Six Months of Full-Time RV Life & T-Shirt Give-Away!!

We have now been on the road and living the full-time RV lifestyle for six months and feel very confident that we made the right choice for us.  There have been a few minor challenges, most quite humorous due to just being “rookies” that have been great learning lessons.  The saying “Home is where you Park it” has really come true for us.  Our decision to purchase a 43′ motorhome has proven to be comfortable and spacious enough that it truly feels like a home we can live in for years to come.

Our travel strategy is to take our time and enjoy each location whenever possible, which also ensures we save on fuel and campground costs. One other key component of our plan is to stay warm all year long.   Our travel path is often directed by family commitments and special events, which often trump our desire to stay warm. People and relationships are obviously critical and come first, so we are okay if we have to be cold once in awhile.

We have been in South Texas for the past 2 months and think the Rio Grande Valley is a great place to spend the winter.  Since it was our first time in the area, and there were so many options, we chose to split our time in two 55+ RV resorts.  Monthly rates are very reasonable and it gave us a chance to explore different parts of the region without having to drive too much. We love the pool and hot tubs at the resorts, but haven’t really participated in all of the onsite activities, which our geared to the older residents.  While we are still able, we prefer to explore the great outdoors wherever we are!

The best part of staying the Rio Grande Valley, outside of the great weather, has been the tremendous diversity of birds and other wildlife which is unparalleled to any other area in the U.S. The valley is at the intersection where tropical, temperate, desert and coastal zones all come together.  You can see birds from any of these zones. plus migrants that are just passing through.  In and around Brownsville, TX we visited the Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Joe & Tony Oliveira Park, Brownsville City Cemetery and believe it our not, the local dump!  All four locations were great birding sites, however, I could have passed on the Brownsville Landfill/Dump, though Mike was glad to have the opportunity to try to see some rare birds.   We saw an unbelievable amount of parakeets at the Oliveira Park and they were so loud, you couldn’t miss them.   In Harlingen, Texas we visited the Hugh Ramsey Nature Park and the Harlingen World Birding Center which both had some nice hiking trails.  We especially enjoyed visiting the Estero Llano Grande State Park and Santa Anna Wildlife Refuge in the Weslaco, TX area.  Birding experts gave us a tour in the Refuge that helped us add to our bird list and enhance our knowledge.  We got lucky and met one of the volunteers while we where birding in Estero Llano Grande State Park who helped us spot several new birds before we went on a hike.  Boca Chica State Park was also a highlight, as it was a beautiful undeveloped beach that was very peaceful

Fitness is an important part of our lifestyle. Mike made sure that we could continue our workout routines while we traveled, so he purchased a work out bench, adjustable dumbbell set, chin up attachment, bands, etc. that we use regularly (See in “Our Stuff” on our website).  I am still trying to do a pull-up on my own, but require bands to assist me for now.  We also each have  a mountain bike and road bike, which we we use whenever we get the opportunity.  It is pretty flat in Texas, however, we have had fun biking through wildlife refuges and in the Monte Bella Trails Park.   Mike gave me a membership to Planet Fitness for our 31st Anniversary, which I have been loving, especially all the pre and post work-out free massages that the gym offers, and being able to use all the equipment we don’t have in our RV.  Those of  you who know me, know I love having  fitness goals and challenges, so I was thrilled to participate in the local Harlingen Half Marathon and Jalapeno Century bike ride in February.

One of the things we miss in our RV life is the wonderful medical care we had we had in Northern Virginia with Kaiser Permanente.  It is an adjustment to not have regular doctors, however we are fortunate to have a good medical and dental plan while we are on the road.  We took advantage of our longer stay in the Rio Grande Valley to get our annual physicals, routine tests and dental appointments completed. Not too bad of experience and we are glad we have checked this off our “to do” list for now, and that we are both healthy!

Checklists have become a very big part of RV life for us.  We follow a very detailed checklist the day before we travel and the day of travel.  We have found that when we don’t follow them closely and skip an item, it often comes back to bite us later. We are pretty big nerds and actually print out our lists and check the items off on a clipboard.  Mike also made a checklist for RV maintenance and I made one for RV cleaning to make sure we don’t forget a critical task.   The good news is that our chore lists are a lot smaller and take less time that taking care of a “Sticks & Bricks” house and a couple of vehicles.

To celebrate our first six months of full-time RV journey, we are having a “Roamin” with the Rome’s” T-Shirt Giveway.  All you need to do is go to our home page and enter you e-mail address in the “Subscribe” section and you will be entered in the drawing.  If you are on Facebook, please like our page “Roamin’ with the Romes” and if you are on Instagram, please follow us to get additional chances to win. You can also connect with us on Facebook or Instagram directly from our home page.   Winners will be announced on March 4th.

We appreciate your support and following us on our journey.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

If you received this update via e-mail, don’t forget to check our blog to see the pictures: Roamin’ with the Romes