live. work. dream.

Don’t have the cash to get an RV and hit the road? Well, why not build that rig yourself? Then you’re halfway there!

On the Simple Living Network, someone just listed the resources below for building your own van conversion, camper, trailer, even boats.

• Cheap RV Living
• DIY Boat Designs and Plans
• Glen-L Boat and RV Plans

Addendum (12/15/07): I just came across this YouTube video of a home grown fifth wheel from Chad’s Projects.

I’ve been meaning to write about this for quite some time now. But I guess I’ve just been putting it off in fear of triggering nightmares about the day we almost got stuck in Syracuse, NY. Literally.

After a long day of driving and one missed turn, we ended up amidst the suburban sprawl of outer Syracuse in stop and go traffic at rush hour. As we rounded one corner, I noticed a bridge and barely saw the 12′ 9″ low clearance sign with just enough time to take the last possible turn before heading under. While we might have made it through, it was just too close for comfort and wasn’t worth the chance. Our rig measures 12′ 5″ at the the tallest point. To know this is a good thing.

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When you’re roaming about the countryside, be careful who you tell your story to, or you could end up as a member of the latest Manson Clan.

Yesterday while shopping at one of the last Farmer’s Markets of the season here in Vermont, we stopped to admire some homemade bread being sold by vendors who appeared to be typical Vermont farmers. We sampled the breads they had, and they were so good. They were “heavenly.” Even though bread looked as dense as bricks, each sample we tasted was light and tasty. So we were blown away when the farmer told us that the breads were wheat free, and made with spelt flour. Spelt?

Isn’t spelt some some earthy, nasty ingredient that hippies bake with to snake out their colons or something? Ick! Now we’d eaten it!

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When we picked out our Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck, one of our requirements was that it had to have a diesel engine, so that we could run biodiesel or straight veggie oil (SVO) in it. We wanted to offset our footprint by buying such a large vehicle. So we took a class on Making Your Own Biodiesel, learned the ins and outs of producing and buying it, and set off on this trip with the hope that we would find it in lots of places. Eventually, we’ll make our own, but for now, we have to rely on Biodiesel.org to tell us who’s selling it and where.

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People often ask us, “What do you do without a TV?” Well, sometimes, the best entertainment is just people watching in the campground.

For instance, last week at Acadia National Park in Maine, we watched in shock as our neighbor tried to get his 35′ fifth wheel out of the campground. This was a very tall rig. Nothing wrong with that, but as many of you know, many government campgrounds aren’t often designed for today’s RVs.

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Last month we got that taste of Big City Life in Toronto, and we spent more than usual on lodging and food. We also had some higher than usual business expenses involved in setting up our digital scrapbooking business.

It’s so important to aim high when you’re creating a road trip budget forecast. When you don’t spend as much as you thought you would, you feel great about it! Also, if you spend more in one area and less in another, then it all evens out.

Click below to see our RV road trip expenses for September 2007

Road Trip Budget Expenses and Savings September 2007

We are SO excited to let everyone know that there’s a story about us in the October issue of RV Life Magazine.

Mike Ward, a columnist for the publication, tracked us down when we were in Pennsylvania, and interviewed us for his monthly column, “First Glance.”

We love the story that he wrote (even Jerry got a mention) and are happy to share it with you!

To read RV Life’s new digital version of their print magazine, click here to read it. Go to “Contents” and look for “First Glance” on Page 6.

Mike also made note of our Agreda website and how we have become digital scrapbooking consultants in an effort to extend our journey. Read Mike’s monthly RV Life First Glance Column here. Read it this month (October, 2007) to catch our feature, and tell a friend!

People often ask us if we miss our “stuff.” Well, the only thing I miss are my scrapbooking and card making supplies. I hated to put them in storage, and thought I’d have to say goodbye to my favorite creative outlet for a while.

But recently, I was introduced to Digital Scrapbooking, and fell in love with it. The digital way of preserving family memories is so much less expensive, more flexible — and saves a ton of space, because everything is done on my computer.

I’m enjoying it so much, that now I’m teaching others about it. Even people who don’t consider themselves “creative” are finding that they can design crafty “coffee table” style, archival quality photo books.

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I haven’t written any posts here in a while since I have been frantically developing the final touches for our latest online venture …

We are proud to announce that the long-awaited RVblogz.com is now online! With RVblogz.com you can get your own free travel blog to document your adventures and keep in touch with friends and family while on the road.

Be one of the first to take advantage of this new free service and join the growing community of RVbloggerz today!

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