RV Travel Blog – Year 4

As we are about to embark on our 4th year of travels I thought it might make sense to write a blog update about the blog itself. Just my thoughts as they occur about the reasons to create and maintain this documentation of our retirement journey. I have often wondered myself…RV Travel Blog – Year 4

Why I Started the Blog

The Jerry Seinfeld show used to claim it was a show about nothing. It is often described as being a show about nothing as many of its episodes are about the minutiae of daily life. I wanted to set the bar just a little higher.

Include some of the minutiae so that people can see that it is not all about the interesting destinations or sightseeing. But also the day that we do laundry and grocery shopping. And the days that we only drink coffee and read a book.

The last few years before retiring I began reading some RV travel blogs to gain a better understanding of how to successfully pull off this full-time RVing life. There were quite a mixture of them. Pat found many of them while I was working and shared the best.

Some of the better blogs discuss all of the things that we needed to know. Such as how to find the best RV parks. How to arrange for a mail service. Whether to purchase the extended RV maintenance contract. There are thousands of full-timers out there and maybe a hundred or so of them have a blog. We learned much from them before we ever bought the RV.

And I learned from these blogs many things that I use in my updates. Hopefully, they can assist others that want to travel this route as many other blogs have helped us. I do routinely get contacted about something from the blog posts. So, I guess that it is working.

I also wanted to create something that I can look back on one of these days from the rocking chair in the home. To remind me of that time that we jumped out of the comfort zone and thoroughly immersed ourselves in this retirement plan. I’m really not much of a risk taker being an accountant for 30+ years and all. But we only have so many years on this planet.

But the main initial reason for the blog is to create a platform to communicate to our family and friends. To let them know we are fine and enjoying life. Many of our family and friends were a little skeptical at first about our plans to sell everything, buy an RV, and set off on this journey.

There were many comments such as start small and then try it out. Or just rent an RV for a couple of weeks. All well intended concerns. Most of the folks did not know that we have had several pull behind campers in the past. So, we had a little experience. But it was somewhat frightening to just jump off the cliff and do it.

A Diary of Travels

My goal was to discuss not just the where we traveled, but also my thoughts on many things. I probably need to do a better job on my reflections on whatever, instead of just the where we are or what we did. At least that is my feeling.

Not down to the minutiae, but to give a better sense of what our life is like. In the years prior to retiring, there was much planning and anticipation. Could we pull it off financially? Would we still be best friends living in a 400 sq foot home? And many other questions.

Now, as we enter our 4th year, we have most of these questions behind us. The new phase we are entering is the exit plan. How many more years to travel. And then what? Buy a house or a condo? Or should we rent giving us more flexibility to move around? Where to locate?

At some future time, we will have a northern home, probably Virginia, and then travel south for the winter in the truck and 5th wheel camper. Maybe also throw in some summer trips for a few weeks. Back to part time RVers.

I plan to continue the blog through that exit transition as well. Provide our thought process as we make this big change. Not now, of course, but in a couple of years, I hope.

There is always change. Some folks are more resistant to change. I’ve always been open to it, if it makes sense. With some healthy skepticism. With some detailed planning, I would hope that it goes smoothly too.

Blog Usage

The blog started out with just a few hits per week. Our group of family and friends checking on that crazy retired couple. After a few months of meeting more people and from folks web searches, I was seeing about 25-50 website hits per week. Woohoo!

While the website is still very small compared to many out there, our visits to the site are now up to an average of 250 views per week. The most ever was 283 views in a single day when I posted a link on one of the large RVing facebook groups. I’ve elected not to do that anymore to keep things small and simple.

Another popular way to increase viewers is to have a Youtube video channel. There are tons of full time RVers who do these videos. I don’t think they need another one.

No Advertisements

From the beginning, I have opted not to include any ads, promotions, or Amazon links. The goal of the website is simply a hobby of mine to provide information as I’ve stated above. Most all of the other RV blogs that I follow have ads or links to provide some revenue. I don’t like those crazy pop up ads that you have to close out. So, I pay for the annual website fees to keep the site clean. It’s just a hobby.

Read on iPad or Computer

When I read other websites or blogs I usually read them on my iPad or on the PC. The photos are so much better at that size. Plus, easier to read the text with my older eyes. If I must read on a cell phone, I’ll rotate the phone to landscape to see the screen in larger size.

There you have it. My thoughts on the blog as we venture into Year Four of Our Epic RV Journey. Take care and God Bless.