In a conversation with a new fulltimer the other day, he mentioned that the one thing he knows he’ll miss is his gardening hobby. Apparently he had a greenhouse at his former home and is well known for his roses, which have won ribbons in the county fair for years. He asked me what hobbies best fit into the RV lifestyle.
I guess growing prize winning roses might be difficult in an RV, but there are many hobbies that fit perfectly with the RV lifestyle. We have known many fulltime RVers with interesting hobbies, and many have customized their RVs to accommodate their hobbies and special interests.
Some of our personal hobbies include geocaching, reading, kayaking, crocheting and cooking (Terry), and target shooting. We know other fulltime RVers who are into woodcarving, bird watching, fishing, playing music, bicycling, volkswalking, photography, making stained glass, and quilting, to name just a few.
The RV lifestyle makes it easy to enjoy your hobbies and special interests. If you enjoy bird watching, you can travel to some of the best birding spots in the nation. RVing geocachers can hunt for caches at highway rest areas, as well as any place they visit, since caches can be found in every corner of America.
Musicians can take part in jam sessions at RV parks, and follow the blue grass festival circuit as they travel. There are woodcarving events all over the country that can be participated in, including an annual gathering at the Escapees North Ranch RV park in Congress, Arizona.
If golf is your thing, the RV lifestyle is perfect for you. Unlike golfers in northern climates, RVers can play any time of year, because they are (hopefully) not stuck someplace where it snows.
Genealogy is another hobby that is perfect for RVers. It is one thing to know that your great great uncle Angus is buried in a family plot on land he farmed in Missouri, and quite another to be able to travel to the old family farm and actually walk the land your ancestors tilled, and pay your respects in person at their gravesites.
Even though we cannot actively participate in some of the hobbies we enjoyed in our former lives, that doesn’t mean we can’t still have some involvement. I was into classic cars before we hit the road, and sold my four old cars when we became fulltimers. But every once in a while, we’ll see a car show and I can relive memories of my days behind the wheel of my old Corvette or one of my Mustangs.
So what are some of the hobbies and activities that you enjoy as you travel around this great land of ours, and how do they fit into the RV lifestyle?
Thought For The Day – Middle age is having a choice of two temptations and choosing the one that will get you home earlier.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
My main hobby is watercolor painting. Also drawing, hiking, writing (especially memoirs).
Become, if you are not already, a lifelong learner.
Research American history then visit historical sites and follow various alignments of trails such as California Trail, Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, Sante Fe Trail, Route 49 in California (Gold Miners’ Trail), Route 66. If you really try to search out little known spots along the trails, its like a treasure hunt!
Drive the north/south road along the Mississippi River and visit the river towns. Music trails are wonderful, too. Try the Ozarks. Ghost towns are another great adventure.
These are all ones we have done.
We met one couple whose goal was to visit every Presidential Libraries!
We also like to take classes in areas of our interest. One place we love is Ghost Ranch in New Mexico where they hold a great variety of week-long classes. They have RV sites there, too, with hookups and a dump station. Imagine that!
Elderhostel classes are also wonderful. Some of them accommodate RVs.
Visit the homes of authors and artists. Read their biographies and some of their books first and imagine what their lives were/are like.
We have done all above except the Presidential Museums and we are not even full-timers!!!
Other things I’ve thought would be fun to do would be to make a collection of photos of post offices. Post offices come in such a variety of buildings! I bet this would be a never ending hobby! We have many photos of them but don’t exactly search them out. We just take a snapshot when we accidentally come on an unusual one.
Another “collection” of photos could be churches. We have many. Again, we have not searched them out but find we have many pictures of unusual church buildings.
I have a photo collection of trees. Especially gnarled and twisted trees, and dead trees.
I could go on, obviously! But this may get the juices flowing for others. Oh, boy. I can’t wait to become a full timer!
Blogging is a great hobby for travelers, especially when combined with phtography. We blog only part time, because we travel only part time, and don’t want to publish a “granny” blog when not traveling. (i.e., what we did today with our wonderful, exceptional, practically perfect grandchildren). If you can send e-mails, you can blog. Follow Nick’s lead to the Geeksontour, who offer exceptional tutorials, either online or in person at ralleys.
The consumate blogger is, of course, Nick, who manages to generate someting interesting every day, in sickness and in health.
My avocation is keeping you in line, Nick. Its a tough job, but someone has to do it. As always, oRV
We love genealogy, history, learning, rallies with friends, cemeteries, attending conferences & classes where we learn, sightseeing, sunsets, mountains, deserts, seashores, life. There are so many fun and interesting activities you can do on the road. I might suggest for the rose lover there are gardens, arboretums, universities with botanical gardens, etc all over the country. Tell him to go on-line and find out about all the rose gardens and research centers for roses in the US and Canada. Then he should make a list & in his travels visit them all. He would learn a lot about rose varieties & their cultivation outside his home area. Why can’t he take it with him? He could select several dwarf varieties and carry several potted plants around with him. He could experiment with what varieties grow well in the RV lifestyle. His possibilities are endless. It just takes a little imagination and gumption to give it a try. We see people out here in the RV world who set up their RV & then out come all the plants. It’s amazing what people carry around with them that they think is important to their RV lifestyle.
We blog, enjoy photography, read, TRAVEL! This year, while we aren’t traveling ourselves, we read blogs, enjoy others’ photography, and read about their travels. So many people are going so many places, and they blog about it – we get to read about places we have already gone, places to go when we’re back on the road, and places we’ll probably never see.
We don’t do the “granny blog” but we do send out posts about some of the things we do right here in Benson, the blooming cactus we enjoy, and yes- we’ll bog about our daughter and granddaughter visiting us in about 10 days. Granddaughter is carrying our first great grandchild, and will surprise us in November with a gender and a name!
In addition, Suzy crochets, we love word puzzles of several kinds, and I can be a crab when I want to be! But not for very long at a time.
My husband and I are big on hobbies. We maintain the same hobbies while in our RV as we do at home.
My husband is a scale model ship builder. He manages to build his ships on a small table in the RV. He also builds R/C airplanes and boats.
I paint in watercolors and mixed media. The only difference in being in the RV and not at home, is that I must clean up and put things away before and after my painting. I can’t leave it out to come back to at a later date. This works out for me because I can see my painting in a whole new light,once I get it out again. I also am writing a book using my computer and the program Quick Story. When I get bored with these two hobby’s I dig out my fabric stash and quilt and do hand embroidery.
There is never a dull moment in our house or RV, plus not to mention all the places and sites to visit.
I am a wanabe RV fulltimer. I plan on retiring in about 14 months, purchase an RV and hit the road. As far as hobbies, I think one that has been overlooked is astronomy. I purchased a telescope that can be easily transported in an RV. I really enjoy looking at all the stars and planets, but because I live in the city there is a great deal of light pollution. But if I was out somewhere on BLM land or a National forest there would be none and the stars are everywhere.
I also enjoy photography and reading as well.
Ours would be…Geocaching of course!!!
🙂
Visit lighthouses (they are always in pretty places!), ride antique carousels (did you know there is a steam-driven one in Abilene, right behind the Eisenhower library?), ride old steam excursion trains (Durango & Silverton is one of the best), and visit and tour every state capitol. Oklahoma’s dome is interesting – a brand-new dome on a 1912? building.
We have done 49 capitols, but will never run out of the other things.
My main hobby, or pass time is pleasing my terrific wife.
As you can tell from my “handle,” I’m into books (was a bookdealer for 20 years), so I search out (used) bookstores. Amazing where they are and what they carry. I have requests from friends so I’m always on the lookout for specific books. I also decoupage, dance, and swim, when I can. I blog and put interesting photographs on my blog from everywhere I go. Some document my RV lifestyle, some are just for pretty. I read a lot, and I do (hard) crosswords to jump start my brain in the morning.
There never seems enough time to do all we want, and still kick back and enjoy the view. Ellen reads a ton, and is hooked on Sudoku. We both enjoy card and table games, especially bridge and Settlers of Catan.
I am a retired art teacher, so I draw using colored pencils/pastels. I have also started woodcarving which has been great fun. I do wooden signs, and also small sculptures and Christmas ornaments for the grandkids. I do miss gardening, and that N scale train layout I was working on, but this is way better!
I have picked up beading again. I sat all day under the awning, at the picnic table, sorting beads and making a few necklaces.