Take That Exit

Leaving the fast lane, to enjoy the view

Lake Wenatchee State Park – our first 48 hours on the road

Jun 182015



Leaving house, towing our Airstream, our new home for a year long adventure.

Oh friends. . .that last 48 hours have been so full I’m not even sure where to start. We left our home in Olympia on Tuesday, June 16 around noon. The house officially closed with the county just a couple hours later while we were heading over the mountains – it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to that home – it’s been such a place of memories for us. But we’re closing that door and opening the next one with anticipation.

Lake Wenatchee State Park - campground with our Airstream

We took our sweet time driving up to Lake Wenatchee State park getting here around 5 p.m. We have a nice pull-thru spot in the North campground. We got parked, leveled, unhitched and settled just in time to make an easy dinner.  The park is so quiet – not many campers at all. Although the spots are close together there is so much greenery it feels secluded and we look out onto a field of trees being on the outside of a loop.

Lake Wenatchee State Park hiking trail to lake

After being in the car for so long the kids were ready to run! We hiked (ran) down to the lake to get a feel for the area. The scenery is gorgeous.

View of Lake Wenatchee from the North campground at the state park

The old trees make this beach a wonderland for kiddos – so much to climb and explore!

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We hit the road full-time in a couple days!

Jun 142015



Waiting-to-LeaveStella (the Airstream) parked outside our house, waiting to hit the road.

Six months ago, when we starting put this dream into action we picked TODAY, June 14, 2015 as our launch day. We are so close! School is out for the year (check!), house is nearly empty (check!), the trailer is almost packed (check!), the first month of camp site reservations are made (check!) . . . but we need a couple more days for our house to close before we hit the road.

Our house went under contract insanely fast with a tentative closing date of June 8 – but a paperwork delay on the seller’s side has pushed things out a week. We are tentatively signing papers tomorrow, June 15 and it should close with the county on Tuesday!

If all goes as planned with house closing, we hit the road officially on Tuesday mid-morning. 

If I’m being entirely honest, the delay has been a blessing. It means we didn’t have to finish the last week of school living in an RV park. It means we’ve had extra time to get ready and some time to decompress after school ended. It means we’re not hitting the road in a hurry – but with plenty of time to check and double-check things. The key to safe RV travel is never be in a hurry – to take things slow and that will be our mantra on the road.

We could sign papers tomorrow morning and hit the road tomorrow night – but even then, it would encourage us to be a bit more rushed than we’d prefer. So we’ll get one extra night in our house and leave Tuesday. Although we’re anxious and excited to get started – we’ll have plenty of time to sleep in that trailer – so let’s just soak in the last couple days in our house and leave well-rested and ready.

Over the next couple days we’ll do safety checks on the trailer, pack the truck and pick up any last minute purchases at the store.

Our first stop is Lake Wenatchee State Park. We’ve never explored this area before – especially Leavenworth – so we’re looking forward to it.

We’d love to hear from you – what are your favorite things to do in the Lake Wenatchee State Park area? Do you have favorite restaurants or attractions in Leavenworth that we should check out? Leave a comment and let us know! 

p.s. The response from the newspaper articles has been amazing! Thank you to everyone who signed up for our newsletter, who shared tips and destination ideas and for all the virtual high-fives and encouragement. We appreciate it all!

Don’t miss an update . . . 

Featured in Tacoma News Tribune – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream

Jun 72015



Airstream-Family-Travelphoto credit: Tony Overman

We are so excited to have our story featured in the Tacoma News Tribune – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream (also included the Olympian newspaper). 

Last week we had the pleasure of visiting with columnist Larry LaRue and photographer Tony Overman. So fun to share our story – I hope it inspires other families to go after their dreams.

If you’re visiting our site because of the article and want to know more,  here are a few ways you can follow our journey:

Kids-Airstream-bedphoto credit: Tony Overman

Read the article here – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream

Welcome Queen Bee Coupons community!

Jun 12015



Airstream-full-time-travel-home

If you read my post over on the Queen Bee Coupons site this morning, welcome to our new family travel blog Take That Exit – it’s all about leaving the fast lane, so we can enjoy the view.

I’m glad you’re here. The Queen Bee website and my love for sharing my frugal living tips isn’t going anywhere. This site, Take That Exit, is just a more personal peek into our lives, following our dreams of travel and exploring with our kids. You better believe I’ll be trying to do it frugally as possible – that’s in my blood and my nature! 🙂

It’s the money-saving tips that I’ve been practicing all these years, the ones I share over on the Queen Bee Coupons site, that have allowed us the financial freedom to be debt-free on this upcoming journey. It’s the countless coupons we’ve clipped, the sales we’ve shopping, the stockpile we’ve kept, the manager markdowns we picked up, the times we did without – it wasn’t for nothing and every small savings added up.

If you want to get all the background on this journey, here are some good posts to read:

Here are some ways you can follow us via TakeThatExit.com:

I’m glad you’re here. And I hope you’ll come along with me (virtually) for this adventure!

Our monthly budget plan {tentative}

May 272015



monthly-budget--full-time-travel-airstream

Going from a regular house to living full-time in an Airstream trailer our expenses are changing considerably. Gone are the days of multiple bills for water, sewer, garbage, cable, mortgage, etc. I cannot wait to simplify in this department! While we’ve done a lot of research and have a fairly good idea of what to expect in terms of expenses, we won’t really know until we have a few months under our belt.

You can read more about how we can afford to travel full-time here.

Budgets are very personal things – and are largely dictated by personal choices. We are giving ourselves what feels like a generous budget in terms of RV travel.

Keep in mind – we intentionally paid cash for our truck and trailer – so thankfully this is not a monthly expense for us.

Camping fees – $900
These fees include electrical, water, dump fees and state park passes. We expect this to be higher during the summer when rates are increased and our options are more limited due to crowded campgrounds. Some families spend considerably less by staying at Thousand Trails campgrounds (must purchase membership) but the real savings is staying somewhere 3-4 weeks, which we don’t think appeals to us at this time.

Also, many people opt to boondock (find free camping spots off the grid) but I think initially we’ll be staying in National Parks and campgrounds – until we become more comfortable with this new-to-us nomad lifestyle. Private campgrounds, in particular, can be expensive – and I imagine we’ll stay at these more in the early part of our travel until we become more confident in boondocking or venturing out on our own.

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About Us

Family-map-photo-350 We're a family of four, ditching mainstream and hitching up our Airstream for a year of travel around the United States. Learn more about us