Dream | Live Work Dream | RVing Lifestyle Design Blog

Remembering My Birthday Dinner in Virginia

November 15, 2007 by Jim

Carol would call this one a Back Track … one of the hardest things about trying to blog about our travels is trying to keep everything current when there is so much to see and do. Hell, there is still stuff I could write about from way back in Colorado. At least this one only goes back a few weeks to my birthday dinner.

Rene got off easy this year. I was a cheap date. All I wanted was a to take the day off from driving and do nothing, other than barbecue myself a steak. So the day before – on Halloween – we went to the Blacksburg Farmers Market for some fresh produce, in search of some local meat. Having never seen cattle ranchers at a farmers market until we got to the East Coast, I was feeling lucky. And I struck gold, or black rather, as in Angus.

The Protani Family Takes the Next Step with an RV Road Trip

September 4, 2023November 13, 2007 by Rene

One of the best parts about this trip has been getting to know people, and hearing their unique stories. Sometimes, we meet people who have overcome so much adversity in life, it makes us ashamed to have ever felt an ounce of self-pity over our own trivial challenges.

Last weekend, we met such a person. Well, a family really. While staying at the McDowell Nature Reserve outside of Charlotte, we met Annette Protani and five of her six kids who were camped out next to us. Annette and her kids started calling their RV home when they left Houston back in August, in search of a new town in which to lay down some roots.

Applecare good. Urban sprawl bad.

November 12, 2007November 11, 2007 by Jim

By the time I was about to write about dropping off my Powerbook at the Charlotte Apple Store for repairs, they had already called to say it was ready to be picked up. This came as a pleasant surprise considering they said it would take five to seven days to be fixed at the service center in Texas.

So our stay in Asheville – a few hours away, in the Smoky Mountain foothills – was cut a bit short, but the couple days we did have there was plenty to get a feel for the area.

This little wrench in the works also gave us time to realize we never care to live our lives along an interstate corridor. As we criss-crossed North Carolina, the incredible population density and mass consumption of this country became remarkably clear.

We’re Gettin’ South Now…

February 4, 2021November 11, 2007 by Jim

Jim reviews Famous Anthony’s restaurant in Christiansburg, VA and reflects on his stay in Virginia

Foodies Beware: RV Kitchens Can Wreak Havoc on Favorite Recipes

November 10, 2007 by Rene

If you’re a real foodie like Jim and I are, be aware that gourmet cooking in an RV can be a challenge. Not impossible (especially if your rig is large), but as we have discovered, making our favorite recipes while living with an RV kitchen requires some patience and creativity.

It’s simple; in a rig our size, there isn’t enough room to carry all of the spices, appliances and utilities that one needs to prepare certain foods. Since hitting the road, we have had some interesting times in the kitchen;

What the Wawa?

November 7, 2007 by Jim

Jim discovers there is no Wawa store in Mawah, NJ.

Those Dems Can Play! VA Governors Jam Bluegrass at the Floyd Country Store

September 4, 2023November 3, 2007 by Rene

I’ve always wanted to visit Appalachia, and when I found out that we were within spittin’ distance to the Floyd Country Store music venue in Virginia, it was a given we’d make it to their legendary Friday Night Jamboree.

And what a lucky night for us; we were graced with the presence of the governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, and the past governor Mark Warner. They were there campaigning for local Dems, but they weren’t there just to give stump speeches; they actually play banjo, harmonica and guitar, and joined in with Blacksburg’s own Jugbusters!

Lunch Formation, on the Double!

September 4, 2023November 3, 2007 by Jim

It was nineteen seventy something or other when I remember driving right onto the West Point campus and climbing on the rocks while my father enjoyed mother’s famous Swiss Miss and bourbon “Cappucino” from a Thermos while waiting for the Black Knights to sink Navy, or beat Colgate. (Real men fight wars not cavities!) We would walk the parade grounds, run freely around all the statues, or check out the huge links of the Great Chain used to keep the British Navy from sailing up the Hudson.

Dad’s alumni ring probably helped us gain backstage campus access back then, but he’d probably need a lot more than that now to go anywhere other than on the guided bus tour. If he were alive, that is. But he’s not, so I had just had to return to West Point and check on another memory from my Right Coast childhood. But thanks to security initiatives put in place since 9/11, the public is no longer given free range among the cadets and pleebs.

Farmers and Philly Cheese Steaks at Reading Terminal Market

November 3, 2007November 2, 2007 by Jim

We went to Philadelphia last week, courtesy of our tour guide Brian, who was kind enough to take us there during a major rainstorm – with is two kids (is he a superdad or what?). There was only one place to go to in a downpour, with two small children, and that was the Reading Terminal Marketplace (pronounced “Redding” for the unfamiliar). What a treat!

This video includes an interview with a local farmer, Mennonites making pretzels, authentic Philly Cheesesteaks being made, and much more! We have also updated our Full-time RVing Videos page which now includes a playlist of all our interviews with local residents and business owners across the U.S.

The DeFazios – A 67 Year Partnership

October 30, 2007October 29, 2007 by Rene

For over 10 years, Jim and I have lived and worked out of a home office. Our last place was a 100-year old Victorian in Eureka, CA, with two separate flats; one for home, one for work. We were like old timey shopkeepers, living above the business. Now we live and work out of our 200 sq. ft. trailer. People often asked us, “Don’t you guys drive each other nuts? How do you stand it?”

That was easy. The perks of never having to get a real job and doing a freeway commute every day, always outweighed the challenge of putting up with each other’s idiosyncrasies on a daily basis.

While in Troy, New York, we met another married business couple. Only they have a really, really long history together. And a special secret to getting along…

Agoraphobia in the Atlantic

September 4, 2023October 27, 2007 by Rene

The last couple of days of driving on New Jersey roads has been some of the most intense driving we’ve ever done.

L.A. traffic has nothing on this place. It’s a lot of narrow roads, fast street-level freeways with cars pulling into and out of driveways, and the most aggressive drivers outside of Manhattan. Jim’s hauling the rig like a seasoned pro, but I just grip the seat and clench my jaw. At least yesterday we got our own escort to get us out of New York.

Tugboat Tim Keeps Margot Tugging

October 27, 2007October 25, 2007 by Rene

Our brother in law, Tim, is a tugboat engineer, and he’s currently living his own live/work dream. He spends half of his time in the engine hull of Tugboat Margot, running cargo up and down East Coast waterways. The other half of the time, he manages his company, NYS Marine Highway Transportation Company, from where he lives in nearby Troy, New York.

We got a tour of Tim’s latest addition to the fleet – Tug Margot – while we were visiting him and Jim’s sister Barb.

Ringing Up the Dead in Forest Park Cemetery, Brunswick NY

October 23, 2007October 22, 2007 by Rene

Down the road from Jim’s sister’s house in Troy, lies Forest Park Cemetery, one of the most haunted cemeteries in the U.S. With it being October and all, and us being the ghoul loving, dia de los muertos revelers that we are, we just had to see this place for ourselves.

Jonesin’ for Tryptophan

October 21, 2007October 21, 2007 by Jim

I don’t know if it’s the fall colors coming out in full force, the smell of fires and the chill in the air, or all Tim’s good home cooking and the time we’re spending with family; but recently I’ve been having this yearning to get sedated by turkey.

Why I Don’t Want to Be a Homeowner (for now)

October 19, 2007October 18, 2007 by Rene

There are lots of good reasons to own a home. You don’t have to worry about being kicked out of your place without warning. You don’t have to write a check to some fat cat landlord every month. And you can paint your walls whatever colors you damn well please.

But there are twice as many reasons why owning a home sucks. Property taxes. Insurance. Yard work. Wet basements. Ceilings that fall down without warning.

This week, Jim and I have been reminded about why we decided to cut the shackles of homeownership.