Why we decided to travel full time

Well hello there!  Things have been pretty quiet around here lately and I am so sorry about that.  This life change is taking all of my time and work has had to take a back seat.  I’m glad I have the flexibility to be able to do that!

If you didn’t already know, we sold our home and will be a full time traveling family beginning June 1st!

It is something that has been in the works for almost a year, and it’s amazing to see it finally come to fruition.

I get lots of questions when I tell people we will be traveling full time so I thought I’d answer some of those here.

Our new “home,” Meet Sterling the Solitude.

What made you decide to do this?

We have been wanting to move for a long time.  We’ve been in our home almost 8 years and it was meant to be a 5 year home.  In the spring of last year we were looking for houses east of the mountains, and when that didn’t work out we decided to just stay put through winter.  Well, in the fall I had the idea of “why don’t we try traveling.” My husband thought I was crazy at first.  But I started researching, sending him info and putting the bug in his ear over the fall/winter and he finally got on board.  It all came together this spring and we officially closed on our house today!

I’ve also felt the need to simplify our lives. I’m not a materialistic person, but I see it a lot in our society, and in my own child. I want my kids to know that material possessions don’t matter and that’s not what makes you happy in the long run. It’s all just stuff, and it’s stuff we can live without.

Needless to say all of this is happening faster than I thought it would, but it’s all for the good.  

What will you be living in?

We picked up a Grand Design Solitude 5th wheel trailer.  We named it Sterling the Solitude.  It’s 41′ long, has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 4 slide outs, a pantry, double door fridge and a fireplace.  It’s a good sized trailer for us.  Emmett will sleep in the 2nd bedroom and Audrey will sleep in the bunk above the bedroom.  She’s super excited for her new “room.”

I have to say, though, I don’t love all the brown.  I understand why they put brown in trailers, but if we decide to live on the road longer than a year, I would totally do a mini renovation of Sterling to make it more “home-y.”  

Our living room. The recliners on the left have heaters and massage.

Kitchen. We also have a wine rack we will hang under the glass cabinets.

Will you homeschool?

Yes, I will be homeschooling both kids while we’re on the road.  Audrey is very excited for it, so that makes me a little less nervous to start our homeschooling journey.  Emmett will be in preschool, so his homeschooling will be pretty easy.

I haven’t decided which curriculum to follow yet, or if I’m going to follow any particular one, but I am attending a homeschool conference toward the end of June, so I’m looking forward to learning more. 

I will also be joining a group called Fulltime Families, which is for families that roadschool their kids.  They have meet ups, an explorers program and more.  Kids make friends on the road so they get to see their friends in different places around the country.  It’s a great social aspect for kids who travel full time.  

How long do you plan to be on the road?

Our goal is a year, then go from there.  We eventually want to settle in Eastern Washington.  But we’re playing it by ear, so if we’re really loving life on the road we may continue beyond a year. 

Where do you plan to go?

Right now we have our plans mapped out through mid August.  We were waiting to be done with the house so we could have a bit more time to devote to planning.  We’re staying around Washington, Oregon, Montana and Canada to start, then we’re thinking of heading east a bit.  We also want to visit Yosemite, Zion and hit the south in the winter.

How long will you stay at each place?

We plan to stay 1-2 weeks at each park we go to.  I’m sure there will be some places we want to stay longer-and vice versa- but as of right now we’re thinking 2 weeks at the most. 

Did your hubby quit his job?

Nope!  If you’ve been a reader for awhile, you know that my husband, Kellen, has been on multiple long-term assignments over the last 2 years; one of which took us to Wichita for 4 months in 2017.  He also travels quite often.  So when he’s not traveling he works from home, and has been doing so since the end of last year.  His boss knows our plans and is in full support, which is pretty dang awesome.  

Master bedroom. Behind the mirrored doors is a little walk-in closet. Closet on the right can hold a washer and dryer.

What are you most excited about?

I’m excited for the relaxed lifestyle and seeing new places.  We have been on a strict schedule for years with my daughter’s activities and school, and I’m looking forward to doing whatever we want at whatever pace we decide.  I’m also looking forward to teaching my daughter at her level.  I feel like traditional school has held her back and she has been really bored this school year.  She loves to learn, so I’m excited to really see her enjoy school again.

What about cabin fever?

We don’t plan to be inside the trailer much, honestly.  We plan to explore, hike, ride bikes and just enjoy the outdoors.  If we do get cabin fever or get bored with the location we’re at we will just move onto somewhere new.  

How much gas will you use/what gas mileage do you get?

Towing we get around 11 MPG, which means we have to fill up every 300-350 miles or so.  But we are installing an auxiliary fuel tank in the bed of our truck, which will add an additional 50 gallons of gas, so we can get over 800 miles before we have to fill up.  

How much does it cost to stay at a campground?

This varies greatly.  Most RV parks and campgrounds that can accommodate a rig as big as ours are around $50-$120 a night.  We purchased a Thousand Trails membership for around $500, which allows us to stay for free at Thousand Trails parks.  There are other groups you can join as well; Good Sam, Passport America, KOA, etc. which give you a discount on your nightly or weekly rate.  

We also joined Harvest Hosts, which is a really cool site where you can stay for free for 1 night at farms and wineries!  Super pumped for that one, haha!

Do you think you’ll miss having a house?

I’m sure it won’t always be easy, I’m not going in expecting it to be.  I know there will be times that we all want some space.  We will have to get creative with that and find ways for the kids to have one on one time with each of us, as well as us have a little time for ourselves every now and then.

But the point of this adventure isn’t for us to be alone.  It’s to bring our family closer, be on our own schedule, see new places and experience new things.  

Are you going to write about your travels?

Yes!  We are currently working on a name for our new travel blog, but needless to say the first name we came up with is still the frontrunner since so many people loved it.  🙂 Kellen will do a lot of the writing for that blog, which will be good because honestly he is much funnier than I am, so it will be a good read.  

We’re pretty pumped for this new chapter in our lives.  The last few years have not been easy for us, so I’m really looking forward to the adventure and new lifestyle.  

If you have any other questions feel free to leave them in the comments!  I will also be sure to let you know when our new blog is live.  Right now we’re just working to get through all the house and new RV owner stuff, plus our crazy June schedule, so give us some time and we will hopefully have the new blog up and running sometime in July.