An unexpected end to Season 3 and full-time RV life

This was definitely not the way we expected our year to end, on the immense high of finding and purchasing our dream land, then crashing to the lowest low of needing to say goodbye to our beloved cat Lily right before the holidays. We look back at the year and see a distinct demarcation between everything that happened before our return to New England and everything that happened after. It leaves us feeling like Season 3 was split in two halves, and the first half has become a bit obsolete. Now it's time to dig into our memories of the past year and try to pinpoint all that distinguished it from a "typical" travel year.

As difficult as it is to process our year, especially on camera, we wanted to share our honest thoughts with our friends, family, and RV community, all of whom have been the best support system as we've navigated all of these recent changes. As such, we decided to not do a Q&A for this recap video. Instead, we're sitting down and having a frank discussion of how Season 3 on the road changed our perspective on full-time travel. We'll be talking about how love and loss has impacted our RV life, the little/unmentioned things that made this year extra stressful, and what the future looks like for Brighter on Wheels.

Blog posts mentioned in the video:

The Most Important Lesson in RV Life

From the very beginning, we approached our RV life systematically and thoughtfully. This meant that we planned out each step of the way, did tons of research, and stayed mindful of our feelings about the situation. We had many discussions with our loved ones to assure them that we were

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

“We Can’t Keep Living Like This!” The Make-or-Break Moment

In psychology, they call it “decision fatigue.” The more decisions you have to make, the more tired your brain becomes, and the harder it gets to make quality decisions. When we made the choice to halt our launch plans for the New Year, suddenly we faced even more decisions, both

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

“They’re trying to kill us!” Tree retaliation at Village Creek State Park

We set up camp at Village Creek State Park in Arkansas, after experiencing an online booking SNAFU outside of Memphis. The experience was a pleasant surprise. We enjoyed the peace and quiet of our forested campsite, hikes on the nature trails, and games of tennis. However, not everything was sunshine

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

Challenge accepted! 4 weeks of ONLY Harvest Hosts/Boondockers Welcome

We don’t know if this is statistically true, but someone on Instagram mentioned that the 3rd year of full-time RVing seems to be the “slump.” This is the year many RVers quit and find a place to settle down, or at least start thinking about it. Of course the amount

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

Finding nostalgia in Door County, Wisconsin

We had two weeks to make our way through Wisconsin and over to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We expected a state filled with farmland, cheese, ice cream, beer, and Bavarian pretzels. True, there was a lot of all of the above, but like so many states we’ve traveled through, the stereotypes

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

A Very Merry Cherry Fest in Traverse City, MI

Our northern Midwest “loopy” was almost complete. We traveled up through Wisconsin, made a stop in Door County, then went from west to east in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, before crossing the Mackinac Bridge back down to the Lower Peninsula. The loopy was a bit of a rollercoaster. But, we had

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

An unforeseen return to one of the most comforting places in the US

After leaving Michigan, we had hoped to get our axles replaced down in Fort Wayne, but our timing didn’t line up with the axle build. Living with constant worry that our suspension will fail and force us off the road is not fun, but so far, these axles have held

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

Watkins Glen hikes - the famous Gorge Trail and more!

Watkins Glen, New York. We have had our eye on this place. In 2022, we set our sights on Watkins Glen State Park, with plans to stop there on our way back from Niagara Falls. We didn’t have solar yet, so we tried to grab one of the coveted electric

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

Wild weather welcomes us to Wisconsin

After getting our rig back from repairs, we spent a couple of nights voyaging through Illinois before settling across the border in Wisconsin. That night, this beautiful sunset greeted us. Our site backed up to a large pasture, and we felt the country vibes of America’s Dairyland. We had a

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

We took our cat on a ferry!

This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. We may receive compensation for products purchased through these links, which helps us keep our blog up and running. Thank you for your support! Traveling full-time in our RV has given us more opportunities to see family and friends all over the country,

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

A (sad) update on our trailer axles

This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a small commission for items purchased through these links. Thank you for supporting our adventures! In the debate of “leaf spring vs. torsion axles,” we have basically become the poster children for torsion axles not being superior. We have had

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

More problems we can’t escape from (HW/BW Challenge Series)

💡Don’t forget about our link to get 15% off your first year of a Harvest Hosts membership! We spent three nights living in the land of magnificent sunsets. We were happy to have clear skies for a few days, but springtime is a season of extremes, and soon more storms

Brighter on WheelsNicole Anderson

The next chapter is starting...

Brighter in NH

We’re Nicole and Anthony. After 3 years living in our RV, traveling the USA and saving money to build our dream home in NH, we’re starting our next chapter.