Finally - settling into a routine - RV-Dreams Community Forum

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Finally - settling into a routine

2riker2go · RV-Dreams Family Member

I definitely think it's normal. I don't know that it has anything to do with going FT though. I think it's more that when things get busy and crazy in life, one of the first things to go is spending energy on meals and cooking. At least that's always been my experience. Then when I realize that I've gotten out of the habit, I have to kind of rethink my priorities and get back to it. (You can probably tell that I've been there more than once.) :)

Dog Folks · RV-Dreams Family Member

You are completely normal.

You are coming out of "vacation mode" that most full timers go through in the first year.

You are now adjusting to the full time lifestyle.

Don't fret. It is still the best way to live.

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yup, you've passed the 6 month mark, vacation is over, time to get back to your 'normal' routine - whatever that will become. I think most everyone spends the 6 months shaking out their routine, travels to quickly/to far, spends more money than planned, and feel worn out, so they slow down, start getting into their groove and find that routine that works for them. And as the years go by, you will find you will adjust a little each year as you discover things you like and didn't like about how you've been traveling.

Barb

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hummmm, definitely normal. I found I cooked a lot different in our Trilogy, simpler fish filets and sweet potatoes, crock pot meals (where did you find the perfect size???), grilled sausages and found one pot spaghetti to be really good and easy. Haven't made cookies once! Poor Jesse, aka the Cookie Monster!

Now I gotta learn all over again in the Jamboree with different space, appliances & cookware. 😄
Let's not forget the recipe thread on here and add/share our good finds.

Sherry

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sherry - the new crockpot is a 4 quart Rival, bought it at Fry's Marketplace, on sale. In the old house we had a 2 quart, a small snack size and a huge 6.5 quart crockpot, none of those came with us. We kept saying we neeeded to get one and last weekend while shopping for groceries Dale wandered away and found this nice little 4 quart, with the removable crock for easy clean up. My seafood breakfast quiche is cooking as I write this, so excited to be getting back to an old favorite recipe.

Next trick is going to be figuring out where to store it so I guess that means another round of going through the kitchen cupboards, ejecting things I haven't used in 6 months realizing I probably don't need them and wondering why we brought them along. Now that I know is a perfectly normal thing to do smile

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

6 months to transition into a completely new lifestyle? I'd say normal is the word.

In the truck I used a 1 quart crock pot that I picked up at walmart. It used only 120 watts, so my little 300 watt inverter powered it just fine. It took me a while to downsize my portions for one person. Even the one quart was too much usually. I could start something about noon and have it done before I stopped for the night.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

It will all change up again in another 6 months........seems the world changes right outside the door fulltiming and you dont realize it til you step out with the morning coffee!!!

I also have a 4qt with the locking top.....it rides nice in the sink during travel time for a hot meal when its time to pull over..... you will also find 12vlt food warmers in most truckstops that are great for heating food on the road , they are not much bigger than a lunchbox but are great to pack a hot meal to pull over for!!

of course Im always looking for a reason to pull over!!........then there is always Nikki who see's a Rest area sign and thinks its Disney World!!!!

jrzygrl64 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am not on the road yet, hope to be soon, but I am expecting it to take longer than 6 months to get out of vacation mode and more into "lifestyle" mode. I have been doing a lot of reading on how different people "live" on the road, and I am sure we will find our way, as you have.

I can't hardly wait for the "new normal", whatever that ends up looking like!

Kelly

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

I find that life on the road is always presenting plenty of invitations to escape routines. That's part of the appeal of the lifestyle, things are always changing - locations, paces of life, work life balance, etc.

Some days, we have time to plan and prepare meals and enjoy 'dining'. And somedays, we've just got too much going on to be creative in that area and just eat.

For me, life on the road is not just about mobility - but embracing variety of what a day looks like.

- Cherie

manycats · RV-Dreams Family Member

Since I'm not much of a cook, our meals mostly come out of a can, a package or the freezer. When we full-timed my DH and I figured that many times it was just as cheap to eat at mom&pop, or even at chain restaurants, than to eat at home. It was hard at that time to buy just for two and we were wasting too much. The RGV in Texas was paradise, lots of little cafes and diners, Mexican and otherwise. We traveled all over the country and that was part of research - where do the locals eat?

Now that we're only "weekending", burgers, hot dogs, and sometimes pre-cooked at the S&B and microwavable. If we sit in one place for a while, out come the pots and pans but always pretty simple meals. When we full-time again it will be the same. We're easy to please.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Many think we are still in vacation mode since we don't settle down for long, except for winter.

What is fun is finding interesting ingredients and products on the road. There are still some regional differences. An example is I can only find Zatarain's Dirty Rice with Cheese in the Southeast, which tastes different than the normal mix and has no MSG. I make a casserole with it, green beans and some kind of spicy sausage (Andouille is the best). In much of the country they sell farmed raised Atlantic Salmon, vastly inferior to the more varied wild salmon available in Washington State. We have changed dinner plans after getting fresh caught Albacore Tuna on the Oregon Coast, it is best seared (fried rare) the same day. The real fun is to go into Canada and find stuff we don't have in the U.S., or go into a Mexican or Oriental supermarket. But some only go to Super Wal-Mart and look for the same old, same old.

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

bjoyce wrote:
In much of the country they sell farmed raised Atlantic Salmon, vastly inferior to the more varied wild salmon available in Washington State.

Add Dungeness Crab to that list of specialty seafood from the NW. biggrin And the best berries in the world.

Barb

jrzygrl64 · RV-Dreams Family Member

All of you who have traveled so much already should post about the different regional food that us "newbies" should look for and not miss! Bill and I love to try new things and plan go reference "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" when we travel. It would be nice to know of all your experiences also, I would never have known to look for berries (one of my favs) in the NW.

Yes, there is definitely be a NEW normal waiting for us!

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

jrzygrl64: Stop at an Alabama visitors center when you get there and ask for the brochure, "100 things to eat in Alabama before you die". You will love it. Edit: It is online, http://www.aotourism.com/images/brochures/pdf/100_dishes.pdf.

The Raspberry Festival in Lynden WA, close to the Canadian border, is a biggie in July. The area around Lynden is a major berry producer for the country.

That reminds me, watch for festivals and fairs for fun and interesting food. We have had some great times at these, including the Hyder Fall Fair, close to Thunder Bay ON on Labour Day Weekend, and the Kelseyville Pear Festival, in Kelseyville CA in September.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Thursday 30th of January 2014 10:27:47 AM

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Love finding the local fruit, late Sept or early Oct we discovered persimmons while in California, couldn't get enough of those yummy fruits. Now in AZ we're having fun with prickly pear juice.

Missing the super fresh seafood from the Northwest but will be back there in June right about time the Copper River Salmon starts coming in, yum, taste buds are already starting to water.

Looking forward to continuing to try new, local specialties, but it sure is fun to be back in a mode where we're looking at recipes and planning meals. That doesn't mean we won't still have those nights where we make a salad, throw something on the grill and call it dinner, but we've been doing that about 75% of the time since getting on the road and we were running out of creative ways to grill another chicken breast without some help from recipes.

We've had a lot of fun over the years shopping the gourmet food vendors present at many of the art shows we do, I just have to be very careful these days, I seem to find too many good things and then we're out of pantry / fridge space.

Hdrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

I would call you closer to abnormal,,,,, only 6 months to get into a routine LOL!! I know it took us longer than that. But for us part of going to this life style was to get more away from a routine anyway I guess.

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Wish we could do without a routine, but we NOT retired, so I need a routine when working. However, I've learned yet another lesson today, if I'm cooking something in the crockpot all day, move the crockpot! The most logical spot was on the kitchen counter just on the other side of my desk, stomach has been growling all afternoon. I don't need that kind of distraction again

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Oh mannnn, Copper River Salmon, it doesn't get any better. And DO let's post of local finds. We'll start: Range Cafe in Bernalillo, NM (just N of Albuquerque) Awesome, incredible green chili Mac & Cheese and Annie's a grilled cheese and wonderful fresh Asian salad. Not regional food but regional great eats!

Sherry

Grams · RV-Dreams Family Member

Where is the recipe thread?

RickandJanice · RV-Dreams Family Member

Add us to the list of those still looking for some sort of a routine. We are just 8 weeks into what we consider a full time RV lifestyle. We also retired at the same time and are still trying to "catch our breath" after working 45-50 hour work weeks for the past 35 years. I think we are still feeling like we are on vacation so need to "do something" every day. It is good to hear it may take 6 months to a year to learn to slow down a little and find a routine that works.

-- Edited by RickandJanice on Saturday 8th of February 2014 07:17:46 AM

Mark V · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a huge 6 1/2 qt. crock pot, and figure to downsize to a 4 qt. before we hit the road. But I do like the idea of being able to cook a bird or a large piece of meat, which I can do with this one. I'll have to see how big the convection oven is in whatever rig we eventually purchase. We also plan to take in as many of Guy's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives as we can along the way. I especially like the fact that he mainly features places that the average Joe, (or Jane) can afford to eat at on a semi-regular basis, without going broke.