Our launch-iversary celebration and two year retrospective continued at Sweet Memes, a high tech Vietnamese dessert shop with possibly the most interesting restaurant walls in all of Austin. We discussed our lessons learned over coffee flavored crepe cake and mango cheesecake.
Lessons Learned:
Stupidest thing we’ve done since we started full timing:
Brian: Stopped to get the leaky hot water heater repaired and ended up buying a new RV. Also, visiting Boston during hurricane season.
Tracey: Ending up in freezing weather in Oklahoma City because we failed to get south fast enough after being in Gillette, WY for the 2022 agility championships. Stupidest RV mistake of all time, however, was the 2019 mishap with the Jeep in Boston before we started full timing.
What have we improved the most at in the past two years:
Brian: Planning ahead.
Tracey: Moving day.
What didn’t go the way we planned it:
Brian: Expected we could be more spontaneous. We had to scramble for sites on some holidays early in the journey.
Tracey: Getting Covid at Disney certainly wasn’t in our plans. Also, we said we weren’t going to buy a new RV after we spent so much time renovating the Itasca and only lasted 8 months before we upgraded.
What have we done since leaving that has made it easier:
Brian: Optimized moving day and learning to avoid short overnight stops.
Tracey: Learning to go with the flow. Well, trying to learn. It’s a work in progress.
How long do you think we’ll spend on the road?
Brian: 10-15 years.
Tracey: 4-6 years.
What advice would you give someone in our shoes two years ago?
Brian: Take your time. It’s the journey, not the destination.
Tracey: Put mousetraps in the basement before you think you need them.
What have you learned about yourself:
Brian: We are happy visiting rural locations but living there is not for us.
Tracey: How little stuff I actually consider essential. Downsizing was hard at the time but in the RV we still have stuff we don’t use. Also, the novelty of snow wears off very quickly.
Should we continue for another two years?
Both: Hell, yes.
And so it is written, we’ve officially committed to two more years on the road (and no, our decision wasn’t the result of the sugar rush from dessert or being blinded by the bubble gum pink walls). We’ll see how much these answers change in two more years.