21. The Workamping King & Budgeting Queen @OpenRoading

8 apr 2024 · A Travel Path Podcast

00:58:17

www.atravelpath.com

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 3rd 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.

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Ecuador Travel Guide @ Cory Mortensen
22 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
In this episode of Travel Tips, we welcome Cory Mortensen back. He is a bestselling author of three books and has traveled all around the world. He has spent extensive time in Ecuador and during this show he shares his insight on how to make the most of your trip.

Resources

Cory’s Website and Books

· https://www.thebuddhaandthebee.com/

Stays

· https://www.hostelworld.com/

Blogs from Cory

· https://thetransparenttraveler.wordpress.com/2015/12/23/hiking-the-quilotoa-loop/

· https://www.thebuddhaandthebee.com/post/how-do-you-pack-for-a-trip-around-the-world
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27. A Cross Country Bike Ride Changed His Life @ Cory Mortensen
20 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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
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Guide For Van Life in Baja
15 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
In this week of Travel Tips, we welcome Taylor and Kevin from Mathers on the Map back on the show to talk about Baja.

Exploring Baja: A Three-Week Adventure

Baja California is a haven for adventurers seeking a blend of rugged landscapes, pristine beaches, and vibrant culture. Whether you're drawn to the desert's tranquility or the thrill of ocean activities, Baja offers something for everyone. But how long should you stay to truly immerse yourself in its wonders? Let's dive into a three-week itinerary, balancing must-see attractions with off-the-beaten-path experiences.

Duration: How Long to Visit?

Three weeks is the sweet spot for a comprehensive Baja adventure, especially if you're driving from the tip of the peninsula to its southern reaches. However, if time is limited, even a week can provide a taste of Baja's charm, albeit with a more touristy focus. Flying into Los Cabos or Cabo San Lucas allows for a convenient starting point, but for those craving a more remote and authentic experience, hitting the road is the way to go.

To Do: Adventures Await

From paddle boarding along the Sea of Cortez to hiking through rugged mountains, Baja offers an array of outdoor activities. Surfing enthusiasts will find waves aplenty, while wildlife enthusiasts can marvel at the migration of gray whales. Whether you're spearfishing in crystal-clear waters or simply soaking up the sun on a secluded beach, Baja beckons with endless possibilities.

Exploring the Landscape

Baja's diverse terrain ranges from desert expanses to mountainous peaks, with microclimates creating pockets of lush greenery amidst arid landscapes. Hot springs provide a welcome respite, while the Sea of Cortez teems with marine life, including playful dolphins and majestic rays. Embrace the dry desert climate, where humidity takes a back seat to breathtaking vistas and unparalleled tranquility.

Planning Your Journey

Before embarking on your Baja adventure, thorough planning is essential. Research your route, gather necessary paperwork such as passports and car insurance, and familiarize yourself with local customs and regulations. Traveling with a group can offer added security, especially for those venturing into remote areas. Allow ample time to obtain required permits and documentation, ensuring a seamless journey from start to finish.

The Two States of Baja: Contrasts and Comparisons

Baja's southern state is a magnet for tourists, boasting warmer temperatures and a safer environment. Winter months witness an influx of visitors, drawn by the region's inviting climate and vibrant culture. Meanwhile, the northern state offers a more rugged and untamed landscape, perfect for those seeking solitude and serenity amidst nature's splendor.

Best Time to Visit: Finding Your Ideal Season

Winter through late spring is prime time for exploring Baja, with mild temperatures and fewer crowds. Easter festivities bring locals and visitors together, transforming beaches into lively gathering spots filled with music, food, and camaraderie. Whether you're chasing waves or simply savoring the region's laid-back vibe, Baja's allure knows no bounds.

Kid and Pet-Friendly Activities: Making Memories for All

Baja welcomes travelers of all ages, with plenty of activities suitable for families and furry friends alike. Campgrounds along the coast provide a safe and scenic retreat, while dog-friendly beaches invite four-legged companions to frolic in the surf. Embrace the spirit of adventure with your loved ones by your side, creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

Transportation and Accommodation: Finding Your Way

Whether opting for van life or traditional lodging, Baja offers diverse options for every traveler. Renting a car provides flexibility and freedom to explore at your own pace, while camping under the stars offers a truly immersive experience. From beachside campsites to remote hideaways, Baja's landscape serves as the ultimate playground for those seeking adventure off the beaten path.

Recent Events and Safety Considerations

While Baja's remote beauty captivates travelers, recent events serve as a sobering reminder to prioritize safety. Stay informed about local conditions and heed warnings from fellow travelers, especially when venturing into isolated areas. Utilize resources like the iOverlander app to find safe camping spots and connect with fellow adventurers, fostering a sense of community and camaraderie on the road.

Budgeting: Making the Most of Your Journey

Budgeting for a Baja adventure requires a blend of resourcefulness and flexibility. While touristy areas may come with higher price tags, venturing off the beaten path can yield affordable dining and accommodation options. Embrace local markets for fresh produce and immerse yourself in Baja's culinary delights, from street tacos to seafood feasts. Remember, the true value of a Baja adventure lies not in its cost, but in the priceless experiences and memories it creates.

3, 2, 1 Countdown

3 Things to Pack to Baja:

Traction Pads

· Surfboard

· Camera

· Great Books

· Sunscreen

· Starlink

2 Complaints to Be Aware Of:

· Shakedowns with Police

· Don’t drive at night

1 Thing You Can’t Leave Baja Without Doing:

· Camping at 9 Palms

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:15Why Baja?

03:45 How Long Should Someone Visit Baja For?

08:00 How Far In Advance Should You Plan Your Trip

09:15 The Two States Baja

10:15 Best Time to Visit Baja

14:45 Child and Pet Activities

16:15 Transportation

19:30 Camping

22:30 How Remote is Baja?

24:15 Recent Events in Baja

31:15 Nightlife in Baja

34:15 Budgeting

39:25 3, 2, 1 Countdown

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/

iOverlander

· https://www.ioverlander.com/

Article on Surfers

Must Dos

· Grey Whales: https://bajagraywhales.com/

· Arch of Cabo San Lucas: https://www.visitloscabos.travel/places-to-visit/the-arch-of-cabo-san-lucas/

· Starlink

· https://www.starlink.com/

Podrockers

· https://amzn.to/4dCVoKq (may receive commissions)

Camping at 9 Palms

· https://ioverlander.com/places/7753-nine-palms

Delicioats

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

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.
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26. If You Change Your Mindset You Can Change Your Life @ Mathers On The Map
13 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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Banff National Park Travel Guide
8 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
www.atravelpath.com

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

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.
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25. Pushing Past Discomforts To Do What Makes You Happy @ The Route to Happiness
6 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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EVERYTHING You Pay When Buying an RV - We Are Underwater
3 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
Get Your Delicioats Discount Today!

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

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.
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Thailand Travel Guide: Food, Culture, and Temples @ChrisandSara
1 maj 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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24. Medical Tourism, Flying With Their Dog, & RV Conversions @ChrisandSara
29 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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Where Should We Camp Next? Budget Camping @ The RV Atlas
24 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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23. When Is The Right Time to Take Your Children Camping? @ The RV Atlas
22 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
www.atravelpath.com

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

We have an excellent show in store with Jeremy Puglisi from The RV Atlas. In this show, we break down ALL things RV. The RV Atlas is a website, blog, and is celebrating 10 years of their highly renowned podcast with the same name. They have been camping for over a decade and The RV Atlas podcast keeps listeners informed of campground reviews and current trends in the RV space. The RV Atlas has also written several best-selling books and tune into Travel Tips where we discuss their latest release. In this episode you’ll learn all about:

Camping with Kids

When should you start? How young is too young? How is it possible to plan trips as a family when everyone’s schedules are so busy? If you are travel seeking parent, you have probably had these thoughts. The RV Atlas shares how they had similar feelings many years ago when the birth of their twins pumped the brakes on their passion for travel.

They saw an ad for RVing, and the rest is history. RVing provided them with an outlet where they could escape with their children at a very young age, and they continue this today while their kids are in high school.

Buying an RV

When you buy an RV, do you know exactly what you are getting? After you sign that stack of papers at the RV dealership, your monthly payment can add up very quickly. We actually pulled up our RV purchase contract to reflect on everything else we paid for:

· State Sales Tax

· DMV Fees

· Documentation Fee

· Vehicle Service Contract (Warranty)

· Paint/Fabric Protection

· Roadside Assistance

· GAP Insurance

· Tire/Road Hazard

Gee, that sounds like it could be a blog post of it’s own! (Stay tuned)

On top of that, if you are financing, the majority of your payment DOES NOT go towards principle. That means you could be making expensive monthly payments without seeing your balance being reduced by much. On top of that, RVs are a depreciating asset, so you can very quickly be underwater.

Buying vs Renting Your RV Gear

Like I mentioned, The RV Atlas has been doing this for many years. One of their favorite camping hobbies is kayaking or paddleboarding, yet they don’t bring these items with them. They have found that they are big, clunky, and a hassle to move. If the stumble across an area that is ideal for these activities, there usually are rental places available.

Experience > Features

The RV Atlas made it clear that they got into the RV life to make memories and share experiences. RVs continue to get newer, bigger, smarter, and most would call better. The RV Atlas shares a good point that when you RVing, you are going with the idea to spend time OUTSIDE.

All the bells and whistles are cool, but the novelty wears off fast and soon you are stuck with all these gadgets that you paid extra for and don’t use. Plus, people like to fidget with things. The more you fidget, the more likely it is for something to go wrong.

And More!

Final Five

What Is One Thing You Can’t Live Without?

· North Face Recon Backpack

· Cabela’s Hiking Boots

· Blackstone Griddle

What Is One Thing You DON’T NEED While Traveling?

· Kayaks

· SUPs (Stand Up Paddleboards)

What Question Would You Ask?

· How much should you spend on an RV?

Other Influences

· RV Love

· The Fit RV

Where Are We Headed for Travel Tips?

· Stay Tuned!

Chapters

· 00:00 Introduction

· 04:45 How Did You Start Off Traveling?

· 07:00 How Did Having Children Originally Limit Your Travels?

· 11:00 How Were You Able to Start Camping?

· 12:00 When is a Good Age for Children to Start Camping?

· 15:15 What Lessons Has Camping Taught Your Kids?

· 17:45 Packing and Preparing an RV

· 19:15 Delicioats

· 23:15 What RV Mistakes Have You Made?

· 26:45 Current Frustrations with RVing

· 30:00 How Far Out Should You Plan a Family Trip?

· 32:00 What Do You Love Most About RVing?

· 34:15 RVing Expenses

· 35:45 How Can Someone Know What to Expect at a Campground?

· 38:45 What are Your Future RV Plans?

· 40:45 Final Five

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 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

Marc and Julie (RVLove) Books

· 400 Travel Hacks: https://amzn.to/3JnhDWM

· Living the RV Life: https://amzn.to/4aUKIED

(Commissions earned through purchases made on this page)

YouTube Channels

· The Fit RV: https://www.youtube.com/@Thefitrv

Past Episodes Referenced

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

· Marc and Julie: https://atravelpath.com/rvlove/

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.
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Your Guide for RV CAMPING in Sedona @RVLove
17 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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22. How Much Can You Afford TO LOSE When Buying an RV? @RVLove
15 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
www.atravelpath.com

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

Welcome back to the show Pathfinders and holy smokes, Marc and Julie from RVLove did not disappoint! This was an information packed, nearly hour long episode on all things RV. Whether you are a newbie or seasoned RVer, there is something here for everyone. Listen in as RVLove shares all about:

Buying an RV

Over the past 10 years, RVLove has been through all sorts of RVs, and they offer many, many tips on the buying process. Instead of asking “How much can you afford?” RVLove frames the question, “How much can you afford to lose?” RVs depreciate and they are expensive, so it is important to know how much everything can cost you. They offer specific tips on why you shouldn’t wrap your warranty into your loan, as well as the pros and cons of the many different types of RVs.

How Has the RV Life Changed You?

RVLove shares how they have become changed individuals after spending so much time traveling. The more things they see, the more perspective they have about the world, which results in more of an open mind.

How to Get the Right Information About RVing?

With so much clickbait and distractions available online, it is tough know whether you are getting the right information. You can watch 10 different videos and hear 10 different opinions on why you should or shouldn’t do something, so it can be overwhelming. While you don’t want to over-analyze, you definitely want to do your homework before you buy an RV. RVLove shares some tips on how you can verify the information you are receiving.

Remote Income

In order to make the most of full or part time travel, having a remote income source is key. RVLove shares their story on how they were able to achieve remote income positions at the beginning, before transitioning to their own business.

Learn about all this and much more in this episode of A Travel Path Podcast!

Chapters

· 00:00 Introduction

· 03:45 How Did You Get Started RVing?

· 09:15 Living Out of Two Suitcases

· 11:45 Downsizing and Letting Go

· 14:30 Delicioats

· 15:15 Pros and Cons of Different RVs

· 21:00 All 50 States in 3 Years

· 23:00 Biggest Challenge to Get on the Road

· 24:45 Buying a New or Used RV

· 38:00 How Much Someone Some One Save Up Before RVing Full Time?

· 41:45 Books by RV Love

· 44:00 How to Get the Right RV Information

· 48:45 What Is Your RV Type? Quiz

· 51:00 How Has the RV Lifestyle Changed You?

· 52:45 What Is the First Step Towards Full Time RVing?

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

Books By RVLove

· Living the RV Life: https://rvlove.com/book/

· RV Hacks: https://rvlove.com/rv-hacks-book/

Blogs by RVLove

· Cost of Rving: https://rvlove.com/planning/cost-of-rving-full-time-vs-part-time/

eBook Chris and Cherie

· The Mobile Internet Handbook: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/book/

Past Episodes

· #17 Phil and Stacy: https://atravelpath.com/show17/

· #6 Jim and Michelle: https://atravelpath.com/retired-full-time-rv-living/

RV Rental

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

· RVshare: https://rvshare.com/

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

Transcript:

Host: Marc and Julie, welcome to the Travel Path Podcast! Thank you for joining us.

Guest: Thanks for having us.

Host: Yeah, so we know you as RVLove. You guys sold your home in 2014 and have spent the past 10 years traveling full-time and part-time in a variety of different RVs. You're also bestselling authors with a focus on educating RVers. I just want to remind our audience to pay attention; I feel like there's going to be a lot of great information here. Also, I want to give a shout-out to Phil and Stacy from "Today is Sunday," who were on episode 17. I mentioned you guys were a huge influence on going full-time. Before we dive too deep, why don't you share a little about yourselves and then tell our audience what your current travel lifestyle looks like?

Guest: Alright, sure. Well, as you mentioned, we hit the road in 2014 to go full-time because we wanted more time together and had limited time off from work. We thought it would be a great way to go. I had some limited travel experience before that, doing some RVing with my family when I was growing up, but hadn't done any extensive RV travel. And Julie had not either. My family, when I—just for anyone listening—I'm originally Australian, but I've been in the States since '08, so I'm a citizen here now. But we met in Boulder, Colorado, in 2010, married in 2011.

Yeah, met in 2010 and then we hit the road. And actually, it was funny because we hit the road in 2014, and then for the next over six years, so we actually spent way more time those first eight years of our marriage and our life together in the RV than we did in a regular house. So that was unique as well—still living in a small space, yeah, and working—still married, still even working together. That's great. And then you asked what type of travel we're doing right now. So we were full-time travel from 2014 to 2020; we bought a home base in 2020 and started doing part-time travel. Um, but some years more than others, but this year, right now, I mean, we've been out every month for quite a few of the months. We've been six of the last seven months; we're out since early October. We've only spent one month at home. So we all have been out for I think seven months by the time we get back, so yeah, might as well be full-time travel, right? Well, with the current rig we're in, you totally—this.

Host: Yeah, yeah. So Mark, you had mentioned on your website that you worked a 40-hour-a-week job with very limited vacation time and you said RVing was a solution that made you feel like you had more time off. Can you elaborate on that and then how did you get started RVing?

Guest: Yeah, sure. Well, I wanted to have a remote job for a long, long time, and I was having trouble finding an employer that would do that. And so I just made it my mission to find an employer that would allow remote work. And once I did that, it was only about three months that went by before I realized, well, I never go to an office, they don't really know where I'm at, so we could be anywhere. And that's when it started opening the idea of doing some more travel. Julie and I did some vision boarding and visualizing what we wanted out of our life, and a lot of it revolved around travel, not possessions. And so that's when we decided to make travel a bigger priority and started doing a lot more research. And in about nine months of heavy, extensive research is when we bought an RV, sold the house, and launched on the road. I had a full-time job at the time that was remote, that was paying all the bills for that, and that allowed that freedom and that remote lifestyle. And I actually didn't tell many people at all at my work that I was going to be doing that because I felt confident that I'd have internet connectivity if we made it a high enough priority and that the longer I went without telling anybody, as long as I didn't have any hiccups, then I would have lots of evidence to say, "Hey, it's totally how long?" Oh, you just—you noticed I'm traveling? How long? Oh, the last two days. Well, I've been doing it for four months. So that was a really great way to come back and say, "This is totally doable; you had no idea I'm doing this for all this time." And I even later went to Australia and didn't tell anybody either. Wouldn't recommend that; the time zone—time hurts; it crushes you.

Yeah, but Marc was uh doing remote work before CO made it cool.

Host: Yep, funny. Yeah, Australia—you might be showing up a little bit late to work or early depending on what the time difference over there is—brutal.

Guest: You would—yeah, to work my 8-to-5 job, I had to work midnight to 9 a.m., and he's not a—not a—and I'm not a night person, and so it was actually really tough because we were also visiting friends and family in Australia. We'd spend a lot of time with them during the day, so I'd work midnight to 9 a.m., have a couple-hour nap, go hang out with friends and family, have a couple-hour nap, and then go back to work. I never got big chunks of time to sleep for a month, and by the end of the month, we would both be delirious. We were literally—wouldn't recommend doing that very often. Just take the time off and just have a vacation; that's our recommendation.

Host: Yeah, it is hard to balance, especially if you're traveling that far to balance working full-time with travel and getting those experiences in. So that's probably one of the first lessons you learned was to just separate those a little bit.

Guest: Yeah, even domestic travel, the time zones are still a factor, you know. If you have a job that has specific hours and not an asymmetrical or asynchronous job, you know, when you're on the Pacific coast, it's amazing in the summer because you can be off work at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, the sun doesn't go down till 9, you have this whole evening—it's almost like every day is two days. But when you're on the East Coast, unless you'd have to either try and get some stuff done before work or your evenings are short, so lots of modifications.

Host: Yeah, so over about 9 months of really planning this, you know, putting a lot of thought into it, considering all the options, doing the vision boards, and really looking into travel over possessions. That's a classic example—doing four months without telling your employer that you're going remote. That's the example of not asking for permission, asking for forgiveness.

Guest: Yes, exactly, exactly. And, you know, it—it worked for us. We just—we wanted to spend more time together, we wanted to spend more time with our dog, and, you know, that was RVing is the best way to do that. We—we really wanted to do some international travel, but as long as we had her, it just wasn't really feasible. So we—and we love to drive, we love road trips, we love driving. So, uh, we had a couple of spirited vehicles in the garage. So that's why we, uh, you know, looking for ways that we could go and do more road trips and try some of these most beautiful roads and scenic byways and highways in North America.

Yeah, and that's actually part of why we chose the RV we did to start with, is because we had a WRX and a Mazda Miata in the garage, so we loved—yeah, so we loved these sporty cars. And so we decided to sell both of those and then buy a less expensive Mini Cooper Convertible, um, so that we could just have a car we didn't care about as much to tow behind the RV. And then, uh, and had a backseat for the dog.

Yeah, but it was really great to go do the exploring, and it was especially fun to switch from the big lumbering class A motorhome to this fun, nimble light sports car.

Host: Yeah, you don't want to put too many dents or dings in the WRX when you're driving up those rough rocky roads out west.

Guest: Well, that was one of the things. I think our cars were—you know, they were not new but newer and nicer and had a payment on them both, and we're just like, we didn't know how they're going to get impacted being dragged around the country, and, uh, by consolidating and getting rid of those payments too, made a huge difference.

But yeah, that Mini—we really had a bit of a rough adventure sometimes; we broke it boondocking, but it was a great car.

Host: So, I know, Julie, you have a pretty interesting story as well, how this whole thing started out. So you moved to Boulder, Colorado, from Australia with just two suitcases after selling everything. Can you talk about some of the events that led to that, and then what did that experience teach you about how much stuff you actually needed?

Guest: Say very succinctly, as my business blew up in 2008, like so many people when the economy imploded, so did my business. And I laugh about it now, but it was actually a really traumatic time in my life; it was very difficult. I know anyone that went through that, I empathize; it was a tough time. And I needed to start my life over, and I'm like, well, and I was single at the time. And so I'm like, well, if I'm going to start over, am I going to do it here in Sydney? And if anyone's been to Sydney, it's a beautiful city, but it's a big city; it's a fast-paced, one of the big expensive cities of the world. And I'm like, I just don't know if I want to do that again here; just the thought of it was very exhausting, actually. I think I was just burned out and needed a reset. And honestly, I was so broke I couldn't even afford to move out of my apartment, to be honest. I just—I couldn't even afford to send the car back to the lease company; I couldn't afford to do any of that because they wanted a big balloon payment. What am I going to do? So I sublet my apartment and I sublet my car, and then I just put, you know, my stuff in two suitcases and used frequent flyer miles to get over to Colorado. And I'd been at a conference six months earlier and I'd met some people, and somebody had a friend of a friend that had an apartment available for sublet. So I was able to be very creative and live for three months in—I think I lived three months rent-free in three months in Boulder for the amount of time I rented my apartment in Sydney for six weeks or something; it was something like that. I had to get very creative. And, um, so yeah, but it—it just made me realize that you really don't need that much stuff. And it's actually shocking to me when Marc and I met and married a few years later after—you know, back and forth, Australia, I eventually got a job, got sponsored, and then we met, got married, and had the townhome. And I'm like, how the heck am I downsizing when I moved here from the other side of the world with two suitcases? How did I end up with stuff again? Obviously, not as much stuff as I used to have from accumulating it over my life, but still, even periodically in the RV, we still go through and declutter and downsize and get rid of stuff. You just have to; it's human nature, I think, just to accumulate even little things. It just—I don't know what it is; it's an illness.

Host: It is, yeah. I think I mean, part of it, we've heard that's been like the biggest, one of the biggest challenges so far, especially dealing with people who are going full-time, is just downsizing and getting rid of, you know, half, more than half, of the stuff that you own. Um, we've got a lot of content where we discussed, you know, not just the physical struggle, but the emotional struggle with that as well, because you're letting go of, you know, things that are—you're letting go of things that are important to you because, you know, you have to just make that choice, right?

Guest: You have memories associated with those things, memories and people, and especially if people have departed, that's very hard to think about. You hear about a lot of people having trouble giving up the furniture that their parents or their grandparents had, and they're holding it for their kids. But if you can have that conversation with the kids now, I don't know about you guys, if you'd be wanting your grandma's furniture, probably not, even if it was top-of-the-line, expensive, fancy stuff back in the day, probably not your style. And so often, people can be holding onto that and paying to store it only to find that, well, they didn't want it anyway. So you've got to get practical too.

Host: The two tips we've learned so far, I'll just sum that up really quickly, was Jim and Michelle had mentioned that they didn't want to leave the burden to their children because ultimately, you know, they're going to pass at some point, and their children are going to have all this stuff. They just figured they'd get rid of it for them before, you know, their children inherited it. And then Phil and Stacy had mentioned that those things that they have a strong emotional attachment, just take a picture of them. You can create a photo book online; you can always reference them. But the memories, you know, you can look at and go back to that place.

Guest: And you could even take that up a notch and just put your iPhone on a tripod and do a little video and just film yourself having the item and telling a story, and just say, "Oh, this was given to me by my Aunt Mary, and this is what it meant to me," or this, and then actually have a story, and it's like watching your own little home movie, you know? So that's how easy to do these days is just hit play and uh, just have a conversation with it about.

Host: Uh, 2014. We've probably come a long way with the technology and everything. Um, you talked about how you had transitioned your cars, right? You—you had switched to the Mini Cooper. Did you say it wasn't Mini Cooper?

Guest: Mini Cooper S convertible, yep, yep, it was.

Host: You switched to the Mini Cooper, um, but you also had mentioned that you've gone from five different RVs in your past 10 years of traveling so far, uh, motorized, towable, large, small, you name it. What are some of the pros and cons of each that you've discovered and um, what were some of the factors that influenced you to replace what you already had?

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 DeliciaOats.com and use the coupon code "PATH" at checkout. That's DeliciaOats.com, D-E-L-I-C-I-A-O-A-T-S.com, and use the coupon code "PATH."

Guest: Yeah, well, most all of our full-time travel was in a class A motorhome, the Big Bus type motorhomes towing a car. Um, part of it was the Mini Cooper, and then we switched to a Jeep so that it'd be easier to tow. But I want to jump in just there before you go into the details. For the first— it sounds like we've had a lot of RVs. It sounds like we change on average every two years, but for the first six and a quarter years, we only had two RVs. But it's been since we've gone part-time that we've been we switched a lot more when we went to part-time. Um, and the main reason we switched from the first coach to the second coach was cargo carry capacity because the first one was just inadequate for that and it was a little unsafe. Um, and then so we went to a diesel with much higher capacities. But we've actually—we have enormous experience, and we love learning from everyone else we meet in all of our travels. We did a lot of research ourselves, but then we also continually research with everyone else. And now we also wanted to have the other experiences to share with people. And so now we've traveled in 17-foot travel trailers and 45-foot classes and everything in between because we have owned five, but we've also rented or borrowed a lot of the other types too. Um, and really, the type of RV you have depends on the RV travel style you want to enjoy. You know, a couple years, we had a smaller Class C, which was a very nimble and faster-paced travel. Um, and now we have a truck and fifth wheel, which is a slower-paced travel but really homey, and we really enjoy that. This is the fifth wheel we've got here we're in, and it's so—they all have their own reasons and your own seasons for why you change them. Part of the reason we resisted having a fifth wheel for a long time is Julie is not very tall, and so a lot of fifth wheels, the cabinets are very hard to reach, so that's a challenge. But I didn't want to get into a big truck, and Julie didn't want to drive a big truck, but now she actually has quite a bit of comfort around that, and so she does drive the big truck. And then we've got an RV that has a big pantry that has low-level storage for easy access for her. So, but again, a lot of it depends on your travel style and pace is a big part of why you choose different ones and just different seasons of RV life. So when we first started out, we were just, I think, like most people that hit the road, you were like, "I want to see everything. I want to go to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon and all the top things on the bucket list, right? I want to go to all the national parks. I want to visit all 50 states, 48 with the RV. We have not driven to Alaska. I know many people have, but that's such a—and we didn't drive to Hawaii, which most people don't either; we flew to Hawaii. And actually, we did the 48 states, funnily enough. We love to share that we did all 48, the lower 48, in three years, a little over three years, while working full-time. And I think when you really think about that, like, this is such a big, vast country. And for anyone—I don't know how good geography is, but the size of the United States is the same size as Australia, geographically very similar. But there's nothing to really see in the middle except the Outback, and it's very hot. But in the US, there is so much you can see in every single state. And it's shocking, actually, when you think what a big country it is. And let's not forget Canada too; we love Canada. We should say North America, not just the US. But that—you know, even though it's so big, it's shocking how much you can really see if you're focused and you plan it in a relatively short period of time, because we saw all of the 50 states before age 15, which is pretty cool. I mean, a lot of people will never do that in their life, and that's something we feel really grateful and really blessed to have been able to do that at an age where we're still young and fit and healthy enough to get out there and do the hikes and, you know, get out there and not just do the little 500-meter loop, take a few photos, and get back in your vehicle, which some people do, but to really get out and, you know, bike and hike and do everything. So, I think, just that season of life, so we were going at a pretty fast pace that first few years, but we still stayed, we tried to stay for a couple of weeks at a time. And then we switched to the second rig, very similar kind of a travel pace, but we'd already seen all 50 states with our first rig, so then we changed gears where we're less about just going and exploring everything, and we would've been more time just really working in the RV and renovating the RV; we renovated that older one. And then a lot of the places we're going to now, we're going back to. There are less places that we're going to for the first time. So, for example, we're here in Tucson right now. We've been here before; we love Tucson, but we haven't gone out and done a ton because we had poor internet in Mesa in the Phoenix area, and we didn't get as much work done, and we had a lot of social time with friends. So now we're here, we're kind of playing catch-up.

Host: Right, so you know, adjusting our schedule like that, but the different kinds of RVs just fit the season of your life.

Guest: Sure, yeah.

Host: Um, you guys are speaking our language. That's actually one of Hope's goals, is doing the 50 States before we turn 50. Of course, she turns 50, which we're on track to do. So, and um, the same thing, that's the reason we took our trip. You talked about wanting to do those longer hikes while you're young and you still can. That's the reason why we did this young while we're continuing to do it so that we can take those longer hikes and the scenic things and do that at a younger age while we still have our knees, right? Um, so 3 years, all 48 states, was that looking back on that, was that too fast or was that the perfect pace, do you think?

Guest: Probably a little fast, especially working full—you know, you try to tell people to slow down, they're not going to, they're going to do it anyway, so just, you'll figure it out. But I will say, if you—Marc is very disciplined with his work schedule, we don't have kids, okay? So, if you have kids and you're trying to do a job, you know, travel, set up your RV, pack it down, road school the kids, all of these things, they just take more time and so you need to allow for that. But, yeah, well, you know, in the Northeast where you guys are from, you can knock out a lot of states quick because they're a lot smaller, but out west, in a weekend—

Host: Yeah, they're a lot bigger.

Guest: Yeah, Rhode Island, if you blink, you miss it, it's only 20 miles driving across it, right? So, it's quick, yeah. You drive four hours, you're in—yeah, four different states out west, you're still in the same state driving the same day, exciting when you have that state sticker map and you just go through and subtly your numbers go away—

Yeah, but that's one of the funny things about a goal of hitting all 50 states, is like, you're in Texas, you're going to Colorado, but you decide to go through all these Midwestern states in this big arc because you want to make sure you get to these other states on your way, do that. We've done that, we do that.

Host: Our rule is we have to do something cool in that state, like it's fun, we have to have an experience in every state, memorize every state on the East except Delaware, we've driven through Delaware a thousand times but haven't stopped there, so we have to actually stop there one day and do something cool. So, if anyone's listening for something cool in Delaware, let us know, at least stop.

Guest: Yeah, everyone's got their own rules—nwe have to have a memorable experience. Some people have to visit the state capital, some people have to spend multiple nights and like that, everyone has their own rules of what they qualify, but you, that's your rules, so you can do them however you want.

Host: So, going back to when you guys first started out, obviously, just mentioned it took about nine months to get there, a lot of work was involved in that, just planning, processing everything, um, what was the biggest challenge you faced in getting on the road? It doesn't sound like it was talking to your boss about going remote because he didn't do that, but what was the biggest challenge you had to overcome to get there?

Guest: You know, I think when we first started out, we spent a lot of time researching online, YouTube, and um, we found a great ebook, actually. Our first question was not about the RV but was around the internet because if we can't get solid internet to work from the road, there's no point in setting foot on a dealer lot, starting our RV shopping because it's not going to happen.

Yeah, in 2013, that was a lot more challenging than it is now. And we found an ebook by Chris and Sherie from Mobile Internet Resource Center. I'm sure you've heard of them or most of your listeners have. And I mean, they are—they are the reason, I think, a great many of us are being today because they are the gurus on all things mobile internet and connectivity. And so, we read their ebook, and it was just like, "Oh, we can do this." Because we're thinking, "Do we need to get satellite and all kinds of things?" But no, cellular, you can do it with that. And sure enough, we've just followed their lead, you know, the whole way. And we changed our plans and set up a few times along the way, not often, but often enough to just revisit it every couple of years and make sure it's still optimal set up for us. And so, that was a great resource, and we just devoured, you know, YouTube videos and blogs. We didn't read any books, there weren't any, except for that ebook. But I think, I think back then, what do you think was the biggest challenge? Was trying to figure out which RV we really wanted. We—we thought we wanted new until I remember we were at Camping World on a Sunday, and the sales department was closed, and we were looking at the accessories, the store was open, and some guy who worked in service came by and he said, "Are you planning on buying an RV?" We said, "Yeah." He said, "Whatever you do, don't buy new."

Host: Wow.

Guest: Planning on buying new, you know, when you're new, when you're new, you don't know. You assume it's like buying a new car, I'll buy new, I'm going to get the warranty and everything's going to be great. Well, the more you learn about RVing, the more you realize, no, it's not that way, your first RV is going to teach you the most and is going to depreciate hard and you're going to lose money. And so, I actually have a thing I want to start saying to people instead of saying, "Well, how much does an RV cost?" or "How much can you afford?" I would turn it around and say, "Well, how much can you afford to lose?" That's the question. I'm not saying that to be mean, just so much as it is going to cost you money. This is, for most people, unless it is your only viable option for housing, which is the case for some people, but many of us are out there living this by choice, and we're, you know, privileged, really, to do that. But you don't want to financially disadvantage yourself too much. And so, your first RV will teach you the most, so spend as little as you can to get something that's going to do what you want and needed to do. And then, once you learn more, then your next RV, you can look at. I know going to be a lot of people probably disagreeing with me in the comments, and that's that's just fine, that's just my opinion after 10 years and five rigs, and you do you, but you know, that's what, if that would be back then, I would have spent less than what we did on our first setup. I think we could have had just the same great experience. Um, it was a good rig, but I don't think we needed to spend that much. No. So, start with something that doesn't have everything you quite need because chances are, at some point, you're going to want to upgrade anyway, so might as well not spend a ton of money on your first. A lot of ours change within the first year or two, some, some transfer in less, switch in less than a year because they realized they made a mistake. We see a lot of people get forced off the road pretty early on because they've picked a dud rig or they just got unlucky or they—it was costing them more, it was costing a lot more than when we started. When we started 10 years ago, the cost of RVing is much higher now, not gas, surprisingly. I know we had that period where gas went high. When we started, it was like $3.50 something a gallon, we saw over $4 a gallon in our first year, and now we're seeing it again around $3.30 a gallon, but we've seen it in the sixes, and so, a lot, so, especially

Host: seven, seven was our highest, 7.40 in California, but yeah, it's tough to prepare for how much you're going to be spending on fuel.

Guest: Fuel is one of those expenses that you can modify, and you've got a van, so that's got better fuel economy than most.

Host: Yeah.

Guest: Yeah, but slowing down the pace, slow the reduced spend on fuel, and in fact, I was just, you know, we just, I was just doing a little recap on the last three years of our winter travel, you know, this year, we're in Arizona, last year, California, year before, we went to Florida, but also to California, um, and just looking at the fuel expense, you know, the first Florida trip, we spent $700 a month on fuel, and then last year, we were spending like five, and then this year, um, under, it's only three. And so, part of it's slower pace, but part of it's also, you know, just fewer mileage, you just change your travel plans, if it's a big part of your budget, don't go as far and don't—and stay longer. But I would say if people—if—if the cost of fuel is freaking people out, just don't buy an RV, that's my answer, just don't get one, because you never know what's going to change. I mean, you could wait for gas prices to go down, but they go up and down, I don't care who is president, they go up and they go down, and people just like to distract and blame, and that's something that is out of your control, so you're going to let it control you and your travels, and just like, you know what, maybe go out for dinner one less time a month and make a meal at home and what you save, you put it in the tank. I mean, it's your choice, if you're going to freak out and just whine about gas prices all the time, just go and drive your hybrid vehicle and stay in an Airbnb, then you won't have to fix it you don't have to worry about depreciation, that's a whole other episode, but really, I mean, I'm very direct about these things now, people may not like it, but also do your research, like one of the guys I met once that was the most ridiculous was he had—he had four different RVs in six months, he bought a Class C RV, didn't like it, bought a Class A gas, didn't like it, bought a Class A diesel, didn't like it, bought a Prevost bus conversion, you know, a half million dollar coach, finally was satisfied with that, but he obviously had more dollars than cents because he was just spending like crazy. If he would have just done a little more research, maybe gone on a test drive or something before just buying him, he could have saved himself a lot of hassle, a lot of money, and just ended up—it was a $700,000 rig, he ended up with a used $700,000, but you know they, you know, probably a couple of million years, yeah, do your research, but yeah, and rent. We say rent an RV, full disclosure, we did not rent, you know, not saying we advise people against it, it's a good idea to rent and be sure that this is something you really want to do. Now, the one that you rent, you can through companies like RVshare, for example, you can rent from companies, from individuals, rather, so you can do the—the ones with all the branding on the side from Roadbear and Cruise America, all of that that have the dog sticker looking out the window, but or you can get one that just looks like a regular normal RV owned by private, uh, people that just want to make a bit of money to help offset the cost of ownership. And that feels to me more like the kind of a—you can rent an RV, even the same brand, make, model, and size that you're even thinking you might like to buy, and rent that first, and it seems expensive, I think people look at that and think, "Wow, it's so expensive." Well, they don't realize is old—no, what is expensive is if you make a poor choice buying, and you have to get out of that, you're going to spend a lot more than you're going to think, "Wow, that RV rental would have been cheaper in it." I think, case in point, is our friend that we bought the Class C from, was a 25-foot Mercedes Sprinter little Winnebago navon, and he's 6'2" and he full-timed in that for a few years, and then he—he then he had it in storage and we rented it from him, then we bought it from him, and he was going to buy a Class B van, like, "I want a van, I want a van," and then he rented one for a weekend and realized this is—I'm too tall and if I want a friend to come and hang out and visit, this is not going to work. So, that's why he went from a B to a C, and so just renting it, renting it for a week, and saved him on making an expensive mistake, and probably the B would have been more expensive than the C too. So, that was a good move for him.

Host: Yeah, being tall, I'm 6'4", being tall in a class B van, it really limits the floor plan you can choose. Um, since you guys started in 2014, obviously the landscape and just the world has changed quite a bit. Is there anything you would do differently now starting out?

Guest: Well, I already said one, I wouldn't have spent as much on our first coach. I loved our first coach, it was beautiful, it worked great for us, except for the weight. We didn't understand, now that's not true, we didn't—it's not that we didn't understand about the—it was very difficult to find out the information that we needed to make that decision. And we're so happy that there's so much more information out there now that people, like, for example, how much does your stuff weigh? How much does your, you know, your food and your clothes and your work equipment and the stuff you want to take with you, how much does that weigh? And I don't know if maybe some people here have gone and literally weighed their stuff before, but we didn't. I actually intended to, we didn't. I intended to, but part of the transition was we bought the RV and then we set it up out behind our townhome, and I was working in there, and I brought the dog to transition so it would make an easier transition to actually hit the road. Meanwhile, Julie's just bringing stuff out from the house, and I remember her vividly saying, "It just keeps taking it," like it had tons of storage space. You're supposed to, because a lot of people think, "Oh, there's lots of storage space, it must have storage capacity," but it doesn't. Those are not the same thing, and so that's important. And so we found—and we did a video on this—and I think this one of the videos that I'm really, you know, proud of. Not that it was anything fancy or special, but it just, I think, shared a lot of information that wasn't out there at the time, and now we hear a lot of others talking about weight and being really mindful of their weight more, and that never used to be the case. I'm really happy to hear and see that so many people are mindful of that now because there's so much more awareness. So, I think the weight thing is a big issue. Do not trust the salesman to say, "Oh, yeah, your truck can tow that," or, "Yeah, it can." No, they're there to sell you something, do your own research, and don't just copy—don't just copy what someone else is doing. "Oh, I like that couple, they've got this setup, I'm just going to get what they got." Well, it may not be right for you. You know, like really ask yourself those big questions about what's important. We met a lot of people, remember the first trip to Tahoe, we met that couple that had been full-timing for 18 years, what did we do?

Yeah, they've been—they've been full-timing for 18 years, our first RVing for 18 years, and then Julie asks them, "This is our first weekend, Julie asks them, 'So, what advice do you have for us as new RVers?'" Like, "Well, it's too late for that. I would have told you to get an RV with a washer and dryer." I'm like, "Really? That's your only advice?" That was, and then the conversation ended. I'm like, "So, 10 years we've never had a washer and dryer or any of our RVs, and we don't miss that. It's not something high value to us, we'd rather have the storage space for the extra clothes and then do laundry less frequently than have an actual washer dryer in the machine." So, yeah, it's different, everyone random answers to a lot of your questions.

Host: But it would just kind I feel like. I'm an optimistic person, but for some reason when it comes to appliances, I feel very—I'm very pessimistic about putting a washer under, I just feel like it's asking for problems. I don't know, I don't know how common they are, but most St to go wrong.

Guest: Yeah, we often say, you know, try and choose a less complex RV, less options, because there's less things to go wrong, the more simple the RV, the less things can go wrong, because RVs have a lot of maintenance. There's a lot of cost related to—we have a lot of blog posts on our website RVlove.com with things about costs of RVing, and I think that kind of thing is really important to share so people go in with eyes wide open. So, just make sure you reduce your debt as much as you can, reduce your expenses, make sure you have some padding because there's going to be unexpected expenses, and so plan ahead, be comfortable with what you're going into, at least if you're going full-time, you're trading, you know, one expense for another, but if you're trying to do both with having a home base and renting, just doing extended RV travel, then that can get expensive. And that is part of the reason why we have actually had three rigs in the last three years as part-timers because, you know what, we found like we—we had that little Casita, it was a little fiberglass, and we and we wanted something we could tow with our Jeep. We love our Jeep, we didn't want to change that, and we wanted something that would fit in our carport, so we had really limited parameters, and we wanted something quality, and so that ticked all the boxes, but it's so small, and they're cute and lovely, and we got lots of compliments in the parking lots when we would go to the store, but we're the kind of people that, we're not just using it as a base camp to go hiking all the time, we come back and we do work, and so we need more space. And so, it just was ultimately too small for us, especially once we got the dog and another dog, he's around here somewhere, and then that—we had that about 16 months, and then we rented our friend's Class C and ended up buying that, and that was good, and we went on a longer trip, that was much more comfortable for our longer four or four and a half month trip to Florida, and then we came home, and because we love where we live so much in Colorado, we actually love being there in the summer and the fall. So, the RV was hardly getting used, it was sitting out there. It's a motorized, it needs to be used and driven, so it was just heartbreaking to see it out there not getting used as much as we—you would hope, and then you, you do the math on it, like, this is a mortgage payment, I have a mortgage payment sitting out there depreciating every month, and so, you know, we're not independently wealthy and retired, we're still trying to, you know, get to that point where we—we can retire someday, and so it became a financial decision where it just wasn't the amount of money that was in it was just not worth it. And then we changed this, which is a truck that Marc can use around town and around home, you wanted that anyway, he does a few little handyman market construction jobs here and there, and then, uh, this fifth wheel that we ended up buying from a friend, it's used, it was two years old, but it's great, and we're—we're in the whole setup for half of the cost of what the—uh, the Mercedes was, the—it's on Mercedes chassis, which is very expensive, those little Class C's on the Mercedes chassis, the service and everything, they—they—they go really well when you take care of them, nothing tends to go wrong in between the services, but it's some sticker shot when they do go wrong.

Host: Yeah, that sounds like kind of a long story short. Over time, your needs, your lifestyles, are going to change, as well as the RV type that you're going to be driving. You had mentioned having some sort of cushion or padding, some savings allocated in case things go wrong. Do you have a number on how much you should have saved up when you're traveling full-time?

Guest: I don't think necessarily so much as probably a number of months. I mean, you're talking just for RV-related or just in general? Because anyone out there that you're learning from, say, doing financial investing, would say you should have six months' worth of savings just in case you lose your job or if something happens.

Host: I guess that's, yeah, the six months is a good rule of thumb, I guess. So RV-related, people don't have that.

Guest: A lot of people, especially if people are doing the full-time RV life, because they're trying to do big savings, and because that's an opportunity, you can do it where you spend significantly less than other styles of life. But especially if that's your goal and your priority because you just don't travel as far and you don't travel as fast, and that's a great way to save money if you're staying in campgrounds a month at a time instead of moving every week. And do your research to know how to do it inexpensively, like Julie and I have been out on this trip for a hundred days, and we've spent next to nothing on our campground stays because we have a campground membership that we've been staying in membership campgrounds with no nightly fee almost the entire trip. And so we spent some money on fuel but not that much. And so if you're in the Southwest, yeah, or if people Boondock, but how you want to travel can make a massive difference in what you save. And so I think percentage-wise, I just wanted to say people should have some cushion. Don't just go right on the very thin line because there's going to be something that happens, and you need to have some cushion for things to happen. And if it doesn't, but it will, but if it doesn't, but it will, then you'll have that money. But that, Marc point there about an extended warranty, you can get an extended warranty, but you can buy a used RV and get an extended warranty. Don't roll it into the cost of the financing. If you finance your RV, pay separately for the extended warrant. I don't care if you have to put it on an interest-free credit card and divide it by 11 and pay it off in the year so you don't get hit with that interest and whatever you have to do, actually. Our extended warranty company, you can do whatever. I think it's for payments or something. They have like a payment plan. Don't roll it in, def financing because a lot of people will finance an RV over 15, 20 years or more, and if you roll in that $7,000 payment for or 5,000 or $4,000, whatever it costs you for an extended warranty, you have to do the math on what that is really going to cost you factoring in the interest. So don't do that because or what you can do is put that money aside and so that let's say I don't pull a number out because it depends on your rig, right? Let's say it's $4,000. You can put 4,000 aside. Don't touch it. How disciplined are you, right? Or get an extended warranty, but then that sometimes we'll have something on the RV like when we had the nav on down in Florida that it would have qualified to be fixed under the warranty, but we couldn't get into a shop for six months. We needed it fixed like right away, so MK had to fix it. So even though you have a warranty, it doesn't always mean you'll be able to get into a shop to get it repaired right away or just may not be convenient on your most, most repairs on RVs can be done by someone 80% if you're willing to get your hands dirty and watch a couple YouTube videos. Most RV repairs can't be done yourself. They can be done.

Host: And you mentioned you can't get into the RV dealer, but even sometimes if you get it into the RV dealer, they still might not do it or they might not do it for quite a long time horror stories. Yeah, we're smiling 'cause we wish we broke a lot of you guys' rules. We wish we had listened to this podcast before we ended up buying. But yeah, have has anyone ever said you guys should write a book?

Guest: They have, and we did. We've written two of them, two bestselling books. Our first book, "Living the RV Life: Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road," is one that's focused on people who want to do extended RV travel. And then we have a second book, "RV Hacks: 400 Ways to Make Your Life Easier, Safer, and More Fun." And that's both have U Been bestsellers and both are, yeah. But that's funny that that's the first one. Yeah, that was our first rig, and fun fact, do you recognize this location? So don't... So that's a donor that is the donor M took that with the drone. And then the second book, about a week after month after we moved into our new house and now upside down and no furniture and our heads were spinning going, "What the heck?" Um, something... El, you go full time, you get off the road, you're so used to having your furniture in your RV that you realize you don't have any furniture when you have a... Yeah, we just start back into a house. But I'm glad we didn't pay for storage all those years because it wouldn't have fit and worked in this house. Now, our house is furnished. It's small. It's a th000 square feet, but it's perfect for us, felt very palatial after moving out of a 350 square foot RV. But this is the second book, "RV Hacks," and that's broken up into six chapters. Um, driving out the repairs and maintenance camp in campgrounds, I'll be living, working on the road, families, kids, and pets. So there's something for everyone. And it's one of those fun, easy books you can open at any page, and you just, like, read a hack. You don't have to read. You can read from front to back, or you can just randomly jump from chapter to chapter or, you know, play trivia games when you're driving down the road and see how well your significant other knows the answer to that question, whatever. But, uh, yeah, they're great, um, fun books that I, you know, the publisher reached out to us for the first one in early 2018, and I'd always kind of thought wanted to write. I've always wanted to write a book, actually, but then when the publisher reached out and said, "Well, there isn't anything out there to... We see RVing becoming a much, uh, bigger trend like extended and full-time RVing," and so they, they had a lot of foresight, and we said, "We think so too." So, yeah, it was great to be able to consolidate that into one place where you can go and read blogs, YouTube videos, like we did all of that as well. There's a lot more information out there now than there was when we started. So that's both good and bad because it's good because there's a lot more information, information out there, but it's challenging because now it's overwhelming, and you don't know what to trust. There's a lot of drama and clickbait content out there now. Um, we actually don't even watch YouTube anymore or any other YouTube especially, but because there we know seeing a lot of the drama, clickbaity type headings, and it's like, "Oh, we got kicked out of the campground." I'm like, "Really? In 10 years, been kicked out of a campground, like, really dude? What did you do?" I mean, you just... You're trying to get it worries me that a lot of people watching these YouTube videos get a bad, um, perspective for the lifestyle. It doesn't have to be that way. It doesn't have to be. I'm not... It's not all sunshine and roses and rainbows. I really want people to know that it is not. But it is also not full of all this drama, scary stuff that you're seeing. But that's the stuff that people click on, and they create that content because that's how they make money. So it's so... We just done.

Host: Yeah, and that goes for not just the RV world, but everything nowadays. Whether it's financial, real estate, there's contradicting information everywhere. So you bring up a good point. There's a ton of... You can look up 10 different videos that say 10 different things about what you should do RVing. How can people know that they're actually getting good information?

Guest: Well, I think like anything, whether it's RVing or anything, you really need to spend a bit of time looking at the source. Do you know, is their face on there? Do they tell something about themselves and their story and their experience? I've seen some blogs where their experience is living in a trailer in their grandmother's backyard, like, literally, and then they're positioning themselves as these experts. I'm like, okay, I'm not really... Not getting that here. But, you know, do some research. How long have they been doing it? What, you know, how are they communicating? Like, it shouldn't be in a way that's being very forceful on a certain way of opinion so much as realizing that everybody's different and there's no one right way to RV. So I think getting balanced information is a really important point. Check on what is their background and experience, um, and, you know, I think that's one of the things that we really like about "Living the RV Life." We say, "Look, you can spend months researching YouTube, but you could read this in a weekend and it will give you a good baseline. And then you can with that go do your other research and see if it's aligning with that, because this was all verified and, you know, checked. This is not just us whipping out a book with our opinions. This is with a major publishing house. They edit it, they fact-check everything, and that takes a long time. And when you're turning out YouTube videos and blog posts, they're often thrown up in the matter of an hour or so. And ours, our blog posts, we can take 40 hours to write one article because we do a lot of research, do a lot of, you know, checking accuracy, and also not trying to force our opinions onto other people, but so much as get them to ask the questions that's going to help them reach the correct answer for their own selves, their life stage, their financial situation, their goals. Like, there'll be some people might say, "Just go out and do it. What have you got to lose?" Well, that's easy to say when you're 20s and 30s. But if you're someone, you know, like 40s or 50s or someone who's 60 and approaching retirement, well, that may not make the most sense. But it's harder for them to recover if they make a bad decision, right? So, you know, you've got time on your side when you're younger. And so I think, you know, the more money you're planning to spend, the more plan time you're planning to spend in an RV, the more you have on the line, the more you really want to do your research before you dive in so that you know that you're doing it as smartly as you possibly can. But there's, like I said, there's a lot of scary stuff out there online. It doesn't have to be that way, but certainly go in with your eyes wide open and buyer beware. And it's balancing, how do you balance that? How do you, you know, do that research but then go into analysis paralysis where you're so terrified to make a decision that you... And I think that can be really tricky for some people. But when you know yourself and what's important to you, and then you find that things are checking the boxes, then you'll know it's like... But they say, how do you know when you've met the right partner? You just know, right? 100%.

Host: Yeah. Do the research on the research that you're getting. And if it turns out that that source has written two bestselling books, even better. I can't believe how...

Guest: Through the reviews, yeah. Don't just trust or believe us. Go read the reviews and see what other people say.

Host: Sure, yeah. And I can't believe how fast this episode's flying by. I feel like I haven't asked half the questions I had written down, but that's okay. We've opened up a whole other... Not can of worms, we've gone on a whole different route, and it's been really informative. Thank you guys for sharing so much information. I do want to add, you talk about 400 RV hacks. Um, I can think of one hack somebody could do right now, which is heading over to your guys' website, RVLifestyle.com, and filling out the "What is your RV type?" Quiz. When I did it before, personality, what's your, what's your RV style? That's a fun little quiz, and I did it right before, yeah, right before we started the podcast. We were preparing, and yeah, it takes, it's 10 questions, takes like two minutes. We both got Adventurer. So, and it's, I would say it's pretty deadly accurate. I got the... I took a screenshot. Let me see what it says. "I'm glad to see you're aligned with your travel partner. That's a big first step." Yeah, see here, it's both. Can you see it? Yeah, try, try, try, and tested, good dose of the great outdoors. Um, I like this part: "Your preferred choice of RV will be determined by where it can take you and what activities it offers. Um, you like national parks, heading out on a new trail, paddling a quiet stretch of river, um, so much better if it is shared with a friend, furry or otherwise." That's...

Guest: And then you'll have somebody that only wants to stay at high-end RV resorts with level paved sites and no... and dirt, and, you know, that's... that's... that's a different kind of style. That's why we always ask the questions, so make the right decisions for them, and, and, you know, you can have the best of both worlds. I like both, actually. I like staying at nice, clean, level campgrounds, and then I love going out and boondocking in the desert, and then when that gets a bit old, we go back in and have a really long shower and think how wonderful that is. Do your laundry, exactly. Yeah, yeah. We'll put a link in the show notes for all the sources we talked about today, and, yeah, it's just RVLifestyle.com. At the top of your website, you can fill out the quiz. But yeah, we'll start wrapping this thing up. If you could have listened to this podcast when you were first starting out, what is one question I did not ask tonight that you wished I would have, and how would you answer that?

Guest: Well, I'm glad you didn't ask the question, "Where's the best place you've been?" So, you get a big green check Marc for that. Uh, but I think the biggest question that I wish more people would ask, whether it's, you know, you and the podcast or, is, how has the lifestyle changed you? Because we go out with a big long bucket list. I want to go here and there and do this and do that, and you think it's about the places and the experiences, and it is, but then along the way you realize you grow and you change and your perspective on life and the world changes along with that, and your mind opens, and then you start to realize, actually, funny, just before the call, I posted on, um, on your Instagram at RV Love Travel, if you want to check it out, and it's like Marc sitting here at the desk that we're sitting, talking to now, and we're here at a park, we're surrounded by park models, so it's not a particularly scenic location, but the sunset was unbelievable, and you just... You can see, I did a pan around the windows, and you're just surrounded by these, and it's just those moments where you just, in everyday life, that didn't happen as much. You have to make an effort to go out and see a sunset, and this sounds so sunrise, too. I'm just not a morning person, but, uh, just... Just those moments where you just stop and you... You, I think, you become more present with all the little moments that happen, where some of our most memorable, special experiences were actually not any of the top, big places. Some were, but not all, and there were places I would never necessarily say, "Oh, you have to go here," it was just that that experience that day happened to be magical for reasons that I can't even always explain. So, I don't know if this makes sense, if I'm getting a little esoteric, but I think it's just we're different people now than when we started, and, uh, and I like that.

Host: Yeah, no, makes perfect sense. Yeah, that's great. Um, for someone listening to this podcast who wants to set up a lifestyle where they can travel on their own terms but aren't quite there yet, what is one thing they could start doing today?

Host: Do a budget and get clear on your finances, yeah, so you know how, like if you can generate a find a way to generate income mobile, then that's a big first step, you know. I chose to leave my, you know, good job to find another job that would allow me to do remote, is a huge factor for us to be able to hit the road. I eventually left that job too, so we could just launch our, do our own business to have even more freedom with our schedule, but I think to Julie's point, yeah, have you figured... Have it figured out financially how you're going to make the lifestyle sustainable longer term? It's hard to... Once you get in there, you're going to want it longer and longer, and you need to, so you have to have some idea of the sustainability before you start, because you're likely going to want to continue.

Host: Sure, yeah, that's great. Um, last question, guys, where can our audience find out more about you?

Guest: Well, we're at RVLove.com, and you'll find everything that we have linked there. You can Google us, RV Love, and you'll find us on social media as well, and, yeah, we just love you to say hi and come and drop us a note on social media or shoot us a note in the email, and jump on our... Do that quiz, do that quiz, and figure out your RV travel personality that will get you onto our email if you check the box, and, uh, yeah, we'd love to stay in touch and keep sharing and keep learning and see more people out there and doing it, and doing it well. Doing it well, we... We want to see people thriving, and back to Marc's point about the finances, you won't feel free if you're drowning in debt, if you're, you know, drowning in credit card debt, you know. If you need to delay your plans a bit, but for some people, we've seen some people do it for a while to get out of debt, so it's what are your goals in life, not just for RVing, but what are your goals for your life, for your financial life, for your relationship, for it all comes down to knowing your why, why you're wanting to do it, and then prioritize that, yep, so start with that, know your why.

Host: Wow, guys, so many valuable points and quotes and information in this podcast. Thanks again, and last, last question, just for... Doesn't stay in too much suspense, what are we talking about for travel tips?

Guest: Need to talk about Sedona today. Yeah, Sedona, Arizona, on the cover of our book, and we love it, and we actually just did a little trip up there last month, so a fresh new restaurant to share.

Host: Yeah, all right, everybody, keep an eye out for that episode airing in two days. Marc and Julie, thanks again.

Guest: Thanks, everyone. Bye
- Lyssna Lyssna igen Fortsätt Lyssnar...
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The ULTIMATE Guide to Mackinac Island @Open Roading
10 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
www.atravelpath.com

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

Wow! What an information-filled episode this was as we welcomed back Joe and Kalyn from Open Roading to Travel Tips! We learned a ton about Mackinac Island in Michigan, and after speaking with them, it sounds like such a fascinating place to visit. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they spent a full season as Joe worked at a campground near the island (more on that in Part 1.) In this episode you’ll learn all about:

Mackinac Island

First of all, it is pronounced MackinAW, and Joe informed us pretty quickly that if your pronounce it they way it is spelled, the locals will be quick to correct you. The small island offers an escape from the modern world, as there are no cars on the island. Everything is either on foot, horseback, or bike.

Biking

Bike rentals are a popular activity at Mackinac Island, and the eight-mile loop along the edge is a scenic and peaceful ride. They shared the tip of renting a bike on the island as opposed to renting one and bringing it on the ferry. This way, if something happens with your bike, the company is on the island to fix it.

We also cover the best time to visit, nearby attractions, where to stay, and so much more! You’ll definitely want to listen to this episode a few times if you plan on making a trip. And if you haven’t heard of Mackinac Island or weren’t considering visiting it, after listening I’m sure it will be on your list.

3,2,1 Countdown

3 Things to Bring to Mackinac Island:

· Bike

· Warm Clothes

· Comfortable Walking Shoes

2 Complaints or Things You Should Be Prepared For:

· Smell of Horse Manure

· Dress Code at Grand Hotel

· Bonus: Bugs

1 Thing You CAN’T Leave Mackinaw Island Without Doing:

· 8 Mile perimeter bike ride

Chapters

· 00:00 Introduction to Mackinac Island

· 05:30 How Long Should Someone Plan to Spend on Mackinac Island?

· 06:30 When is Mackinac Island Shut Down/Best Time to Visit?

· 09:15 Dog Friendly/Kid Friendly Activities on Mackinac Island?

· 11:30 Bike Rentals

· 12:30 Lodging & Transportation

· 15:00 Activities

· 16:30 Overall Cost of Mackinaw Island

· 18:45 Planning and Reservations

· 20:00 Favorite Food Spots

· 21:30 Nearby Attractions

· 23:00 Delicioats.com use code PATH

· 24:00 3, 2, 1 Countdown

Ferries

· Shepler’s Ferry: https://www.sheplersferry.com/

· Mackinac Island Ferry Company: https://www.mackinacferry.com/

Lodging

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

· Grand Hotel: https://www.grandhotel.com/#

Restaurants/To Do

· Millie’s On Main: https://www.milliesonmain.com/

· Sanders Fudge: https://sanderscandy.com/pages/stores

· Ryba’s Fudge Shops: https://ryba.com/
Mackinac Family Heritage Pass (gets you into multiple locations in the area) https://tickets.mackinacparks.com/webstore/shop/viewItems.aspx?cg=MSHP&c=3
· Butterfly House: https://www.originalbutterflyhouse.com/

Fireworks

· Saint Ignace: https://stignace.com/event/fireworks-over-the-bay/2024-05-25/

· Mackinac City: https://www.mackinaw-city.com/mackinaw_city_events_bak.php

Nearby Attractions

· Wilderness State Park and Beach: https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=509&type=SPRK

· Harbor Springs: https://www.michigan.org/city/harbor-springs

· Petoskey: https://www.michigan.org/city/petoskey-area

· Charlevoix: https://www.michigan.org/city/charlevoix

· Drummond Island: https://www.visitdrummondisland.com/

Previous Podcast Episodes

· Indian Lake State Park and Upper Peninsula: https://atravelpath.com/michigan-upper-peninsula/

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: Hey Joe and Kalyn, welcome back to the Travel Path podcast. Thanks so much for being here again.

Guest: Thank you for having us.

Host: So, if anybody missed part one, we delved deep into your full-time travel lifestyle with your fifth-wheel RV. We covered everything from your work camping life to budgeting and all the other aspects of living on the road. Today, for travel tips, we're focusing on one particular destination. Where are we talking about today?

Guest: Yeah, we're going to Northern Michigan and specifically Mackinac Island. Surprisingly, a lot of people haven't heard of this little island up there.

Host: That's awesome. How much time have you guys actually spent on Mackinac Island?

Guest: On the actual island, I think we've done four trips, four days in total. But we spent the entire summer in Mackinac City, which is just a ferry ride away from the island. So, the entire area is kind of immersed in Mackinac City, Mackinac Island, this whole space. And as a public service announcement to your listeners, it is spelled M-A-C-K-I-N-A-C Island, but when you go there, make sure you pronounce it "Mac" or the locals will be very eager to correct you.

Host: That's a great travel tip. You always need to know exactly how to pronounce where you're going, otherwise that can happen. What made you guys want to share about this destination today?

Guest: It's actually one of my favorite places because there are no cars allowed on the island at all. So, it really feels like you're stepping back in time. Everything is either accessed by walking, biking, or taking a horse taxi. Even the "garbage trucks" are horses pulling wagons to pick up the bins. It's just a quaint little place we've fallen in love with.

Host: Sounds amazing. So, Mackinac Island is a great destination for someone who likes what type of experience?

Guest: I would say a more laid-back experience, obviously. You're not rushing from place to place because you don't have a car. But if you want to be a bit more active, there are walking and biking options. And if you enjoy quaint shops, popping into boutiques, and indulging in the fudge, it's perfect. There are around 15 to 20 fudge shops on the island. And if you're into history, there's a fort and other old structures to explore.

Host: The Grand Hotel sounds fascinating. It must be quite an experience.

Guest: Definitely. It's very old and still functioning.

Host: Sounds like a place where you'd really be stepping back in time when you visit. How long do you think someone should plan a trip for to get the full Mackinac Island experience?

Guest: You can do the full experience in a day. But something we really want to do is spend the night sometime. We hear that it's a different atmosphere after the last ferry leaves for the day. The foot traffic builds up throughout the day, but you can see everything you want in a day or even an afternoon. It's a place you want to come back to and experience again and again. I think it's not just like one and done and yeah forget about it.

Host: Perfect, so you could do it in an afternoon and just make it part of your trip to the Michigan Upper Peninsula. But of course, you could keep going back there every day, just taking the ferry over. I think it's nice to have that versatile type of trip. Now, I know that Mackinac Island does shut down for part of the year, correct?

Guest: Yeah, yeah, I believe it's October. I mean, shut down, quote-unquote, if they can get through the ice, they will run a ferry. But most people are not taking that back and forth unless they're locals. There is an airport on the island, so if you're living on the island and can't get out via ferry, you can pay, which is pretty pricey, to take a flight out. And then you have to pay weight actually in the grocery and items that you bring back, in addition to the trip.

Host: Wow. So, what would you say is the best time of year to visit to avoid the ice and flying situation?

Guest: Yeah, July and August are probably going to be my favorite. I know people are like, "Oh, go maybe in the spring or the fall to avoid crowds." But the problem with the springtime is there are these things called midge flies, and they are like clouds of black flies all over the place, specifically by the water. And Mackinac Island is surrounded by water. So, if you go in May and June, expect to have that experience, which may color your entire view of the island. July and August are really the best, and then September, it's just getting really cold because, again, it's on the water. And so that breeze coming off the water is pretty cool. And when she's saying black clouds of midge, she is not exaggerating. Like, they are clouds. And if there's any white surface, the white surface just becomes black with these flies. They don't bite, but they are just a pain. Along with the time frame though, if you really want to enjoy the island, there's two ferry companies, Shepler's and Star Line, and Shepler's is the main ferry company. And you want to get on one of the first two boats out to the island because if you jump off one of those first two boats, you're one of the first people on the island, except for anybody who's spent the night the night before. And the streets are quiet and clean and, yeah, and clean. Everything is horses. And so, you really get the peaceful downtown. And there's a courtyard in front of the castle, and you can really just kind of walk through the courtyard, take pictures, and there's nobody around. And like I said, throughout the day, the amount of foot traffic builds, everything starts getting more and more crowded. So, your most enjoyable time will be those two to three hours in the morning.

Host: That's awesome. So, don't sleep in those days. Plan to get up and get over there.

Guest: Yes.

Host: Awesome. Now, would you say it's a dog and kid-friendly place? Have you seen a lot of families there or pets at all?

Guest: Well, that's a great question. For the dogs, I'm not sure. I've seen them take smaller dogs. In fact, I know you can because they sell tickets for them to put them on the ferry. But I guess it depends on where you take your dog. If you take your dog with you everywhere, you can take them on the island. There's not going to be anything, unless they're going to scare horses. I wouldn't — that's true — if they're afraid of horses or if they're going to bark at horses, probably not a good idea. Interestingly enough, selling tickets in the campground store all summer, we sold ferry tickets, and the number of times I would see one parent come back to the campground with the kids was very high. You know, one parent would come back and the kids would be getting ready to go swimming and be like, "Oh, did you enjoy your island?" And, "Oh, my husband's still there," or "Oh, my wife's still there." But the kids weren't having a good time. There's just not a lot of kid-friendly entertainment. There's history and things like that. But if you're walking and biking and shops, yeah, not a lot of transportation where the kids are going to get a break, where they're not going to be on their feet or not going to have to walk places. However, I would say in Mackinac City, which is where you're either going to from Mackinac City or St. Ignace, you're going to take the ferry over to Mackinac Island. There are three indoor water parks in Mackinac City, and so the kids really, really loved those. So, you can still take your family to the area and enjoy Mackinac City. And it's my understanding that you can get one wristband that will go to all three of those indoor water parks as well.

Host: Oh, very cool. So that's something that you could go and like you said, go in the morning, go to Mackinac Island, take the family, and just plan to be there for maybe a couple of hours or where your kids' threshold is for being able to walk and pop in and out of shops, and then head back. And then you've got those really fun activities that they can kind of look forward to throughout the day. So, I think that's perfect.

Guest: Exactly.

Host: And we have talked about transportation. Obviously, you're either taking the ferry or you're flying over there. But do you bring your own bikes? Do they have bike rentals once you get over there?

Guest: You can totally bring your own bikes. So, I think it cost — this last year, I think $16 per bike.

Okay, that was more than I remembered. But anyway, it costs you to take your own bike. You can rent them over there. There are places on the island that you can rent them from as well. But don't rent them from the mainland and then take them over. It's not going to be as cost-effective. It's not really that expensive to rent the bikes on the island. The only thing I wouldn't rent the bikes is off the island and then pay to bring them over because if they break down on the island, you don't have anyone to replace that, whereas if you rent on the island, the company will ride out to you with another bike so that you can keep going. So, that is nice to know.

Host: Wow, very good information. Yeah, that's a good tip. So, lodging. I know you said there are hotels or boutique hotels that you can probably stay at on Mackinac Island, which you haven't done yet. But where are you staying when you are going there in your camper?

Guest: Specifically for RVing, there are RV parks on the Mackinac City side, and I think there's an RV park in St. Ignace. There's also a couple of casinos in the area that allow some overnight parking. So, if you're looking just for a quick overnight, you might be able to just pop into one of the casinos and park there overnight. I do recommend — and you know I'm not a shill for them, I worked for them, I'm done — but the best campground I think in that area is Mackinac Mill Creek. They have over a mile of their own beachfront property. So, they have a beach that you can walk your dogs on, they have a beach that's dog-free, and it's just really a beautiful place to stay if you're planning on staying for more than one or two nights. Yeah, it's kind of spaced out so the spaces feel a little bit like a state park with trees and everything, so we had a look at the other campgrounds in the area, and I think Mackinac Mill Creek by far would be the most enjoyable.

Host: Awesome. And how are you getting from your campground to the ferry?

Guest: So, you can take a couple of ways. If you're taking your bikes to the island, there's actually a rail trail that goes right to the ferry parking lot that you can ride your bike to the ferry parking lot and then just jump on the ferry. Otherwise, there's ferry parking pretty close by and they will shuttle you to the ferry. Or, a lot of times, campgrounds in the area have shuttles that run from their campground again to the docks. And not a lot of people know this, but there's free parking if you can get there early enough behind the Rusted Spoke.

Host: That's specifically for that one ferry company, right?

Guest: Yeah, they're rebranding, it's hard to keep it straight. That's specifically for that one. They are very much in competition, so you don't want to park in one slot and go to the other.

Host: Very good. So, what is there to do at night? I know you guys have not stayed there and really experienced the full nightlife. I'm not sure the last ferry, so maybe what do you do right before you get on the ferry or what do you do once you get off the ferry back in the city area?

Guest: Yeah, there are a lot of different restaurants there that you can go to. But if you're staying on the island, something that we would like to do the next time that we go is they have dinner at the Grand Hotel, which is very, very pricey, and you have to really dress up for it, no jeans, like you need to be wearing suit coats. So, it's again that kind of step back in time to another era. And so, that would be like a fun date night activity that you could do at the Grand Hotel. And then as far as just general activities throughout the summer, generally every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, there are fireworks that are launched from either St. Ignace or Mackinac City. It rotates depending on the day, and you would be able to see those from the island or from either mainland.

Host: Very cool, that's awesome. So, I guess transitioning, speaking about nighttime, any good sunset spots you guys have found?

Guest: Pretty much everywhere, I think, because it's on like this, where the sun sets is kind of like on the water. So wherever you are, like on the beachfront, either on the island or over in Mackinac City, watching the sunset from one of those locations, you'll be able to get a good view.

Host: Yeah, perfect. And now, because you guys are very budget-conscious, and if you haven't listened to episode one, make sure you do that. I have enjoyed seeing all your posts on your social media every month because you keep us updated that way, so it's really nice. But would you say the overall cost is more or less than you expected when you visited Mackinac Island?

Guest: I think it's about what I expected because you are paying for the ferry and then you're paying to rent a bike, so you have to factor that in. And when you're on the island, really the only extra things that you would be paying for are activities. So, like, whether you're getting into the fort or you're paying for a horse taxi carriage ride or you're buying souvenirs from the shop. So generally, I think it was what we expected. To save probably the most amount of money and to have a good experience is to buy a ferry carriage ride combo ticket. Those are actually some pretty good deals rather than just taking the ferry and then getting to the island and deciding you want to do the carriage ride. And especially if you're not a fan of maybe biking or walking or you're not able to, that's a really great way to explore the island.

Host: Perfect.

Guest: One thing that is not budget-friendly is the Grand Hotel, like Kalyn said. You can't tour the hotel without paying, and then any meal there, anything that they have there, I mean, it's just... I think dinner was over $100 a person. Yeah, it's another level.

Host: Is that the same thing as the castle you referenced earlier?

Guest: No, you meant the fort. Oh, castle, sorry. The fort is the historical — this is a step back in time. Oh, no, no, no. Castles, forts too, though.

Host: Those are definitely a step back in time.

Guest: Yeah. And you can get a pass, I think, from any really the stores sell them, the campgrounds sell them. I can't remember the name of the pass, but I'll have to look it up and let you know, you can put it in the show notes. But it gives you access to the fort and to like a butterfly garden there, and to another place. So if you buy like the one-time pass, it's actually worth the that amount if you go to all the locations that are featured on the pass.

Host: Awesome, very good tip. Yeah, we'll definitely link that in the show notes. Now, did you guys have to make any of your reservations ahead of time or do you feel like if you were just decided you wanted to head there you could get a ferry ticket and go on the island and enjoy the day?

Guest: Yeah, you could totally buy everything day of, especially if you're getting on those first boats. Actually, if I was getting on the first boat, I'd want to buy my ferry ticket the day before. All the tickets are untimed, so you just buy it and then it's first come, first serve to actually get on the boat. So if you get there and the line is too long, you're just getting on the next boat as opposed to the first one.

Yeah, and they run about every half hour to an hour.

Host: Perfect. So for campsites too, are they pretty flexible?

Guest: So, campsites, I would book further in advance if you are planning on staying for a weekend. If you can stay Monday to Thursday or Monday to Friday, you'd probably be fine booking anytime. I know Mackinac Mill Creek has 600, I believe, campsites, so they have the capacity, but they do fill up on the weekends, especially if there's any sort of holiday weekend going on. And so I think the other campgrounds fill up as well. But yeah, if you're staying Monday through Friday, you could just drive in and get a site.

Host: Very good info. So, how about food spots? What did you guys find any favorites?

Guest: Yeah, I don't know, we're not great foodies, so we eat PB&J. We do just pack sandwiches and save some money. But one of the restaurants that we did like on Mackinac Island was Millie's on Main, and we went there twice, and we got different things each time, and it was really, really good. The two fudge shops that I recommend, like I said, there's so many on the island, so you could actually just have fun sampling them all. But we really liked Sanders and Ryba's Fudge the best, so I would try those first.

Host: Perfect. I'll take those recommendations, do my own little fudge tour there.

Yep, it's the humidity, right? Is it really humid there or is that not so?

Guest: So, we lived in Florida for six years, and it did not feel like Florida at all. So, it was interesting because when certain people would arrive there, it was never really got above 80 the whole summer, and there would be some people, and I can't remember where they were from, that would be complaining about the heat, and Kayla and I would just kind of look at each other and be like, "Where are these people from?" It's not hot. And so, it definitely didn't feel like if you're used to a Florida humid, it is nowhere near anything like that.

Host: They're from northern Michigan.

Guest: Probably.

Host: Too funny. Alright, and if you haven't mentioned it already, any other nearby attractions either on the island itself or outside the island maybe near your campground that you haven't mentioned yet?

Guest: Yeah, there is a Wilderness State Park, which you could stay there in an RV, but we found I liked the beach there the best. It was the quietest. It didn't seem like a lot of people knew it existed. So that is one place I would go. If you want more quaint towns, you can go a little bit further south of that into like Harbor Springs and Petoskey and Charlevoix. They're cute, just lakeside towns that you can visit. And then if you want to go north, kind of to the east side, we visited Drummond Island, which not a lot of people have heard about. It's very outdoorsy, like not as quaint as Mackinac Island but definitely more for like, what is it, four-wheelers, ATVs?

Yeah, if you were into being more active.

One thing too, one thing too with the Wilderness State Park and that area in general is the Wilderness State Park is a dark skies park. So if you are going to Northern Michigan and hoping to catch the northern lights, that is a good place to set up if you've seen that, you know, that, hey, the northern lights are possible tonight. It's a good spot to go.

Host: That's very cool, and if you don't get the Northern Lights, you probably get some awesome stargazing, so take that. Perfect. So I think now we'll transition to the 321 countdown.

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 sprinkled 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 DeliciaOats.com and use the coupon code PATH at checkout. That's DeliciaOats.com, D-E-L-I-C-I-A-O-A-T-S.com, and use the coupon code PATH.

Alright, the final three segments of the podcast, 3-2-1 countdown. I just want to say too, you guys have rocked this interview talking about Ma Island. Thank you for being so detailed, and I feel like this is a place everyone, when they talk about going somewhere, it's out west, it's down south, but people sleep on Northern Michigan. There's a lot of cool things, fun things to do so out there. And I think we're lucky we had some insider knowledge working at a campground for a whole season. And if you're looking to go to Northern Michigan, we had it with Jim and Michelle, episode six or seven, I believe, and they talked about Upper Peninsula, and there really wasn't much overlap here. We could really listen to both episodes and have completely different things to do. So if you're going to do an extended stay there, definitely tune in. But we'll start wrapping this thing up here. So, what are three things you're packing when you're heading to Mackinac Island?

Guest: I think number one is if you do have your own bike, pack your bike because that's hands down the best way to visit the island in our opinion. Dress in warm layers because you've got sometimes a cold ferry ride out in the morning and a cold ferry ride back in the evening, and then it will warm up throughout the day. And then good walking shoes, whether you're biking or walking, make sure you're really comfy as you're getting around the island.

Host: Nice, bring your own bike, good walking shoes, and warm clothes. What are two complaints somebody might have or things they should be prepared for before visiting?

Guest: So, it's an island where the primary source of transportation for a lot of things is horses, so it's going to smell like two things on the island, especially as the day goes on. It's going to smell like fudge and it's going to smell like horse poo. So that, a lot of people, they come back and they're like, "I wasn't prepared for that." So, again, if you go early, a lot of the horse poo isn't out yet, it's been cleaned up from the day before. But as the day goes on, it's going to smell a little bit more. And along those same lines, don't step in the mud puddles because they're not water. And then the second one is the Grand Hotel. A lot of people go expecting to be able to, "Hey, we're going to get to walk around the Grand Hotel, see a tour," and whatnot, and they're surprised that A, it costs money, and B, there's a dress code. At certain, is it all day to get in the Grand Hotel? The dress code, I think it's more at night.

Host: Yeah.

Guest: But, you know, they're just surprised that they can't go in in their shorts and a t-shirt. But you can walk the grounds, like the courtyard, which is very beautiful. So, smell some of the restrictions at the hotel, maybe a bonus would be bugs if you go at a certain time of year.

Host: Yes, that's an interesting combination, horse poo and fudge, and don't get them confused which way you're downwind from. We've talked about a lot of things to do on Mackinac Island, but what is one thing, if you had to pick one thing, you could not leave without doing?

Guest: The eight-mile perimeter bike ride. Yeah, I know we keep bringing up bikes, but it truly is so enjoyable. And you start in the town, and then you kind of get out of town, and you just have trees overhanging and you're by the lake the whole time. And it's, again, with that back in time feeling with you being on a bike and not driving, the perimeter, it really helps you just slow down and savor and enjoy the experience.

Host: That's great. That does sound, I feel like it sounds like a really great place, but when you bring the factor that there's no cars, it just makes it that much more kind of alluring and desirable to go to, just to take a step out of for a little while and get on an island where you're riding bikes, it's horseback sounds like a really wonderful place.

Guest: Yeah.

Host: Well, guys, thank you for being so thorough with this podcast. We definitely want to add this to a stop at some point. And guys, if you're listening to this podcast right now, you saw, you heard how thorough they just were, and the part one was exactly the same. They shared their story on how they started out, how everything from budgeting and their entire basically their five past five years traveling full-time. So definitely tune in to that one. And Joe and Kayin, before we let you go, where can our audience find out more about you guys?

Guest: Yeah, we're on YouTube, youtube.com/openroading, and same place on Instagram at openroading. And we respond to DMs there primarily.

Host: Awesome. Alright, guys, thanks again.

Guest: Yeah, thank you so much for having us. This was a lot of fun.
- Lyssna Lyssna igen Fortsätt Lyssnar...
- Lyssna senare Lyssna senare
21. The Workamping King & Budgeting Queen @OpenRoading
8 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
www.atravelpath.com

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 3rd 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

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Music

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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.
- Lyssna Lyssna igen Fortsätt Lyssnar...
- Lyssna senare Lyssna senare
One Month Camping in San Diego - @HappilyEverHanks
3 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
- Lyssna Lyssna igen Fortsätt Lyssnar...
- Lyssna senare Lyssna senare
20. Getting As Much Fulfillment Out of Life As They Can @HappilyEverHanks
1 apr 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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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Juniper Springs, Florida: Camping & Nearby Activities @kodaandcourt
27 mar 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
https://atravelpath.com/

Hey Pathfinders, join us as we welcome back Dakota and Courtney to the show. After hearing about their inspirational story of travel nursing and doing two van conversions, they sat down with us to share on of their favorite destinations. We chatted about Juniper Springs Campground in Florida and some of the nearby attractions. Learn all about:

· What makes Juniper Springs such a great destination

· Paddleboarding and kayaking in the area

· Nearby airports and transportation

· Destinations within an hour including Kings Landing, Devils Den, and Daytona

· Swimming with manatees

And more!

Chapters

· 00:00 Introduction

· 01:15 What makes Juniper Springs such a great destination?

· 04:00 How far away are nearby attractions?

· 04:45 How long should someone stay there for?

· 06:30 How was it bringing your dog?

· 08:30 Juniper Springs campground amenities?

· 09:45 Nighttime activities?

· 11:45 How was the overall cost in Juniper Springs?

· 12:30 How was the food scene?

· 14:00 What are three things you need to pack when visiting Juniper Springs?

· 15:30 What are two complaints someone might have about Juniper Springs?

· 17:00 What is one thing you can’t leave Juniper Springs without doing?

Links

· Ocala National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/florida/recarea/?recid=83528

· Juniper Springs Recreation Area: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/florida/recarea/?recid=83676

· Ian and Ana’s video (featuring Devils Den, 3 Sisters Springs, and Kings Landing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L2ZK09Jd5g&t=1057s

· Lectric eBikes: https://lectricebikes.com/

· iOverlander: https://www.ioverlander.com/

Nearby Attractions

· Kings Landing (1 Hour): https://www.kingslandingfl.com/

· 3 Sisters Springs (1.5 Hours): https://www.threesistersspringsvisitor.org/sisters

· Devil’s Den (1.5 Hours) https://www.facebook.com/DevilsDenSpring/

· Daytona (1 Hour: https://www.daytonabeach.com/

· Disney World (1.5 Hours): https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

Podcasts Mentioned

· Disney World: https://atravelpath.com/disney-world/

· Florida Keys: https://atravelpath.com/florid-keys/

Nearby Airports

· Orlando International Airport (about 1.5 hours): https://orlandoairports.net/

· Gainesville Regional Airport (about 1.5 hours): https://www.flygainesville.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: Hi Guest and Guest, welcome back to the travel tips segment of the Travel Path Podcast. So for those of you who missed part one, Guest and Guest came on. They're on Instagram as Kota and Court. They've done two van conversions now. Um, Guest works as a travel nurse. We got into very specific details about getting into travel nursing and also their van build. Um, so if you haven't listened to that one, definitely check it out. But for part two, travel tips, where are we talking about today?

Guest: We're talking about Florida, specifically Juniper Springs area in the Ocala National Forest, and um, some of the stuff is kind of a broad range of surrounding areas, yes. So surrounding areas, there's a lot to do in Florida, there's a lot to do in that area.

Host: Awesome. Now, what made you guys want to share about Florida and the Juniper Springs area today?

Guest: So, we watched it. It was always like a bucket list trip for me. Um, I watched a video on it from Ian and Anna, and at the time theirs was called the other side, and uh, it looked really, really cool. It just looked almost like it was out of this world. So it was always a bucket list trip for me, and um, you know, we finally got to do it and so it was, it was really fun.

Host: What makes Juniper Springs such a great destination? Like, what type of activity should go there?

Guest: Just being outside. So, it's really cool. It's in the middle of the Ocala National Forest, it's a campground. Juniper Springs is a campground. And so, they've got like a neat little area that you can pull in and um, they got like a fire pit and tables, but it's really neat because they have the spring area and it's just really beautiful. It's blue water, it's clear, and it's close to Three Sisters, was the other part of that trip that I wanted to take, uh, so you can go and swim with the manatees. It's certain times of year they have them, uh, over there where you can swim with them, uh, swimming, kayaking, yeah, kayaking, hiking is a big one. There are lots of trails, um, actually when we checked in, there was somebody who was lost in the forest and emergency vehicles were pulling up and someone's like, yeah, somebody's like lost or hurt or something, we were like, oh my, so you know, hiking is a big one. I think probably backpacking, there's a lot of land over there to cover but we didn't go backpacking really or hiking, I don't think. We rode our bikes around a lot, um, just explored the area, but definitely like outdoorsy things. And I mean, there's, I think there's off-road trip around there too if you want to take like a dirt B, horses, ATVs, all different, it's really broad, you know, spectrum of things to do.

Host: So a lot of outdoor stuff though, that's perfect, and pretty much anyone going with their camper or their van, that's what they're going for is that outdoor experience. So that sounds awesome. Now did you guys bring your own bikes or did you rent them when you were there?

Guest: Um, we brought our own. We have, um, the electric e-bikes, so we brought those. We brought, um, I don't know if we brought our paddleboard, but we brought our kayak, um, which we used at King's Landing, a little like river flow type thing, um, so yeah, we brought, we did bring our own bikes, and the bikes we bought, they were like, she said the electric e-bikes, so they folded up and they fit in the back underneath the bed, so they're pretty compact and we could get them out and unfold them and ride around nice.

Host: Do you know if you saw anywhere around that you could rent like paddleboards or kayaks or bikes from?

Guest: So like when we went to King's Landing, I know that they had rentals there, you could take your own and that one was a really, really cool place to see as well. It's spring-fed and all the water's super clear, you can walk through lots of it, um, there are gators and stuff so there's like two different parts of that where you can go up one, um, just to see, you know, the scenery and then there's like a wildlife part of it where you're going to see more, um, like gators and stuff like that.

Host: Now, the campground Juniper Springs is in the National FL, and then in these other little areas, how far away are they? How far are you driving?

Guest: Oh, I mean, I think, like, I think like an hour or I think, yeah, yeah, 30 minutes to an hour, um, not super, not super long, all in our opinion, maybe an hour, yeah, which we're used to driving a lot. I mean, right now we're driving 1,500 miles a week and so I mean, our not very far to us can be a lot further to other people.

Host: But I think it's nice especially for the RV community to have somewhere that you can go that does only take, you know, an hour and a half to get to because then you can either just bounce the next day or stay over there. Um, or you can go and enjoy stuff and then head back to that campground if that's really where you just want to be staying now to get the full experience. How long did you guys stay there for?

Guest: We stayed, I think it was a week and, um, I mean it was more than enough to kind of see what was in the area but we moved pretty fast so, um, I mean there's plenty to do for longer than that. Uh, we kind of went in the off-season. Even when you're heading down, there's stuff to do along the way, like Devil's Den is, um, you know, along the way but there's a lot, there's a ton of springs, ton of places to kayak and stuff like that. There's a lot to do around the area.

Host: You said you went in the off-season, when was that? Like early March?

Guest: Yeah, so it was before, you know, all of the, before the summer crowd really. They were just kind of getting things started, even like the spring break crowd. Like I don't even think that we saw a lot of like, but Al weren't by the beach either so, um, we didn't, you know, it was, it was really pretty chill. We went to the beach but it was closed down, like not closed down but there wasn't like a whole lot of stuff going on.

Host: And in March, did you guys have good weather in this area?

Guest: Yeah, I mean for the most part. There were some days where it was kind of cloudy and I mean the, the April-May showers type of thing but it cleared up pretty fast. I mean I think it's not uncommon for it to rain and then be sunny in Florida so, it was, it was good. It was decent.

Host: And how was the temperature of the water in March?

Guest: It was cold. We put our feet in, let the little fish bite our toes but, um, I think it stays around the same temperature most of the year or if not all the year so it, I mean it's pretty chilly but it's not like you can't enjoy it, yeah, absolutely.

Host: Now, you guys do have a dog, did you have your dog when you went?

Guest: Yes, yeah, he was a puppy, trying to think. I was like, yes, we were afraid that the bears, we had to walk out in the dark a few times and we were afraid that the bears were going to come in, which I mean we're not from an area that there are bears, yeah, so like every sound we heard or even like in the van sleeping, we're like, do you hear that? Which now, you know, we're a little bit, since we've traveled more, yeah, it's not like as intimidating and they don't, we didn't see a single bear while we were there, nobody had any issues with a bear. I mean we had bear spray just in case, needed it but, I mean people were out at night, you know, cooking stuff on a campfire and all sorts of stuff. I mean nobody had any issues with a bear, I think it was just because we were new travelers, better to be cautious. They have like warning signs, like lock up all your belongings and so the, they do have, uh, warning signs when you come in, trash cans and stuff are all, you know, and in lock down bin. Yeah, yeah, Hank loved it, he, he was just a puppy we had just, we got him in January of that year and we went in March so he was only like two months old so he had a blast. We were still actually trying to potty train him at the time too so he was still doing really good.

Host: So, obviously, you drove there but how does transportation work like where is this National Forest in relation to some of those major airports if someone doesn't have a van and wants to fly and enjoy the campground in the National Forest?

Guest: Yeah, I mean there's, there's airports you can fly in, you can rent cars and get to all those places. Um, say we, the closest we were Orlando, yeah, it wasn't far from Orlando, it wasn't very far from there, maybe some closer options but I know that there, you know, it's not very far from a lot of those airports that are, you know, down there in that area. I think there's quite a few of them, um, I'm not sure right off the top of my head which ones exactly they are.

Host: Why don't you, um, tell us just a little bit about the campground and kind of some of the amenities that they had there?

Guest: Yeah, um, I mean they had biking trails, uh, they had walking trails, you could go backpacking in, uh, that specifically that area, they had like, um, they, a shower room, they had like a little room, um, beside the showers so you could go like with a sink and I think and you could go and wash your dishes, um, the Ocala National Forest is huge so, um, I think there's a lot of stuff just right there by it, there's different lodging and and stuff like that.

Host: Awesome, we love National Forests because a lot of times you can do dispersed camping there so it makes it nice where you can just kind of explore, pull off, find an area that doesn't have a no camping sign and you're usually good to stay there for the night and that's some of the best spots that we've found so it's nice that you have the option for the campground but you're also in the National Forest, you could probably drive out and stay somewhere for a night and you know, feel like you're really in the middle of the national forest.

Guest: Yes and things, I think things are a lot harder, you know, when you get, I think somebody said east of the Mississippi is a lot harder to find, you know, dispersed camping but it's definitely doable. I mean you, we use apps like iOverlander and stuff like that that help out too so, yeah.

Host: We've used eye Overlander a lot, and that has almost always pointed us in a good direction. So in this area, what is there to do at night?

Guest: We did a lot of just, you know, camping stuff. I mean, we just, you know, make s'mores or roast, you know, hot dogs, have a campfire. I think it's just mostly like outdoor stuff. A lot of the stuff seems to kind of close down at night. I mean, you can travel into some of the other places like Daytona Beach. There's a lot of stuff to do around there, so it just kind of depends on what you're looking for and what you like.

Host: Yeah, definitely. In Florida, there's something for everybody.

Guest: It's not too far from other things to do at night, but where we were at mostly, it was just, you know, kind of campfire activities, hanging out with each other, relaxing.

Host: Yeah, so that's perfect. That's what, you know, being in nature is all about. How was the stargazing? Were there open areas for that?

Guest: There were, for sure. I mean, you could get out of the campground and drive kind of through the forest, and there's places to pull off on the sides of the road and stuff, and you can get out. I mean, it's really dark, easy to see stars and stuff like that, but where we were at, there was a lot of coverage.

Host: Yeah, very good. Sunset or sunrise locations, did you get to see any good ones?

Guest: Yeah, more towards like the beaches. So, good pictures at Daytona Beach of our van with the palm trees and stuff in the back. So, in the Ocala National Forest is, you know, mainland, I guess you would call it, or inland, I think that's the word I was looking for. So if you travel more towards the beaches, I mean, that's not to say that there could be other places that we didn't see, but a lot of the sunset pictures at the beach and stuff like that were really, really cool. I mean, it's, there's not really anything like seeing a sunset at a beach.

Host: So, as far as overall cost for this trip for you guys, was it more expensive or less expensive than you expected?

Guest: I think it was less expensive than we expected, just because we had budgeted more just for activities and stuff, but a lot of the stuff wasn't very expensive. Like, we brought our own inflatable kayak to go on King's Landing. It was less expensive than renting a kayak there. And a lot of the amenities were just free, you know? I mean, we had to pay for our campsite, but it was fairly cheap. The biggest expense was gas to get there, actually.vSo under budget that we decided after we left that we were going to go up to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and see that too.

Host: That's always nice when you have extra money in your budget and you can just add something else in.

Guest: For sure. We did that. Yeah, it was fun.

Host: Awesome. Now, did you guys have any good food spots in the area that you were in, or did you have to really pack everything in and cook at your campfire?

Guest: That's, we kind of packed everything in and cooked everything, you know? We made sandwiches. At the time, she was T of money. She was a staff nurse and I worked at the school, so it wasn't like we had a ton of money. We were kind of on a budget then, so we just ate, you know, sandwiches and cooked cheap stuff and really just traveled to see the place, you know, and experience it, not necessarily spend a bunch of money. We've never been, you know, huge on like going and doing all these attractions and stuff. Ours was just really to see the environment, get to say we've been there, and just enjoy it for what it was, you know, what it had to offer. And I think we were excited to cook and do everything for the first time in our van, too.

Host: Absolutely, just really be in the van and experience that, of course. Plus, with the new puppy, you probably didn't want to venture out too far from him. Very cool. So if you haven't mentioned it already, are there any other nearby attractions?

Guest: Yeah, there's lots. I mean, there's, um, Orlando's not like crazy, crazy far, so you can go to, you know, Disney. We went to Three Sisters, we went to King's Landing. I mean, there's a lot to do.

Host: Perfect. And on your way, I guess you can stop and listen to our podcast with Eric Adventures. She did on Disney. Stop there and do that, and then head to the national forest and listen to your guys's podcast. That's perfect.

Host: All right, guys, well, it's time for the final three questions, the 3-2-1 countdown section of the podcast. So, what are three things you have to pack when you go to this Juniper Springs area?

Guest: Bug spray, yeah, bug spray for sure.

Host: I was gonna ask.

Guest: I think another one would be, if you can, like a bike or a kayak or something to kind of entertain yourself outside. So, I mean, you don't even have to have those, just like some sort of outdoor activity, whether it be like frisbee or ball, or you know, I guess you don't have to do that kind of stuff, but, you know, that was something that was important to us. And then with staying at the campground, it's not like it's super, super close to town. I think it's like 15 or 20 minutes to the town. So, you know, pack your food in there and then, you know, take your trash and dispose of it on the way out.

Host: Perfect. So bug spray, food, and something to do outside, some sort of activity, yeah, whether it's a bike or a kayak or a football. That's a good point. I feel like I've gone to the beach so many times and there you go to the beach, you lay down or you go for a walk or you go for a swim, but I remember thinking repeatedly, I wish I had like a football or just something to throw around, a frisbee, football, you know, whatever.

Guest: I'm the same way. I'm not much of a lounger. I like to do stuff that's, you know, fun, whether it be ride a bike or a one-wheel or, you know, whatever. Yeah.

Host: Yeah, I like to lounge, but it's good to, like, work up a sweat, throw a ball around, and jump in the water and just repeat, right?

Guest: Right, for sure.

Host: What are two complaints that somebody might have about this area? And not necessarily complaints, but things people should be prepared for. And I feel like I know the answer to one already.

Guest: Yeah, so like driving would be one. The other would be maybe like cell phone signal and service. I don't... which one were you thinking that I was thinking?

Host: The bugs, but.

Guest: Oh yeah, yeah, bugs for sure. That's the first one that came to my mind.

Host: So, in terms of driving, it's just the drive to get there or are you driving kind of for long periods to get back and forth to the town or like a grocery store is a little ways away?

Guest: So, like, like I said, it's like 20 minutes. So, it's not like you're just driving right on into town to get something. You know, it's a little bit of a... get something. So that may be a complaint some people. The other one is like signal, you know? There's not... now there's Starlink. When we went, there wasn't Starlink. So you may be able to have something like that, but for us, we didn't have any cell phone signal. We didn't have any way to contact anybody if we needed to, which I, you know, that's a blessing and a curse, I guess.

Host: Well, whether it's a blessing or a curse, it's still something you should be prepared for, so that's a good tip to bring up.

Host: And last question, guys. We talked about a lot of things in this episode, but what is one thing if you had to pick that you cannot leave Juniper Springs without doing?

Guest: I'd say going to do King's Landing. It's just a lot of cool, like, photo-like opportunities, like it's just really that, like, photo-like that picture-perfect moment that not even, like, really even your camera can capture. Like, it's just so beautiful. And we have tons of pictures of it posted, I think on our Instagram or maybe our separate Instagrams, but a very beautiful place. I think that's one place that I would... Yeah, like if you look up like videos of it or whatever or see pictures, you know, when you show up to that place, it's going to be exactly if not better than what you've seen online. So, it was just really beautiful, clear water, it just felt like you were in, you know, an oasis, yeah, but the trees over top of you and yeah, it was just a unique experience that I don't think you would get anywhere else.

Host: Yeah, yeah, there's a lot of those places where, like, you know, photos, they're always going to look better in person, but oftentimes, like, a thing that looks really cool in person, it doesn't look that cool in a photo. But the King's Landing is one of those things that it's both. In person, it's amazing, I would imagine. I haven't been there yet, but the photos of it look amazing too.

Guest: You've been to places where it looks really cool, you know, and you get there and it's not quite as NE, yeah, but this one, yeah, it's everything that you would imagine. So, we even tried to paddle, like, when we were... I think when we were heading up, we were going like with the current. So, we were like trying to slow down just so that way we could like just take it all in a little bit slower. Maybe it was on the way back, I'm not sure. When you go up, you go against the current, on the way back, you go with the current.

Host: Sweet, guys. This was another super informative travel tips segment. One more time, listeners, if you haven't tuned into the first episode, they talked about their travel nursing and their van builds, so definitely check that one out. And yeah, Hope and I, we're excited. We're going to go to Florida over the next couple of months here and we definitely want to add this to our list too. So maybe Disney and then we've got Florida Keys and we'll have to stop in Juniper Springs too. Awesome, guys. All right. And one last question, where can our audience find out more about you?

Guest: We're on Instagram @Kodaandcourt is our name. And we have a YouTube channel. Maybe we'll start uploading to it. We'll just, you know, see what kind of happens.

Host: Sweet. All right, Dakota and Courtney, thanks again.

Guest: Thank you.
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19. Travel Nursing & TWO Van Conversions @kodaandcourt
25 mar 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
- Lyssna Lyssna igen Fortsätt Lyssnar...
- Lyssna senare Lyssna senare
Ultimate Guide to an Alaskan Road Trip! @themilesvanlife
20 mar 2024· A Travel Path Podcast
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.
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