The Adventure Begins

It kinda feels surreal to be putting this into words, but…

We did it!

We actually freaking did it!

We bought an RV — Our first home, as a matter of fact — And we’ll be traveling the country full-time, working from the road, and going on tons of adventures! We couldn’t be more thrilled!

Where it all began…

A couple of years ago, we started thinking how crazy and cool would it be if we renovated one of those Sprinter vans and pursued what many know as “van life.” Like many, we fell for the picture-perfect feeds of so many on Instagram, showcase beautiful scenes and nature and adventure. And we wanted the same!

We don’t have kids and we don’t really have a lot tying us to one spot, so we thought, “Why not?”

The idea became an obsession — It’s literally all we could think about. We even went so far as to start talking about pricing and costs. But life still needed to happen.

So, Trent went back to school to finish his degree. I quit my full-time job to pursue starting my own business as a freelance social media manager and blogger.

And then came the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turns out, being cooped up in the house for the better part of a year isn’t our thing. So, it’s during 2020 that we really took this nomadic lifestyle idea seriously. But it wasn’t until June of 2021 that we really started to plan it out.

Fast forward to now…

And you get the picture above! As you can tell, we’ve definitely shifted away from a van to what is now our very own Grand Design 3950bh fifth-wheel RV.

And it all happened really fast!

First, Trent graduated college in May 2021.

Then he studied and passed his state licensing exam to teach middle school math in June.

Then, he applied like crazy for online teaching jobs and landed the first one he interviewed for at the end of August.

That very same week, we bought the truck.

Followed by a hard let-down with financing for a brand new unit in September.

Then, we waited. We scoured the RV trader app, just hoping that someone, somewhere would be selling their slightly used unit. We even went so far as to make a spreadsheet of units that were doable, but that we knew we’d trade in later.

Then, Trent found THE ONE in November! A 2020 Grand Design 3950bh in Illinois! He made contact with the guy, we made an offer, and he accepted! So, I took care of all the financing and we got approved through our bank the week before Thanksgiving, closing on the entire deal the Tuesday before the holiday.

So, when I say things happened fast — They happened FAST!

Packing and moving into our new home has come with all the emotions you could imagine. We’ve put ourselves in a great position to take our time and not rush out of our current rental. But packing things up has been a lot harder than both of us expected.

We made a home here. We hate the house we’re in, but we’ve both cried taking things off the walls and putting stuff into boxes. Sure, we’ve moved a ton of stuff into the RV and will continue to do so, but there’s something strangely bittersweet about packing up a home you’ve lived in for so many years and worked hard to make it yours.

So, I think it’s caught us both off guard for how difficult this transition has been. I’m not usually the sentimental one and don’t really get attached to things, but moving our stuff out of the sticks and bricks and into the home on wheels has definitely been an adjustment.

I honestly don’t think it’s hit us fully, yet. We literally spoke it out into the universe and the universe answered. It hasn’t really sunk in that this home is going to take us everywhere! It’s going to take us to places most people would never think to stay or visit. It’s going to take us on daily/weekly/yearly adventures.

Trent and I have no time table for when this lifestyle will be over for us. I think it’s going to be a wild and crazy adjustment to realize that we get to slow things down and take it easy. We don’t have to be anywhere at any certain time.

We both look forward to stillness and quiet and being out in nature. We both look forward to finding healing and peace…and maybe even a re-discovery of ourselves.

I’d be lying if I said this adventure doesn’t scare the living daylights out of me. But as we’re quickly learning, there’s a reason more people don’t do this — It’s not easy.

There is nothing easy about moving into an RV and leaving a city you’ve spent the last decade in. There’s nothing easy about deciding what to keep, what to throw away, and what to donate. There’s nothing easy about learning all about your rig, RV life, and what that entails. There’s nothing easy about any of it — And that’s why it takes a special kind of person for this lifestyle!

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

But, I hope you’ll join us as we embark on this brand new adventure, traveling the country, meeting new people, and sharing stories along the way! We definitely look forward to hitting the road and meeting those who’ve been doing it for years and decades before us!

We also hope to share all the hard lessons we learn along the way, so maybe one day, when someone else is thinking about pursuing RV-living, they’ll have some reference to help guide them.

“Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.” — Fauja Singh