Ahh the glamorous life of the road.
People often ask us what it’s like to live for months at a time sleeping in Wal Mart parking lots with six or seven children. Honestly, I’ve asked myself some of these questions, so here are my candid answers to the top five- including how to travel with kids!
We do it because it’s part of our job, but truly, driving is the BEST way to see the country. And what an amazing country it is!
What Is It {really} Like?
It’s amazing. But it’s also hard. Nothing that’s worth doing in this life is ever easy. Since we believe that God would have us stay together as a family, we take most of our speaking engagements with six gorgeous kids in-tow. Traveling with this many kids is not easy, and when you are doing it with eight people in a 27 foot motorhome, prepare for adventure.
But we’ve learned a lot of things in the past five years of doing this.
See that man? He’s my awesome husband. He has just finished lettering our new cargo trailer. I tell ya, there’s nothing this man can’t do.
And it’s a good thing–because in the line of work God has called us to, we’ve got to be ready for just about anything. This spring will mark our third trip traveling across the United States as a family. 10 people. One vehicle. Lots of adventures–and misadventures.
Which brings me to:
What’s the hardest part about traveling cross-country in an RV?
No contest here: breakdowns. They’re expensive and often scary! Last time, we had to replace
- the brakes
- the transmission
- the rear axle …
Familiar sight: This is from our first trip in 2009.
But all in all, we’ve seemed to weather it fine so far …
Together with our kids, we make some smokin’ hot road trippers.
And I’m not kidding.
In 2011, near the end of our last 15,700 mile journey, our RV caught on fire.
You heard me. On.Fire.
We were somewhere outside of Cheyenne at about 9:30 that night. I had just tucked the little kids into bed for the night and we planned on driving several more hours.
Our son caught a glimpse of “orange flickering” near the back of the motorhome, just beyond the rear bedroom window.
Jay pulled over and immediately came running to the side door: “Everyone out! The wheel is on fire! OUT! OUT!”
I ran for the kids in the back while the older ones grabbed blankets and we headed out into the brush on the side of the freeway. In the dark. In the cold. We stood barefoot in the dry Wyoming grass while Jay tried desperately to put out the fire. A semi-truck driver pulled over and used his fire extinguisher after ours was empty. But the fire would not go out.
Just about the time we were about to watch the entire thing go up in flames, Jay had the brilliant idea to cut the grey water line and all the sink water began to empty onto the fire. As the fire trucks and ambulance, police and fire marshall were arriving, we saw the flames die down.
This.Was.Not.Fun. We shut down the freeway in both directions for at least an hour. The Fire Marshall said it was a miracle that the RV didn’t explode, since the fire, which was sparked from a rear bearing, began just above the FUEL LINE.
Yeah. I believe in angels.
That was our last road trip. This time, we’re driving in a 15 passenger van, since my PTSD has not let lifted from our last trip. -Keep Calm and Carry On-, she says. In the van we shall go.
I could tell many more stories, but I’ll save those for another blog entry. Back to the questions.
Heading to a hotel while our RV was getting a new transmission. This was T-2 … 2011. Transmission broke down just after taping a radio interview with Dr. James Dobson. (Yeah, that was embarrassing.)
How Do You Do It?
Good question. Organization is the key.
And games for the kids. And stops along the way.
And patience. And grace. Yeah. That too.
But I’ve discovered that if you can be extra-prepared, the trip will be more successful, and less stressful. Usually when we travel, we are moving from venue to venue without much time to stop and “play,” so the key to keeping everyone in good spirits falls on the mom–if the littles ain’t happy on the road–nobody’s happy!
My favorite small-space organizer: a shoe keeper! This hung on the wall of the RV near the back.
Where do you put your stuff?
Another great question! We are organizational nuts. Our two older daughters and I take a three-fold approach to organizing for road trip , but it works for living in a small space, even if you’re not in an RV or a van!
- Pack simply. No more than five days worth of clothes per person. Each child has a clear plastic bin in which to keep their belongings. They must leave room to “collect” things on the road–souvenirs, etc., all need to fit into their space. We bring our own pillows so that we can sleep better at night.It’s very important to allow the kids to bring something they can’t live without. Each of our children is different and has a different idea of what that is. We encourage them to keep it simple.
- Everything has a place. EVERYTHING. Every.Thing. From chargers to post cards, insurance information to sunglasses. Everything has a place. Each time we stop, we do a little tidy-up to make sure things are put back where they go. This is crucial or things get lost and/or broken.This was my favorite item from our last road trip: a simple shoe holder that I found at WalMart. It’s made of canvas so we just let the kids design their own little pockets and made pockets for all those “little” things that get lost or misplaced so easily. We hung it near the top of the ceiling so that the little ones could not reach medicines or other things we didn’t want them to touch. Worked like a charm. In fact, when we got back home, we hung it up again. If you need to pare down at home, make a list of what you can’t live without, and then put those things aside. It’s amazing what we can live without, what we don’t need.
- Entertainment and Exercise for Everyone. When you are driving for 12-15 hours at a time, there has to be something to keep the mind and body from atrophying. For us, it’s iPad games, movies, card games, school work (15 minutes at a time), naps and good conversation. And yummy snacks. That too. This year, we will be stopping frequently to let the kids run and stretch our muscles. Being in a van will be a different experience so we’re hoping to take advantage of hotel workout rooms and pools. Exercise is so important. Without it, we start to lose energy and our emotions ratchet up toward defcon six.
What Do You Eat?
I‘ll be honest: On our first trip back in 2009, I took all my cookware and utensils. And used them twice in three months. It just wasn’t practical. So in order to eat something besides fast food (yuck) we started looking for healthy meals that we could prepare quickly:
Sandwiches, Costco chicken, bagged salad, prepared main dishes from grocery stores etc.
I do cook occasionally but in all honesty, it’s not easy with a large group. Especially if it decides to rain and the kids can’t go outside while I cook. On our first road trip, I gained 15 pounds. The last one, we did just fine because we were much more intentional about our meals: healthier snacks, more water, less soda. (duh.)
The kids take turns adding states to the map as we go.
How do the kids do?
Honestly, sometimes great, sometimes, not so great . Wait. That’s just like home.
Getting sleep is very important though. Sometimes hard when you’ve spent the night next to a noisy semi-truck or in 110 degree heat and the AC quits working. That’s not very much fun.
Early morning in the RV 2011
Where Do You Stay?
Wal Mart or KOA when we have the RV. WalMarts are great because they’re free. Just pull over and get everyone into bed. Bonus: You can stock up on needed supplies while you’re there. 🙂
This year we’ll be hoteling it. I’ll let you know how that goes. I’m not sure yet since we’ve never done it this way. You might have to haul me home in a paddy wagon. 🙂 I’m hoping not though. Right now a friend is researching hotels that are large-family friendly.
Sometimes, if we have a few days inbetween conventions, we stay at campgrounds to unwind.
Near Colorado Springs
Overall, is it worth it?
Yes. In spite of all the breakdowns (the RV and the family), fire, long nights and weary days, we would not change it for the world. Our adventures have drawn us closer as a family. Living in a small space has made us realize we can live without most of the “stuff” we think we need. Seeing different parts of the United States has given our children a love for other places and a desire to meet new people.
“Remember when…” has become a regular part of discussion around the dinner table. Now that our oldest is grown and married, we appreciate this short season even more.
So if you’re thinking of RV’ing it, I vote YES.
We love to talk about traveling with the family. If you’ve got any questions, leave a comment here. My hunch is that if you’ve got a question, others have it too.
We’re in New Mexico to speak for CAPE right now … we leave on our big road trip with the kids when we get back on Sunday.
We sure would appreciate your prayers–they make all the difference!
