Leisure Travel Unity FX – Canned Comfort

My Turn To Drive The New Rig!

We are planning a trip that will take us from Henderson, Nevada to Ft. Lupton, Colorado via Spokane, Washington through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado! All using old highways, limited exposure to major highways. Our 2 Australian Shepherds, are also new to this smaller rig. Wish us luck.

Our plan is to utilize as many Harvest Hosts, Cabella’s and mooch docking as much as possible. Our goal is no more than 4 hours on the road per day. Pre planned meals and at least 3 – 30 minute walks with the dogs per day. They are going to be so stressed not to have their regular trip hammock. Do any of you have safety ideas for dogs in a class B+ van? We are used to pulling a rig not driving it.

Many RVs use the same brand of refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Microwave/Conduction Ovens, wiring and plumbing. We have never had or utilized an onboard generator or slide out.

Previously I would pack our Airstream and not fill it with our equipment, clothing etc. This new rig is so much smaller it takes a lot of reorganization to prepare for the trip. This was really not that much of challenge but the murphy bed is daunting. It is really heavier than we realized and the living space is impacted. We really are like newbies in many ways, especially space use with our pups too.

I was proud of myself that I did do some minor decorating in our rig to make it feel more ours.

Galley, added peel and stick tile and command strip shelf. Oh yes and paper towel holder!

Packing the galley was easier than I thought it would be. It is small but the large window and burner cover make it look larger and comfy. It makes me smile to see it and use it. When the Murphy Bed is open. The doggies can easily place their paws on the counter. Another training moment. Goodies are to be placed as far away as possible after dinner.

I do like that we do not have to go outside in the in the cold dark, rain or snow to utilize the interior for our comfort. The automatic steps are a death trap for short people with knee problems. The doggies are small and the smallest one takes a minute to prepare to hop into the rig. Once the battery had dropped and the steps did not come out. My hubby did not notice, jammed his right knee and even the doggies were challenged to go out of the rig.

All new learning experiences. In my next blog I will review what we did as far as planning and you can shake your head and laugh.

Until the next time.

More Challenges!

We came back from a 12 day cruise, after the COVID shut down we can now move around the world, kinda. This cruise was planned 3 years ago. It was a beautiful itinerary that kept changing as time passed. Wow, how to be flexible. We did learn so much about history as well as how age does effect your travel-abilities. I know that my mind doesn’t know how old I am. My bones do. But, our minds can be healthy and still adapt and learn. That was the exciting part.

We had so many hoops to jump through. Vaccines, antigen testing, re-testing and passports, excursions were cancelled, new ones made and flexibility was a must. We did see so many wonderful places, learned unknown, to us, history and even the rain and cold did not slow us down.

This was a way for us to see a world we had not experienced before. Well we have sailed on 5 night cruises, Trafalgar Tours of Europe and of course driving and pulling our Airstream CC!

As our physical abilities have changed, we changed. Due to health issues we had to go from a towable to a small class C. For me the challenge is learning to love the new way as much as I had our Airstream. Our Leisure Travel Van Unity FX to be precise. The Unity is smaller than our 27 ft Airstream. The Leisure Travel Van is 25ft total. It really is a physical and emotional shift. Funny how we connect to our vehicles and how we feel while we are in them.

We had promised ourselves that we would not drive more than 4 hours a day during our travels. Well we drove 10-11 hours. The dogs were not comfortable. We did stop every couple of hours for them to relieve themselves. We even stopped for lunch and ate in our coach after walking the dogs. This was a family event trip. We had time frames to be in different cities to see family and be home for my hubby’s work schedule.

Hopefully, this will be the last time this happens to us. A challenge to work through. I have made a list of goals for our future travels. Not on a ship but our little motorhome. We still have not been able to agree on a name that would reflect her personality and our feelings about her.

Here are a few of my goals: 1) learn healthy meal planning that will take advantage of the plates we travel through and keep a budget. Good health and new flavors are a challenge; 2) Use the tools we have to plan how to take advantage of boon docking, Harvest Hosts and with some full hookups interspersed; 3) Develope a financial stream to help augment our goals and dreams while on the road.

Do you have travel dreams/goals? Please share your goals/dreams of how you are looking to solve the puzzles. Happy Travels.

Write a comment and let me know what you think about and would like to hear more about.

Keep traveling, be healthy and enjoy your world.

Another Journey Begins

We no longer have our Canned Comfort #3. Due to health issues we traded our wonderful Airstream for a mini-motor home. A 2018 Leisure Travel Van Unity FX. No more hitching and no more iconic, warm, and cozy rolling home!

Now we have BoujiBaby! She is a new adventure, easier to get going in. No more heavy hitching and I can drive her. She takes a bit of getting used to. She is not shiny and not round but we are learning to love her too. We keep waving to other Airstreamers forgetting we are no longer silver and bright. More stealth. Our doggies are also trying to find their comfort spots.

Our first overnight was in Caliente, Nevada. A lovely little campground called Linda’s Campground. It is just behind the BLM office! Clean, quiet, friendly and great walking trails easily available.

The little town of Caliente is friendly, cute and bustling. It’s looks like there is a lot of area for ATVers and camping in the hills around the town. It has a great railroad history and the community is refurbishing the original railroad stop. Great place for a gentler place during the shoulder seasons and for us its only a couple of hours away.

Settling in for the night was a bit different. Our usual assignments, me inside Brent outside was weird. Our Phantom, tow vehicle was no where to be found! We were already in it! We have a slide out, a 16 gal propane generator, 2000 watt inverter, 400 watts of solar and a two burner propane stove, microwave and convection oven! Our CC#3 had 30-50 amp electrical for AC, two large propane tanks, 200 watts of solar and a 1000 watt inverter. Of course both rigs had fresh water, grey water and black water tanks. So kinda funny not to have my little steps, separate vehicles and different bathrooms.

I will have a sharp learning curve if I want to use the convection oven. Anyway the night was uneventful, comfortable, a little less space and storage. The doggies were confused and we are trying different ways to keep them safe and comfy while we drive.

I still miss my wonderful Airstream but will try and make BoujiBaby, BB for short, ours. Life is always full of surprises. Going to make this our special rolling home. Hope to see you on the road!