Solo18

I missed this posting earlier, but I have been full-timing for almost 12 years by myself. One thing i really dislike is having to go to laundromats--am happier in places that provide washers and dryers onsite, as do Florida and Ohio state parks. (I almost always stay in federal, state, or county campgrounds, as I am not into pools, potlucks, or other such activities. Prefer scenery and animals and plants to watch.) I have never had serious problems with getting good medical care, even though I have had a couple of major medical issues. I carry a one-page summary of my medical history and prescription drugs, along with info on insurance. I also keep copies of my most recent blood tests, cat scans, and such with me. This prevents having to get tests repeated more than necessary, and it helps doctors in emergency rooms treat me more easily. And since I have traditional Medicare with an F supplement, I can drop in almost anywhere and get covered. One advantage of being on the road was when I needed treatment for Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia. It is not a common condition, so I was able to search the entire country and find a specialist who focused on that specific disease. I spent four months in Eugene, OR, to participate in a research study, and then was on pills for a year. Had to stop by cancer center once a month to get blood work and pick up a new bottle of pills, but there were lots of places I could camp at in Washington and Oregon for that year--even took side trips to Nevada and northern California. Taking your home with you to get medical treatment can be a real plus sometimes!! I also have two mobile hotspots from when I was teaching online, and probably pay a bit more per month for internet, but I nearly always have good coverage, which is important for me. Ditto for satellite TV.

The problem is that the line of mountains along the coast are mostly made of stuff scraped off the seabed when the continents collided. In other words, they are made of piles of various types of sediment, not granite or volcanic rock as are most inland mountains. Thus, when it rains, the dirt and rocks in the hills along the coast can easily come apart and fall into the ocean.

Note this article about a recent landslide on Hwy 1 near Big Sur: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-31/landslide-erodes-part-of-highway-1-near-big-sur-closing-roadway It will take a few months to clean that one up and rebuild the roadway!!!

I spend a few weeks every year in California because I have a son who lives in Napa. Frankly, after almost 12 years full-timing, I think I can confidently say that California has the worst state parks in the country--most of the time, you get very small dirt sites and portable toilets with no showers for about $50 per day. There are a very few full-hookup state parks, but they usually cost about $70 - $75 per night, which is very expensive by other state standards. On the other hand, California has some excellent regional/county campgrounds that have electrical and often water hookups for less money than the dirt sites in the state parks. Check out Riverside and San Diego County parks for some excellent full hookup campsites. Napa also has an excellent campground at its EXPO County Fairgrounds. It is expensive, but sites are paved, have full hookups, plus it is walking distance to downtown and the many excellent restaurants and shops there. Most of the EXPO sites are 12' wide and 80' long, so they are worth the money. (Hotels in or near Napa are outrageously expensive, by the way, but there are tons of fantastic restaurants that make up for that.) Campgrounds inside Yosemite have no-hookups, but the views are impressive and the drive in is quite long, so it is worth staying inside the park if you can get a spot and want to spend more than one night. Once you are parked in the campground, there are shuttles that will take you around. It is fun, though a bit scary, to use binoculars to watch climbers on the steep rock faces! And I have driven my 32' C into Yosemite more than once, so your 24' rig will be easy, other than heavy traffic on weekends, depending on when you go.

The problem occurs when electricity is down and/or businesses cannot access the internet or databases with their electric cash registers. Sometimes, they will have a generator and will be able to run gas pumps, but don't have a way to put a credit card through, so they will sell gas or food as a cash purchase only. That's why it is always a good idea to have some extra cash tucked away, preferably in small bills. In Napa, the small neighborhood grocery store I mentioned sold food by keeping paper tabs and using a calculator to add up prices for customers who could pay cash.

I keep enough cash hidden to get gas and drive enough miles to get out of the way of a natural disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake were to occur and it was difficult to buy gas or food. One tip i learned from someone in Napa, however, after the last earthquake there a few years ago, is to carry your emergency cash in a combination of large and many small bills. She owned a storage business and had been tossing extra ones and fives in a drawer. After the earthquake, a nearby small grocery store was having problems because everyone was coming in with big bills to buy a gallon of milk or some bread, and he could not make change, so she went home and gave him all her stash of small bills.

When I started out 12 years ago, my younger son said I would die in a fiery crash 200 miles down the freeway. I told him I could keep my condo and sit in my chair watching TV for the next 20 years, and I would probably die in my chair, but that I would much prefer to actually do something with the rest of my life, so I'd take the chance of that crash.

Great to hear from you!!! I was next to you at the fairgrounds in TC. Also, saw you head over Big Mac as I was parking in the lot just below it at the Fort visitor center. Not only did I enjoy the jam you gave me, but I started to make my own version of cherry jam and have been giving it away to fellow campers, so if I bump into you again, I'll share it with you and ask for a review of my "recipe." Yours was very good and inspired me. I'm in Florida for the winter, but I'll be heading North through the Soo in August and then west on the TransCanada Highway to Banff and Lake Louise, then south to WA and OR and my son's house in CA for Christmas. Judy

I am an older woman who has been full-timing for over 11 years, and while I started out staying at KOAs, I gave them up very quickly. Unless you are traveling with a bunch of young kids, they are noisy, expensive, crowded, and really set up for families who need kids activities and a pool, none of which I enjoy as I travel. Did I mention expensive??? Since you said "I am traveling" I am assuming you are also a single woman. If so, you will not appreciate the noisy and crowded atmosphere of a KOA at the end of a long day. First, you are planning on driving far too many miles too fast. You will find you have to drive any RV more slowly to avoid winds and other things. You will be exhausted driving just that many miles as you have to focus more driving or pulling any RV. I normally plan on driving no more than 225 miles each day, and then not even every day. First, are you over 62, and if so, do you have a federal senior pass? That will save you 50% on federal campgrounds, the best of which are COE or Corps of Engineers. There are several along your route and will cost you anywhere from $8 to $15 per night. They all have electric hookups and are very safe. You can find federal campgrounds at recreation.gov, and you can get a federal senior pass at any national park. They cost $80 for a lifetime pass or $20 for an annual pass, but you can trade-in 4 annual passes for a lifetime pass. Hard to know where to start to advise you, so I will send you a private message with my email and personal phone number. You have a lot of learning to do, and I wish you well. For me, it has been a great life, and at age 80, I am still chugging onwards. I will be in SoCal late next fall, FYI. I have a son in Napa, and will also be visiting someone near Dana Pointe probably in December.

I met a couple in Michigan who had a custom-built 5th wheel, pulled by an enormous semi truck with a large cab on the back. (I believe they had more than just sleeping space in the cab.) In the space between the cab and the 5th wheel hookup, they had a tiny electric car parked. He said he had registered the truck as a motorhome, and pointed out to me that he had the words "Private Vehicle" painted on both the driver's and the passenger's door. This made it clear it was not a commercial vehicle and did not have to go through weigh stations, inspections, and such things. You can easily spot this very fancy rig if it is in your area because the whole thing is painted with red, white, and blue swirls and streaks! They are very nice people, so say Hi! to them.

If food odors are a concern, look for an RV that has a fan in the kitchen. I have one over my stove, but it is useless because it does not vent outside. However, I DO have a vent with a fan in the ceiling almost directly over my stove. If I were to cook something smelly, i would open that vent and turn on the fan. Much easier than cooking outdoors in the rain and bugs. The outdoor kitchens seldom have more than a grill and maybe an electric hotplate. Cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, and occasionally a steak or some chicken gets old quickly when you are full-timing, and you will want to bake stuff and cook things like casseroles that have to be cooked in an oven. In fact, a lot of us like to cook ahead and freeze extra portions so we can just reheat stuff at the end of a tiring day or driving or sightseeing. Gives you a lot more variety to your diet.

Negative to the outdoor kitchens is that they take up a lot of closet space inside. Most of us who travel full-time do a lot of cooking inside because of weather and because it is just easier.

I get 8-10 MPG on my 32' 2012 motorhome with the v10 engine.

I am a 79 year old woman who has traveled alone in a 32' Motorhome for the past 10 years, driving 183,000 miles in that time. Obviously, I have to do grocery and other kinds of shopping, and I have never had my rig broken into or had anything stolen while in a campground or in a parking lot. I do not spend the night in parking lots of highway rest areas, but instead almost always stay in county, state, and federal campgrounds. I would not feel safe sleeping at night in a parking lot, though some people do it. But, I have never felt unsafe parking there during the day to do my shopping, so you should feel comfortable parking in a grocery store parking lot during the day. Be careful of overhanging branches in parking lots, however. One once grabbed my TV antenna and damaged it. And more recently, I hit some overhead branches in a parking lot that broke the plastic cover on my refrigerator vent fan.

Also, you are going to be subjected to many different allergens than the ones handled by the allergy shots. I do a lot of traveling as I full-time, and I found that southeast US allergens are worse for me--mostly pine and other plants that thrive in warm, moist places. These change when I go to the Northwest, where the climate is cold and moist. Deserts are usually good, but depends on time of year. Just telling you this so you will not be surprised when place and time of year affect your wife's allergies. Medications such as Singular are a big help in those cases. Don't give up traveling, but do keep in touch with your allergist.