Driving away from…
Fourteen months ago we drove away from our “sticks and bricks” house in our RV and we have been on the road since. Having no time frame in mind for how long we would do this, we just decided to explore the Western states and see if we liked it.
After one year living in our RV and evaluating the cost to full-time we have come to the conclusion a “home base” would be more cost effective.
The difference a year makes…
These last three months since we left Arizona we have been shocked at the rising cost of diesel fuel. Last year it averaged about $1.99 a gallon in Texas and about $2.40 the further west we went. This year it’s a $1 or more per gallon. Our truck averages 9 miles per gallon on a FLAT road and 4 miles per gallon in the mountains. So imagine, every 9 miles we drive we spend on average $3.40! Add to that the once a week RV parks we spend a couple nights in to do laundry and grocery shop during the summer months (average $50 per night), the National Forest campground fees and the “lot rental” for our winter months in Arizona ($400 a month), we realized we could have a small mortgage and a home to come “home” to!
Exciting Changes…
We are currently in escrow for a small two bedroom, two bath home in Georgetown TX in the Sun City community. Having lived in Sun City before and loved the community, amenities along with the ability to be able to “lock and go” and not worry about a home being un-occupied for a month at a time. We had been on the email list for new listings since the spring and of course, wouldn’t you know it, one came up right in the middle of summer and it’s HOT in Texas in the summer! But here we are, closing on our home August 21st.
We have decided to travel a different way…. by car, boat and airplane. Our first trip by boat is this September. We are getting VERY excited about this trip, an Alaskan Cruise! On September 11th (I’m not suspicious, but what a day to fly:-) we will head out and spend some time in Seattle with our daughter and grandsons and board our Holland America ship on September 16th for the 7 day cruise. Our best friends will be traveling with us and have a balcony cabin right next to each other, lot’s of fun I’m sure!
What’s next…
We are discussing our next vehicle to travel in and plan on “road trips” in this vehicle next summer for a month at a time. We have researched VRBO (vacation rentals by owner), AirBNB’s and forest service cabin rentals so far. This will give us more freedom to travel further, and to places we would have never hauled our RV to because of the distance, cost and because of the size of our rig. So, on to the next adventure!
Do you live in a place where it’s hot right now? Since we are still in our RV in the Texas heat I’m not doing much “cooking” but instead making fast, easy and cool meals. Check out my recipes for one of our favorites, “Lettuce Wraps”!! Scroll to the bottom of the page for two of our favorites and stay cool in the kitchen!
Your Nomadic Nutritionist,
Chris
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