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Cheers,

Mari

1. Frrrrreeeeedom! (Braveheart fans, can you hear Mel Gibson?) There’s something totally magical about the feeling of being utterly free and unencumbered from all things mainstream.
2. Less stuff. Purge, purge, purge. Why is it the vast majority of us work so hard to earn money to buy stuff we don’t need to impress people we don’t even like? Ha ha. It’s so trippy to look in my flatware drawer and see only four forks, four knives, four spoons. (We have a saying in the RV world: “Six for cocktails, four for dinner, two for sleeping!”)
3. Simplify life. Hey, I’m okay with not having the gigantic mansion on the beach with butlers, gardeners, maids. Five minutes and the RV housework is done.
4. No mortgage payments and fewer bills. Just (1) campground fees (thanks to the internet, it’s easy to find scads of nice parks for as little as $8/night), (2) internet access (yay Verizon EVDO), (3) cell phones. Oh, and, uh, gas?! A mere 8mpg, but who’s counting when life is so gooooood.
5. More quality time with your significant other. Though we have some buds doing the mobile lifestyle solo, it’s for sure special to do with your honey! Our marriage is the best it’s ever been. (Only six weeks into the RV life and we haven’t killed each other – pretty good! LOL).
6. Neat sub-culture. People who live fulltime (even part-time) in an RV are a breed unto themselves. Super friendly, relaxed, down to earth, prefer life in the slow-lane. Aaaaah, that’s what I’m talking about!
7. New adventures. We get to expand our minds and horizons by traveling to all corners of the US/Canada, and discover brand new places, people and experiences.
8. Have wheels will travel. If you don’t like the view, move. If you don’t like your neighbors, move. Cabin fever? Get out into the wild blue yonder or zip around in your toad (official term for the small car you tow behind).
9. Never pack for a vacation again. Wherever you go, you take your entire home with you. Living on board an RV is like being on a permanent vacation.
10. Share online. By keeping my travel blog active, I get to inspire our community of friends and family and those who share the same dream. Be sure to subscribe to our feeds so you too can live vicariously through our travels!

P.S. I wrote this post while hubby is driving up the 15N freeway heading to Fallbrook, CA. We’re in the toad (Honda CR-V), just completing some real estate investing today. Another few weeks in San Diego and it’s the big open road after that! (At least that’s the *current* plan… Ty shared a quote by Lao Tzu with me today: “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”  Hmmm.

I confess, I’m a complete and utter Facebook addict!!

I find myself staying logged in all day and coming back to surf, search, check out who’s doing what, look for tidbits and new peeps to ‘friend’ (yes, ‘friend’ is now officially a verb ).

With so much time on my hands these days (on board my fabuous 34′ RV, enjoying the peaceful, distraction-free environment!), what’s a girl to do? (Ahem, not that I’m a lady of complete leisure – I have multiple business projects I’m working on).

The latest Facebook frenzy has me intrigued. Granted, social networking is just that. But, to me, networking is for business purposes. (It might be interesting to compare “amount of time invested” and “direct results”!!)

Here’s the thing: I believe it depends on (1) your objectives and (2) your motivational profile.

Making new friends around the entire globe gives me a buzz! Learning about real people, who they are, what kind of lives they lead, what interests them. But is this enough?

The answer is a resounding YES. Because my objectives and my motivational profile go hand-in-hand. As a High I on DISC, raging Extravert on Myers Briggs, High Social Contact, Interdependence and Curiosity on Reiss, and Communication my #1 strength on StrengthsFinder… Facebook is THE IDEAL environment for someone like me.

Everything revolves around relationships in my world. I live by the creed, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, who knows you, and who knows who you know.” (e.g. your Facebook friends).

It’s early days to quantify specific results from my Facebook “addiction.” But, I’m positive the continued activity will have untold payoffs. I’ve already deepened relationships with many business contacts who were previously distant acquaintances. And, I’ve begun new, inspiring connections.

I’ll keep you posted. Meantime – are you on Facebook? If so, feel free to “friend” me!

Okay, I gotta go see Leonardo DeCaprio’s new movie The 11th Hour - my friends tell me it’s a must-see.

Leo appears to pick up where Al Gore left off… or at least expand upon his work. What I love about Leo’s project is his vibrant, interactive website with *tons* of ideas and suggestions we can implement immediately to contribute to the SOLUTION. ‘Cuz right now, we’re all mostly contributing to the problem.

Today at Santee Lakes – it registered 115F (46C) in the shade. That’s ridiculous. I’ve never felt so blisteringly hot. Even with the AC on full blast, the indoor temp was like 90F at one point. Whew! This is not normal.

Two days in a row, us RVers blew the power supply here. (The rangers give us a telling off for using two AC units on our coaches! Hmph.) Of course, we’re sucking electricity which is a drain on resources – right? Hey, I wonder if you can get solar-powered air-conditioning units?

It boggles my mind to think how many billions of years the planet has existed. And all the changes mother earth has endured, from the ice age to stone age to the apparent oneness of the continents at one point. Human life could be a mere blip on the timeline of our cosmos. Hmmm. What do you think?

Are we just going to fry to death? Ugh.

It’ll be interesting as Ty and I begin our travel adventures shortly — to see just what our fellow inhabitants of this wonderful country are doing to help save the planet… or not.

Stay tuned.

Meantime, I went out today and bought a couple of polycarbonate water bottles. (They’re non-porous; no leaching of plastic chemical gunk into your water). No more bottled water for us – it’s actually pricier than gas, you know! Not to mention all the dreaded landfills.

The benefits to living fulltime in an RV abound!! So far, I’ve lost count!! Changing neighbors is certainly near the TOP of our list!

Ty and I noticed the yukky odor of cigarette smoke sneaking into our coach… even with all the windows & doors sealed (gotta crank up the AC in this blisteringly intense 102F+ temp), we couldn’t help but notice the slight trace in the air…

Okay, I admit, I’m a smoking snob. Yep, I smoked as a teen… had my first ciggy around age 14. Finally jacked the horrid habit in my late 20’s. And now – holy smokes – I cannot stand even the faintest hint. (We’re spoiled in SoCal – the airspace is sacred here! LOL)

Here we are parked in the lovely Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve… but having to breathe second hand cig smoke is just not what I signed up for.

So I sweet-talked the peeps into giving us a spot in another section of the park – overlooking a stream with much, much wider spots. (We only moved into the ‘cheap seats’ as they’re so maxed out here over Labor Day weekend).

See, it’s one of the COOLEST things about living in an RV. If you don’t like your view – you just pack up and MOVE!

If you can’t stand your neighbors – no problem! Pull up your jacks, roll up the awnings, (bring in the slides if you have ‘em!) and go find a nicer area! This just tickles me to bits!!

Aaaaah. Life is grand.

And my adorably hubby and I partied like crazy this weekend… we went to, like, FIVE parties!! Woo-hoo! We *love* to dance.

…and tomorrow is another play day. Thankfully, we’ve gotten this moving da RV thang down to a reasonably fine art. Hee hee. Clean, fresh, healthy air – here we come!!

It’s our 39th night on board the RV and we’re sitting in Santee Lakes… STILL! I really thought we would’ve “hit the road’ by now. Grrr.

Ahem, not that I’m complaining, okay? (Just need to set the record straight in case Ty reads my post! ha ha)

Thing is, I was ready to hit the road Jack on August 20th… yesireee. That’s when all my commitments were done, done, done.

And my feet are itching like craaaaazy to get out onto that big wide open road and experience all kinds of new terrains, new people, new places. (And, of course, report back to my loyal blog fans!)

BUT, alas, darling hubby is not quite ready yet. Bless him, he’s got his head totally immersed in the world of real estate investing… and we’re smack in the midst of a 1031 exchange.

Can such a matter be hurried? Yikes, probably not. Impatience doesn’t cut it with prudent investing. Selling our properties was one thing. But re-investing the cashola is another. Hmm.

 So, I jockey between sweet, understanding wife and impatient two-year-old brat metaphorically sitting in the back of the car saying, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” LOL

Silly me. I’m reminded of a great dialogue between Dan and Socrates in the movie, Peaceful Warrior. “What time is it?” “Now.” “Where are you?” “Here.”

There, see? There’s nowhere to get to. No target. No goal. No end result we have to aim for. Just my intrinsic motivation pushing me forward to accomplish something and check it off the list. Travel the US/Canada in a motorhome – check.

Okay, onwards we go. Time to reflect on the lessons of standing still… just for a tad longer.

I just posted this on the Four Hour Work Week Facebook Group… and thought I’d share it here too, as it’s a great synopsis of how this blog came to be!

Is it possible to apply the principles in the book that work for you? Absolutely! Is it possible to be Tim Ferriss? Of course not. The 4HWW is one of the most thought-provoking books I’ve read in years. (I bought the CD’s at the same time so my husband and I could trade off; it’s awesome to learn the info in multiple formats too.)

We were already in the midst of preparing for the kind of lifestyle that Tim teaches; reading his book became a catalyst to make it all happen.

Last month we sold our beach house in San Diego, CA along with ALL our furniture (within 48 hours flat thanks to Craigslist.com!)… went out and bought a beautiful 34′ motorhome (shopped like crazy for two weeks solid and found an amazing deal on a pre-owned Class A for under $30k total). We now live full time in the RV and are gearing up to start traveling the US/Canada.

It’s an incredible feeling to own our own home free and clear, to have practically NO bills – just campground fees, internet connection & cell phones. Oh yeh, and fuel!

What do we do for income? I already have several e-products that sell online, plus I do consulting and coaching via email and phone. My hubby is a real estate investor and we have a couple properties, more on the way.

We could quite comfortably live on less than $1000/mo if we wanted to. There are tons of campground deals to be had and of course dry-docking is free.

(BTW, I recently read the fastest growing RV market is the 18-35 year olds – they’re buying the big fun RVs and toyhaulers and taking the kids. It’s such a great way to travel/vacation.)

Truth is, we really do not *need* much at all to be happy and enjoy life. Making ourselves downsize from a 2600 square feet, 3bed/4bath home to approx a 275 square feet mobile living space was the best thing we’ve done together… ever! Our marriage is the strongest it’s been, we have tons of energy, and have way more fun every day.

Am I still addicted to email and FB, though? Yep… working on it. LOL.

Cheers,
Mari

P.S. As Henry David Thoreau said, “Live simply, so that others may simply live.” And, another favorite quote of mine, “Better to live in a tent with someone you love than in a mansion by yourself” – by Jim Rohn.

P.P.S. Another great read in a similar genre is Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth where he teaches you how to work ON your business, not IN your business.

Okay, here we are in our fourth week of living in our 34′ motorhome FULL-TIME… and, I have to tell you, yes it’s awesome to have the freedom and flexibility, for sure. But, it takes a lot of darn work!!!

Simple day-to-day stuff like cooking, washing dishes, grocery shopping, doing laundry. Everything seems to take at least twice as long in our downsized home.

And, each time we move the coach – it’s a 2-3 hour project! Whew!  (Our pro full-timer RVer buddies tell us they break down and set up in under an hour… okay, there’s hope for us!)

It’s amazing how much we take for granted living in a “bricks ‘n’ sticks” house. Take laundry – you just pop it in the machine at home and do something else, right?

My first time doing laundry took three trips to the laundry room as I forgot quarters, then the detergent. Darn nuisance. I swear I think I need to hire a personal assistant to follow us around–I’ve got better things to do with my time.  (Actually, our RV is pre-plumbed for a wee washer-dryer… we might get one added sooner than later!)

And buying food – yikes, each time I’m in a different grocery store I have to figure out the layout. Maybe one day Google will add maps of store interiors. Then I could pre-plan my shopping trip online to maximize my time. LOL.

I can see how many retirees enjoy this lifestyle – there’s no rush for anything. Well, I’m really trying to adopt Tim Ferriss’ philosophies of taking tons of time out to enjoy more leisure pursuits. Dang, I confess I’m still addicted to the computer.

Hey, the good news though is Ty and I are in a really sweet spot together!! This whole mobile lifestyle pursuit has brought us even closer together and we’re having WAY more fun (now that all that family drama estate stuff is behind us!) I’ll be revealing tons of personal insights and stories along the way.

Aaaah, bring on the good life.

Okay, we had our first “holding tank” learning experience last night. Here were are all cozy and getting ready to hit the sack… it’s about 10:00pm when we notice this yukky odor emanating from the drains.

Eeek, the shower tray was leeching gray water (that’s the term for all sink/shower water; toilet stuff is called “black water” – ugh, eh?!)

Okay, I think we discovered our max – just four days for the forty-gallon gray water holding tank. That was a shower for each of us every day, regular hand washing & dishes. Not much.

(We’re on partial hook-ups just now at the Elks Lodge in Oceanside, CA – that is, electricity and fresh water coming in… but gotta move the coach across the lot to “dump” – that’s the term for draining the waste water).

Okay, so back to my story: I go into a panic. Ty and I decide we’d better handle the dumping NOW. We baton down the hatches in prep for moving our housey on wheels… alas two of the four leveling jacks are stuck in the gravel now. So, Ty gets out the hammer and starts whacking away at the poor jacks.

Thwack, thwack, thwack… holy smokes, it’s now after 10:30pm and we’re surrounded by seniors here. Chances are they’re getting disturbed. Sure enough – a disgruntled lady appears clad in dressing gown demanding to know what the heck we’re up to as we’re keeping everyone awake. OOOOPS!!

I told her we are new RV’ers and apologized profusely, explaining our predicament. She promptly suggested we go get the “Blue Boy” from the camp host to tide us over to the morning… “it’ll be a darnsite quieter than the hammer” she scoffs as she goes back to her coach. Oh dear.

I’ve no idea what the heck a Blue Boy is. But, I make my way over to the camp host… and sure enough, I spot this plastic container on wheels with hoses and openings and a big handle like a sled! By this time, Ty’s a tad stressed and ready to hit the sack regardless of the leakage and eau d’pong.

But I convinced him I’d found the solution – so, we haul this little blue dump “sled” to our coach, drain about 15 gallons, and yank the sloshing thing over to the dumping drain. I kept waiting for the “Candid Camera” peeps to spring out from somewhere!

What a hoot! I said to Ty we could look forward to bonding in a few days (that’s what Gary Smalley says these kinds of camping-type challenges create in the end!)

Tell you what though, this experience sure made me think about how much water we use in regular “bricks ‘n’ sticks” houses without realizing it.

Woo-hoo – we had an awesome party on Sunday, August 12th to celebrate Mari’s second annual 40th <lol>…

…along with our friend, Muff Warren’s, 80th! Plus, a wee farewell to Ty and Mari as we set off into the sunset.

A great time was had by all – potluck, chat, photo presentation, yummmmy cake (from Bristol Farms bakery), followed by a showing of the incredible movie, Peaceful Warrior.

 

Thanks to all who attended – we love you dearly and will miss you as we zip around the country.

Remember, we’re only ever a Skype away!

Cheers,
Mari
P.S. See my party pics on Facebook!