PP #25: A Day in the (RV) Life
Project: Pioneer #25, March 24, 2024 Sunday 11am
You might wonder what it’s like to live in a small(ish) recreational vehicle full-time. We’ve documented a lot of the trials and tribulations we’ve endured, but what about the average every-day experience? Here’s a view into the life.
Project: Pioneer is the live weekly reality journal of a couple and their small dog as they leave their ‘normal’ life in a luxury apartment for a new semi-off grid life in a small recreational vehicle, just at the start of winter. We cover prepping, politics, spirituality, afterlife, RV life, and personal finance. Most posts are free, more personal posts are to reward our loyal paid subscribers. Audio podcast at Substack, Apple, and Spotify)
In this journal post:
Our Current Status and Updates
A Day in the (RV) Life
What’s Next?
Current Status/Updates
We haven’t done a lot in the past week except try to exist, both of us extremely ill and trying to get through each day, hoping the next one will be better. We’re doing the minimal work, but everything else is on hold as we try to care for each other. It’s tough because we haven’t been sick in years. It’s tough because we’re older. It’s tough because this bug is a m’fer. But, guess what? We’re tough. We’re pioneers. Today, Sunday, we’re starting to feel human again.
It’s given us time to reflect on this journey. At the start, I put up a poll asking readers if they thought we’d still be at it, or would bail by New Years, Valentines, St Patrick’s Day. All those dates have passed, and yet here we are.
It’s been six months. Obstacles have been thrown in our path, as always happens in the times of good vs evil (see: Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). Here’s a sample of what’s happened in just the past six months (as you know if you’ve been reading along these 25 journal entries!):
A lunatic tried to fight me while we were trying to get gas at Costco
Another lunatic assaulted Giavana while we were at the theater watching a movie
We discovered our Red House was too small and had to sell and buy an RV quick!
We tried to take a nice, relaxing getaway trip and ended up in a hot tub spewing what looked like poop out of the jets
A neighbor rammed the steel support pole over our roof and almost hit our big propane gas tank
A neighbor came at me all belligerent about some ridiculous turf issue
Got food poisoned at a high-end seafood restaurant, then at a high-end grocery
I went nuts (maybe due to the above) and got involved with the cops
We took a short 3-day work trip and got sick as hell for 7 days (and counting)
This stuff always seems to come in waves. Maybe there’s evil, maybe it’s a test of our resolve, maybe it’s both. I’ve seen and experienced it all my life. Some people overly focus on a run of bad things and say, “I’m cursed!” or “life sucks!” But what I’ve always found, is that if you hang in there, ride it out, and do your best, everything gets better, and often the good to come more than makes up for all the bad that happened.
So, don’t ever give in. Don’t ever give up. Always keep in mind that something better is coming. It says so in the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3) paraphrased in the great Byrds 60s hit, Turn! Turn! Turn! (some lyrics below).
Yesterday we endured yet another deluge while confined to quarters by relaxing, binge watching crap and ordering delicious local Chinese grub delivery. I’m treating myself to ice cold birch beers these days. Yum.
Everything changes. Spring is coming—a time of rebirth. In a few more weeks, we’ll move down to the woods. We’re already seeing signs of budding trees and plants. We can’t wait. We’re going to be just fine. Baby, don’t get down, because there’s beauty all around (a wonderful uplifting song).
A Day in the (RV) Life
We’re early risers, much to the chagrin of our neighbors. I’m not a good sleeper, as these nightly heart stoppages surge my adrenaline on the recovery end, and jolt me out of sleep. I usually give up around 5am and check my Oura app to see how many times it happened that night, as well as my other health metrics. It’s incredible to see the graphs day by day as your body fights something. I carefully pull my tablet from the bedside nook, trying to move with stealth, to not wake Giavana.
There’s no fooling Pia, she knows. When she knows I’m awake, she moves from her pillow at the foot of the bed to my side, flipping on her back for her morning wake-up belly-rub. It’s blackmail—no belly rub and she’ll get annoyed and wake up mommy.
I catch up on some reading, scan the news, and delete the unimportant emails on the tablet until Giavana rouses. It usually doesn’t take long. We rise up and begin our morning choreography. Boot the laptops. Adjust the thermostat. Put the news on TV. Coffee on. Bathroom. Change. A good morning kiss. Here’s the gift of another day.
So far, it’s probably much like your morning, right? This is a tiny house, with all the same stuff. The toilet is a little different—you flush it with your foot (more sanitary!), not a handle on the tank. Our bathroom is large, maybe bigger than yours. Everything else works the same. There is no tub though, just a roomy shower with a skylight above it.
Each day I check the RV control panel next to the front door, to monitor the levels on the two gray (kitchen, bath) and one black (toilet) tank. If the black is nearing full, I’ll go outside, pull a handle, and the tank in our underbelly will empty into the sewer connection at our site. Then I’ll pull the gray tank valves one at a time to empty those, and wash out any black tank residue from the piping at the same time. There is a hose connector to occasionally wash the black tank clean. In the tiny Red House, dumping was necessary every week. In the bigger White House, about every two weeks. It only takes minutes. We can control the furnace/AC from an app (even remotely!) or the wall panel. We have apps for the security cameras, temp/humidity monitors, leveling, and more.
The next step is to take Pia out for her business. She loves that she doesn’t have to be on a leash out here, and can freely roam about the massive property. I let her go, and follow along behind with my poop bag. She loves to wander down by the nearby pond and watch the ducks on the water. I think she dreams to be a duck. She is respectful, and doesn’t disturb them. It is beautiful, and pin-drop quiet other than occasional, therapeutic nature sounds coming from the woods surrounding us and the sky above. The small mountain range looms behind us, protective, as far as the eye can see in both directions. It’s hard to go back inside, but right now it’s still kinda early mornin’ cold.
I settle into my dinette-turned office and get some work done, along with coffee, fruit, and yogurt. Giavana does the same in her small workspace on the other end of the living space, but she likes to eat later. We’re surrounded by windows and sunlight. We arrange our video or phone meetings so that we’re not overlapping. If that does happen, or an unexpected call comes in, we can head to the bedroom and close the door. Sometimes she goes into the bathroom, usually right about when I really, really have to go. There are woods though, surrounding us, just in case. Back to nature. It’s good to have options.
After enough news, we’ll switch to music, although that’s tough to do these days with everything going on and breaking events all day every day. We’ll break for lunch, another walk for Pia, digest a little, then head back into our wonderful cozy sleep cave of a bedroom for a short, refreshing nap. We usually heat up leftovers or grab some takeout from a local spot. Sometimes we pass on lunch and do a single-big-meal day in late afternoon, which comprises both lunch and dinner. We always drop weight when we do that. We often stock up on fresh veggies and make our own salads, or just eat a single baked potato. Soon, the local farms and farmers markets in this rural area will spring to life!
The afternoon is more of the same, although since I have a lighter schedule than Giavana I’ll often head into town for supplies or other errands. Pia rides shotgun and we turn up the blues and classic rock too loud. On the way through the two enclaves in our pioneer RV encampment, I wave or stop to talk to the other pioneers on the way through. The crunchy gravel demands low speeds and serves as an excellent early warning system in case of intruders or unexpected company.
In the evening we’ll cook on the gas stove or in the oven, or else make something in the crock pot. The fridge and freezer are small by household standards, but large by RV standards. They’re just the right size for what we need. In our old fridges, there was always tons of crap in the back, neglected, expiring, wasted. Giavana don’t play with expired stuff, although I often remind her those dates are just suggestions, I eat the stuff and I’m still kicking. The most important thing to me is that our environmental profile is great—a good thing for Mother Earth. We use very little heat in this small space, very little electricity, and have very little waste. Sometimes we head off to one of the fantastic local pubs for some good, home cooked grub in a cozy place, and check if there are still other people.
If conditions are right, we’ll go for a nice walk past the pond and down to the much larger lake, past the sad figures on the winterized miniature golf course. Their time will come soon, they’ll wake to regain the attention of vacationing families, here to try to get away from it all for just a little time. We get away from it all here every single day.
We may unwind by moving to the side-by-side heated massaging recliners for some 1light TV before turning in. Pia demands to join us.
As the day draws long, we check in with family and start to pack it in. Laptops off. Dishes clean. Final walk for Pia, her evening snack reward (don’t dare forget, or there will be no sleep for ye!). We slide back into the sleep cave, with its ultra-comfortable comforter and the mountain of plush pillows fair Queen Giavana demands. The roof curves over our heads and it feels like we’re in a capsule, traveling safely through time and space, and we are. We really are.
We’ll put something on TV, usually a series we’re engaged with. Whether it’s an old one or a new one, the stories are always the same. They are about the kind of evil that happens when people who cannot tolerate anyone that’s different from them tries to seize power and control everyone else. The evil ones dream of a world where everyone is just like them, sadly. Often, hatred, greed, lust, and the other deadly sins are involved as well. We see the same stories playing out in real life when we turn on the news, while people cheer at massive rallies for the bad ones with these same ideas. I wonder who they pulled for when they watched the same movies or shows on TV.
Our bed is amazing, and we have an incredible mattress topper that gives us both separate temp controllers. Sometimes I’ll fall asleep first and Giavana will sneak the TV controller away and put on some of her shows. Or, she’ll crash and I’ll turn the TV down and do some reading. I try to remember, before I pass out, to be thankful for her and everyone else I’ve had the good luck and fortune to have in this beautiful life. We’re all gonna be OK, right?
What’s Next?
Hopefully we return to good health! I’m working on a journal post about happiness and how to achieve it even in the seemingly worst circumstances. Hey, I’ve had practice!
There’s more news on the personal matter I’ve been dealing with, so paid subscribers can look for that update sometime this coming week.
All the events recently have set us off schedule on our planned trip to Canada, looking at land to build our cabin on, and more. Those activities should resume, with the requisite updates for you!
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To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
—Pete Seeger, Byrd’s hit song Turn! Turn! Turn!
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