RVing full time

If you’re RVing with kids, it requires ALOT of planning. After all, you can’t just “show up” at Yellowstone National Park on the fourth of July weekend and expect for them to have a full hookup RV site for you ready and waiting for you.

So as much as RVing full time is all about spontaneity, getting away from the “structured life” , and “location independence”…when push comes to shove, you’ll need to do some research, planning and preparation.

The Most Important RVing Full Time Tip

The most important thing when RVing, aside from making sure you have enough gas to get to your destination, is far and away the choices you make for RV parks.

And the best way to make sure the RV parks you are thinking if staying at are not complete dumps, we recommend checking RV park reviews on the Internet prior to booking.

Another great way to get information on RV parks is to ask your friends and have them make recommendations as well.

You can also go to RV forums and ask questions on these RVing sites as well. Campers love sharing their wealth of information! If they enjoyed a campground, then ask them which particular area of that campground would they recommend that you stay in.

Great Full Time RVing RV Park Reviews

If you are like us a bit and are more prone to flying by the seat of your pants, go online and read the reviews.

One site in particular that I used constantly was www.rvparkreviews.com. Another great RVing full time review site we love to use is yelp.com.

Between the two of them, these are two of the most popular RV campsite review sites online and has hundreds of RV park reviews available to you.

Sometimes people give recommendations for neat things to do in the area, which will help you in deciding what to do once you get there.

If for some reason, you cannot find a good RV campground on either of those sites, simply search for the campground name followed by “reviews” and more often than not, you’ll get really good information to make your RV campsite choice easier.

RV Park Review Watch Outs

Now keep in mind that when you are looking up rv park reviews, there are always going to be people with nothng better to do who somehow find the time to write bad reviews. So if you see twenty great reviews and one really bad one, then there’s not need to stay away from that RV park.

If you see multiple bad reviews however, then you may want to find another RV park.

When we were RVing full time in Springfield, Illinois, our RV park choices were a bit slim. We Googled reviews and couldn’t find many RV parks that would fit our fifth wheel except one, the KOA in Springfield.

In the review online however there were four reviews, two good and two not so good ones.

But after reading all four RV reviews, the objections they had seemed so minor, we booked it anyway. We ended up staying at that RV park for five days and had a great time.

So if the objections are relatively minor, then chances are the RV park is just fine, especially if the pictures look good.

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Mount Rushmore in the day...

...and Mount Rushmore at night!

We even got to touch the flag at the night time ceremony at Mount Rushmore:

Me, Eli and the flag lady at Mount Rushmore

While RVing full time, we also saw the Crazy Horse Monument:

The Crazy Horse Memorial

We saw Jewel Cave:

Me and Eli in Jewel Cave

The full time RV family even saw the Badlands:

The full time RV family in the Badlands

We even saw the Needles Highway:

A needle on Needles Highway

We went on a Buffalo Safari and saw hundreds of buffaloes. One almost knocked over a biker dude!

A really big buffalo at Custer State Park!

Even though all those things were a lot of fun, by far my favorite thing to do there while we are full time RVing was horseback riding.

This is us on our horses horseback riding in south Dakota:

The full time rv family on horseback!

I like horseback riding because its cool to be on your own horse and control where you go.

My horse’s name was Snowball. My brother’s horse was named Stub.

I noticed that not a lot of people know how to ride a horse, especially if they are from Massachusetts like me. We don’t have many horses to ride back home.

My friends Jack, Carly and Ty are coming to visit us in a few weeks so maybe they can read this, so they can be ready to “saddle up” when they come!

For all the rest of you, you never now when you may need to ride a horse.

Maybe you need a quick getaway and there are no cars around and its too long to walk and there just happens to be a horse nearby that you can borrow.

Well after reading this you now you will be prepared!

How to Ride a Horse When RVing Full Time…or even if you’re not RVing full time

1. How to get on the horse

• First you put your foot on the left stirrup (located on the left side of the saddle)

• Next you put your hand on the horn of the saddle (at the front of the saddle)

• Then you swing your right leg over the butt of horse then you are up on to the saddle

• Then you line up your belly button with the horn

2. How to turn

• First, you put your hand on the lowest nook on the reins, then pull the reins the way you want the horse to go

3. How to get off

• To get off you swing your right leg over the horse butt a put your leg firmly on the ground then release your foot from the stirrup.

Its not that hard so try it for yourself!

Next time you have to make a quick getaway, and the only thing around is a horse, you are now able to ride it!

Comment and tell me what you think! Have you ever ridden a horse? What was it like?

Many people thought Herbert Hoover was a failure but I don't think so!

Did you know that Herbert Hoover gave millions of tons of food to Europe after World War One which helped save millions of people’s lives?

Did you know that in the early 1900s, he was called “The Great Humanitarian”?

When we were full time RVing in Iowa, we went to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa and I learned much about this controversial President.

Lots of people think Hoover was a failure and was to blame for The Great Depression….but I don’t think so.

I learned a lot at The Herbert Hoover Museum. Going to obscure museums like this one is one of the benefits of living in an RV full time for a year. I never would have learned any of this if I was home going to camp instead of RVing full time!

Anyway, there are lots of interesting things people may not know about Herbert Hoover such as:

• He was an orphaned from both his parents at age nine and went to live with his uncle in Oregon. There he learned to love fishing just like me.

• He then put himself through college at Stanford University.

• After college, he worked as a surveyor for his very first job just like presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

So if anyone asks you what Herbert Hoover has in common with Washington and Lincoln, you’ll know!

• After college, he worked as a geological engineer for many years and made a lot of money.

• After he made all his money, he then gave up the business world so he could help people!

• After World War One, there were lots of people starving. He wanted to help, so he volunteered to help feed Europe. He saved the lives of millions of people organizing food drives and contributing his own money!

• This humanitarian effort made him very popular and opened him up for election to public office. He then worked in Washington under Presidents Harding and Coolidge.

• He won the presidential election of 1928 by a land slide. And because he was President during the Great Depression, he lost the next election by a landslide too.

I thought he was a great man because he saved millions of people from starvation and dying not just once (during World War One ) but again after World War Two!

Not many people know this but Herbert Hoover, after World War Two, he was asked by President Truman to help a starving, war torn Europe again just like he did after World War One.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post and that you will look online to see more about the interesting life of Herbert Hoover.

What do you think, was Herbert Hoover a great man? Or was he to blame for the Great Depression?

Post a comment below and let me know what YOU think!

Me in front of the Ulysses S. Grant home in Galena. My middle name is Ulysses!

We went RVing full time to Galena, Illinois and then went to Dubuque, Iowa. I have never been to either place before but I had a lot of fun.

We have gone to may places while we full time RV cross country, but Galena was special for me. I will tell you why here.

U.S Grant House

Ulysses S.  Grant was a President after the Civil War. He was also a great General who helped defeat the South to win the Civil War.

He  lived at this house in Galena after the war and got it for free from seven businessmen as a gesture of appreciation for his services in the Civil War. Ulysses had  lots of parties at his house and celebrated his election to the Presidency there.

Also I liked the design of the house. It was very beautiful with nice colors.

One interesting thing about Ulysses is that he never swore or ate chicken.

Another interesting thing I also learned about Ulysses S. Grant is even though he led thousands of men to battle, he hated the sight of blood so much that when he ate beef it had to be cooked so it was as hard and tasteless as the sole of a shoe.

Plus I like him because my middle name is Ulysses!

Downtown Galena

I thought downtown Galena was great, my dad thought it was very quaint and beautiful. We went to a hot sauce shop and he ate a hot sauce that burned his mouth so bad he couldn’t talk for an hour!

The hottest hot sauce ever!

We also had dinner in the old tannery that Ulysses worked when he was called into duty for the Civil War.  The restaurant was Green Tomatoes and it wasn’t very good at all and it cost too much.

But we were happy to eat in the store he once worked in (even though he hated working there).

Dinner and a Show in Galena

We next had dinner at One Eleven Main Street Restaurant in Galena and it was delicious. Before our meal, while my mom was with our friend Karen and my dad was talking with Uncle Andy, dad let me and my brother sit at our own table in the bar and have Shirley Temples, they were delicious!

After dinner, we saw a Mark Twain show starring Jim Post. He told funny stories about his youth and he was very kid friendly. He talked to me and Eli a lot during the show. The guy was really funny!

I had to get up to go the bathroom in the middle of the show and he stopped the whole show to wait until I got back. I’ve never peed so fast in my life!

RVing full time in Dubuque, Iowa

Karen and Uncle Andy took us to go see the new Harry Potter movie in Dubuque, Iowa, which is 10 miles from Galena. The movie was great! But first you need to read the book.

We also went to the Mississippi River Aquarium and Museum in Dubuque. The museum was great! It had a whole section on trading beaver and other furs and how water works.  I liked the water section best.

Here is me and Eli playing with some new friends at the water exhibit:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6DpQ7PuFjw[/youtube]

We loved Galena and Dubuque! You should go there.

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We saw the St. Louis Arch in St. Louis but the best was yet to come...

I really like traveling in an RV full time.

However, one of the things my brother and my Dad really like is baseball. We have gone to lots of baseball games while RVing full time.

I just don’t like baseball that much.

That all changed in St. Louis though…

The Cardinals Game

When we went full time RVng in St. Louis, we went to the Cardinals game I thought it was going to be a regular baseball game for me, but it was not! I usually don’t like baseball games but that day I had fun. Now I will tell you about the Cardinals game.

My Fourth Rally Monkey!

When I went to the Cardinals game I got my forth rally monkey (did I mention that I have a collection of them)! He is a red Cardinals rally monkey who has a bandanna that says “StL” that made it look like he had red and blue rock star hair.

Me and my new rally monkey!

The Game

When we went to our seats, it was really hot, but we found that we were:

1. In the shade
2. High up

Then the game started! The Diamond Backs were up first, but they did not score any runs.

Next up were the CARDINALS!!!!!!! They  scored a run.

The D-backs then scored a few runs and so did the Cardinals until the eighth inning, it was 6 to 5 D-backs. I was cheering like I never cheered before!

Here I am cheering and dancing:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTyhT9s1l4[/youtube]

Then Albert Pujols hit a homerun!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlsHtecsYPw[/youtube]

Then the eighth turned into the ninth, and I was desperate.

Then someone hit a double and that ended the game! And the Cardinals won!!!!

Here I am celebrating:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPEeAXkT-Ao[/youtube]

Now because of RVing full time, I am now a baseball fan! And I really like the Cardinals.

What sports do you like now that maybe you didn’ t before? Post a comment below and tell me what happened to you? Is there a game you remember when you were a kid like this one for me?

Thanks!

So when we went to Springfield, Illinois, we found ourselves only an hour away from Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals and the home of the greatest player in major league baseball not to have been found cheating with steroids or hGH…Albert Pujols.

If you don’t know who he is, Albert Pujols is an incredibly phenomenal baseball talent. Just check out some of his stats (courtesy of Wikipedia):

• 9× All-Star (2001, 2003–2010)
• World Series champion (2006)
• 3× NL MVP (2005, 2008, 2009)
• 2× NL Hank Aaron Award (2003, 2009)
• 6× Silver Slugger Award (2001, 2003–2004, 2008–2010)
• 2× Gold Glove Award (2006, 2010)
• 2001 NL Rookie of the Year
• 6× NL Player of the Month Award
• 5x NL Player of the Week Award
• 2004 NLCS MVP
• 2008 Roberto Clemente Award
• 2003 NL Batting champion
• 2009–2010 NL home run champion
• 2010 NL RBI champion

If he stays clean, he’ll most certainly be a first ballot Hall of Famer when his career is over. Let’s hope that will be the case, because both (not just my baseball loving son) are totally enamored with him…as am I. Kinda like me and Tom Brady…a little man-crush, quite possibly.

The point is that we went in our RV full time to St. Louis almost exclusively to see him play.

Sure we saw other sites like the St. Louis Arch:

We went to the top of the Arch which was very cool. The museum below the Arch however was not so great. It smelled funny and the kids were bored…in fact it was really kind of sad how the place was so dilapidated.

Through all that though, the movie on Lewis and Clark was awesome and for that movie alone, it’s worth the trip to go see it.

But I digress…back to Albert Pujols.

Suffice to say, he did not disappoint this full time RV family one bit.

If he can propel my son Eli (the non-sports fan) to go this crazy after hitting a home run that helped to win the game against the D-Backs in a walkoff, then he MUST be the greatest baseball player that ever lived!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPEeAXkT-Ao[/youtube]

Just awesome.

It sorta felt (despite the unbearable 100-plus degree heat) that we were truly in the presence of greatness that night in St. Louis. And although we as a full time RV family, could take or leave the city itself (although the people were very nice in my opinion), we would love to take Albert Pujols back with us to Boston.

Wouldn’t he look great as a Red Sox DH when Big Papi’s run is over?

After all, he is a free agent soon…just somehow keep him away from the Yankees.

Tell us what you think below by posting a comment below.

RVing full time

But what I like most is the food.

My mom and I really like to talk about what kinds of main dishes we want to order when we go to nice restaurants.

When we went to Elements in Pittsburgh, I let her pick for and I loved the meal.

However, when we went to Heaven on Seven in Chicago to celebrate our friend Dalia’s birthday (Karen’s Mom),  I was way over on the other side of the table, so I went my own way.

Me and everyone at Heaven on Seven Restaurant - look at all the hot sauces!

Heaven on Seven is a Louisiana-style restaurant which has hundreds of hot sauces all put together on a wall!

There are tons of hot sauces to choose from and my favorite one is  smoked tabasco hot sauce.

Lunch

The food that I had at Heaven on Seven was called ” Southern Fried Chicken”. It is fried chicken with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and creamy lemony gravy.

The gravy was the best I’ve ever tasted! Yuuummmmm!

Me devouring my Southern Fried Chicken with savory lemony gravy!

The gumbo was pretty terrific too……

I approve of the Gumbo too!

Dessert

What I had for dessert was a pie, but it was no ordinary pie. It was a peanut butter chocolate pie and that was one of the best desserts I have ever tasted.

The second time we went there we ordered the dessert sampler and that had 9 kinds of desserts on it! I tasted my first pecan pie and loved it, but I still think the peanut butter chocolate pie is the best.

The dessert tray at Heaven on Seven (peanut butter pie is on the upper right by the way)

Heaven on Seven is such a good restaurant! It is SO good that I begged to go there again! And we did!

Eating dinner at Heaven on Seven the second time we went!

We went there twice during our time in Chicago. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who visits Chicago, even if you’re not living in an RV full time like we are!

My favorite restaurant is Heaven on Seven!

That is my review on Heaven on Seven!

Write a comment below and tell me what you think. What was YOUR best meal ever?

At the "What you talkin about Wills?" Tower Ledge

When RVing full time, you get to see some really cool stuff, no doubt. You also end up doing some things that are normally way out of your normal comfort zone.

Go cross country for a year alone with your family, in a mechanical contraption that you have no idea how to operate?

Uhhh, no problem…fear conquered.

But there are so many more….

But isn’t a big part of living a really full life experiencing new things, doing things out of your comfort zone and “stretching” yourself?

So in that vein, one if the coolest and most frightening things we’ve done so far was going out onto “The Ledge” at the newly re-named Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in Chicago.

It’s a totally glass shelf that stands nearly 1200 feet above the streets of Chicago. they just added it in the past few years and its worth the $45 family fare to get in to see it.

For someone petrified of heights (always have been…and spiders, but that’ll be another post on another day), my knees are still weak just thinking about it!

Check it out:

The kids were less afraid as you can see…

Alex and E chillaxin at 1200 feet above the streets of Chicago

Although the kids were thrilled by this high elevation adventure, we were not as much. But we are so glad we did it.

So when RVing full time, you end up doing a lot of things that you’re no so comfortable doing.

The good news is that once you stare down fear and “just do it”…the payoff is fantastic!

Post a comment below and tell us what you think? What fears do you have that you might want to conquer at some point in your life?

I tell EVERYONE who will listen about how Pittsburgh is a beautiful city. Its clean with tons of character, history and a great skyline and now I can tell about the best dinner I ever ate…in Pittsburgh!

It was just last year (at my behest) that Ralph and I celebrated our 11th “Steel Anniversary” last year in the City of Steel.

Ummm… for those of you NOT versed in traditional anniversary gift lore, steel is the recommended gift for the 11th anniversary…just Google it if you don’t believe me!

Well we found ourselves in Pittsburgh again as I had a customer meeting there and we wanted our boys to see a city we enjoyed so much.

Add the Red Sox playing the Pirates this weekend in town and all this just happened to occur during our anniversary weekend…

Beautiful PNC Park

This anniversary year for us is #12 and the recommended traditional gift is silk and the recommended modern gift is pearl or a trip to Asia.

Hmmmm……for this #12 anniversary present and given our full time RV trek across the USA, I’m thinking that Hawaii would be a good extension of our trip.

For one thing, Pearl ( get it?) Harbor is in Hawaii and that would be like going to Asia. I mean, can’t Hawaiians “see Asia out their back window?”

(I HAD to write that!!!)

Anyway, I digress…

We celebrated our 12th anniversary with my parents and the boys at a fabulous restaurant called Elements in downtown Pittsburgh, recommended by our friend, neighbor and most importantly restaurant picking genius, Tim LaCasse. Thank you Tim!!!!!

I will always remember this anniversary night at Elements Cuisine where I truly had the best meal of my life.

Alex drinking tea at Elements

It was such a fantastic meal that I was hard pressed to let Ralph have a bite. I had the Ricotta Gnocchi with Lamb Bolognese, absolutely amazing…and to top off the meal we all ordered dessert.

Alex and I had the tempura chocolate cherries…Alex was moaning over how good it was and for a full two days after that dinner, although we had to get back on the road on our RV full time journey, both our boys begged to go back to Elements Cusine to eat again. It is amazing that Elements is also the place where both of our children actually ate cows tongue and liked it.

Now that is a memorable on its own merit never mind that hismis the very first restaurant where they have begged to return.

Elements whetted my children’s appetite for excellent food and encouraged them to try new foods. We talked about different flavors all night long and the next day too.

Although you wouldn’t think a really nice night out to dinner could be a learning experience for kids, it was. It was a great education in “fine food”, thoughtful conversation and a huge treat too.

So if we don’t get to Pearl Harbor…

…at least we did celebrate at the best restaurant in Pittsburgh.

Hats off to Justin and his crew of food wizards at Elements for the best meal I have ever had! Cheers!

The beautiful Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario

KOA Campground

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Rating: Top notch! It easily gets an A rating

• Great wireless, facilities and incredibly kid friendly.  A jumpy and indoor and outdoor pools…what can beat that?
• We only stayed two nights but had a fantastic time.
• Plus, it will always be one of the most emotionally attached RV parks we ever visit in our trip….as it was there we watched the Bruins raise  Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time in over 38 years!

The Bruins win the Cup!

Niagara Falls, Ontario

There are a hundred things to do and visit in Niagara Falls. Since we only had one day and then the all important Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to watch, we were  limited to doing three key things.

We did  (in this order):

• Journey Under the Falls
• Niagara Fury (4-D movie about how the falls were formed)
• The famous “Maid of the Mist” boat ride to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls – the highlight and we still have our bright blue ponchos as souvenirs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKlyL0pjNaM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

We arrived home with plenty of time to swim in both pools, cook and eat dinner and watch the Bruins game in our same seating positions as in game 6.

HOORAY!! Our superstitions paid off and we won!!

Niagara history:

There are 14 million visitors each year that travel to see the stunning Niagara Falls.   There is so much more to learn so please visit the many web sites including Canada’s very own “Mr. Niagara’s” blog at:

www.niagarafallstourismblog.com

What’s Up Mr. President?

Mr. Niagara (aka George Bailey) did make one mistake in his blog…..it was in his ” Niagara Falls, Still a Honeymoon Attraction” post on May 31,2011.  We really can’t fault him as he is Canadian, not American and it is our history not his!  After all, how much do we Americans really know about Canadian History? Read below and see if you can spot the error right away.

“Niagara Falls received its reputation as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” when the daughter of Aaron Burr, the 3rd president of the United States chose to honeymoon in Niagara Falls in 1801.

A few years later Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, and his bride did the same thing. Today, over 50,000 start their married life with a Niagara Honeymoon.”

That was too easy….

Who was our Third President?

And better yet who was Aaron Burr?

Reply in the comment below if you know the answer!

Question to all Sorenti relatives:

Which of our ancestors spent their honeymoon at Niagara Falls?

This one’s pretty easy too!

Repond in the comments section below if you know!