Living in an RV with a family of 6

[Aughinblog]

Hello fellow travelers. We are a family of 6 travelling the USA for one year looking for adventure and excitement as we spend intentional time with our children. We will be living out of our RV, happily named Penelope London! She is a 44 1/2ft Travel Supreme Select which we have outfitted for family travel. I would like to have any advice on things we might run into or stuff we should be aware of while living in a RV. This is our first time doing this so I am open to wisdom!
our blog is found here @ aughinblog.blogspot.com

Help me out with great places for families to visit, things to see, things to do and such. Any great recipes for a RV cook, well please let me know! Any great campgrounds to go to, I would love to know!

[xctraveler]

Some more ideas. If you might want to cross the border to Canada or Mexico, get passports for all before you leave. You will enter and leave Canada several times going to AK.

Heading west across Texas consider US 90 instead of I10. We do that most years.

Re PCH we have driven the length in a 36 foot gasser towing a car. If you don't mind holding people up a bit it is a great drive, sloow. We continued up 101 through OR on our way to AK. For more information about that than you may want check out my blog in my signature. Look starting April 2011. We left Calgary area headed north in late May and let AK headed to lower 48 early August.

We are not traveling with children so our stops are very different than yours may be. I assume you have figured out how to deal with mail and bills.

[Aughinblog]

Thank you everyone! This is such a great amount of wisdom on where to go and spend our time. We are looking for two stops between Boston and Acadia National Park that we can have fun as a family. Any suggestions that have been done before by you and your family and were great memories are appreciated! Also, we are doing the DC adventure in a few weeks and wanted to know if anyone has stayed at the cherry hill RV park?

[GreenSalsa]

Aughinblog wrote:
These are such awesome suggestions! I love reading about them and deciding where our travels are going to take us! Thank you everyone who has responded.

Thank you for the suggestions on Alaska. The corvette factory tour seems like that would be awesome! Acadia National Park is on my to do list along with Plymouth Mass and Boston. We will also be doing Cape Cod while traveling in the north east. We will come down the Canadian border and check out Niagara Falls.

I love all your suggestions! Does anyone have a one year map of their travels that they have already completed?

We full timed for 2 years in our signature rig while I attended Grad school--visited 35+ National Parks crisscrossing the US several times. I can send you some of those files if you PM me with your email address.

[BUB1988]

We travel with 4 grandchildren(ages 4 - 15) up and down the east coast.
Some area's the kids might enjoy are: Niagara Falls NY and/or Canada,
Hershey Park PA, Amish Country in PA, Smithsonian in Washington DC, Cape Cod,
Ferry ride from Delaware to New Jersey. Key West (Camp Ground Boyd's is a 5 mile bike ride).
Not East Coast but Rocky Mountain National Park, Pacific Coast Highway CA, Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park. If the kids like cars and motorcycles Barber Motor Sports in Alabama ( 5 story car and motorcycle museum with race track. White water rafting on Georgia/South Carolina. Zip lining in the panhandle of Florida. Air boat ride in the everglades in Florida.

So much to see and do on ant budget. If you are around the East Coast next summer give us a message we can meet up with your family and camp.

[J-Rooster]

This winter when traveling I-10 take Arizona Hwy. #95 exit 17 or 19 Quartzsite, AZ. and travel up the Colorado River and visit Lake Havasu City, AZ. and visit the London Bridge it's the second largest tourist attraction in AZ. then 25 miles north of LHC you can get onto I-40 which will take you to Williams, AZ. then take Hwy. #64 from Williams, AZ. to the #1 attraction in Arizona the Grand Canyon! Lots of winter fun here in AZ. P.S. I love your coach the TS is a very good choice!

[John_Wayne]

Make sure when in Mass. you go to the Plymouth plantation, Old Iron sides in Boston. Gettysburg, Smokie mountains , Dollywood (for the kids), Zion in Utah. Up the Oregon coast. Arches national park Utah, Ride the train in Durango, Jelly belly factory out of San Francisco. Cheese and Ice cream factory in Tillamock (sp) Oregon , Fort Clapston in Oregon, 49 museum in Baker, Oregon.

[slemnah]

Be careful on certain sections of the PCH. I wouldn't take the twisty part heading to Monterey in a large Motorhome. Otherwise, have a fantastic trip.

[Aughinblog]

These are such awesome suggestions! I love reading about them and deciding where our travels are going to take us! Thank you everyone who has responded.

Thank you for the suggestions on Alaska. The corvette factory tour seems like that would be awesome! Acadia National Park is on my to do list along with Plymouth Mass and Boston. We will also be doing Cape Cod while traveling in the north east. We will come down the Canadian border and check out Niagara Falls.

I love all your suggestions! Does anyone have a one year map of their travels that they have already completed?

[John_Joey]

Another thought, we do this when we're on the road. It's a real nice break from "camping."

Take a cruise. Port Canaveral is an easy place to cruise out of, and Disney cruise line goes out of there (if I'm not mistaking.) Kids will love it, and Ma and Pa get's a break/vacation also.

Since you're in an RV you can forgo all the travel cost that would have been encountered if you flew to the port.

[Tucson_Lawrence]

Congrats on your journey- we are starting a similar trip in November when I retire from the Air Force, albeit with a family of 4 instead of a family of 6.

Perhaps we'll meet along the journey.

Karen and I wish you good fortune, safe travels, and happy memories for your and your children

we'll be following your blog and will (eventually) have one as well

Lawrence

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We use www.mapquest.com for trip planning. We use www.woodalls.com to find campgrounds. We then check them out on www.rvparkreviews.com before we decide. If you stop during the week you should have no problem finding campgrounds, unless it's a holiday or a very popular tourist area. We stop around 3pm. Our don't misses: Acadia National Park Maine. Vermont and New Hampshire. Upper Peninsula Michigan. Mackinac Island Michigan. Historic sites like Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry. Yellowstone, The Tetons, Glacier National Park. Redwood Trees. Oregon Coast. Mt St Helens visitor center Washington. Oklahoma City memorial, cowboy hall of fame. Any sports halls of fame that interest your family. Factory tours (Corvette Factory in Bowling Green KY). Henry Ford museum and Ford Truck Factory in Dearborn Michigan. Washington DC. Stay at Cherry Hill Campground and take the bus to the train into DC. Don't miss the Air & Space museum Annex at Dulles airport. Fantastic Caverns in Springfield Missouri where you ride through in a jeep. Blue Ridge Parkway. Skyline Drive. Cherokee NC Unto These Hills drama is very interesting. This is just a few I could think of. There are so many. Just be flexible and enjoy!

[RayChez]

Your kids are still pretty young and probably would enjoy places like Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Universal Studios. Maybe a drive down to KeyWest. On the trip to the west coast they probably would enjoy seeing the Grand Canyon in Arizona. California has lots of things for kids that age like Magic Mountain, Disney Land, Sea World, Aquarium of the pacific, Knotts Berry Farm. Then there are places with historic attraction all over California. Hearst Castle. The Giant RedWoods between Eureka and Klamath City off hwy 101. Up into Oregon are the Sea Lion Caves North of Pacific City. There are so many things to see that you just have to sit down and select what you want.

Good luck! It seems like a fun trip.

[Ivylog]

Some random thoughts:
Join Passport America Campgrounds. www.uscampgrounds.info and www.allstays.com/campgrounds are excellent.
The 3 & 5 year old kids will not remember much of this trip.
Need to do the Grand Canyon and southern UT on the way to CA.
Early May is too early to head to AK as it will still be very cold.
I would go from OR to Yellowstone/Tetons, Glacier, Banff/Lake Louise and then on to AK at the beginning of June if you are not going to do them on the way south from AK. They will be cold too in May.

[2gypsies1]

Google "full-timing with children" and you'll get many sites with wonderful ideas. Have a great trip. Your children are very lucky!!!