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3 Times We Almost Called it Quits

Tosha Tingey • August 5, 2019

Three rough times traveling that made us wonder, "What are we doing?!" 
What was wrong and how did we fix it?

I always want to be real with anyone reading this blog about full-time travel, tiny living, Airstream life… all of the above. So I want to share some of our hardest moments that had us either wanting to quit or had us seriously questioning, “what are we even doing?” So here we go… 

1. Moving Day

This is it! The Airstream is finished and we are starting to move in! We were on our last day before we needed to get going in order to meet my sister and her family at the Grand Canyon. We’ve been moving in for a couple of days and were just going to finish the last couple of things in the morning and leave by noon so Addie could sleep in the car. Sounds perfect right? Wrong. Well after one of the most stressful moving days which consisted of a bazillion hours, a brand new hitch, and no nap for Addie later… we finally left at 7pm and drove an hour and a half away to a KOA in New Mexcio. We had fast food for dinner, Jon spilled herbal tea all over the floor and we didn’t have a broom or vacuum, and the pantry drawer was falling through. As we finally laid in bed I was so excited to be on the road but we barely slept. It was a new bed for all of us, new noises, new heating, first campground. I remember lying in bed just thinking that surely it can only go up from here… right?

2. Week 1

Let me paint the picture by giving you our schedule. We stayed in Raton NM one night, then one night in Gallup, NM. Then we headed over to the Grand Canyon and spent 2 nights there, then we headed up to Hurricane, UT. We literally booked a campground 20mins outside of Hurricane and spent 3 days in the overnight parking at the KOA. Guys, we were EXHAUSTED! Addie was having the hardest time sleeping in her new bed. The only naps she would take were short ones in the car and then at night we were MAYBE sleeping a few hours. I felt like all we were doing was packing up the Airstream, driving, and then trying to get Addie to sleep. The only things that made that week bearable was seeing the Grand Canyon and hiking in Zion. Those were the moments that I held onto and knew that even though this was crazy hard, that this life would be awesome (hopefully).

3. First night in San Diego


So after our first 2 weeks on the road we headed to my parents in Utah to help my dad recover from a surgery. We had a month outside of the Airstream and honestly, I was super nervous to hit the road. Addie was sleeping really well at my parent’s and I was so scared to rock the boat. We started making our way to the coast and had two nights in Vegas and there was already a big difference and Addie was sleeping much better. We got to the campground in San Diego and things got tougher… We had been driving for hours and when we finally made it to our campground we had such a rough experience. We had to change spots 3 times, there was no service, everything was going wrong with dinner, Addie was losing her mind, it was just one struggle after the other. I tried to hide it but I eventually broke down crying. All I kept thinking was, "What did we just get ourselves into?" Jon got dinner cleaned up and we got Addie to bed. We sat and talked and had a very real talk about, “What are we doing?” We really took a step back to evaluate to see if we were getting the things out of this experience that we were wanting. We wiped our tears, set new goals, and became excited for the future.




(This picture on the right is the picture we took of ourselves after we decided not to give up. I wanted to take a picture to always remember this moment by.)

What did we change?

Retract-a-Gate

Well the first thing was getting a new baby gate for the crib. I hated the wooden gate we had originally and so while we were at my parents we got a Retract-a-Gate and it was a NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. Literally, because all of the sudden we were all sleeping at night. Haha But ultimately I think Addie just had to adjust to her new bed like the rest of us and once she was adjusted she was golden. And so were the rest of us.

Thousand Trails Pass

After our first two weeks we had to go stay at my parents earlier than originally planned because we blew through the money we had budgeted. Campgrounds cost a lot, gas was crazy, and we were eating out way more. It added up quick. We had a few people tell us about Thousand Trails and we were pretty skeptical. For a few weeks we were looking at other options. But we dove a little deeper and did a lot of math and talked to SO MANY PEOPLE. There are diverse opinions but ultimately we realized that we would save a lot of money. So we signed up and we’ve been so happy with it! To read more about the campgrounds we've stayed at, click here.

Cell Booster

One tough part for us has been not having internet or service in some campgrounds. We work completely online and so when we don’t have internet at home it makes it real tough. We usually find a library so Addie can play while we work but sometimes that option isn’t always available. It’s been quite a cause for stress while full-timing so we are hoping to solve this issue. We finally got a cell booster yesterday!! We haven’t tried it out yet but we got the Drive 4G-X RV 50 WeBoost and will be using it through Verizon and T-Mobile, so hopefully this solves that problem. We’ll keep you posted.

Time

As with anything new, it just takes time to get used to. There will always be ups and downs but they get further apart the longer you keep going. Just focus on the good things you love and hold onto those things. The tough parts will fade away and the things you love will come into focus and traveling full-time will feel second nature. You'll be more equipped to handle bumps and changes but overall you’ll wonder why you didn't do this sooner.

Jamaican Family Fun

By Tosha Tingey • February 4, 2020
When you're on a cruise it can be difficult to experience the island or country you are in when you only have a few hours. The other challenge we had was finding an excursion that our entire family could join. And by entire family I mean my parents, my sister's family with four kids, and our family! So when we found Chukka Caribbean's excursion that included Zip-lining, River Tubing, ATV ride, lunch, and a bird aviary - it was the plan for a perfect day!

What is there in Granby Colorado?!

By Tosha Tingey • October 1, 2019
If you’ve ever gone to Rocky Mountain National Park, you most likely came through Estes Park. It’s pretty well known but from now on when we go to the National Park we will be going to Granby. Granby is on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We found an AMAZING campground to stay at that has so many amenities and the area all around is packed with fun things to do!

Glacier National Park

By Tosha Tingey • July 29, 2019
Glacier National Park is one of those National Parks that you hear about and just KNOW that it is going to be amazing. And it was. Right upon entering the park it felt more like home and less like a tourist attraction. The park itself is huge but upon arrival, it feels like you’re entering a little town with an ice cream shop and café, boat rentals, and a small visitor center. After going to the visitor center we headed to get our kayak inspected. The inspections are free and pretty basic. You will have to rinse it off if it’s wet or dirty but that’s about it. If you aren't bringing your own gear you can rent for a good price right across the street from the lake. Life jackets are required to be worn by children and adults must have them in the boat with them or worn. After that, we went right to the dock next to the Village Inn and set sail! The pictures can show just how gorgeous this place was better than I could ever describe.

One Day in Seattle with a Toddler

By Tosha Tingey • July 22, 2019
Pike’s Place Market place is the longest-running farmer’s market in America! The hype and the buzz of the atmosphere is palpable. You have flowers lining one side and the most unique crafts, food, art, jewelry, anything you can think of on the other! On the lower level, you’ll find shops dedicated to vintage prints, toy cars, magic shops, and more unique products! And of course, the famous fish throwing vendor will not leave you disappointed. I usually get anxiety in large crowds and people trying to sell me stuff. But the vibe here was so family-friendly. The crowds felt less annoying and more like I just found the after party of Seattle. Just a short stairway away is the somehow popular and extremely gross, gum wall. This alleyway is just covered in gum on the walls and it looks really cool, just don’t think about it too much.

3 Months of Tiny Living - What we love and what we don't

By Tosha Tingey • July 18, 2019
As with just about anything in life, you can only prepare so much until you are actually living it. We have been living in a 150 sq ft Airstream for the past 3 months and here are 3 things we love and 3 things we don’t.

5 Best Features in our Airstream Renovation

By Tosha Tingey • July 18, 2019
1. Self-Cleaning Vacuum We have a little hidden cubby where we keep our Deebot (googly eyes not included). This almost didn’t happen and I am SO glad it did. I learned within one day how dirty our floors get. It’s awesome to run the little robot vacuum while we are gone or asleep or packing up and have it do all the work.

Thousand Trails - Pacific City

By Jonathan Tingey • July 16, 2019
Pacific City RV Resort had so many amenities and the biggest, most private campsites we've ever had! It's across the street from the beach and lives in the beautiful small coastal town of Pacific City, Oregon.

Thousand Trails - Russian River

By Tosha Tingey • July 4, 2019
The Thousand Trails campground, Russian River was just a half way stop near Santa Rosa, CA and we were pleasantly surprised with what this RV campground had to offer!

Thousand Trails - Yosemite Lakes

By Tosha Tingey • July 4, 2019
The Yosemite Lakes campground was actually the one that got us interested in a Thousand Trails to begin with. This campground is chuck full of amenities in the campground itself, and it’s 10 min away from the Yosemite National Park entrance. And I’m apologizing in advance, we were enjoying it so much that we forgot to take pictures until we left! So I only have a few but hopefully it’s better than nothing.

Thousand Trails - Rancho Oso

By Tosha Tingey • July 4, 2019
Our first mistake with our stay in Rancho Oso is that it wasn’t long enough. This stop was an in-between stop to break up driving days. So after they tell us about the fun rodeos, activities, horseback riding, and more they were doing this weekend we looked at each other and wished our stay was longer.
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