Our First Blowout – And How We Prepared

| jamiefeinberg

Well, we’ve lived in our RV for four years, traveling for almost four, and it finally happened – we had a blowout!

Ross was about forty minutes away from our destination (staying at a winery, where I was already waiting for him) when he felt an immediate change while driving, realizing there was a ton of resistance. He immediately pulled over to the side of the highway. Turns out he’d blown two tires.

It was scary, of course, but thankfully it happened during daylight on a clear day, Good Sam got there before dark and while the cost wasn’t cheap, we had plenty of space on our credit card for it. Not to mention that Ross, Squeak (our cat) and our house/RV were all okay!

It’s been interesting traveling during COVID-19. Where normally we’d be getting coffee or ice cream along the way, instead there’s a much more serious cost/benefit analysis happening before we consider takeout of any kind, and we certainly aren’t dining in anywhere! Getting out of Florida means less virus exposure, but we’re also traveling through areas that don’t have mask mandates or even potentially norms around mask-wearing, so we are treading carefully. We also don’t want to potentially infect the people that we bump into!

I think the big lesson learned for us was that doing the work pays off when you hit a time of crisis. If I hadn’t been so well-read on tires, I wouldn’t have known to tell Ross to get all four of the back tires replaced when two of them went, and financially getting them all replaced turned out to be the best decision (they only added another $100 when they added 2 tires to our order!) by far.

For Ross, all of his prior work learning to drive the RV like a pro with great care meant he knew exactly what to do, and trusted his gut, when the tires blew out.

How are you doing the work now to set yourself up for success later?

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

End of an Era, or How Disney Let Down Florida

| jamiefeinberg

It’s the definition of a first world problem: we had Disney World passes, we used them for many months, and then COVID-19 hit. First they closed the parks indefinitely; when they finally reopened last month, they were opening despite Florida’s skyrocketing rates of infection.

Wilderness Lodge has a beautiful bridge with water running underneath it – inside!
Waterfall at Wilderness Lodge, Walt Disney World
Royal chair at Port Orleans: RIverside
Jamie and Danny at the Magic Kingdom
Ryan, Emily, Ross and Jamie at Animal Kingdom Lodge

As much as Disney is our absolute love, we just didn’t feel safe/couldn’t justify the risk of going into the parks, even with all the precautions. So, in a move we never thought would be an option or a need, we cancelled our Disney passes.

Being a Disney World passholder in normal times is pretty awesome, especially when you live nearby (as we do when our RV is parked in central Florida). We usually visited the parks at least once or twice a week, sometimes for a quick ice cream treat or a ride, and other times to spend most of the day or close out the evening there.

Much to our surprise, during this new era we’ve had no lack of things to do while staying in our RV. In many ways, we’ve been more productive in our businesses than we would have otherwise, despite the feelings of overwhelm and helplessness sometimes. And we’ve indulged in watching new TV shows and of course our new favorite thing, mystery boxes!

When Disney presented us with the option of cancelling our passes, we were torn. Giving them up meant if things were to change in the future, we’d be out of luck. And there’s always the risk that Disney will let annual passes expire and then won’t let new people purchase them. But honestly, our long-term plans don’t include living in Florida. A short-term visit regularly? Yes, please! But for the long term? We’ve got other priorities right now. A little extra money in our pockets doesn’t hurt either.

What ultimately sold us was the feeling that by opening up the parks in the middle of an incredible spike in cases with no sign of state or federal oversight, Disney dropped the ball. We felt that keeping our Disney passes would implictly be an endorsement of Disney’s behavior right now. And we strongly feel that Disney, as one of the largest and perhaps the most prestigious employer in Florida, was uniquely in a position to convince the state government to do more to stop the spread of COVID-19. By opening up the parks, they lost that bargaining chip and opportunity.

So we’re no longer Disney World passholders. We’re still big Disney fans, and we’ve still got our Disney World for RVers as a hub for conversation, but for now, we’ll be sitting on the sidelines.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe, and take care.

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

Balancing Work and Travel

| jamiefeinberg

It’s one of those weeks where it’s a carefully calculated balancing act. We’re hoping to head out of Florida within the next couple of weeks. We managed to avoid damage in last week’s hurricane, but we know we are unlikely to be so luckily if we stick around longer.

That means we need to stock up on provisions (our goal is to avoid stopping for anything but gas and a place to sleep for the night – fingers crossed!), make sure all of our online orders have been delivered, clean up and organize after getting “comfortable” for many months, and remind ourselves what “travel mode” looks like.

Oh, and work! The trickiest thing about all of this is that we still have to keep up with, if not traditional day jobs, all of our clients, and in fact we need to do extra work to make sure we’re ready to depart safely and successfully.

I’m also wrapping up week one of a coaching program, where I’m learning how to be a coach! I’m something I’ve dabbled in the past, and I absolutely love supporting people and helping them find the confidence, strategy and skills to create the life of their dreams. So, suffice to say, it’s been a busy week here in the RV!

Lots of people say that full-time RVing has higher highs and lower lows than the average life. I think that can be true. There’s less consistency, more surprises to deal with, but there’s so much joy from traveling and living life at a different pace. And honestly, so much of it is truly what you make of it.

We know we’re truly spoiled and privileged to live this lifestyle. We always appreciate your good wishes, but we especially love those thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks as we pack up and head out across the country.

Wishing you all a wonderful week. Take care.

P.S. We’ll be taking advantage of our Harvest Hosts membership when we travel. Free space to park in exchange for buying wine and other goodies? Sign us up! Get yours at a 15% discount and support our blog when you sign up!

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

Four Years Of Thanks

| jamiefeinberg

It’s been more than four years of being full-time RVers (with vacations along the way, but always returning to our home), and with all of the uncertainty in the world, I’m feeling especially grateful that we followed our dreams and made this adventure happen.

There were so many things that we didn’t know when we started out. If I’d known then that we’d burn through our savings, that we’d have to spend so much money on repairs, that we’d clean toilets or nasty equipment or even experience a few truly horrendous things along the journey, would we have done it?

But, of course, if I knew the bad stuff that would come, then I’d likely know the good stuff, and how could I have passed that up? Getting to meet extraordinary people, visiting gardens and museums and animals and the ocean….eating extraordinary gluten-free food, amazing ice cream, the freshest Mexican and New Mexican cuisine and meeting up with family and friends (some we hadn’t seen in ages) along the way.

(Just a few photos from the past year or so below!)

We’ve worked full-time and part-time jobs, built businesses, checked off bucket list items and built new dreams. We’ve found communities that feel like home and places we look forward to returning to, and we’ve gotten clarity on what is and isn’t important in our lives.

And when I created the tagline for this website (Making The Lives We Want: A Practice In Living), I didn’t have any idea just how much we’d be leaning into it. I’m so glad we have.

I hope that whatever you’re going through, you’re okay. And if you can, take one small step today to make the life you want. Even if it’s just taking time for a cup of tea or a short walk. You deserve it.

Take care, and be well. Thanks for reading.

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

 

Three Places To Focus When The World Is Spinning

| jamiefeinberg

Gosh, things are challenging right now! Even with all of my blessings and privilege, I’m feeling like it’s tough to stay in the moment and also to stay focused on my goals when the world seems to be falling apart around me.

So here is an update on the three things I’m focusing on right now to keep me going.

Habits

I’ve spent years developing the habits I’ve always wanted to have. It’s been a slow process, adding them in one by one, and a couple I’ve let go or let be flexible as I’ve figured out what’s worked for me. But developing great habits is SO important when things are stressful.

For me, my daily habits include writing in the morning (brain dump, gratitude, journal from the day prior…anything counts, but I write for about 15-20 minutes typically and make sure to at least write something), reading something for my personal development, walking outside, making myself a healthy breakfast, drinking at least 16 ounces of water and taking my vitamins. I’ve also got some personal prep routines in the mix, and lately I do some meditation and yoga in the mix too (I take three live classes currently, 3 days a week, and it’s such a blessing). Habits give you predictability when the world around you feels like a total disaster!

Daily Activism

Black Lives Matter. The state of the world has me panicked, I’m not going to lie. So one way for me to address that is to make sure that every day, I make time to do something to make the world a better place. I stand up for someone who needs it, I sign some petitions, I write my reps or make a phone call. I can’t do it all, but being able to say I’ve done something every day is key to feeling like I’m making a difference and not being complacent as it feels like we’re moving towards fascism. (The news of people being taken off the streets in unmarked vehicles is just the latest, of course. I’m not planning to stop bugging my reps until Trump backs off of that.)

Planning Ahead and Being Prepared

I also take time every day to think about planning ahead and being prepared. Am I well-stocked with food and supplies? Have I taken a few minutes to create a vision for the future of my business? Have I researched the next steps for my career goals? Even when these things seem like a silly distraction, I know that taking a few minutes to do this daily will make sure that when I look back on 2020, I’ll see how I made the best of it rather than how I fell apart.

Bonus: Self-Care

If you’re like me, without kids, white, employed, this list probably makes sense so far. If you’ve got lots of additional issues you’re dealing with right now, whether that’s mental health or sick family or anything else, please prioritize your self-care and give yourself grace when things don’t happen.

And if you’re like me, you probably STILL feel overwhelmed daily. I know I do. So take what works from this list and build your own list that DOES work for you. Take a bath. Have some ice cream. And leave me a comment to let me know how you’re coping during these challenging times.

I’ll also take a couple of sentences to plug Deadbolt Mystery Society – we’ve just completed our third mystery box and it is an absolutely delightful way to spend a few hours! At-home date nights for the win. Use my code to save a little cash. It is seriously the best time we’ve had since quarantine started. Perfect for 1-4 people with access to the internet and a smartphone with a QR code reader.

Sending love and hugs (virus-free) to all of you across the miles. Thanks for reading.

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

 

Leading With Kindness Is Hard

| jamiefeinberg

This week, I’m finding myself less patient than ever navigating social media. In particular, it’s politics and feeling like our country is dissolving into chaos and we may not have fair elections this fall.

I’m finding myself unable to resist standing up to people who don’t acknowledge the ways that human rights aren’t being protected.

And as a result, I’m being made to feel like a bad person.

If you’re feeling the same, I’m sorry. And if you’re somewhere else on the political spectrum, that’s 100% fine – but please, whatever you do, don’t name-call, don’t insult, and don’t lump people like me all together. Have a 1 on 1 conversation with a friend. That’s how we learn to understand each other, find ways to get along and make change.

Lead with kindness. And don’t give up on it if your friend doesn’t come around to your point of view. Agree to disagree. And stay kind. Stay loving.

Sending a hug out to all of you this week. Take care, friends.

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

Planning To Head West

| jamiefeinberg

It’s taken us long enough, but we’ve finally made up our minds (so far!) about where we are headed next.

As with much of full-time RVing, it’s subject to change and dependent on weather and our Florida neighbors and of course on our wonderful RV/home and how happy it is when it’s time to leave and travel across the U.S.

The Colorado Springs area has been one of our absolute favorites, although we spent less than a week in the area, and based on our research and what we know so far, it’s a top contender for a place to settle down, either part-time or all year. It’s also one of the more affordable parts of Colorado, a state we absolutely adore and full of TONS of favorite places worth of day and weekend trips. So we’ll be calling our favorite campground at the beginning of August to make a reservation. With limited campsites, we may or may not get an acceptable site, but we’ll give it our best shot!

In the event that our top choice campground isn’t available, we aren’t comfortable winging it for WiFi heading into the winter (see what I did there?), so we’ll instead make our winter home Las Cruces, NM, a community we love with great weather and some of our favorite places to eat and enjoy frozen custard.

Our plan will be to arrive on or around October 1 at our new destination, whichever community that may be, and we’ll be taking some time off of work to make the travel days even easier. Unlike some past travel days, we’re planning out our route very carefully, including anticipated stops for gas, to avoid extra exposure and stress due to COVID-19, and we plan to quarantine ourselves for two weeks when we reach our destination to avoid infecting anyone at our new destination.

We anticipate that we may choose a campground midway to flush our tanks and such, but otherwise we anticipate relying on Harvest Hosts as much as possible – it’s so fun to get goodies like wine and treats instead of paying for a campsite!

We’re so thankful for the flexibility that RVing allows us. Please send us all of your good thoughts and prayers and vibes for a safe and easy transition. Hoping our tires & overall RV are happy, that our car is too, and of course that we’ll all stay safe and healthy throughout our adventure.

Keep fighting for what’s right and staying safe during these challenging times, friends. Sending you hugs & thanks for reading!

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

 

The Future Is Unknown – So Enjoy Today!

| jamiefeinberg

Hi everyone! Nothing super exciting to report this week. We’re continuing to find ways to have fun in a small space, from cooking elaborate meals and trying new fruits and vegetables to finding new things to watch on Disney+!

We’ve been talking a lot about what’s next for us, and COVID-19 has really thrown a wrench into our planning. Will we feel safe traveling? Will we feel safer elsewhere? When will we again want to go into a theme park, or feel safe going into a bar for an open mic night?

Our goal has been to try out Portland, OR for their music scene…but if the music scene isn’t open to us yet, we’ve actually got several other favorite places in Colorado and New Mexico we’d be happy to spend time in. So we keep expanding our list of options, clarifying our goals and staying as flexible as possible.

Are your plans changing because of COVID-19? What do you think things will look like next spring?

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com. 

First Time Adventuring Out in a Pandemic

| jamiefeinberg

I will start off by saying that I’m incredibly privileged right now. In addition to all the usual privileges I have as a white American, I work mostly from home (yes, we lost of all our performing/in-person teaching gigs, but that’s a small percentage of our income most months), most of my clients still have lots of work for me, I have a car and I live in a nice community and can walk to things.

All that being said, I also live in an RV without laundry facilities or a useful shower situation (no hot water and it’s the best place for us to store supplies), so that means I incur extra risk just by living aka keeping myself clean.

Because of that, we’ve been using the money we’re saving by not going anywhere to fund grocery deliveries and take advantage of Misfits Market. We’ve also taken advantage of pharmacy delivery or drive-up contactless pickup when needed.

And all of that has meant that until this past weekend, we hadn’t stepped foot inside a building outside of our campground.

But this weekend, that changed! We’re still being super cautious, but since I was celebrating my birthday this past week, and since it looked like I would be able to visit a local botanical garden without going inside a building, I headed out.

The bad news? I had to go inside to show them my ticket (purchased online), which meant going in a building at the start and end of my visit, and since I hadn’t yet received my equipment for stealth bathroom use on the go (I totally have now!), I also had to visit a restroom in the garden.

The good news? They were following social distancing and cleaning guidelines impeccably well, and until the last fifteen minutes or so of my early morning garden visit, I rarely encountered anyone on the trail with me.

This won’t be something I do every week. In fact, given the spike in cases in Florida, I’m quarantining myself for two weeks as a precaution, just to give myself some piece of mind. But the reality is that visits like the one I did this past weekend should probably be a part of my routine, in moderation, to help me stay both sane and safe in the coming year (or however long this is our new normal).

With Disney World opening up soon, we could be planning a trip, but the more we ponder it, the less likely it seems that we’ll feel safe doing that anytime soon. It’s really important to us that we a) protect ourselves and b) don’t help spread the virus to vulnerable people.

So I’m thankful for equipment like this (I did lots of research, there are lots of options to choose from – I was even considering a portable toilet for the car!) that will give me extra piece of mind as I go exploring in the coming year. Who needs a gas station bathroom when you’ve got your car?!

TMI? Sorry, but I’m sharing in case that helps anyone else.

Be well and stay safe, friends.

______________________________

Supporting Our Blog

We are so thankful for your support of our blog and our careers! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Purchase one of Ross’ albums!
  • Become a patron of our work!
  • Make purchases via our Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using our affiliate links. Capital One 360 is one everyone can take advantage of to save money! Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support us, and we also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money.
  • Listen to, subscribe and review our theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to our blog, as well as perhaps InSearchOfAScoop.com, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from us, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.