Crawl, Walk, Run: From 6-Nights RV Rental to 56-Nights Airstream RV Travel & Adventure
We love hearing how other families begin their journey into the RV life, and we’re excited to share ours. It all started with a 6-nights RV rental, and now, here we are, navigating two-month adventures in our dream travel trailer. Here’s a snapshot of our evolution from RV rookies to road-tripping pros!
Inspiration: How We Became an RV Family.
Raise your hand if you’ve spent countless hours browsing blogs, scrolling Instagram or watching YouTube videos about RV travel and adventure. That’s exactly how our inspiration began! Back in 2015, we started following a family who was living and traveling full-time in an Airstream with their 3 kids. We even met up with them in the Florida Keys to get a glimpse of what RV life was really like.
December 2018: Our First Taste with Cruise America RV Rental
Instead of booking round-trip tickets to visit my parents for the holidays, we decided to shake things up. We flew one-way to Orlando, then hit the road in a 25-foot Class-C RV, cruising back home to Austin. We camped & explored Falling Waters State Park, Grayton Beach State Park, USS Alabama, moochdocked at a friends place near New Orleans!
RV: Cruise America Standard RV 25 feet
Trip Length: 6 nights, 4 campgrounds
Kids’ Ages: 4 and 2 years old
Highlights: Quality family time, RV basics 101, and a newfound love for life on the road.
Learn more about our first-time RVing journey here.
August 2020: From Rental to Ownership – Embracing Van Life!
COVID sparked our next chapter: Van Life. We bought a 21-foot Winnebago Travato and hit the road for three weeks after picking up the class-B van in Forth Worth, TX and road-tripped straight to Palo Duro Canyon, TX -> Colorado Springs, CO -> Denver+Boulder, CO. Between remote work, virtual schooling, and breathtaking mountain views, we discovered the magic of spontaneous travel. The memories we created were incredible!
RV: Winnebago Travato 59GL
Trip Length: 3-weeks (but we docked a week at friends place)
Kids’ Age: 6 and 4 years old
Highlights: The Winnebago Travato Class-B Van is so nimble, can fit in regular parking spots, and we get to have our whole “house” everywhere we go!
[ Learn more about this journey here. ]
November 2020: A 4-Month Van Adventure!
With a few weeks of van life travel under our belts, we were ready for something bigger—a four-month journey. We rented out our Austin house on Airbnb and headed out, starting with Colorado, mooch-docking around Austin, and then road-tripping to Central Florida. This was our deep dive into living on the road, working remotely, and virtual schooling on the go.
We departed from Austin on October 31st and celebrated Halloween that evening in the van while resting in Fort Worth.
Highlights: Experiencing slow travel, staying in Denver with friends, and diving deeper into the RV lifestyle.
[ Learn more about this journey here. ]
August 2021: Arkansas to Great Smokey Mountains, TN
October 2021: Pre-ordering our Airstream
We’d been eyeing Airstreams for years, and it was time to move beyond a 1/32 scale diecast model!
April 2022: Our Airstream Dream Comes True
After waiting for nearly 7-months, we finally brought home our 28-foot Airstream International, it felt surreal. Our adventures expanded to national parks in Tennessee, Texas, and New Mexico. Each trip gave us new experiences and made us fall even more in love with RV life.
RV: 2022 Airstream International 27FB
Trip Length: Weekend trips to 9-day adventures
Kids’ Ages: 8 and 6 years old
Highlights: Quality family time, RV basics 101, and a newfound love for life on the road.
Multiple 9-Day Trips in our Airstream
Highlights: National parks, hiking trails, and the comfort of our dream rig.
[ Learn more about this journey here. ]
July 2024: Two Months of Full-Time RV Living
With some towing experience under our belts, we embraced an epic 56-night summer road trip through the Northeast and New England. This trip stretched our limits and filled our hearts with countless memories. From seaside towns to sprawling forests, every day brought something new.
[ Learn more about this journey here. ]
RV: 2022 Airstream International 27FB
Trip Length: 56-nights
Kids’ Ages: 10 and 8 years old
Highlights: Quality family time, RV basics 101, and a newfound love for life on the road.
The RV journey isn’t just about the destinations—it’s about the joy of discovering new places together. Whether you’re just dreaming or already planning, there’s a whole world of adventure waiting out there!