A magazine dedicated to the world of RV Living...seems to be a staple at RV park laundry facilities!

Have you heard of US magazine?  It's a tabloid.  I usually will read it while getting my nails done.  (if the salon has it).  One of my favorite (well...if you call it that) features is "Stars Just Like Us".  This column features pictures of stars doing, well, mundane life things.  You know, like going to the store.  Getting their hair done. So, while trapped staying in this RV resort I was inspired to take some pictures of the mundane everyday life.  Us RV families may seem like a strange breed ... but you'll see - We are just like you! (Except our house has wheels!)

We still have to deal with dishes.

The difference between a stick & bricks house and the RV, is that we can't just hide the dishes in a dishwasher.  Granted, I've tried.  (No dishwasher.  But I've put dishes in the sink and covered them...) When your sink is tiny, and you only have 5 cups, 5 dishes and 5 sets of utensils, you either wash the dishes or starve. Which leads me to my first pearl of wisdom in RV living.  NEVER do the dishes without making sure that the grey tank is not full.  What happens is that your teenage son will run the water for 10 minutes and that water will end up in your outdoor sink, flooding the outdoor kitchen AND the ground beneath.  You of course are oblivious until a kind person knocks on your door and says softly, "I think you have a water issue out here."  Don't ask me how I know.

We still have to work.

The vast majority of families on the road, that I know, are working.  They just work on the road.  Whether they travel from place-to-place for jobs, work for an internet-based business or work for an RV Park.  They work.  They simply have exchanged the stationary life for one with more freedom.

Yes.  We still work. On the road.  Just not full-time as we are *trying* to see the US.

Which brings me to this pearl of wisdom.  Internet on the road is frustrating.  Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don't.  Some parks have FANTASTIC internet.  Some parks do not.  The best solution for us is Millenicom.  For ~$70 a month we get 20GB of data.  That's plenty for mom, dad and the kids.  Even homeschooling.  What we cannot seem to do is play online games or stream.  But that's fine, because we use the parks WiFi for that.

We still learn.

RV life provides an amazing learning opportunity for children.  Whether it's exploring the biomes of Yellowstone Park or standing on the battlefield of Gettysburg, the extent of what a child can learn is endless!  Some parents unschool, others like us, drag the curriculum and wonder how to deal with all the books...papers.  This is a work in progress.  I'm still searching for pearls of wisdom.

We still have to walk the dog and scoop the poop.

When you have pets in an RV, the need for exercise is GREATER than at home.  And as I'm finding, it CAN be tricky if the RV park seems to think that your 12yo (and her sister) are incapable of walking the dog alone.  One thing we have tried to do is provide plenty of play time for the puppy.  This works great unless it's 7 in the morning and she's wound to the moon ... luckily Missy and Bear seem to enjoy this so far.

As far as the poop...um ya, I STILL don't like this task.  But it's our job as a pet owner.  So, if you have a dog, scoop it up!

Pearls of wisdom for those traveling with a cat.  Don't forget someway to provide them with adequate pouncing time.  Otherwise your feet are prime meat. Literally.

We still need our water.

64 ounces a day baby!  Getting water on the road is important.  One thing I've discovered is that I am MORE dehydrated traveling.  Part of this (I think) is due to the change in environment as we travel from place to place.  I'm used to the rainy and wet environment of Portland.  Spending 2 weeks in Idaho, my skin and body is drying out!  I cannot seem to get enough water. Which brings me to my pearl of wisdom for this.  I make a point to have 5 Gallons of water on hand at all times.  If we use up 1 gallon, I purchase another.  I know I could buy a filter and use the tap water ... but I'm a little paranoid about tap water.  We drink filtered water at home, BUT I know what's in the water.  I don't have the luxury of researching every place we stop at.  SO, we purchase 5 gallons of water. Which brings me to a question.  WHY do RV  parks not embrace recycling?  Spoiled by Portland, where we recycle everything, it's KILLING me to throw away plastic bottles, cans, even food in the garbage.  There's a business idea for someone. There's more that I can say later.  I'm not really an expert at this.  I don't think we'll ever be *TRULY* a full-time RV family.  But I'd definitely settle for about 75% of the year! See you down the road!