Live | Live Work Dream | RVing Lifestyle Design Blog

Our new and improved road trip soundtrack.

September 4, 2023November 21, 2007 by Jim

A while back, one of our readers declared that the RVer’s National Anthem should be Hank Snow’s I’ve Been Everywhere. While some of you may think this is a Johnny Cash original, it’s not.

“I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere“

Well, I finally got around to adding this to our cross country road trip soundtrack of travel tunes. While I was at it, I put some elbow grease into the page and added an interactive slideshow of CDs available from Amazon that include the songs we’ve added to our list. This way we’ll be able to update our soundtrack easier and more often.

Workamping at Safe Harbor Animal Farm in North Carolina

December 10, 2012November 21, 2007 by Rene

Fulltime RVers can try Workamping to stretch their budget and learn the ropes of RV campground management.

Road Trip Planning; Throw Out the Itinerary and Prepare for Adventure

September 4, 2023November 14, 2007 by Rene

Are you a trip planner? Before you go on vacation, do you put together an itinerary (“On Wednesday, we’re going to play mini golf and have fun, dammit!??), and chart your exact course on your GPS (“At Exit 25 we’ll stop and have lunch??)?

I used to be a planner. I thought that the more organized I was for a vacation, the better it would be. I would waste hours on the web, researching every detail about where we were going. Then I’d chart out a Plan B, just in case.

This would guarantee that our precious vacation time was the best it could be, right?

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.

Hair Coloring And Fulltime RVing: Easier Than I Thought

January 10, 2017November 11, 2007 by Rene

When we first decided to live in an RV, one of my first thoughts was: how the heck will I maintain my hair color? Not that I’m a high maintenance brunette, but I’m too vain to let those pesky gray roots show through yet, so I zap ’em with hair dye once a month.

I’ve always done my color. But, since going on the road, I’ve gone to hair salons. But each time, the stylist left me with hair that was too light, or too dark.

I kept getting irritated that the hair colorists couldn’t get it right. So recently, I surrendered and decided to do it myself.

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;

Our First Parking Lot Camp Out

April 11, 2012November 6, 2007 by Rene

Seems that many folks aren’t aware that there are quite a few places where an RVer can park the rig overnight for free. No hookups of course, but when you’re pooped out after a long day of driving, anything can look like the Hilton. And you can’t beat the price.

WalMart is known for being nice to RVers and allowing them to park overnight. Good capitalists that they are, they figure that most overnighters will shop there too, so why not let ’em. A word of caution, more and more locations are banning this practice due to long term campers checking in. Check for listings of WalMarts that don’t allow camping.

We had not tried boondocking in a parking lot until just recently, when we were halfway to Appalachia. The reason is because until now it had been too hot, and since we don’t have an internal generator, we aren’t able to run the air conditioner. Now it’s getting cold (really cold) here in the East, so we were willing to give it a shot. Here’s what we discovered:

Duh.

November 6, 2007 by Jim

Jim describes the sign he saw in a campground which describes how trailers should back in

Wanna see something really scary?

September 22, 2020October 31, 2007 by Jim

Jim and Rene spend a quiet Halloween in a Virginia State Park campground compared to previous hallowed parties.

Focus on what you don’t want

October 30, 2007 by Jim

You never know what lies down the road ahead. While this applies to much of life in general, it is especially important when you’re hungry.

When you don’t know what might be found around the bend, it is impossible to decide on exactly what you want. There might just be something better. There may be nothing at all. Either way, the odds are against you finding what you set your mind on.

We discovered a simple solution that may save you a lot of stress. Don’t get your mind set upon one particular thing, whether that be an old fashioned diner, roadside burger stand, or a family run pizzeria. You probably won’t find it. Instead, decide upon what you don’t want. Rule that out, and something good is bound to come your way.

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…

Paying the Rent

October 28, 2007October 28, 2007 by Jim

There’s nothing like a good dose of yard work to reaffirm one’s choice to live a simpler life on the road. But it was the least we could do. After camping out in my sister’s yard for over a week, I figured I could at least mow their lawn to show my appreciation. Besides, Ren? had already provided some pretty good housekeeping a couple times already. It was my turn.

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.

Batteries do go bad.

October 23, 2007 by Jim

I’ve been mulling over a draft for a post about our custom RV solar power system for months, ever since we left the prime solar energy country of the southwest. It has just been working so well for us that we haven’t really had to think about it much. Then our batteries crapped out on us.

For the past few months, we have spending about half of our nights in state and national park campgrounds, without hookups. And we have easily been able to go eight hours or more without using our Honda 2000i generator to charge the batteries. Or longer if we had good exposure to the sun.