Helping Common Families Create Uncommon Lives
One of our goals on Ditching Suburbia is to be a good resource to other families who want to live a life not constrained by the suburbs. We really try to help common families create uncommon lives. If you have just come across this idea or are thinking about a life outside of the suburbs, how will you know where to start?
Cue the Blogroll.
When we first discovered the idea, we found the best place to start was by reading ...
Looking to use apps for RVing? Want to have a better experience on the road and looking for good resources? There are lots of helpful apps for smart phones and tablets out there that you can use to make things easier and/or better.
We were going to write another "where we've been" style blog post, but decided that our Apps for RVers resource page needed some updating. We replaced some defunct apps and added several new ones that we use.
A humorous post by one of the kids ...
One of life's problems is flies. House flies, fruit flies, black flies, horse flies, flesh flies (yes that is a thing. They're called that because, according to Wikipedia, they drop their kids off at Open Mammal Wound Boarding School for Young Maggots. Otherwise known as the OMWBSYM. Pronounced om-wa-bus-im.).
They are nasty and vile creatures and I wouldn't mind if they died. (*whispers* "Especially if the bats died with them." *twists fingers evilly* MWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! *clears throat* sorry about that.
Things are changing for people. I have had many parents reach out to me recently with questions about homeschooling. Parents want what is best for their kids and have concerns about the future of their kids in the traditional school system. People are wondering, homeschooling vs public schooling, what’s the best way? There is no “right” way for everyone. With all the discussions I’ve had recently, I decided to put my thoughts out in the universe about homeschooling and how it doesn’t have to be hard. Hopefully it can help anyone out there who needs it.
The key to being a homeschool family is flexibility.
We visited Assateague Island October 19, 2019. My mom wanted to see the Assateague Island Horses so we drove there when we were staying in Maryland. We stopped at the visitor center to learn about what we were going to see and things to do on Assateague Island National Seashore.
Assateague Island is a barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia.
We spent six weeks at Cove RV Resort near Lewis Smith Lake during the March to April 2020 Covid shutdowns. We spent many quiet days at our campsite, but when the weather allowed, we ventured into nature to explore. Being outside discovering new places was good for our physical health and our mood.
Our favorite way to find hiking trails in an area is ...
Two simple words - clean water. Simple, but necessary. But after seeing one YouTube video, we almost canceled our whole RV trip over this vital thing!
People are going RVing like never before. After Covid upended traditional vacations, it seems everyone is thinking camping. People who would never in a million years have considered an RV are buying them. Alluring advertisements use clever targeted propaganda to tell us how we “have” to vacation in a Covid world and how worry-free it will be.
We spent the month of May on a 10-acre farm in Southeast Georgia with some friends we met in Prince Edward Island during the summer of 2019. This family, originally from Australia, are globetrotters – they travel the world full time as a family. They soon became our friends and when Covid -19 hit and shutdowns began, both of our families were scrambling to figure out where to “stay home”.
They were already in the USA but now needed a new housing arrangement. ...
We spent the month of May on a 10-acre farm in Southeast Georgia with some friends we met in Prince Edward Island during the summer of 2019. This family, originally from Australia, are globetrotters – they travel the world full time as a family. They soon became our friends and when Covid -19 hit and shutdowns began, both of our families were scrambling to figure out where to “stay home”.
They were already in the USA but now needed a new housing arrangement. ...
We spent the month of May 2020 on a small farm in Southwest Georgia about 30 minutes north of Tallahassee, Florida. Once we knew we would be relatively close to the beach we made plans to find a beach. The timing was right as the beaches were finally open after the Covid shutdown.
We researched the area using Google Maps and found Shell Point Beach. It is a small beach directly south of Tallahassee near St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The beach is near a few vacation homes and a small boat harbor. The parking lot is next to the beach and is free.
Family adventure resort in a beautiful mountain setting.
Pipestem Resort is in the southern part of West Virginia. It is a beautiful place with beautiful scenery, stunning overlook views, trails, a beautiful river, places to lodge, places to camp, and places for great food.
How to meet other Rvers using a camping membership.
There’s more to RVing than just the destinations. There’s more to camping than just going places. Sometimes, it’s about the people. Camping and RVing don’t have to be a solitary endeavor.
RVers can save a lot of money traveling with Thousand Trails. But is it worth it?
Thousand Trails is often explained as “like a timeshare, but for RVs”. You buy a membership (perhaps addons) allowing you to “camp” periodically or exclusively, generally without further costs. You can save a LOT if you are in it for years, but your pursuit of freedom and happiness could be frustrated with limited destinations and parks with bad reputations.
Camping Surrounded By Apple Trees In Massachusetts
Chasing after piglets. Camping in the middle of a beautiful apple orchard. Eating a freshly baked blueberry crisp. Climbing on board and exploring a variety of trains. Hearing the sound of the frogs from the pond right outside the door. A private pool all to ourselves.
These unique experiences we have had within the last year are thanks to our Harvest Hosts membership.
As noted on their website, Harvest Hosts is a “network of wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, and attractions that invite RVers to stay” overnight with over 1,000 locations throughout North America.
Camping at Cabot Beach Provincial Park.
Cabot Beach Provincial Park is a public beach and campground located in the western half of Prince Edward Island (PEI) Canada near Malpeque Bay. It's known as the largest park in western PEI and it's one of our favorite places we have been with its stunning scenery, peaceful camping, and wonderful beach with calm surf. The word beauty is an understatement. If you are into photography, this is the place for you.
Matt Standing in front of the Dover Hotel where General Grant secured an unconditional surrender from Confederate General Buckner.
No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. Ulysses S. Grant, February 16, 1862
Where is Fort Donelson National Battlefield and is it worth your visit?
In Western Tennessee lies Fort Donelson National Battlefield and the historic Dover Hotel. This historic spot on the map, lying just south of the Land Between The Lakes Recreation Area which spans both Kentucky and Tennessee, is the location of a significant victory of the Union Army in the American Civil War. And if you are a history buff or get nerdy about rivers, you are going to love this place - so 'yes' it's worth a visit!
Tabitha and the kids standing in front of Green Gables.
I went looking for my dreams outside of myself and discovered, it’s not what the world holds for you, it’s what you bring to it.Anne ShirleyAnne of Green Gables is a classic novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery that paints a perfect picture of what life was like on Prince Edward Island in the early 1900s. The site that gave her the inspiration for the novel has been preserved as 'Green Gables Heritage Place' and is part of Prince Edward Island National Park.
The Tent Mouse and the RV Mouse' · by Loretta Sponsler
‘The Tent Mouse and the RV Mouse’ by Loretta Sponsler is a great book for any audience, especially if you are a fan of the original Aesop fable.
It re-tells the story based on the Aesop fable ‘The City Mouse and the Country Mouse’ where ...
How To Figure Out Where To Go Now In Your RV After Coronavirus Impact
Looks like we might have to change our plan for the whole year.Matt to Tabitha
Let’s not kid ourselves, the impact of Coronavirus goes beyond today, this week, or even this month. People all over are going to be living, working, schooling, shopping, etc differently for some time, starting from just last week.
I could write about some of that stuff (and perhaps I will) but I wanted to write about changing directions (as an RVer) in a much more “where should we go” big picture, sort of way.
RV life and Coronavirus concerns.
Our family of 9 lives fulltime in an RV in a country grappling with coronavirus infections. We sold our house in the suburbs in late 2018 to move into our 5th wheel and travel fulltime to see the country.
Great right … but what about that coronavirus? How can/does a World Health Organization defined “pandemic” affect the fulltime traveler? What does COVID-19 have to do with an RVer?
We transported through time, to 1539 Florida.
De Soto National Memorial on the Gulf Coast of Florida is a step back into the 1500’s at a time and place where exploration met treasure hunting. We enjoyed a day trip to this unique national memorial on a whim when some plans fell through.
This is the site of where (and we are talking more than 450 years ago) newly instated governor Hernando de Soto made landfall for what became a very important expedition into the interior of what is now the United States. The expedition’s purpose wasn’t altruistic ...
Kids swimming in headwaters of Rock Springs at Kelly Park.
A Piece Of Paradise In The Middle Of Florida.
This beautiful natural setting was just what we needed after two weeks at Thousand Trails Orlando. Kelly Park is a County Park in Florida and Rock Springs is the natural spring that's in the park - people will use the names interchangeably.
Hiking the Fire Wave Trail at Valley of Fire State Park
Rock formations and fantastic hiking.
Valley of Fire is a beautiful and unique desert playground and photographer’s paradise. The name derives from all of the red sandstone in the area where if you look at the rocks in the right light the colors resemble fire. All that red really stands out from the surrounding rock and geological features.
Parked in the driveway of a friend in Nova Scotia.
They say it’s not what you know, but who you know. Through living on the road, our pool of “who you know” has grown in ways I never anticipated for my life. One thing that we have learned to love about traveling, in a way that’s different from a normal vacation, is the people we meet along the way or reconnect with - and we find there is no better way to do this than to moochdock.
What is moochdocking? Moochdocking is the RV equivalent of crashing at a friend’s place for a while.
We Caught Crabs For Dinner In Maryland.
A fellow RVer once said to us that “life is about experiences” – we totally agree and one of the fun parts of traveling to new places is trying new, local food.
With the high cost (and the chaos) of a family of nine going to a restaurant, we deliberately don’t eat out very often. So when we do, we look for local cuisine experiences that are regionally notable to give us a taste of the area.
I had to use a file to fix a warped hitch pin.
WHAT WAS THAT SOUND!?Matt
There was a loud pop indicating this was not a normal unhitching. Tensions were already high as we had had a few problems on our drive for the past few hours. So there we were, at the end of an already stressful day and now, to make matters worse, we had a potentially hazardous hitch situation to deal with and we were feeling defeated.
Camping among beautiful nature at Lithia Springs County Park
Beautiful campsite in natural setting in central Florida
... I called ahead to Lithia Springs which was 11 miles away to see if they had any availability. I was told they had one spot open so we hurried over. We were so relieved the moment we saw the open site. It was easy to back into, private and surrounded by beautiful vegetation.
Tabitha and the kids trying to time a jump for the camera in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC
We have been able to visit so many historical places during our first year on the road. Living history museums, National Historic Sites, historic battlefields, visitors centers, historic trails, and so much more. It has been a great way to add to our roadschooling adventures. We think that learning about history where it actually happened or seeing actual artifacts is the best way to learn for the entire family.
We have learned so many different things among which we learned about the first settlers of North America, how nuclear submarines...
We have been on the road for an entire year now (as of yesterday). I like to think that we drove around the sun.
The term adopted among fulltime travelers for the anniversary of their launch is Nomadiversary. Nomad Anniversary. For some it’s a big deal, for some it’s just a blip. I am sure some don’t even like the term … but it’s a term people use.
Time for data. From a numbers perspective how did our year play out?
There is a sense of comfort that comes with the holidays. The same traditions each year can create meaningful memories. Eating the same turkey meal at Thanksgiving has nothing do with historical accuracy but somewhere along the lines it was decided what the typical Thanksgiving meal would consist of. There is a degree of comfort to know that on one day a year many people around the country are celebrating in a similar way, hopefully blessed by being surrounded by the ones they love.
Downsize yes, but you still need some things.
When we got the idea to live in an RV, we knew nothing about RVs. We loved tent camping, but RVing is another animal entirely. Not only is there buying an RV, but there is also gear we needed (or at least wanted) to enhance our experience. I'm talking about practical stuff, stuff for safety, for fun, or - frankly - for dealing with your poop.
“Homeschooling is so much more than filling our children’s heads with facts. It’s about opening a world of endless possibilities and wonder. It’s being curious about life and letting it rub off a little. ...”
We have been untraditional for years and that includes the way we homeschool. When it was time for our oldest daughter, Lydia, to enter kindergarten we were in the process of buying our first house. Since home buying rarely works according to anybody’s timeframe, we weren’t sure where we would be on the first day of school.
The morning started out lazy - no rush to get up and get going. It was a beautiful sunny day in New Hampshire, so we did a few small loads of laundry in our washer and hung the clothes up to dry outside in the sun. We then filled our water bottles and headed off to a nearby trail we had heard about called Kilburn Crags.
Entering it into our phones, the GPS first took us to the wrong location but we followed signs that lead us to the trailhead. As we were getting out of the truck, I was quite hesitant to take the kids on the hike. The trail was overgrown and muddy at the trailhead and it looked like there were going to be ticks and mosquitos everywhere.
This is part two of my previous post about why you should take your kids traveling with you. The first part focused on the benefit to the children. In this part, I attempt to share some of the benefits that we have had as parents by having our kids with us for our travels. It’s far from exhaustive on the topic, and in reality, I have written pages and pages that I cut out of the final version to keep it post length and not book length.
Yes, traveling with your kids can be exhausting sometimes – as seen in my above photo of me being overloaded after buying the kids ice cream.
"In America there are two classes of travel - first class, and with children." - Robert Benchley
Can you travel with kids? Yes you can! Should you travel with kids? Yes you should! Will it be first class? No it won't. But, if you develop a closer connection with your kids through education and adventures, it will be better than anything first class could ever offer you.
Crazy Family Adventure is a family of 6 plus a dog who sold everything, bought an RV and have been traveling full-time around North America since May 2014
I got to meet Bryanna from CrazyFamilyAdventure.com this last March (2019). Her family has a great travel blog of their adventuers. So, when she was looking for a guest post about death valley from someone who had been there recently I jumped at the chance. If you read my last post you would have read a brief mention of the black tank issues we had while we were at Death Valley. Well, when we weren't dealing with all that unpleasantness, we were seeing the National Park.
They say that time flies when you are having fun. After our first couple months of full time RV living, I'd have to agree with them.
I will often say to Tabitha that I feel that events that happened just last week occurred months ago because in between then and now we've had so many notable adventures and trials. Contrasting this consistent flow of new experiences (both good and bad) with my life before and it almost feels like years have gone by and not just months. I guess when you are actually trying to “live life to it's fullest”, or “make every moment count” or any of those other motivational phrases it's amazing what you can pack into a couple months. ...
Our first blog post - wait, are we bloggers now?
Hi. I am Matt Best. My wife Tabitha and I are the proud new owners of ditchingsuburbia.com. As this is our first blog post on this site, we decided it would be most prudent to have our first post be just about who we are and how we got here.
In the future, we will be posting regularly about...
MsBoyink has always been the navigator for our travels.
Many times she would climb into the passenger seat, wave vaguely out the windshield, and say "just start driving". I'd head in the general direction we wanted to go. She'd then lean the seat back, close her eyes, and begin a couple hours of intense mental processing about our exact route and destination.
Well, that's what she claimed...
“Are you guys still traveling? I miss your travel blogs.”
The above question was recently asked of us.
It’s a fair question. Sometimes I fell like we pull a “bait & switch” on you guys. We lure you in with a travel/RV theme then write about a bunch of other stuff.
Here’s the truth. A behind the scenes look at our future plans for Ditching Suburbia.
We don’t know.
We’re in a season of...
Adventure is a funny word. It can mean different things to different people. What’s it mean to you?
Dictionary.com defines adventure as:
1. An exciting or very unusual experience. 2. Participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure. 3. A bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.Dictionary.com
What’s adventure mean in...
Have you sat back and thought how our culture is designed to create cradle-to-grave consumers?
We start young. Kindergarten. Forget play. Forget outdoor time. Forget about getting physical skills like balance, coordination and strength. Because ‘This really isn’t kindergarten anymore’ - it’s the first step in a life designed around performance, productivity and...
We’re not an RVing site, although we talk about RVs.
We’re not a boating site, although we talk about boats.
We’re not a travel site, although we talk a lot about travel.
We’re not a parenting site, although we talk a lot about raising kids.
We’re not a homeschooling site, although we talk about homeschooling.
So just what is Ditching Suburbia all about anyway?
We’re not any of...
Piano lessons. Choir. Hockey. Scouts. Karate. Little League. Dance. Part of the suburban scene in America is organized activities for our kids. If parents decide to ditch the suburbs - do the kids suffer for the lack of these?
On the one hand, the over-scheduled suburban life is almost always a motivator for families to ditch the suburbs.
By the time you subtract the...