1 Undeniable Health Danger! When the RV Lifestyle is TOO MUCH of a vacation

In our interview of the week for this episode of the RV Podcast, we continue our profile of various YouTube influencers by introducing you to Christine and Aaron, of IreneIronFitness.com, who do online fitness, health, and nutritional coaching as they travel North America in their Class B RV.  

We’ll learn some tricks about how to get more food in those small RV refrigerators, what foods to eat while on the road and some easy ways to get and stay fit. Also this week, we have lots of RV news updates, your questions, and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts.

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Show Notes for Episode #290 of The RV Podcast:

WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK

We remain in Florida, with travel suspended as we wait for the crisis to ease and the all-clear is signaled for our RV adventuring to resume.

SUPER B SHOW TO GO ONLINE
This is the week we were scheduled to be on the road, headed to Phoenix and the annual Super B show of small motorhomes, a premier event where the latest Class B, B+, and C motorhomes are on display. Like all other such shows and events, this year's physical show was canceled but LaMesa RV, the show's sponsor, is taking the Super B show online, with a virtual show scheduled to start this Thursday, April 16.

The online version of the show will feature detailed video tours of a different motorhome every day through the end of the month, with live questions answered about the featured vehicle. Brands being shown include small motorhomes from Tiffin, Leisure Travel Vans, Pleasure-Way, Story Overland, Winnebago, and Thor. 

To “attend” the online version of the Super B Show CLICK HERE.

Before we came off the road, we had been shooting video on a number of great Florida RV destinations. We have four different stories we will be releasing over the next several weeks, with the first this coming Saturday, April 18. We will let you decide which one you want to see first. You can vote for the one you most want to see on the Community tab of our RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/roadtrekingmike/community

WE'RE HAVING LOTS OF FUN ON INSTAGRAM

Last week we announced that Bo has an Instagram Page at https://instagram.com/bothervelkhound.

This week, Jennifer launched her own page at https://instagram.com/rvlifestylejen

And Mike's is at https://instagram.com/rvlifestylemike

We invite you to follow all three as we are sharing our adventures there on a daily basis and love interacting with you!

Also, we just did a guest blog post for Leisure Travel Vans about working remotely, something a lot of people are doing as we’re locked down during this coronavirus pandemic.  We have been working remotely since 2012 and, as RVers who are on the road and work from our LTV Unity FX almost three-quarters of the time, we have some easy suggestions that will help you navigate all the ins and outs of not being able to physically go into the office while working from your sticks-and-bricks home.
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Read the post right here: https://leisurevans.com/blog/remote-working-tips/

This part of the podcast is brought to you by THE RV LIFESTYLE 7 DAY ADVENTURE GUIDE TRAVEL BOOKS…at https://rvlifestyle.com/books

RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK

Van lifers rent homes, move back to their parent's house, or hunker down under quarantine

What to do when you are living the van life and under quarantine? This story focuses on a few people living full-time in their van, and details how they adjusted. For some, it meant renting a home for a bit and moving out of the van. Others moved to relative's driveways. And others? They are trying to hunker down, and live 24/7 in a VERY small space. 

Wisconsin now needs to close 40 state parks after record numbers of visitors flock to the outdoors
States are starting to run into a new problem. Many closed their campgrounds long ago when COVID-19 first surfaced, but kept the park and trails open so those who live nearby could visit and practice social distancing outside. But then, people started arriving – in record numbers – causing new problems. In Wisconsin's High Cliff state park, 16,000 people visited over two days – the amount that typically comes in a month.

With such crowds, the state governor said there was no choice but to close 40 parks entirely. And this is happening elsewhere. Our friends at Campendium (click here) continue to do a great job keeping an up-to-date list of what is open and what is not as things are constantly changing.

Take this ‘test' to see how many national parks you can recognize
So as you're stuck at home, dreaming of the day you can head out to the great outdoors, here is something fun to do. Travel & Leisure has a video “test” where the name of a park is shown, along with several images, and you can test yourself to see how many you can correctly name. (And may discover a few new places you absolutely need to visit!) And while we're all dreaming, here is a link to a story Jen and I did some time back of our Top 10 National Parks of the West (click here). 

London dad and two sons go on a camping trip – in their tiny backyard
We could all use a little cheering up these days, which is why I had to share this story. It is from the United Kingdom and is a delightful read about a dad who, after having to cancel a planned trip, decided to go camping with his two young sons in their backyard or “garden” as he calls it. The family slept in a small tent, roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed the change of scenery by going camping at home. 

 This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping  

LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

QUESTION: In one of your videos you speak very favorable about the “SnapPads” you put under the hydraulic cylinders under you Leisure Van. Googled for the SnapPads for the RV that we hope to get this summer, but see there are quite a few models. Can you tell me the type you bought and where you bought it? – John

ANSWER: Try https://rvsnappad.com/ The system we have fits on the Equalizer brand jacks we have on out 2019 Leisure Travel Vans Unity model. The one we got from SnapPad is called the EQ Compact model. It’s for seven-inch square leveling pads. Here’s a link https://rvsnappad.com/collections/eq/products/eq-compact-4-pack

Do you have a question you’d like us to answer or a comment on the things we’re discussing? If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990.  If you are driving and can’t write it down right now, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog at rvlifestyle.com and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog.

This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, maker of quality, safe, and reliable lithium batteries that can be installed in just about every RV. Get in touch with Battle Born to find out what lithium batteries and an upgraded energy management system can add to your RV Lifestyle. Check them out at https://rvlifestyle.com/lithium

RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK – How's Your health?

In our interview of the week for this episode of the RV Podcast, we continue our profile of various YouTube influencers by introducing you to Christine and Aaron, of IreneIronFitness.com, who do online fitness, health, and nutritional coaching as they travel North America in their Class B RV.  

Here’s a video version of the Interview:

The interview of the week is brought to you by SunshinestateRVs.com, where every new  motorhome is delivered to the customer free, anywhere in the country

OFF THE BEATEN PATH REPORT   

By Tom & Patti Burkett

Lots of us, I’m sure, collected things as a child.  I had a cigar box under my bed with feathers, rocks, bits of polished glass, metal objects, and other treasures encountered in my daily wanderings.  It’s no surprise that the desire to collect extends into adulthood. Many of us RV travelers have things we look for wherever we go, be it artworks, magnets, pale ales, or imprinted pencils.  

This fascination with gathered objects was widespread in the days before television and radio, and many amused themselves by putting together a cabinet of curiosities.  Objects from the natural world were most prized, specimens of interest from biology, geology, anthropology, zoology, and botany were common.  Sometimes the items were faked, like the tail of a monkey sewn onto a fish, or the classic Western jackalope.

There are a number of places you can see these collections around the USA, two of the most notable being the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, FL, and the Woolaroc Museum near Bartlesville, OK.  These are elegant and comprehensive collections, well displayed and professionally curated.  On the other end of the spectrum are small local collections made by one person, often getting moth-eaten after a hundred or more years, and offered in dimly lit back rooms for a dollar or two.  One such can be found in Wilmington, NC, and is called the Museum of the Bizarre.

Pony up your Tom at the door (two-dollar bills are often called Toms because they have a picture of Thomas Jefferson) and step into the one-room museum.  For a few extra dollars, you can play laser tag or visit the hall of mirrors.  Wind your way through the dimly lit, somewhat dusty space.  Cabinets along the wall feature small exhibits, with larger items taking up floor space.  

There are recreated scenes from movies, life masks of actors and movie creatures, bones and fur and feathers, and fins, mixed with extraterrestrial artifacts and genuine shrunken heads.  My favorites in the collection were the walnuts carved by sailors into amazingly detailed scenes.  We paid the extra freight for the mirror maze, and it was worth it.

Some of these funny little places specialize in just one thing, like the appliance museum in Diamond, MO, and the collection of dollar bill origami at The Old Curiosity Shoppe in Seattle.  Many of the small-town museums we’ve visited began with a similar collection donated to the town or county, then expanded over the years with artifacts more specifically related to the community.  It’s surprising how many town museums have an Egyptian sarcophagus, a two-headed calf, and a splinter of wood from the USS Constitution.

Just across the street from the Museum of the Bizarre is the Wilmington Riverwalk. It runs almost two miles along the Cape Fear River, along the edge of the Market District.  Small shops, restaurants, bars, and street vendors populate the area and make this a great place to spend some time off the beaten path.

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