Traveling With A Porpoise

We started this journey on February 1st of 2025. We had no idea what we were doing. We were scared, but excited for this massive blank slate before us. The opportunity to go anywhere on a whim was too great to pass up.

We have been staying at campgrounds for a month now, and the adjustment phase is about halfway through at this point in my eyes. We have learned a lot, and will continue to learn from our successes and failures.

Holding tanks freezing. Temperature fluctuations. The importance of a well placed dehumidifier. Patience. Perhaps the most important lesson: Organization.

Having your black and grey water tanks freeze closed can be a day-ruiner. Note to self (and anyone who comes across this): If freezing weather is in the forecast, fill up your fresh water tank, dump all your black and grey water tanks, and disconnect your water – stow your water filter and hose. Otherwise, be prepared to use a blow dryer/heat gun on the wet bay until it thaws. If you’re fortunate enough like us, your wet bay will be somewhat enclosed – just stick a small space heater under there and monitor it every 30 minutes to 1 hour to make sure it isn’t melting your pipes.

Temperature swings are a common “feature.” During these Texan springs, you can expect a nice swing. It’s not unusual to have daytime temperatures in the mid 80s (~30 C) only to experience night chills to get down to the low 50s (10 C). This makes our living conditions a bit more volatile. Heaters on during the morning/evening and AC blasting from noon until 4-5pm CST. Thankfully we both enjoy colder temperatures when it comes to sleeping.

When living in an RV, dehumidifiers are your best tool. Water is your greatest enemy and should be priority number one when it comes to protecting yourself and your environment. Water has a nasty habit of getting in places it shouldn’t, leading to mold, mildew, and rotting wood. A dehumidifier is an invaluable addition, not only for your own health – but protecting your home as well.

“Patience is a virtue” has always been a personal motto of mine. Only since moving into Dolly, has that been put to the test. Space is incredibly limited (as one can surmise). Add two people, two cats, and a large dog – you’re looking at 5 beings sharing a ~250 sqft area. Elbows are going to bump, tails will be stepped on. It takes a certain type of person to not only live in this space, but thrive. Our first month in Dolly has been amazing, challenging at times, but amazing nonetheless. This leads me to believe we fall under this umbrella of personalities that will thrive in close quarters. Only time will tell.

On the topic of small spaces – organizing your space is possibly the best way to stay sane. Everything has to have its spot. Clutter can quickly become overwhelming and disruptive. The sink is small, walking areas are narrow, countertop space is constantly fighting against you. Everything has to have its spot – it’s also constantly evolving and changing. We’ve (when I say we, Anette did 90% of the hard part) done a great job of keeping areas clear and tidy. The thing about small areas – it gets dirty/cluttered easily but it is also easy to clean and put everything away.

As of today, we have only stayed at two areas. Our first stay was at Benbrook Lake at the picturesque South Holiday Park. Our fellow travelers/campers were all very friendly and most kept to themselves. Early in the process we had been searching for a tow dolly to haul my car behind Dolly, unfortunately we hadn’t had much luck on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. Everything we found was either way too expensive or too far away. A hilarious turn of luck led us to become friends with one of the park workers named Mike. He was in fact selling a tow dolly! He is a very enjoyable man. Donning greyed dreadlocks, a thick country accent, and a personality one can only describe as “quintessential hippie dad.” He helped ease our minds to the full-timing transition from a screaming banshee to a low murmur. Mike, if you’re reading this – Thank you. We could not have asked for a better introduction into this new chapter of our lives.

The rest of our stay was spectacular. Mike had given us a recycled milk jug that he had purposed into a deer feed container. He had filled it with corn for us to feed the deer that roamed the park. Anette and I were walking Sayde when a small group – a rangale if you will – walked by. We took Sayde back to the RV and grabbed the milk jug. We did out on our best deer impression and slowly crept toward the group. As we cast out handfuls of corn their ears perked up and they happily trotted over to munch on our corn. Anette was beaming with delight. They got close enough to touch, but we knew to keep a respectful distance. The last thing we wanted was to get a greeting from a jealous buck.

Our adjustment to the small space has been bumpy but we’re getting systems in place to help us keep our sanity. Everything has its place. Everything has a purpose (aside from decorum). There is no such thing as a single purpose item in an RV. Everything has a process – from moving across the state to opening the front door, there is a certain finesse that comes with every task. In the wake of that finesse, there’s the tiniest bit of charm. That’s another thing that I’ve come to appreciate more and more – a sense of joy from the minutiae. Yes, there are some things “wrong with it.” They aren’t critical issues, but they can be annoying sometimes. Anette can be curt at times, but I just attribute that to the adjustment process. Her patience has a short half life but that’s just part of her unending charm.

There exists a program within the State and National Parks Departments, the volunteer program. They require volunteers to work a set amount of time each week. In lieu of payment, you exchange your labor for a campsite. All utilities and campground fees are waived for volunteers.

We originally had planned for me to volunteer at the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center in San Antonio, but their background check process was taking too long and wasn’t user friendly – making it very frustrating and stressful – so I decided to rescind my application. I then submitted my bid to volunteer at the Port Aransas Wildlife Refuge in Port Aransas. For those uninitiated in Texas geography, Port Aransas is a costal city on the Gulf and approximately 45 minutes from Corpus Christi by car. The wildlife refuge is about 1.4 hour trip from Corpus. I was offered the position and am currently in the process of getting my fingerprints and background check to get my official US government ID. This is the only time I will have to do the fingerprints and I believe I will only need to have a background check for each of the new sites/parks we travel to. After Corpus, I will be volunteering in the highly anticipated Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We will be staying in Corpus until the end of May, then staying in Colorado until mid October. I am excited to see what else or where else this new lifestyle will take me and my amazing partner

Safe travels on the road, and safe travels on this beautiful pebble we call home in the universe.

Be well and be kind.