Celebrating our 4th NOMADiversary!

35,064 hours ago. 1,461 days ago. 48 months ago. 4 years ago.

No matter how you count it, exactly four years ago today, we departed on this adventure that is now our life. We sold our house outside of Philadelphia, packed all our belongings into our 5th wheel, and officially hit the road as full-time RVers. So today we celebrate our 4th NOMADiversary. It is always fun to take a moment to look back at all we have done and seen while trying to live out our blog name of See Simple Love to SEE the country, to live a SIMPLE life, and to LOVE each other. 

Our first year brought about the most traveling miles, the most states, the most campgrounds and sequentially the most gallons of diesel fuel. We were new to the lifestyle, had the opportunity to take a few months to settle in and were living life like a vacation. Years 2 - 4 required us to get back into a working routine and for us that meant working mostly location-based, seasonal jobs still mixed with plenty of time for fun and adventure. 

YEAR FOUR was the year, we almost stopped blogging, but we are back at it and determined to get caught up. That means many of the things we talk about in this post from YEAR FOUR might be new to you and also things we will post about as we catch up.

We started YEAR FOUR shortly after arriving in New Jersey. This made YEAR FOUR about familiar things as we spent the summer working near where we sold our home in Pennsylvania and were able to spend time in our old stomping grounds and with family. The familiarity continued in YEAR FOUR when we escaped to spend the winter in sunny Florida, a state we are familiar with and one of the warmest and sunniest places to be that time of year. We enjoyed the familiarity of returning to Citizens Bank Park to cheer on the Philadelphia Phillies, biking in the quaint and beautiful town of Chesapeake City and experiencing the beaches of the Jersey Shore again.

As we find many of our years have been since traveling as full-time RVers, YEAR FOUR gave us many opportunity to be with family and friends. We got to celebrate our nephew’s graduation from high school — way to go Lucas — in early June and weeks later enjoyed a visit from Betsy’s parents. We were able to attend sporting events (lacrosse & swimming) of close family and friends.

We were also able to catch up with other friends in Pennsylvania in the fall of YEAR FOUR - including the Workman Family at Z & Z Acres, Russ’ high school buddies, Jay & Karen on their way back to Florida and some of the ICED by Betsy crew.

While the location of celebrating the holidays (all in Florida) in YEAR FOUR weren’t familiar, the people we spent them with was - Thanksgiving in Miami with the Kapusta Family, a small Christmas get-together with the DeWalds and we rang in the New Year 2020 with Betsy’s folks. These are the moments we cherish.

YEAR FOUR found us traveling to Florida many times, the first two via airplane and the third with Charlie the RV. In late June, we were able to attend the beautiful Gallucci/Hedden wedding on St. Pete Beach with Russ’ high school friends.

Then we returned to the Sunshine State about a month later during YEAR FOUR for the Dutt Disney Trip which was a gift from Betsy’s parents for their birthdays. Yes, you read that right, they gave US a gift for THEIR birthday! They are awesome - I lucked out in the parent department! It was extra special because it was Ben & Jim’s first trip to Disney and definitely a fun time for all of us. Thanks again, Mom & Dad.

While YEAR FOUR was filled with familiarity, it was also about exploration. After more than ten years, we took a quick 3-day trip to New York City for a chance to explore the Big Apple. The highlights being a visit to Ellis Island, touring the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, a bike tour around Central Park and way too much great coffee and fantastic food! 

Our travels in YEAR FOUR also allowed us to enjoy blues & bbq in Memphis, awesome architecture and beignets during our first visit to New Orleans (rainy or not), and dipping our feet into the crystal clear Gulf waters of the Florida panhandle.

We welcomed some new things we had been saving for to the family in YEAR FOUR. In September, our trusty old Honda Pilot was retired and we added an only slightly smaller new Honda CR-V to the fleet. While we always said we would drive the Pilot until the wheels fell off, luckily they never really did, we have enjoyed all the bells and whistles that now come standard on a newer car. About a month later and a few states west, we welcomed new furniture for the RV making our desire for desk space (desks not pictured below) come true. Thanks YEAR FOUR, you’ve been comfy in that regard.

YEAR FOUR was filled with something else new for us — pickleball. A fun, fast-paced sport which we have grown to love. The Okeechobee KOA Pickleball Club was a great addition to our YEAR FOUR.

Due to leap year, our February of YEAR FOUR contained a bonus day. Which likely more people would have taken advantage of if they knew what was coming and what we would be experiencing as we end our YEAR FOUR as full-time RVers . . . COVID-19. It has definitely been a unusual and uncertain time as we navigate hopefully the first and only global pandemic during our lifetime. We were supposed to end YEAR FOUR near the grandiose of Niagara Falls, working at a campground in Grand Island, New York. A delayed opening for the camgpround and orders from states and local government to reduce travel, we stayed put in Okeechobee for six weeks waiting for the call to head North. That is when YEAR FOUR’s plans changed as Russ accepted a position as Operations Manager at the Okeechobee KOA. We are still wearing yellow, the jacks remained down and the slides stayed out, so come visit as we start off year five in sunny South Florida. Before we leave you today, here is a glimpse of our YEAR FOUR (and the others) in numbers . . .

We hope you continue to enjoy our musings as we begin the next 365 days. As we blog, we hope to not only create a journal of memories, but provide first hand experience to those interested in full-time RVing, and inspiring others to follow their dreams. Buckle Up & Hold on Tight as we continue the thrilling & sometimes bumpy ride of our life on wheels.