Everything Changes.

Think back to 2009, what were you doing then? How much has life changed in 5 years? Go ahead, recount the last five years. Weddings, babies, funerals, new jobs, new homes, new places, new loves, more birthdays…  For us, our ideas about travel, about work, where we call ‘home’ and certainly our ages… *throat clear* our ’maturity’ (Dennis turned 40 in 2014) have all changed.

So in an attempt to reflect on our changes and share our experiences we’ve put together a three part blog post about how our life has developed from the day we started this nomadic life until now.  Below is the first part and it focuses on our evolving travel style, next we’ll be talking about the evolution of our personal life, and last we’ll share about the evolution in our work life.

The Evolution Of Our Nomadic Life: Part 1 of 3
8 Confessions About The Evolution Of Our Personal Nomadic Life: Part 2 of 3
The Evolution Of Our Working Nomadic Life: Part 3 of 3

Our Past Year of Travels

We haven’t stopped. Last summer we took our awesome van on its last hoorah before selling it on eBay to the highest bidder – in Amsterdam. Van camping up the California coast through Big Sur, to San Francisco and then to Shasta.

Due to the Cheddar Yeti II (the 1978 Blue Bird Wanderlodge bus), being under construction for almost the whole year, we were forced to change our RVing lifestyle. We chose to house sit locally in the San Diego area and room-surf with family.

We also squeezed in a trip to Mexico for some much needed R&R. The adventure in relaxation did back fire though. Dennis ended up bringing back a serious case of Montezuma’s revenge.

By late fall we prepared for a trip to Rhode Island.  Flying was a fraction of the cost of driving so we bought two one way tickets. Enjoying the fall back east, especially with family, is always a highlight. Yes we ate plenty of pizza, coffee ice cream, and cider donuts!

On our return trip back to California in January, our flight out of Boston Logan was on the eve of the “great blizzard of 2015.” That one actually shut down Boston and Manhattan for a day.

This storm brought the greatest snowfall on record to Worcester, Massachusetts, with 34.5 inches.
-accuweather.com

A Few Things We’ve Discovered Along Our Way

“We travel light because our pockets are empty.” – Jeanette

The actual cost of RV travel continues to blow us away. Fuel along with campground fees are about as expensive as a mortgage or rent when you’re constantly driving around the country.

Weekend van camping is our absolute favorite RVing style. Hands down. Driving on the coast highway road in a camper van is enjoyable. Crank the music and pull off the road anytime a photo opportunity strikes. When we’re ready for full relaxation, we pull into a campground or anywhere we find parking.  On occasion we book a hotel or AirBnB. It always feels like a vacation even when we’re working.

What We Love About Our Nomadic Life

Discovering parts of ourselves while traveling. We credit our stumbling into Bisbee, Arizona as the beginning of our nomadic obsession. A place that changed our lives forever, but prior to us rounding that old highway bend, we never knew existed.

Staying as long as we like and becoming sorta locals. The longer we stay the more we get to know the town’s local vibe. If we can stay beyond a short visit, most places leave an impression on us. When we return, it feels like we’ve returned home – sorta.

Experiencing art, history, culture, nature – first hand. The forests and salty air in Big Sur to the elevation on Mammoth Mountain. Walking in crunchy morning snow on the atlantic coast to witnessing the most saturated purples and oranges as the sun rises from that crater in Maui. Experiencing history in Washington D.C., and being a part of art in Philly, then experiencing pure heaven-in-a-casing in Louisiana.

We can’t help but to keep dreaming up more destinations.

Why Our Future Travel Plans Don’t Include RVing.

Time. We’ve found that our life is out of balance.

We have new destinations in mind. We’d like to travel further distances and live temporarily in an urban destination.

RV driving wasn’t the type of adventure we were seeking. Being behind the wheel of a 27′ or 35′ RV is not our idea of a relaxing drive. Gasping at the sight of an oncoming bridge while barreling down the highway at 55 MPH, finding accessible fuel stations in a town we don’t know how to navigate in, blowing a tire on highway, or catching our secondary break on fire while descending on a steep mountain grade, sucked.

The white knuckle driving was a fair price to pay for all of the cool stuff we got to experience and the people and family we connected with along the way. But now, we’re ready for a new adventure.

The Status Of Us & The Bus

Having our own dwelling to come back to is priceless. Since we returned from New England in late January 2015, we moved back into the bus for the first time in since March 2014.  It’s small and cozy, its got cool vintage style, we love it. It’s still our home.

HOWEVER, for now we don’t plan on traveling full time in the bus. It’s our part time apartment in the Southern California desert. We’ll continue to fix and upgrade it, too.

The bus is settling down. We’re not however.

Upcoming Travel Plans

Spring & Summer 2015

Car Road Trip up the 395, to Lake Tahoe, SF and Shasta Lake. Visiting friends and family along the way.

Fall 2015

TBD (Ideas: Fly somewhere South or East for a months visit)

Winter 2015

San Diego in the bus. Holiday in Las Vegas.

And in 2016:

We’re searching for an urban apartment for about… 6 months or so. Somewhere either East or Far East… TBD.

We’ll simply shut down the bus systems and go…

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The New CheddarYeti.com & Our Evolution in Travel Blogging

Blogging.

It started out fun then something changed. We found ourselves feeling guilty for not sharing every trip, place, upgrade, or nuance in our daily lives. So we paused until it felt right again.

*Kudos to those who document their experiences in great length. The RVing how to’s, the nomadic tech tips, every epic scenic view, and the best places to go RVing. We’re watching! Your blogs are awesome, thank you for your dedication.

The NEW CheddarYeti.com design

Simplifying our travels meant simplifying our blog. No stores, google ads, affiliate links, etc. And we geeked out a bit by using the TwentyFifteen WordPress theme – bare bones!

You can expect that we will blog when we have something to share. Mingle with us on Facebook and Instagram if you want to see more. We’ll stay in touch and share our story here.

Thank you for being apart of it.

Share your changes, your discoveries, or your thoughts on our evolution in the comment section below. We’d love to hear them.