Welcome to the Hinson Family Newsletter! In this episode, we have a lot to share, starting with what is definitely the longest video we’ve ever made; Our 5-Month Update.
5/6 Months on the Road
Since this video is so beefy, we made it easy to jump to specific questions by simply looking at the video description on Youtube. For your reference, they are:
- Are you tired of each other yet: 3:55
- What has been your favorite place so far? 6:17
- What has been your favorite part of full-time RV living? 7:30
- What is your LEAST favorite part of full-time RV Living? 8:53
- What is something that happened that you didn't expect? 10:20
- What has been the BEST thing for the kids? 11:19
- What has been the WORST thing for the kids? 13:36
- What was the toughest thing to give up? 15:40
- What was the biggest thing you've learned? 18:37
- How do you pick campsites? 23:04
- Do you pick them on a whim? 23:12
- Are there places you can camp anywhere? 25:30
- What are 3 Essential Tools Essential for a Cross-Country trip? 26:30
- Outtakes: 34:00
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Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. We love being able to answer questions and share about what’s going on. There is one question that I didn’t get to answer, that I’ll answer here for your entertainment purposes.
My friend Clif asked how much our life was like this:
The answer is, a little (3 out of 10), because everything is smaller. The ceiling is shorter, the actual bed is shorter, the fridge is smaller etc…but really, it’s more like this:
The fact of the matter is that you really are on top of each other often, but it’s something you get used to. Also, it’s nice to be able to clean up the house in like 15 minutes flat.
Long Drive Days, and Breaking Down...Again
One thing I didn’t tell you guys about that I think you might find interesting is that on the way to Texas, in New Mexico, the serpentine belt broke on my truck. For those of you who don’t know what that is — it powers everything. Water pump, alternator, coolant etc. It’s a big deal.
Upon investigation, I found that a pulley had broken…simply due to overuse. The bearings inside had seized up and cause it to grind itself from the inside out, so when I reached down to turn the pulley, it came off in my hand. Don’t worry, I filmed a lot of it…but it will be awhile until I can get to it.
It ended up being ok. My friend Aaron Britt had showed me how to make this particular repair before I left, and my friend Jimmy Davis talked me through the questions I had on the phone. I got a Lyft to the Auto Zone and purchased a breaker bar, a new idler pulley, and a new serpentine belt, came back, and replaced it with a brand spankin new one. All of this, while Meagan was making tacos for dinner inside the trailer.
After this experience though, it really caused us to recognize that this truck wasn’t going to be stable enough to take us the rest of the way through our journey, so in San Antonio, we bought a new truck. We also learned that we can’t title the truck remotely, we had to return to Virginia. So, we decided we would go back home for a visit. Now that we had our heading, we started driving east.
Free Beach Camping
On our eastward journey, we decided to make an overnight stop and camp on the beach. This is something we had wanted to do since we set out initially, so we navigated to Bolivar Peninsula, where you can camp directly on the hard-packed sand of the gulf coast beach.
We loved it so much, we decided to extend our stay from 1-2 nights, to 5 nights. All for free. With our generator and our full water tanks, we were able to stay comfortable and still maintain the freedom and flexibility that boondocking provides.
Just to clarify, we weren't near the beach, or beach-front -- we were beach-ON. We still had to work and school, but we did so from the beach, and that was special.
Wintering in Florida
Meagan and I have been asking ourselves whether we're too young to be snowbirds. After spending over a month in Florida, I'd have to say no. Florida is a beautiful state. It's full of incredible waterways, springs, and the birds are really amazing.
This year, we went all the way down to the keys for a few nights, then to the everglades, then headed back up the eastern coast to Daytona. Did I mention how incredible Florida is?
Anyway, we're headed back to Lynchurg for a couple of weeks to get the truck titled, visit with family and friends, and get some other stuff done while we're somewhat stationary. It's nice to see some familiar sights.
Hinson High Fives
If you've been following our youtube channel, you've probably noticed the addition of what we're calling "Hinson High Five" which is a new segment where we share 5 things. Some of it will be about Travel and RV Living, but some of it will be lessons we're learning.
You can check out the series below.