phone that was um food gas Aila it was everything everything so absolutely if if people are willing to do it it is absolutely doable another expense we I know your face with being an influencer on YouTube is internet so how are you getting internet when you're on the road now it's starlink so starlink has opened up so much but I only have starlink now because Chris and I are together prior to that I didn't want to pay for any internet actually I had a little Verizon hotspot for a while I would basically plan out my videos so that I would go into town for upload day so I would go out the you know back country or down wherever out in the middle of nowhere and I would work on my videos and filming for that week and just stay really disconnected just stay really offline and then when my video is ready because you don't need internet for what I do I'll drive into town go to a coffee shop complete my entire upload and all of that back up do my chores go back out so I just planned very strategically for the first you know two two and a half years on the road when I needed internet I would use up my phone hot but that means I wasn't watching movies I wasn't watching shows I wasn't you doing what you can do with internet but I loved that like when Chris got starlink I was like dang I I don't know this now we're gonna be connected all the time we need to have like three days a week where we can't use of course that doesn't happen yeah but it is really nice I think starlink is great good that's good to know too that you can actually on our limited experience going to coffee shops sometimes doesn't have like the best Wi-Fi it seemed like we didn't actually do that but it seemed like if we were to upload videos to YouTube it wouldn't have been the strongest signal or we would have been there for like hours but it is possible you can go into town find places with the right Wi-Fi strong enough Wi-Fi and you can just basically post up all day and just upload you know tons and tons of videos yeah absolutely and it's not glamorous and it's not fun and you have to pay you know every two hours to get another coffee drink just to feel like you're not mooching but it's doable I had a lot of coffee during the day huh yeah well it wouldn't be a podcast with lanaa without talking about Aila a little bit so question we ask on the show is what would you say to somebody who says they cannot travel fulltime because they have a dog I also want to add to that after we touch on that what would you say to someone who doesn't want to travel fulltime because they're a female Solo Traveler guess we'll start with Aila yeah um I would say first of all concerns are valid um for example my brother my brother Noah loves Aila he is so good with animals he loves animals but he will not have an animal because he likes to travel so I see really both of those now saying that you cannot do it with a dog that is um not true obviously as we both know I would would say that you have to want to to to do it and to do it well and to enjoy your time I think that if people go into this being like Oh but I want to be able to go to a Climbing Gym four days a week where dogs are not allowed then yeah probably best for you really not to have a dog if you're traveling full-time or living in a vehicle but if it's something like with Aila really my life revolves around her and that's the way I want it though and that's the way I like it and I love bringing her joy and having her see all the cool things and be really active but that's because that's like a really big need and want in my life that I have so yes like concerns are valid and really think about what you're willing to give up and also it is very easy to adjust travel plans for your dog um you know we touched on a little bit national parks aren't super friendly but go to the ones that are Great Sand news national park that is a beautiful National Park and dogs can just be with you everywhere basically in that Park and oftentimes around those national parks are all these Little Gems that are just is beautiful and less people go to them and they're dog friendly and so it's just about learning how your life has to adjust on the road absolutely do doable and it is absolutely wonderful I think it depends on also how your dog um does in a vehicle like one of my good friends she built out a van and she got a beautiful amazing dog and he hated being in the car he would get really anxious and long on long long trips you know and she was like I just can't do this because of him and that's like a real that's a real thing like they have their preferences and some dogs like to travel some dogs need to be in one spot because that's where they're comfortable but I will add to that oh I have something to add um I built my van too with Aila in mind of course and so I added extra ventilation for her and I also built her a kennel because I knew that she loved her cozy dark space and she was in the van a lot during the build and in the kennel a lot after I built it for her she would just hang out in there so she was a huge like driver behind my decisions of the build so that she could be as comfortable in here as possible now it sounds like most the time when you're traveling with her you're when you leave your van you're probably taking her with her CU you're going in back country is there any times that you're leaving her in the van for extended periods and how do you manage that climate control for her there are times where I've left her in the van for a few hours and she's great because she loves her space um as far as climate control if I have any worries I don't risk it so even if I'm I don't know if I'm up in Idaho and it's a really muggy season I'm not going to go with my friends on a e like on an evening hike because I I would be worried all the time of her overheating I just don't take the risk um something that is just so fantastic is the extra airf flow so my extra vent makes the space very cool also it's really well insulated and this is something that a lot of people don't understand if they don't have a rig you know like how cool a space can be it's like sitting under a a shaded tree vers out in the open sun with ventilation and it with it being insulated we can be in pretty warm climates and it is very cool In Here Also I have um pretty high r value uh window covers so that you know it's blocking any radiant heat and yeah so I do everything that I can to make it comfortable and then if I'm worried at all I just don't take the risk I wanted to touch on because we actually rent our van out too when we're not using it and we've gotten questions from people like they'll ask us like oh we're going to be hiking can we leave our dog there are an AC is there a generator and we'll tell them like there is but even though it's a new newer van and everything I mean I cannot guarantee it's going to work properly right um so those are things you have to weigh like yes there are measures in place you can have the cameras you can have the sensors you can have the generator and air conditioner but things they fail it's unlikely they will but it is something worth considering yeah for sure and that's why I don't take the risk and I don't even have AC in here I don't have a sensor or anything it's just that that does scare me because also I want to enjoy my time out there and if I'm thinking like oh no what if the AC kicked off or what if something's going on and then I can't enjoy my time because I'm worried about it and the weather was wrong and now it's getting really hot out yeah right and that's also why I chase the weather I just Chase Seasons wherever it's the best for both of us so what would you say to somebody who just doesn't want to do this whole time because they would be a female Solo Traveler some of the advice that I've given to like individuals have been start really small if you're scared that doesn't mean um like if that means that you want to hop in your van and go sure go and do that but you can start so small just let's say you want to do this in the future go to your state park and lock your doors and sleep in the back of your car and just feel what that's like and if you're really really scared or you know really the what's going to happen is you're going to love it and you're going to wake up in the morning and you're to make your cough and you're going to have this Euphoria because you're out in nature and you're alone you can spend time with yourself and you're going to probably meet some really amazing people and those little like steps of like oh I'm kind of facing these fears bit by bit and I'm having these really wonderful experiences it's going to just slowly add up to this confidence and this knowing that like whatever comes your way you're going to be okay and you're probably going to have more good experiences than you will poor experiences now I would also say be prepared in whatever way you feel best um if that means a gun that means a gun if that means a taser that means a taser like whatever you're comfortable with whatever will make you feel secure as long as you know how to use everything properly do it you know um dogs help absolutely Aila alerts all the time and that makes me feel great she's also big and scary so that's that's nice but I think the other piece is really just perspective um because and this might sound negative but what I think about is anything can happen to me no whether I'm living in a van or an apartment in a big city um whether I feel the security of some like false safety measures or not and so I refuse to let those fears or those like messages that we receive about like what is safe and what's not or what's secure and what's not I'm not going to let those dictate my life so bit by bit and shifting perspective over time I think is kind of the only way to get through that fear sure that's really good advice just yeah bit by bit starting out small and then taking whatever you know safety precautions you feel necessary and then kind of just shifting your mindset and the lifestyle that kind of fit that that's great yes a couple more questions I guess before we start wrapping this thing up what has been the coolest experience you've had while traveling so far that one is so hard because I okay I think that this is the one that stands out oh wait no okay I have two I had a feeling it' be a hard one it's so hard one of my my favorite moments was when the van broke down uh I was in Idaho and the van broke down I think this was like the second time that it broken down I ended up staying in that grocery store parking lot for like four days somebody came by to help me the little uh tiny little mechanic was just maybe 100 yards away but they couldn't get me in so what ended up happening I'm stuck I don't know anybody I started making friends with people I'm like living in this parking lot and all of a sudden this guy comes and he's like hey do you want to go on a boat ride with us tomorrow and I'm like sure why the hell not I don't know let's do it so I lock up the van ail and I go and take this boat ride with these people and they were amazing it was so fun and we went fishing and we went to this like secret part of this big lake out there and we hiked back in there and of course I can only imagine people hearing this cuz when I tell stories like this people are like you are so dumb don't like go into the back country and a boat with some random guys that you meet but I feel like I have a really good sense of people and they're still friends to this day it was so fun and then um the next morning the mechanic was able to get me in and like the whole community of this little tiny town there were probably like I mean not the whole Community but it felt like it these like nine people came by and they pushed My Van Into the mechanic spot and it was just a really beautiful series of events with a lot of spontaneity and new people and it it that was pretty early living in the van and from then on I just had this mindset of like man whatever happens is going to bring really cool things my way even if it's planned or not and just remaining really open to like anything and that is how you get the coolest experiences and then my second one I would say was a solo back country trip so I took the van out into the Big Horn mountains and then I hiked um it was just ail and I we were out there for I think eight days or six days and we did this big out and back track and I woke up what I know I'm talking and I woke up one morning with a bull moose outside of my tent and it was incredible so that was my other one yeah yeah that's pretty cool how far away was it from you 20 yards it was so close and I didn't even see it that was the funny part I I went out of my tent I heard some little feet behind my tent so I got my big lens out and I like peaked where I heard something and there was a beautiful little mu deer a little dough right behind my tent so I was filming her Aila was sleeping she's a late sleeper she like really likes her sleep so she was sleeping and I was filming and then I just remember like I like huffed and I was like oh that was so cool and then I turned around and then right in front of me I see this bull Mose still in velvet and he was just munching away on these little Willows and he looked at me and I was just beside myself with joy I was it was so cool yeah that is crazy I was going to ask if Aila was going crazy but I guess she was she was out didn't even see him yeah she did really really well she saw the moose very briefly and just like stared at it and then I had her I had her kennel so like any little space is her kennel so I just like go kennel and just zipped her up in the tent and then I was able to film and she just went back to sleep that's a big

 

dog yeah all right if you could have listened to this podcast when you were first starting out what is one question I did didn't ask today that you would want to have had asked and how would you answer that now um I would probably want to hear if it's sustainable because it's so easy to look online and see all these beautiful pictures and Beautiful Stories and and how long are actually people doing this and is it sustainable for the long term because that was my goal to do it for the long term I didn't have it wasn't just going to be for a year or whatever um yeah so that's what I would have wanted answered and of course my answer is yes absolutely as long as you really listen to yourself and not what other people are doing or how other people are living or how other people built their Vans but like really figure out what it is you want like the things you want to do with the you know what you want van life to bring you towards and then the actual like lifestyle of like what are your true Comforts what do you actually need and what do you don't like what do you not need and if as long as those to you know balance out you're going to be happy for a really long time and that's kind of the point of this podcast is just talking to people who have found different ways to make it sustainable whether it's a full-time thing whether it's just saving up a lot taking a a longer trip and traveling um there's multiple different ways to do it so I'm glad you asked that question yeah the book normal to Nomad is a really good book for people to start out with um actually my friend Baron wrote that book and he just I wish I could reach it's it's right there I wish I could reach for it and show you guys but it's um a very like logical read it's a very much like how to here are EV here's everything to consider here are like how to learn the basics of living this way and that's a really great book if you just want to sit down and kind of like study and read and see how they did everything uh yeah I think that book is wonderful awesome that's perfect so we haven't heard about that one before so we'll definitely check it out too yeah well audience is checking out that book where can they find out more about you I am lanaa and Aila on all platforms all right everybody go check it out hey lanaa thanks again for coming on the show this was an awesome podcast um you talked about a ton of stuff a ton of content on here it's going to be tough editing it down and trying to get it in the right time frame because there was just a ton of value bombs here so thank you very much for coming on the podcast yeah thank you guys so much for having me it was great to meet you

www.atravelpath.com

 

Hello Pathfinders, in today’s show we welcomed back Kyle and Renee from Happily Ever Hanks! They shared their insight after spending ONE MONTH at a campground in San Diego, California and exploring everything it had to offer. In this episode learn about:

 

Time

We covered everything from the best time of year to how long you should spend in San Diego. Although they spent a month, Kyle and Renee shared that you could spend 1-2 weeks and feel fulfilled.

As far as the time of year, Kyle and Renee were there for the month of February. They shared that the weather was nice, but not “swimmable” and traffic was manageable. It was definitely the off-season during this time.

 

Price

It’s no surprise that San Diego is expensive. They shared how much they spent at their campground for the month and offered some tips so that you can prepare yourself for the prices.

 

To Do

We discussed the San Diego Zoo, beaches, some historical activities, places to eat, and several other activities you can do in the area. They also offered some insight on things they would have done, such as roller blading or bringing bikes if they had thought about it beforehand.

 

Transportation

Ride-sharing is expensive, but they shared that there is a transit system that is very affordable that they used a few times. We also discussed traffic, parking, and the complications of driving a larger vehicle through downtown.

 

3, 2, 1 Countdown

3 Things to Pack

·        Sunscreen (even if you visit in February)

·        Jacket

·        Bike

2 Complaints

·        Cost

·        Traffic/Parking

1 Thing

·        USS Midway Museum

 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:00 How long should someone plan on spending in San Diego?

02:45 Where did you stay?

04:00 How was driving a large rig through San Diego?

07:15 How close was your campground to San Diego attractions?

08:30 How expensive was San Diego?

10:45 What was nightlife like in San Diego?

12:15 Daytime activities in San Diego?

16:30 What did you use for internet?

18:00 What are three things you should bring to San Diego?

20:15 What are two complaints someone might have about San Diego?

24:15 What is one thing you can’t leave San Diego without doing?

 

Happily Ever Hanks on Social

·        Website: https://www.happilyeverhanks.com/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappilyEverHanks

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happilyeverhanks/

·        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happilyeverhanks

·        TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happilyeverhanks

 

Happily Ever Hanks YouTube Videos Referenced

·        San Diego Cost Summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhWvcWyW87A

 

Camping

Sun Outdoor Chula Vista: https://www.sunoutdoors.com/california/sun-outdoors-san-diego-bay

 

Driving Apps

RV Life: https://www.rvlife.com/app/

Truck Map: https://truckmap.com/

All Stays: https://www.allstays.com/apps/

Google Maps

 

To Do

USS Midway Museum: https://www.midway.org/

San Diego Zoo: https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/

Coronado: https://coronadovisitorcenter.com/

19 Mile Biking/Walking Path: https://missionbaygateway.org/biking-walking-paths

 

Kids/Pets

Sesame Place: https://sesameplace.com/san-diego/

Dog Beach: https://oceanbeachsandiego.com/attractions/beaches/dog-beach

 

Beaches

Ocean Beach: https://oceanbeachsandiego.com/

La Jolla: https://www.sandiego.org/explore/things-to-do/beaches-bays/la-jolla.aspx

Mission Beach: https://www.sandiego.org/explore/things-to-do/beaches-bays/mission-beach.asp

Imperial Beach: https://www.sandiego.org/explore/things-to-do/beaches-bays/imperial-beach.aspx

 

Restaurants

La Puerta: https://lapuertasd.com/

Queens Town Public House: https://queenstownpublichouse.com/

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript

Host: Kyle and Renne, welcome back to the Travel Path podcast.

 

Guest: Tyler, Hope, Thanks for having us.

 

Host: So if anybody missed part one, they're happily with the hangs we talked about. They're happily ever hangs. We talked about everything from RV tips, budgeting, their travel nurse career. And today in part two, we're talking about travel tips and one particular destination. So guys, what are we talking about today?

 

Guest: Well, we just visited this destination. So it's fresh in our brain.

 

Host: First time?

 

Guest: First time. San Diego, California.

 

 

Host: Just to clarify, you're in California. So how much time did you guys actually spend there? Cause you said this was your first time visiting, right?

 

 

Guest: Yeah, we've always wanted to visit. So we gave ourselves like an entire month there, which we were nervous about because it's expensive. You know, a lot of people say you got to really make sure you have some money in the bank if you're going there, but we were ready after spending a whole summer in Alaska where there was maybe a few days of sunshine. I just said to him, like, Hey, we're doing San Diego this winter and we're going to book like a really nice resort down there and do the whole shebang.

 

 

Host: That's awesome. Good for you guys. So to get that full San Diego experience, obviously you guys spent a month there, but how long do you think someone should actually plan if they want to just go and enjoy the area?

 

 

Guest: I'd say anywhere from about one to two weeks, I would imagine would be a great amount of time to kind of get some city life in, see the surrounding areas. You know, we were ready to go about after a month. I don't know if that speaks to the RV life itself and that's always like in the pickup and go see something new or that was just applicable to the area. I'd say one to two weeks.

 

 

Host: Now you guys obviously went in February.

 

 

Guest: Uh, yeah, it was like a month of February. Whole month of February.

 

 

Host: And is that good weather for you or did you talk to anyone and find out, you know, there's other times of the year that maybe are better to go?

 

 

Guest: It's pretty funny because we thought it was like the busy time of year. We're used to when you go to Florida for say in, you know, February's boom and so many people, so we assumed it was like that in San Diego, we were in Northern California and Reading and it was cold and raining a lot. So we were really excited, but then we get there and it's not busy at all. And then we talked to some locals and they're like, Oh yeah, this is not considered the busy season the summer is. So we kind of felt like we scored because we're like, it's for us. It's nice weather. I mean, it wasn't swimmable beach weather, but if you're looking to go somewhere South where it's still decent weather, if you're used to snow, it's pretty much nice all year there is what I'm trying to say. You can go anytime of year and it's nice. And your pipes don't freeze in the RV. So that's always a plus.

 

 

Host: Yeah, there you go. That's definitely a plus for you guys. Now you said that you stayed in a resort. Is that an RV resort?

 

 

Guest: Yeah, we stayed at the Sun Outdoors in technically is in Chula Vista, just a little bit South of San Diego, but just a really quick drive to downtown.

 

 

Host: Awesome. Now, did you stay there for the entire time or did you move any spots?

 

 

Guest: No, we stayed there. Yeah, we ended up staying there, which was nice. And, um, it was a little bit more pricey, like Renee had said, but it was well worth it. So they had like a nice pool there. Like they go all out. It's Sun Outdoors. So it's a huge company that buys a bunch of, well, they pretty much build their own RV resorts across the nation, but they kind of have like that margarita feel to them, you know, they always have music playing events going on. So even though it was a slower time of the year, it's still made for a great time to get out and meet people out in the park. Still plenty. It was pretty about halfway full, I would say. So yeah.

 

 

Host: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. We can attest to Sun Outdoors being a good RV park. We have spent the last three summers or seasons, I guess, living in an RV in a Sun Outdoors. So nice.

 

Guest: Yeah. You know, you're getting a pretty nice place when you book with them.

 

 

Host: Yeah, exactly. You know what to expect, which is nice, especially if you're going to be there for so long. So as far as you guys have a larger rig, so as far as transportation and getting your rig through San Diego to the campground, how is that process for you?

 

 

Guest: Not bad at all. We'd like to rely on a lot of apps on our phone. Basically, they are go-to for checking high clearances and making sure that the route we're taking is going to accommodate our fifth wheel because it does the height of our fifth wheel is about 6 feet, 6 inches. So we do run about the same height as most tractor trailers that you see out on the road. So you've got to be really careful to not just take any road and hope that it can accommodate your RV. We've gotten in some scary situations where you had a back out. I don't know if you guys ever seen the random YouTube videos where people are knocking their ACs off their RV roof. I mean, it happens a lot.

 

 

Host: But not to you guys.

 

 

Guest: Not to us. Knock on wood.

 

 

Host: So, you said you used some apps to check clearances. What apps are you using?

 

 

Guest: Our main GPS is Google Maps just to kind of see, you know, Google Maps is great. It shows like everything. But then like he was saying, we kind of have to dig into some other apps. So one of those is RV Life. It's like trip planning for RVs. And I'm sure maybe you guys use it with family too. You could do like it gives you like a radius of your travel day, like tells you kind of how far you want to go, where you pull over. It has all the resources. But then on top of that, it has a GPS and you can use that as your main GPS. It'll make sure based on your height, your width, all that stuff that you're not going near any low clearances.

 

 

Host: Oh, perfect. Yeah, that's pretty cool. And then what was that other one?

 

 

Guest: Truck Map. Yeah, there's a free one called Truck Map. Yeah. And like truckers use it. So you could if you're looking for something for free. And if Google Maps is we still like to use that and stuff. Most of the time we'll just verify with these other apps. Okay, the route we're taking on Google is the same that it's given us on these other apps. So then we could just stick to Google Maps.

 

Guest: Yeah, but since you know, you just got to be careful all stays pro is another one or I think it's sometimes called all stays. It'll have an icon to show you where all the low clearances depending on how you filter it. So I'm just in the passenger seat there like constantly being like, let me look for low bridges.

 

 

Host: Good. So once you see that low clearance sign, that's too late.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, no doubt. It's something you notice too when I'll just be driving with I'll be back home just driving around with a friend. And I'll be like, Oh, we want to fit there. Like you just subconsciously see it and you're like, I want to fit in an average. But before RVing, we would have never really noticed that we wouldn't pay attention to those signs.

 

 

Host: True. Yeah. Well, those are really good tips and definitely something you need to pay attention to when you are that tall. So as far as the campground you stayed at, the sun RV, how close is that in proximity to, you know, all the attractions you wanted to go to or, you know, if you want to go take a walk somewhere, what was that like?

 

 

Guest: Yeah, it was pretty nice. They did have some walking paths. I'd say it was about a mile walk out to the beach or to the bay, I should say. To the bay. Yeah, to the bay from that resort. Now, if you wanted to get into the city, probably about an 8 to 10-minute drive.

 

Guest: Yeah, maybe 15. Most if it's traffic. Right. And there was a like their transportation system like their, what's that called? Their railway.

 

Guest: Trolley.

 

Guest: Yeah. Trolley. There was the station right in walking distance from the campground and we did use that to go downtown the last night and it worked great. I mean, we just had 10 minutes. We were downtown and because we were going to do an Uber from the campground and during the really busy times, they were wanting $50 one way just into the city. And then we did the train like Renee was saying, and that was $2.50 one way. And just give you, yeah, terms of mileage. I think it was only like five miles away. Yeah. So not very long, but wow, they really took back those prices.

 

 

Host: Well, that's perfect. That's a good money-saving tip right there. Now, speaking of the finances, San Diego, California in general, typically a little bit more expensive. So what was it like for you guys staying there for a month and what should someone prepare, you know, their budget for when doing something like this?

 

 

Guest: Sure. Be completely transparent. I would say we spent what for one month stay at the RV resort. What would we spend? It was like close to three grand. Close to three thousand dollars. So that I don't know, comparing to other resorts around the area, it could be cheaper. I'm not exactly sure, but we had anticipated this was kind of like a vacation. So that's how we treated it. We kind of treated ourselves to that. But yeah, overall, you're going to see some hikes in grocery prices and then the fuel itself is going to be more expensive as well. I think we were paying like $5 a gallon or something for diesel when we're used to paying anywhere from like $4, maybe $4 or $5 somewhere.

 

Guest: Yeah. And we're actually our next video, not sorry, our maybe two videos from now, we're going to be closing out our series talking about RV expenses in California and we're going to be talking about what we spent in San Diego. We'll have we're still working on all the totals. So we'll have all of that in a future video or maybe it'll come out the same time this comes out. So be perfect.

 

 

Host: So go check that out for a real clean breakout on all your costs. So as far as but speaking back to the gas, I guess because you guys were staying in one spot for a month, you were leaving your rig there. Do you feel like you maybe were just driving less because you were so close to being able to use public transportation and just not having to move your camper back and forth to different spots?

 

 

Guest: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. We weren't driving nearly as much as we normally would like the current location we're at. We have about I would say like  minute drive to the nearest town to the grocery store. But now that's the same distance, you know, time distance in San Diego as you know, to get from the RV park to San Diego. But it was a lot less mileage. So we didn't take the truck into the city all that much. We relied on that public transportation a lot. But just driving around San Diego to La Vista area, it's so condensed. Everything is just like right in your backyard at all times.

 

Host: So what'd you guys like to do at night? In general or in San Diego?

 

 

Guest: In San Diego. We would like to find a nice restaurant. And honestly, we did a lot of stuff during the day. Like we would go we went this one day to Miss Ocean Beach. Yeah, I think it's called Ocean Beach. And they had a dog park, which was fun to see all the dogs run around the beach. And then we watched the sunset from there. And then pretty much when the sun goes down, it's kind of like grab dinner and, you know, head on back. Yeah, we're kind of like early to bed people. But there's a lot of really cool bars, a lot of cool nightlife in San Diego. So if you're into that and breweries. So if you're looking, I mean, that would just be so much fun to be able to like, you know, if you're looking to Bar Hop, go downtown and do all that stuff.

 

 

Host: Absolutely. Yeah, of course. And I think that's nice that you mentioned you had a good sunset at that beach. But any other sunsets or sunrises that you maybe want to catch?

 

 

Guest: Hmm. We kind of had a nice sunset view from our RV because it would, you know, just set below the bay. Yeah. But any beach you go to because it's west facing is a good sunset. You're kind of right there. Yeah, you can't you can't have a bad one in that area. Yeah, of course.

 

 

Host: Now, any other activities you guys did during the day that were fun?

 

 

Guest: We're telling what we did. But we do. We were just. Let's see. We did the USS Midway tour, which was really cool. So that's an old. The naval ship. Yeah. I'm trying to say ship. Yeah, the Battle of Midway, the story behind the Battle of Midway, like the naval. That's really cool. So it's like decommissioned and it just sits there in the bay. You just pay an entrance fee and then you can walk it at your own pace with a guided tour, like an audio tour. And wow, that took us like four or five hours to get through that entire thing because they have an upper deck with all the old airplanes up there. You have a metal deck and then they have a lower deck for like kitchen and the infirmary were so it was pretty cool. But we're also the people that have to like listen and read everything. So we took the all day. We took it on. Also the zoo. I mean, the San Diego Zoo, you have to check that out. It's like one of the best zoos in the country. So we went there and that was that was a great day. Beautiful weather and just it's I don't know. We're not big zoo people, but it was just fun being out and seeing, you know, how they take care of the little bit of behind the scenes and how they take care of the animals, things like that.

 

 

Host: So the zoo and the ship, those are your two recommendations.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, do the zoo and the ship. Those are our two biggies and then check out some good restaurants. There was what was the name of that one restaurant? La Puerta downtown, which was really good.

 

 

Host: Yeah. What kind of food did they have?

 

 

Guest: They had Mexican, but it was kind of like in a rustic like the bar had a cool rustic vibe to it. We also went to a place called Queenstown Public House downtown and it had it was New Zealand inspired. That's what caught my eye. I was like, oh, this is interesting. Really cool vibe. And the food was delicious. Wellington Meatloaf. You will not be disappointed. That was really good.

 

 

Host: Awesome. We love to try new restaurants when we go out and like you we've talked about in episode one that can, of course, rack up a pretty big bill if you don't pay attention to it. But being able to try something either a local cuisine or, you know, just something like that New Zealand restaurant. Right. When do you ever see that anywhere? And enjoy something in each spot, I think is always so good.

 

 

Guest: Absolutely. Yeah.

 

 

Host: Perfect. Any other good food spots or coffee shops?

 

 

Guest: Oh, we did do that one coffee shop, but it was a really random one over in what was the name of the island. That's what we got to talk about. Coronado. Coronado Island. So that was across the bay a little bit from the RV park itself and the Naval Station is over there. And just like a really cool place to drive over. You could take a bridge. It's no toll. You don't have to pay any fees to get over there. You could park. There was a lot of parking and then you could walk along the beach and so many coffee shops and restaurants over there. Yeah, their beaches are so clean. Like we went to several of them and so clean. And the other thing I want to say, if you have kids, there's I think there was like a sesame place, sesame street world or something. Yeah. And, you know, their sea world, if people are into that, there's just like there's a lot to do for every of every age. And there was something we noticed we thought about doing, but we didn't. It was like a sunset cruise you could do on the bay. So going back to the nighttime activity is like taking a little boat ride and watch the sunset that way. Can't beat that. Yeah, that would be cool, too.

 

 

Host: So if you haven't mentioned it, are there any other nearby attractions that we need to know? It sounds like we covered all of them, though.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, those are kind of the ones off the top of our heads that we can think of. Yeah, there was a lot of the stuff we wanted to do was just too cold. Like I wanted to go surfing or paddle boarding or snorkeling. And I think what I read is if it's warm enough to do that. La Jolla or something. I can't remember what that place is called, but there's a beach way far north. Yeah, is this Bell with a J? Yeah, JOLLA. Something like that. I just can't remember how they pronounce it, but that's kind of like the go to if you want to hit up the beach. Go swimming like in a very nice beach. Yeah.

 

 

Host: Perfect. So it sounds like the consensus is February is a great time to visit, but it might be a little chilly for water activities.

 

 

Guest: Exactly. Oh yeah, for sure. But good for eating, you know, you got to like hibernate, put some good food in your belly during that time.

 

 

Host: Perfect. And then how was your internet?

 

Guest: Oh my gosh, it was. Well, the internet was ripping. Yeah, it was good. Starlink held up really well. Being around other people at Starlink and still did fine. Did really good. We had like a hundred down, didn't we? We can't complain about the internet there. Yeah. Our cell phone service was great the whole time.

 

 

Host: Perfect. Those are the things people need to know where to eat and if they can get internet.

 

Host: I know it was too cold. They do the water activities, snorkeling, swimming, surfing. Could you lay out on the beach? Were the people doing that?

 

 

Guest: There were people doing it. I mean, I had my puffy coat on several times when we were on the beach because it was so breezy. Um, but if you were brave enough and if it was like somewhat warmer weather, you could. Now we did lay by the pool at the resort, I think twice, but I had goosebumps. So I was really trying.

 

 

Host: Well, San Diego sounds like you go. It's the scenery. First of all, it's everyone talks about San Diego and then the nightlife, the food scene, but in those winter months, still, I mean, it's probably why it wasn't the biggest or the busiest time of the year is because those water activities. It was just too cold.

 

 

Guest: Oh yeah. Yeah. It seems like it's everyone. Like if you're obviously Arizona or anywhere away from the coast, seems like that's where we're flocks to in the summer to get there. What, uh, summer activities, winter, sorry, not winter water activities, water.

 

 

Host: Yeah. Great. Perfect. We'll transition to the three, two, one countdown. The final three questions of the podcast, starting with three, what are three things you're bringing to San Diego?

 

 

Guest: Okay. Well, the first two are not going to make any sense, but we'll explain. It's my sunscreen for sure. I add that like the only reason I say is because even though it's not like super hot, oh my gosh, I'll get eaten alive by the sun. That California sun. We're not all blessed with your skin tone here. My wife, very nice skin tone, but me, unfortunately, I had to rely on sunscreen a lot. So sunscreen, a jacket, if you're coming in February, that breeze sneaks up on you. So make sure you have like a little cover up. The sunscreen during the day and then immediately have your jacket put on because, you know, that sun goes away. It just gets chilly. And then on top of it, I think the last one that is really important is like a bike. If you have a bike, we don't have bikes, but we realize how nice it would have been to have a bike to get around.

 

Guest: Yeah. There was this, I can't remember how many miles. See how we're so good at presenting this information. Aren't we?

 

Guest: Yeah. Um, there's some really long bike slash walking path and it ran past our RV park. Like, so we walk that a lot to the bay, but I think it goes like  something miles.

 

Guest: Um, all the way out to Coronado Island and then you can come back. So bring your bikes if you have them.

 

 

Host: Yeah. Does that almost like a boardwalk? Is it hugging the water views along that bike path? Do you know?

 

 

Guest: I think when it gets to the Imperial Beach side, cause I looked at a map to see how far it goes. I think it does, but there was another area, um, Where we were walking a lot of mission beach and there was a boardwalk where people were just on. Roller skates. I mean, after being there, I really want to get roller skates for some reason and everyone's roller skating, skateboarding, biking, just very active. Fun community. Everyone's out doing something.

 

 

Host: I'm sure you passed rental shops for all, um, roller blades bikes.

 

 

Guest: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So then we had to make a decision like, do we really like, or after the price of the groceries and the dining, I had to scratch something off the budget, right?

 

Guest: The truth. I'm like, we'll just get our steps in. It's fine. It's free.

 

 

Host: Yep. There you go.

 

Host: That's it. What are two complaints or two things people should be prepared for before visiting San Diego?

 

 

Guest: Well, the one we talked about already being expensive, just the price, you know, I think most people are prepared if they are visiting San Diego, but to stay in a hotel, to stay at an RV park or wherever you're lodging, it's going to be pricey. We already told you about the  to stay one month at an RV park. And that's crazy. We've never paid that to stay somewhere, but we knew going into this, that their nightly rate was going to be outrageous. And that's a discount. If you actually like took their nightly rate and multiplied it by  days, it would have been like five or $,. So for them to give us three grand a month, that's like a monthly discount, quote unquote. And the other one, August, I guess, you know, just like with any city around traffic. So it's such a silly complaint. It's you can't complain about traffic in a city, but you can't. I mean, we are going to throw it out there. We don't visit a lot of cities like frequently, but we really, really enjoyed this one. But, you know, we're never prepared for the traffic, but it was there. And then I will say I just thought of this one is the truck parking with our big truck.

 

Guest: Yeah, we have a lifted truck.

 

Guest: And sometimes it's hard to find parking, especially, you know, when you're towing with a dually truck or anything.

 

Guest: Yeah, it'd be tight. If you have a dually and you want to go downtown, just take the public transportation because it's going to be such a headache to try and park that thing.

 

 

Host: Yeah, that's good to bring up. And it's especially good to bring up, especially it's in the off season and there was still traffic.

 

 

Host: So if someone's going there, when it is busier, tour season, they're going to be. Would you would that be a nightmare in your opinion?

 

 

Guest: Yes. Yes. I would not. I would not be able to relax and enjoy parking the truck and that that would be stressful.

 

Guest: Yeah, we love visiting areas that are like chill and it's not the busy season. So yeah, perfect for us to be there in February. So that would be stressful. Most RVers aren't used to traffic.

 

 

Host: San Francisco was the first city we went to after we were in the middle of nowhere for like a month and a half. And it was we were not ready for it. But that public, the transit you talked about, is that on its separate like road or does that actually follow? The streets that cars follow too.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, it was sometimes next to the main road. It was like a railway.

 

 

Host: Okay. So that so you'd avoid the traffic by taking that then that's its own cool.

 

 

Guest: Yeah. And I mean, it has to stop at every stop, but it's still it was really two dollars, two fifty one way. Yeah. Per person.

 

Guest: So really affordable and clean and just it was really, really nice.

 

 

Host: Yeah. Yeah. By the time it takes you to find parking and worth it.

 

Host: Was the area itself once you got to downtown, was everything pretty much walkable or would you recommend somebody do have a car or some form of transportation when they're down there?

 

 

Guest: I think the major areas that you wanted to hit were walkable. So once you found the parking spot or you're in that location, it was easy to just Google search what was in that immediate surrounding area and have some places to visit. So yeah, like I don't feel like you would have to have a rental car if you were flying in and going to a hotel, especially if you're already downtown. Because like you can get to the zoo and not just that railway system. They there that was a whole transportation system that had rapid bus transport. And they were just really good about the transportation. So you can get everywhere you need to go.

 

 

Host: Yeah. Yeah. Some of those big destinations you hear about, you think they're going to be huge. But we went to Nashville and I was shocked at how small Nashville was. It was like three blocks worth of bars. And that was the main strip. And so I was curious to see if San Diego was the same way. Once you get to downtown, you can pretty much walk around and walk to everything. So it sounds like it's a little bit bigger, but still doable. Yeah, fine. It was still like you would need to to hop if you want to go to the zoo and do the midway for some crazy reason. One last question.

 

 

Host: What is one thing you cannot leave San Diego without doing?

 

 

Guest: Oh, I would go back to that midway. I would have to say what I said before is going to do that midway tour was really cool.

 

Guest: Yeah, especially if you're into history or just enjoying like it's not every day you get to go walk on a ship like that and kind of be immersed into that lifestyle. So you learn a lot. You see a lot and it's worth the admission price.

 

Guest: Yeah, I would say the same thing that that U.S. I mean, I would have did it again. I thought it was so cool.

 

 

Host: And then when you're there, get the get the guide.

 

 

Guest: Oh, yeah, they'll have them right as you walk in the door. They'll just be like, do you want an audio guide? It's free. So yeah, pick it up. And the learning is your fingertips.

 

 

Host: Yeah, even better. Can't be free.

 

Host: Well, thanks again for coming on the show. This was a great episode, not only talking about things to do in San Diego in the February time of year. I think it helped people prepare for what that might look like, but also we named a few things you can do during that busy season and what to be prepared for when it does get busy.

 

Host: But Kyle and Renee, one more time, where can our audience find out more about you guys?

 

Guest: So our main platform is on YouTube, and you can find us by searching "Happily Ever Hanks." If you want to find our website, you can go to Google and just type in "Happily Ever Hanks .com," and we should pop up right there. So those are two main places to find us. Also, Instagram and Facebook, same thing, "Happily Ever Hanks."

 

Guest: That's true. Yeah, we have all the goodies. Just type in "Happily Ever Hanks," and it'll pop up somewhere.

 

 

Host: All right, sweet. Everyone check them out. Kyle and Renee, thanks again.

 

 

Guest: Thank you guys. We appreciate it.

 

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Welcome back Pathfinders. In this podcast we broke down every fee we paid when we purchased our RV, and how we are unfortunately underwater as a result. The moral of the story: Do your research AND don’t let emotions get the best of you during the buying process.

Follow along with this blog for a more accurate breakdown of the buying fees: https://atravelpath.com/buying-an-rv/

 

Other blogs mentioned during this show:

RV Tech: https://atravelpath.com/mobile-rv-technician/

How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

How We Saved Money to Buy an RV: https://atravelpath.com/become-the-ultimate-house-hacker-by-buying-an-rv/

 

Episodes Mentioned

Chris and Sara: https://atravelpath.com/chris-and-sara/

 

Music

Music • Music from  #Uppbeat  (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ready-as-ever License code: WYQ2IKRBMVFP3EJS

 

Disclaimer

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

Welcome back, Pathfinders! In today’s show I sat down with Cory Mortensen. He is a best-selling author of three books. During this podcast, we discussed his first book “The Buddha and the Bee” and how a month long bike road across the United States changed the trajectory of his life.

It was an inspirational show with tons of knowledge and insight from a very experienced traveler.

Sources

Cory’s Website and Books

·        https://www.thebuddhaandthebee.com/

Applicable Blogs from Cory

·        https://www.thebuddhaandthebee.com/post/how-do-you-pack-for-a-trip-around-the-world

References

·        https://www.sporcle.com/

Books Mentioned

·        The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer: https://amzn.to/3yptMs4

·        Micro Adventures by Alastair Humphreys: https://amzn.to/4dDg2K9

·        On The Road by Jack Herouac: https://amzn.to/44GfShd

·        Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer: https://amzn.to/3wMjotH

·        Blue Highways by William Least: https://amzn.to/44LunA7

www.atravelpath.com

Bronderlust:

https://www.instagram.com/bronderlust/

https://www.tiktok.com/@bronderlust

 

What  show!

💣Todays episode featuring Staci and Garrett from Bronderlust is full of value bombs

 

Staci and Garrett share how they went from living a life where they weren’t completely fulfilled, and took the leap to chase something more.

 

In this episode, you’ll hear all about:

 

🤝How to structure your mindset, take a step back, and work as a team when doing a van build.

 

⛽Some apps to save you money at the pump.

 

❓They share a few things they both CAN and CAN’T live without on the road.

 

And more!

 

YouTube Channels:

https://www.youtube.com/@TTTHEFINEPRINTTT

https://www.youtube.com/@EXPLORISTlife

https://www.youtube.com/@Linneaandakela

https://www.youtube.com/@MoserMakes

https://www.youtube.com/@AnkeneyVanBuilds

https://faroutride.com

 

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

Links: (We may receive a commission for any below purchases)

📖Books:

“Mindset” by Carol Dweck: https://amzn.to/3N87yzk

“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki: https://amzn.to/3N4wwiX

🧼Hygiene:

Shower Pouch Wipes: https://amzn.to/3T6Umyj

 

💵Money Savers:

Gas Buddy: https://www.gasbuddy.com/app

Upside: https://upside.app.link/PZHWN

 

📶Wi-Fi

AT&T Unlimited Data Plan

RVIT: https://www.thervitguy.com/

Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/

 

All right Stacy and Garrett welcome to the show thanks for having us thank you for having us so we know you guys are on Instagram as Bronderlust you guys have been living in your van driving around the country for the past just about a year why don't we start by sharing a little bit about yourselves and then letting our audience know what your travel lifestyle looks like oh man sure um I love that question well where do I even start so we've been together since high school and we've spent our whole lives together almost we had dated from high school through college and we got married and we had worked our jobs for a good couple years and after maybe a couple years of working our jobs we just kind of were like we could do more um like seven it just didn't feel very fulfilling when we started thinking about van life it was just a good opportunity to kind of like Get outside of our comfort zones and kind of just figure out you know uh maybe more or less like you know what we were made of and what we could do so this was a really fun way for us to kind of live our best life but also get out and do some fun stuff we've always loved traveling and just like going to new places and vacations just like you know anybody else would probably say they love doing but it was getting to a point where like I remember coming home and just being like Garrett there's just like there has to be something more to life like there has to be something else out there and so you know that's when I guess the the gears started turning more and then um he was the one to actually bring it up to me and I thought it was insane because I was like there's no way like how do you even do that you know it was like an immediate know and cuz I immediately thought of like you know our house and everything in it because we did have a house and everything for like four years we had our house before we uh Swit transitioned over and so I just remember trying to think of how to like put all of that stuff in a small space and I was like how is that even possible anyways that's kind of like a intro I guess of how we got there that's awesome yeah it's definitely quite the adjustment going from a house legitimate single family home to now living on you know four wheels and driving on on the road you can totally relate to that I know what you're talking about Stacy when I would come home from work just not satisfied kind of had an itch for to get more out of life and yet you know here we are kind of doing the same thing so that's great now now that you're on the road you guys are you're working as well what does your work lifestyle look like and about how many hours a week do you think you're working it's kind of changed since we've started in the beginning I had a very like I think it was like eight to fiveish like remote job so I work I am a dental hygienist and so I was clinical so I was in the office every day cleaning people's teeth all of that and I knew we were going to be doing this and so during the build process um I was looking for remote positions in the dental field just to kind of start that uh ball um and get it rolling and so I found something and uh it was like a good 40h hour a week job and it was okay in the beginning like it was fine it was doing all the things it needed to do for us cuz it was remote and it was letting us live our life but ended up switching positions um and I actually got something way more flexible um it's still in the dental field again it's like a training position and so um now I would say my hours are probably like at least 25 to 40 hours a week it really just depends on the the week and my schedule so it's very flexible I do like the fact that that my new job is letting me kind of like adjust my schedule as necessary so it's very flexible in that aspect so kind of rare um but I was very blessed to land that that's really interesting though you bring that up because when most people think remote work they think online they have to you know they can physically be you know in their car in a hotel room and be working online but so you decided you looked were like there's certain websites or how are you able to find a remote or I guess a remote position but as a dental hygienist or in the dental field I take it you were probably staying in places longer you probably weren't moving every other day what did that look like for both of my remote positions we were moving often like we were still remote so we have um we kind of focused everything around like those points if we knew there was going to be times when her job she was going to be working then we knew we would be stationary long enough so she could get settled and do whatnot and then if we had multiple things we would stay there for longer periods of time versus just being like on the go constantly right yes sorry yes and so like after my day was done then we would be like all right if we want to move we'll go move somewhere or if I had a break like we would move somewhere in that break so it was very like not chaotic but you know it was we made it work it was a lot trial and error like we had to we kind of had to figure out the best way to do it which didn't feel like too aggressively stressful yeah and now we've kind of got like a good flow on how to do it yeah now my schedule's a lot more flexible to where like I have longer like breaks and stuff and gaps you know it's more easy to move during the week I guess during that time I primarily searched on LinkedIn I don't remember what sparked that but I remember seeing something and linkedin's big for you know the job world uh you know re redid my page and everything redid my resume they have a little job section on LinkedIn and I literally just searched keywords filters and just kind of kept searching um over and over again Facebook groups and things like that as well we're big um but that's how I found it really cool how about you Garrett um so when we first started I was doing um remote sales for a company that was doing custom van builds the it just kind of didn't work out and then from there I pretty much put all of my energy into our social media page so organizing kind of like a lot of stuff we were going to do where we were going to be um to shoot certain things together um Stacy's really good at this but just kind of reaching out to a lot of the different like companies to do Partnerships with and um just kind of basically start laying the groundwork for you know like a social media marketing platform in a sense yeah he does a lot of of the um stuff that I don't want to do and all the behind the scenes Logistics of just van life in general so perfect team yeah it's been good thanks good for you guys and you guys put out some great content and those of you listening they're Broner list on Instagram they have all sorts of Van tips and all sorts of things they do when they're camping so check them out so during that time frame between when you wanted to get on the road what was one of the biggest challenges you fac to get there and how were you able to overcome that I would say like right off the bat we identified all of the things that kind of anchored us down so we're like okay if we're going to do this based on how we want to do it do we want to you know go for Spurs of travel or do we want to commit to this full-time we kind of made the decision that we wanted to do it full-time so the first thing was sell our house minimize our stuff get our very basic things find like our little luxuries and kind of identify um what we wanted in the van so and I think we decided to do all this in April and we had the house sold by may it was a very quick turn around we were like At first we wanted thought we maybe would just want to go live somewhere else in a different house and so we at first were looking into houses somewhere else and it just didn't feel right and nothing was looking good so after we made that decision then we were like all right let's do this how fast can we do this and so we ended up yeah in a month turnaround time we sold all our stuff basically downsized and sold our house which was insane now looking at it back I was like how did we do that that was I was going to say was it was it two of a turn around I know that the housing market it has been around that time frame it was on fire and things were selling like very quickly yes it had just started blow started blowing up so we were like we got to hop on this now like we don't know when we're GNA have this opportunity again so I think that's why also we kind of did it kind and it also worked out too where um I have some really close friends and we were just super fortunate that he had just bought a new house and originally our plan was to move to um a place in Georgia where we had a lot of close friends and family and what ended up happening was he had moved into a new house he's like well I have this other house for the next 30 days or so if you guys want to come here you can stay in this house for a month give or take and we ended up staying in that house for like two months so once we had sold our house we were like all right cool we beelined it you know to our friend's place and from there we pretty much started doing the research on finding the van as well as we started learning like the projects I mean after we had sold our house and got rid of all our stuffs and got settled and our like kind of temporary home we pretty much spent about two months researching the build projects and how we would go about them trying to find a van all that so it was really just basically figuring out all the things that would stop us from being able to do it kind of figuring out what the workr was and then kind of you know pulling the trigger on that sure were there any big YouTube channels or other other influencers that you guys watched tirelessly while you were trying to figure out how to build your van oh my goodness yes um sometimes it was random but y someone that I think inspired our kind of layout and just idea behind like just knowing that like anyone can do van life and you can kind of do it however you want I would say is the fine print um he's a van lifee gamer that's his big uh his big thing but he's we've always watched his videos W followed him and he's kind of been like a big inspiration for us more so on him like I don't think that he really puts out a lot of like instructional videos on like the projects but what we really kind of or really inspired us about his videos was that it was like this is what um van life meant to him like it was his particular flavor and at first when we were looking into it we're like okay it's got to be like this or it's got to be like this and then we kind of were like oh you know actually it can be however we want it to be we just got to figure out you know what that means so like if we wanted to have a gaming you know setup in our van then we needed to have the power to support it so that meant you know a big electrical system and then that kind of took us into other ideas but I would say as far as like our tutorials and like you know learning how to build stuff um Moser makes was a really big Channel we he had a lot of really valuable information we used a lot of his like Plumbing his diagrams really good um the explorist was fantastic he had a really good electrical um tutorial and that was really helpful and explor life is his and then I try to remember the one that we used for our framing oh man an cany build yes an cany build I don't know if I pronounced that right I feel like I've heard of that channel before yeah and we'll put a link in the show notes for all those channels you guys just mention so people can check them out so that YouTube University that's like 101 we do the same thing with our real estate property too did you guys have any experience before you started doing your van with like tools probably had less than no experience yeah yeah no well I remember when we first started we would use um an impact drill and every time it would make the impact noise Stacy would yell at me and she'd be like you're gonna break it like no it's supposed to do that's not sound isn't good like there's no way that sound could be good we that's a great sound all guys love that sound well by the end of our build she was she was going for it I was loving that sound at the end I was like this is great I would say we went from um should not attempt to semi competent we knew that you know you can literally learn anything if you put your mind into it and so that was our I guess driving Factor was like we know we can learn it we can learn anything we just have to like do it do the research put the time in and we'll figure it out and I can tell you behind your head there Stacy those cabinets look pretty Square to me so you guys did a good job clearly

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.   

https://atravelpath.com/

 

Hey Pathfinders! Today’s episode felt like a 2-for-1since we got a dose of both Travel Nursing AND Van Conversions. Dakota and Courtney are a young couple who “chase big dreams trying to make it happen.” In this inspiring episode you’ll hear all about:

Travel Nursing

How to get started, how long the process takes, how long you can work an assignment for, and so on. Courtney shares how travel nursing can be quite nerve-wracking at first, but as you become familiar with the process, things get easier.

Where to Stay

With travel nursing, there are several options available for places to stay. Dakota and Courtney share their experiences at many of them and tell us what they prefer. We also get into detail about why you need to have a paper trail and pay some sort of rent wherever you end up.

Van Conversions

Along with travel nursing, Dakota and Courtney have (nearly) completed two van builds. The beauty of this episode is that we got to ask them why they sold their first one, and what they are doing differently with this next built. Plus, hear about how it took them over 9 MONTHS to receive the first van they ordered.

Costs

Dakota and Courtney give us very detailed numbers on how much BOTH of their van builds cost as well as sharing tips on how you can start saving money. They also share their thoughts on how much someone might want to have saved up before traveling.

 

Chapters

·        00:00 Intro

·        02:30 What is the process of getting into Travel Nursing?

·        07:15 Travel Nure pay and stipends

·        12:30 How are you finding places to stay?

·        15:30 Working with Aya Healthcare

·        16:15 Can you negotiate your terms?

·        20:30 What was the process of acquiring your van?

·        28:30 How did you know what material to buy for your van?

·        29:30 Why did you sell your first van?

·        32:00 What are you doing differently with your current van build?        

·        34:45 What mistakes did you make with your van build?

·        38:15 How long did each van build take?

·        40:15 What has been your coolest travel experience?

·        43:00 How much money should you have saved up before traveling?

·        45:15 How much did your van builds cost?

·        46:45 How can someone get started?

·        49:45 What YouTube channels helped with your van build?

 

Dakota and Courtney on Social

·        Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kodaandcourt/

·        YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kodaandcourt

 

Nursing:

·        Aya Healthcare: https://www.ayahealthcare.com/

·        GSA.gov: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

·        Regarding if your RV loan counts as a payment, I couldn’t find much information besides this forum, so take it for what it is worth and do your own research: https://www.reddit.com/r/TravelNursing/comments/13rjt3n/rv_travel_nursing/

 

Stays

·        The hospital Courtney started at: https://www.evanhospital.com/

·        Furnished Finders: https://www.furnishedfinder.com/

·        Where they Stayed: https://www.facebook.com/TheDeLongVillage/

 

Van Build Resources

·        Explorist.life: https://explorist.life/

·        Far Out Ride: https://faroutride.com/

 

Their Two Vans:

·        Ram ProMaster 136

·        Ram ProMaster 159

 

Channels

·        Jimmy and Natalie: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyandNatalie

·        Wild by the Mile: https://www.youtube.com/@WildbytheMile

 

Past Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 1 with Dylan: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-be-a-digital-nomad/

Episode 13 with Jason and Laura: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-with-kids/

 

Most Popular Blogs:

·        Most Popular Travel Hacks: https://atravelpath.com/money-saving-travel-tips/

·        Travel Gear: https://atravelpath.com/travel-gear/

·        How to Budget For Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/how-to-budget-for-gas-for-a-road-trip/

·        Our Favorite RV Upgrades: https://atravelpath.com/rv-upgrades/

·        How Much We Made Renting Our RV: https://atravelpath.com/renting-camper-van/

·        Never Run Out of Gas on a Road Trip: https://atravelpath.com/road-trip-tip/

 

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/rocky-mountains

 

*All content from atravelpath.com, including but not limited to The Travel Path Podcast and social media platforms, is designed to share general information. We are not experts and the information is not designed to serve as legal, financial, or tax advice. Always do your own research and due diligence before making a decision.

 

Transcript

Host: Dakota and Courtney, welcome to the Travel Path Podcast!

 

Guest: Hey.

 

Host: So you're on Instagram as @KotaandCourt, documenting your travels across 25 states so far, and we're really excited to finally have a travel nurse on the show. You've completed one and are on your second van build, so I can already tell there's going to be a lot of information to uncover with this podcast. But why don't we first start by having you share a little about yourselves?

 

Guest: Well, we're just two kids from small towns in Missouri. I'm from a little town called Nevada, Missouri, and she's from Shell City, Missouri. She graduated with, like, 13 kids, so very small. Yeah, so not too much. I mean, had 35 cars and I'm 25 years old, so do a lot of that kind of stuff and just, you know, chase big dreams and try to make them happen. Yeah, that's it.

 

Host: And travel while you can. So I'm sure those 25 you've had are going to help or have helped out with your van conversion.  Um, so we'll definitely get into the van conversion later on in the show. I do want to get into travel nursing. If you've been paying attention to the podcast recently, we've had a few people mention travel nursing. So we're finally able to talk about it and bring it up here. So tell us about that. So obviously with travel nursing, you get your degree in nursing, you find a job with nursing somewhere, and then at some point, the idea of travel nursing comes to your mind. So what's that process of actually getting into nursing?

 

Guest: Oh gosh, um, it's honestly kind of difficult. It's not difficult, but it's a big process. You have to find, um, sometimes it's, for me especially, it was hard trying to find, like, the right company. Um, you hear good things and bad things, um, obviously with everybody. So I kind of just picked a popular one. I'm with a healthcare. You basically, like, sign yourself up, so it's kind of like a job, um, application. You sign yourself up, you get a recruiter, and then they kind of just, like, help guide you through the process. Um, you have to fill out a bunch of tax forms, go get, like, physicals and labs drawn, um, basically do a bunch of requirements, like a huge checklist they have. And then, you know, obviously, there's a shortage of nurses everywhere, so you can really pick wherever you want to go, which is really cool. You can go to, um, you know, Alaska, Florida. Um, there are even some nursing companies that will allow you to go to, like, Mexico and Canada, like over, like, international travel nursing. So the process is difficult, but once you actually, um, you know, talk to a recruiter and talk to your people, um, it's a fairly simple process. So, um, you know, definitely, if you're trying to be a travel nurse, you know, I'd suggest to anybody. It's really nerve-wracking though, but they need travel nurses pretty, I mean, they want to do anything they can to get you in there, so they work with you pretty well.

 

Host: Yeah, yeah, so difficult but simple is what it sounded like. In terms of the time frame, how long are we talking between actually getting approved for travel nursing?

 

Guest: Oh gosh, you have to have your experience first, yeah. You have to, so, technically, for travel nursing, they really recommend you to have one to two years of experience just because when you get assigned to a job, you really only have like one day of training. So, like, you're just expected to know, like, all of these things, and, you know, if you don't, if you just go kind of blind, you know, it can be a disaster. Um, sometimes still is, you know, just 'cause every hospital is different. But I would say probably, I don't know, I started looking, I'd say around April or May, so I'd say maybe two to three months. It kind of just depends on how, you know, it's kind of like a you-driven thing too, you know, and how bad you want it. We kind of were just like, I don't really know if we want to do this, but I'll just go ahead and, you know, sign up and get all my ducks in a row, and then if we become more interested, we can go from there. So I'd say probably two to three months. I had to put in my two weeks, um, my two weeks at my previous job, and then, you know, find a job there. Um, in Pennsylvania was my first assignment, but it's pretty easy afterwards, though, yeah. Super easy, you have connections, you have about four different people who help you get like an experience specialist, you get your recruiter who really just helps you with, um, finding a job. You just have all different kinds of help with, but afterwards, after you get like your first job, then it's a lot easier. So it's like you can pretty much line up a job right after the next one if you want, as long as you have time to get there. So like she quit her last job, we had a week off, and I think it was like two weeks until she started her next contract, so she already signed one while she was working. Yeah, so you can sign with, you know, whatever company or whoever after you kind of get in it, just basically getting, getting your foot in the door, getting a reputation, and then you're able to kind of move wherever you want to go.

 

Host: You mentioned one day of training. That sounds crazy to me because I've been in hospitals where it seems like it would take a week just to figure out where to go, and you can get lost in some of these places. So that means you're showing up at this job for the first time, you're like maybe like a mini orientation training, getting to know everybody, and then you're kind of fed to the wolves and you're travel nursing and you're doing nursing.

 

Guest: Yeah, yeah, it's, yeah, it's crazy. The knowledge has to be, um, you know, you just, you kind of just have to go in headfirst. Um, even now, I will say that I still, you know, sometimes don't know where everything's at or even like hospital policies, everything's different. So, you know, just don't be afraid to ask questions, definitely. Um, is my thing, but yeah, just one day of training and you are on your own.

 

Host: Wow. I would imagine that one day of training, obviously, it's a little bit more difficult to maneuver, and that comes with what we've heard is with travel nursing, there's higher pay rates, and there's the travel sties. Is that still the case today?

 

Guest: Yes, right, or they're not as high as they used to be. No, definitely not. During COVID, nurses were making a lot of money. Stipends are... I would say that, I mean, even for me, just going from just a low-paying nursing job in drop-in Missouri to now, I say that stipends are really good for me, but if you talk to the next person, they're like, "Oh, this sucks." You know, it's a pretty controversial space because some people will say it's good money, and other people say, "Oh, well, you shouldn't accept a job for lower than this rate," and people get kind of agitated. But the stipends are really what make it worth doing the travel nursing. Yeah, so I mean, the hourly rate has an effect, but the stipends really make it worth it. Yeah, so basically, like, travel nurses get paid, like, a really low hourly rate. Like, if you would know, you would just have to be mind blown. But they get paid a super low hourly rate so that way they can max out your stipends, which are tax-free. So in the end, like, you end up making more money. Sometimes you have to negotiate for those. You have to kind of watch out. And I mean, if you get a good recruiter, they'd be pretty good with you. But you can get on a website like gsa.gov, I think, and it'll tell you kind of what the stipends are in the area that you're at and stuff. We kind of dove into it head first, kind of like buying a car. It's kind of confusing when you first get into it. We didn't really know what we were doing. We dove head first and we didn't realize, you know, you have to do certain things to get, you know, the tax-free stipends. So it's for housing and what stipends are for. And you're supposed to duplicate expenses to get those stipends. So essentially, you're supposed to pay rent back where you are from, like your permanent tax home, right? So you have to have, like, a tax home. And you can look up the requirements for a tax home. And then you also are supposed to be paying rent somewhere else. So like where you're traveling to as a nurse. And those can be, like, shared housing. But you have to be paying, like, both at the same time. So like for us, now that we're getting ready to be in a van, whenever we're traveling somewhere, we have to stay at a campground because that'll be our rent.

 

Host: Okay, so there's no way around just boondocking the whole entire time. They want to see some sort of rent payment at the campsite.

 

Guest: Yeah, you have to have a paper trail to show. I mean, now there are people that don't do it, you know, and they say, "Oh, I've never been caught." But I mean, if you get audited by the IRS, you're gonna owe some big money back.

 

Host: Well, that's a really good tip you bring up, and I'm glad you bring that up about how you have to actually hunker down in a campsite and have proof of spending money on rent somewhere. 'Cause I have two sisters, one of them actually travel nurses. Both of them are nurses. We talked about before the podcast, one of them did travel nurse and the other one was, has been thinking about it. But I kind of told her, "Yeah, just get a van, get a dog, and just, you know, drive and boondock." But so they do want to see some source of income. So if you're listening to this, Jess or Chloe, make sure you're doing that.

 

Guest: Yeah, and we didn't have any idea. They just asked her where she worked at and where she was from, where we lived at, and they said, "Oh, well, you qualify for the stipends." And they kind of had a sign the paperwork and we had no idea. I think I found like a video, like on Facebook Reels or TikTok or something. I was like, "Hey, do you know about this?" And he's like, "What?" Yeah, so we had, so I had to do a lot of research on it and try to figure it out and, you know, it all worked and had to talk to an accountant, really confused. And this was the first time really we had even done anything like that. So we were like, "We don't even know what to do."

 

Host: Yeah, no, it's smart to do that. And I'm sure that might vary a little bit depending on your contracts. Do you know if, so I know you built out your van, so I don't think you owe anything on your van?

 

Guest: Yeah, we do. We financed the van. So we, for the, we, we financed the van.

 

Host: So I guess my next question was going to be if, if, like, you had a payment on your van or a camper, if that would count as rent. I'm not sure. Do you know if they would consider that?

 

Guest: I don't think so because, um, one of the people that we were, I mean, it is a good question. I'm not, I'm not for sure, so don't quote me. But, um, the person that we were kind of following off of, um, I believe they had theirs, uh, they had an RV, like a fifth wheel, and I believe, leased or not leased, but they had a lien on it or a loan, whatever you want to call it. I believe they still had to stay at a campground. Now, I mean, that is a good question. I'd have to look into that because I wonder about that.

 

Host: For sure. And if we can dig that up, I'll put a link in the show notes. So you talked about, I know your long-term play, you have your second van almost built and that's where you're going to be living in while you're travel nursing in the future moving forward. But right now you're signing these three to four-month kind of midterm leases, so they can be tricky to find, at least that's fully furnished. So how are you finding places to stay?

 

Guest: We go off, there's a lot of different places. But for my first one, we went off of Furnish Finders. So it's just like an Airbnb or like a Verbo for nurses or just any traveling professional. So it doesn't have to be a nurse, but they're marketed towards, you know, people that have, you know, like, I guess, could be like a welder or a nurse or, you know, anybody that works odd hours.

 

Guest: Yeah, we actually were on the other side of that coin. We have a couple rental properties, and we've rented two with Furnish Finders, travel nurses. We, we had like poets and authors who just come for like those shorter periods, yeah. But it is marketed towards travel nurses.

 

Host: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what that's what we use. Um, we looked at all avenues. We found Furnish Finders was cheaper than like Verbo, Airbnb, or even like we looked at hotels too, and it was just like thrown out of the picture because that's ridiculous. Um, from the time she decided she was going to do travel nursing, I think it was like two weeks before she signed her first contract, then we were like moving, yeah. And so we packed all our stuff in the back of a Jeep, and we hours away headed out to Pennsylvania. So it was a, was quite a ways. It seems like a lot of the travel nurses that she works with are just from around the area. So like right now, she's in, seems like a lot of people from Kansas. When she was in Pennsylvania, seemed like a lot, yeah. And they were like, "Oh my gosh, you're all the way from Missouri." And, you know, like I have an accent, and they're like, "Where are you from? We know you're from somewhere not around here."

 

Host: How far in advance have you found, so I would imagine you secure the contract many months in advance. But in terms of actually booking a place to stay, how far in advance are you planning that?

 

Guest: I mean, from your first one, it was like two weeks. We started looking, and it was like within two weeks, we were up there at a place.

 

Host: I would imagine does your travel agent help out with that at all in terms of finding places to go?

 

Guest: Yes, they offer, but I was already like halfway to finding a house before they were like, "Hey, you know, we'll help you if you need it." And I'm like, "That's great," but yeah, a lot of people do use, you know, their people assigned to help to do that. But I, I was so excited about my first assignment. I was just like, I had a house found, like, all these things before somebody even messaged me, and they were like, "Hey, do you need help finding a home?" I was like, "I already have one. I've already, you know, put a deposit down." They're like, "Oh, okay, well, never mind then." That first one we went, what was the population of that town? Like 80 people, something like that, in a very tiny Amish town.

 

Host: Get to see all sorts of places. And if you end up at a place you don't like that much, you're only there for like three, four months, so you can find another place. You mentioned you're working with Aya, and does that in terms of finding other places to go, are you limited to like hospitals that they own, or how does that work?

 

Guest: Nope, so every travel company is different. I just, A, is, I don't know, they're really popular, I guess you could say, like among travel nurses. So like, certain hospitals will have contracts with these travel companies, so A has a lot. But for say like, if you go to a different travel company, you know, they may be hiring at like these certain hospitals that don't have contracts with A. So it's different, but A holds a lot of contracts with a lot of hospitals. So I just went with them.

 

Host: And then how flexible in terms of how long do you want to stay somewhere for? If you want to stay there for like two months, four months, six months, are you able to kind of negotiate that? And then also like your actual hours, if you're working nights, days, how many hours a week, is that all negotiable?

 

Guest: Yep, so whenever you go to sign up for a job, it will tell you like whether it's a day shift or a night shift job. So I'm a day shift, so I work 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., usually 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. So I really am like a 13, 14-hour shifter. And then as far as like staying at that job for however long, you can actually stay up to a travel assignment for 364 days. You just can't work a full year because if you do, say like, I'm working in Topeka right now, I can stay there for 364 days. But if I stay there that 365th day, it's considered my tax home now, so it just kind of messes up a whole bunch of things. So you can extend at a job, you just let your recruiter know. Usually, they'll message you first and be like, "Hey, are you liking your assignment? Do you want to extend?" And I actually have accepted an extension in Topeka. So I'm there until April 27th. And then from there, if you decide to work the whole 364, all you have to do by law is take 30 days off, and then you can go right back to that same job for another year or 36. I think they cap it. Like, I think you can only do that for two years. There's, there's, I don't know exactly what it is. It's complicated, but there are a lot of like, logistical or maybe it's not logistical, but it's requirements. So you can only do things, I think, in certain states for so long, and every state is different, every state has different, yeah. I think that there's like, make it confusing. Yeah, yeah. But it seems to be that the most common are like 13-week contracts, and then there are some that are what, what's the other one, like eight? Yeah, they do, you can do four weeks if they're like a crisis job, which means that they just need you right away. You can go and sign for a four-week contract. And where you can go, usually the average is 13 to 26 weeks, so that's what I did on my first assignment. And now I'm at six weeks now on my second assignment.

 

Host: Yeah, I can definitely agree with that. A lot of options to extend. On the landlord side, we made it a point to ask our when we're hosting travel nurses if they're going to extend because we've had several times now where, like, we've gotten a booking after that lease is up but then they'll tell us, "Hey, can I extend?" And, like, oh, sorry, we just booked somebody else. So now we're actually actively asking like, hey, are you looking to extend? And then we'll do that because that does happen more often than not, when travel nurses in particular, they'll extend their stay.

 

Guest: Yeah, that, that's what our um, our landlord in Pennsylvania did. She like, about halfway through, she said, "Hey, you know, just going to post this up, you know, on Furnish Finders. So just wondering, you know, can I, can I show it to people and post it? Or are you guys planning to extend?" So yeah, that's, it is good that she asked.

 

Host: Yeah, for sure.

 

Guest: And your first assignment was a really good one for like, anybody that would want to try to get into it. I mean, if they were looking into like trying to just get their foot in the door and try it out and see if they liked it, I mean, she worked in a hospital in, um, what was it, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania? It's called Evangelical Community Hospital, a small little Community Hospital like 220 beds, pretty easy, tiny. And we stayed at a place called The Dong Village, and the landlords there were wonderful. I mean, and so like if you are looking into it and you're trying to just kind of find something that, you know, is good, know that, it's going to, not it's not going to be hard right off the bat, you're not going to be thrown to the wolves, like some of the other stuff. That's a good, you know, um, that's how we started or how she started, not me.

 

Host: Well, awesome guys. I think this was a really informative segment on getting into travel nursing. And I think it would be really cool to have you guys back on once you have your van up and mobile and you're actually travel nursing with your van to talk about how you guys are finding places to stay, how you've been acclimating to that lifestyle. But speaking of that, like I mentioned before, you guys have done not one but you're working on your second van conversion. So we can dig into that a little bit now. Before we talk about the actual build, I know you ran into a little bit of trouble actually acquiring the van. So what was that process like just getting your hands on the van?

 

Guest: Yeah, so I mean, we started the idea I think like four or five years ago that we wanted to do van life. And we were just, I mean, we're really, really young. I remember telling all my family at Christmas time that we wanted to live in a van. They all thought we were crazy. And so, so it took us a while after that to kind of, she had to graduate nursing school to be able to do that. We actually moved out, got an apartment because we lived with my parents until she was done with nursing school. We got an apartment, and we lived in an apartment for six months, and we decided we just were looking at the cost of what it was, you know, adding up to be. We didn't own the place, we kind of wanted to do something else. And I made a joke one night that we could move back in with my parents, and that we could save a ton of money and potentially do van life. And so, you know, it led into more serious conversation. We talked to my parents again, and of course, my parents, they're, you know, really chill, and they agreed, and they said, "Yeah, come on back." And so we moved back in with them, and we started working towards saving up to buy a van, which was kind of tough because she was a, she was a new nurse. I mean, anybody that works at a school tell you that the pay there is pretty low. So we moved back in with them, we started saving up, and we decided we were going to put a deposit down on one. It was, it was hard finding, oh my gosh, try to find, we, we decided we were going to try to get one, and we called, I don't know, probably 50 dealerships across the nation. We didn't really care where it was, we thought, well, we were going to drive anywhere, yeah, we would fly in or drive or do whatever it took. We called like 50 dealerships, you couldn't find them.

 

Host: Did you have like a specific van you wanted, or were you open to any type of?

 

Guest: So we wanted a ProMaster because of the cost. I mean, it's cheap. I think that there are better options if you have the budget for them, you know, that's just my personal opinion. A lot of people like, you know, there's Mercedes, there's Ford Transit, but we decided on ProMaster. And so anything that we found during that time, it was, you know, in the height of the pandemic, they had a called a market adjustment where they marked them up about 15 to 20,000. So it was crazy because you could order one, and we found a dealership in Arizona and they were going to order us one for MSRP. And we were initially told that it would take three or four months and we would have the van. And so we thought, well, that work. Ecstatic, we're like, oh yeah, that's great. And so I had just paid off my car the day before, and we didn't have any money. And the lady at the dealership said, "Orders will be closing any time now because they're going to start retooling for the next year." Luckily, I went to my mom for the second time in my life to borrow some money, and she loaned us a little bit of money to put a down payment on it. And that was stressful, and luckily, I got her paid back within two weeks. And so we put the down payment on, and we started buying stuff, trying to, yeah, accumulate all we would need for the van build. I sold the car that I had, that I paid off, and that kind of gave us the money to put towards the van. So we were going to finance the van and just use the money that I had from the car to buy all the stuff for it. We bought a lot of stuff. I think we bought like $10,000 worth of stuff before we even had the, yeah, and so we were waiting and waiting and waiting, and they were like, oh well, it's gonna come next month, oh, it's gonna come next month, it's gonna come next month. And it just started to get to the point where we were nine months in, and they kept saying it, and we didn't know, you know, we didn't know how long it was going to be um so we got really discouraged and I mean I'm really bad about it I I buy and sell vehicles all the time when I get bored and I think it's hard for me to kind of like stay on one thing so my mind was kind of racing on what else we could do and we just decided that we would sell all the stuff and any of the money that we made back from that we put towards you know another vehicle and we were just going to make it really fast so we bought another Mustang we canceled our order and um we had that Mustang for two months and we rolled across the dealership in town and they had a we had ordered a 159 ProMaster and um there was a 136 sitting on the lot of a local dealership and you couldn't hardly find them at the time so um we went and looked in the windows and I said we could really do this uh you know we can we can figure it out we could make this happen and so we looked in it the next day I went and test drove it and the next day after that I had a check in hand from the bank we purchased it the day after that I had contacted a dealership in Oklahoma that bought one of my friends cars and they said yeah we'll buy it so I took it down there and they bought it off of me and we started building our um our first van we had to buy it all over again so we bought all the stuff.

Host: That's incredible. So sold your car, ordered a van, ordered all the parts and material for the van, waited 9 months, didn't come in, sold the material, bought another car, and then you found that exact van you wanted for sale two months later and picked and then swapped them out. That's crazy. And I'm glad you bring that up because that's something a lot of people probably won't even consider when they're going to do a van build is actually it might take upwards of a year to actually get the van itself. And you, I know you mentioned you're constantly doing different things but also another thing you guys were excited, you had all this stuff, these parts lying around, you probably had coming up with designs and things you wanted to do and that probably made it more painful having to continue to wait and get the update, another month, another month. So, wow, I can say it's definitely dedication, the fact that you guys stuck it out and ended up finally getting your van. But that's crazy. Is that something you've seen? I know that was during COVID, right? So that's when materials and supplies were crazy. Has that tamed and kind of slowed down? Can it be easier to get one of those vans now, I would imagine?

 

Guest: Yeah, we just drove by one on the way here, like, to this podcast. We were at a sister's house and just right down the road there's just, we're like, "Hey, look, there's one just sitting out front." And they actually had one in the back, too. So much easier. Yeah, I think the biggest struggle, though, with the whole thing was also watching, like, you know, I think that it's, you know, a lot of the people that do van life don't do it forever. I think that's like an important thing to know when you're getting into it, is that like most people don't do it forever and a lot of people get burnt out with it. There are some people that don't. Kind of got to know what you're wanting out of it. But like when we had all our stuff, I mean, we started buying stuff and looking into doing things, it was a little over a year before that. And so some of the people that we had met and made friends with and we were excited to do it, we watched them build their vans, they had already sold their stuff, too. But as far as like getting ahold of vans, uh, yeah, it's a lot easier now. I think that, I think that the wait times can still be somewhat long depending on where you order it from. On the second van, we just rolled into town, there was one on the lot. And it's kind of crazy because the car market has dropped tremendously. I mean, it fell on spas really. So we looked at our van, it was, uh, 30, 39,000. And when we came back just a few weeks later after she finished her assignment, it dropped all the way down to like 33. So I, it was, it was within a matter of like four to six weeks, the market's definitely changing.

 

Host: Those inflated prices are finally coming down. I was curious, you bought, so you bought parts and material for the van, how did you know what to buy? Are there like websites or kits you can buy that are custom for like specific van frames? Or how'd you go about doing that?

 

Guest: Yeah, so a lot of the stuff we bought, um, at the beginning was like electrical stuff, we knew we were going to need that. Um, there are websites. We follow a lot of um, schematics from uh, Far Out Ride is one of the websites. There's another one that does sell more of like kits, um, Explorist.life. I think is what it's called, his Nate Yarbrough. Um, and I mean, he's got a ton of information. You can buy schematics on there. Um, and I've referenced those. I haven't bought any from it. Um, but yeah, we just kind of started sizing up our electrical system, and we went with some of the more expensive components. On our first one, we bought a bunch of Victron stuff, and you know, the wiring, the wire itself can be expensive as well. And then just little stuff that we wanted in it. So we didn't buy any like wood, most of it was just, you know, things you would need to get started. Um, and I don't, I don't even know what all we spent. I mean, we spent a bunch of money on a lot of stuff. I think mostly it was electrical though.

 

Host: So obviously, so you ended up selling that first van that you converted. Why did you end up selling it?

 

Guest: Well, it was just really, we found out really fast that when we started it, it was just the two of us and we didn't really, I didn't want a dog, but we ended up with one. And so, and I love him to death. I was never an animal person. We went into a place, my sister was looking at a dog, and my parents wanted to go look at the dogs, and we went in there, and there was this little dog in there, and we just fell in love with him. And now I'm an animal person. So, but found out it was just, it got really tight, really fast with two people and a dog. And then the other thing was, is that we didn't put an air conditioner in it. And so, really hot, a lot of people say, you know, I've heard a lot of people say that they can get by with just two fans, you know, you don't need to spend the money on the air conditioner, and that's great if you can chase the weather and stuff. But we live in the Midwest, and it gets really hot, really hot. And so, by the time we had finished that van, I think we kind of knew we were in trouble because it was just really hot. I mean, we couldn't even barely finish it because we were so hot. It was, you know, it'd be like 80 degrees, 85 degrees outside, and it'd be over 100 degrees in the van. And, you know, you could have the fans on and it'd still be like 96. We just got to thinking, she wanted to do travel nursing and if she needed to take a job in like Arizona or something in the heat of the summer, we needed to be able to, you know, go there and live comfortably. We also needed something that would keep our dog safe as well. And so, we ultimately decided to sell it because we would have needed to upgrade our electrical system, we would have needed, you know, tear out a lot of the ceiling, and at that point, we were just kind of over it. We were just done with building, it took a long time and all of our friends that we had met were like done, so we were just like, we don't, you know, we just, we're done with it too, we were discouraged. So, we just decided to sell it, um we posted up because she wanted to do travel nursing um she had already signed a contract by the time that we posted it for sale and a couple uh flew in from South Carolina and bought it for what we had in it so we didn't make any money off of it it was almost I mean it was like 95% finished and um so they got a good deal on it but uh we just knew we needed something different than that.

 

Host: Well, at least despite the prices coming down, you didn't take a bath on it, so with the next van, you put the air conditioning in. Were there any other modifications you're doing with this one that you didn't do the first time?

 

Guest: Yeah, I mean, we're not going to put a shower in this one. Sounds gross, yeah, but we're counting on is we'll try to stay at RV parks that have showers while she's on her contract. We tried to put one like a hidden shower, like a shower and a bench in our last van, and by the time you got the shower pan and then you set the toilet on top of the shower pan, it was like an awkward height, so the bench in there was really uncomfortable to sit on. Really wasn't needed. I mean, you've got Planet Fitness, you've got truck stops, and my buddy is a trucker and he just, we pretty much have unlimited showers at truck stops when we need them, so that's nice. But we weighed out a lot of different options too on like whether we should go with a van. Crazy enough before we even bought this second van we thought we were gonna buy, we were gonna buy an Airstream. I bought a truck actually and I sold it within two days, it's crazy, but I bought a truck and sold it two days later because we decided we were gonna go do a van. So we weighed out the options and really for us a van was the most economical option. By the time you factor in like fuel mileage, so like, you know, there's the three big ones for us was like a class a camper, or RV I guess you call it, or like a pool behind. We looked into even doing like an ambulance, but we even looked at an ambulance New York or Pennsylvania somewhere, yeah, yeah. But by the time you spend fuel on those, it gets to be really expensive. I mean, a half-ton truck, it's like, you know, the older trucks like the one I had was gonna get like nine miles per gallon. A lot of the diesel stuff, it's just high maintenance costs, higher fuel costs, and I didn't know how to work on a diesel. That was a big one for us and so we didn't wanna terrify because if we break down on the road, you know, I'm at the mercy of a mechanic and diesel mechanics are very expensive. So the van just made sense for us, you know, you don't have to have insurance on two vehicles, you just have insurance on the van itself, you can drive wherever you need, now that, that can be a downfall, but we plan to get, like, it's like a dirt bike, a street legal dirt bike later on that we'll use, put a carrier on the back of the van as our secondary Transportation so we don't always have to take it.

 

Host: Were there any mistakes you made with the first or the second build that you want to share that could potentially save a future listener some trouble?

 

Guest: Oh gosh, don't overcomplicate it. Yeah, I mean, I was going to say, he knows more about that stuff, I'm kind of just, if you had anything to add, go ahead, but I mean, I think in our first one, we just tried to really pack everything in. We wanted a shower, we wanted, you know, a toilet, we wanted, you know, a kitchen area and stuff. I think that you really find out a lot of stuff when you take your first trip in it. I mean, if you have the money, I know that some people don't have a huge budget to do a van, somebody I'd mentioned this before and somebody said, well, I'd rather take the money that I would use to rent a van, van, and just put it towards my build. But if you have the money to rent a van, I would definitely recommend renting one out and kind of seeing what you use and what you don't, how you like the layout and how you don't, because I think from the first trip that we took, and ours was put together, we realized a lot of things, like our cabinets were really close to our bench and so it made it difficult underneath the sink because we had two cabinets that opened out where you have to be in between them because there wasn't enough room to get past so you were leaning over the cabinet or you had to, you know, wed yourself in there open them up. So there's just a lot of things that you don't think about. Another one was like the shower situation. We thought we were going to put a shower in this one too, our second conversion and we just ultimately decided that we wanted to open feel, we didn't want to feel like we were closed in like our first one, our first van was pretty small was a 136, we've got a 159 now and we just wanted to keep the open feel. Like I said, a lot of the campgrounds have showers, there's a lot of other options, I mean, it just depends on what's important to you. So you know, really think it out, look at other people, ask questions if you can, the best thing you can do is, you know, rent an in or even if you buy one, uh, just try to take a trip in it, you need a lot less than you really think you do.

 

Host: I think you're totally right about the fact that it's, it's your lifestyle, it's going to revolve around what you're doing, like for example, if you're working at your van, you're boondocking all over the place, you're going to want probably a shower and have those facilities, but if you're travel nursing and you're kind of forced to stay at campgrounds, you're going to be using those facilities anyways so you don't necessarily need those in your van so there's a lot to consider before actually getting started there.

 

 

Guest: Yeah, there's a lot of new tech too that is appealing to a lot of people. They're like, "Oh, I want to put this and this and this." So, like, I know, like, a hydronic floor is, like, I think it's hydronic heated floor is what they call it. A lot of people like to put those and they're... they're, to me, they're really complex and stuff. So, like, I don't... I don't need it, you know? It may be something for somebody else. But, you know, the simpler, in my opinion, the better, the less to go wrong, kind of figure it all out too. So, I feel like the heated floor is just one shake in the van away from that wire to come loose and then for it to just not work right.

 

Host: Well, great, guys. This was a really deep dive into, I guess, not just one but two van builds. I think this is definitely helpful for a lot of people, not just with the build process but also expectations in terms of ordering and the timeline, the overall timeline. So, once you had it, I just want to ask one last question before we wrap up and transition. But how long did that first and second van build take once you actually had the van?

 

Guest: So, our first one took us eight months. Um, we thought it would take us a lot less. We had originally planned on, like, three to four. Took us eight months. We did it in the middle of the winter too, so there were times we both had full-time jobs. Um, so, a lot of... I mean, we didn't work on it but a couple days on the weekends when I had off. It was kind of hard to get our schedules in line because there were sometimes where she would work on weekends and there's a lot of tasks that just require two people, you know, some of those long boards, trying to put them up on the ceiling or cut them. You know, I didn't have an outfeed table for a saw so I needed somebody to help me hold the boards up while I cut them. So, it was really kind of tough and we didn't work on it for like a month or two on our first one in the middle of winter just because it was so cold and the motivation was very low. Yeah, and you start... the end of it, I mean, towards the end of your first build can kind of be... I don't know, hard. I mean, you can kind of struggle just knowing how long it's taking you.

 

Host: I definitely don't think people can underestimate the... I guess determination. I can't think of the word but resilience, I guess, in terms of, you know, the mindset of building it, kind of getting demotivated, realizing it's not necessarily the van for you but then, you know, continuing and being resilient and getting another one and doing it the way you want it.

 

Guest: Yeah, it's... it was tough. Our second one's gone faster. We bought it in October. I don't... I didn't do the math off the top of my head but we're planning to have it done within the next, uh, nine weeks is the plan. Um, we're almost done. I mean, we're... we're on track to finish it. We got, you know, just a little bit stuff we got to make cabinets and, um, just, you know, little stuff add trim and and that kind of stuff.

 

Host: But like I said you've already taken a few trips in it so it's drivable it's livable just kind of the finishing touches. We'll jump ahead a little bit. Um, what has been the coolest travel experience you guys have had so far? It could be with your van or not with your van.

 

Guest: So, one of the coolest places we've taken our van, I think the one we enjoyed most was going to South Dakota, which... or, I... we took a couple, so that... I think that was like the first trip that we took when our van was almost completely finished and we met up actually with some friends through Instagram, which kind of sounds a little creepy but they ended up being really good friends. And we actually got to stay, like, on our first, I guess, like, BLM land I guess you say. Actually, we were in a forest. We stayed on BLM land though, so we got to, you know, like, actually, yeah, we did. We got to actually experience that versus, you know, just staying, you know, in a campground or like on the side of a street or something. It was like the full like van life experience. We stayed right on the edge of the badlands, so they have Wall Wall, South Dakota, I think is what it's called where Wall Drug is. A lot of people know what that is. It's like a big General Store. It's really popular, really cool. I mean, there's not, to me, there's not a bunch in South Dakota but the Badlands is kind of the biggest, you know, and that and Mount Rushmore. So, we went up there and that was... that was about the coolest that we got the experience in that and we stayed right on the edge. They had some BLM land. We woke up to cows scratching our head on the back of the van, go... I was breaking in our van, it was rocking back and forth, we weren't sure what was going on but it was awesome. Yeah, it was... it was a neat experience. I mean, we just got to hang out and it just makes you feel like you're living life really freely, like.

 

Host: That's something I wanted to wake up to, like, just seeing bison or cows or something like brushing up against the van. I would open up and look out and like they're not there yet but that's really cool. So, your van was like shaking cuz there was a cow brushing up against it?

 

Guest: Yeah, the door hinges on the back, they kind of stick out on and it, they were doing it to like all like we were with, I don't know how many people were there but they were just going down the line like everybody there, I guess it was like a natural alarm, guess? Yeah, which it was wild. We were there for a couple nights and then we didn't see cows, we didn't even know there were cows there and all of a sudden, hundreds, and they were all around, we were surrounded by them. So, that's funny.

 

Host: That's cool, that's a good experience, yeah. Alright guys, if you could have listened to this podcast when you were first starting out on your van life, your travel nurse journey, and there was a question that you wish I would have asked tonight that I didn't, what would that question be and how would you answer that now?

 

Guest: Oh, that's a good one, the question. I don't know the answer to that one. Um, I think it... I think I would just be more interested in like, um, like budget, really. I mean, it's so... it's so hard because how much money do you need to have saved up for this? And, yeah, so like, really what people spend on gas, um, you know, that's a big one for me because it's so hard to know kind of what that is. Um, you know, how much you spend. And I know that's different for everyone but um, it's really tough to get like an understanding of what the budget will be like. Even now, we're not really sure what we're going to spend. We're planning to take four months off but we have really no idea what it's going to cost. We try to do some calculations on like how much we're going to drive and the gas prices in those areas and what it's going to be but really like, I think the budget is just the hardest part to know what it's like for somebody that's going to actually travel, not just sit in one place but like, really travels.

 

Host: In terms of the budget, that's something that completely like blew our socks off was going cross country. We spent way more on fuel than we expected to. And one tip we learned, talking with Dylan in episode one, we actually have a blog post about this I'll link in the show notes, but you take your mileage and you add like a 50% buffer. So, you do your entire trip and add 50% to that because you'll be shocked at how much time and miles you spend driving back and forth, whether National Park Loops or, you know, back and forth of destinations. It was almost like for both of us 50% more than what that Google Maps itinerary told us. That was one good way and then of course, the price of gas varies. I think either way it's going to be more than you expect but if you can, you know, put as much of a buffer on that as you can. We actually had, uh, on episode 13 with, um, Lur and Jason, they were the only guest so far that paid that had money left over after the trip because they... they just anticipated out west to be super expensive, California and just really, really saved up for it and it ended up not being as much as they expected. But there are a few ways you can prepare but it is tough to nail down a price point in terms of budgeting for the van build. Did you have like a number, rough number on how much that cost to build out that you wanted to share?

 

Guest: Yeah, so our first one, we bought our first van, um, it was a 136 ProMaster. It had about 60,000 miles on it and we bought that for $38,000 and we spent around $17,000 on the conversion. And I think that was more on the high side. We didn't really skimp on anything. I wanted, you know, nice materials. I wanted the cabinets to be made out of like, um, birch. Um, and so we probably spent more than I guess the average person. And then I think on the second one, we bought our van for $34,500. There was some kind of weird markups on there. I know that I said that it was marked down to like $33,000 but it was, it's kind of confusing, I guess you have to have like a trade-in and finance through them. It's, to me, it's like a dealership scam but we end up paying $34,500 for our van and I think we're going to have right around 20 grand in it and that's with an air conditioner, inverter, and two extra batteries. Yeah, we beefed up our electrical system a lot on this one so, you know, you may give or take a little bit. I would probably say anywhere from like 20 to 22. We haven't added it up yet but I think we're right in that range.

 

Host: Nice, well thank you for sharing that. And then for someone who's listening to this podcast who wants to get into this kind of travel nursing, van life lifestyle but aren't quite there yet, what is one thing they can do today to get started?

 

Guest: I mean really just cut out all the unnecessary stuff. Like that's the biggest way that we started saving for it was, you know, you can look at your expenses and cut out a lot. I mean, you... you list it all out, um, get rid of unnecessary subscriptions. I mean, heck, even like, um, your vehicle insurance, I mean a lot of people overpay for vehicle insurance and so, you know, you can go through many agencies and get free quotes. I mean, it doesn't do anything, you know, it's just literally a free quote, um, to see if you can save money on that and just really kind of skimping on everything. So, we cut down like our phone bills, we went to straight talk. I mean, it was far less. We just paid for our phones out of pocket. Um, we have less expenses there and just cut out everything we didn't need. What were you saying about the travel nursing part, just how to get into it?

 

Host: I guess just a lifestyle and obviously with that you would need to, um, have the degree and everything else but I guess the first step probably be just pursuing it.

 

Guest: Getting in touch with the travel agency or going through the application process. Otherwise, I would say, you know, just do it. I just don't even really think about it, don't overthink about it, just put in your application and get connected with somebody. Just do it. Yeah, it's... it's not a bad... I mean, Courtney was really nervous about getting into it, she wasn't really sure what to think, of course you like we mentioned earlier there's only one day of orientation, you know, she... whether she didn't know enough but and I'm really, I get really nervous, um, like with change so I was, "Oh my gosh, I don't know how I'm going to function like talking to people, like, questions," like, "I'm just going to have to get over that fear," you know, and just... and just do it. So, it's got much better. I still get a little nervous um, before my assignments start but um, it's even compared to the first one, it's gotten much better but it seems like with nursing a lot of it is like that, everybody's still learning all the time. I mean, like, yeah, there's... there's always going to be something that you can learn better with so it, for the most part, iht's from her experience and maybe I'm wrong here, you'll have to correct me, but it seems like they're all willing to help out and you know, help you with things that you might not know if it's something that you've never done before. There's usually somebody there that has, and just don't be scared, you know? Try it. If it's not for you, you know it's not permanent.

 

Host: Yeah, at least you tried, and you got out of your comfort zone, which a lot of people don't do, so yeah, and you're enjoying it so far. And then yeah, like cutting expenses is never a bad place to start like you said there Dakota. Well, great. Have there been any YouTube channels, books, or other influences that inspired you guys to get on the road and travel?

 

Guest: Yeah, um, you want me to talk about it or you want to? Okay, you can. Okay, so the second van build we were really inspired by Jimmy and Natalie. Um, I don't know if you know who they are. They have a YouTube channel, I think they have like 45,000 subscribers. Actually, copying their layout exactly because it just seems like it's simple enough, it's not overcomplicated. Yeah, yeah. So, we just thought the functionality worked for us. It had everything we needed. But as far as like first getting started with Van life, there was a lady named Liz Bryant. She has a YouTube, I don't think she really uploads to it anymore, called "Wild by the Mile". She was a solo, like the OG solo female vanlifer, and um, that was the first time I'd ever really seen anybody do van life and that was what really inspired me because it just seemed so awesome, you know? It's wake up by the beach every day and just kind of live life on your own terms and have your own freedom. So seeing that, seeing what she did, it was really inspiring to us. I mean, I think there's good and bad that come with it, but I think the good far outweighs any of the complications that, you know, you have in Van life.

 

Host: Otherwise, you wouldn't be doing a second van build, right? Thank you guys. I'll put a link in the show notes for those two channels you mentioned there and while our audience is checking out those channels, one more time, where can they find out more about you?

 

Guest: We have an Instagram, it's @kodaandcourt. And that's really all we have right at the moment. I mean, we have a YouTube channel, but we're a little camera shy, so just getting over the fear of hearing your own voice and you know, that. So, we might, you know, eventually do something with that, but right now we're just kind of not. We're not, we're not like keeping up with Instagram. We post stories and stuff, but I think we're going to post more when, you know, she's not working. So we're trying to work on being better about it. But yeah, any questions, you know, anybody can reach out. I'd love to help people whether it's, you know, car-related stuff, if somebody's having trouble with their vehicle or, you know, travel nursing, or build, you know, van build questions, you know, we're just, we love to answer questions and help people out.

 

Host: Great, yeah, we'll put a link in the description for your channel as well and camera shy but we could definitely not tell and you guys rock this interview. There's a ton of valuable information here. We're excited to get out and share. Um, last question so our audience doesn't stay in suspense. What are we talking about for part two in travel tips?

 

Guest: We're going to talk about Juniper Springs, I guess it's in the Okala National Forest, so in Florida.

 

Host: Alright everybody, keep an eye out for that episode airing in 2 days. Dakota and Courtney, thanks again.

 

Guest: Thank you.