Even though COVID-19 is still affecting everyday life and our ability to plan, we can look back on our 3^rd year of full time RVing and assess.  Three full years of travel, experiences and tracking gives us information to reflect on and we are definitely counting our blessings. 

Hopefully the phrase “hindsight is 2020” will be true in the coming months and years as we gain more knowledge and understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Like everyone, we have gone through this uncertain time making the best decisions we can day-to-day. 

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the last six months of our 3^rd year full-timing in all areas: travel, expenses, employment, ability to visit family and friends, etc. Most importantly though, no one in our immediate family has been sick with the virus; everyone has been safe and healthy.

A quick review of year three begins in September 2019 leaving Michigan for our long-awaited trip to Maine; first long trip with the new RV. Feeling really good with the purchase of the new Fleetwood Discovery XLE 40M; in hindsight, definitely the right move at the right time.

Visiting Maine and Acadia National Park at the peak of Fall color was worth the wait. Continuing down the east coast we made numerous stops, including Cape Cod and Plymouth Rock, MA; New York City (To Kill a Mocking Bird on Broadway & 911 Memorial); Washington DC and Maryland, which took us to the end of October.

On to North Carolina and a trip to Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA; and back to North Carolina for Thanksgiving with the whole family.  We arrived in Florida on December 1^st and flew back to Michigan for Christmas. 

The month of January was busy with two trips to Disney in Orlando and our first Discovery Owners Group rally near Tampa at the end of the month. 

Things really didn’t start changing for us until March.  We were able to attend a couple of Spring training baseball games with Karen and Anderson the first week of March, but shortly after that it was hard to keep up with all the developments and understand how the pandemic was changing everything. 

We left Florida at the end of March with a lot of uncertainty and were fortunate to find a private campground open in North Carolina for us to hunker down until the first week of May. We returned to Michigan after a stop at the Fleetwood factory in Indiana for some warranty work.

With some easing of restrictions in June, we made a trip to Maryland, and traveled west to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana for about a month.  Dan, Christie, Megan and Anna met us in Colorado for a few days; a definite highlight! We spent the remainder of the time, until the end of August, in Michigan.

Year three by the numbers:

Miles and Diesel:  We traveled approximately 12,000 miles in the RV, using diesel fuel in the “D” as opposed to the gasoline Winnebago.  We spent $4,100 on diesel (and DEF) for the year, significantly lower than previous year due to less miles, lower fuel prices and savings with the TDS Fuel Program. With the TDS program we utilized mostly TA and Loves Travel Centers with easy access to the truck fueling lanes; very happy with this program available to diesel RVers! https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/

RV Campsites & Parks:  With advanced planning and our park preferences even more solidified, we stayed in mostly “big-rig” friendly parks with full hookups.  New parks we enjoyed included:  Narrows Too Camping Resort in Trenton, Maine, First Landings State Park in Virginia Beach, VA, and Yellowstone Cabins & RV, West Yellowstone, MT. Liberty Harbor RV Park in NJ (across Hudson River from Manhattan) was an interesting experience, making a trip to NYC possible. 

Familiar favorites included Siesta Bay RV Resort near Ft. Myers Beach, Cherry Hill Park in Maryland, Jordan Lake State Park in NC, Clear Creek RV Park, Golden CO, and of course our summer spot at Indian Creek Campground in Tecumseh, MI.

Our nightly average camping expense was slightly higher this year at approximately $45 per night; by far our biggest expense. Again, preference and being in southwest Florida in the winter have a big impact on the cost.

Cell Phone, Internet, TV and Mail Service remained steady for the year; no changes. Health/Medical was lower this year due to less out of pocket expenses and co-pays (no broken bones this year!). We were recently notified of a significant increase to our monthly Liberty Health Share premium going into effect 10/1/20, increasing to $499/month. It is still our best option and we have been happy with the coverage. RV and Car Insurance increased due to the new RV and choosing improved coverage. Food expense actually went down – eating out less due to COVID.   

Repairs & Maintenance expenses were lower due to the new RV; most items needing attention were covered under warranty.  Jim has been able to continue to do preventative maintenance on the Discovery, including oil changes and aqua-hot system maintenance, as well as other things as they come up.  This is a big savings!

Remote Working:  I have continued to work remotely most of the year.  I was furloughed from my company at the end of March for a couple of months due to COVID-19, but have since been back working on an “as needed” basis.  I expect it will be back to my normal schedule for tax season.  Very happy with the arrangement and believe it will continue.

We are diligent in tracking our expenses, so we had to laugh when we realized even with some categories up and others down compared to the previous year, our total living expenses were within $500 of the previous year!

Fourth Year:  Do we dare plan?  Of course we will, and hope for the best.  Leaving Michigan at the end of August, we will stop in Maryland for a visit with Beth, Kevin & Gemma, before going on to North Carolina (Cheryl, Darren, Ellie) for the birth of our 5^th granddaughter the middle of September. 

We still plan to go to Florida around the 1^st of November for the winter months, with a trip back to Michigan for the holidays.  We will have family time in North Carolina, Maryland and Michigan in the Spring and Summer.  In August 2021 we are actively planning a trip west taking us to Montana (Glacier National Park), Washington, Oregon (Crater Lake National Park and Oregon coast) and northern California.  I already have a reservation at a park in Oregon that shows up on several “must see” parks: https://seaperchrvresort.com/ (Something to look forward to!)

We have met a lot of great people during our travels and have become friends with some of our neighbors in Florida and Michigan, as well as a few of our fellow Discovery owners we met at the rally.  We also love the opportunities to see family and old friends throughout the year.

We get a wide variety of reactions from people when we tell them we are full time RVers. Including “so you don’t have a home” and “how long are you going to do this”; but the overwhelming number are encouraging; “I would love to do that” or “that is my dream”.  We are taking it one year at a time, but for now there is no end in sight; we are comfortable, happy and have so much more to see.  Life in the RV Lane is good!

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