I live on the road in an RV with my family... any questions (1 Viewer)

[grateful zed]

How do they have relations?

omg did you even read the thread?

Damn! Was it discussed earlier? Pics?

Pic

more

 

[Zow]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

Guy takes his 3 kids on the road for 2-3 years.

Kids get to see pretty much all of the US.

Guy bangs wife in trailer with 3 kids in it.

Guy is scared of big bad liberals.

It is now all about Otis.

Soon to be all about Woz.

 

[Otis]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

High degree of sensitivity in here to skimming. Tread lightly.

 

[McGarnicle]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

Kids who play xbox are lazy entitled brats. Kids who play Playstation get to go to school in Europe and are more interesting. If you miss your 8th grade graduation, you will not get into a good college. Nobody likes Otis in here.

 

[Whitetail Hunter]

My opinion is that school is more for social development than for the actual learning. By that, I mean that they can learn the material anywhere--i.e. at home or at any number of schools. I really think the OP is shortchanging his kids from that perspective.

I speak to friends from middle school every week, so all of you s who don't have any friends from that time must really be socially inept.

 

[Otis]

My opinion is that school is more for social development than for the actual learning. By that, I mean that they can learn the material anywhere--i.e. at home or at any number of schools. I really think the OP is shortchanging his kids from that perspective.

Oh no you di'int.

 

[Otis]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

Kids who play xbox are lazy entitled brats. Kids who play Playstation get to go to school in Europe and are more interesting. If you miss your 8th grade graduation, you will not get into a good college. Nobody likes Otis in here.

 

[flapgreen]

Sounds fun for a couple years.

 

[NutterButter]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

Kids who play xbox are lazy entitled brats. Kids who play Playstation get to go to school in Europe and are more interesting. If you miss your 8th grade graduation, you will not get into a good college. Nobody likes Otis in here.

Don't forget almost everything in this thread thinks taking the kids rving for 2 years is just awesome except all these same people will continue to lead their cookie cutter lives.

 

[Zow]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

High degree of sensitivity in here to skimming. Tread lightly.

Hence my hesitation and question.

 

[Das Boot]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

High degree of sensitivity in here to skimming. Tread lightly.

Hence my hesitation and question.

Well, you could just read a few replies, form a negative opinion, and roll from there.

Then ask questions to fill in all the blanks that the first page would have provided.

 

[Zegras11]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

If you don't go to normal school, you are ####ed.

 

[the moops]

I speak to friends from middle school every week, so all of you s who don't have any friends from that time must really be socially inept.

Sounds more like you made friends cause the kids happened to be your neighbors or in the same class as you. Congrats

 

[Whitetail Hunter]

I speak to friends from middle school every week, so all of you s who don't have any friends from that time must really be socially inept.

Sounds more like you made friends cause the kids happened to be your neighbors or in the same class as you. Congrats

My friends were neighbors, classmates and teammates. Sounds like you struck out on all three fronts--you must be a super .

 

[pollardsvision]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

Guy takes his 3 kids on the road for 2-3 years.

Kids get to see pretty much all of the US.

Guy bangs wife in trailer with 3 kids in it.

Guy is scared of big bad liberals.

It is now all about Otis.

Soon to be all about Woz.

Actually, you left out the most controversial part of the thread (that somehow got glossed over even after story time with EG).

Lombardi claims he doesn't jerk off.

 

[lombardi]

What type of bumper stickers do you have on your RV?

Hey guys, i'm back. Wow, thread has some legs.

Going to read through and respond now. Been away since Friday afternoon. Took the kids to Venice beach yesterday, even grittier than I remember it, and spent some time with friends last couple days.

I don't really do bumper stickers.

 

[lombardi]

I'm very impressed at how well you've thought this out and executed on it; I envy your family time and think you have already given your kids a lifetime of memories, both place/experience memories and family togetherness memories.

I also really like that you're going to be home for their HS years, I think that's important.

Awesome.

Thanks

 

[lombardi]

Great thread.... Plan on doing this in a few years when last kid moves out. Just the two of us.

Grew up on Brookhurst, a few miles from the Dunes in NB.

What an awesome experience for the kids. We did a seven week, 14 ball park trip right before 9/11.

Bought a house six weeks ago. Wife and kids just unpacked the box with all the stuff from the trip. They spent about two hours going over about 100 key chains they collected and all the memories.

Hope you keep posting when you take off from the Dunes.

We collection magnets. Every place we go we have a magnet. Not sure what we're going to do with them all but we ran out of room on our stove (fridge surgace isn't metal so we stick them on our stove) and had to bag them twice. So we've got a pretty good collection going.

 

[lombardi]

Any pets?

How often do you and the Mrs. hump?

How many guns are you packing?

No pets except for my little girls stuffed animals.

I think I've given as much carnal info as I'm going to in this thread.

I don't have a gun but I actually wish I had gotten one before I left, just for safety. I've never needed it but sometimes we're really out in the boonies all by ourselves. YOu just have to watch where you are. Don't want to drive through NYC with your gun in the RV.

I was just about to ask about guns since you mentioned you are out in no mans land a lot or at sketchy camp grounds sometimes. Since you don't pack any knives, tasers or bats? I would definitely have something handy if I were to do this with my family.

There are several things you don't really plan perfectly when you start out and you take care of later on the road. Firearms isn't something easy to do once you leave your home state though. In NJ I have to personally go to local police station to get a firearm purchasing card, etc.. Hasn't been a problem yet, thank goodness.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

How do they have relations?

omg did you even read the thread?

 

[cstu]

I speak to friends from middle school every week, so all of you s who don't have any friends from that time must really be socially inept.

Sounds more like you made friends cause the kids happened to be your neighbors or in the same class as you. Congrats

My friends were neighbors, classmates and teammates. Sounds like you struck out on all three fronts--you must be a super .

If you knew my neighbors, classmates and teammates you wouldn't want to be friends with them either.

 

[lombardi]

Being home schooled until high school is not an easy transition.

My kids went to school before we home schooled. We pulled them out to travel. We're just homeschooling in middle school. They've gone to elementary, my daughter will continue to go to elementary. They'll all go to high school. This is the plan at least.

I think transitioning from home school to high school is going to be a lot easier than home school to college would be. But I honestly don't know, certainly not an expert.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

How do they have relations?

omg did you even read the thread?

Damn! Was it discussed earlier? Pics?

Pic

He said he abstains, as always.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Cliff's notes on this thread? I'm trying to figure out which side to take.

Kids who play xbox are lazy entitled brats. Kids who play Playstation get to go to school in Europe and are more interesting. If you miss your 8th grade graduation, you will not get into a good college. Nobody likes Otis in here.

Wii users that go to summer camp and/or are in scouts are guaranteed admission to top 5 college.

 

[lombardi]

Do your kids miss hanging out with friends their age?

Yes and no. We actually have friends all over the country. So we've visited with friends in IA, MT, WA, OR, CA, FL, etc., who have young kids their age. We just spent a week with our freinds who own a farm in Salinas and the kids rolled around and played for a few days and we used to live in SoCal so we have lots of friends with kids her we're seeing almost daily.

Also, in the popular places and especially the summer and holiday times there are tons of kids in the RV parks. So the're always making friends and playing with other kids.

However, sometimes that's not the case. Winter in FL is like a reverse mortgage convention, we've been in parks where we actually felt unwelcome because we had kids with us. Then we've been in places where the oldies love our kids and dote on them because they miss their grandkids.

So it's a mixed bag. Sometimes we spend weeks with other kids and they have a great time. Sometimes there are tears when we say goodbye. Sometimes it's just a little lonely for them because we'll be somewhere more remote or without many other kids during school days. During these times we try to go out a lot, go to libraries, spend more time hanging out with them ourselves.

I don't know how this would affect them long term if we lived like this forever. But for two years I actually things it's been a benefit and taught them a lot about making friends, talking to adults, meeting people, and even how to entertain themselves and use their imaginations. But it's not always rainbows and rose petals.

For how long will you do this?

Strikes me as not a very good thing to do to children. Those teenage years are important years for them to be in school, develop relationships and spend time with other kids their age. I've always thought home schooling was odd.

Anyway, seems like a pretty cool thing for you, and I'd love to be able to live like that and travel, but I'd never do it while we have kids under age 18.

I honestly thing it has a lot to do with the family and the kids personalities. My kids are pretty outgoing and personable. They're able to easily make friends, talk to adults, they're pretty bright. The travelling suits them. If I had a kid serious social issues or development issues I don't know if I would do this, it could certainly exacerbate some problems.

We talk to our kids all the time about travelling, we always tell them if it gets to be too much for anyone we'll take a break or we'll stop. So far they're very happy. They express sometimes that they miss a friend or a cousin, they look forward to some of the advantages of settling down when we do stop next fall, but so far none of them want to stop.

My kids are part of our decision making. It's not a democracy but we make sure they always feel listened to and that they're contributing their opinions and that those opinions are valued. I understand why some people would be reluctant and worry about the kids, I know my mother in law does. But honestly I think what they're experiencing is pretty amazing, I wish I did something like this when I was young. THere are kids in the world with real problems. If travelling around with a loving family and visiting all of these amazing places nad people is your biggest problem in life, you're doing pretty well.

 

[lombardi]

Do you feel bad youre ruining your children's lives?

Really?

home schooling, living in trailer parks, not having any friends. Sounds like every kids dream!

Haterz gotta hate...

We actually are very sensitive to the kids needs. If you ask them about it they'll be honest about the things they miss and want when we get home but they LOVE travelling. They're not old enough to really appreciate some of it but they certainly recognize how amazing their life is right now. They all have loved the trip.

But you're probably right, I'm sure they'd be in much better hands going to public school and playing xbox all day. That way they'll fit in with the rest of society when they're older.

You don't think that's important?

Honestly, no. I've lived my entire life trying not to be limited by what most people think is normal or what's expected of me. I don't mean that like I'm some kind of rebel or freak, I just mean I like to think outside the box a little bit and it's served me really well. I don't really like to go along just to fit in. I'd like my kids to have a really independent spirit and be self sufficient and fearless. I'll take that over conformity any day.

Saying that, I have tons of friends, I think i've been a great influence in many peoples lives, and I we're certainly not "weird" we just don't always play by the rules. My kids do very well socially with people and I think there is a difference between fitting in and being able to feel relate to people, the latter is way more important. I think they're doing just fine. Not worried about their inability to keep up with the latest xbox game or sit com.

 

[lombardi]

Lombardi would you ask your wife if she would get her nails done by another person at the RV park? Between that and the hair I think my wife could make good money. And in addition to that I thought it of another business where we sell snacks. You can buy bags of chips for 25 cents and then sell them for a dollar. Buy cases of soda and sell them for a dollar. I think it would easily pay for gas, food and the RV park fees. Then we can bank the hair and nail money for retirement. we get a sign for the RV that lights up and says "Snips'N'Snacks" and they come knocking on our door. We could offer specials - haircut, chips and a drink for 16 bucks. I ask my wife give me one good reason why it won't work and she can't. And yet here we are sitting at home night after night.

I think some RV Parks might get upset because you're moving in on their camp store sales/concessions. Some of these places have small margins and I think you could run into trouble. I would definitely try to do this with the blessing of the Parks in some way. LIke I said, make it a nail/hair event or seminar. Charge a small fee or free and work for tips. Get something in return from RV Park like free stay.

Also, look for local fairs and festivals and maybe set up shop there and sell stuff. We're ALWAYS running across farmers markets and fairs. We ran into someone who make money mixing their own tea blends and putting htem in little mason jars iwth nice girly frilly ribbons and stuff. WE bought one (great tea). All kinds of people make a living selling stuff on the road.

I had no idea that RV parks had snack shops. Is it mostly chips and candy or do they sell hot food.

Some are very sparse and have just hte basics you may have forgotten. Bread, butter, snacks, hot dogs. Some almost have little groceries markets in them. It really is a very wide variety. RV parks aren't easy to generalize about they can be so different. Some are like resorts and some are like glorified parking lots.

 

[lombardi]

Does Ruby Sue still think Uncle Clark is Santy Claus? Is Rocky so nervous that he's still ####tin bricks, sorry, I mean , ####tin rocks?

As long as I get my Christmas bonus this year

 

[lombardi]

Do your kids miss hanging out with friends their age?

Yes and no. We actually have friends all over the country. So we've visited with friends in IA, MT, WA, OR, CA, FL, etc., who have young kids their age. We just spent a week with our freinds who own a farm in Salinas and the kids rolled around and played for a few days and we used to live in SoCal so we have lots of friends with kids her we're seeing almost daily.

Also, in the popular places and especially the summer and holiday times there are tons of kids in the RV parks. So the're always making friends and playing with other kids.

However, sometimes that's not the case. Winter in FL is like a reverse mortgage convention, we've been in parks where we actually felt unwelcome because we had kids with us. Then we've been in places where the oldies love our kids and dote on them because they miss their grandkids.

So it's a mixed bag. Sometimes we spend weeks with other kids and they have a great time. Sometimes there are tears when we say goodbye. Sometimes it's just a little lonely for them because we'll be somewhere more remote or without many other kids during school days. During these times we try to go out a lot, go to libraries, spend more time hanging out with them ourselves.

I don't know how this would affect them long term if we lived like this forever. But for two years I actually things it's been a benefit and taught them a lot about making friends, talking to adults, meeting people, and even how to entertain themselves and use their imaginations. But it's not always rainbows and rose petals.

For how long will you do this?

Strikes me as not a very good thing to do to children. Those teenage years are important years for them to be in school, develop relationships and spend time with other kids their age. I've always thought home schooling was odd.

Anyway, seems like a pretty cool thing for you, and I'd love to be able to live like that and travel, but I'd never do it while we have kids under age 18.

I believe he's said they'll all go to school for HS.

I think you're pretty wrong on this one.

The oldest will basically miss middle school and enter HS with a lifetime of experiences and obviously a very supportive family. A transition, sure, but HS is a transition for everyone, and his oldest will enter that phase in a very good place.

In fact, he's been learning the most important life skill for a successful HS transition while on the road: how to meet and relate to new people.

I would also guess he's got the confidence that goes along with developing those skills, and that, alone, would set him ahead of his peers in preparation for the HS transition.

I'm sure it won't all be sunshine and roses, but to say this is a bad thing overall is a pretty silly thing to say.

The big issue, I assume, will be that he'll have a hard time not wanting to blab on about his experiences and it'll be hard not to sound condescending for a while. He's going to be bored to tears trying to listen these kids, and he's going to have learn to be interested in the mundane #### most kids do. All kids have to learn this at some point though.

This is pretty close to how I see it. We've actually already talked to the kids about "talking about our trip". Travel stories are interesting to people who ask and want to know. However, some people don't want to hear you drone on constantly about all the awesome things you got to do and they didn't. Even driving around and visiting friends we've been making sure we teach them about this. But it's a good point, some people are intersted and that's totally cool. You don't want to bore them.

 

[lombardi]

Reading this now is very timely. My wife and i have been discussing doing something like this for years. We had decided against it about 8 years ago because it wouldn't have been fair to our dog Buster. Now that Buster is dead (aids just kidding) we talked about it again a few months ago but my wife doesn't want to because she has started a home business cutting hair and doesn't think she'd be able to translate the business to an RV lifestyle. I have actually argued the other way and think that people in RV parks and campsites would welcome a haircut at a fair price. What do you think. Would you pay 10 or 15 dollars for a haircut in an RV park? Where do you get your haircuts now? She says now her business is mostly friends and feels like it would be pushy to go knock on an RV door and offer a haircut. I said all you need is a sign and they would come to our door and knock. She doesn't like that either because what if she doesn't want to work at that moment they knock. She does nails too.

Good luck whichever way you go. I would only say from my experience that you want your wife entirely on board with the idea before 'winning' that debate.

She is on board. It is only about wanting to cut only friends hair and not strangers. I told her that in every barber shop it is mostly strangers and all of her friends at one time were strangers to her. She doesn't want to make small talk with people she doesnt know and says she'd feel trapped being in the rv with nowhere to go. It is the opposite of trapped as the business will be on wheels. I said if every one just did business with friends we'd all be poor. What if mcdonalds sold only to friends. We toyed with the idea of a trailer on the back of the rv that would be only for business but it will make the driving so much more difficult. It is probably because she is not confident about her hair skills and even though I am supportive I will admit she is not very good at it. Her friends mostly have long hair so she just wets it, bushes it back and cuts in a straight line at the bottom. Then they both look at it in a mirror and she trims whichever part they want her to. For Christmas this year I am going to get her nice hair scissors and maybe that will help because she still uses paper scissors. she is also nervous about having so much cash in the RV but i told her leave the security to me, smith and wesson.

Did you ever give any thought to doing something like a long vacation to see how you like it? Try to borrow something or rent something for a month? Put together a month or two worth of in place rentals or something to see if you like it, if the business works? Sort of a trial?

We travelled in the summers for a few years. We went away for 4 weeks, then 6 weeks, then we did an entire summer. We knew we would love it on the road and had no doubts when we left. But it's not for everyone.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just told the wife what a jack hole the guy with big hands, who posted he video of him cutting down trees, is being in this thread. She's on your side Lombardi.

 

[lombardi]

What kind of 5th wheel do you have? Why the 5th wheel and not a class A with a smaller pull behind car? How do you get your mail? When looking for a camp site what are some of the things that are a must have (if any)? How do you make sure you have a good connection to the web for work? What about medical?

This is google search of our rig... https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=2007+wildcat+32qbbs&oq=2007+wildcat+32qbbs&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l2.1280.5663.0.5944.25.17.3.5.4.1.374.1684.12j3j1j1.17.0....0...1ac.1.32.img..8.17.716.yAFB8RniChA

One of the big decisions on 5er vs A class was cost. Fifth wheel was much cheaper and I only have 1 engine to maintain. If you get a diesel pusher and a tow vehicle you need two oil changes, two engines nad transmissions to worry about, more tires, etc.. Plus if my truck breaks or the engine dies in my truck my house isn't disabled, I can get a new truck.

We were able to afford more space with a 5er in a our price range, we couldn't afford a new A class.

 

[lombardi]

What kind of 5th wheel do you have? Why the 5th wheel and not a class A with a smaller pull behind car? How do you get your mail? When looking for a camp site what are some of the things that are a must have (if any)? How do you make sure you have a good connection to the web for work? What about medical?

We get our mail at my dad's house, my legal residence. He forwards it about once a month to whatever campground I'm in, most let you get mail.

Finding campsites is something you get a feel for. RVParkReviews.com is invaluable, the first stop. It has all the parks and user ratings. You have to understand people like and hate parks for different reasons. Old fart may give a park a low rating becaues it caters to kids, he wants a quite mausoleum. We're a family, we want a park where the kids can ride bikes, pools or water slides are a huge plus, we like places with activities for the kids. Many people like a more resort 55+ type community. Others like really rustic outdoor type campgrounds. They may boondock a lot (camp without any hookups) or state at a lot of rustic state parks. Depends on what you want.

Most parks have wifi but most parks wifi sucks. I use a mifi, I get 20GB per month of 4G using Millenicom. I use my AT&T phone as a backup, i can tether but I don't have as high of a data cap. I usually get a connection. If not, I get up in the morning and head out to teh starbucks, work for a few hours, grab some lunch, then finish the day at a local library.

Medical is tough, I talked about it earlier. I have insurance but HMO in Jersey. I'm covered for ER but not for dr. visits.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Props to lombardi for being willing to re-enter this train wreck of a thread

 

[lombardi]

Have you visited Hawaii yet?

Nope, that's one of my 3.

Hawaii, North Dakota, and believe it or not Kentucky (should knock that one off in the spring).

Land Between the Lakes National Park in KY is pretty sweet

I'll be in KY some time this spring, I'll definitely check it out. Thanks!

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Do you drink booze?

 

[lombardi]

Do your kids miss hanging out with friends their age?

Yes and no. We actually have friends all over the country. So we've visited with friends in IA, MT, WA, OR, CA, FL, etc., who have young kids their age. We just spent a week with our freinds who own a farm in Salinas and the kids rolled around and played for a few days and we used to live in SoCal so we have lots of friends with kids her we're seeing almost daily.

Also, in the popular places and especially the summer and holiday times there are tons of kids in the RV parks. So the're always making friends and playing with other kids.

However, sometimes that's not the case. Winter in FL is like a reverse mortgage convention, we've been in parks where we actually felt unwelcome because we had kids with us. Then we've been in places where the oldies love our kids and dote on them because they miss their grandkids.

So it's a mixed bag. Sometimes we spend weeks with other kids and they have a great time. Sometimes there are tears when we say goodbye. Sometimes it's just a little lonely for them because we'll be somewhere more remote or without many other kids during school days. During these times we try to go out a lot, go to libraries, spend more time hanging out with them ourselves.

I don't know how this would affect them long term if we lived like this forever. But for two years I actually things it's been a benefit and taught them a lot about making friends, talking to adults, meeting people, and even how to entertain themselves and use their imaginations. But it's not always rainbows and rose petals.

For how long will you do this?

Strikes me as not a very good thing to do to children. Those teenage years are important years for them to be in school, develop relationships and spend time with other kids their age. I've always thought home schooling was odd.

Anyway, seems like a pretty cool thing for you, and I'd love to be able to live like that and travel, but I'd never do it while we have kids under age 18.

I believe he's said they'll all go to school for HS.I think you're pretty wrong on this one.

The oldest will basically miss middle school and enter HS with a lifetime of experiences and obviously a very supportive family. A transition, sure, but HS is a transition for everyone, and his oldest will enter that phase in a very good place.

In fact, he's been learning the most important life skill for a successful HS transition while on the road: how to meet and relate to new people.

I would also guess he's got the confidence that goes along with developing those skills, and that, alone, would set him ahead of his peers in preparation for the HS transition.

I'm sure it won't all be sunshine and roses, but to say this is a bad thing overall is a pretty silly thing to say.

The big issue, I assume, will be that he'll have a hard time not wanting to blab on about his experiences and it'll be hard not to sound condescending for a while. He's going to be bored to tears trying to listen these kids, and he's going to have learn to be interested in the mundane #### most kids do. All kids have to learn this at some point though.

Also why are we assuming the oldest will be condescending to other kids? This is a weird thread.

Did the OP say how many years total the kids will spend on the road before they settle down and go to traditional school? I may have missed it.

We were on the road a year, went home for a few monhts, back on the road for a total of about 14-16 months depending on how quickly we find our new home.

Oldest went to school through 5th grade, home school 6-8, will go to high school next year.

Young brother went through 3rd, homeschooled for 4-6, will go to high school in 2 years, may home school 7-8 but not certain.

Little girl home schooled in K, went to 1st grade (most of the year), home schooled a couple years of 1st and wnd. She'll probably go to school until middle school, then we may pull her out for a few years of home schooling before high school.

 

[lombardi]

• We've visited 24 of the 49 National Parks in the continental

What continent is Alaska on?

Sorry, Contiguous

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Don't get mad at me if you hear some guy screaming FBG, LOMBARDI.......SHOW YOURSELF!!! I'm thinking tomorrow night around 5-6??? Whatcha think??

 

[lombardi]

Do you believe this road trip will save them from the liberal indoctrination they'd receive from the public school systems?

Sniffs bait....sniff... ok, maybe a little bite

Home schooling was for travelling, we were actually relucatant. Having done it I think it was a great idea and there are a ton of other benefits.

I do think that schools, at least where I live, definitely lean left and are as much concerned with social engineering as they are with academics. More importantly I think schools are one size fits all. They expose children to things that MOST children are too young for. They often do it trying to protect the child who is experiencing those things too early in their lives because of lack of a stable home life and they're trying to fill in for absent parents. Sadly, for parents who are a stable and influential part of their children's lives, our kids are dealing with issues they don't need to deal yet and I think it steals away their innocence too young and can take away from their childhood. It's hard, how do you protect the kids who need it without infringing on the parental rights of families who don't. I don't know the answer. I just know that home schooling through middle school seems like it's working great for my family, both academically and socially.

 

[lombardi]

Hi, Justice Thomas.

That's funny, I actually thought I saw him once. REALLY nice Rv in a pretty nice resort, nicer than our normal digs. Older black guy who looked a lot like his honorable Mr. Thomas. I was telling my dad I thought I was camping next to him and was going to go over and offer him some advice on the upcoming docket. I got a better look the next day and it wasn't him. Pretty good resemblance though.

Are you teaching your kids your racist stereotype that every black guy is probably just some Supreme Court justice?

Of course not. We're just teaching them that people of the same non-white races all look alike.

 

[lombardi]

I guess two years ain't so bad then.

Do you worry about your kids falling behind in school? How do you know what to teach them and how to home school them? Did you get some kind of curriculum and materials etc. to keep them "on track"?

Don't wnat to turn this into an education thread but my kids were actually ahead in school and it was a bit of a problem. Primary school is focused on "the test". School admins get a lot more bang for their buck getting the kids who scores a 50 on the test up to a 70 than he does getting the kids scoring a 95 up to 98. So much is focused on this test that there is nothing left for the bright student. We lost our principal a few years ago because she was caught fudging students test scores.

My son was reading a book every two days in school because he had so much time sitting and waiting for the slower kids in his 25+ kid class to finish. I'm not saying my kids are gifted, but they have a stable home, engaged parents, and they are definitely bright. Not everyone has those advantages but they are in the same class. So when my kids finish they sit and wait and waste time.

All of our schooling is done using curriculum. They're reading ahead of their grade levels, they're doing match 1 and 2 years above their grade levels, they're taking a high school biology course this year, my 6th grader is even hanging in and scoring 80's and 90's on the test. So my biggest worry academically was them being too far ahead. At least in high school classes are tracked. They can take a honors classes, ap classes, etc. They'll be just fine.

 

[lombardi]

Do your kids miss hanging out with friends their age?

Yes and no. We actually have friends all over the country. So we've visited with friends in IA, MT, WA, OR, CA, FL, etc., who have young kids their age. We just spent a week with our freinds who own a farm in Salinas and the kids rolled around and played for a few days and we used to live in SoCal so we have lots of friends with kids her we're seeing almost daily.

Also, in the popular places and especially the summer and holiday times there are tons of kids in the RV parks. So the're always making friends and playing with other kids.

However, sometimes that's not the case. Winter in FL is like a reverse mortgage convention, we've been in parks where we actually felt unwelcome because we had kids with us. Then we've been in places where the oldies love our kids and dote on them because they miss their grandkids.

So it's a mixed bag. Sometimes we spend weeks with other kids and they have a great time. Sometimes there are tears when we say goodbye. Sometimes it's just a little lonely for them because we'll be somewhere more remote or without many other kids during school days. During these times we try to go out a lot, go to libraries, spend more time hanging out with them ourselves.

I don't know how this would affect them long term if we lived like this forever. But for two years I actually things it's been a benefit and taught them a lot about making friends, talking to adults, meeting people, and even how to entertain themselves and use their imaginations. But it's not always rainbows and rose petals.

For how long will you do this?

Strikes me as not a very good thing to do to children. Those teenage years are important years for them to be in school, develop relationships and spend time with other kids their age. I've always thought home schooling was odd.

Anyway, seems like a pretty cool thing for you, and I'd love to be able to live like that and travel, but I'd never do it while we have kids under age 18.

I believe he's said they'll all go to school for HS.I think you're pretty wrong on this one.

The oldest will basically miss middle school and enter HS with a lifetime of experiences and obviously a very supportive family. A transition, sure, but HS is a transition for everyone, and his oldest will enter that phase in a very good place.

In fact, he's been learning the most important life skill for a successful HS transition while on the road: how to meet and relate to new people.

I would also guess he's got the confidence that goes along with developing those skills, and that, alone, would set him ahead of his peers in preparation for the HS transition.

I'm sure it won't all be sunshine and roses, but to say this is a bad thing overall is a pretty silly thing to say.

The big issue, I assume, will be that he'll have a hard time not wanting to blab on about his experiences and it'll be hard not to sound condescending for a while. He's going to be bored to tears trying to listen these kids, and he's going to have learn to be interested in the mundane #### most kids do. All kids have to learn this at some point though.

Also why are we assuming the oldest will be condescending to other kids? This is a weird thread.Did the OP say how many years total the kids will spend on the road before they settle down and go to traditional school? I may have missed it.

Oats, how bout you read the thread.

All of the kids in my neighborhood play very little outside. They do play a giant hide and seek game, but very little else. The rest of the time is inside playing on some kind of device.

And people are saying the oldest will "come off as condescending". Not that he will be. John and steve will talk about killing #### in halo, Lombardi jr will talk about the celestial magic he experienced deep in Zion NP

I think it's great what they're doing and would love to do something similar, but in Europe. I think exposure to more culture/experiences is great!

 

[lombardi]

do you teach your kids the theory of evolution?

We teach them both what we believe, what their heritage and their parents faith teaches them. We also teach them what they would learn in school. Most importantly we teach them to think critically and to not just take for granted arguments because they're made by someone "on our side", whatever that means. That even though we believe God created the heavens and the Earth and made us in his image it doesn't mean we that every creationist or design argument is accurate or even intellectually honest. We examine evidence, we read and believe in teh Bible, and honestly it's not really important to know 100% how it all happened. We can discuss it intelligently without having to KNOW the answer. Sin and redemption and the love of God and neighbor are more important than winning evolution debates. I'm not even 100% sure which theory I believe, 7 day creation, 1000 day creation, gap theory, etc.. Doesn't matter. I know grace and so do my kids.

 

[lombardi]

Can't decide if I would love this or hate it. I love my family but I need some alone/decompressing time once in a while. Also I image it's difficult to get super crazy with the wife with the kids so close. I get that you're making sacrifices and such, just not sure it'd be for me.

Congrats on you living your life how you want to though.

Thanks. It's a trade off. There are things I look forward too once we stop but none of the things we've sacrificed are even close to worth the amazing two years we've had. We've given the kids, and ourselves, a lifetime of memories and they're not even old enough to drive yet.

Things like having childhood friends, playing a sport, or being a girl scout also creates a lifetime of memories.

They've actually done all of those things (well, boy scouts, not girls scouts) and they will again. This is only 2-3 years of their lives. I coached their soccer and basketball teams, we did ballet, boy scouts, etc.. And my son can't wait to go out for the football team and play H.S. basketball.

 

[lombardi]

If you come through north Florida this winter, we would be happy to feed you. Plenty of room to park out here, too.

We may see you sometime in Jan/Feb :thumbsup:

 

[Zegras11]

I guess two years ain't so bad then.

Do you worry about your kids falling behind in school? How do you know what to teach them and how to home school them? Did you get some kind of curriculum and materials etc. to keep them "on track"?

Don't wnat to turn this into an education thread but my kids were actually ahead in school and it was a bit of a problem. Primary school is focused on "the test". School admins get a lot more bang for their buck getting the kids who scores a 50 on the test up to a 70 than he does getting the kids scoring a 95 up to 98. So much is focused on this test that there is nothing left for the bright student. We lost our principal a few years ago because she was caught fudging students test scores.

My son was reading a book every two days in school because he had so much time sitting and waiting for the slower kids in his 25+ kid class to finish. I'm not saying my kids are gifted, but they have a stable home, engaged parents, and they are definitely bright. Not everyone has those advantages but they are in the same class. So when my kids finish they sit and wait and waste time.

All of our schooling is done using curriculum. They're reading ahead of their grade levels, they're doing match 1 and 2 years above their grade levels, they're taking a high school biology course this year, my 6th grader is even hanging in and scoring 80's and 90's on the test. So my biggest worry academically was them being too far ahead. At least in high school classes are tracked. They can take a honors classes, ap classes, etc. They'll be just fine.

They have no chance at getting into college!!! The horror..

Actually, many colleges are looking for kids that have experiences outside the "normal"

 

[lombardi]

Most people that make solid bank could save up enough money while your kids are young to take a year off and rv across the country when they get in the pre-teen years. Like lombardi did, rent out your house to cover your mortgage. A used 5th wheeler isn't that expensive. Just takes some saving and taking the plunge.

We've done a few things like this in our lives (my wife and I). There are two things we normally do.

1. "Set the date" - set the date and start planning. It's only a dream until you set a departure date. Even if we miss that date we have a goal and we work towards it and eventually get on our way.

2. "If they all say you're crazy, you're probably on the right track" - don't listen to the criticism, the "you're crazy", and all the naysayers. If you know it's what you want then do it, don't let other people run your life for you. Although there are a few very wise people in my life I usually listen to and consider whatever they have to say, the rabble are almost always wrong.

 

[lombardi]

It was only 2 years.

But he's stolen their childhoods.

Seriously. A lot of squares in here thinking that if you dont grow up in suburbia and play team sports than you ain't doing it right.Wife and I have talked about doing something similar to this. We would stay in places a bit longer though. Thought about a month or two at a time in about 10 areas over a year and a half.

Staying for a month at a time you would be amazed how cheaply you can live. OUr rent in Portland for a month was $450 plus electric. In Ferndale, Wa (Near Bellingham) it was $400 including electricity. It's $1200 + electrin in Newport Beach but that's an exception and also less than half of the cheapest house you could rent here for a month.