Planning ahead has always been a necessity because our last 5 years of travel have been filled with “trips”, rather than relaxing vacations. 🌴
RV travel happens to be very similar. You need to make reservations and schedule travel time depending on various factors, one of them being park availability. We found this out the hard way. 😔
Many of the best national & state parks– think Big Sur and Yosemite– have been sold out, up to a year in advance. So now what?
When we first envisioned our RV adventure, we pictured ourselves waking up to dramatic 🏔 mountain vistas, amongst vast meadows of wildflowers. 🌻
We quickly realized this was a bit unrealistic, yet still a very romantic and attainable notion. ☝🏽We just needed do our research and plan ahead as much as we could.
National & State Parks VS RV Resorts
While parks can be the best of both worlds, for someone with little camping experience, they can also be a bit uncomfortable. 🤫 You see, I’m more the glamping type!
Sure, they’re typically located in magnificent areas, surrounded by lush forests and easy to spot wildlife. 🦌 There’s usually a variety of hiking trails, right outside your front door.
There are fire pits for s’mores and ghost stories, rivers to sit by and fresh mountain springs with crystal clear water. 💗
Oh, and you get to sleep, quietly under the ✨stars, away from the rat race of the city.
The downside is they may not have “full hook-ups” — in RV lingo, this means 30 to 50 AMP electric plugs, safe drinking water and your own waste disposal pipe (to hook your potty hose — aka the black tank– and your drainage hose — aka the grey tank). 🤔
As you may have already guessed, these are not essential for short “camping trips,” but when you’re traveling full time and living in your RV, it’s a different story. 🤯
You need to be able to “plug in” if you want to use the AC, microwave, hair dryer, etc. unless you run your generator — which is frowned upon due to noise and exhaust.
Your fresh water tank may only hold enough water for a couple of days, depending on how long your showers are. 🛁
And last but not least, the toilet… well, without getting into detail, “the black tank” can fill up quicker than you think! 🤭
On the other hand, RV parks and resorts are typically located near freeways, which makes them more accessible and closer to larger cities (hello Trader Joes!) 🤗
WiFi is usually better– although depending on the time of day, it can still be ultra slow and too frustrating to use, especially when you’re trying to run a start-up!
Some of the nicer resorts also offer amenities such as spas, exercise rooms, clubhouses, etc. And the views are still breathtaking. 😍
Getting used to the lifestyle has been a more difficult adjustment than expected, however, just like anything worth doing, it takes work, planning and dedication.
The Sabbatical 