Live Lightly Tour

It’s been exactly one month since we started the tour. Wow! It seems like it’s been so much longer than that. We’ve seen so much and met so many people…and most importantly, LEARNED a lot about living on the road, about each other, and about the RV. Each month, I’ll do a “reflection” on everything that has happened and how things are going so far.

Life on the Road
Everyday is an adventure and life is constantly in flux. We are meeting amazing, inspiring people and seeing God’s stunning creation at every turn. It’s wonderful to be able to move your home wherever you want…and yet, there are still struggles. Just like in “normal life” There are joys and frustrations…excitement and exhaustion. When you are gone away from family and friends who have known you for a lifetime, you really start to miss the consistency and familiarity of those relationships. You wonder what is going on “back home” and you start to long for the things that felt comfortable. By comfortable, I mean…things that you could count on. A steady paycheck, scheduled playdates, familiar surroundings, favorite coffee shops. But during this transition to life on the road, we have learned to rely so much more on Jesus and in his provision than anything else. To say that WE have done any of this on our own would be foolish and untrue. We are on this incredible adventure only by HIS hand moving in our lives. He alone provides for our daily needs…and then He goes above our needs and provides little treats that surprise and delight us. When all stability is taken away (even if you still have the “comforts” of your home)…the only place to turn is to the One who holds all things together. In other words, our tour tagline could be changed to “sustainable living in an RV powered by Jesus”.

Living in Close Quarters/Family Time
Matt and I are very used to doing everything together…throughout our married life, we’ve worked for the same companies and also from home together for some of that time. We love each other’s company and when we are apart…it’s like something is missing! We are definitely best friends. These facts make it very simple to go on the road for a year in a tiny space. When you spend this much time together in close quarters…you REALLY get to know each others quirks and passions. There is really no where to go to “get away” It’s been so wonderful for our family to have all of this time together…especially the bonding time we get with Bella. It’s pretty special that she gets to see her mommy and daddy 24/7 for this length of time. She lets us know it too. Sometimes, if I’ve been in the back of the RV for awhile…when she sees me, she will exclaim, “Mommy…I missed you sooooo much!”. She does the same thing with Matt if he’s been outside working on the car/RV. Time is measured so differently in her eyes! We love watching her learn and grow before our eyes.

Bella and The Road
One of the most common questions we get asked on the road is “How is Bella doing with all the changes and transition?”. This always strikes me as funny. I think people tend to think of children as these little people who need strict schedules to function properly…but that’s just not the case with Bella. She goes with the flow. She has never had a strict schedule and she follows our lead. She has everything she needs to be happy and then some. She has way more toys than she even plays with. She has a new playmate every week. She eats when we eat (and she eats the food we eat). She naps when she is tired. She runs. She laughs. She plays. She jumps. She climbs. She watches movies. She reads books. She “does school”. She is learning more about life and people then she ever would in a preschool classroom or any other traditional setting. I am so glad she is able to experience all of these things…and she is learning to be flexible in the process. She has learned how to meet a variety of different people and is quite the conversationalist as well. As long as she has mommy and daddy, all is well in her world.

The RV
We have put over 9,000 miles on the RV running veggie oil (and pumped about 1000 gallons of grease!)…and the blue beast is still going strong. The little problems that we have here and there are common for an “older” RV and older engine. Although we hate spending money on repairs…we just look at it as “house maintenance”

It’s hard to miss us as we travel down the road…and we frequently have people honking, waving, and staring at us. It’s fun to meet new people this way…and educate them about sustainability.

We are obviously quite large…which makes it difficult to maneuver in urban areas with ease. We also don’t have the “get up and go” of a normal car…so merging, accelerating, etc. are harder. We try to avoid busy interstates and stick to the smaller country roads. We end up getting to see some amazing scenery that way too! When we are in a city, we will find a place to park and unhook the car so we can buzz around more efficiently!

Parking
When we are in between cities or when we don’t have a “host family” in an area…we park overnight in parking lots (WalMart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, churches). Some people have asked why we don’t just camp at a campground. There is really just one answer…and it’s MONEY! Campgrounds with full RV hookups are expensive (averaging $35+) a night. Parking lots are free. We like free. They aren’t as pretty (although we have found some with nice views!)…and sometimes they are loud. But we can always find one to park in…especially if we are coming in late at night. If we are the only people in the lot, it’s rare…we are almost always joined in our cement endeavors by fellow RV’ers. We’ve found that to be especially true in the Northeast, where most traditional campgrounds close on October 1.

Internet
Ahhhhh…the Internet. The coveted wi-fi connection. It’s like the holy grail. We have often contemplated buying an air card from Sprint so could have wireless whenever and wherever we wanted (well, it’s not always that easy, but in theory it works). We haven’t made the plunge, however, because we’ve gotten better at searching out connections. There have been times when I have resorted to driving around residential neighborhoods…refreshing every block or so…to see if I could find that precious wave. But we have had a much easier time in the last couple of weeks…Panera has been our best friend. Plunk down $1.35 for a cookie, bring your own teabag and mug…and you’re good to go all day They have a fast connection and it reaches far and wide. We have also been able to find several parking lots to park in overnight that had wireless nearby. Those are the jackpot spots. It’s a luxury to have a connection INSIDE the RV! The last three stops, we’ve had this…so we’re feeling very blessed. Of course, most of the host families have had internet for us to use as well. Libraries also work well…although I’ve been really surprised at how many DON’T have wireless. I guess I was spoiled in Des Moines and Bozeman…both had brand new libraries with state of the art amenities. Local coffee shops are good too…if you can find one with free wi-fi. Many times, they are in downtown areas that are hard to maneuver the RV through…so we opt to stay to the outskirts (hence, Panera and other chain stores).

We are very blessed to have phones that have internet access as well…thanks to a generous donation from my family, we have access to this technology and can use them to receive emails and we also use them for finding things in each city (mapping function). It’s a little hard to type a blog on a cell phone though! It does allow me to communicate with contacts at future tour stops via email without having to stop and find a connection. For this I am so grateful!

Eating and Cooking
Due to the pace of our tour…it’s definitely been harder than I thought to eat healthy on the road. I have made some concessions and given myself some slack lately. We’ve been buying more packaged items like organic mac and cheese or organic canned goods instead of making them from scratch. But now that the weather is colder, I have been making homemade soups…which has made me VERY happy. There is nothing I love better than that. It made me realize how much I miss real cooking in a big kitchen! Our kitchen is totally suitable…but it’s hard to make a big meal. Our oven works, but it’s not perfect. There is only one heating element…which makes it harder to cook evenly. Our staple meals are sandwiches, noodles with sauce, soup, eggs, wraps (burritos/tacos). I try to mix it up a bit so we don’t get bored. Because when we’re bored with eating in the RV…it’s easy to overspend at a restaurant! That is one of the hardest things on the trip…we don’t have the budget to be eating out a lot…but the temptation is there because we are always around amazing local restaurants! After a long day doing a demo…it’s hard to pump myself up for cooking a big meal. When we do eat out…we have become masters at the cheap meal. College towns are especially great for cheap eats. Pizza for $2 a slice is a great deal. We can all eat at Subway for about $6 total. You have to be creative on the road! I would love to hear your favorite “cheap” spots for eating on a budget while traveling.

Green Living on the Road
Many of you have asked if I’ve stopped doing some of the “green” things I used to do when we had a house without wheels. I have changed some things and modified others…but I am always still focused on doing the best I can for the environment with the resources I have. We are no longer using cloth toilet paper…for obvious reasons. Sometimes we don’t have a chance to do laundry for a LONG time. And I’m not going to spin cloth TP in the Wonder Clean. Just can’t do it I miss it though…paper TP is just not as effective as cloth.

We still recycle diligently. We have 2 bins in the shower that hold everything, and when we see recycling centers we drop them off. Or, we leave them with our host family and have them put it in their curbside recycling. Our trash can is super small on purpose…it forces us to take the garbage out once a day (otherwise it attracts fruit flies, stinks, etc). We did consider vermicomposting (worms that eat your food scraps), but found that our temperatures were too extreme to create a good environment for it (inside or out).

We have started to use more bottled water because we’ve had some concerns with the water quality in our fresh tank. We buy gallons of water and refill them at water stations in the grocery stores or at the tap. I used to get upset over so many RV’ers using bottled water…but until we get a system-wide filter ($$)…I don’t feel comfortable using the water sitting in that tank. Ish. Towards the bottom of the tank, it comes out black. Not really something I want to be drinking. We do still use our reusable stainless steel water bottles as well.

We still use our cloth grocery bags…and they come in handy for tons of other things as well…like hauling water. I think string bags are the greatest thing ever invented. It’s been interesting to see the reaction across the country to cloth grocery bags. It was funny…at the Ann Arbor coop, I think I might have been stoned to death if I didn’t bring my own bags. I don’t think I saw ONE person walk in without their bags while we were there. It was a wonderful sight!

Now that we are selling Shaklee, I’ve started using their Basic H organic concentrate for all of my natural cleaning needs in the RV. I’ve also loved the laundry soap and laundry booster for getting out stains. It seems like Bella gets 10 times dirtier now than before we were on the road!

One of the easiest green things we do on the road is just to not buy stuff. It’s a really great feeling to walk through a store and have a great excuse not to buy anything! It won’t fit in the RV! The items that I have purchased have been thrifted clothes for Bella and myself..and as soon as I bring them in, I give away an equal amount of clothes to make room in the closet. We have also bought RV related items…but those don’t count in my mind because they were necessities and not frivolous.

The Next Steps
We are working on planning our next leg of the tour right now. We will head south out of Maine early next week…to Boston, New York City, Philly, and beyond. It will be a whirlwind from now until Christmas as we race to beat the weather. We are looking forward to learning more about the history of our nation, teaching about green living, and meeting more new friends!

On Saturday morning we headed into Brattleboro and found Amy’s Bakery (as recommended by Megan). We enjoyed a steamy cup of coffee and a pear scone. They had a beautiful view of the river…through huge windows, in the back room. Brattleboro is somewhat of a tourist destination…so we were not the only people downtown on a beautiful, sunny weekend. We walked up and down the quaint streets and checked out all the cute shops. A couple of my favorites:

Sprout: A natural parent’s dream store. Holy moly. It’s a good
thing shopping isn’t in the budget and that we don’t have any more space because there were so many neat things. They had more cloth diapers than I’ve ever seen in a retail store (and all the new, cool ones too). They had a wall of slings…it’s so great to see traditional babywearing coming back into “style”. I lead a babywearing group when we lived in Des Moines, so I was excited to see them readily available to moms and dads in that area. They had every kind of maternity/nursing apparel you could want…natural toys…organic kids clothing. Buying these things may seem like traditional consumerism…but all of those products help the environment, each in their own way. There were many organic items (no pesticides poisoning the earth). Cloth diapers are a HUGE savings on the environment (and your finances). Higher quality toys do not have to be replaced as often…and are usually made from wood instead of plastics.

Save the Corporations: This cute little store had mostly hemp clothing, and some other natural fibers. Hemp is an amazing material (and no, hemp is not the same thing as marijuana!). It doesn’t require any pesticides to grow it, it can be made into many different products…clothing, rope, oil, paper..and more. Plus, hemp is so luxurious to wear…and it lasts forever and ever. It gets softer with time and doesn’t wear out. Always buy used clothing if possible, but if you are going to buy new, buy hemp or other natural fibers.

The Brattleboro Food Coop was another highlight. It’s a true coop, with a heart for activism. They have a large selection of local foods…I was able to get cheese, bread, potatoes, and onions…all locally grown/produced right in Vermont.

Overall, there is just a strong sense of environmentalism and local flavor flowing from Brattleboro. There were several free publications in town detailing all of the “green” organizations and businesses in the state and in neighboring New Hampshire. It’s a really great “small town”. So far, Vermont has been one of the highlights of our trip!

Photo album here.

After we left SIT, we headed over to Vermont RV and had our heater looked at. Now Matt is a really handy guy…but we didn’t have time to order a part ourselves and figure all of it out. So, we went to a professional. Apparently, the computer in the furnace blew out and we had to get it replaced if we ever wanted to be warm again! So we had the repairs done and headed back to our slab of cement in front of Home Depot to relax and go to bed. All was going well…until we tried to turn on the heat. It wouldn’t work! We eventually figured out that our battery bank was too low to kick it on. We have been “camping” in a lot of parking lots lately (otherwise known as “boondocking”)…and we’ve been running down our battery. Our solar panels charge it during the day, but we just don’t have enough batteries to keep up with it. We are in need of a few more batteries…but they are about $200 a piece and that’s not really in the tour budget right now. If you’re interested in helping out with this specific need…please click the donate button found here and designate it for “solar power”. We are still looking for a solar power company to sponsor the tour as well (to provide us with an inverter/charger)…if you know of someone with these resources, please let us know.

Needless to say, it was a little chilly in the RV that night. It got down to 32 degrees outside and it was about 45 degrees inside. Oh my. We hung quilts over the windows in an attempt to block the breeze coming through our bedroom, but it didn’t help much. I froze all night. Matt seemed fine. And Bella…well, she is cold-blooded for sure…she kicks those covers right off. I’m a Midwestern girl…and went to college in freezing North Dakota (Go Sioux!) so I’m not afraid of the cold.:) I just like to be warm when I’m sleeping!

We have slowly figured out how to keep our heaters running…just like everything else on the tour, we learn as we go! The RV was definitely not made for winter climates…the veggie system is fine to -20F, but the blue beast is not insulated well and is cooooold! I’ve been wearing layers of clothing, a stocking cap, and fleece pants to bed. I’m looking forward to the south…bring on the sunshine!

When we were in Milwaukee, we met Katie Wied…who encouraged us to stop in Brattleboro, VT. She had attended the School for International Training and is now interning in Milwaukee at Alterra Coffee. As we got closer to Vermont, she put us in touch with the right people, and we landed on the SIT campus for the afternoon. They have just started a new environmental group on campus, and Megan (our contact there) is leading that group.

It was dreary and raining the entire day, but the students we met were like a little ray of sunshine! There are students from more than 35 countries at SIT…and we had fun talking with people from all over the world. We’re spreading the love internationally! Woo! The school is small (around 200-300 students)…but the programs are amazing (check out their masters program in sustainable development and another in socially responsible management). The campus sits on 200 acres of beautiful Vermont countryside. If you’re looking for a great grad school…definitely check them out.

Here is their mission statement:

The mission of the School for International Training is to prepare students to be interculturally effective leaders, professionals, and citizens. In so doing, SIT fosters a worldwide network of individuals and organizations committed to responsible global citizenship. SIT fulfills this mission with field-based academic study abroad programs for undergraduates and degree and certificate programs for graduates and professionals.

Thanks to all of you that stopped to see us at SIT…keep livin’ lightly!

Edited to add: Later on that evening, I went into town to find a wi-fi connection and ran into Megan at the Twilight Tea Lounge. We sat and sipped tea while I blogged and she wrote a paper. She has beautiful dreads…she’s had them for 6 years. It was fun that our paths crossed again!

Photo album here.

We were so excited to be able to meet up with some fellow travelers in upstate New York! We have watched Jim and Rene’s journey for quite awhile and when we discovered our paths would cross in Albany, we jumped at the chance to meet them! They came over this morning and we gave them the grand tour of the RV. After that, we headed out for coffee and we had so much fun talking about full-time RV’ing, veggie oil and biodiesel, and where this journey of life has taken each of us. Jim and Rene sold their business in California and are taking a year off to travel and discover the best community to start a new business in! They also have a dog named Jerry, who is a “tri-pawd” (a dog with only 3 legs!). He’s super friendly and even has his own website! Bella loved walking him around on the leash and talking to him. Safe travels Jim and Rene!

Photo album here.

As we headed up the hills outside of Ithaca, the RV was chugging along at 35 mph…then barely 30…chug chug chug…those hills in New York are HUGE! Wow. Can you tell we started in Iowa? RV’s like roads that are really flat.

The rained had stopped and it was a gorgeous day. We followed a windy gravel road a couple miles outside of town…past an organic farm…and a few people walking. We came to a stop at the EcoVillage at Ithaca. This was a stop I was particularly looking forward to…because I have done so much research on intentional communities, co-housing groups, and things of that sort. When we arrived, we met Courtney and her partner Adam…and they directed us where to park. We chatted with them for quite awhile, and then we were on our own to talk with curious onlookers. It was a quiet day and we enjoyed the view from where we were parked. We could see for miles and miles! Bella enjoyed riding her bike around their basketball court which was located right behind our RV.

While we were there, Bella and I ventured around the property a bit. It’s a beautiful setting…with homes so close together, and a gravel walking path connecting the different neighborhoods and common buildings. The view from the homes is indescribable…so many colors and textures woven into the scene. The homes are all very unique and charming…most with gardens out front or in back. There was laundry hanging to dry, kittens running around, people out reading books, children chasing. We hung out at the central playground area for quite awhile and Bella got her fix of kids for the day. It was wonderful to see such a diverse, eco-minded community thriving and also teaching their children to live lightly on the earth. What a dramatic change from some neighborhoods I’ve seen where people rarely come outside to meet the neighbors! They have meals together several nights a week…and of course, there is much more going on there. Be sure to check out their website for more information!

Photo album here.

It poured down rain nearly the entire way to Ithaca…but even with the thunder, lightning, and haze, the drive was more beautiful than anything on our trip so far! Wow. As we neared the outskirts of the city…we started our descent, past a stunning lake. Ithaca lies in a valley, surrounded by beautiful forests of trees changing colors…I felt like we were back in Bozeman, but with trees instead of mountains!

We pulled into WalMart to park for the night, unhooked the car, and headed into town with our laundry in tow. We found a nice, quiet little laundromat and quickly went to work. Before too long, more kids came in, and Bella made friends with them immediately. There was an adorable little girl her same age and they had fun running in circles and playing “school”.

The next morning, we headed way up the hill to Cornell University to look around. What an amazing campus with incredible views of the the city! After that, we went down to “The Commons”…which is Ithaca’s downtown pedestrian mall. There are all kinds of fun shops and restaurants…very similar to Pearl Street in Boulder, CO (but smaller). As we tried to find a parking spot…we realized that everything was completely blocked off and there were police everywhere…on every corner and everywhere in between. We thought maybe something really bad had happened! It turns out that the Dalai Lama was in town for three days giving talks…and that was his security detail. Whew!

We stopped in at the Mate Factor and had the most delicious belgian waffle…ooooh so yummy. The cafe was very enchanting…carved trees for beams and railings…hand drawn menu boards, etc. We finished up, walked around a bit more and then checked out the Greenstar Cooperative Market…well known for their number of local products they stock. It was lovely.

Then it was back to the RV…we were due to be at The EcoVillage at 1:00 p.m. for an afternoon demo. So off we went…

Photo album here.

We pulled into Rochester around 7:30 p.m., not really knowing where we were going to park that night (a very common thing for us!). We ended up going on a wild goose chase from one place to the next for an hour and a half. We finally decided to just go straight to the Abundance Food Coop and stay there overnight…we had to be there in the morning for a demo anyway.

Luckily, it was in a semi-decent neighborhood (or at least it looked that way). I only woke up once to screaming, swearing people outside my window…and once when the garbage truck arrived about 10 feet from my pillow at 5am…beep….beep…beep. Ahhhhh….the joys of living in an RV.

We set up in their parking lot, met our contact, Amy…and immediately had people start showing up for tours and asking questions. We remained busy throughout our demo…talking to a variety of people who were interested in eco-living and alternative fuels. I’m always amazed at how diverse our crowds are…from students to retirees. Transportation issues affect all of us…whether you consider yourself “green” or not!

The coop provided us with a delicious lunch and snacks for the road…and we headed off to Canandaigua and Geneva, NY to see the Finger Lakes.

We packed up and left The Pinery…taking back roads all the way back to the U.S./Canadian border. As we came into Niagara Falls on the Canadian side, we were so overwhelmed by the HUGE crowds of people there for the holiday (Canadian Thanksgiving) and the weekend…that we missed our turn and unknowingly headed into the biggest tourist trap ever. There was absolutely no where to turn around, so we crept our way through the traffic and crowds to a turn around point, and headed back. Along the way, we had the most breathtaking view of the waterfalls across on the U.S. side. Holy Moly. If you’re never experienced it, there is just no way to describe the beauty! I was enthralled. It was fun to people watch as we drove along…I think there must have been people from every part of the world there that day. Such diversity and energy…wonderful.

Getting back into the U.S. was unbelievably easy compared to our exit. The official asked us where were were born, looked at our I.D. and opened the gate. Whew!! We wanted to try to park the RV there at the Falls, but couldn’t find a spot anywhere. After going around in circles for awhile, we ended up heading into town and parked it at a grocery store…unhooked the car, and headed back to the Falls right at sunset.

I had no idea that Niagara Falls attracted to many people from all over the world. I knew it would be big and beautiful, but it was so much more. Seeing a “wonder of the world”…and watching so many people stand in awe of God’s creation (whether they acknowledge Him or not)…was so awesome.

Make it a point in your lifetime to get to Niagara Falls…you won’t be sorry!

Photo album here.

After leaving Ann Arbor, we had a few days before we needed to be in Rochester…so we headed through Detroit and into Canada. As you may expect, getting a huge RV across the border was a little time consuming. After we made it through the HUGE line…they wanted to search the RV and asked us a million questions. They didn’t seem to understand why Matt’s “occupation” was “driver of the RV”. Or why we didn’t really have an “end” destination. But, we told them what they wanted to hear and they let us into their beloved country. We were in Canada baby! Wooooo!

On the recommendation of Jeff and Kristin, we stayed at The Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend, Ontario. This was a HUGE park…6,330 acres. With over 1,000 campsites, a restaurant (yes, we got grease!), a rare Oak Savanna ecosystem, freshwater coastal dunes, nature centers, trails, huge beaches, and more…you could never run out of things to do. They are even open in the winter and have yurt camping as well.

We pulled in and got settled. The campsites were semi-private…but definitely not private enough to keep gawkers from making comments on our glowing blue spaceship. We decided a trip to the beach was in order. After driving along dark, tree-lined roads for what seemed like forever…we came to a bright open clearing and TA DA!!! There it was. Lake Huron. Huge. Breath-taking. Wow. We walked down some lovely wooden steps, crossed the super soft sand and headed for the water. Bella and Matt entertained each other making sand castles and I started on a new book. We met a lovely homeschooling family from near Toronto…Bella played with their kids while the adults talked about the unseasonably warm weather, the Canadian Thanksgiving (that weekend), and veggie oil.

Back at the campsite later, we built a roaring campfire and made s’mores together. We called and talked with each of our families and shared about our day. It was truly relaxing…and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. It was a bit more costly than “camping” in a parking lot like we normally do in between stops, but definitely worth it. Thank you Canada!

Photo album here.