Heather, Author at A Happy Hive

Blue Valley RV park review {Walla Walla, Washington}

Shared June 30, 2015

Blue-Valley-RV-Park

After spending a week in Washington state parks (Lake Wenatchee and Sun Lakes) we headed into the city of Walla Walla, Washington. We had researched local RV parks and decided to stay at Blue Valley RV Park.

Although I love the views, wildlife, nature and vastness of the state parks, I can’t tell you how happy we were to have laundry services, wifi, cell reception, cable and nearby city services for the first time in about a week.

The Blue Valley RV Park is located super close to downtown. This was a big selling point for us as we knew we wanted to spend lots of time downtown. Located just on the opposite site of Highway 12, you could easily walk from the RV park into downtown. There is also a FREE Valley Transit Trolley that does pick-ups/drop-offs on that side of the freeway – check out route 9 and you can pick that up to head into town. It’s literally a couple minutes in a car to be immersed in downtown – it’s so conveniently located!

Although located not far from freeway – I didn’t hear the freeway once. I’m not kidding this place was so quiet. I even commented to the staff how quiet it was for being so close to the city.

Blue-Valley-RV-Park-reviews

Within the RV park, the individual spots aren’t super spacious, but they have a LOT of pull-through options, which we prefer – it makes parking so easy! I didn’t feel like we were too close to other motorhomes – even really big ones. Each space has the long spot for the trailer or motorhome and a side parking spot for your tow vehicle. And you’ll also find a small lawn area and a picnic table at each spot – along with 50 AMP hook-ups, cable, water and sewer.

10 Comments

Grand Coulee Dam tour {Washington}

Shared June 25, 2015

Grand-Coulee-Dam-Tour

While staying at Sun Lakes State Park, we ventured the 38 miles north to tour the Grand Coulee Dam. The drive has some fantastic views and took us about 45 – 50 minutes.

We stopped first at the Grand Coulee Visitor’s Center – free admission – this visitor’s center is a MUST SEE. The exhibits are very high quality and appropriate for both young kids and adults.

This particular exhibit had big “power plants” with cranks. When the kids cranked the power plants, the map lit up so you could see where the electricity was sent. It has a detailed 3D replication – and you can see the power go from the dam, through the power lines all the way to a house that lights up!

9 Comments

Sun Lakes State Park {Washington}

Shared June 23, 2015

Sun-Lakes-Dry-Falls-State-Park

We just spent four days, three nights at Sun Lakes State Park and we I can’t wait to tell you all about. The drive from Lake Wenatchee State park was only a few hours, but lots of elevation changes (read: big hills) which made me a little nervous towing the trailer. Our truck managed the hills fine but it was my nerves that needed a break by the time we rolled into Sun Lakes.

Sun-Lakes-State-Park-first-night

We had a back-in spot, spot 63, in campground E (see Sun Lakes campground map here). It’s the farthest from the lake and set up for larger RVs and trailers. We were really happy with our spot – it had a big patch of grass that was shared by all the campsites in the loop. Since we were there over the weekend, every campsite was full, and our kids had lots of fun playing with other kids at the park. As a mom, this always makes me a happy. Knowing that we moved away from “home” but that my kids are making friends all across the country – and get social interaction with other kids their ages.

Sun-Lakes-State-Park-Big-Rock-sunset

Our campsite was surrounded by beautiful terrain and amazing skylines. But we heard there were rattlesnakes – new to us Western Washington folk – so we didn’t venture into the shrubs too much. There was a BIG rock across the road from our campground that we’d let the kids climb, with careful supervision. My son, especially, loved climbing the big rock.

22 Comments

Lake Wenatchee State Park – our first 48 hours on the road

Shared June 18, 2015

Leaving house, towing our Airstream, our new home for a year long adventure.

Oh friends. . .that last 48 hours have been so full I’m not even sure where to start. We left our home in Olympia on Tuesday, June 16 around noon. The house officially closed with the county just a couple hours later while we were heading over the mountains – it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to that home – it’s been such a place of memories for us. But we’re closing that door and opening the next one with anticipation.

Lake Wenatchee State Park - campground with our Airstream

We took our sweet time driving up to Lake Wenatchee State park getting here around 5 p.m. We have a nice pull-thru spot in the North campground. We got parked, leveled, unhitched and settled just in time to make an easy dinner. The park is so quiet – not many campers at all. Although the spots are close together there is so much greenery it feels secluded and we look out onto a field of trees being on the outside of a loop.

Lake Wenatchee State Park hiking trail to lake

After being in the car for so long the kids were ready to run! We hiked (ran) down to the lake to get a feel for the area. The scenery is gorgeous.

View of Lake Wenatchee from the North campground at the state park

The old trees make this beach a wonderland for kiddos – so much to climb and explore!

20 Comments

We hit the road full-time in a couple days!

Shared June 14, 2015

Waiting-to-Leave Stella (the Airstream) parked outside our house, waiting to hit the road.

Six months ago, when we starting put this dream into action we picked TODAY, June 14, 2015 as our launch day. We are so close! School is out for the year (check!), house is nearly empty (check!), the trailer is almost packed (check!), the first month of camp site reservations are made (check!) . . . but we need a couple more days for our house to close before we hit the road.

Our house went under contract insanely fast with a tentative closing date of June 8 – but a paperwork delay on the seller’s side has pushed things out a week. We are tentatively signing papers tomorrow, June 15 and it should close with the county on Tuesday!

If all goes as planned with house closing, we hit the road officially on Tuesday mid-morning.

If I’m being entirely honest, the delay has been a blessing. It means we didn’t have to finish the last week of school living in an RV park. It means we’ve had extra time to get ready and some time to decompress after school ended. It means we’re not hitting the road in a hurry – but with plenty of time to check and double-check things. The key to safe RV travel is never be in a hurry – to take things slow and that will be our mantra on the road.

We could sign papers tomorrow morning and hit the road tomorrow night – but even then, it would encourage us to be a bit more rushed than we’d prefer. So we’ll get one extra night in our house and leave Tuesday. Although we’re anxious and excited to get started – we’ll have plenty of time to sleep in that trailer – so let’s just soak in the last couple days in our house and leave well-rested and ready.

Over the next couple days we’ll do safety checks on the trailer, pack the truck and pick up any last minute purchases at the store.

Our first stop is Lake Wenatchee State Park. We’ve never explored this area before – especially Leavenworth – so we’re looking forward to it.

We’d love to hear from you – what are your favorite things to do in the Lake Wenatchee State Park area? Do you have favorite restaurants or attractions in Leavenworth that we should check out? Leave a comment and let us know!

p.s. The response from the newspaper articles has been amazing! Thank you to everyone who signed up for our newsletter, who shared tips and destination ideas and for all the virtual high-fives and encouragement. We appreciate it all!

Don’t miss an update . . .

SUBSCRIBE to the Take That Exit email newsletter – Probably the best way to get updates, since Facebook isn’t so great about sharing updates of your favorite pages these days. The email updates only go out when we have a new post – which likely won’t be more than once a day or 3-5 days a week.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

11 Comments

Featured in Tacoma News Tribune – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream

Shared June 7, 2015

Airstream-Family-Travel photo credit: Tony Overman

We are so excited to have our story featured in the Tacoma News Tribune – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream (also included the Olympian newspaper).

Last week we had the pleasure of visiting with columnist Larry LaRue and photographer Tony Overman. So fun to share our story – I hope it inspires other families to go after their dreams.

If you’re visiting our site because of the article and want to know more, here are a few ways you can follow our journey:

SUBSCRIBE to the Take That Exit email newsletter – Probably the best way to get updates, since Facebook isn’t so great about sharing updates of your favorite pages these days. The email updates only go out when we have a new post – which likely won’t be more than once a day or 3-5 days a week.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

photo credit: Tony Overman

Read the article here – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream

6 Comments

Welcome Queen Bee Coupons community!

Shared June 1, 2015

Airstream-full-time-travel-home

If you read my post over on the Queen Bee Coupons site this morning, welcome to our new family travel blog Take That Exit – it’s all about leaving the fast lane, so we can enjoy the view.

I’m glad you’re here. The Queen Bee website and my love for sharing my frugal living tips isn’t going anywhere. This site, Take That Exit, is just a more personal peek into our lives, following our dreams of travel and exploring with our kids. You better believe I’ll be trying to do it frugally as possible – that’s in my blood and my nature! 🙂

It’s the money-saving tips that I’ve been practicing all these years, the ones I share over on the Queen Bee Coupons site, that have allowed us the financial freedom to be debt-free on this upcoming journey. It’s the countless coupons we’ve clipped, the sales we’ve shopping, the stockpile we’ve kept, the manager markdowns we picked up, the times we did without – it wasn’t for nothing and every small savings added up.

If you want to get all the background on this journey, here are some good posts to read:

Here are some ways you can follow us via TakeThatExit.com:

SUBSCRIBE to the Take That Exit email newsletter – Probably the best way to get updates, since Facebook isn’t so great about sharing updates of your favorite pages these days. The email updates only go out when we have a new post – which likely won’t be more than once a day or 3-5 days a week.
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

I’m glad you’re here. And I hope you’ll come along with me (virtually) for this adventure!

7 Comments

Our monthly budget plan {tentative}

Shared May 27, 2015

monthly-budget--full-time-travel-airstream

Going from a regular house to living full-time in an Airstream trailer our expenses are changing considerably. Gone are the days of multiple bills for water, sewer, garbage, cable, mortgage, etc. I cannot wait to simplify in this department! While we’ve done a lot of research and have a fairly good idea of what to expect in terms of expenses, we won’t really know until we have a few months under our belt.

You can read more about how we can afford to travel full-time here.

Budgets are very personal things – and are largely dictated by personal choices. We are giving ourselves what feels like a generous budget in terms of RV travel.

Keep in mind – we intentionally paid cash for our truck and trailer – so thankfully this is not a monthly expense for us.

Camping fees – $900
These fees include electrical, water, dump fees and state park passes. We expect this to be higher during the summer when rates are increased and our options are more limited due to crowded campgrounds. Some families spend considerably less by staying at Thousand Trails campgrounds (must purchase membership) but the real savings is staying somewhere 3-4 weeks, which we don’t think appeals to us at this time.

Also, many people opt to boondock (find free camping spots off the grid) but I think initially we’ll be staying in National Parks and campgrounds – until we become more comfortable with this new-to-us nomad lifestyle. Private campgrounds, in particular, can be expensive – and I imagine we’ll stay at these more in the early part of our travel until we become more confident in boondocking or venturing out on our own.

24 Comments

Our house in under contract!

Shared May 6, 2015

We have been working very hard the past couple months preparing our house for sale. We listed it late last Friday night (May 1) and we had three offers by Monday (May 4). We are flabbergasted, grateful, anxious and excited.

Selling our house is the last BIG piece of the exhausting journey to living and traveling full-time in our shiny, tiny home. I believe the insane amount of effort we put into getting the house ready for sale made the difference in selling it so quickly. Painting, cleaning, a new roof, a new furnace, staging, downsizing – countless hours of sweat and effort went into getting this home ready for the next family. I can easily say that it’s nicer than when we purchased!

Now we just hope and pray that we get through the appraisal, inspection and buyer financing that is needed to seal the deal the first week of June. That’s right – we could be out of here in just over a month!

The last day of school is June 12 and we would love to be on the road the weekend after that. Only time (and a lot more hard work) will tell if that’s possible! We have more downsizing to do to fit into 200 square feet, a storage unit to rent, and a lot of minor things like address changes and doctor/dentist check-ups to fit in before then.

Stay tune as we round this important corner toward what feels like the last sprint toward our dream of full-time travel!

2 Comments

Grayland Beach State Park Campground {Washington} – our maiden voyage

Shared April 11, 2015

Grayland Beach State Park

Our Maiden Voyage with Stella {our Airstream} happened over Spring Break, April 8-10, 2015. We had booked a camping spot at Grayland Beach State Park in Western Washington. We chose Grayland because it was a short 80-mile distance from home, an easy driving route and on the beach.

Location – Grayland Beach State Park, camping spot 102
Available services – Electrical and water hook-up (no sewer, but dumping available in campground)
Cost – $30/night, plus $8 web reservation fee = $68 for two night

It’s recommended you take a little “shake down” trip with your new (or used) rig a few times before you head out for a big trip. It’s a good opportunity to test your trailer systems to make sure all systems are working properly. I was a ball of nerves – although we had a very thorough walkthrough when we picked Her up, it was the first time we’d be doing everything on our own – hitching her up, hooking her up to water, leveling her and using all the systems.

Grayland Beach State Park - Airstream

Once we got to the campsite, got her backed in, leveled and plugged in – I finally let out that first sigh of relief. I think I had been holding my breath all the way from Olympia. 🙂 Had we really just got here in one piece? I was so grateful and giddy to have arrived as planned.

Shiny Airstream at Grayland Beach State Park (Washington)

It didn’t take us long to completely relax and immerse ourselves in the beauty and fun around us. How could we not? The weather was GLORIOUS – sunshine, no wind, and temps in the 60’s – rare conditions for a Washington beach in April.

Sandy log at Grayland Beach State Park

We headed straight to the beach – a short five minute walk from our campsite. The beaches at Grayland aren’t rocky like some – lots of nice soft sand, driftwood and shells.

Kid playing with crabs at Grayland Beach State Park

And crab. Lots of crab shells laying around, which Liam enjoyed playing with.

10 Comments

Blue Valley RV park review {Walla Walla, Washington}

Grand Coulee Dam tour {Washington}

Sun Lakes State Park {Washington}

Lake Wenatchee State Park – our first 48 hours on the road

We hit the road full-time in a couple days!

Featured in Tacoma News Tribune – Lacey-area family of four hits the road with Airstream and a dream

Welcome Queen Bee Coupons community!

Our monthly budget plan {tentative}

Our house in under contract!

Grayland Beach State Park Campground {Washington} – our maiden voyage

Recent Comments

Recent Posts