If you are shocked to hear that we, my very indoorsy Angeleno family, went road tripping in an RV, camping in all sorts of weather and had the best time as a family, I just wanna say, ‘hard same.’ Because though I am a lifelong Girl Scout and pride myself on being able to roll with things, y’all know that I am very much a climate control kind of girl. But stars aligned in a few different ways, it came together smoothly, and was such a good growing adventure for our family… I’m so excited to get to finally share it all with you.
This trip came about for a handful of reasons. Journey with me back in time to 2021; We hadn’t travelled far from home since coronavirus first hit in the US. That means that for a kid who went on 16 flights before he was a year and a half, Asher had become very accustomed to staying close to home. It wouldn’t be a problem if so many of our friends and family didn’t still live in Louisiana, and were long overdue a visit. A dear family friend was also getting married in Hot Springs, Arkansas- and had not only invited us to the wedding, but asked Asher to be her ringbearer and we wanted so much to be there with Maggie and Frank. If we were going to the Deep South, we had family in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana cities to visit, and the idea of multiple plane flights and hotel hopping with my sweet boy who leans into routine just seemed like kind of a terrible idea.
David and I were still ruminating on how this could work without making our lives miserable, when our friend the travel mom introduced us to the fabulous team at RV share while on her retreat, and something that I thought was just going to be too logistically complicated to actually happen quickly started gelling.
Before this trip, l would have told you that RVing and all it entailed was way too much for us to handle, but I was wrong. RV share has a wide variety of privately owned RV’s available in most major cities, so it was easy for us to select just what we needed and wanted from the recreation vehicle we’d call home for 8 days. We needed to have enough room to spread out and be comfy when set up glamping lakeside in Hot Springs National Park, but nimble enough to maneuver (some of) New Orleans narrow streets. Rvshare really streamlined the process for us, helping with all our inquiries, from making sure that model we chose was properly situated to anchor Asher‘s car seat to ensuring easy communication with the owners when we had questions.
Confident Asher would thrive having one home base, we were ready for our adventure. Buckle up- the travel logistics with our neurodiverse fam were serious business. We flew from LA to Houston, where the owner delivered the RV to my cousins house. Then we (David, David did all the driving) drove us to New Orleans to see family and friends. Then it was on to Hot Springs for the wedding (with a pit stop in Jackson on the way for lunch with our girl Madi). Then back to Houston for more family time before returning the RV and flying home.
Some advice for your inaugural RV and camping trip:
Double check the list of supplies that you think you need with the list of what’s provided. As I mentioned, we picked up and dropped our RV off at family’s home in Houston, thankfully- we were grateful to raid my cousins house for extra pillows and pillowcases, towels, frying pans, and other amenities.
Bring comfort items from home! I packed one of those big IKEA zipper bags which is my sneaky trick for having as much volume as possible with minimal weight for a checked bag. And that included things like Asher’s booster seat, diapers, a power cord, cups and plates, reusable water bottles and straws, an expanded version of our picnic kit, Turkish towels, some hangers, and more.
And stock up! We stopped for a target pickup order as our first stop as we headed out of houston. Made sure we had needs and wants, snacks and such. I have friends who advise a thrift store stop to stock an rv, and a drop off back at the thrift to end the trip- our schedule was too tight to allow, but I love the idea of shopping secondhand for needed supplies.
When researching where to stay in Hot Springs, Catherine’s Landing came highly recommended and was homey and wholesome. Despite arriving after sunset (y’all know my island time management skills) we were able to settle and plug in easily. The amenities were nice, the property expansive, and the trunk or treat pop up for they had for Halloween weekend was downright impressive. And I’d say to do your research but also trust your instincts… A lot of people made it seem like emptying the RV’s brown water tank was this big gross job but it was really no big deal, and no grosser than a diaper change.
I will be 100% straight with y’all that David is an incredible driver and I am so grateful for that because I am an anxious driver and I certainly was about driving a 37’ Rv, even though it turned out to be easy. I was more comfortable when he was behind the wheel and so that’s pretty much how we did it.
Also in full transparency, the CPST we consulted told me that she advised the safest place for a toddler in a car seat is in another vehicle following the rv, though she instructed us on how to best situate Asher and his carseat in our specific RV layout. We did do that when we also had a rental car in Arkansas, but Asher rode safely in his anchored car seat with us and LOVED IT. We were relieved/delighted to find that Asher ADORED traveling in the rv, and even more so when we parked, expanded, and settled- our homebody boy loved the consistency in surroundings of our mobile home.
Another rv trip is likely in our future, and if you decide to give a road trip this way a try, let me know! Safe travels and happy trails!
love, Ravayna
