If you follow me on social media (especially Instagram), you have probably come across a post or two talking about how we (me, my husband, and our two fur babies) will be hitting the road soon as full-time RV-ers.  Today, I’m sharing why we decided to say “goodbye” to all the comforts of the typical American lifestyle for a 290sqft home-on-wheels.

Choosing the RV Life

It all started two years ago.  We’re not big on New Year Resolutions.  So instead, we like to make lists of big dreams and other things we would like to accomplish; a Bucket List, if you will.

So, in early January 2015, we were watching all the new shows on HGTV about living small.  Whether it was renovating a school bus into an RV, or downsizing to 100sqft tiny house, we were immediately fascinated by this tiny living lifestyle.

Soon enough, we were talking about dropping everything, getting a camper, and traveling the country for a whole year.  We never even discussed a shorter time period.  In true Mowery fashion, we immediately jumped into the idea of a year on the road.  Somewhere, I have a notebook that still has our to-do list written down specifically preparing for a 2016 RV-ing adventure.  We have always loved to travel.  But ultimately, we thought it would be the perfect way to explore the country and possibly end up falling in love with a place we could see ourselves settling down and calling “home” for a while.

However, we quickly realized that too many things needed to fall into place in order for us to make it happen in a year’s time.  The timing just wasn’t right, so we reluctantly put our dreams aside to re-visit another day.

Preparing for RV Life

Fast forward to 2016.  I was cleaning out my office when I found a notebook.  I flipped through the pages, as I normally do when I come across a notebook I haven’t used in a while.  And what do ya know, our list of to-do’s for our 2016 RV Adventure surfaced.  I brought it to Jon’s attention, and we both agreed that we could definitely see things falling into place this year a little better than the last.

On a separate note, I was being personally convicted in my daily walk with God to simplify my life.  I began looking around at all the things we had: our house, our vehicles, our electronics, and all the other things we’ve collected (and some we barely even use).  We had so much stuff.  And that’s all is was to me…just stuff.  Although I have always been super grateful for all that we had, I was feeling a giant tug at my heart strings from the Lord wanting to help me simplify, to enjoy the little things in life, to not depend on (or think that I need) stuff to be content and happy, to rely on Him more and less on the “things” in life.  And when I began to allow God to mold my heart, that’s when some really huge things began happening.

As a new branch of my business, I had begun offering photo editing services to busy photographers, specifically wedding photographers.  Turns out, private photo editors are in extremely high demand.  I still needed clarification, though.  Clarification that this lifestyle was something we were supposed to be pursuing.  So, a very specific prayer was said asking the Lord to take this Private Photo Editing thing for my business and make it huge.  If living on the road was where He wanted us, I wanted Him to make it obvious to me.

I kid you not, a week after praying that prayer, my business had morphed into something so much bigger than I had originally intended.  I had lined up a handful of conference calls to chat with potential clients.  And before I knew it, I was already on my way to making it a full-time gig.  And because I am a woman of faith, I know without a shadow of a doubt that this was all the Lord’s doing as He was answering prayers and giving me the clarification that I specifically asked for.

By the summer of 2016, we had decided to list our house for sale.  One item on our list that needed checked off in order to live on the road full-time was to have renters for our house.  However, our HOA didn’t allow rentals in our development, so we decided to downsize to a townhouse just a few miles from where we were living.  We sold one house and bought another all in the same day.

Testing the Waters

Meanwhile, we had been researching RV’s trying to see what would be the best fit for us.  Countless trips to multiple Camping Worlds later, and we had ourselves a 19ft travel trailer.  Just a couple weeks after moving into our new townhouse, we set out for the month of August to test the waters of this “home is where you park it” lifestyle.

We fell in love immediately.  Not being tied down to any one area is hard not to love.  Instead of watching TV shows every night, Jon and I were making camp fires and sitting outside talking in the evenings.  We had most modern-day conveniences, just…simplified.  Life seemed real and in-the-moment.  Exactly what our hearts were craving.

And by this time, my editing business had really ramped up, which gave us a good idea of what it would be like to live on the road full time.  Finding reliable wi-fi seemed to be the biggest issue, but we made it work by using a combination of campground wi-fi and a trusty Starbucks here and there.

After a month of traveling all across the mid-west from Custer, SD to Wyoming and Washington state to visit the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, and Olympic National Park, we were back home in our townhouse.  The trip only solidified our passion for making this a full-time lifestyle, and so we quickly set out to finalize plans for making it a reality.

The first item on our to-do list was re-evaluating our living quarters.  Although we wanted to embrace the “living small” concept, we quickly realized that for full-time living, we would probably want to increase our square footage slightly.

We ended up upgrading our travel trailer from 19 to 28ft, which gave us nearly an extra 160sqft of living space.  We now have two slide outs, one in the living room, and one in the kitchen.  The space feels much more like a home to us, giving us more moving space for Jon, myself, and two dogs.  I am absolutely in love with our new home on wheels, and I can’t wait to finally break it in!

I have been winding down the photography side of my business, and will be making the private photo editing the main focus moving forward into the new year.  Jon has been limiting his work as well, and will be working on closing out his last few big contracts he has.  He will be temporarily shutting down CCS, but is opening a new business (which will be announced in the near future).  I can say that the vision for his new business will still be utilizing his skills as a general contractor, but will just be a more mobile-friendly version.

We currently have renters lined up to move into our townhouse at the beginning of the new year.  So if all goes as planned, we will be jumpstarting 2017 with a bang as we hit the road as full-time RV-ers!  Pinch me, please…because most days, this still doesn’t seem real.

We haven’t yet finalized our exact travel plans, but we can almost guarantee that we’ll be sticking to the warmer states for the winter.  So be sure to follow us on our personal Instagram page @MarriedToAMowery to stay up-to-date on our whereabouts.

If you’re still reading, you’re a total champ.  When I get to writing, it can get a tad lengthy, so thanks for hanging in there with me!  We’re so excited to have you join us in our adventures!  Oh, and once we get on the road and all set up in our new space, I’ll be sure to give y’all a proper tour of the inside of our little home-on-wheels!

And if anyone has suggestions on what we should see, things we should do, or great places to eat while we’re there, please comment below and share.   Thanks in advance!