We spent the last weekend in our RV, making a return trip to Crystal Cove Moro State Park in Newport Beach, and rather than do another write up on the park, since I already did so previously on this blog, I thought it might be interesting to share a little bit more about why, exactly, we're so thumbs-up about RV'ing.
General RV'ing Routine
Our general daily RV'ing routine is: We wake up with the birds (literally!), flip on our heater and coffee maker, and wake up slowly in our trailer over big steaming cups of coffee while we gaze out at the scenery, moving outside once the sun warms things up. We usually have breakfast late - 9:30 AM or so - because our favorite part of the day is the morning when we talk, enjoy the scenery, and drink multiple cups of coffee before getting a move on the rest of our day. While I'm making breakfast and tidying up the inside of the trailer for the day, my husband takes care of emptying our portable 5 gallon gray water holding tank and cassette toilet. (We do have a 13 gallon permanent gray water holding tank, but we prefer to use the portable one whenever possible so we don't have to add "get in dump station line" to our breakdown To Do list.) A note about the cassette toilet - although most trailers have permanent toilets, including what's called a black water holding tank (vs. a gray water holding tank, which primarily holds sink and shower water run off), we prefer the convenience of our cassette toilet. We, or should I say my husband, can empty it daily, a very simple task, and again, avoid the hassle of dealing with a dumping station. We also use it for, ahem, liquids only, a personal preference, but one which I hear more than a few other RV users adhere to as well!
Every day we plan one 4 - 5 hour activity like hiking, biking, kayaking, touring a museum or visiting a state monument or historical site. Doing just one activity allows for ample downtime both before and after, ensuring we're getting equal doses of relaxation and stimulation each day. Lunch is usually a sack lunch eaten in the midst of whatever our daily adventure is, but on occasion we'll dine out if there is a particularly interesting place we'd like to try. After our daily activity, while on the way back to camp we'll try to remember to take care of any small errands, like getting gas or picking up extra groceries or ice, so that once back in camp we can stay there. Depending on where we are, re-entering camp may necessitate getting into line behind a row of cars waiting to get checked through by the camp staff, so once we are back in camp we really don't want to have to go out again. Likewise, we tend to shower immediately upon our return to camp so that once we are done, we can relax for good.
Late afternoons are for napping, reading, snacking and sipping wine.
We tend to eat dinner a little later when we are RV'ing, because the afternoons are so lovely we want to stay outside and enjoy every minute we can before the cooler night air moves in and chases us indoors. I try to keep our dinners simple because trailer prep spaces tend to be minuscule, and clean up is also a bit of a bear for same, so the less is more theory prevails here. Not that we don't eat well . . . we eat very well! We just stick to the basics and try to enjoy our food as close to how it came out of the ground as possible.
After dinner we'll either watch a DVD, play a game, read, or sit out by our compressed gas fire stargazing until 10:00 PM or so, our normal RV'ing bedtime.
There is just enough mix up of work and leisure in RV'ing to keep us feeling consistently satisfied at the end of each day. Which is great, because it's affordability is the primary reason we'll be able to be on the road so extensively in our early retirement journey.
Just some of the places our RV travels have led us so far . . .
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| Hiking among the giant Sequoia's while RV'ing at Sequoia National Park |
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| Preparing to set up our picnic lunch after hiking 2.5 miles and gaining almost 1,000 feet in elevation to lovely Sherwin Lake while RV'ing in Mammoth Lakes, California |
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| Hiking among the palms and cacti at Joshua Tree National Park |
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Gazing out over a colorful valley while hiking through Bryce Canyon National Park.
We kept our RV at Ruby's Inn Campground, just outside the Park entrance. |
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Having some fun with my camera during same hike. I always carry my camera with me while hiking,
since you never know when you'll stumble across some amazing sight. |
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| Hiking up to Zabruskie Point during an RV trip to Death Valley National Park . When we got to Zabruskie Point after five long, hot miles of hiking, we discovered a road, a parking lot full of cars, and dozens of tourists, but we wouldn't have traded the fun, the wonderful things we saw, the interesting people we passed, or the stimulation and satisfaction of getting there on our own for anything. |
I should add that the reason I remember the details of all of these trips is because I keep a detailed log in a notebook I refer to as our RV Memory Keeper. I note the distance we traveled, how long it took us, where we stayed, what we did, what we ate, and anything else I want to capture permanently. Aside from being a lot of fun to flip through and review, it's been a tremendous aid as we find ourselves occasionally retracing our steps somewhere, and I would highly recommend same to anyone considering RV'ing.
