What do you do on the road to keep you entertained

[Tony's Dream]

As I grow closer to retirement and beginning my adventure, I ask myself what will I do every day?  I have seen that some people still work, or telework.  Some read, hike, and watch TV.  Some travel to locations where other vandwellers congregate.  I haver seen comments about bringing your old life with you.....TV, internet, phones, ect. 

I love traveling but I understand that you can't drive to a new locations everyday because it will cost to much in fuel.  So people travel to a given location and stay there for weeks or months.  So, what do you do all day?  If you have a partner or are solo, I am sure the activities would be different.  Please share you daily routines with us dreamers to help up along our journey.

 

[Patrick]

Geocaching is a big one for RVers

Geocaching will keep you busy with seeking geocaches and logging them online.

My wife and I have found over 5000 geocaches and it still is our favorite hobby...........though I'm far from retired.

 

[bullfrog]

Hiking and kayaking were big one for us until health issues caused us to slow down. Electronic books and fishing more so now as well as part time volunteer jobs. Off roading vehicles and viewing wildlife has and is our passion.

 

[B and C]

I have a phone, two hotspots with a booster, 2 TV's and assorted computers and tablets. I also carry a dish network receiver and controller, however it didn't get much use and I have dropped service. Thinking about selling it. I carry an extensive library of movies with me too.

Internet is great for finding that next spot to camp or what is to be found in the area. The phone is mainly for keeping in touch with family. The older we get, the more it seems there is someone we know that passes or gets sick.

I lead a very boring life when out. I like not being in the middle of a crowd or comotion (cities) and find my own company is good. I have a bad knee so can't do long hikes or climb mountains like the old days. Most of my days are watching sunrises and sunsets from the comfort of my camp chair anymore. Cooking can be a good way of spending time especially if it is something that needs simmering and stirring. There is always cleaning to do especially when in the desert. A half hour nap around 2 in the afternoon is almost mandatory any more. If no fire bans are in effect, a good bit of time can go by just processing firewood. I like traveling and usually will not spend more than a few days in a spot before moving on. New sights, sounds and smells to experience. When I find a spot I really like, I will stay the allotted time. Fishing has started to be a pastime that I like but getting licenses in different states can be expensive. I sure wish there was a national fishing license to be had.

 

[bullfrog]

Fishing Lake Powell is one of the few places either an Arizona or Utah license works and you can catch some kind of fish almost every day and be in a different location. I believe if you are camping in a Texas state park no license is required but check and a few years ago on the Gulf they even gave free lessons! Yes a national fishing license would be nice.

 

[ARVS]

We like to find all of the free things to do in each area we stop in.  We also enjoy visiting historical places.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Hiking and kayaking were big one for us until health issues caused us to slow down.  Electronic books and fishing more so now as well as part time volunteer jobs.  Off roading vehicles and viewing wildlife has and is our passion.

I have approached the game and parks commission about that very thing.  Either a national or at least a 3-4 state area permit, they seemed interested but said politics plays into it.  

Thanks for sharing your day with us.  What we do every day will play a huge part of our journey.  We are looking for things we might not do at home right now, just for the variety.  

We also have a large video collection, board games, phone, and TVs.  When you start looking at these things you have to also consider power supplies and battery recharging.  All of these things we take for granted when living in a house.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Fishing Lake Powell is one of the few places either an Arizona or Utah license works and you can catch some kind of fish almost every day and be in a different location.  I believe if you are camping in a Texas state park no license is required but check and a few years ago on the Gulf they even gave free lessons!  Yes a national fishing license would be nice.

Finding the free things to do....is that a Google search?  When at home and planning a stop somewhere, I use a program like google earth and as you zoom in points of interest pop up.  That would be something that really interests us.  thanks.

 

[highdesertranger]

I dig holes, LOL. well I prospect all over the west. every spot is different. I also throw a little rock hounding and gem collecting in there.

I have hunted and/or fished in 7 western states but the licenses have become outrageous in price.

highdesertranger

 

[kygreg]

 "the licenses have become outrageous in price."
 

Seems like Arizona might be a good candidate for an out of state fishing license. All winter, late fall, and early spring you can fish in this one state. Colorado River and Lake Powell during the coldest months and up at the higher elevations in spring and fall for just one license.

 

[bullfrog]

I mainly fish Lake Powell any more and have an Arizona license but many people trout fish the lakes and streams of both Utah and Arizona, either state licence works on all of Lake Powell. There seem to be more and larger trout in more locations in Utah, plus deer and elk are abundant there. Fishing the lower Colorado in Arizona is great until you get below Havasu as agriculture and California have created no fishing or limited fishing access as you get past Parker. Javelina and deer hunting is tough as you get closer to the border of Mexico and there seem to be more people there, some that actually hunt!

 

[MrNoodly]

Being an introvert and general social misfit, I have decades of experience entertaining myself.

 

[rvwandering]

Everyone has a different travel style so it might take a while for you to settle into what works best for you. We tend to travel slowly and see things along the way. We usually don't stay in one spot of a long time however over the last few winters we've been camping with friends that we met a earlier RTRs and staying put for a week or so at different locations. 

 Our daily routine whether we're traveling or staying put goes something like: Get up and eat breakfast then waste away the morning reading blogs, forums. and the news. Maybe watch some old TV shows on MeTV. Tony gets out his Wii and goes through an exercise routine. We usually are not ready to go anywhere until after lunch.  The rest of the day is filled with a variety of things - traveling the back roads is much more enjoyable than freeway driving plus it takes a lot longer; we go to museums, parks, take walks, and stop for everything; and visit friends and family along the way. Right now we're stationary so we're doing little repairs that we put off during the travel season plus we're enjoying the company of our friends. Evenings are spent about the same as mornings - reading, watching TV, playing games, conversation if we're with friends. 

 I started making maps with all of the places marked that we wanted to see. A lot of them are free or inexpensive. Take a look at my blog and you'll probably be able to find some things that interest you - http://rollinginarv-wheelchairtraveling.blogspot.com/

 

[Riverman]

Tony and Karen.... How do you get MeTV while traveling? The best old westerns are on MeTV, TV Land and INSP.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2 how do you get MeTV. I know you can get over the air in many places. is that how? highdesertranger

 

[rvwandering]

It's just over the air with our RV antenna so we can't get it everywhere. Here in the Quartzsite area we get NBC, CBS and a few others but not MeTV.

 

[Cammalu]

I like to go poke around and dawdle in the desert looking at rocks. Some I pick them up and bring them back to camp. Sometimes I have them cut so I can see what I found. I like looking at all the old mine areas and stone cabins strewn in the desert around Quartzsite.

I also enjoy the camaraderie in camp when I’m not out on the ATV poking around.

At night I’m in reading or watching a bit of TV.

 

[maki2]

I design and make things, then I sell them as objects, kits or patterns. That also involves creating assembly instructions and doing some social media marketing work.

I also like to read, I mostly do that on a tablet to make the print a comfortable size. If I have internet access I will then browse and gain new skills and knowledge from articles or video. Sometimes it is research for inspiration for new designs. Or just to enjoy seeing work done my other artist and artisans.

Cooking is a small hobby, I try new things out now and again but it is not in the category of passion.

Of course doing some exploring of new places, possibly doing some research about the history of that location.

I am an ambivert meaning I enjoy time on my own as well as enjoy having social contact with others.

If the budget allows I am happy to take a book into a local coffee shop and while away some time just being in a different atmosphere besides a camp site. Or I might go browse through a museum or art gallery or even just go for a walk in a town versus walking out in the wilder nature areas of camp sites.

Of course I have an infinitely long list of someday I would like to learn to do..., someday I would like to gain more skills at... one of these days I really need to make a.... I would like to revisit this old hobby I used to do and make another___ Or my friend could use a ___ and I should make it for them because they have always been good to me.

and then there are the days when I don't want to do much of anything and those are also terrific days, very relaxing.

There are always things to make that I want for myself and my home on wheels.

I am a maker at heart, always have been, always will be. Somedays I might feel restless but I always have things in mind that I can do to fill the hours of the day.

 

[boutdone]

well said,  that outlines exactly what I would like to do, well, after I recover from knee surgery. plans are to head out of Atlanta in the month of April 2020 to the southwest USA, now I know how to fill my hours. I was on the fence about getting a new Dremel tool to work on some teak I found on a shipwreck in the Caribbean many years ago.  some woodworking is ahead for me again, that is a good thing. though I will do more of the alone stuff more than look for a socializing experience.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I dig holes, LOL.  well I prospect all over the west.  every spot is different.  I also throw a little rock hounding and gem collecting in there.

I have hunted and/or fished in 7 western states but the licenses have become outrageous in price.

highdesertranger

When I was stationed at Ft Irwin CA back in the early 80s.....we were walking around on one of the ranges to do "clean up" by picking up trash and debris.  We came across a mound of what appeared to be simply rocks......but someone said it had gem stones in it that would be worth a lot of money.  Of course this was federal property so we were not allowed to pick up anything, but it was interesting to see such a site.