Exploring Tomorrows Blog
We arrived back in Pennsylvania early January, just in time for the deep freeze. We haven’t had to deal with cold winter temperatures for a few years, so waking up to -20 degree below zero wind chills was a shock to our bodies. I have to say having the condo to stay in was quite comfortable so it was a good thing that we had purchased it in the fall. Definitely good to have a home base in Pittsburgh.
Read More
Our RV christmas tree with a campground under it instead of a village
2025 has been a wonderful year for us - busy and full of change. If you have been following the blog this year, you are aware that we have had some changes. We are no longer full time RVers, and won’t be traveling quite as much. Now we are snowbirds. We purchased a 1 bedroom condo in the Pittsburgh area where we will stay in the summer and are staying in our fifth wheel in Wildwood, FL for the winter or so we thought.
Plans have to change to meet life’s necessities so we are heading back to Pittsburgh after holidays for a little while for me to have surgery. While we are not looking forward to being back north in the cold and snowy weather, it will be good to be with family. Especially this winter since both Katie and I are having surgery. Tim is going to be busy in January and February taking care of us.
We are hoping to return to Florida in March and spend a couple more months in sunny Florida. Perhaps when we return south, we will get out and do a little touring and find some new places to check out. In the meantime, we have been enjoying the warm Florida weather and spending time with friends and family here.
out to dinner with our friends Jenny and Gary
We visit Aunt Tish twice a week and get to see Tim’s sister Sue and her husband Greg at least once a week. In between, we are enjoying the RV park life and spending time with friends during this holiday season. I have definitely taken advantage of the daily exercise program at the park and try to get in a walk or two every day with Trent. Being in warmer temperatures definitely lets us be outdoors more. We are planning on attending the park’s holiday dinner on 12/22 and campfire with caroling on Christmas Eve. Of course, we will be cooking Christmas dinner at Aunt Tish’s house. We are so blessed to be able to spend time with her for the holidays.
my homemade decorations on the refrigerator
Of course I have also decorated the RV for the holidays even though I have to take it all down right after Christmas. I love looking at the little Christmas tree every evening. Even in a small space, you can find room for decorations. Ours are simple little touches in the living area of the fifth wheel. Hopefully you enjoy the pictures.
the shelf above the tv provides the best place for the nativity
I had to have a snowman corner and it was a great place to highlight the christmas card Katie and rosie sent us.
Even though we won’t be traveling as much, we still want to do some exploring especially to the states we didn’t get to yet; after all, we are still exploring our tomorrows. So far, our RV travels have taken us to 33 states which is a bit shy of our goal to see the lower 48. 15 more states to go so how do we plan to do that?
Well we certainly can’t do it with the fifth wheel without needing to pay someone to move it for us. So we have to think outside the box and look at alternatives. Initially we thought we would stay in motels and still get in a trip spring and fall as we travel between Pennsylvania and Florida. We also discussed a possible train trip but both of those options are a lot more expensive than RV travel. So without buying another trailer, what can we do?
Tim has been talking for a couple of years now about a project that he wanted to do - building out a van as a camper van. He watches van conversion videos frequently on YouTube and shops for vans every once in a while. Well, after traveling south to Florida this year and realizing how much hotels cost, we starting discussing this idea more seriously.
Yes, you guessed it. We bit the bullet and bought a van. You knew that we couldn’t go too long without buying another vehicle!!! We found a 2017 GMC Savannah with low mileage that was already built as a camper van. Welcome Sharkey, the latest addition to the Senko fleet. Yes this van came already named!
our first look at sharkey - we traveled to vero beach to see him! I guess sharkey is a male name, right?
the senko fleet. Do you think we have enough vehicles?
The build in Sharkey is fairly basic and some of the electrical stuff wasn’t working so we got a good buy and it gives Tim the project he wants without a full build needed. We have had the van for a little over a week now and Tim has been working on it non-stop. The first thing he discovered was that the battery in the van that should run the 12 volt electric was dead. Luckily, we had some extra equipment in the fifth wheel that we didn’t really need since we aren’t traveling in it. He was able to take one of the lithium batteries from it as well as an extra inverter he had to use in the van.
We had also purchased a Bluetti power supply to use in the motorhome that we never installed. So the plan is to use that in the van also. This should give us enough power to run everything we will need in the van. It will still retain a simple build with a bed, small kitchen area with a sink and a couple electric pots for cooking, and a toilet for use when on the road. The van is not a high top so neither of us can stand in it so it is mostly for sleeping while traveling. Sort of like tent camping - we will need to cook, eat and relax outdoors.
Our plan will be to stay at state parks, Core of Engineer parks or boondock at Cracker Barrel while traveling with the van for a few days; then have some hotel stays as well for more comfort. This way we can still travel in the spring and fall and hopefully eventually get to all of those states that we haven’t visited yet. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that there aren’t any more health problems that delay our travel!
So 2026 should bring more exploring for us! I told you we weren’t finished Exploring Tomorrows! Look for more travel posts in 2026. In the meantime, we hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday season with your families.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Deb and Tim
I mentioned in the last blog post that we had big changes coming soon. At the end of October, we purchased a one bedroom “co-op” apartment in Avalon, PA. I would call it a condo but it is a co-op which is slightly different. We own a share of the building instead of a deed to a specific condo. We weren’t sure of the difference at first and have learned that the biggest benefit is that taxes are included in our HOA fee. So we don’t pay taxes separately since the building is taxed as the entire building. The HOA fee also includes gas and water. The furnace, air conditioner and water heater is all maintained by the building - another big benefit.
Read MoreWhen we first discussed living full time in the RV, we thought that we would travel for 5 years and then settle down with a place both north and south. We started working towards that long term plan 2 years ago with the purchase of the motorhome. At that time, our thoughts were to leave the fifth wheel in Pennsylvania to be our summer home and then stay south in the winter with the motorhome and still travel in it spring and fall. The travel part worked well for two years, but leaving the fifth wheel did not.
Read MoreI looked back at my posts this year and see that I have really slowed down on writing these. For that I apologize and I certainly hope to get better at it in the coming year. So what is my excuse? I could say that it has been a very busy summer but that would not really be accurate. We certainly were quite busy early on with working on the fifth wheel, but since we shipped it off for repairs, things definitely slowed down a bit. So if we weren’t busy, why haven’t I posted much?
Read MoreAfter the fifth wheel was shipped out for repair work, we finally had some free time to relax and enjoy ourselves. We went into Pittsburgh for a few days and some more doctors appointments and then headed out for a family vacation on July 4th to Baker Run Hunting and Fishing Club. This is the camp that Tim has belonged to for years located in Potter County, PA. We try to get there at least once a year. This time, Katie, Rosie, Kim, Greg and our niece Jenny and her boyfriend Dan, all joined us at the camp.
Read MoreWhat a stormy and rainy Spring we have had this year in Pennsylvania which has made it difficult to get out and do much or to get any work done on the RV. Yes ,we need to get work done on the Fifth Wheel again this Spring. When we arrived back at Shady Acres Campground where we left the Fifth Wheel for the winter, we discovered signs of rodent infestation again.
Read MoreDuring the last couple of months in Florida, we really didn’t play tourist very much. We spent most of our time just enjoying life at the RV park and participating in many of their weekly activities. We enjoyed the daily exercise with the Walk Fit program on most weekday mornings and spent time walking Trent around the park so he got some exercise too. We also joined in on game nights a few times a week and enjoyed many of the potluck meals as well as Taco Tuesdays. Participation was a great way to get to know our neighbors and make friends at our winter home.
Read MoreJanuary ended up being a cool and damp month so we didn’t get out too much to visit places to write about. The best part of the month the week that our daughters, Katie and Kim and granddaughter Rosie came for a visit. We absolutely love that they were able to join us even if the weather didn’t cooperate. Of course, we loved that we got to spend a week with Rosie who is so much fun at 3 years old.
Read MoreI hope this letter finds everyone doing well and enjoying the holiday season. We have certainly found some great places here in Florida to celebrate Christmas. Last weekend, we met Sue and Greg in Winter Garden for the Farmer’s Market. They have this huge market every Saturday and it is always enjoyable walking around and checking out the vendor booths. The main street in town reminds me of a Hallmark Movie - just the perfect street with lots of cute stores and great holiday decorations. In addition, the town has a variety of holiday events happening every weekend. Definitely a great place to get into the holiday spirit.
Read MoreWow, have we been busy since we arrived in Florida in late October! Our new annual site is quite spacious and deep so we have quite a bit of room. We have enjoyed being here from the first day and it feels like home. So far, we are happy with our decision to sign an annual lease and stay in one place for a period of time. We anticipate being here every year from November to early April. I guess we are now officially snowbirds, although we will travel a little bit in the summer to some of the states we have yet to visit. Still fulltime RVers, just doing it a little differently.
Read MoreWhen we planned our trip south to Florida, we didn’t want to go south too quickly and risk needing to leave due to a hurricane. Unfortunately, fall seems to be the time of year that some pretty severe ones come through the south. So we decided to spend a few weeks in North Carolina and hopefully enjoy some beautiful fall weather.
Read MoreIt is hard to believe that it has been a little over 5 years since we started full time RVing. To be honest, I am not sure what date to use for this anniversary. We officially moved into the RV on Labor Day, 9/2/19 but I worked remotely for a couple more weeks and didn’t officially retire until 9/20/19. We stayed at the campground for another couple of weeks finalizing work on the RV before we started traveling on 10/8/19. So, am I a month late in celebrating or do I use the October date? Either way, in a way it seems like yesterday and in another way, it feels like we have always lived this way.
Read MoreWe managed to have a little fun as summer came to an end even though we were still busy with way too many medical appointments. The good news is that all turned out well with the appointments. Tim had cataract surgery in both eyes and had a good recovery. He still has issues with bright lights and will probably need to keep using sun glasses for awhile. Also, his hand was bothering him again so he ended up getting shots that seemed to have helped. Hopefully that will last all winter.
Read MoreIt is hard to believe that it is August already and summer is almost over. Before we start getting ready to head south for the winter, I thought I would update everyone on our summer this year. So far, it is much better than last year - at least no falls and broken bones! We have still had quite a few medical appointments mostly for annual checks and tests although Tim had cataract surgery on both eyes. Those appointments and the daily eye drop regimen has been keeping us fairly busy.
Read MoreAfter a little over 8 months of traveling, we settled down at our seasonal site in Pennsylvania for the summer. It stills feels like we are travleing though since we are in and out of Pittsburgh a bit as well as made a trip back to Ohio since we have been here. We headed over to Shady Acres the first day back to hook up the batteries and start to de-winterize it. Well we discovered a bit of a mess. It appeared that mice and either chipmunks or squirrels had gotten in over the winter..
Read MoreUsually we aren’t anywhere close to a National Park during National Park week but this year we really hit the bonanza. I got to visit Zion and Bryce the week before and then as we left Utah, we headed back to Arizona to visit two more parks during National Park Week. After a quick overnight stop in Vegas, we headed south and east to Williams, AZ for a 3 night stay.
Read MoreAfter our time in Nevada, we headed further north to Utah to spend a week visiting our friends, Gerry and Mari. We initially met them during our first year traveling in the RV in Berea, KY. We spent a week as neighbors and have kept in touch over the years even though we were in different parts of the country. They settled in St. George, UT two years ago and we were excited that we could finally visit them since it wasn’t too far from Las Vegas.
Read MoreWhile in Verde Valley, we considered a visit to the Grand Canyon by taking the train from Williams, AZ. I realized that it would be a very long day to do that from where we were staying, so we discussed leaving a couple days early and staying in Williams for the train ride. I kept watching the weather since it had been cold and snowing at times up in that area. As we approached our last week in Verde Valley, the weather forecast looked great. Sunny and low 60s for Williams for a couple days in a row. We quickly booked a park in Williams for 2 nights.
Read MoreWhen we purchased our Thousand Trails membership, it included a free week at a Getaway Cabin once a year for five years. Since we are always traveling in the RV, this was a perk that we didn’t anticipate using. Our daughter Katie has taken advantage of our free cabin the past 2 years. This year, she booked the cabin at Verde Valley for the first week we were there.
Read More
We are full-time RVers making our way across the country. Subscribe to follow our journey and get tips & tricks along the way. Click Contact to subscribe for email notifications of new blog posts.
My name is Deb, I’m the one behind the keyboard. Follow us on social to stay up-to-date.
Powered by Squarespace.
