Due to a series of unfortunate events, we took a road trip without our trailer. Our son was getting back from deployment, and we were determined to go to his homecoming. Since it’s the Marine Corps, we were given about 5 days notice of the actual return date. Of course, the actual date didn’t match up with the really great trailer trip we planned to take up to see him according to the preliminary window of return dates we were given. To make matters worse, the trailer was in the shop having some warranty work done, and wouldn’t be ready in time for the actual dates we needed it. We had no choice but to make the trip and stay in a hotel.
The trip was a 10-hour drive. This is much easier to do in one day when you drive a little Subaru and not a big truck and trailer. We decided to make a mad dash for it and try to make it a quick turnaround. And, that we did.
I could end this blog post right here and just say, we missed our creature comforts from our trailer. But, since you probably are looking for something to read while you eat your breakfast or something, I’ll expand. More specifically, here are the things we missed:
Our closets and drawers – We had to pack suitcases! The horror! We are not used to that! In our trailer, everything has its place. It’s the same with my suitcase, but it’s all squished into one suitcase sized spot. First world problem, I know, but I really love my trailer storage.
Our medicine cabinet – Our toothbrushes and toiletries live in there! Getting them out of toiletry bags and trying to share the tiny counter space in the hotel was a challenge. We’re just not used to that!
Our TV – We know how to work it and we know how to stream our favorite shows on it. The hotel TV was fine … if you like reruns of “Friends.”
Our food – When we are on an RV road trip, we don’t eat out much – except for lunches when we’re out exploring. This really helps keep us from getting “road trip gut” (that nasty, bloated feeling like the “Very Hungry Caterpillar” had when he needed to eat through a nice green leaf toward the end of the book). It also is much easier on the budget to cook some of your own meals.
Our bed and pillows – Again, we’re used to them! Hotel beds and pillows are just weird.
The air conditioner vent – This may seem like a strange one, but I find hotel air conditioners annoying. They’re loud, they come on whenever they feel like it, they blow the curtains around … they just bug me! In our trailer, we leave the air conditioner set at one temperature and have it run constantly while we sleep. We have the perfect temperature and some familiar white noise. And, the best part, there’s a vent that I can point straight to my head while I sleep!
Our dogs – We had to board them for this trip. We normally take them on our trailer trips. They love trailer trips, riding in the truck, and exploring new places. It was sad not to have them along.
Really, the hotel was fine aside from the dead bug collection in the elevator (they promptly vacuumed the bugs up when we told them about the collection). It was also during the awkward post-COVID time when the hotels were not sure how to handle things. There was no maid service happening. So, the fun parts about hotels – like leaving your towel on the floor and having a new one when you get back from exploring – were not happening. This made us miss our trailer even more – even though I’m pretty much the maid service for our trailer.
We love our trailer and love exploring the United States in it. We love America’s diversity in landscape – desert here – beach there – mountians there …. It’s awesome! RVing is a vacation lifestyle choice we’ve made 18 years ago and we’re glad we made it! Perhaps it’s the creature comforts that keep us going. When we do the math, owning, storing, and maintaining the trailer isn’t saving us a whole bunch of money on vacationing – maybe even none! We’ve even thought about maybe selling the trailer and traveling like “normal” people. Those thoughts never last more than a few minutes because we remind ourselves why we RV and what we’d miss if we didn’t have it. This year, with diesel prices going crazy, we’re taking shorter trips and are finding lots of new places to explore within three or four hours of home.
If you’re questioning your decision to start or to continue RVing, maybe it would be a good idea for you to think about all the little things you love about it and what you’d miss if you traveled like a “normal” person. I bet your creature comforts will come into play and you’ll love your RV just a little bit more. Happy Camping!
It happened. I never thought it would. I burned out on RV’ing. It was on day 91-ish of our almost 4-month trip. We were on RV park number 18 where we were staying for close to two months. It was hot. I had just made the round-trip walk to the laundry room (also known as the sweatshop for its lack of air conditioning) that was eight campsites away – yes, I counted. I realized I…was…done!
To be fair, we were moving from Washington State to Florida. We decided to take an epic RV trip to make our way there. We had set up to have our movers haul our belongings and our realtor meet them at our storage unit in Florida to watch them off load the truck. On our trip, we received word that our moving truck had been broken into which caused a fair amount of phone calls and coordinating. While we were in our longer-term spot, we found out that, as a result of the break-in and our desktop computer getting stolen, we also had bank fraud problems. So, we were trying to take care of stressful life things from the trailer with two dogs, the laundry room eight sites away in a town we’d probably never choose to live in. Oh, and we had no internet so we were running everything through one bar of hotspot on our phones. It was probably the worst possible way to conduct life’s business.
To be even more fair, the RV Park we were staying in was the best part of the town! It was its own community with lots of great amenities like golf, water aerobics, dog park, etc. The people were great. I was taking golf lessons. My husband was playing and practicing golf a lot. We made friends in the RV park! I’d highly recommend the RV park. It’s a short drive from a lot of cool places.
Nevertheless, I was done. It was after one of my 8-site walks to the sweatshop when my husband walked into the trailer to find me laying on the bed sprawled out and not moving. I was hot, burned out, and soaking up some air conditioning. He asked if I was OK because it’s rare to find me not moving and awake at the same time. I told him, “I believe it’s day 91 and I’ve decided my limit is 90 days for a trailer trip. I’m done.” As it turns out, it was going to be a few more weeks before our house was ready for moving in and I was going to have to suck it up … buttercup… like I used to tell my kids.
I’ve had some time to think about my RV burnout and here’s what I have come to learn and some things I’m going to put into place for future long trips to prevent it.
90 Days is my limit – We will now plan our extended trips within a 90-ish day window. It was really plenty for both of us.
I am not full-timer material – My RV dream was once to sell everything except what we really loved, put the stuff we loved in storage, and take off for a year. I have learned that I probably couldn’t handle that trip. I need a place to go home to after the trip and an itinerary. I have newfound respect for people who do this full-time RVing thing – especially the ones who do this with kids. My kids can tell you, I would have made a horrible homeschool teacher! My hat’s off to you for your patience and perseverance. I’d probably be in jail.
Slow the trip down! – 18 RV Parks? What were we thinking?! We regret trying to get from Washington to Florida too quickly. We thought we needed to be in Florida sooner that we did. In the future, we’ll have a 3-5 night minimum at any stop depending on what’s there to see and do. There will obviously be some stops that should be one-nighters on the way to someplace better. On this trip, we wished we had scheduled more time in most of the places we stayed.
As much is possible, stay in vacation mode – We really had no other choice than to deal with our moving break-in and bank fraud. We were also working on our mortgage process and had to keep dealing with that. This is too much un-fun stuff to do on an RV trip. It’s total buzz-kill! Since we’re never planning to move again, we should be able to avoid the moving fiasco on the next long trip. Life happens and we’ll have to deal with whatever comes up, but we’ll try to find more vacation-fun type things to do to off-set it.
Don’t stay in one place too long – We were in one spot for two months. This was a new experience for us. While we enjoyed getting to know people and getting involved in the activities at the RV park, we really felt the desire to move on and explore someplace new. We are figuring our maximum stay at any one place will be a week. Of course, there will be exceptions depending on where we are, who we’re visiting, and what’s going on in life but, this will be our general rule.
In all reality, our trip was really great! Apart from the moving stress, I’d do it again while spending less time in the last RV park and more time in many of the others. We really had a blast and loved getting to see so much of our beautiful country. We visited several National Parks. We also visited Las Vegas, Albuquerque, San Antonio, Galveston, New Orleans, and several of the top tourist vacation spots on the gulf side of Florida. This blog post is not a complaint. It’s more of a lessons-learned share.
We’ve been in our house for six weeks now. I love it! I Iove where we live! Guess what – I’m ready for another trailer trip! I’ve been bugging my husband about going on a little three-night trip. He’s not completely over his burnout just yet. So, we wait. We’ll go soon enough, I’m sure!
Photo Note: The fussy kid in the photo is my daughter (now 25 years old) one night when she was just done! This is one of four in a photo series. In the last photo, she’s asleep with her head on the tray of the highchair. It’s one of my favorites because it tells the story she couldn’t articulate. She was just done!
Next Trailer Girl Blog – From Freezing to 100 Degrees – Packing for Multiple Climates Without Losing your Sanity or your SpaceT
For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to kids with special needs. As early as elementary school, my parents introduced me to a girl with special needs. In high school, I talked the teachers into letting me help in the special education PE class instead of taking a general PE class so long as I took all the required PE tests. I went on to study Therapeutic Recreation and guess what? You got it! I found myself working with kids with special needs during my studies. I now run a community based non-profit youth orchestra program. At some point, I realized, we had an oddly high ratio of students who had siblings with special needs and on top of that, we had a mom who was a Music Therapist. It was meant to be that we would start a music program for students with special needs. I love the time I get to spend with these kids. They’ve taught me a lot about life. Much of what I’ve learned, and am continuing to learn, can be applied to RVing.
I must put out this disclaimer. I am not a parent of a kids with special needs. I can’t even pretend to know what it’s like to live with the challenges of special needs 24/7. I am a person who gets the privilege or working with these kids for a short time each week. This blog post is written from that perspective. I believe kids with special needs are a gift. I don’t like to call them “disabled” because I don’t believe they are. Perhaps they are unable to independently do the tasks that are considered “normal” by society, but so what? These kids have super-powers that allow them to see the world and enjoy things in a completely different way. Here are just a few of the many gifts in the form of life lessons that I’ve received from these kids that have helped me enjoy life a little more simply and have a lot more fun.
1. Enjoy the moment– This may be the hardest one to apply to life when it comes down to it. You don’t find kids with special needs fretting about politics, their bank account, or the next thing they’re going to do. They enjoy what’s in front of them … in the moment. Often times, we fret about too many things we can’t control. In these times, we get irritated about things like politics, other people’s driving, comments on Facebook … you name it! We spend too much time trying to control things that we can’t. In the end, it’s a waste of energy and a joy-sucker.
When on a trip, I try to just enjoy what’s in front of me in the moment. I love watching kids run around in an RV park. I love National Parks and looking at the views, checking out their historic buildings, and taking hikes. It’s hard sometimes, but I try not let the stresses at home, things going on at work, politics on Facebook, or the news suck the joy out of my moments. One of the many gifts of RV travel is terrible internet access. Going off the grid can help me gain perspective on what to enjoy in the moment and the stresses that I can save for later or ignore all together.
On one trip (that wasn’t an RV trip), my husband and I went to Yosemite. It was January and we were planning to go snowshoeing. The weather didn’t cooperate. There was no snow on the ground and none in the weather forecast. So, we left our snowshoes at home and packed our hiking gear instead. Just before we left, my father in law was diagnosed with cancer and was hospitalized. My mom was also starting to have mysterious health problems. After talking with both sets of parents, it was determined that there was nothing we could do to help and that we should continue with our plans and go on the trip. If you’ve ever been to Yosemite, you probably remember the terrible cell phone reception. What a blessing that turned out to be! We had good reception on our hikes when we got to the top of things (like waterfalls) and at the hotel. This is where we’d return the calls and check in on the parents. The poor cell phone reception allowed us to compartmentalize the crises going on, enjoy the moments, and then deal with the crises when we were ready to do so. We lost both my father in law and my mom shortly after the trip. People asked us after the trip, “So…was it a… good trip? Was it ruined..?” We both agree that it was a good trip and that it allowed us to enjoy moments instead of fret over things we couldn’t control.
2. When it gets to be too much, take a break – Kid with special needs can become easily over-stimulated. In this fast-past world with information bombarding us all the time, we could all learn to become more aware of when we are becoming over-stimulated. I think that those of us without special needs have become desensitized and a bit numb to it all. We don’t realize how overwhelmed we’re getting until it’s too late or we’ve spun ourselves into a grumpy tizzy and wonder how we got there. One of the beautiful things about RVing is the ability to get away for a weekend fairly easily. When work, life, and the world get to be too much for us, we escape to a happy place … which is pretty much anywhere our trailer can go with us. We keep a copy of “Office Space” in our trailer for when we’re escaping work stresses. Inappropriate language aside, the movie is hilarious. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to go “Office Space” and smash a piece of office equipment! Taking some time out and poking fun at what stresses us, can be good for us and make Mondays a little better.
Sometimes a person needs to take a step back in the middle of the trip. I remember one time, we were on the second to the last day of a 10 or 12 day trip. We were traveling in our 25-foot trailer with no slides-outs. The kids were on my last nerve. Normally, taking out the trash isn’t my trailer job. This night, I volunteered. My husband got the cue and didn’t worry when I was gone for an hour … taking out the trash. I needed a break.
3. Routine is a good thing – Kids with special needs like their routines. In our music groups, we have a certain order for the songs. If we skip one, the students let us know! It’s important to them that they have the routine. With RVing, I have routines! For instance, I get up every morning, walk the dogs, get back, and have my coffee. I like this routine. It gets my day started right. I have a routine for cleaning up and preparing the inside of the trailer for travel. If this routine is interrupted, bad things happen! Doors don’t get latched and fall off the tracks. Refrigerator bars don’t get put in and food gets spilled in the refrigerator. I forget to put the toilet tank deodorizing chemicals in the toilet. Don’t mess up my routine! Routines are important!
4. Change your perspective – One of the most fascinating things about kids with special needs is how they look at things. This is especially true of kids who have autism. I have watched kids who are playing with a set of egg shakers, for instance, and instead of looking at them from the perspective of sitting on the floor and looking down on them, some kids will get at eye level with the egg shakers and look at them from where they lay – on the ground. I can only guess at why they do this, but for some reason, the change of perspective brings on a new kind of delight. Simply going on a trip can change your perspective and your attitude. Let’s face it, sometimes when you’re RVing, things don’t go your way. Tires blow out, tow vehicles break down, lunch takes forever and makes you later to your destination…stuff happens! I try to change my thinking from “this is a bummer” to “what are we learning?” or “what’s funny in this situation?” or “what’s going to be funny later?” Sometimes, I just think about dinner and how I’m going to change up what I’m making because we’re going to get to our destination late. I have to admit, my ability to have a better attitude about things going sideways is much better when I’m on a trailer trip because my perspective changes as soon as we leave the house!
5. Be helpful – In the photo for this blog post is Jacqueline. She has autism. She’s also a trailer girl. She takes a special bus from school to our group and gets there early. She is my “side-kick.” She helps with set up and seems to enjoy it. There are other students who come early and ask, “Can I help?” RVing has chores. One thing my husband and I have learned over 28+ years of marriage is when one of us is flustered or frustrated, things go better when the other stays calm and asks, “can I help?” In our family everyone has a trailer job. We’ll talk more about that in my next blog post.
6. Laugh easily – Jacqueline, and many of our students with special needs have low humor thresholds. By this, I mean they find things funny … a lot! Even when they maybe aren’t funny. Finding the humor in things is always helpful – especially on vacation. Things go wrong – or not as planned. Was there anything funny about it? Look hard … there probably was! To this day, we still laugh about backing our trailer at the Canadian border. (See previous blog post about our doomed Canada trip). We have lots of little mishaps from our trips that are funny, at least to us.
7. Enjoy people! – One of my favorite things about kids with special needs is how they love other people! They find delight in bumping into someone they know at the store. They don’t worry about the other person’s background, what kind of car they drive, if what they’re wearing doesn’t match … they don’t care! They are the most wonderfully non-judgmental people! They care that the person is happy to see them too. What if we all just enjoyed other people because they were people? Not because they think like us Not because they “belong.” Not because they are popular. Just because they are a person. What a different world this would be!
I love people! I find them entertaining. I love people watching. One of my favorite things to do in my trailer is to sit at my dining table and watch other people in the RV park. They are so entertaining! I like visiting with people when I’m out walking the dogs or taking out the trash. Just this last trip, a kid taught me a new word when describing his dog, “suspicious-ist.” I love this stuff!
8. If one sparkly happy face sticker is good, two or six is even better – At our music group, we just finished our summer camp. One part of our camp is crafts. We do a lot with those squishy stickers that are easy to peel and stick. I love the way the kids decorate their crafts with these! There is random, sparkly, gaudy, joy in their creations. What are the little things that bring you joy that you can add to your RV or collect along the way? I have my National Park pictures that I frame and hang in the trailer. I have also been collecting dishtowels from places we’ve been and hang them in the trailer. I change them out with each trip as a reminder of a past trip.
9. Eat the good stuff – At the end of our summer music camps, we normally have the kids put on a show with all of the songs and dances they learned. We culminate the show with a pot-luck lunch. Sadly, this year, we couldn’t do the pot-luck since sharing food during a pandemic is frowned upon. This pot-luck is always the best. Parents are smart and bring things they know the kids like. One dad drove through McDonalds and picked up a whole bunch of Chicken McNuggets and French fries. Another time, a parent brought a couple of pizzas. Another dad made his daughter’s favorite “taco pasta”. The kids’ plates are a testament to the foods they love. They have nuggets, fries, pizza, taco pasta, and the most colorful cookies available.
On trips, I like to eat the good stuff. I try to keep it healthy, but I also try to remember the fun stuff. For instance, I don’t normally have chips with my sandwich when I’m at home because I’m trying to eat healthy. I pack chips on trips! Maybe trips can have some delicious traditions. For us, our trip food indulgence is pie. We love to find pie on our trips. Perhaps it’s because I make the worlds ugliest (yet still tasty) pies know affectionately in our family as “pie salads”. Or, maybe the hunt is part of the fun. Maybe both. I recently made a dish that we often have on trailer trips and we were home. My husband remarked, “I feel like we should be in our trailer.” Trailer food should be the good stuff!
10. Dance like no one is watching – Anyone who knows me will tell you that I lack rhythm and coordination. There is no way that I could ever be trained to be a professional dancer. In our music group, we dance! We do goofy dances to goofy songs. We get out scarves and wave them around. We have ribbon wands we fling into the air. My kids with special needs and I boogie like there’s no one watching and it’s fun! We enjoy the movement. Stretching your arms and legs, wiggling, and flapping your arms like a bird is fun! OK, so I don’t get out of my trailer, crank up the music and dance like no one is watching. However, I do make sure I move! It makes the trip better! Walk, hike, wiggle to the music in the truck – just move! Have fun doing it! It also helps with the “eat the good stuff” advice.
11. When all else fails, get out the parachute – There are times in our music group when things go south. Kids have bad days just like us. They get out of sorts. They have trouble understanding why they didn’t get their way and get the big drum. There was one such day when all heck seemed to be breaking loose. We had one girl screaming in the corner, “I want to be a pirate!!” (We weren’t even doing anything pirate related). Another kid that was disturbed by her screaming and beginning to melt down. Another that couldn’t sit still. And, yet another, who was stimming (making strange sounds that help soothe himself). It was a fiasco! What did we do? We got out the parachute! As soon as we did, the focus changed to the big colorful thing in the middle of the room. The kids were mesmerized. We turned on music and began making the parachute go up and down together. They focused. They smiled. They worked as a team. At the end of the group, when asked what their favorite part was. Guess what it was. Of course! It was the parachute!
Sometimes that’s what we need to do on an RV trip … or in life… take a minute to find our parachute. Why are we on this trip? What is important? Who is important. In our 16 plus years of RVing, there have been some annoying moments. There have been kids melting down. Heck! There have been parents melting down. But, in the end, what do we remember? We remember who we were with and what we saw, did, and sometimes, what we ate. We remember the good stuff! Focus on the good stuff!
A parachute help our group focus.
I am grateful that I have the pleasure of working with kids with special needs each week. They continue to teach me things. They crack me up on a regular basis. They spread joy! It’s hard to come out of our music groups in a grumpy mood. You really have to try hard to be grumpy in that group. So, I don’t try. I enjoy the moments!
Enjoy your trips! Enjoy your moments!
Next Trailer Girl Blog Post – Everyone needs a Trailer Job
I love a good bargain. Maybe that’s part of what drew me to RVing. Then, of course, after I did the math of owning, storing, gas … not such a bargain. Still, it’s my favorite way to travel! One of the many pleasures of RVing is going to places that are harder to get to by airplane. Most of the time, the places we go don’t have a luxurious resort feel. We go to places with a vacation vibe … just different from a fancy resort.
When you travel this way, souvenirs can be different, often less expensive, and sometimes quirky. Sure, when you visit someplace like a national park, there are the traditional t-shirts and such, but what is it that you bring home that really makes you remember your trip and reminds you of a fun outing on the trip or a funny story? My Windex bottle is one such treasure.
It was one of our first big trailer trips. I think my son was five and my daughter was nine. We were going to Glacier National Park. We were excited! We were also on a pretty tight budget. We were coming from the Seattle area. We dry camped a couple nights at Lake Wenatchee with the neighbors and then, made an overnight stop in Coeur D’Alene at an RV Park. That turned out to be a smart move, because a few nights in a state park with a five-year-old boy created a need to do laundry! After we had refreshed, we headed onto West Glacier, Montana.
If you’ve never done this trip, you should. It’s a beautiful drive! When we got to the Flathead Lake area, we hit a crazy can’t-see-the-car-in-front-of-your kind of rainstorm. By the time we got to West Glacier, the Suburban and trailer had mud splattered all over them! It was a mess!
We got the trailer all set up and sat down at the dinette only to notice that we couldn’t see properly out of the windows because of all of the mud. Of course, we had no Windex with which to go out and clean the windows. No problem! We were staying at the West Glacier KOA (I highly recommend it!) and they had a little camp store. I walked over and found not only a bottle of Windex, but a jar of Huckleberry Jam! Jackpot!
I came back, got some paper towel from the trailer, and went out and set about my work trying to clean it up. I decided to start with the door because I had a 5-year-old-boy who would be touching it a lot and I didn’t want to have to constantly clean up his hands. Also, the window on the door was spattered in mud. Well, I had no idea I had an audience. Yep, there were two older gentlemen sitting in their camping chairs watching the whole thing and laughing! They weren’t unlike the two guys from the balcony on the Muppet Show. They finally yelled, “Do you really think you can clean that whole trailer with that little bottle of Windex?!” I found them and the scene to be totally entertaining.
I have had the same Windex bottle for 15 years. It’s lived in three trailers. I just keep refilling it. Every time I use it, I think of those two funny old men in their chairs, the crazy mud on the trailer, and the wonderful trip we had to Glacier as a family. I think I might still have the price tag on it. I think it was $2.99. It was some of the best money I’ve ever spent on an unlikely souvenir. Not every souvenir or treasure needs to be an obvious one.
Now, some of you may be getting the false impression that I am low maintenance. My husband says, I am the worst kind “You think you’re low maintenance, but you’re really high maintenance.” That’s a quote from “When Harry Met Sally.” I get accused of being Sally pretty much every time I order in a restaurant. I like to think my standards for souvenirs are fairly low maintenance, or at least un-fancy. Here are my requirements for worthy souvenirs:
Usefulness: On one trailer trip to Crater Lake, we had money left in the vacation budget. So, we decided to splurge on a Pendelton Throw Blanket that we keep on the end of the bed in the trailer. It gets used all the time, looks lovely, and reminds us of time spent in National Parks.
Our Pendelton throw at the end of the bed was a splurge, but we use it a lot!
Will I wear it?: I have a collection of “I-forgot-my-jacket” jackets in the trailer. These are the bargain jackets you can find in gift shops for people who forget their jackets. Since they don’t get a ton of use and won’t wear out, they make great, useful souvenirs. Now, I don’t have to remember to pack a jacket because of my collection. I’m not a big t-shirt wearer. For me, unless a t-shirt has a dual purpose (i.e. is a good hiking shirt), it’s a no-go. For my husband who wears t-shirts whenever he’s not at work, it’s a good souvenir. If you’re traveling with a five-year-old-boy, you might need a t-shirt or two right right away …
Can I use it in the trailer?: I have decorated the inside of my trailer with National Park art. I love it! I only use art from parks we’ve visited and whose art has colors that go with the trailer. Most of the “art” purchased has been greeting cards that I frame when I get home. My husband bought a Pendelton Glacier National Park mug in Glacier and uses it every morning in the trailer. I like to buy cute dishtowels from places we’ve been and keep them in the trailer.
I love my souvenir dish towels!
Can it be used for a gift later?: This is where fancy-ness comes in. My husband and I (O.K. mostly me) will point out things, jewelry for instance, and remind each other that we have an anniversary coming up and that might make a nice gift. Then, we’ll make a sneaky purchase and save it for later.
Can we eat it?: Maybe not so much a souvenir but, for us, a fun tradition .. pie! We always look for a place to get a pie on our trips. Often times, we can find them at fruit stands and they’re delicious! On our last Glacier trip, we got a Huckleberry Pie from a popular Truck Stop and it was fabulous. It also came with a story that we quote often. The pie was $30 and we were a bit aghast when the girl at the counter rang it up. Her dead pan response, “Huckleberries aren’t cheap.” I dare say the pie was worth $30! We have other funny pie stories as well. We also like to find things like Huckleberry Jam that we can’t readily find at our local grocery store.
Do I want to remember this trip?: Sometimes we go places just to get away that aren’t so much vacation places. Those trips are more relaxing than memorable. Or, maybe the trip was a bust and you want to forget it.
We have gone plenty of places where we’ve come home with just memories and no souvenirs. RVing is about all the things you get to see, the people you get to be with, and the adventures you get to have. Take pictures! Scrolling through pictures is a great memory jogger! Some of my favorite trailer trip pictures are of my kids hiking and playing. In fact, in addition to my Windex bottle, my other favorite souvenir of the Glacier trip is a picture of my kids at the Continental Divide. What will spark memories for you? Think outside the t-shirt and coffee mug box. Make sure your souvenirs are worthy! Wherever you go, have fun and make memories! Don’t spend too much time in the souvenir shop!
Next Trailer Girl Blog – Things I’ve learned from Working With Kids Who Have Special Needs That Can be Applied to RVing … And Life
In our 16 years of RVing, we’ve always had at least one dog who comes with us most of the time. Our dogs love trailer trips! Our trailer lives in a storage place. When it comes up to the house to get it ready for a trip, our dogs know we’re going somewhere, and they get very excited about it! Over the years we’ve learned more and more about bringing the dogs and when not to bring them. I should probably point out that we are not full-timers. Our longest trips are usually around 2 weeks. As you’re reading this, take away anything that helps and leave the rest. I know for a fact that some of this won’t apply if you’re full timing (sorry about that!). Also, we have no experience traveling with cats. I know people do, but we can’t help you with that. (again, sorry about that!).
If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you’ll know I am a bit of neat freak. I also don’t like doing extra work on vacation. Bringing a dog or two along on a trip can be a bit of a struggle in this regard. I’ve learned to reconcile my love of traveling with my dogs and inner neat freak. Here’s how I handle things. (Note: check the bottom of this blog post for links).
Dog hair – I hate dog hair dust bunnies! Whenever I leave to go to work, I tell my dogs, “Leave your hair on!” They never listen! I found a good vacuum for keeping after the dog hair and I use I almost every day. I also use a swiffer to pick it up. I have learned to not even bother trying to sweep it out of the trailer as it just floats back in. I also brush out my dogs after our morning walk each day.
Mud prints – We live and travel in the Pacific Northwest. Mud is a constant issue. We keep a mud colored (some people might call it “taupe”) towel by the door so we can wipe off their feet when we come in from a walk and before they track mud all over the trailer. I also keep floor cleaner and a mop handy in case.
Rugs are your friends! – We have a Waterhog rug by the door. It’s a big help with collecting dirt and mud from the dogs’ feet and ours. I recently discovered Ruggables. Ruggables are magical rugs that don’t slip and are 100% machine washable and dryable. They come out beautifully! I don’t have any in my trailer but have them in the house and I’ll probably never buy a rug that isn’t either a Waterhog or a Ruggable ever again!
Dogs need their place. – Our dogs have their beds. We had another dog that needed her kennel at night. What does your dog need, so he knows where his spot is in your trailer?
Behavior – I’ve heard it said, “A tired dog is a good dog.” I totally agree! We involve our dogs in our day as much as possible. They love new smells, hikes, drives in the truck, and generally exploring with us. We do our best to make sure our dogs are tired from having fun! It usually makes us tired too! We all sleep better!
Keep up with their routine – You’ll all be happier campers if you do. My dogs go for a walk each morning after I get up. I plan that into my trailer routine, or should I say, they plan it into my trailer routine. They wake me up at walk time and let me know it’s morning … even if I try to explain that I’m on vacation and I’d like to sleep in. An RV park gets low marks from me if I can’t find a nice, safe place to walk a couple of miles with my dogs in the morning. My husband is the night guy. He takes them on what we call, “Nine-O’clock gosies outsies.” Every night at around 9 p.m., he takes them out on a little walk about for their last time before they go to bed.
We don’t always bring our dogs with us. We believe there are times when it isn’t really fair to the dogs if we bring them along. We have been lucky to find great house and dog sitters in cases where we think it’s best to leave them at home. Here’s how we decide.
Will we be going to a National Park? – If the answer is yes, then the dogs stay home. Most National Parks don’t allow dogs on their trails. The dogs would have to stay in the trailer all day. It wouldn’t be fair to them and potentially, they could be a disturbance to others in the RV park if they bark or whine while you’re away. Having said all that, check the website for the National Park you’ll be visiting. They may allow dogs, or they may have kennels you can use.
Will we be going to an amusement park? – We love to take our trailer to Disneyland. We would never bring our dogs on an amusement park RV trip. We are amusement park geeks and like to close the place down at night. This would create a situation where the dogs would have to stay in the trailer too long during the day. Again, not fair to the dogs or others staying in the RV Park.
How long are our driving days? – If it’s more than say, 4 hours, we leave the dogs at home. This could change when we retire and are able to travel more at off season times. We are usually traveling in July for our longer trips. If we’re going more than 4 hours from home, it’s usually hot where we’re going. We like being able to make stops along the way without worrying about what to do with the dogs while we go inside a restaurant for lunch for example. We’ve seen people with dogs on long trips stopped at rest stops. They do a great job with their dogs. We just think our dogs (and us) would have a better time if the dogs stayed home and stuck with their routine.
Are we going to be able to get them enough exercise? – On shorter trips where we’re planning a lot of hiking (where dogs are allowed on the trails), we love bringing the dogs! For instance, we traveled to Winthrop, Washington and camped there for a week. On the way, we ate lunch at a place on the way that allowed dogs on their deck. Our dogs loved it! We hiked all over the place in the North Cascades on trails that allowed dogs. They got a ton of exercise and were in dog heaven! They were also tired! If we went out to dinner at night, they were quiet in the trailer because they were happy and tired. We took another trip to Cannon Beach, OR that was a five night trip. The dogs loved the walks, running and playing on the beach, and the campfires.
Other things to consider:
Before you travel with your dog – Make sure your dog is good on a leash and behaves around other people and kids. You can teach this by walking your dog in your neighborhood, introducing him to kids, and letting people pet him or her. My dogs like to go to Starbucks! I tie them up while I run inside and get my drink. They often get lots of extra attention from other Starbucks patrons who are passing by them. They love it! It’s also taught them a lot about how to behave in other places. Before ever leaving them alone outside at Starbucks, I took them with a friend and we took turns going to grab our drinks. This way, they learned that I come back out and that they don’t need to fuss or bark – all under the watchful eye of my friend.
Check the RV Park’s pet policies – You may have a “banned” breed. Some RV parks ban certain breeds like Dobermans, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds. We have a rescue dog who is a German Shepherd mix. She is a submissive type dog who is timid around strangers. As my husband says, “Try to get bit by her!” We think it’s fairly impossible. We were also told that she may be part Aussie. So, when an RV park asks for breed of dog, we say that she’s an Aussie Mix. Our little “un-banned” breed dog has a greater potential for being a troublemaker!
Use a leash! – We stayed at an RV park one time and the people next door to us had Dobermans. The people let them roam free off leash. The RV Park didn’t pay any attention to what was going on in their park. I’m sure the people trained their dogs and that they were good, but I wasn’t going to test it by bringing my dogs out of the trailer while their dogs were out. It created a situation where we were “hold up” in our trailer. Not cool! Even if you have the best-off leash dog on the planet, put your dog on a leash in the RV park. Not only is it usually a law, but it’s better for everyone in the park.
Dog Parks– Many RV parks have dog parks. If your dog is a dog park dog, you might look for this feature.
Pick up after your dog – Bring lots of poop bags! Always clean up after your dog in the RV Park, on hikes, etc.
Is your dog a flight risk? – Our little dog is named “Chase.” Chase is his favorite game! If he gets out the door, we have to chase him all over the place and he’s fast! We work really hard at “sit” and “wait” when I open the door, but every now and then, he escapes! I have a “Whistle” on him. This is a GPS tracker that pairs with an app on my phone. So, if he gets lost, I can find him on a map. It also tracks his activity kind of like a Fitbit. I get a text every day that says, “Chase met his activity goal today!” With the Whistle, I can make my house/dog sitter one of his “people” while we’re gone. That way, if the dog-sitter has an issue, she’ll be able to hunt him down. It’s also fun to see where they go on walks and runs. Conversely, if the dog isn’t getting walked, I can see that too and check in to make sure everything is OK. One time, our dog-sitter hurt her knee while running our dogs. So, I had to enlist the help of a neighbor to get the dogs walked.
Our dogs have been a fun part of our RVing experience. When they’re not with us, we miss them and catch ourselves trying to block them from coming out the door when we come back from our exploring. Our dogs love the truck, the trailer, the hikes, the new smells, and everything about a trip! I guess dogs need vacations too!
Dog Packing List
Dog dishes (mine live in the trailer – one less thing to remember!)
Dog Food
Treats
Leash
Brush
Foot wiping towel
Dog jackets (I use these when it rains – less dog to dry)
Poop Bags
“Place” (bed, rug, kennel – whatever your dog needs to have his own spot in the trailer)
I love to travel in my trailer and I love to cook. RV kitchens can be a challenge with their small sinks, minimal cupboard space, and their weird ovens. We are now on our third trailer and with each one, I have gotten more kitchen space. I am currently spoiled with a pantry bigger than my home pantry, lots of drawers, and plenty of room for my dishes and pots and pans. This wasn’t always the case. My first trailer had very minimal kitchen space and I became a master of making everything I needed fit.
My first bit of advice for anyone setting up an RV kitchen is to figure out what kind of RV cook you’re going to be. Are you an everything-from-scratch-kind of person or a pop-it-in-the-microwave kind of person. If you’re the later, you are only going to be challenged by your freezer space and you won’t need much in the way of cookware or utensils. If you’re a little more like me, an almost-from-scratch sort of person, you’re going to need to figure out how to pack your kitchen just right. Here is how I have set up my RV kitchen and how it’s evolved over the past 16 years of RVing.
Dishes – I hate paper plates! I am also not a big fan of plastic-y dishes and cups. I want everything to feel as much like real dishes and cups as possible. 16 years ago, I bought a set of Corelle dishes that I am using to this day. They make great RV dishes because they don’t break or chip and they stack compactly.
My dishes cupboard in my trailer.
Mugs – Mugs are a very important piece of camping equipment! We have a couple of good travel mugs for when we need to have coffee in the car. Otherwise, we use regular mugs. After 15 years of use, the stoneware mugs from my Corelle set finally died. I have replaced them with some Starbucks mugs that look nice with my dishes. I keep them in a drawer. I find that mugs chip less in a drawer. If you store your mugs in a drawer, you need to measure your drawer before you buy your mugs. I looked a little weird when some kids I know caught me measuring the mugs at Starbucks. You need to make sure they’re not taller than the inside of your drawer and steer clear of the drawer catch thing (I’m sure there’s an official name for it). I lined the drawer with a non-slip liner and put a paper plate rolled up with some no-slip stuff around it in between the rows of mugs so they don’t bump into each other on the road. The paper plate set up was going to be a temporary measure until I thought of something classier, but it’s working! So, I think I’ll just leave it.
My mug drawer set up. The thing in the middle is a rolled up paper plate with some non-stick stuff wrapped around it. It keeps everything in place.
“Glassware”– I use acrylic “glassware.” I had some super cheap cups from Walmart for the first 10 years of RVing. They finally cracked and I sprung for some nicer ones from Crate and Barrel. They’re holding up really well. I also have stemless acrylic wine glasses (because trailers jiggle and you don’t want to spill your wine!). I found nice ones at Crate and Barrel.
Pots and Pans – My biggest piece of advice here is don’t cheap out! That’s right! Don’t go buying the cheapest stuff for your RV! Here’s why. You are on vacation! Your sink is smaller than your sink at home. You don’t have a garbage disposal. Your gray water tank is only so big. The last thing you need is your food sticking to some cheap pot or pan and to spend time and gray water tank space scrubbing! Get some good non-stick cookware for your rig. You can find decent T-Fal at places like Target and Walmart. Also, check places like Home Goods. Sometimes you can find higher end stuff like Calphalon at great prices. If your cookware has glass lids, store your lids on the pots or pans if possible. I have a rack for mine now and it’s working well. I’ve been traveling with glass pan lids for 16 years and haven’t broken one yet!
You need one “beater” pot – You should have one “beater” pot. Maybe one you’ve handed down from your home kitchen or bought used at someplace like Goodwill. I store my “beater” pot in the bench of my dinette. I use it when I need to cook outside or when I’m cooking something that might hurt my good pots, like clams.
Silverware– Get a good set you like and a silverware organizer for the drawer. No one likes a jumbled mess in the drawer when it’s time to set the table. You can find inexpensive sets of silverware at places like Target or Home Goods.
Utensils– I used to sell Pampered Chef. I am all kinds of picky about my utensils and it’s probably the one thing I have gone more overboard on. I haven’t really given into the “it has to have at least two purposes” mentality for this. For instance, I have an avocado cutting tool. It’s important! I also have a tomato corer and two different sizes of graters. Very important! The one thing I am persnickety about is that everything has to fit in its intended place. So, it took me forever to find the right cheese grater that would lay flat in the drawer and not be a cheap, flimsy one. After a couple months of searching, I found a great Microplane grater with a handle that doesn’t stick up. YAY!
Organizing your utensils – I have all of the utensils that I use near the stove (wooden spoons, rubber scrapers, tongs, etc) in a utensil holder on the counter near the stove. I stow it in the cupboard below when we are traveling. For all other utensils, I have them in drawers organized by size more than function. That’s to prevent the jumbled mess thing from happening in the drawer. I also have my knives in sheaths so that I don’t cut my fingers trying to find something else. I hate bleeding…
Roll-a-Roasters– Don’t go camping without them! They don’t take up much space! You’ll be the envy of everyone at the campground! Roll-a-Roasters are telescoping roasters for use with a campfire. They have a little turning screw that you can twist with your fingers while you roast. They make perfect marshmallows! You can find Roll-a-Roasters at Camping World or REI.
Roll-a-Roasters. Don’t go to a campfire without them!
Small appliances – Our first rig didn’t have much space in the kitchen for things like appliances. Our coffee pot was only a 4 cup coffee pot because we could fit it in the cupboard. We didn’t have enough counter space to actually leave it on the counter while we were camping. Because of that, I have learned to camp without any small appliances other than a coffee pot. When we got a bigger rig, we got a normal sized coffee pot (with a stainless-steel carafe. It’s not breakable and it keeps your coffee hot longer). The coffee pot upgrade was one of the most exciting things about getting a new trailer for us. We left our 4 cupper in the old trailer when we traded it in with a note about why whoever bought the trailer needed that tiny coffee pot. Many people like having a crock-pot or an insta-pot in their rigs. Now that I have space for one, I’m not sure I want one in the trailer. I don’t even have a toaster! If I want to toast something, I use a pan on the stove. I’ve gotten used to my “trailer” recipes that don’t require extra appliances. To be a good “trailer recipe,” the recipe must be fairly simple, not require more than two pots or pans, not be something that you have to spend too much time cleaning out of the bottom of a pan, and of course, be delicious!
A good grill is worth every penny! – We have had some grill failures. For instance, on our first trailer, we bought a gas grill that was basically a giant grill pan on wheels. While it worked OK, our steak had strange grill marks and it wasn’t as good as over an actual flame. Our second trailer had a cool grill that hooked up to a gas spigot thing on the trailer and had a little grill shelf on the back of the trailer. It was a great set-up … except for the part where the grill didn’t work for beans! We had to be super picky about what we cooked on it and the outside temperatures and wind had to be perfect or it would take forever! On our current rig, we sprung for a little Weber gas grill. We love it and it cooks great! My husband is the griller. It was hard to get him enthusiastic about grilling on the first two grills. Now, he’s much more willing and enthusiastic about going out, setting it all up, and grilling.
Grill pan – Funny story, since we had those first two grills that were sub-par and we do much of our camping in the rainy Pacific Northwest, we decided we should have a grill pan for the trailer in case our grilling plans were thwarted by weather or a lack of enthusiasm by the griller. We frequently camp in a town that has two kitchen stores, a big grocery store, and a hardware store that sells some kitchen things. Do you think we could find a grill pan there when we needed one? NO! It’s an artsy town. Our working theory is, there are just too many vegetarians and they don’t grill much (clearly, they haven’t tasted grilled vegetables!). I found a decent T-fal non-stick grill pan at our local Walmart after we got home from one of those trips. It’s come in handy!
Stones – I mentioned before that I sold Pampered Chef. I have several baking stones in my trailer that I think are a big help to RV baking. RV ovens are weird. The stones (along with tiles on the bottom of your oven) help distribute the heat more evenly and prevent burning on the bottom. I have a pizza stone, a round stone (like a cake pan), and a 9 x 9 square baker.
Baking sheets – Before you buy a baking sheet, measure your oven! I have messed this up more than once! My husband has bent baking sheets so they fit. Another time I bought one that almost fit and we just left the oven door open a little. Lame! I should have measured first! After you measure, go someplace like Home Goods or a kitchen store. They’ll have a better size selection. Buy heavier metal baking sheets to prevent burning on the bottom. If you’re lucky, you might find a silpat mat to put on it that will help with clean up. I haven’t been quite that lucky…. Yet….. I love kitchen stores! It’s fun to always have something to look for.
Cute dishtowels and pot-holders you like – Don’t go taking your old, stained dishtowels from your house and put them in your trailer! Go pick out some that make you happy! You’ll be seeing them a LOT while you’re camping! Also, you’ll be using a lot of them if you cook! Most likely, you’ll need to hang them to dry somewhere like your oven handle and it’ll be out where you can see it. You want something you like there, not something stained and ugly! Lately, have been collecting cute dishtowels from places I visit. It’s fun to have reminders of past trips.
I am the “scullery maid” on our trips. That’s what my husband jokingly calls me. I don’t mind because he’s the “hose master” and the driver. This little division of labor gives us each some say in our areas. He has veto power over what we listen to while on the road, for instance. Saddly, there’s not much upgrading you can do with hoses, but he has the best he can find! He likes eating well on the road and doesn’t question my choices in cookware. It works! Although, truth be told, he did look at me a little like I was crazy when I put bread in a basket with a cloth napkin liner on the table! I finally had enough room for the basket and room in the drawer for a couple of cloth napkins. Time to get a bread basket!
Here’s my shopping list for setting up an RV Kitchen:
Serving:
Set of Corelle Dishes
Mugs that fit where you’ll store them
Acrylic “Glassware”
Set of silverware and silverware organizer
Cooking:
Set of non-stick pots and pans including; stock-pot, sauce pan, small sauté pan, larger sauté pan, and a skillet with higher sides than a sauté pan.
Non-stick grill pan
Beater pot
Set of nesting mixing bowls with lids (mine are stainless steel and I’ve had them 16 years!)
Pampered Chef Micro-cooker (great for cooking things like Costco chicken tenders that you’ll be putting in another recipe or for thawing the meat you forgot to take out of the freezer)
Pyrex type measuring cup
Nesting dry measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Favorite Utensils:
Chef’s Knife, smaller knife, paring knife, and serrated knife (I love my bread knife – works on watermelons too!)
Pizza Cutter
Rubber scrapers
Wooden Spoons
Rubber tipped tongs
Flat silicone covered whisk (for stirring in non-stick pots)
Regular whisk (for things like scrambling eggs)
Cheese grater (or 2!) – my favorite are Microplane with handles that help them lay flat in the drawers
Roll-a-Roasters
Baking:
Baking stones
Heavy baking sheets that fit in your oven
Other things:
Good Grill
Cute Dishtowels
Coffee pot with stainless steel carafe
Tea Kettle
Cutting Boards you like and that don’t slip while you’re cutting
A word about shopping. I am a big fan of brick and mortar stores. I like to touch things like mugs and glasses and see how they’ll feel in my hands. I like to feel the weight of a pot, pan, or a baking sheet. You can’t do that by shopping online! I also like to support small businesses as much as possible and will buy something at a small kitchen shop before going to a someplace like Target. I’ll even pay a few bucks more to buy something from small mom and pop shop than say, Amazon, to help support their business. I encourage you to get off your computer (when you’re done reading this blog post, of course!) and go to actual stores! It’s fun and you’ll be doing the brick and mortar stores a big favor! Additionally, you’ll be doing yourself a big favor by buying things that are more to your liking and that fit in your rig! Win-Win!
Next Trailer Girl Blog – Those Amazing Gadgets, Why I Won’t Pay for Most of Them, And a Few That Have Won Me Over
I will be the first to admit that I know very little about economics. I’m also not the best at higher level math. However, to my credit, I am the household bookkeeper and budget master. I also run a small non-profit which I started from the ground up right before the big recession hit. It’s our 13th year and we’re still in business and growing! All that said, I feel somewhat competent where small scale money is concerned. Don’t even think of asking me a question about our nation’s economics. I’ll give you a blank stare!
The other important thing to note is, I majored in recreation. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation Administration, Therapeutic Option (or shortened up, Recreation Therapy. Yes! It’s a real thing people get paid to do!). As a Recreation Therapist, I worked in several different settings including Psychiatric Care, Skilled Nursing, Drug and Alcohol Rehab, and lots of youthwork settings. In all of my career life, I have worked with people of all ages and backgrounds. This will all be important to my “Economic” theories related to RVing.
When we first bought a trailer, we had to buy a tow vehicle to go with it. We bought a brand new Suburban because we couldn’t find a used one with low enough miles set up the way we wanted. At the time we purchased it, there were so many kick-backs from Chevy and the dealer, we actually could get a brand new one for the same price or less than a used one. It was crazy! We also bought our trailer brand new because we couldn’t find a used bunkhouse model that didn’t smell weird and where you could pack both food and clothes. It was a very strange time for used trailers! They were just starting to get the idea that families wanted to travel and that everyone in the family would bring stuff and want a bed to sleep in!
As soon as we bought our trailer and tow rig, we pretty much ceased any kind of travel that involved a hotel and an airplane. We also began taking a weekend trip almost every month. The tow rig also became my daily driver and was a great mom carpool-mobile.
I don’t have a CLUE how to do the math to figure out the value of the tow vehicle to the travel vs what we paid for it, wear and tear on the trailer and rig, or whatever kind of math an economist would use. Here’s the math I did when we traveled with our kids:
Gas – for a family of 4 was almost always less than airfare
Car – we didn’t have to rent one, so we saved on car rental
RV Park Fees – At $35 – $85 per night for a family of 4, this was always a better deal than a hotel
Food – At first, we almost never ate out. This saved us a lot of money. When we were able to go out a little more often, we still saved quite a bit of money on food. We didn’t spend any more on groceries for a trailer trip than we would have staying home. We always figured that just by eating breakfast in our trailer, we saved at least $50 per day for a family of 4 (with a Starbucks type breakfast).
Sounds like a bargain, right? Now, figure in the cost of your trailer over the time you have it minus what you sell it for when you’re done with it (or in our case trade it in). Then, divide by the number of years you use it. That’s what you spend on your vacationing on just your RV. Our first trailer, we had for 10 years. We bought it for about $13,000 and sold it for about $6,000. That’s about $700 per year. Then, we pay for storage (let’s figure $100 per month). So, there you have another $1200 per year. $1900 is a pretty nice car trip hotel vacation! I try not to think about that!
Here’s where the financial payoff improves: when you take the weekend trips periodically throughout the year. Yes! You have to use it to get your money’s worth! Our little 3 day weekend trips are a bargain! Especially if we stay in a state park. Even if we don’t stay in a state park, our the gas and RV Park fees for a weekend trip usually cost less than a nice dinner and a movie for two people. If you’re just going to use your rig for your annual summer vacation, you might want to re-think your purchase.
You can improve the payoff even more if you purchase a used RV or trailer. RV’s and trailers don’t hold their value. As soon as your wheels hit the street from the dealer, it’s worth a bunch less than it was on the lot.
As a Recreation Therapist and someone who has spent most of her working life working with youth in some capacity, I have seen what happens when people become unbalanced. I don’t mean the lack of ability to stand on one foot without falling over (I am challenged in that area!). I mean the lack of taking time out away from work, school, and stress. I’ve seen what happens when people don’t take the time to do things they enjoy and re-charge. It’s not pretty! It can lead to all kinds of problems like anxiety, depression, and the over-use of substances to “fix” the negative feelings. I’m not saying buying an RV or trailer will fix this. What I am saying is, it’s helped us and other people I know un-plug and come back refreshed. It helps maintain life balance. When I worked in nursing homes as a Recreation Therapist, my residents liked to talk about their travels. Not one ever said, “Wow! I really wish I hadn’t traveled!” Instead they told stories of their adventures and time spent with their families.
We recently took a “free” trip to Hawaii for 8 nights. We used airline miles to purchase the tickets and hotel points for the hotel. We paid for one activity type thing, a rental car, and food. Breakfast was included with our hotel stay (we still had to pay for a tip and if we wanted to eat eggs, that was additional). Lunch and dinner was pretty much all we really had to pay for food-wise. It was the most expensive vacation we have ever been on! We were in a resort area with what I called “the resort fee.” There wasn’t really an added fee, it was just more expensive. When we drove around and visited other areas, it was a little less expensive, but not much. It was Hawaii! It made me think that RVing was an even better deal! I had no idea how out of touch I was with resort type vacations! We take our trailer to touristy places. It was nice to be reminded that we are saving some money.
My husband is an engineer. He’s really good at math and he can do crazy math in his head. His theory on all of this is, it’s a wash. If we didn’t have the trailer, we weren’t storing it, etc, we’d spend the same amount of money on vacations. We’d just be traveling differently and less frequently. Since he’s so good at math, I would have to agree with him on that!
We are now empty nesters. We’re on our third trailer, a 5th wheel that we love! In the last 6 months, we’ve camped (fake camped) about 25 nights in it. In some of the places we camped, we wouldn’t have been able to find a hotel for under $150 per night with slim pickings as far as restaurants were concerned. I think the most we paid per night was about $75 for a swanky upgraded premium site. We are doing our best to get our money’s worth by taking lots of trips! If we didn’t have the trailer, we’d probably not take weekend trips that help us decompress. We’d probably be crabbier, but I don’t want test this theory to find out! Another great thing that happens on a road trip is conversation. My husband and I get a lot of talking done in the car. We talk about the kids. We solve the problems of our government and other nations. We make fun of signs we see on the road. We talk about our hopes and dreams for the future. We wouldn’t have these same conversations on a plane surrounded by strangers. So, when this recreation therapist does the economic math for our RV travels, I come up with “priceless.” You’ll need to do your own math with your calculator and your heart and see what you come up with.
Next Trailer Girl Blog – Mrs. Lewis, I Believe You’ve Become Separated from Your Children. A funny story about losing our kids (and getting reunited) in a National Park!
I’m a 50 something woman who has never been in trouble with the law outside of a few speeding and parking tickets. You might wonder who would ban me from Barstow, California. My husband, that’s who! He said I’m not allowed to set foot in Barstow ever again. If we’re ever traveling through, he’s going to keep on going …no stopping!
We were on our first kid-less trailer trip. Our son needed to catch up on some school and our daughter was working. They turned into perfect house and dog sitters. At the time, they weren’t getting along consistently. So, we decided to leave them each (separately) money for food and then, offered them house and dog sitting money under the condition that we didn’t get any calls to break up arguments or solve problems for them. If something broke, it was up to them to figure out how to fix it or live without it until we got home. It worked out really well! We got no calls or texts and it made for a really fun time away.
We were well into this two-week trip. We had been to Zion National Park and climbed Angel’s Landing and hiked the Narrows (we highly recommend those hikes!). We had been to Las Vegas to visit my husband’s parents and Elvis. (We learned a LOT the hard way about how to camp in Vegas in the summer!). We were having a great time! We were headed to Anaheim from Vegas to make a kid-less trip to Disneyland. That’s when I got banned from Barstow.
I have always hated Barstow. When we were kids, we would travel from Long Beach, California to Albuquerque, New Mexico in a day. Straight through. 18 hours in the back seat with my brothers….on the hump. My parents liked saving money by getting “liquor store breakfasts” consisting of powdered doughnuts and juice. Yeah, put that in the gut of the kid sitting on the hump who gets car sick! Great Idea! Barstow is usually where the doughnuts and juice kicked in and I felt pretty sick. In fact, as a kid, I called it “Barf-stow.”
Thankfully, my husband is totally opposed to a liquor store breakfast. In fact, a selling point for both of us about RVing is, we can make our own breakfast before hitting the road. If we have to leave too early, we have a non-nauseating Starbucks back-up plan. It works for us. When we first started RVing, we would stop and make lunch on the side of the road to save money. Later, we decided it was more fun to stop someplace (usually, we let the kids pick) and get something at a fast-food place. Especially, since some of our picnic stops were, well, a little embarrassing to our daughter when she was about 12. It turns out the grass in front of a bank isn’t so much like a park and it’s not cool to have a picnic there. Now we usually skip the picnics at lunch time and stop someplace like a fast-food restaurant.
My husband may be the world’s biggest In-N-Out Burger fan. It’s really unfortunate since we live in the Pacific Northwest and there are none here. He plans our trips so that we leave the RV park in time to hit an In-N-Out for lunch on the road whenever we’re in the land of In-N-Outs. It doesn’t matter to him if we had In N Out for lunch the day before. We’re still stopping! If you’ve ever been through Barstow, you know it has an exit with just about every fast food option available. Of course, my husband planned it so we would hit Barstow at lunch time for In-N-Out. This would be our 4th In-N-Out lunch on this trip. One In-N-Out visit per vacation is fine with me, mind you.
I can’t remember what day of the week it was, but it was a busy day in Barstow! It was July, and a lot of people were traveling through. We got off the freeway and headed toward In-N-Out looking for 40 acres to park. That’s where everything started to go south…..
I spotted an outlet mall. There’s always bus parking at an outlet mall. Surely, that would be a great place to park! My husband saw a bank that had a bunch of empty spaces in front and thought he might go there. Unfortunately, I didn’t speak up before he was headed toward the left turn lane toward the bank and as he says, the launch sequence was already started. We couldn’t adjust our course toward the outlet mall.
We got to the bank and took up about 6 spaces and he said, “I don’t like this. You wait here and I’m going to walk over there and see if I can find something better.” He left the car running and walked off. Now, we were driving a twelve-year-old Suburban. One of its many quirks was, the air conditioner only really worked when the car was moving, and it wasn’t, and it was Barstow … in July. It was getting super hot in the car by the time he got back. He said, “OK, we’re going to go out that exit in the parking lot and park over there by that outlet mall.” It would have really helped if he would have added, “right where you suggested,” but he didn’t.
OK fine! We’re all parked by the outlet mall and by now, I’m really hungry and overheated. Off to In N Out we go. We have great teamwork when it comes to In-N-Out. He gets in line to order and I “vulture-ize” the tables. As in, I stand and watch for someone to get up and swoop in and take their table when they leave. Well, I did my vulture-izing and got us a table. I waited …. And waited….. As I was waiting, I was staring at a Chipotle sign and a Panera sign and thinking, “I bet we’d have our food by now if we ate over there.” 45 minutes (yes, you read that right 45 minutes!) later, he comes out with the food and says, “There was a whole tour bus right in front of us!” Of course, I was completely grumpy by then. He’s all happy because he has his In-N-Out. He didn’t care how long it took him to get it! He couldn’t understand why I as so annoyed. I had to explain. That’s when he said, “I’m NEVER taking you to Barstow again!” (YAY! I never have to go to Barstow again!!)
The obligatory In N Out selfie. One of us was happy … and it wasn’t me!
We ate, I got less grumpy, and we got on the road. About 20 minutes down the road in Victorville, we spotted another In-N-Out from the freeway. It had its own 40 acres of parking and hardly any cars in it! We agreed, Barstow is jinxed and we’ll just have to move on next time!
Not every day or every moment of RVing is wonderful! Sometimes, you have to make a joke out of your situation. Barstow has been a long running one and a reason why we pay closer attention to the google earth map when we’re planning our stops. I hope you found our Barstow story amusing. Maybe you have your own version of our Barstow story. I hope you’ve been able to find the humor in it and make it part of your vacation humor.
This post is inspired by Victoria, who after reading my last post about backing the trailer and staying married suggested I follow up with how to get back to the Happy Camper frame of mind when communication goes south. Thanks for the inspiration!
Let’s face it. You’re spending hours on end in a car or truck hauling a big box of some kind behind you. Then, you have to set up said box. Once the box is set up, you’re climbing into it with the same person or people you’ve been on the road with all day. It’s not going to always be happy camping bliss. It is inevitable, you’ll get on each other’s very … last … nerve. The trick is to not let it ruin your trip. Here are tips I’ve learned from almost 28 years of marriage, 23 and a half years of raising kids, always a having a dog or two, and 15 years of RVing. If you’re into math and look at those numbers, the laws of probability will tell you, there’s a pretty good chance that things have gone sideways a time or two.
First the easy one– When the dogs are on your last nerve. Usually, when our dogs are driving us nuts, they need to have a walk. Their annoying behavior is usually cured with a walk, potty break, or some food. A tired dog is a good dog.
Now for the trickier things.
The kids– Our kids, now 23 and 19, went through all sorts of annoying phases along with times of being super travelers. We used to say they were either adorable or horrible and that there wasn’t really an in-between. Here are some things we found helpful:
Prevention– It’s probably some kind of bad parenting to not make your kids look out the window when you’re driving all over the country. We sold out! We bought a tow rig with a DVD player that they could also hook up a video game console to. It was a Godsend! There was one trip where we were traveling down I-5 toward Sacramento from the Seattle Area. It was the morning of our second day. We had seen about 752 farms and about 5 million cows (writer’s embellishment – maybe). My daughter looks away from the video screen and out the window and says, “Hey look! Cows!” like that was the first she’d seen of them. We felt like bad parents, but also sane parents, which, in the end, prevents further horribleparenting!
Leg stretching – Don’t only stop for gas! Sometimes stopping someplace more interesting like, dare I say, Walmart, where they might pick out a new movie for $5 can help. We liked stopping every now and then at those giant strip malls that have a Starbucks, Target, Barnes and Noble, Old Navy, etc. You can pick up all kinds of things that were maybe left out of your packing, get a snack, and distract everyone from the road for a bit.
RV Park Scavenger Hunts– When you need to have a little peace and quiet in the trailer, send the kids out (if they’re not too little!) on a scavenger hunt. Our favorite scavenger hunt was license plates. We would give the kids a walkie-talkie and keep the other with us. Then, we’d send them out with a clipboard, paper, and a pen and have them write down all of the different states they found. We’d check on them on the walkie-talkie and get a report. NOTE: We only would do this in RV Parks we felt were really safe!
Take an hour to take out the trash – It was toward the end of a trip. The kids were on my last nerve. I just needed a break from everything. So, I volunteered to take the trash to the dumpster. I was gone an hour! I wandered all over the RV park, looked at all the different rigs, looked at the plants, looked at the pool, etc. I felt much better when I returned to my trailer having stepped away for a bit.
Lock the kids in the trailer and go for a walk – Once again, we’d employ our walkie-talkie system and lock the kids into the trailer and go for a 30-minute walk around the RV Park by ourselves. It gave us a chance to talk without interruption and a nice break. NOTE: Again, we only did this in RV Parks where we felt it was safe to leave the kids alone.
If the kids are old enough, go out to dinner without them on a date – Once our daughter was old enough to babysit, we would occasionally leave the kids at the trailer and go to dinner alone. We would only do this in RV parks that were very familiar to us and that we felt were very safe.
Remember the 8 O’Clock Rule – We all would get along better when we have been well fed. See my previous blog for information about the 8 O’Clock Rule.
What my parents did – One summer in the 1980’s, we drove from Long Beach, CA to Michigan. My brothers and I were piled into the back seat of an Oldsmobile. We were motel-ing it in AAA 2 diamond or less motels. I had to sit in the middle on the hump, which, in theory, was supposed to keep my brothers from fighting. It didn’t work. My parents decided they’d pay us each a penny a mile to be good. My mom had a little demerit log and if we were bad, we’d lose a penny or several depending on the crime. If we never lost a penny, it added up to about $30 each which we got to use for spending money on the trip. This plan backfired when my brothers pooled their money to buy a noisy electronic baseball game that they played in the car. It drove everyone who wasn’t playing the game at the moment nuts! One genius part of this plan was when they would put us on “talking restriction” when were bickering. They would say, “No talking for the next 10 miles!” Inevitably, the bickering would stop. Shortly after that, the snickering would start. We thought we were getting away with something. After traveling with kids for all these years, I’m now certain our snickering was part of their end game.
If someone has a favorite, try to work it in – If there’s someplace that is a favorite, go! For instance, my son (and my husband) love In N’ Out Burger. If we can work that into a lunch stop, there’s a lot of contentment after lunch!
Find the humor in their annoying behavior – My all-time favorite tattle from my daughter, “Mom! Ben called me a knuckle scratcher!!!” NO one in our family knows what a knuckle scratcher is to this day! My son made it up in the heat of the moment. It still makes us laugh! Kids are hilarious! Find the humor!
When you and your spouse are on each other’s nerves – This is the hardest one to recover from. One of the things we have going for us is, we actually really LIKE each other and enjoy spending time together. It really helps! Here are some things we’ve learned that help us on any day, but especially when we travel.
Doing everything together is not romantic – It took us 9 years of marriage to figure out that doing things that the other isn’t interested in alone or with another friend is OK. It now seems obvious, but we were a little slow on the uptake. For instance, my husband hates shopping. I love browsing in little boutiques and shops when we’re on a trip. He loves golf. I can’t hit the ball to save my life! So, he’ll drop me off in town for my browsing and he’ll go hit some golf balls or play 9 holes. Then, we meet up for the things that we actually like to do together. In our favorite “default” RV get away, I can walk to town from the RV park. We meet up for lunch and then, walk around in the art galleries together saying things like, “I could make that!” or “I might buy that if I had $10,000!” It’s fun!
Meet Friends– We have friends who we camp with, friends who stay in nearby hotels where we camp, and friends who will drop by for a day in some places we camp. It’s fun to have extra people and gives us a little break from each other, or at least a buffer.
Remember the 8 O’Clock Rule– (see previous blog post). We sometimes have to just not talk until we’ve eaten!
Don’t hash it out in the heat of the moment – Sometimes communication goes sideways. When this happens, we often need a cooling off period before we can talk about what went wrong. Sometimes it’s a few minutes. Other times, it’s after we’ve had a meal (because often the poor communication happens when we’re hungry). Sometimes it takes a night’s sleep, breakfast, and a cup of coffee before we can straighten things out. I have found that doing a verbal autopsy of the whole situation only makes my husband feel blamed and puts him on the defense. Whenever we have our heads screwed on straight and can actually think out what we say first it’s better to say, “Well, that went badly. What can we do next time to keep that from happening again?” Of course, on trips, it’s often been the whole backing the trailer and set up process that got us annoyed with each other. And, it’s often been the case where we were speaking two different backing languages. It’s helpful when he can say, “I need you to say ____ when ______.”
Only one of us can lose our cool at any given time – Somewhere in our relationship, we came up with an agreement that has worked well for us. That is, only one of us is allowed to lose our cool at a time. The other needs to either be quiet, say, “anything I can do to help?” (and not lose coolness when the answer is a gruff “NO!”), or just walk away for a bit. For instance, this could happen to us after we’ve arrived somewhere and he’s trying to get the trailer leveled and then set up the hoses. When I hear sputterings, that’s my cue that it’s my turn to be level headed. He does the same for me when I have a cooking tizzy or something. I have my fair share!
Choose your battles– Now that I’m in my fifties, I wonder why I ever got so perturbed by so many things. In my younger days, I let so many little things bother me! What a waste of energy! If, when things are going badly, you can think about the bigger picture of the trip, it’ll make that little thing you’re all worked up about seem less significant and not worth your energy.
Say “I’m sorry” and move on to something more fun – It seems obvious, but it’s sometimes much easier said than done.
Communicate your expectations – Some of our biggest rifts have come from not saying what our expectations were for a situation or a day and then expecting the other person to fall in line with this un-communicated expectation. For instance, I might expect that the day after we’ve arrived late at night, that we’re going for a big hike. I’ll set an alarm and try to get everyone rousted and ready to hit the trail. His expectation might have been to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and then, plan the day over a cup of coffee. This could lead to me annoying him and me being disappointed. Had we just taken the 2 minutes the night before to say, “What do you want tomorrow to look like?”, we could have saved ourselves some frustration.
Let your gifts shine! – Everyone has a gift that they can use on an RV trip. Mine is planning and organizing. Before we go on a big trip, I have a folder full of reservations. I’ve googled what to do in the area. I might have reservations for activities, etc. My husband teases me about being “Julie the Cruise Director,” but also says that he appreciates the planning. My husband is a really good logical thinker-problem solver type. So, when something goes amuck or if there’s something to be figured out logically, we defer to him. I tend to think up too many different ways to solve it and make it much more complicated than it needs to be.
Get the Navigation Package! – I am horrible with directions! I always have been and I don’t see things getting any better as I get older. My navigating while he’s driving and pulling a trailer isn’t always a good thing – even when I’m using the GPS on my phone! When it came time to replace our 14 year-old Suburban with his truck, we got the Navigation package. Now, he gets annoyed at the Navigation system instead of me. It’s a beautiful thing!
If your marriage is trouble, an RV probably won’t save it – I’m not a professional counselor, but I’d say don’t buy an RV to save your marriage! Go to counseling and then get the rig! Or, do it simultaneously. Our trailer has been a blessing to our relationship and given us some really fun times and special time together. We had done a little time in the counselor’s office prior to buying our first trailer. The tools we got from counseling came in really handy on our trips and made the whole experience better.
Keep a sense of humor – I’d say that keeping a sense of humor has been one of the most important ways we’ve been able to get ourselves back on track. Most of the time, our annoying situation is funny after some time has passed.
No annoyance is worth ruining your trip over. When you’re in close quarters with people for long periods of time, there is bound to be some strife. Don’t ever let it ruin your trip! Find a way to get over it, around it, or through it! Then, just have fun and enjoy each other’s company! You’re on vacation dang it!
This post was inspired by a comment! If you have something you’d like to read about, please leave a comment. If I have an experience that is blog worthy, I’ll write about it!
Next Trailer Girl Blog Post – 40 Acres and Why You Need It
If you’re looking for sage marital advice, you’ve chosen the wrong blog. This is literally meant to be a post about how to park a trailer or RV with another person and being OK with being inside of the rig together once it’s parked. Parking the rig can be the most stressful part of the whole trip. If you don’t have a trailer, maybe it’ll be of some help, but it’ll probably just be a little amusing.
We bought our first trailer in 2004. That’s when cell phone service was nickel and diming everyone by the minute and service was spotty. It’s important to keep that in mind when you’re reading this as you’ll wonder why in the heck we didn’t use modern conveniences. We did! They just weren’t 2019 modern. When we first got our trailer, we realized that we’d have to leave after work and that we’d get to our campsites late and we wanted to be quiet about it. So, instead of rolling down the window and having me yell which way to turn, we decided to get walkie talkies and some flashlights that had a glow stick feature on the end. That way, I could talk to my husband while he backed the trailer and point to where he needed to go with the glow stick – flashlight. This would help us do this task more quietly. It turns out that was pretty genius. What we discovered by not yelling was, it kept the tension down. I won’t lie and say it was a blissful perfect backing situation. It kept the tension to a minimum. Yelling tends to cause a rise in tension. Anyone who has kids already knows this.
Another thing we had to learn was to speak the same trailer backing language. That took years to master! I think after 15 years at it, he understands me even though I’m not using the language he would choose. I say things like, “The butt of the trailer needs to go more toward the driver’s side.” I also say, “Looks good enough for government work!” and “It’ll be fine!” That’s not something you should say when the person backing the trailer is an engineer and wants everything lined up straight and perfect!
Here are two trailer backing stories for you – the best experience, and the funniest. Neither of these experiences involve me on backing communications. I was on Kid-Patrol.
First, the best experience. After a super long day on the road between Redding, CA and San Diego, CA (I think this is the trip where we invented the 8:00 rule), we arrived at our campground exhausted. If I drove at all, it was probably for no more than an hour. He was seriously tired of driving and hungry. San Diego camp grounds are kind of party places. It’s warm at night and people sit outside of their rigs enjoying the evening. Thank goodness our next-door neighbors were doing just that. The neighbor got out of his seat, walked up to my husband’s window which was rolled down and offered to back him in. Our camping neighbor got him in one attempt. No jockeying back and forth. No pulling out and starting over. One perfect trip into the spot. It turns out, our neighbor was a long-haul trucker and was the perfect backing coach! My husband will tell you that to this day, that was the best trailer backing experience he’s ever had.
Now, the funniest experience. We arrived at a state park campground where we were meeting some friends. They were, of course, much more organized than we were and got there a couple hours before us and were all set up. When we arrived, it was dark, the kids needed to stretch their legs, and the dogs needed to be walked. Not to mention, it was after a full day of work and however long it took us to pack up and go. Our friend, Mike, offered to back my husband in so I could be on Kid-Patrol. My husband told me to let him do it because “guys speak the same trailer backing language.” Our friend, Mike, is an FBI (Full Blooded Italian) from Queens, NY, so he’s really good at yelling, speaking with enthusiasm, and hand gestures. He’s very entertaining! He didn’t use the walkie talkie. It wasn’t necessary. He got my husband all backed in and after putting down the jacks, pulling out the rear slide, and hooking up the electricity so I could start dinner, my husband started hooking everything eles up. When it came time to put the sewer hose in the receptacle in the ground, he couldn’t find it. It turns out, Mike had him parked with the wheels right on top of the sewer receptacle! Of course, that was discovered after I had set up the inside, started dinner, and the jacks were down. It was decided that we would move the trailer in the morning. Mike left a note on a post-it about “Mike’s trailer moving service” that we have in our trailer to this day (we moved it into the new trailer). We’re getting worried about it and I’m thinking I’ll frame it. It’s such a funny memory!
Here are some things that we learned in our backing communication that I hope can be a help to you:
Before we even begin backing, he gets out of the car and walks around the area where we’ll park. He checks out where the sewer hook-up is, where the electrical is, low hanging branches, etc.
Once he’s surveyed the situation, I get briefed. He’ll tell me, “We need to line up pretty much perfectly so the sewer line is in line with the sewer hook-up spot.” Or “You need to be looking out for that branch so I don’t hit it.”
Back in the day, we would use walkie talkies. Now, I call him on my cell and he has a hands free blue-tooth hook up in his truck. It works so much better than walkie talkies. I then, talk him back into the spot using my un-couth trailer backing language.
Once we think it’s close, he gets out and checks everything out to make sure it’s going to work, that the slides will come out without running into anything, etc.
Before un-hitching, walk all the way around the trailer and make sure everything is going to work. Don’t just look at the hook-up side.
By now, you might be wondering about the feature photo for this blog. That was our last camping trip. Yep, after 15 years, we’re still screwing up! We had driven in traffic and it took us longer than expected to get to our campsite. We were considering invoking the 8:00 Rule, but there were no restaurants around the camp ground and we packed food to make for dinner. We could make it. We did a great job backing the trailer, lining up the sewer stuff, making sure we could get the slides out, etc. One thing we forgot – walk all the way around the trailer. As it turns out, the other side of the trailer hung over a little hill that sloped steeply down. The jack couldn’t reach the ground! My engineer husband Macgyvered that set up. As it turns out, it was surprisingly stable and held for the entire weekend.
Here’s the best piece of advice for staying married, friends, whatever while backing a trailer – have a sense of humor. Don’t let the stress of getting parked ruin a trip. Also … it wouldn’t hurt if you’re buying a new rig and a backup camera is an option to get one. We don’t have one and we’re still at it after 15 years. There are T-Shirts for this that say, “I’m sorry for what I said when I was parking the camper.” That’s because it’s a challenge that needs to be met with humor.
I hope that’s helped. If it didn’t help, I hope it at least entertained you a bit. I’d love to know what you’d like to read about. If you have something you’d like to hear someone else’s experience about, I’d love if you’d leave a comment. If I have an experience with your topic that is blog worthy, I’ll write about it! For now, thanks for reading!
Next Trailer Girl Blog – 40 Acres and Why You NeedIt
Trailer Girl's Guide to Happy Camping 