It’s time to shove off, folks. Tomorrow we depart from the Tampa area. We are locked and loaded. Time for the bon voyage. The hasta luego. The arrivederci. But don’t worry, we should be back in about 11 months or so. Who knows though. We’ll just leave it open ended for now, which is part of the adventure.

Ok, let’s be real for a minute. Getting acclimated to this new lifestyle has certainly had its challenges. We’ve had our moments of doubt, like, “WTF did we just do?” and through it all we are excited and looking forward to the road ahead. This is not a trip, it’s a lifestyle.

The most important thing we have to remain is flexible with this new life adventure and the following is how we are going about it.

• We are fully moved in to the rig. It feels like home. We are all now acclimated to the smaller space and that is a good feeling starting out.

• We are still treating the work week as it should be Monday through Friday, morning to afternoon is dedicated to the work-life. Although taking an early afternoon to see something close or take a short bike ride or hike is an exception because why not? Saturdays and Sundays are meant for exploring and fun!

• We have already mapped a route of towns and cities we want to visit on a calendar with an understanding we will need to be flexible with dates and cognizant of weather conditions. This feels reassuring knowing we have specific destinations for the next year.

• Moving days are set for Sundays because, vaya con Dios.

• We map our stops no more than 250 miles apart. Out by 9 in by 3 is a good standard we try to follow. This also is one tank of diesel for Big Booty Judy. We want to avoid fuel stations when the chateau 2 go is attached. Too many things can go wrong. Eventually we’ll be faced with fueling up while in tow, but if we can avoid it now, we do.

• Most stops are two weeks stays but there are times when we’ll stay only one week or we’ll stay longer, up to a month depending.

• We plan where we stay (book RV parks) about 60 days out. We have a Thousand Trails membership and use it when we can because it’s already paid for places to stay. A lot of times these Thousand Trails RV parks aren’t necessarily in the towns we want to visit but rather close to where we want to visit. Since the membership was paid for already, we will take advantage of it this first year on the road. There is an exception to the rule of booking 60 days out due to popular seasonal stays. Busy season means booking in advance sometimes as much as a year in advance. We are still understanding this moving target.

• We always pack a lunch on moving day. Moving day is not a good day to go hangry. This way we do not have to look for restaurants or drive thru places with large parking lots to stop so we can eat. Instead a simple rest area does the trick. We can walk Lincoln, have a picnic and continue on.

• It takes us about an hour to break down in the morning on moving days. After several moving days, you start to get the hang of all the steps necessary. This process feels solid after a couple months of doing it and that confidence is reassuring heading out.

• Erin manages the inside and JC manages the outside. Together we hook up and take turns driving. Note: Erin is a much better driver than JC. Ha Ha Ha!! Of course I had to throw that out there because author liberty. I kid. JC is really great driver. He certainly backs this thing up and parks it like a champ where Erin cannot.

As we head out of Tampa we will hit the following stops over the next couple of months. We hope you will continue to follow along. Our Instagram and Twitter accounts are also great sources for more information and pictures of the sights we visit.

We are working on our YouTube channel and will eventually be rolling content out there too. See ya’ll along the way… singing Eastbound and Down… loaded up and truckin’!

1. Ft. White (Ichetucknee Springs – this is a short layover near JC’s property)
2. Yemassee, SC (close to Savannah, GA & Charleston, SC)
3. Atlanta, GA (March 2020)
4. Blairsville, GA
5. Asheville, NC
6. Advance, NC (close to Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, NC)
7. Blacksburg, VA (April 2020)
8. Williamsburg, VA
9. Luray, VA
10. Washington, DC (May 2020)