If 2023 inflation is hitting your family’s summer vacation budget like the price of eggs at the grocery store, you’re considering some ways to save money on your summer family vacations. A week at Walt Disney World, flights to Jackson Hole, the Ocean Edge Resort in San Diego, or an expensive stay at the Universal […]
Family Travel Challenge 5: The “Please, Please, Please stop talking about Pokemon” Challenge <insert your kids favorite thing to ramble about here – Minecraft, Frozen, Roblox… you get the idea> This one is more of a challenge for me than Celine. She’s easy going. I just need to have some silence in my life to […]
It’s time to explore the great outdoors with your kids, see the world, hike a mountain, learn some history, experience a dip in an untouched lake, or taste the world-renown delicacies of a new city, but so far, it’s taken 28 minutes to “Get your shoes on and get in the car,” and you’re now […]
Since we started RVing in 2018, we’ve found ways to save money by RVing for free. Here’s how to find FREE RV Camping in US and Canada.
“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” – George Bernard Shaw, 1942 (We’re going to imaging George was lumping Canada into “America” as a continent – probably just an oversight.) We were just off the plane landing in London when a kind airport worker offered directions to the loo. Of course, […]
On top of the amazing winter climate, free camping in California brings lush vegetation in national forests to desert to mountain views – California has so many free camping options.
We’ve been traveling full-time since 2018 in our RV but didn’t add petsitting to our adventure until we started petsitting in England in 2022.
Our family’s review of TrustedHousesitters.com; What we love about petsitting and what could change on the app (Plus a 25% discount code!)
When we got off the ferry from Portsmouth, England, to Caen, France, my cousin Ash, picked us up to take us to Chateau De Lalacelle – a property in Alecon, France (in Northwest France – rural Normandy) that he and his partner, Terry, purchased to restore when moving from Middlesborough, England. On arrival, everyone dropped […]
These are 12 of our favorite board games and card games for camping and enjoying family time together in our RV.
Whatever your style of RV life (whether you travel full-time, stationary full-time, stationary over the summer, or simply take a few camping trips each year) we hope these tips and tricks will be helpful.
This specific housesit in France was pretty unique: 9 goats, 10 chickens, a herd of cats, and a basset hound named Austin – but I may have missed the mark when giving the goats a ‘treat.’
When friends and family hear that we’ve embarked on a Baja RV Adventure, they often ask about needing to speak Spanish to RV in Baja. Sometimes the question comes from curiosity about our trip, and sometimes their curiosity about the possibility of RV camping to explore Baja themselves with understandable concerns about a language barrier. […]
You’re taking your kids on a plane for the first time: You’ve got your kid’s clothes, toys, and snacks packed, but will it be enough? Will younger kids sleep on that long-haul flight? Will older kids have enough to do to keep them occupied while they sit in one spot for hours at a time? […]
There are plenty of ways to keep your RV cool when the sun is heating up your rig, but whether you’re boondocking off grid in the desert or you’re trying to keep your rig cool while hooked up at an RV park means you’ll have different goals in mind.
Stonehenge is an amazing piece of world history about 90 miles (2-hour drive) west of London on Salisbury Plains, set amongst the hills of southwest England. This family fun day trip to the famous Unesco World Heritage Site is great for kids as you watch interactive video exhibits in the visitors center and learn about […]
I love that people ask our boys this question because it shows that they are really interested in seeing the trip through our boys’ eyes, but I’ve seen how this conversation starter question usually leads to silence.
BLM (Bureau of Land Management) offers free camping throughout the US, with the highest concentration of land in the desert Southwest.
Luggage was a big conversation for us as we were planning our trip to Europe, so if you’re planning on buying luggage for your kids for a trip overseas, here’s what went into our conversation and what we ended up settling on.
Neuschwanstein Castle – aka ‘The Real Cinderella Castle’ is absolutely stunning. You’ll find it on display high up on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau in southwest Bavaria, Germany. I dreamed about visiting this castle since I was a kid. My parents traveled to Europe and told me about this beautiful castle, so […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase, we will earn a commission for the referral at no cost to you. Should we take a plane or train with kids in Europe? Train travel in North America is less practical than in Europe, so future tourists often ask us about […]
Thorpe Park, UK is a theme park in southern England, just west of London. It has a lot of rides including roller coasters, a drop tower, bumper cars, and more. They also have a water park open for a couple of months during the summer. My family and I visited Thorpe Park in May 2022 and […]
My family and I got to visit Europa Park, Europe’s largest theme park located in Rust, Germany. We went on a sunny, cool day in September 2022 and all of us had a great time. The theme of the park is European countries. My favorite sections of the park are Iceland, France, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, […]
When we tell people we visited Europe for seven months, we get mixed responses – “Are you allowed to stay that long?” … “Why didn’t you stay longer if you could?” We felt like seven months was a good amount of time to do plenty of exploring, and after we’d been away for that long, […]
“How are we going to decide what countries we will visit in Europe?” This was an ongoing conversation for us for a long time before we started planning our trip. It was an active part of the conversation as we: Began searching for housesitting opportunities Secured our first housesit, and could base our travel plans […]
This blog post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we’ll receive a commission for making the referral at no cost to you. Altogether in Europe, we visited 12 countries. (During the trip, we also visited friends in Israel, which is part of Asia. Yep, Israel is in Asia. Add that to your ‘fun […]
It’s always been a dream to visit Europe. My dad was a first-generation immigrant from Scotland to Canada, and other than a trip there with my parents when I was 6-months old, I’d never been back. Scotland was only one of many places on our list for Europe. We were concerned about prices in Europe, […]
It was a dark and stormy night… well, not really. I think it was actually a sunny clear afternoon the day we crossed from British Columbia, Canada into a National Forest in Washington state. We were heading to visit friends we hadn’t seen since college. At this point in time, we’d been on the road […]
There’s often a moment of surprise when I tell people that we’re full-time RVers. I guess it would have been a shock to me too if someone had told me that when we were still living in our sticks and bricks. Inevitably, the question comes up about how we make money on the road. We’ve […]
Before we bought our first RV, we wondered what cooking was going to be like: Would we have to blow our budget eating out because the RV Kitchen was so small, and there’s limited counter space? Would we be making a diet out of hot dogs and marshmallows? Would we even get to experience a […]
Get your RV ready to live in for winter! (This post contains affiliate links. If you take a recommendation and make a purchase, we may recieve a commission that doesn’t affect your purchase price). Our family has been living in our RV year-round since the summer of 2018, which includes winter RV living. While most […]
(Disclosure: If you choose to make a purchase from one of our recommendations, we will receive an affiliate commission at no cost to you.) We are often asked what Christmas looks like for a full-time RVing Family. One of the biggest questions is on the topic of ‘Christmas gift ideas’ – some RV and camper […]
Summer is a great time of year to explore British Columbia. We traveled with our trailer from Ontario all of the way out to British Columbia this summer. We decided that, since we have to spend the winter in Canada, the best province to RV in is British Columbia because of its mild winters. British […]
You’ve probably heard of boondocking (or some reference to being down in the boondocks) and also dry camping, with some minor differences. Boondocking and dry camping are similar – You’re overnight parking, usually for free, with no hookups (water, electric, or sewer). What is the difference between Dry Camping and Boondocking? What Does Dry […]
This article contains affiliate links. If you choose to click and make a purchase, we may make a commission at no cost to you. Let me start by saying that I’m no expert in solar panels and electrical systems, and for some people reading, that will be enough to click away, but for others, that’s […]
(Note: some of the affiliate links in this article will pay us a commission at no cost to you if you choose to make a purchase.) We recently RV’d as a family for a few nights in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. We spent some of the time in West Kelowna (on the west […]
As a full-time RVing family, we often meet people on our travels who are a bit shocked, slightly envious, or even perplexed at how we travel as a family full-time and share 270 sq feet in our travel trailer between 5 of us. (I remember one woman listening to our story at a restaurant and […]
We cut our campground expenses in half during our second year on the road. Here are 9 ways we did that.
We spent the day in Savannah, Georgia, and as a recommendation from friends, we went to the Wilkes House (Family-style meal, only open for lunch from 11-2) and Fort Pulaski which saw its only battle in the civil war. Our boys are 6, 8, and 10 years old and enjoyed the whole day!
On the east coast of Georgia, on the Atlantic Coast, is a popular area for tourists: Jekyll Island and St Simons Island. While there are lots of things to see and do, sorting out what can be done with kids, or as a family is another challenge. Here are some family activities that our boys […]
Traveling the USA has helped us learn and appreciate the history of this amazing country so much more. We love how patriotic most Americans are. We enjoy learning more about the significant events in history that made this nation so great. And walking with our boys through the streets of historic places has been an […]
We loved our trip to Naples, Florida, and there’s lots for a family with 3 boys to do there, from the Zoo to Baker’s Park to Naples Pier to 5th Avenue!
We considered motorhomes, fifth wheels and eventually landed on our travel trailer. Here’s what we were looking for, what were our MUST HAVEs to travel full-time as a family, and the renovations we did to our tiny home (our 1992 Salem Cobra) before we hit the road! This was our first trailer, and we weren’t […]
When we transitioned to living Full Time in our RV (in our case, we have a travel trailer that we tow behind our SUV) we were REALLY unprepared. It was an exciting, adventurous time where we weren’t sure what we were doing, exactly where we were going or what challenges might lie ahead
Do your kids have a hard time making friends at new campgrounds or are they outgoing? My boys have had to say ‘good-bye’ to their new friends many times over the past 10 months. Yesterday, we got to meet my childhood best friend’s kids for the first time! Friends come and go but I hope […]
Before we left the Edmonton, Alberta area, we explored the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. Our cousin works there and plays the part of “Jack”, a Ukrainian Immigrant who runs a lumber store in the village. My aunt came along with us as we enjoyed our time exploring the village and learning about their way of […]
A great afternoon for the family, just east of Edmonton! Being immersed in the Ukrainian Culture of the Immigrants who came to Alberta in the early 1900s was a fun experience. We learned what life was like for them and explored just east of Edmonton at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. If you have a […]
As a new day begins, I just keep thinking about how amazing it has been traveling across the United States and part of Canada for these past 8 months. We’ve made to many memories with our boys and experienced so many new things. Life is an adventure! – Celine
Yosemite National Park We can’t wait to come back here again someday. We enjoyed seeing the beauty of the park right at the end of the winter season to see the snow. But we are ready for warm weather! Yosemite National Park
Hoover Dam, Navada With the amount of concrete that was used to build Hoover Dam, a 4000-mile two-lane highway could have been built. It would be able to stretch from San Francisco to New York! It took more than 10,000 people to build, and more than 100 people died during its construction. The Hoover Dam
Santa Monica, California We made it to the end of Route 66! The waves of the ocean, the lights of the Ferris wheel, the sunset on the beach, the time spent with friends – the Santa Monica Pier was perfect. The MOXI Wolf Museum in Santa Monica, CA was so artistic and interesting. We found […]
California Here We Come!!! We enjoy driving in California even though there is heavy traffic, because the scenery is beautiful! We love the mountains and hills, the ocean and bridges. We explored Cabrillo Marine Aquarium yesterday and picked up a pass to get us in to other aquariums while we travel. I got to take our […]
We explored Hollywood with friends today! Hollywood Boulevard
‘To travel is to live.’ We are so excited to be at the Pacific Ocean! Our three boys enjoy the time they get outdoors, exploring the cities we travel to. We loved exploring Balboa Park in San Diego. The architecture was so interesting to look at. Balboa Park […]
Joshua Tree National Park, California Another National Park ✔️ We took in the beauty of the southern part of Joshua Tree National Park in California and our boys earned another Jr. Ranger badge. Who would have known that desert could be so beautiful! Joshua Tree National Park in California The rugged rock […]
Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It’s posing questions and coming up with a method. It’s delving in. Taking our boys to Science Centers all over the country has been such a fun way to teach them Science. The […]
We’ve been taking in the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Today we visited Saguaro National Park. The protected saguaro cacti are so interesting to look at – they are huge! It’s ok to have fun … next to a Saguaro 🌵. We try to get a family photo that’s decent, but this is what we […]
The Carlsbad Caverns were incredible! We took the long hike down into Carlsbad cavern in Carlsbad, New Mexico west of El Paso through the natural opening, where the bats fly out at night. (We didn’t get to watch all of the bats this evening because they have gone south for the winter). The boys did […]
Our Journey to Guadalupe Mountains National Park We stopped in at the Guadeloupe Mountains National Park for a little while. Our oldest son, Joel, wanted to earn a badge for the park, so he did – he is learning a lot as he earns the badges, too! Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Dallas is an exciting and big city to explore. We made it downtown today. Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Since we are in Texas, it made sense to go to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo – yeehaw! It was very entertaining. The funniest part was seeing the expressions on our […]
When our family left to get on the road full time, my wife and I had never camped together before, and neither of our families owned an RV or travel trailer while we were growing up. We were newbies and knew we were in over our heads. No amount of Google Searches or Youtube videos […]
Have I ever mentioned that my boys love to climb? They climb rock walls, playground equipment, ladders, trees, walls, the countertop … they even try to climb me! In all of their climbing, thankfully they haven’t broken any bones yet. I was excited that the boys could burn off their energy on all of the […]
We wanted to do something new and fun with our boys over March break, and there are so many fun places we haven’t explored yet in southwest Florida. Finding somewhere with things that interest an 8yr old, 6yr old, and 4yr old can be a little bit tricky. Children’s museum’s are always a hit with […]
Ian’s (4-year-old) face pretty well says it all. He was a little unsure at first but then realized how cool it actually was.
Big Bend National Park We arrived at Big Bend National Park today. Swimming in a hot springs and in the Rio Grande River was a lot of fun. It’s so beautiful here! Hot Spring