Buying a new RV was a big decision for us. A really big decision. Our old RV was already paid for and it had become our home so we were reluctant to part with it. However, our family was in the midst of some changes. Last summer, we found out we were expecting another child. Around the same time we decided to stay on the road indefinately but felt like our preteen and teen needed more personal space so we began our search for a new RV.

After looking at more models of RVs than we could count we found one with a floor plan we loved, the Heartland Gateway 3650BH. Our only hesitation was that it was a brand new model and we had planned to buy used. It would be another year or so before used RVs of this model would start to hit the market. Back and forth we went on whether to buy new or used.

After looking at nearly every bunkhouse fifth wheel on the market, we felt like if we were going to buy used we would basically be getting the same floor plan we already had. The Heartland Gateway was the only RV that had nearly every feature we wanted. Finally, we decided the new RV would give us the extra comfort and space we craved. (You can read more about the features, why we decided to finance it, and watch a video here.)

So our search for an RV took a new direction as we started shopping for the Heartland Gateway 3650BH with the features we wanted at a price we could afford. Our search led us to Dixie RV Superstore. One early morning, I couldn’t sleep so I got out of bed and went online again to search for more dealerships carrying the Heartland Gateway line. I came across Dixie RV and they had a lot of Gateway bunkhouses in stock. They also had quite a few with the optional features we wanted. So I sent them an email with an offer. Later that day, we received a phone call from Dixie RV and began the purchasing process.

It was January and Indiana, where we were staying, was being hit by heavy winter storms. We weren’t able to get down to Dixie RV which has locations in Florida and Louisiana for a few weeks so we took care of the paper work to get financing over the phone and by E-mail. Everyone was so nice and helpful. I was particularly nervous that’s my role in the marriage) because we had never purchased a large item brand new. Dixie was able to get us a great rate and our payments ended up being lower than we had budgeted for! I was shocked by how smoothly everything went.

The Gateway with the features we wanted was located in Louisiana so we made plans to go there to pick up our new RV. A few days before we were scheduled to pick it up, Dixie contacted me and said they had found a crack in the bathtub and wanted to make sure it was okay if they switched us to another stock number with the same features. Brent and I were  grateful that they had found the crack in the tub before we got there to pick it up. While the crack would have been covered under warranty, it would have been a hassle to get it fixed. Their thorough inspection saved us time I’m sure.

The day we picked up our RV was exciting. We got there early so we would have plenty of time for the remaining paperwork and to take pictures and video for our blog.

First, we met with the finance department to sign our final loan documents. Regina in finance offered us a few different extended warranty packages but there was never any pressure to buy. We decided to pass and stick with the factory warranty and the Lifetime Warranty that covers a few other major components as long as you keep up on the yearly maintenance.  It is my understanding that the maintenence can be done at different participating dealerships throughout the country. We haven’t used the Lifetime Warranty so we can’t speak of its service but it’s nice knowing we have it.

There was a bit of an unexpected wait to pick up our RV because Dixie had noticed a small chip in the front cap paint and wanted to fix it. A rock had probably hit it while it was being transported from the Heartland factory in Indiana to Louisiana. It didn’t really matter much to us but Dixie wanted to make sure everything was perfect. While we waited we explored the facilities.

Of course, the boys wanted to look inside some more RVs. It was nice that we felt welcomed to explore the RVs at leisure inside the large indoor showroom.

The outdoor lot is GIGANTIC. If you can’t find an RV to meet your needs here you won’t find one anywhere. It’s always interesting to see the different floor plans and features even if they aren’t what you are looking for.

We spent some time hanging out in the customer lounge.

The customer lounge is attached to a Camping World. Dixie is really a one stop shop for all your RV needs! We made a few purchases for the new rig.

Outside there are many service bays and RV pads with electricity for customers to take possession and stay in their new RVs. Dixie even let us stay an extra night so we could drive into New Orleans for a day!

Dixie asked us if we would mind giving a customer testimonial for their YouTube channel while we waited. Dixie has their own video team who produce videos of their inventory and customer testimonials. It was fun way to pass some time by reenacting the buying experience and sharing our story of full time RVing with a family with them.

Finally that afternoon, we took possession of our new RV, our dream “home”.  Anthony from service led us on walk-through inside and out and taught us Brent how everything worked. After weeks of discussions and searching for a new RV, it was surreal to finally be in it. That night as we went to bed I knew that we had made the right decision and I was thankful that Dixie had helped make the process so smooth.

Special thanks to our little photographer who helped take pictures!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Newschool Nomads on Facebook  Simple dimple!

Like food and fitness? Follow along as I film a workout in every state and explore finding a healthy balance on the road at Girl Heroes!

The post Buying our New Fifth Wheel at Dixie RV appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

In our search for an RV, we spent a ridiculous amount of hours online looking at various models and reading reviews and forums. After selling our old RV in Texas, we headed to Florida to meet my  doctor before heading to Indiana, RV capital of the world.  Determined to find ourselves a new home we braved the cold to visit RV dealerships and an RV show. We found many models that would work for us but finally narrowed it down to five models that had almost everything we wanted: Avalanche 360RB, Montana Mountaineer 356TBF, Cedar Creek Silverback 35QB4, KZ Durango 358BHK, and the Heartland Gateway 3650BH.

The things we were looking for in order of priority were:

1. Four or five slides with double slides in the back bedroom (Our last RV had 3 slides. )
2. A place for Brent to build a desk (If he can’t work we can’t travel!)
3. 12 cubic foot or larger refrigerator or an RV with a space big enough where we could install one ourselves
4. Pantry
5. More kitchen counter space than our last RV
6. An all-in-one front bathroom (as opposed to a walk-through bathroom, i.e., one where the shower, toilet, sink are separated)
7. A second half bath in the back.
8. Washer and dryer hookups (Which ultimately didn’t matter b/c we aren’t going to use them after all.)
9. Booth dinette as opposed freestanding table and chairs (We like the coziness and the storage a booth provides.)
10. Storage storage storage!
11. Bathtub (Not a huge priority but would be nice.)

As you can see we had some high expectations but after living full time in an RV with our family for over 2 years we knew what we wanted.  Although we knew we were going to finance this RV, we still had a budget we wanted to stay within so a few brands we would have liked to look at were out of the question.

A quick word about financing our RV. When we set out on the road we still had credit card debt. Most people insist that you should pay off all your debt before hitting the road. Clearly that would have been ideal but our boys were getting older and we knew we no longer had the luxury of time. So instead of waiting to pay it off, we decided to hit the road before everything was “perfect”. That’s another post for another time but to make a long story short, we chose to not wait to have our ducks in a row before following our dream. At this point of our journey, it made better sense for us to sell our old rig which was paid for to pay off high interest credit card debt and finance a new rig at a rate that is less than a 3rd of our credit cards. Not only did we lower our monthly payments, we improved our overall quality of life. Keep in mind we came from Southern California where we were used to a high cost of living so our monthly RV payment is teeny tiny compared to our house payment. That said, it would be ideal to have zero debt before you hit the road if you can do it!

Anyway back to the RV. Of all the RVs we looked at the Heartland Gateway 3650 BH had more features we wanted than any other RV, including a bathtub! In fact, the one thing it had we didn’t want was an outdoor kitchen. (At this time the outdoor kitchen is not an option on the Gateway 3650.)  The big concern we had was the Gateway is a brand new model so there weren’t any used ones on the market. Used was our first choice but after lots of thinking we decided to get what we really wanted since it is our home. You can read more about how we finally made our decision to buy it from Dixie RV and see the photo tour here. Or for those of you who prefer video I finally had the time to put a little video tour together. Enjoy!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Newschool Nomads on Facebook  Simple dimple!

Like food and fitness? Follow along as I film a workout in every state and explore finding a healthy balance on the road at Girl Heroes!

The post Our Heartland Gateway 3650BH Video Tour appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

So why did we decide to go with a new fifth wheel? Two reasons, floor plan and Dixie RV Superstores. We first saw the Heartland Gateway 3650BH in Texas and, despite the hotel-like appearance of the interior, we immediately we fell in love with the floor plan. At the time we still had our old RV and thought there was no way we could buy a new RV so we kept looking at used ones. The Gateway is a new line from Heartland so there weren’t any used ones available. We found a used Cedar Creek Silverback we liked not loved in Michigan but the weather was not cooperating to go pick it up.

A few weeks later while waiting for a break in the nasty weather, we went to the Indianapolis RV show and saw the Heartland Gateway 3650BH again. We walked in and every one of us knew it was a perfect floor plan for our family. We sat in it for about 30 minutes imagining what it would be like to live in it. It had EVERYTHING we wanted: a full size refrigerator,  tons of kitchen counter space, a gas stove and oven, a pantry, a huge bunk room with two slides, a booth dinette (we didn’t want a table and chairs), washer and dryer hook ups (which we decided to use as a place for Brent’s office), a second half bath, and a bathtub in the full bath.  It’s so cute to watch babies play in the tub!

The next morning I got up early and started contacting RV dealerships. I made a few offers and Dixie RV got back to me. Dixie RV was awesome. Not only are the prices on their rigs great, the customer service is phenomenal. (We are going to write a post with video detailing the entire process of buying a new RV from Dixie soon so stayed tuned.)

Anyway, as you may know the weather in the midwest was horrendous so it took us almost two weeks before we could get down to Dixie RV to pick up our new rig. In the meantime, I needed to see my doctor so it was more cost effective for Thing Two and I to fly down to Florida than for us all to drive all the way down and then back up to Dixie in Louisiana. Plus it gave us some special one on one time with the boys. Our family was apart for 10 days which was really hard but eventually we reunited late one night in Pensacola during that crazy ice storm. The next morning we drove to Dixie to pick up our new RV.

The Kitchen and Living Room

The full size fridge is the most exciting part! It means no more playing tetris after going to the grocery!

Lots of counter space is going to make preparing meals much more enjoyable.

It’s hard to tell in the picture but there is a lot of open floor space in front of the couches. If we wanted we could comfortably fit a coffee table. Many of the fifth wheels we looked at had an island but then the floor space in the living room felt cramped.

The Master Bedroom

Meow Cow thinks the “king bed” means it was made for him. (He’s on the top right pillow.) 

The washer and dryer hookups are behind the louvered doors. We orginally thought we would install a washer/dryer combo but decided it would be more space effective to use it as Brent’s office.

The Full Bathroom

Again it’s hard to tell but the bathtub is actually quite large.

The Bunk Room and Half Bath

There is a ton of space in the middle of the bunkhouse.

The half bath taken from the outside door.

As far as renovations and decorating goes, we aren’t sure what we are going to do yet. While we had a blast painting and reupholstering everything in our old rig, we just don’t feel comfortable sanding and painting brand new cabinets or tearing off perfectly good fabric. To be honest, we don’t have the time for a full renovation anyway with the baby on the way. Another reason we decided to go with a new rig. We do know we’ll make new curtains and get a new bedspread. Gold is not our thing. We also have to come up with a solution for the leather couches and headboard because Meow Cow will turn them all into his own personal scratching posts and getting him declawed is not an option. So we may swap out the reclining couch and recover the lounge and headboard with fabric that could easily be removed by a new owner if we decide to sell the rig in the future. Lastly, we are going to build desks spaces for the boys in the bunk room and add another storage cabinet.

So that’s the new RV, a Heartland Gateway 3650BH. We filmed a tour for those of you who prefer video over pictures but haven’t had time to edit it. We’ll  get that posted next week.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Newschool Nomads on Facebook  Simple dimple!

Like food and fitness? Follow along as I film a workout in every state and explore finding a healthy balance on the road at Girl Heroes!

The post Our New RV – The Heartland Gateway 3650 BH appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

Well she’s not a great friend…

She’s a saint.
(If you could of seen me around 12:30 when I was hungry you would agree….A SAINT.)

Not only is she a saint but she is also one of the kindest, most creative, and thoughtful people I know.  She got to my house at 10:00 am and left at 9:30 pm.  That’s 11.5 hours (for those who are mathematically challenged like myself.)! ELEVEN and a HALF hours!

This is the rv sofa before.  We thought about getting an entirely new sofa but not only was it expensive, it was hard to find one to efficiently fill the space.  We didn’t want to waste any space and we wanted to keep the sofa bed for the future when the boys want to bring along friends. I scoured Craigslist but nothing the right size with a bed was coming up and most of the sofas on Craigslist didn’t fit our style.

What to do….

We decided the most cost effective solution was to pay someone to reupholster the cushions (I can sew very simple things like pillows but cushions with piping and zippers are waaay out of my league.) and we would reupholster the frame.

I found someone to recover the cushions with buttons, piping, and zippers for $40 a cushion (and it only took him a day and a half!).  I have no idea what it costs in other parts of the country but for southern California this was a steal.  I know because I called, visited, or emailed pictures to nearly every upholstery shop in our area.  He did an exceptional job and I couldn’t have been more pleased.  If you are in the area the shop is Robert’s Upholstery and the number is 805-659-5600.

So I made two treks down to the LA fabric district and got some gorgeous wool fabric in the exact color we wanted for $2.99 a yard.  The problem was the fabric had a pattern every 3 or so feet and they only had 14 yards.  I bought it anyway because those are the type of irrational things I do assuming we could make it work.  As it turned out the fabric made us work.

This was around noon when I hungry and cranky nearly gave up and called Robert to ask him the cost to recover the sofa frame.  It was going to be more than we wanted to put into the sofa so we persevered into the dark.

See the southwest pattern?  Grrrrrrr!  After Robert had used 8 of my 14 yards for the cushions we only had 6 yards left.  Take out the pattern and it was less. (See my math is improving as I write this post.)

Still working into the night.

Is this still a sofa?

If you ever decide to reupholster a sofa frame, do one side first.  I don’t know what we would have done if we had not left one side intact.  I took pictures and notes of taking it apart to have for references but I might as well been looking at Monet painting from 2 inches away at 3 o’clock am.  They made no sense.  Being able to look at the original side was a sanity saver.

Almost done.  We still had not screwed the frame back together and the cushions are sitting on boxes which is why the cushions look like they need Botox but you get the idea.  The couch itself is ordinary so to add some character I decided to add buttons like this ridiculously overpriced settee from Anthropologie.   All in all, with fabric and labor (not counting our own) it cost about $200 to reupholster the sofa.

So if you ever want to reupholster your own rv sofa frame, here are some tips.

1. Make sure you have enough fabric.  A total no brainer and it worked out okay only because this is an rv sofa and 3 of the 4 sides are hidden.

2. Give yourself plenty of time especially is you don’t follow number 1.  Had we had enough fabric it wouldn’t have taken near as long.

3.  Do one side first so you can look back at how it was put together.  Also take notes of the pieces and the order you take them off.

4. Have the right tools.  I don’t know what the “proper” tools are but here are the tools we used: staple lifter, hammer, pry bar, electric staple gun, needle nose pliers, screw driver, and scissors.  We owned all of them except the staple lifter and the electric staple gun which I borrowed from a friend.

5. Find a saint to help you out.  Most important!

By shopping around for fabric and reupholstering the sofa frame ourself we saved about $300 since the least expensive place cost $500 to reupholster the entire sofa. More important than saving money, I have a new fun (now) memory saved in my heart.  Thank you, Diane.

We are thisclose to being done with the interior!  Brent is finishing the floor this weekend and I have to do the curtains but those are the last major things to do.  I can’t wait to show you pictures!

love and laughter,
jenn

The post The Couch Angel appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

Some photos, a preview if you will, I snapped with my phone this week.

Brent has been crazy busy finishing up the video and I’ve been painting, cleaning, and going through stuff at our house. Finally, some pinholes of light are making their way into this dark box of busyness.

It looks like we’ve moved our trip back a week.  I’m a little bummed because we wanted to leave on our official/unofficial (depends on how you look at it) anniversary.  It will be better because I’m nicer when I’m not stressed we won’t feel rushed and we will get to spend some time with some of the people we are going to dearly miss.

A good friend is coming over this morning to help me reupholster the couch frame today.  Clearly anyone brave enough to risk hanging out with me while I impatientlywield an electric staple gun, is not a good but a GREAT friend.

I’m *hoping* to get a Thrifty Threads Thursday post up today.  I found the cutest green vintage dress yesterday when I dropped off a load of stuff at the thrift store.  I also got a vintage Coach purse for $2.  TWO DOLLA can I hear a HOLLA!

Hope you are having a fantastic week!

with love,
Jenn

The post Pinholes of Light appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

This week we’ve been painting, sanding, painting, sanding.

From how much we’ve I’ve been painting you would think that we are moving into a 3000 square foot house not a 300 square foot trailer.

I may or may not have had a breakdown in the bathroom last night over….

LINT.

Yes, there was lint in the polyeurathane and it nearly sent me over the edge.  Good times.  Good times.

I’ll just let you imagine how I felt today when Brent told me today after driving home from the LA fabric district that the polyurethane (I spent an entire day applying to the cabinets) didn’t dry clear and everything has to be re-sanded and re-painted.  I thought I was done with the kitchen cabinets and now I’m almost back at square one.  I basically wasted an entire weekend.

Except I didn’t because…

…I spent precious time with this guy.   His hard work blows me away.

I’m really trying to see the forest through the trees and remember what this trip is really about.

Family.
Adventure.
Memories.
Love.

Who cares about a little lint.

We are hoping to leave October 9th, our 12 year anniversary.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

But…there’s the to-do list.

RV
Finish paint and Hang Cabinet Doors (we took them off to paint)
Paint Living Room Walls
Install Wood Floor
Build Brent’s Desk
Sew Curtains
Find Upholster for Cushions
Upholster Couch Frame – We were going to take it somewhere but it won’t fit out the door!
Install Closet Organizer
Install hardware
Paint Fan
Paint (or Find New) Light Fixtures
Re-upholster headboard
Buy storage bins
Install and plumb new bathroom sink
Purchase various small items

House 
Sell, giveaway, or burn stuff we are not taking.  (This is a mile long list in and of itself.)
Sell Car
Pack RV
Clean and repair current house. (Another list as long as this list.)
Trim bushes at current house
Fix stuff at the rental house. (Our tenant just let us know there is an opossum living under it.  Awesome.)
Order a few more school books

Misc
See friends
Keep up with laundry

Oh and that video we shot in July?  The deadline is fast approaching. When I think I’m working hard, I remember how hard Brent is working.

How many days to October 9th?

Don’t remind me.

But I’m not complaining because it’s all going to be worth it.

I think.

I hope.

with love,
jenn

The post Is there a forest around these trees? appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

It’s a family affair.  Almost.  Thing 2 pops in and out offering encouragement.  Sort of.

However, Thing 1 is more than happy to get to use tools help as long as we don’t paint the kitchen cabinets green.  We won’t talk about the breakdown in Lowes when he and I mentioned Brent and I were “thinking” about a green kitchen.  You would have thought I told him we thinking about giving up electricity.

We started in the bunk room.

\

Putting new handles on the cabinets.  Thing 1 doesn’t mess around.  He scoffed at me when I suggested a screwdriver

Off comes the border.

Prepping the wall for paint.

We also brought Meow Cow over so he can begin to adjust.   Seeing that he’s not hiding under the bed, I’ll assume he is adjusting rather nicely.  Oh wait, he can’t hide out under the bed.  Hmmmm…..

You may be wondering what was I doing?  I was sitting on the couch texting while my child worked.  Isn’t that why we have them?  Kidding, I was killing brain cells painting primer on the walls and at the rate I’m going that is all I’m going to be doing this week.

with love,
Jenn

The post Making a “house” a “home”. appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

She always asked me “Why does it need to be junky?”   That still makes me giggle.  At 10 years old, I already dreamed of being on the road.

Everyday that childhood dream gets a little bit closer.

Sunday was my birthday and I got a BEAST of a present.  It’s not junky.  It’s not a convertible.  It’s not really even all that old.

Our new to us 2007 Chevy Silverado diesel, long bed, crew cab truck.  (That’s a mouthful.)

I can’t believe I own a truck.
(It really belongs to Brent and I but since we got it on my birthday we are calling it “my birthday present”.)

Confession, it doesn’t feel like “me” and I’m terrified to drive this beast.

I have no clue why I decided to sit on it.

I’m trying to “own it” but it feels like playing make-believe.  Let’s see…I’ll pretend I’m a cowgirl working on a ranch.

I drove it once yesterday and ended up parking far far away so I had plenty of room to swing this bad boy around into a space.  Then it took me 10 minutes to back this beast out.  I’m going to have to take xanax every time I drive it.  Wait.  That would bad.  Very bad.

Now we are trying to decide if we should do a veggie oil conversion.  Brent’s all for it.  I’m on the fence.  It sounds fantastic but I’m wondering if the reality would be more trouble than it’s worth.  If anyone has any experience with “going veg” we are all ears!

love and laughter,
jenn

The post The Birthday Beast appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

Even Panada Express thinks so.

We got most of our homeschooling books.

We got our black belts.  (One of the reasons we’ve been putting off our trip.)

And…

…after months of dreaming

…and looking at RVs.

We found her, The Millennium Cedar!

Here she is being delivered.

Thing 1 was just a little excited.  He has been carrying the brochure around everywhere  since it was delivered on Sunday.  It’s almost odd.

Old and new owners.

Here is a quick tour.  I can’t wait to look for fabrics and paint.  This “hotel look” is going down, baby.

Living room

Kitchen

Since we got our black belts that weekend both sets of grandparents were able to join us in welcoming exploring our new home.  That’s my dad.  He’s awesome.  Thing 2 is back in his bedroom on top of the 3rd bunk Meow Cow’s bed.

Boys’ bunks

Master bedroom

Huge closet in the master bedroom (Praise God.  I’m not going to have to get rid of everything.)

Opposite of bed in master bedroom which will become the office

The WC

We are beyond the moon excited!  (Not about the WC…that would be weird.)  We’ve been searching for months. In the beginning, we were “CERTAIN” we were going to get a diesel pusher.  I wanted a vintage bus conversion.  For a few weeks, we seriously considered an Airstream but the bunk model we wanted was $35k+ and it was very small. At one point I said, “To hell with it, let’s just get a VW bus and go.”  That idea lasted all of 30 seconds.  We went back and forth.  After reading about other families on the road and looking at our finances we decided the 5th wheel was the best choice for us financially and space wise.  Besides, after years of driving a little Honda, Brent is going to look hot behind the wheel of a big ole’ diesel truck.  I may just have to get him a cowboy hat.

This month has been crazy and things feel like they are suddenly happening fast.  Reminds me of waiting at the beach to watch the sunset.  You wait and wait and just as soon as it starts to dip behind the ocean’s edge, it’s over.

We actually had put a deposit down on one at a dealer a week and a half ago but left the dealership feeling a little unsure.  It was used and in good but not great shape.  The bunk room was a little small but we thought it would work.  The boys were “meh” about their room.  It was on a Sunday evening so the banks were closed and we weren’t sure if we were going to be approved for a loan. (Oringinally we were going to finance the RV and pay for the truck and now we doing the opposite.)  When we got home I looked on Craigslist and saw a “2006 Cedar Creek with bunks and 3 slide outs”.  I had not seen this listing despite checking almost daily.  It was priced well below blue book so I emailed them assuming it had been sold.  It hadn’t.  The next morning, we called the other dealership and told them we had changed our mind.  Then I drove down to LA to look at the Cedar Creek with Thing 1.  With just Thing 1. (Good thing, I took Thing 1 he asked all the technical questions while I checked out the cosmetics.)  Brent was so busy with work, he couldn’t afford to get away which I meant I had to make the decision if we would spend every available penny we had for an rv by myself.   Ummm…pressure?  I knew instantly that this was “the one”.  I’m good at that.    Thankfully, when it was delivered to our house he loved it!

Now all we need to do is get a truck.  I guess we put the cart before the horse.

with  love,
Jenn

The post In Search of Our Nomadic Home – We found her!!!! appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

My realilty and ideals rarely match up and the search for a nomadic home has not been any different.

The Ideal

We’ve been dreaming about this trip for a few years.  In my head, I’ve always seen us rolling down the highway kicking up dust in an old restored bus conversion or even an Airstream. The sun is setting and golden rays reflect off the worn aluminum.  Brent drives along wearing a cardigan with wooden buttons while Bon Iver or Nick Drake plays. My perfectly cherry red pedicured feet rest on the dashboard. The boys hang out together discussing whether they want to read or play Scrabble.

The Reality

Brent is not a big fan of cardigans.  My polish is always chipped.  And the boys torment the cat.

And this…

…the engine.

Brent’s response when we looked at a 1953 vintage bus conversion?  “You don’t have to work on it.”

We’ve been looking at RVs for a few months now. This was one of the first we saw and she charmed me.

I saw character. I  saw myself in vintage aprons. I saw potential.

Brent saw old.  Brent saw me with PMS and no privacy.  Brent saw work.

He’s probably right but take a look at this pad.

Only Front “door” knob

Groovy orange chairs

Built in magazine rack

Legit lighting

Swanky built-in toaster

Dashboard fan

\

I’d love to replace “PRIVATE COACH” with “NEWSCHOOL NOMAD”

Not sure about the toilet flush button.  Seems like trouble.

All of this for $6000.

However, at that price the toilet may be the least of our troubles.

More than likely we’ll end up with something newer, more reliable, more spacious, and, to some a little, “obnoxious”.  Despite my imagination, we are not posing for an Anthropolgie catalogue.  We are going to be living life with two young boys, two pugs, and a cat.  Living life means Brent is going to be working. The boys are going to be schooling and playing.  I’m going to be blogging, cleaning, and cooking sometimes with PMS so a new fangled slide out or two extra room might be nice.

Still a girl can dream.

And the search continues.

With love,
Jenn

The post In Search of Our Nomadic Home – Part One appeared first on Newschool Nomads.