RV Living | Some Initial Thoughts On Our Scamper

We've been living in our tiny 13' Scamp travel trailer full-time for almost a month now, so it seemed timely to take a step back and reflect on how it has all been going. All in all, it's worked out pretty darn well. We've become quite fond of our little Scamper. And here's why...

1. She doesn't have any zippers.

When the weather is nasty, there is no worse sound in the world then that of a zipper. Whether it is the zipping sound that a tent flap makes or the zipping up of a sleeping bag. The sound of zippers reminds of us how we lived before we got Scamper - in a tent. Tents are great when the weather's nice. But when the rain is chucking down, the wind is howling and it is bitterly cold outside, would you rather be in a tent or inside a warm camper? 

2. She has a fridge.

What a luxury it is to have a fridge! When we lived onboard our 26' sailboat in New Zealand, we didn't have a fridge. We managed just fine. While it would have been nice to have cold drinks on occasion, we found that living without a fridge wasn't too much of a hassle (check out my posts here and here if you want to know more.) While we were tent camping, we made do with a cooler, which was a step up from our sailboat. So when we got Scamper, we fell in love with her tiny fridge. Pure heaven.

3. She has a bed big enough for two.

Falling asleep in a bed sure beats a sleeping bag on the ground. Hands down. No contest. Bed trumps sleeping bag. I think you get my point. On our boat, we didn't have a spot big enough for the two of us, so Scott had to sleep on a settee in our saloon, while I slept in the v-berth with the dirty laundry and cans of food. Definitely not ideal. Scamper's bed is fantastic. Of course, the bed also is our living/dining space do we have to set-up the bed every night, but it is a big improvement.

4. She has a toilet.

No more trekking to the toilet block in the middle of the night with your flashlight. Enough said.

5.  She has a kitchen.

Sure, the kitchen is tiny, but it has two burners and a sink. There is nothing worse then trying to cook outside when the wind keeps blowing your butane stove out. Not to mention washing your dishes in a plastic tub full of icy cold water in the dark. 

6. She has heat.

You can probably guess from all of my whining about the weather, that heat is pretty important to us. When we ordered Scamper, getting a furnace installed was high up on the priority list.

7. She's saving us money. Kind of.

Because we're middle-aged wimps, when the weather got too bad, we stayed in some dodgy motels instead. Even the dodgiest of motels are more expensive then staying in a campground, so our traveling around the States on a budget took a bit of a toll. Now, we always have a comfortable place to stay no matter what the weather. So, in one sense, Scamper is saving us money. Of course, she also cost us money, but I figure after several years of living in her full-time, we'll break even. Here's hoping.

Unless you're one of our readers who lives in an RV or on a boat, the things we love about Scamper are probably things you take for granted in your own home. But that's the great thing about selling everything and leading a somewhat alternative lifestyle - you really start to appreciate things like heat, fridges and beds!

If you live in an RV or on a boat, what's been your experience? If you live in sticks and bricks on land, could you imagine living without heat, a fridge or a bed?

If you want you want a tour and details of our Scamp inside and out, check out our post here. If you want to know more about Scamp travel trailers, you can check out the company's website here. 

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Driving To Louisiana, According To My Phone

Well, we packed up Scamper and headed out of Texas to Louisiana in search of better weather. Here's how the drive went, according to my phone. (By the way, the pictures are terrible - which is why we leave most of the photography on the blog to Scott.)

Here's our tiny Scamper parked at the Kemah RV Resort right before we got her ready to go. She looked comically small next to all of the big rigs in the park. When Scott and I step out of it, I think it must look something like one of those clown cars you see where 15 clowns inexplicably manage to cram themselves into an impossibly tiny car. I'm guessing we provided some amusement for our neighbors at the RV park. At the least, taking one look at our travel trailer probably made their RVs feel so much more spacious.

After all of my whining about the weather, someone must have been listening because it was a bright, sunny day with no wind. Scamper prefers it when its not windy. So do we. Except when we're on a sailboat - then the right amount of wind is a very welcome thing.

We took Rte 146 up from the Kemah area to I-10 to head over to Louisiana. Along the way we crossed a number of bridges and causeways. I liked this one - especially the yellow color. Look at the right hand side of the photo. See that ghost image? It's the reflection of a bag of Fig Newtons in my lap. It's important to have snacks on hand on a long drive. Chocolate chip cookies would have been so much better, but since we don't have an oven, store bought Fig Newtons it was!

We've only had Scamper since mid-December, so I still get a bit paranoid when we're towing her. She's just a baby after all. Every so often, I check in the side mirror to make sure she's still there. There she is. And that's me in the mirror, exhaling a sigh of relief.

As we were driving along, we noticed this big plume of smoke. No one else seemed to be worried about it. Never did figure out what it was about.

Of course, oil and gas are big business down in this neck of the woods, so I always get a big panicky wondering if something is going to blow. Smoke makes me nervous.

We cut down from I-10 near Port Arthur and took Rte 82 along the Louisiana seaboard. So interesting to see all of the houses on stilts to protect them from flooding waters. It amazes me how people persevere and continue to live in areas which have been devastated by natural disasters or are at risk to.

Scamper took her first boat ride on the ferry to Cameron. So exciting for her! She couldn't wait to drive up onto the ferry and park next to all of the grown-up cars and trucks. If you're going eastwards on the ferry, it doesn't cost you anything. If you're going westwards, have a dollar ready. It only takes a few minutes to do the crossing.

We crossed over the ICW during our travels. If you're a boatie, you may be familiar with the ICW or Intracoastal Waterway. 3,000 miles long, the ICW provides an inland waterway along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. If we had ended up buying a sailboat in Texas, this might very well have been how we would have taken her to the East Coast. Maybe we should construct a barge for Scamper so we can tow her behind our boat?

And this is how we ended our day after 250 miles of driving - boondocking at the Walmart in New Iberia, Louisiana. If you're not familiar with the term "boondocking", it essentially means free camping. I like free, especially when you're trying to living within a budget. Basically, most Walmarts will let RVs park overnight in the back of their parking lots (except when local regulations and ordinances don't permit it). A bit strange to sleep in a parking lot, but it sure was convenient for getting some shopping done in the morning. 

We drove from Kemah, Texas to New Iberia, Louisiana on 6 January 2015.

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More Life In Texas Lately

After spending over two weeks in Texas, we've hitched up Scamper and set off in search of warmer weather. Please, please, please let there be warmer weather somewhere! Anyway, here's a little snapshot of what life has been like for us in Texas in our last few days in the Lone Star State.

While we were in the Kemah area, we had a look at a few sailboats. Although we owned and lived on a Raven 26 sailboat in New Zealand, I actually haven't seen too many other types of sailboats, so it was a good opportunity to check out some potential options for our next boat. I was particularly intrigued by the Catalina 36 in terms of its livability. It seems to be one of those Tardis type of boats - more room in the inside than looks like from the outside. The Catalina 36 is a boats I had researched a year or so ago, so it was quite nice to see what they actually look like. (If you want to know more about the Catalina 36 and a guy named Lester, you can read my review here.) An Irish boat broker named James at Sea Lake Yachts showed us around - he has a lovely accent, was super helpful and wasn't one of those "hard sell" type of guys. If you're in the market for a boat, look him up. 

If you're a regular blog follower, than you probably know that we're slightly obsessed with Ethiopian food. We've eaten Ethiopian in many cities in Europe and North America, and now we can add Houston to our list! We went to Lucy's and had two of our favorite dishes - doro wat and miser wat. We even had some Ethiopian beer. I had no idea there was such a thing. Now I know better. I'll definitely be ordering one again! If you've never had Ethiopian before and you're in the Houston area, head over to Lucy's. Be sure to eat in the back room with the Ethiopian crowd. (You can read more about the Ethiopian restaurants we've been to in Auckland, New Zealand here and Spokane, Washington here.)

While we've been in the Houston area, we've been doing a little bit of exploring. Not as much as we would have liked to as the weather has really put a damper on our desire to go out and do stuff. We did hit the Kemah boardwalk and checked out Galveston Island. I was of two minds as to whether we should have gone to the NASA Space Center but it seemed like a lot of money and I wasn't sure if it would have been worth it. Have you been? Should we have gone? From what we saw, Houston seems like a nice city. Wish we could have seen more.

We spent some time at an RV park near Kemah enjoying their full hook-ups of water, electricity and sewage. Such bliss to be able to charge your computer and iPad and have unlimited water come out of your faucet. We've also been taking this opportunity to figure out our Scamper systems - like the hot water heater and holding tanks. When we picked up our Scamper in Minnesota we got a whirlwind orientation about how she works. Too much information for my little brain to retain, so we've been working things out as we go. Still lots to learn!

That's what's been happening for us lately. What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Whining About The Weather In Galveston, Texas

I know. I've been whining about weather a lot and its starting to get annoying. Even I'm getting annoyed.

I guess it could be worse. We could be back in North Dakota. But at least when we were in North Dakota, we were staying with Scott's auntie and uncle in their spacious house. Being cooped up inside in a house is way different then being cooped up inside a 65 sq ft camper. Especially a house where Scott's auntie makes you peanut butter blossom cookies. You know the ones with chocolate kisses mushed into the center of them. Delicious. 

We decided to get out of the camper the other day and check out Galveston Island. Located 50 miles southeast of Houston, Galveston is a barrier island around 27 miles long and 3 miles wide. 

Turns out it is a big time cruise ship center. We found out the hard way as the roads were jam packed with cars full of people off on exciting cruises to warm places like the Caribbean. I wish I was in the Caribbean. What I wouldn't give to be wearing shorts just now instead of a fleece, parka and two pairs of socks. And pants. I also have pants on. I wish I had two pairs on. My legs are cold.

But not as cold as this bikini model. The poor woman. They were doing a photo shoot near the Galveston Pleasure Pier. The photographer and assistants were bundled up - the model, not so much. I wonder if we'll see an increase in blog traffic now that we have our first ever bikini shot?

We walked around for a while in the historic district of Galveston. In fact, we had hoped to make a proper walk of it and this should have been one of our "Going for a Walk" posts. But, we gave up pretty quickly and turned our walk into a driving tour. 

Scott did manage to take some photos though. There aren't as many of the old building architecture that this part of Galveston is known for as you might be expecting. But here's a couple. 

Instead, he took his usual shots of old signs. These are some of my favorites.

And of course, what walk wouldn't be complete without an alley shot. I like this one because there are flowers creeping over the fence into the alley. Every alley looks better with flowers.

Have you ever been to Galveston? What was the weather like? 

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We went for a walk in Galveston, which turned into a drive, on 4 January 2015.

Going For A Walk: Kemah, Texas

Scott and I spent a week in the Kemah area in Texas and the weather pretty much sucked every day. For some reason, I thought Texas was supposed to be warm during the winter. I couldn't have been more wrong. We used our heater every night and I had to wear two pairs of socks every day just to make sure I didn't get frostbite. Okay, perhaps I exaggerate just a little bit, but it was unseasonably and unreasonably cold, rainy, foggy, windy and just downright unpleasant at times. Fortunately, the sun broke through the clouds one afternoon and we went for a little walk in Kemah. 

The brightly colored rides on the boardwalk would almost have you believe it was a beautiful, sunny day. That is until you notice everyone is wearing hats and scarves. 

Kemah is a small town in the greater Houston area on the Galveston Bay. It was originally a fishing town, but now caters to the tourist crowd. The Kemah Boardwalk is what draws them in. Amusement rides, restaurants, bars, boat rides and souvenir shops. The usual suspects. 

Like this place - Landry's Seafood restaurant. I'm not sure if it was an old movie theater that they turned into a restaurant, but I like the sign out front. We didn't eat there, but the almond crusted mahi mahi sure sounded good.

The sun went back behind the clouds not too long into our walk. I thought it might be fun to ride on the old wooden roller coaster on the boardwalk, but somehow roller coasters, scarves, hats and gloves don't seem to go together. My sister and I used to love riding on the old wooden roller coaster at Cedar Point in Ohio every summer. But of course, it was summer when we went there - shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses. Not scarves, hats and gloves. Oh well, maybe next time.

Anyone fancy an Icee on a cold winter day in Texas?

Wow, I keep complaining about the weather. I'm even getting tired of listening to myself talk about it. Let's look at a picture of the piers in Kemah instead. A very good distraction.

Hopefully, the weather and my mood will improve next time you stop by our little corner of the blogosphere. Until next time, keep warm and dry. 

PS For those of you in New Zealand, please stop posting pictures of how wonderful it is to be out and about in the warm temperatures, playing and frolicking among the pohutukawa trees on the beaches. It's just plain depressing! 

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We went for a chilly walk in Kemah, TX on 3 January 2015.

Life In Texas Lately

After picking up our new 13' Scamp travel trailer in Minnesota in mid-December, we hit the road again and headed down South towards Texas to begin looking for our next sailboat. Here's what life has been like lately for us in Lone Star State.

The best thing about our time in Texas has to be our Scamp travel trailer, or Scamper, as we like to call her. Scamper is our new full-time home while we're on the road. With approximately 65 sq ft/6 sq mtrs of living space, this is some real tiny house living! Whenever the weather is nice, we've been enjoying expanding our living space outdoors. Although she is small, Scamper is adorable. I'll have to do a post at some point so you all can "meet" Scamper and see what she looks like inside.

Along the way, we've visited a few more National Park Service properties including three national parks - Big Bend in southwestern Texas along the Mexican border (amazing night skies and a meteor shower!), Guadalupe Mountains in northwestern Texas near the New Mexico border (our first experience "camping" in a parking lot) and nearby Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico (if you didn't know better, you would think you were on another planet). We also added a National Seashore to our list (that's Padre Island National Seashore in the picture above), as well as spent a night at a campground in the Amistad National Recreation Area - both of which are in Texas. Wow, this is one amazingly beautiful and diverse country!

As we were in Big Bend National Park over Christmas, we decided to pop across the Rio Grande River (by rowboat) to have lunch in Boquillas, Mexico. While we were there, we saw Santa handing out presents to the kids. So cute! After a few hours in Mexico, we headed back across the river to the States and had our traditional Christmas curry and screening of Monty Python's Life of Brian. It ranks right up there as one of the most interesting Christmases we've had - Mexican food in Mexico for lunch, followed by Indian food at a campground in Texas.

We're currently hanging out in southeastern Texas near Kemah on the Galveston Bay. The Kemah area is a perfect place to kick off our quest for our next sailboat - it is one of the largest boating centers in the States. We spent New Year's Eve day poking around some of the marinas and drooling over the sailboats. While there doesn't seem to be a lot of sailboats for sale in the area that meet our requirements, there are a few that I think we'll have a look at next week. (If you're interested, you can find a list of posts about what we're looking for in terms of our next sailboat here.)

Our laptop decided to stop working at the beginning of December which caused me to suffer from serious internet/blogging/social media withdrawal. While we do have an iPad, it just isn't the same thing as using our laptop. I was all set to cave in and buy a new computer when Scott suggested we try fixing it ourselves. We suspected that the issue was with the fan, so we ordered a replacement one for around $50. It arrived this week and, armed with some tiny screwdrivers, Scott took apart the laptop, disconnected all sorts of scary looking things and replaced the fan. Presto - problem solved! And, more importantly, a lot of money saved by not buying a new laptop. We're back in business! You should see us back to our regular blogging schedule - of course, provided we can get internet access while on the road.

That's what life has been like for us lately in Texas. What's been happening where you are?

Linked up with Bonnie Rose for Travel Tuesday.

The Year In Review - 2014

2014 has been a pretty big year for us. Full of travel, work and taking care of family. We realized our dream of living on a sailboat full-time, we spent time with family, we got to explore parts of the States we had never seen before, we bought a camper and we set off in search of our next sailboat. I wonder what 2015 will bring!

Here are some of the highlights from last year...

1 - We lived and sailed on our boat in New Zealand.

Anchored out at Peachgrove Bay, Mercury Islands, New Zealand

In December 2013, we became full-time cruisers in New Zealand and moved onto our Raven 26 sailboat. We had a great time living and sailing on her during the first part of 2014. We sailed 1,290 nautical miles over four months and learned heaps about ourselves, sailing, living on a boat full-time and what we're looking for in our next boat.

You can find links to our sailing adventures in New Zealand here. If you want to know more about how we became full-time cruisers, check this post out. If you're curious what we learned on our shake down cruise, click here.

2 - We sold our sailboat.

Rainbows End - our little Raven 26

We always knew our Raven 26 was a "for now" boat and not our "forever" boat. So after our time cruising in New Zealand, it was time to sell her. A truly bittersweet moment - read more about it here.

3 - We took a little road trip in New Zealand. 

Hahei Beach, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand

Boats are great, but they do limit what you can see somewhat. So after we sold our boat, it was time for a road trip on the North Island of New Zealand! Click here to see what we got up to.

4 - Scott headed back to Scotland for work.

An Iron Age crouched burial from a site in England that Scott worked on. 

Scott is an archaeologist based out of Scotland. So from time to time, he has to head back to the UK to take care of work. He's hoping to wind his business down so that we can enjoy traveling by boat and camper over the next few years without work getting in the way.

5 - I did some work in New Zealand.

Setting an alarm clock. Sure fire sign that you're a worker bee.

Sadly, we haven't won the lottery, so we have to work from time to time to fund our travel adventures. While Scott was in Scotland, I did some contract work in New Zealand for a friend. After cruising on a sailboat, it sure was a shock to the system to have to get up every day and go toil in an office. You can read about the differences between cruising and working here.

6 - We stopped working and headed to the States to take care of some family stuff.

Panhandle Marina, North Idaho

Some family stuff came up, so we both headed back to Idaho to spend some time there with Scott's father. One of the hardest things about being an expat is being away from family, especially when the big stuff comes up. Luckily, we had the flexibility to change our plans and spend time where it was important. Scott even managed to sail on other people's boats while he was there which made for one happy little camper. He gets a little stir crazy when he is away from the water for too long :-)

7 - We did a crazy road trip from Portland, Oregon to Ray, North Dakota. 

Blue Mesa badlands at the Petrified Forest National Park

We needed to get from Oregon to North Dakota towards the end of this year. But instead of driving along a relatively straight line, we drove south to California then over to the southwest before heading back up north. Along the way, we visited 15 National Parks, 1 National Preserve, 1 National Historic Site, 2 National Historical Memorials and 3 State Parks!

You can find links to posts from our road trip on our USA page.

8 - We got seduced by tiny campers.

A Scamp travel trailer that we saw in Yosemite.

We got seduced by tiny campers and we ended up buying one! Camping in a tent is great when the weather is nice, but let me tell you, middle age, sleeping on the ground and nasty weather don't really mix all that well. So we picked up a 13 foot Scamp in Minnesota. She's adorable!

9 - We headed off on another crazy road trip in search of our next sailboat.

What will our next sailboat look like?

We're back out on the road heading down south towards Texas in search of warmer weather and a new-to-us sailboat. We're planning on making our way eastwards over to Florida and then up the East Coast. Want to help us find a sailboat or just say hi? Keep an eye on the blog and Facebook to see where we're heading to next! We'd love to meet you - drop us an email, leave us a comment or fill out the contact form on the right hand side of the blog. 

What were your highlights of 2014 and what are you looking forward to in 2015?

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