Craig started camping as a kid in the north east with his family. Kathryn had never camped. Once married and had our daughter we decided to give it a try. So we invested in a tent and very few camping items and scored a site at Ft Wilderness at Walt Disney World. We had no cooking equipment yet, and bought Subway for dinner and enjoyed breakfast on site. The 2nd night attended the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review at Fort Wilderness. It was a hit. We all had a good time and knew we had a new adventure! Over the next several years we bought more camping gear and went several times a year. In Florida, tent camping is only bearable November-end of March.
Once Alexis was around 5, Craig and Alexis joined the YMCA Indian Princess Guides where fathers and daughters camp and do other activities during the school year. They remained in this program for 7 years. This was such a part of our lives, Craig was his tribe chief, the Navajo, within 2 years, and then the Nation Chief for 4 years. The program had about 250 attendees. He was Chief Bald Eagle, Alexis was Little Swan, I was Runs with Mud. During those years we also camped as a family and even started a "family" camp with many tribes so the other wives (squaws) could join along with other children.
We also took a trip to Alaska and rented a Class C RV from a tip from a pilot involved with the Indian Princess. We drove around the interior of Alaska for 2 1/2 weeks. One of our best trips!! I really think"the RV bug" bite us hard on this trip. Although we distinctly remember saying "gosh, we would never own an RV like this....look at all the moving parts!"
We would not venture too far from home in a tent, staying in FL mainly. Once we went to Fort Mountain GA for a week. Decided to get a pop up so we could travel further....and further we went. My vacations from work were known as camping sabbaticals. :) We were usually gone for 4 weeks. We traveled up to New Hampshire, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Ohio and Minnesota.
Fast forward a few years, more and more we thought the RV life was for us. But we are not ones to do something quickly. We started a TON of research, attending RV shows, seminars, watching hours and hours of You tubes on anything RV. Prepared a budget for RV living, to even see if we can swing this. Started saving EVERY PENNY. We were driving 10+ year old cars and lived conscious of every dollar. We KNEW we were going to retire early....we set a date, end of 2020. Started in with a terrific financial advisor and set a plan. With Kathryn's age, we had to save a LOT of money since she is not eligible yet for 401K. We set 2 years to accomplish this, and with diligence, achieved it in less than a year. Kathryn came home one day from work, Craig said it was time. He believed we were set. Our financial advisor agreed. So we retired 16 months earlier that we anticipated.
We knew the time was coming earlier than expected. So we started selling off our "stuff". And really that's what it is. I mean its things, not people and relationships. If you opt to go this route, sell your house and live in the RV, you MUST have the right mindset before you begin. Kathryn retired at the end of April, Craig mid -May 2019. We had sold our house the prior December and moved into the RV full time. We had the opportunity to sell, and the market was conducive, so we thought we better act. We worked full time while in the RV. In hindsight this was really the perfect plan (although that was not the original plan). Yes downsizing was a pain, and we had too much stuff when we moved in, but it forced us to reevaluate EVERYTHING we had and downsized more. We will do it again after we've been on the road for a year. We continue to purge when we know something is not used.
We realize this might be a bit long, but hope it may help with anyone considering the lifestyle. We are so excited with the future and our travels. Our maker has created our country with so many wonderful people and beautiful places. Why would you need to travel anywhere else?