Tabla de contenidos para RLM020 FEB/MAR 2023 en Rootless Living

I AM WRITING THIS from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, on what should have been a restful five-day, four-night vacation. But like most of my recent vacations or business trips that have required flying and booking a hotel, I catch myself wondering why I even risk it anymore. This industry is a mess. It’s trendy to talk about all that can go wrong while RVing, and I guess we’ve been relatively lucky that most of our problems have occurred while traveling via airlines and hotels. But at least when things go bad in an RV, you’re in your home, and you can control a lot of the “What now?” moments. I was delayed a day on this trip, and the airline wouldn’t pick up the cost of the hotel…

THEY’VE BEEN NOMADIC for a year and a half after converting their 2002 Ford E450 Shuttle Bus into a home. The two were looking for a challenge and a break from their monotonous 9 to 5 lives in their home state of Florida, and living full time on the road was the answer. “We’re both nature lovers,” Sinclaire said. “We enjoy being outside and knew one day we wanted to own land and homestead, so we decided—why not explore the many natural beauties in the U.S., and along the way discover where we would want to buy land one day?” After envisioning nonstop nature and solitude, they were surprised to find their favorite part of this new lifestyle was connecting with others and making lifelong friendships. “The nomadic community is incredibly…

SINCE WE MET, we’ve walked our own path, straying away from the norms of society. We didn’t finish college or work typical 9 to 5 jobs. Our beliefs aligned beautifully, and it led us on a boundless journey of possibility. We are Michael and Tara, and after three kids and six years of a relentless home renovation, we needed a break. Our kids were at an age where memories were going to be ingrained, and experience and adventure were more important to us than the repetitive cycle of another home project. On Christmas Eve of 2020, our old neighbors and best friends showed up in our driveway wearing Santa hats and traveling in a short bus. We learned their plans that day, and it was precisely what pushed us into…

TODAY IS A travel day, so what does it look like for this family of seven? It’s a process to get our home on wheels loaded up and ready to leave. If we are traveling in the summer, we make sure to get moving early to avoid hot roads, but in the cooler months, we have a more relaxed schedule. Everyone has their own responsibility to get our home ready—some of us make beds, others clean or vacuum floors or wash dishes, and others secure everything that can fall or shift around while we’re in motion. I make sure we have plenty of healthy snacks ready for the day. We’ve been doing this for three years, so by now everyone knows exactly what their responsibility is. I fill all our…

ALTHOUGH THE VAN travel craze really took off in the millennial age bracket, inspiring us with their beautiful photos and adventures, the 50-plus crowd eventually caught the wanderlust bug and started traveling in vans too. I’m over 55. Is vanlife for me? The answer is yes, and here’s why. My partner, Bobby, and I are from Southern California, and built our own van in September of 2020. Through blood, sweat, and tears, we created our perfect adventure van, complete with a bathroom, kitchen, and king-size bed. As we shared our van build, others started asking us to build their vans, and our new company was born. People would call us boujee in our big Mercedes van, which led to our business name, Boujee Builds. Because of our age bracket, we…

Stuff You Should Know If you’ve ever wanted to know about champagne, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, true crime, and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Up First Start your day with the three biggest stories of the day—including reporting and analysis from NPR News—in 10 minutes. Everything Happens with Kate Bowler Life isn’t always bright and shiny, as Kate Bowler knows after being diagnosed with stage four cancer at 35. In warm, insightful, funny conversations, people share what they’ve learned in dark times. Not Skinny But Not Fat Amanda Hirsch shares her hot takes on entertainment news, reality TV, celebs, and pop culture, and even interviews your faves. Daily Radio Bible If you’ve ever wanted to read through the Bible in a year or want to use your driving…

ANN BRAMPTON @vanlifeann Mishaps can be much more challenging when they happen after the sun has set. Ann Brampton shared that though she tries to avoid driving at night, she got caught in an unlucky accident in Costa Rica as the sun went down. Driving with a friend in her vehicle, Anne said the two were focused on catching up instead of avoiding problems ahead. “I was utterly oblivious that Google Maps does not include a feature to avoid dirt roads—until we hit one.” Heading up a mountain in a dense forested area, Anne tried to remain hopeful. She described her 2020 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 415 CDI as a “brave girl,” because it has handled similar roads before and has good tires and a superb engine, but it doesn’t have…

HUNTER AND I were living on the East Coast in February of 2020. For seven years, my husband had been producing multiple daily podcasts while working a demanding and stressful full-time job as a pastor. We had often dreamed of focusing together on podcasting and traveling full time. It was with a mixture of hopefulness, fear, and anxiety that my husband resigned from his position and we decided to pursue what we had been mulling over in our minds for several years. We could never have foreseen that within three short weeks, the COVID pandemic would hit and sheltering in place would be our new reality. A few years earlier, charmed by the endearing qualities of older renovated Airstreams, we had found and bought a 34-foot 1988 Excella 1000 Airstream…

Alabama Hills, CA 36.58681, -118.11690 This place is a dream—unlimited dispersed camping and endless views! Tucked between Death Valley and Mammoth Lakes, there are so many cool places to park for the night. At this spot, there is plenty of room for any size rig! We chose this area because I needed service for work, so if you’re looking for a place with reception, this spot is for you! We loved hiking Mount Whitney Portal to Lone Pine Lake, which is a 6.5-mile out-and-back trail with 1,876 feet in elevation gain. There were views the entire way up and a beautiful lake view as a reward at the end. For epic shots, this spot on movie road is perfect. Fun fact: “Django Unchained,” “Iron Man,” and “Gladiator” are just a…

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@thyme.and.timber GRILLED ONION RINGS 1 Package Frozen Onion Rings, thawed Cooking Spray1 Tbsp. of your favorite dry rub Preheat the grill for low to medium-low heat. Generously spray both sides of the thawed onion rings with cooking spray and sprinkle with dry rub. Cook on each side for 7-8 minutes until golden and crispy. Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce! GRILLED BLOOMIN’ ONION 1 large onion1 egg½ tsp Worcestershire sauce¼ cup cornmeal¼ cup breadcrumbs1 ½ tsp dried oregano1 tsp garlic powder¼ tsp salt¼ tsp pepper Cooking spray or olive oil Preheat the grill to low. Cut ½ to 1 inch off the top of the onion and peel. Place the cut side down and cut straight down, all the way through and repeat every half inch around the onion. Be sure…

THE FIRST THING we did when we found out we were having twins was align our ideals and expectations. We knew right away that we wanted to minimize our consumption of baby products. Many of our friends who already had kids gave us their hand-me-down clothes, and we also found a lot of free clothes on Facebook groups. Then, when the girls were only 8 months old, we sold our belongings and moved into a 20-foot van. When it comes to babies, diapers and wet wipes are the most polluting items, so prior to giving birth, we researched extensively and decided on cloth diapering. We also heard about elimination communication, a method that uses cues and timing to help your baby eliminate over the toilet instead of in a diaper.…

ROCK THE ROAD There’s no doubt that the rock ’n’ roll genre has contributed some of the best road trip songs in history. From “Sweet Home Alabama” to “Highway to Hell,” Spinditty’s 100 Best Road Trip Rock Songs playlist will have you rocking the whole way to your next destination. LISTEN: rootlessliving.com/rockplaylist COUNTRY COLLECTION For those wide open spaces and flyover states, POPSUGAR Smart Living’s Country Road Trip Playlist has old and new songs that are perfect for every country music fan. LISTEN: rootlessliving.com/countryplaylist CHILL VIBES When you’re in a mellow mood and are looking for music to match, try out Spotify’s Chill Vibes playlist, which includes 150 songs and eight-plus hours of playtime. LISTEN: rootlessliving.com/chillplaylist INSPIRE WANDERLUST A compilation of indie, folk, and pop, Indie Folk Central’s Wanderlust; Travel…