Lessons from a Fulltime RV Holiday Humbug

… or how one young fulltime RVer celebrates the holiday season

Coming in quick succession making mid-November through early January a blur for many, the trifecta of year-end holidays is once again upon us. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to pick up a publication right now that doesn’t offer some piece of advice on “surviving” the holiday or “how to do more with less time”. While living the fulltime RV lifestyle doesn’t give my husband Ray and me a pass on ‘all things holiday’ it does allow us to fly under the radar and celebrate in a way that’s meaningful to us.

Our Reason for the Season

Several years ago, like all mainstream holiday celebrants, I was part of the mall crush. Hurry. Hurry. Buy. Buy. It was far from the seasonal edict of peace on earth and goodwill toward men. I looked around and asked myself if this was my best interpretation of the season. My silent answer? Hardly. Maybe you’ve asked yourself that same question.

Ray and I discussed this topic at length. For us, the actionable answer to my question posed at the mall was that we were interested in experiences, not things; the quality of life as measured in relationships and giving back; the marrying of our dreams to the way we celebrated.

Holiday Presents Don’t Always Come Giftwrapped

Just being on the road seemed celebratory to us but as the first holiday season on the road approached we felt full of possibility. Ray had never experienced a warm winter and since we had to be somewhere for the year-end holidays we headed south. Thanksgiving that year was with my father, Christmas on an island and New Year’s in a hot tub. Aside from a few gifts for my dad, our exchange (if you can even call it that) was small but memorable – a TV/VCR combo so we could enjoy movies at home as opposed to in a park’s clubhouse, an outing to enjoy the holiday boat parade, a bag of delicious Texas grapefruit purchased from a roadside vendor in South Padre Island, and a memorable New Year’s Eve meal that included ceviche – recipe courtesy of a Hispanic produce manager’s wife – it doesn’t get any more authentic than that.

The following Thanksgiving we found ourselves workamping and not completely happy with our situation. The people were great but the job just wasn’t a good fit. This was putting quite a damper on our holiday season. It turns out the biggest gift we could give ourselves that year was to recognize when something didn’t feel right and take action to remedy it. Upon my father’s urging we pulled up stakes and embarked on a Florida Keys adventure. The Christmas week began with an encounter with manatees, an ice cream social, and a site with a view of the Florida Bay. New Year’s Eve was spent with new friends – some we still call close to this day – and that year January 1st was special as we strolled alongside the restoring turquoise ocean.

Thirteen Fulltime RV Living Years and Still Celebrating

Since those formative first two holiday seasons have come and gone, we’ve honed in on what we really love. Each Thanksgiving is special and different. We’ve spent it with family at a restaurant and with fellow campers at an RV park. We learned how to make Trash Can Turkey in New Mexico and have shared Mom’s Famous Cranberry Sauce with RV Cooking Show viewers across the globe…literally. It turns out our favorite Thanksgiving is where most American’s spend it…at home…for us that’d be our RV.

Sometimes I cook an unusual version of the holiday meal. For example, a couple years ago we had a Cuban Thanksgiving complete with Mojo Criollo crockpot turkey breast, Cuban black beans, yellow rice, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread (a throwback to the Florida Keys days we so enjoyed). Other years I cook a full on traditional turkey dinner. This year I tried my hand at Cornish game hens. If friends are around they are always invited.

Like many of you reading this piece, Ray and I do not exchange gifts. We have everything we need and if we have a want we simply go out and buy it. While certain items are needed/wanted, in our humble roadabode “stuff’ is overrated. Instead, in celebration of Ray’s late-December birthday we do something special each day of “birthday week”. It might be a hike, lunch out at a favorite haunt, a movie of his choice and popcorn at home, etc. 

Every Day a Holiday

Long ago we decided that the spirit of the season should prevail all year long. So instead of attempting to travel on just a few select days along with the entire U.S. population, dine together and with friends on one single day devoted to a big, heavy meal, and participate in the urgency of purchasing things as a way of demonstrating affection we endeavor to live as if every day was a holiday. Very merry! How about you?

Mapping Your Personal RV Travel Pyramid

New to the RVing lifestyle or not, time is precious and every RV travel season counts

Options are good. Very good. But what happens when there are an abundance of choices. How does one decide which path to take? I love my life as a young fulltime RVer. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to crisscross the United States a number of times in the nearly 13 years living this RV travel lifestyle and let’s face it, none of us are getting any younger. With experience under my belt, fuel prices unsteady and rising, and an awareness of how finite time is, I am occasionally overwhelmed by the wide-open, no holds barred choices of where to spend my next two to five month “season”.

As I imagine you reading the paragraph above I picture two responses. “Are you nuts-o?? The open road beckons…take the reins and gallop.” Or are you thinking “me too”? I used to willy-nilly choose where I wanted to be without any thought to anything but my immediate whims (think Jimmy Buffett coming on the radio – the Florida Keys – that wasn’t a bad outcome). Maine in the summer, Arizona in the winter, Washington in the summer, Florida in the winter…I was all across the map.

Then the thrill of hauling my 5th wheel trailer back and forth, crossing the U.S. frequently just because I could, ceased and the desire to really hone in on what was most important to me kicked in. Now I do some thoughtful planning in advance without being too structured. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t change my wandering lifestyle one single bit but lately I’ve benefited from a slightly more reflective approach to ‘living the life’ that so many strive for.

Discovering What Matters Most

My husband Ray likens it to the now vanquished USDA Food Pyramid. Structured and supported on the wide bottom by what’s most nutritious, or in my case nurturing, sprinkled with a diamond dusting of very nice but not required on the narrow, pointed top. And the truth of the matter is that it took all these years to be able to identify what matters most and what is not absolutely essential.

We’re both healthy and active and enjoy being able to take advantage of what I call my ‘do-it-now’ adventure list. But I know it’s possible that this won’t always be so. Every summer that passes without a visit to a spectacular northern National Park is a missed opportunity. Every winter that doesn’t offer me get outdoors and go hiking, swimming and picnicking weather is one less winter spent living my dream.

While in the end it’s a gut decision, I rely on a number of factors when it comes time to decide where to roll the RV to next. True to the moniker our fulltime RV planning took on – Operation Sunshine – weather is one of the top considerations in my “where to next” formula.

As you might expect, the longer the intended stay the more important a majority of our factors are met. We have no children and very little extended family so visits (always during the nicest time of the year) are wonderful but not compelled. We are all about experiences and excellent fresh food options. In our eyes growing old together gracefully means plenty of outdoor exercise opportunities. The balance between financial reward and emotional well-being is shifting.

Our Personal Pyramid 

It took many a bottle of red wine, long, aimless beach strolls and a notebook full of list making to develop our personal pyramid. Like most successful couples, but especially one that lives harmoniously in 240 square feet year-round, we are very respectful of each others' dreams and desires and are fortunate to be almost always on the same page. 

When it comes time to make travel plans we convene, lists in hand, toss out ideas and begin to debate the merits of each place that is on our individual minds. We’re not often far from one another's ideas and if one of us feels passionately about a particular place the other cheerfully agrees to give it a go. We’ve found some of our most beloved places that way and in a scenario like this everyone is a winner.

So what is our formula in building our personal pyramid? Have a look:

A Trending Concept

New to the RV travel lifestyle or not, fulltimer or part-timer, retired, on sabbatical or working on the road I see this decision making trend with many of our RVing friends. Time is precious and each one of us wants to get maximum enjoyment out of our destinations and seasonal stays. In my mind, nothing is worse than spending a significant amount of time in a place that doesn’t inspire or serve you in some other way. After all, we choose to live in a box on wheels. If you miscalculate, pick up and move on. There’s no harm – and maybe even significant good – in trying.

Whether your RV style is a full blown, settled in north-south situation, you’re looking for a winter roost and a free-for-all summer, you choose to spend a month here, a couple months there, you’re just testing the waters or in between situations, your personal pyramid is different than anyone else’s and is, well, personal.

I’d love to hear your deciding factors when choosing a roost. Leave a comment below.

Evanne
RVCookingShow.com