Not everyday on the road is full of exciting new adventures. Take this past week for example – we’ve literally been couch sloths.
We’re currently in St. Louis staying with Chris’ family, and this week we’re house sitting while his folks are on vacation.
Between recovering from the long physical hours of a month working at amazon.com, coming directly into family holidays and then unseasonally cold temperatures and snow – we’ve reached a week of nomadic stasis.
While we had intentions of getting out and exploring the city and connecting with local friends – we’ve not really left the house much. And it has indeed been nice to be staying in a traditional house during this very cold weather, we’re quite thankful for the timing. It’s proven to be quite a bit of effort to keep the Oliver warm enough when the temperatures dip down into single digits. We’re definitely looking forward to moving on to warmer temperatures in a couple weeks.
Perhaps this is how nomads have a vacation? We stay put for a bit and chill, and take a break from exploring. At any rate, while our week isn’t full of exciting new adventures, we consider any day we’re doing exactly what we want – to be awesome!
Tony James Slater says
I have to agree with you guys, on the simple pleasures of staying put every once in a while! Though at this end of the world (Perth, Western Australia) it’s less about freezing outdoors than losing any exposed skin to the sun! 40+ degree camping is also not for the faint-hearted – but it does tend to make early risers, as we used to get baked out of our van by 6am! Now, however, we have that rare luxury – a bedroom, a bathroom – even a wardrobe – which looks somewhat ridiculous, dwarfing two tiny piles of clothes and a brace of empty rucksacks! But as to that feeling of “Shall we just stay in tomorrow and lounge around?” – Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Tony n Roo
Cherie Ve Ard says
Yes indeed..weather extremes do present challenges. We’ve done some desert boondock camping in the summer here in the USA and learned some tricks with evaporative cooling to make it more tolerable. Wonderful thing about cutting yourself free is being able to take the down days when you feel called to them. 😉
adolfo_isassi says
We had our share of Siberian camping this last weekend. The mercury dipped into the 10F during the night. Not fun…
By the way, I have been following your blog. How is your Sprint 3G coverage? Do you use an antenna booster or any other gadget like a 3G router? or just the 3G card?
Thanks in advance for any info. I am trying to set up my laptop for the road.
.-= adolfo_isassi´s last blog ..The Silver Whale goes to the lake… =-.
Cherie Ve Ard says
Chilly camping is an interesting experience! While we were in Kansas working at Amazon.com, we had several weeks of single digits and teens. Brrrr.
Sprint 3G is quite variable. All depends on where you’re at. In most urban places, it’s excellent. In remote and rural places, it’s usually just 1XRT speed – if at all. Always a good idea to consult your carrier’s coverage map before going somewhere if you know you’ll need connectivity.
Our full mobile tech arsenal is detailed here: https://www.technomadia.com/2010/01/our-2009-travel-route/ Including what we use for boosters and routers.
Hitekhomeless (jenn) says
Perhaps this is how nomads have a vacation? We stay put for a bit and chill, and take a break from exploring.
I’d have to agree. We have done it a couple times during our journey. The funny thing is, our “vacations” cost a lot less than the “normal time”.
Cherie Ve Ard says
Isn’t it awesome how it works out that way? 😀
Dr. Horace Edward Hall II says
Cherie & Chris, Just Got Through Reading Much Of Your Blogs. Thank You For Such Thorough Coverage Of So Many Topics Important To “Newbies.” I’m At The Point Of Purchasing My First RV. The House Is Up For Sale And I’m Facing The Process You’ve Already Been Through. I Notice That You Currently Have An Oliver, And, In The Past, Maybe A Casita. I’ve Looked At Casitas, Olivers And Scamps. They Are The Size RV That I Think I Would Like And Need For Traveling. I’ve Recently Been Hearing That Maybe Olivers Are No Longer Going To Be In Production (Yes, I Saw Your Video Coverage Of The Owner/Brother Of Olivers). Well, Considering Thinks, Would You Give Me Your Opinion. Thanks, Ed.
Cherie Ve Ard says
Hi Ed.. thanks for visiting us here!
We do currently have an Oliver – and absolutely love it. And you’re correct, Oliver is still on hiatus. They just announced that they won’t be going into production on new ones this month as previously projected, and have decided to stay on hiatus indefinitely until market conditions return. So, depending on how quickly you think you’ll be wanting a trailer – Oliver may not be a realistic option for you anytime soon. (Although, we do know of one barely used Oliver configured much like ours up for sale – check back on our blog for details).
Casita’s are an awesome trailer too. We’ve never owned one ourselves, but did seriously consider one. They’re much more affordable and very well built. However, they lack a lot of the ‘extra’s that the Oliver has (like double hull, double pane windows, electric levels, etc.) They also don’t do customizations. Another option to folks seem to be raving about is the Escape. Check out fiberglassrv.com for a good overview of all of the Fiberglass options out there.
Best wishes!
– Cherie