When we saw our friends at Watsons Wander publish a blog post about their 2014, we wanted one too! We don’t think they’ll mind that we’re borrowing their idea and format. After all, we did help them find some pretty yummy BBQ in Gulfport, MS in 2014!
Since the start of our life as full-time RVers on February 21, 2014, these statistics describe our travels in a nutshell:
Number of States: 10
Number of Overnight Stops: 38
Where We Stayed: 1 state fairground, 1 national forest campground, 2 county parks, 4 state parks, 2 parking lots (visitor center, Lowe’s), 2 service center campgrounds, 9 military bases and 15 private campgrounds.
Free vs. Paid: Staying free isn’t our goal, but 3/38 locations we stayed in 2014 were free.
Camping Fees
Total: $7,854.00
Monthly Average: $654.50
Most Costly Month: $1195.00 (December 2014, stayed at a private campground in downtown Austin, TX)
Least Costly Month: $435.00 (June 2014, stayed at two military bases and one state park)
Nightly Average: $21.52
Natchez Trace Parkway
Cypress Swamp along the Natchez Trace ParkwayOn the first leg of our RV journey, we travelled north from Austin to Dallas, TX for my brother Adam’s wedding. Then we went east to the small town of Natchez, MS. We spent the next two weeks traveling all 444 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway. What an amazing experience!
Beautiful Chattanooga
Pardon me, boys – is this the Chattanooga Choo Choo?Arriving at the northern end of the Parkway in Nashville, TN, we made our way to Chattanooga and enjoyed a wonderful week there. Neither of us had ever visited, and we loved the river running through town, the many activities (Ruby Falls, Incline Railway, Aquarium, Rock City) and the Arts District.
The next month from April-May 2014, we made our way back to Texas before a whirlwind two weeks in Austin and my youngest brother’s college graduation.
Summer Along the Gulf Coast
The world’s largest amateur sandcastle contest in Galveston, TXThe second leg of our journey took us along the Gulf of Mexico. We celebrated the beginning of summer in Galveston before stops in New Orleans and Pensacola. We spent about a month in Florida and had a surprising breakdown.
Fun Times on the East Coast
Boone Hall Plantation outside Charleston, SCWe made so many memories going up and down the east coast from July-November 2014. Hilton Head, Charleston, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg and back down through Raleigh, Myrtle Beach and Jacksonville…I smile as the memories flood back from our the wonderful things we’ve seen, local cuisine we’ve tasted, walks we’ve taken holding hands (okay, getting sappy…).
Old Highway 19
This beautiful site all to ourselves in Sopchoppy, FL for only $15/nightWe were going to take the most straightforward route from Orlando back to Austin, but a client recommended we try Florida’s Old Highway 19 instead. We’re so glad we did! We had a county park to ourselves for a week in Sopchoppy, right on the banks of a quiet river. We had brunch at an historic hotel in Cross City. And we took a day trip to Apalachicola for some unforgettable seafood and fun street strolling (and oh, the sunset we saw on our drive!).
We’re Grateful
We had an amazing 2014. Our 2015 plans will take us west, where we know we’ll find a whole new set of adventures! Thanks for traveling with us.
-B
Love the year end review. It’s nice to see a different kind of RVing than what Alyssa and I attempted this year. How was the downtown RV park in Austin you guys stayed at? We are bringing Franklin back in mid March and we’re trying to figure out where we are going to stay!
Thanks for the kind words, @disqus_8pCTc4auEG:disqus! We loved Pecan Grove in central Austin. Not sure you’ll get a spot for mid March though – that’s SXSW and it’s probably booked solid already. We had to reserve in May to get our spot in December. 🙂
We also love McKinney Falls State Park (which we have a review about if you use the search bar). Lonestar RV is the only other alternative if you want to stay within the city. Also have a review about that spot.
Love it! Glad you borrowed our review style. Hoping to visit some of the places you went to along the east coast this summer. Happy travels in 2015.
Great review and beautiful pictures! I love the information on camping costs for the year as well as the monthly and daily averages.
I know $765/month average for camping site fees may seem like a lot of money but it’s just half of my current mortgage payment. We are anxious to get on the road ourselves. We’ll be full time in the summer of 2016. Thank you for putting in the effort to write this up and sharing your stats.
@renekipp:disqus, you’re absolutely right. It’s less than we were paying for our one bedroom apartment in Austin before we hit the road! Also important to note is that the camping line item is absolutely flexible. We could have spent much less. Depending on your lifestyle (usually Internet connectivity needs), there are a LOT of drycamping/free camping options available…especially in the western United States.
I stumbled across your blog via the FB RV Blogs group. We’ve just started off full-timing in our 13′ Scamp travel trailer and it is so helpful to see what it costs other folks in terms of camping fees. Thanks for sharing!
Hi @disqus_rw1wTnkzII:disqus! Glad you stopped by. My very best to you as you get started. I hope you’re somewhere south?
Your trip for 2014 was wonderful. I have been following you and loving everything that you post. Can’t wait for 2015 travels.
I love this blog! I wish we had done this as kid we spent most of our summers in an Rv traveling across the country. Your Rv looks beautiful