After months of waiting for our house to sell, the day has finally come – and we are Too Happy Campers!
Eighteen months ago, we decided to sell our dream home and trade everything for the RV life. This is our story behind the decision, what led to it, and what we hope to gain from embracing mobility.
I believe life happens in phases.
We live, we learn, and we outgrow the skin we’re in.
As I look back on my life, my interests have changed, my standards have risen, and my priorities have shifted. Each experience, each job, each success, each failure shifts our perspective.
It changes everything… it changes me.
Dr. Ellie arroway – from the movie Contact (1997)
When we bought our property nine years ago, we called it our “forever home.” We were certain this was all we could ever want—twenty beautiful acres in the mountains of Colorado, because it truly was our dream property.
But that was nine years ago, and we’ve lived, learned… and changed since then.
Isolation Served Its Purpose
We absolutely adored our property—an hour and a half from civilization; visiting us took intention. We opened our home through Airbnb and invited strangers into our lives. We hosted guests from all walks of life, and we’ll forever cherish the opportunity to get to know our guests.
From birdwatchers around the world to city kids looking for a place to get away, we have had some incredible experiences hosting people. We took pride in our ability to be welcoming, friendly, and hospitable with all who entered our home, which led to us being ranked in the top 1% of Airbnb Stays worldwide.
We are proud of that accomplishment and will always cherish the experiences and memories we have from hosting our guests. Our guests taught us about ourselves and what we value.
However, owning a highly ranked disc golf course and an Airbnb on our property severely limited our ability to leave. We spent most of our summers hosting people, checking in disc golfers, and monitoring our property, which left little room for us to have the time to do the things we love—exploring, hiking, and traveling.
So, after seven years of opening our home and property to the public, we decided to turn the tables. We wanted to be able to leave the property and travel, too.
Downsizing for Simplicity
A couple of years ago, my husband had to clean out his father’s house, which was full of old junk that his dad thought was valuable. But essentially, it was a hoarding situation. Gary and I both agreed—we never wanted to do the same thing to our kids.
Humans tend to collect things. We save things, and then we attach sentiment to those objects.
Here’s the truth: in most cases, that sentimental value doesn’t translate to others. While that plastic souvenir cup from your 2015 Vegas trip might spark memories of wild adventures for you, to everyone else, it’s just a cup with no story attached.
Like losing weight, I began to look at each object I touched and ask myself, “Is this weight that I want to carry around for another 30 years?” Most of the time, the answer was no. In fact, each item I tossed into the dumpster felt a little more freeing than the last.
A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss
Something else we’ve learned through observation is that as people age, we tend to get stuck in a routine, slow down, and spend more time at home. For instance, Gary’s dad and step-mom only left the house to get groceries and go to scheduled doctors’ appointments. They forgot how to live life, and they became stagnant.
We don’t want to become stagnant.
Settling into a recliner with a blanket and a glass of wine might sound comfortable and inviting, but on the other hand, it’s likely not doing your health or longevity any favors. Staying active, spontaneous, fit, and flexible is key as we age.
Many health issues stem from a lack of adequate exercise and nutritional deficiencies, but sadly, taking care of ourselves often doesn’t fit into the daily grind. Then by the time we hit 50 – WHAMMO! – We’re smacked with bad knees, high cholesterol, and progressive lenses.
We want to enjoy every bit of life we can, while we can, and keep ourselves as active as possible.
Too Happy Campers, About to Hit the Road
Despite loving living out here for nine years, we’ve realized we’ve limited ourselves. Our location made it difficult for people to visit us, and impossible for us to leave while hosting strangers in our home.
In summary, we are too happy to feel this tied down. We want to chase the sun.
That’s exactly what living in an RV can do for us. We could not be more thrilled about this new phase of our lives! Soon, we’ll be choosing our destinations and plotting our course. Stay tuned!
Please, follow along, as we become too happy campers! We are sharing our travels, adventures, and stories of adjusting to life on the road, and it will be a wild ride!
A sneak peek at some of our upcoming destinations.
