Stories from the Road

Today on the podcast, Sam interviews Mark and Shanae from Trail Mix & Chocolate. Mark is an agriculturalist and Shanae is a teacher and artist. They are currently in their third year of traveling full-time in an RV and enjoy getting out in nature whenever possible, especially at National Parks!

What we talk about in this episode:

• 1:00 - Heading to RV Entrepreneur Summit
• 3:00 - Meeting their “RV parents” and intro to RV community
• 9:30 - Thoughts on tiny living
• 12:30 - Becoming Trail Mix & Chocolate
• 18:00 - Favorite experiences
• 25:30 - Travel and Life Goals
• 30:00 - Combining travel and art
• 34:00 - Turning the interview around on Sam!
• 37:00 - National Parks

Connect with Mark and Shanae and learn more about this episode here!

RVs aren’t the only way to travel the country full-time. Larissa Runkle is opting even smaller, outfitting a camper van and alternating between national parks and events for her life on the road. She talked to us about the challenges she has faced building the van, how bare minimalism helps her focus, and her best advice for jumping into this with someone else along for the ride.

You can keep up with Larissa via Instagram, or learn about some of her writing projects on her website.

• 2:34 – Way, way back to the beginning.
• 9:27 – Living on the road with like-minded people.
• 13:00 – Minimalism, simplicity, and focus.
• 16:00 – Building a customized camper van.
• 26:57 – Where she’s going.
• 30:53 – The experience that made her make the jump.
• 36:48 – The best advice for doing this with a friend.

Keith Sims—plus his wife and three boys—spend about half of every year on the road. He talks to us about how his wife talked him (a big man and retired football player) into getting an RV, using it to enrich his kids’ homeschooling experience, and being an African American in the RV community.

You can keep up with Keith and his Soulful RV Family on Instagram (or any other social media).

Some episode highlights:

• 3:38 – What got a 6’3”, 300 lbs. retired football player into an RV.
• 8:44 – The changes in his family since RVing.
• 11:28 – RVing as part of the African-American community.
• 13:38 – Being an ambassador to minority families to RV.
• 19:14 – Discovering NAARVA.
• 23:18 – Keith’s RV.
• 28:53 – Tailgating in a Class A as a retired football player.
• 36:25 – Keith’s stories from the road.

They don’t use the word “hippies,” but Craig and Bryanna—the parents behind Crazy Family Adventure—may fit the modern bill. Along with their four kids and two dogs, they travel the country, roaming freely, and taking in all the sights. They talked to us about traveling with kids and keeping them socialized, some of their favorite locations, and juggling entrepreneurship on the road.

You can keep up with Crazy Family Adventure on their Instagram, blog, or look up their business Virtual Powerhouse.

Some episode highlights:

• 5:07 – What started the adventure.
• 8:53 – How their family has evolved since they hit the road.
• 10:00 – Their current (and previous and future) RVs.
• 13:09 – Unschooling their children.
• 17:07 – The RV Community with kids.
• 25:20 – Some favorite memories from their favorite places.
• 33:21 – Unintended entrepreneurship.
• 39:51 – Their favorite moment from traveling so far.
• 46:18 – Advice for jumping into an RV and hitting the road.

In honor of Sam’s first trip to The RV Entrepreneur Summit, check out these clips of how this event has impacted guests on the Stories from the Road podcast! Plus, hear Heath Padgett, from HeathandAlyssa.com and The RV Entrepreneur Podcast, tell the story behind the event and how it got started.