Anyone who has said yes to full-time travel knows this lifestyle is riddled with surprises. Sometimes they’re hard and make you want to give up. Other times, the surprises are just fun.

We didn’t expect to get another RV so soon. Many of you know we had our 2019 itinerary planned out, and expected to spend the whole year overlanding in our Jeep Wrangler.

But then I was on Instagram and this happened…

I hadn’t planned on writing today. But as we mark our 5-year nomadiversary, it seems too much of a milestone to leave unturned.

Only we would come up with the idea of moving out of an RV into a Jeep, hosting three family members within the week before our move, which was also the week before Christmas, while simultaneously planning a two-month trip into the interior of Mexico–as new full-time overlanders.

As we’ve shared, we went back and forth about selling Meriwether. Is it really wise to sell our only home out from under us, without any immediate plans to get a new one? But we jumped, forcing ourselves to be brave and chase our long-term dreams.

If you’re surprised, then imagine how we feel! In February 2014, with zero RV experience, we emptied our two-bedroom apartment in Austin and moved into a 10-year-old Tiffin Phaeton. We named him Meriwether, after explorer Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark. At the time, I was the youngest fulltime RVer I knew.

We’ve always had this RV. We’ve always said it’s the perfect home for us. We’ve never regretted buying it.

But life has changed, along with our family, goals, and preferences. And so it’s time to say goodbye to our Class A diesel RV after five years of fulltime travel.

Here’s why.

Strange things have been happening around here. We rehomed our cats. Then when our RV fridge broke, we bought some weird cooler-size contraption instead of fixing it right away. And we’ve been generally cryptic about what’s coming up for us.

We won’t keep you guessing any longer. We’re ready to announce our RV Wanderlust travel plans for 2019! But before we lay out the details, we should share a few important points to set the context. [Read more…]