So much has changed since we started our #fulltimerv adventure back in 2014. Back then, Instagram was just an online scrapbook to us, a way for us to document and remember our travels. But it’s evolved into so much more...
1. A community
2. A creative outlet
3. An online place to discover other physical places we wouldn’t have known about otherwise
That last one has been the biggest #gamechanger for us. Take Horseshoe Bend for example. We had never heard of it before or even knew such a surreal site existed.
We started seeing photos on IG and knew it was somewhere we had to go, something we had to see in person. It quickly became a #bucketlist item, one that we were lucky enough to cross off. Thank you, @Instagram!
What are the top places you've visited after discovering them on Instagram?
{...}
•
•
•
#horseshoebend #visitarizona #gorving #rvers #rving #rvlife #rvlifestyle #letsgoeverywhere #travelmoreworryless #travellife #travellinglife #travelingram #roadtripUSA #USAroadtrip #USAtravel #beautifuldestinations #starttheadventure #thegreatoutdoors #optoutside #outbound #roadtrippers #discoveramerica #explorethestates #hittheroad #wanderlusting #wanderlustvibes #nextdestinationunknown
THIS. This is why we live in Colorado now. After full-time RVing for over a year and traveling through each of the Lower 48 States in the U.S., we chose Colorado for our next home.
"Why?" you ask? This photo sums it up. The sheer beauty, the incredible mountains, the endless outdoor activities, the awesome weather... these are just some of the many reasons we chose to make Denver our home base.
If you haven't been to Colorado yet or visited the Mile High City, make sure you come here. You won't be disappointed! Have you thought about calling Colorado home too? Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to answer them!
Have you already settled down after RVing too? Where are you calling home now, and why did you choose there? On the other hand, if you're still searching, what's on your list of must-haves for your next home?
📷: @explo.inspo
{...}
•
•
•
#coloRADo #coloradogram #ilovecolorado #visitcolorado #coloradolove #coloradolife #coloradolive #coloradoliving #coloradomountains #hikecolorado #coloradoadventures #viewsfromcolorado #coloradooutdoors #mountainlife #travelcouple #travelcouplelife #takeahike #hikelife #alltrails #outdoorlife #outdoorliving #optoutside #theoutbound #beautifuldestinations #letsgoeverywhere #nomadlife #rving #rvers #rvnomads #nextdestinationunknown
For #WaterfallWednesday, I have to share my new obsession with you! Ever since we started RVing and I rediscovered my passions for hiking and photography, combining the two into a love for nature photography, I've been dying to shoot smooth, flowing water. But... I needed a tripod to make that happen. I scoured the internet, searching high and low for a lightweight (yet decent quality) tripod that I could travel and hike with without being weighed down to the point where I wouldn't bother bringing the tripod with me.
Rewind several months ago when I was first looking for a new camera to upgrade from my old iPhone. Again, I wanted something lightweight as well as small and convenient that would produce excellent quality images. I also wanted something in-between a basic point-and-shoot and a DSLR that wouldn't break the bank. After much research, I decided a mirrorless camera would be the best option for me, and I ended up with a great camera that weighs practically nothing!
Back to searching for tripods to use with my new camera... Most of the tripods I found weighed between 2-4 lbs. Not good enough! I knew there had to be a tripod weighing less than 2 lbs, and I was determined to find it! After many more hours of searching, I finally came across the ideal tripod weighing just slightly over 1 lb! The tripod only holds a camera weighing up to 4 lbs, but lucky for me, my camera weighs much less than that!
• Camera Weight: 0.86 lb
• Tripod Weight: 1.25 lbs
• TOTAL Weight for both: just barely over 2 lbs!
SUCCESS! I took my new gear out for a spin on this waterfall hike and couldn't have been happier! I couldn't even tell I was carrying anything, and the tripod was super easy to use! Wanna know what the best part is though... it’s only $30! Sure it's not top-of-the-line quality, but it worked great! I'm so happy! I think I found the {dare I say} perfect tripod and camera combo for hiking and travel, at least for me! Want to know what I'm using? Links to the camera and tripod I have are in my bio. You're welcome! 😉
WARNING: Emotional post...
It’s been 2 years today, and I’m just barely able to finally talk publicly about losing our sweet baby boy, Meaty. We are still utterly heartbroken, and nothing will ever be able to fill the Meaty-shaped hole in our hearts. He brought so much joy to our lives and was the absolute sweetest, most well-mannered, pleasant, loving dog. We try to tell ourselves that we were lucky to have him for the nearly 9 years that we did, but it simply wasn't long enough. I'm choked up and crying just typing this, on the verge of the sob-sobs, but I need to get through this to honor his memory. Meaty was our first-born (yes, we're those people who consider their dogs their actual children). Our dogs are our babies, and it all started with Meaty. We were living in my hometown of Vegas when I was driving to work one day and saw a purebred Silky Yorkie running up the street. I pulled over and cautiously approached him. To my surprise, he stopped in his tracks, let me pick him up, and sat in my lap the whole way back to my house. As I was driving, my mom randomly called me and asked what I was up to. "Getting myself into trouble," I responded as I knew Justin wouldn't be thrilled that I had picked up a stray dog. When he found out, Justin said not to plan on keeping him, and I wasn't. I had every intention of finding his owner but had no luck. He had no collar or microchip, there were no "lost dog" flyers where I found him, and no one had called the shelters looking for him. Within a week, he was sleeping in bed with us, and the rest is history. A few years later, we got Meaty a girlfriend (a feisty little Malti Poo) and named her Saucy. They're our whole world and were awesome road pups during our full-time RVing days traveling cross-country. Meaty did great on the road, but in September 2016 (a little over a year after settling down in Denver), Meaty was diagnosed with cancer. The vet gave him 2 months to live, but he valiantly gave us 6. Watching him deteriorate was the hardest thing we've ever had to go through, but we cherished every extra moment we had with him. We miss you immensely and will forever love you, Meaty. Thank you for all you gave us.
So this happened... 😡😩🤦♀️🤦♂️
Earlier this winter, we took a few weeks off during the holidays to head south for warmer weather and much needed outdoor adventures.
It was Christmas Eve. We were packed up, loaded up, and hooked up to our travel trailer when I noticed the break-away wire was out of place. As I bent down to inspect it, I saw that the lid on the battery container was lopsided and the strap to keep it on had been cut.
Realization hit. Some 🤬 stole our battery! And if that wasn’t inconvenient enough, they cut the wires rather than just detaching them. So what could have been a fairly quick battery replacement turned into a wire repair ordeal.
And of course this happened on Christmas Eve, so by the time we were able to get it fixed, we had missed our window of opportunity with the weather. What was supposed to be a long overdue RV road trip ended up being a staycation because someone decided to be greedy and ruin our holiday vacation.
LESSON LEARNED!!! If you store or park your RV for any period of time, we highly recommend that you remove/secure your battery. Learn from our mistake, so this doesn't happen to you! What's a hard lesson you've learned with RVing? Please share below, so we don't feel like such losers! 😜
{...}
•
•
•
#letsgoeverywhere #traveltrailer #homeonwheels #tinyhomeonwheels #nomadlife #nomadiclife #rvtravel #rv #rvers #rving #rvnomads #camperlife #roadlife #lifeontheroad #roadtrip #homeontheroad #homeiswhereyouparkit #rvtrip #rvlife #rvlifestyle #rvliving #goexplore #adventureawaits #roadtrippers #hittheroad #getoutandgo #neverstoptraveling #starttheadventure #adventurebound #nextdestinationunknown
Well, it was about time! Back in July, we officially put down roots in Colorado and are now homeowners after living here for 3 years! This was a huge goal and dream of ours (especially mine as I had never owned a home before and longed to finally have a [full-size] home of our own after renting for years, full-time RVing for over a year, and also moving about a dozen times throughout the years).
We finally made it happen after moving to a new state, starting brand new businesses (real estate for me @briananickas and a mortgage brokerage for Justin @bennettmortgagegroup) not knowing anyone here but managing to grow our successful businesses to the point of being able to buy a home while working for ourselves. We have to say we're mighty proud of those accomplishments and made so many amazing friends along the way, making it even sweeter!
When we left Southern California and set out on our full-time RV adventure back in 2014, RVing was never meant to be long-term for us, nor did we have any idea that it would be a lifestyle. The main reason for our epic cross-country road trip through all 48 lower states (aside from seeing the amazing U.S.) was to find the next place we wanted to live.
We achieved that goal, but we also fell in love with RVing and the freedom it allowed us. We realized it didn't have to be one or the other - RV living or stick-built home. We wanted the best of both worlds - an RV to travel and explore when we get the itch to hit the road, and a home to come home to when we get burned out from road life.
One of these days I'll get around to posting about why we chose to make Denver our home base, so stay tuned! In the meantime though, tell us about your situation. Are you out exploring the country in search of your new residence? Or did you already find your next place to call home? Where did you decide to settle down? Or do you plan to perpetually travel full-time?
LESSON LEARNED! One lesson we learned early on with RVing is to stow EVERYTHING that isn’t bolted or strapped down while we’re in transit! Unfortunately, this was a lesson we learned the hard way. I assumed the coffee maker and knife block were both heavy enough that they wouldn’t move… WRONG! They both ended up on the floor after doing some damage on the way down. Another time, our pantry door popped open while we were on the move, and the olive oil and salt fell out. That wouldn’t have been a big deal, but they both opened up and went EVERYWHERE! That was fun to clean up. We made the mistake of thinking because they were in a cabinet, they’d be contained… WRONG! Now we have everything in cabinets kept in containers, and we store the coffee maker, knives, etc. on moving days. Live and learn, right? What’s a valuable lesson you’ve learned with RVing, and what was your solution?
{...}
•
•
•
#KOACamping #homeonwheels #tinyhomeonwheels #nomadlife #nomadiclife #campvibes #happycamper #rvtravel #traveltrailer #gorving #tinyliving #rv #rvers #rving #rvadventure #rvnomads #camperlife #roadlife #lifeontheroad #roadtripUSA #USAroadtrip #USAtravel #homeiswhereyouparkit #homeontheroad #glamping #rvtrip #rvlife #rvlifestyle #rvliving #nextdestinationunknown
