How did we get here? Part 1...

How did we get here?

We love to travel.  It has always been "our thing" and a huge reason why I chose to work in the hospitality field which has given me countless opportunities to canvas the country staying in the finest hotels while working with incredible partners and clients from all over the world. I remember when Blake, our middle son and recent Texas Tech grad, was in second grade and we were spring cleaning. I sat him down to explain how experiences were a better way for us to spend our money than all of these "things" we were throwing away. He was all ears.   The following year, we saved up for an exciting trip to Washington DC where we took a train up to New York City and took in all of the sights there and in between.  It was exhilarating and we officially had the "travel bug."  

Rickey and I have made travel a priority for our family.  We love to have fun and what better way to teach and learn than to experience living history.  From the Freedom Trail to the Alamo or mining in the mountains, our country has so much to offer.  We've tried to be consistent with a mountainous winter/ski trip and a summer beach trip each year with long-weekends or mini-vacations in between. We always try to have a trip book and the excitement of exploring a new or beloved destination to look forward.  When we don't have a trip to look forward to, it's just a big bummer.

A few years ago, the idea of camping surfaced.  Neither of us did much camping growing up but with Greyson, our youngest adventure bug still in the house, we thought it sounded like a great way to spend time together and just another way to take in the beauty  After, what seems like a blink, of having two kids grow up, we are keenly aware of how fast time flies and want to log as many memories as we can.  We started recording shows about the RV lifestyle and were quickly intrigued.  You see, have spent the better part of two decades traveling, I've admittedly become a bit of a travel snob.  Camping sounded fun in that we would be spending time together, but I still had serious reservations about the experience.  If I was completely uncomfortable, I knew I wouldn't make "happy camper" status.  The RV option seemed to provide an array of amenities and creature comforts that could bridge the gap to getting and keeping me in the park or campground.

Our first thought was that we would rent a pop-up or Class C and give it a trial run.  We visited a couple of rental companies in the area and I have to say, we were not impressed.  It was expensive and in my mind, I was thinking that if I was going to spend that much money, I might as well be staying at a Ritz.  The deal-breaker for me was walking through some that were not maintained to our standards and the thought of sleeping, eating and showering in those made the whole idea less appealing. Rickey understood but we still wanted to find a way to try this so we made a decision...a big decision.  We would just buy an RV.