For the past three months, Andrew and Rachel Chwalik have been living out of their TAG Teardrop Trailer. They’ve been exploring all across the USA, and we checked in to see how their adventures were going.
Hey, everyone! Andrew here. Yes, my wife and I have traveled around the USA for the past three months, and it’s been awesome! Let me tell you a bit about our experience.
Last year, Rachel and I decided to live the full-time life out of our TAG Teardrop Trailer. We thought right now would be the perfect time to go on a crazy adventure before we “settle down” and have some kiddos. You can read about our thought process and planning in this blog post: The Ultimate Upgrade.
Let me tell you, the first three months have been astounding! We’ve experienced so much, seen unique places, met incredible people, and we’re still at the beginning of our year-long excursion.
We took off on our full-time travels in early January. For some reason, we thought it would be fun to spend a week in Indiana at Indiana Dunes National Park. Don’t get me wrong, it was a beautiful place to camp and had some fantastic hiking trails. However, we had to fight the 10-degree weather and six inches of snow each day. I like winter camping, but it would have been nice to ease into it. However, we still made the most of it and even made a video about one of our hikes.
We knew it was time to head south for warmer weather after using the heater on our TAG almost 24/7 for that entire week. But, before heading directly south, we stopped by the family farm out in Nebraska. It was great to see family for a few days; how could you not want to spend time with these cute kiddos. Plus, we were treated to some lovely 60-degree weather!
Taking Our Adventure South
Now, it was time to head south! We made our way to Oklahoma to visit friends and enjoyed moochdocking in their driveway. We even got to explore a few of the sights in Tulsa. This was a shorter stay because we were still chasing that warm weather.
In Texas, we finally were able to leave the puffy coats in our TAG while heading out for adventures. First, we explored a few state parks, like Old Tunnel State Park, for some hiking. Then, we indulged in some more “touristy” attractions around San Antonio.
One of my favorite spots in Texas was Corpus Christi. They have several beaches around the city where you can drive with your camper and spend the night right next to the waves! We spent multiple nights there soaking up the sun and enjoying the boondocking lifestyle. This was our first extended “off-grid” stay, so we made a video sharing our tips.
Knowing that a cold front was coming in, we decided to leave the beach and drive to Florida as fast as possible. Rachel just so happened to realize that the New Orleans Marathon was taking place as we passed through, so she decided to join. If you watch the video, you can clearly see that I did not participate. She’s the athlete in this relationship, and I’m the cheerleader. I’ve accepted that.
At last, we reached Florida! We went as far south as possible and camped right outside Everglades National Park. The weather was perfect, hitting 90-degrees almost every day. We took our time and enjoyed the sun at a small National Preserve campground. We even took a kayaking tour that brought us up close to some alligators. Now that was an adventure!
We then decided to take a small excursion to Puerto Rico. We heard there was some outstanding hiking, and it did not disappoint. That was our first time hiking in an actual rainforest and hopefully not our last.
Planning Our Next Adventure
For now, we’re back in Ohio, planning our next adventure. We’re moochdocking with my parents and exploring some local state parks. Pro-tip, moochdock as much as possible, especially when gas prices continue to increase the way they have. We’ve been blessed to have so many friends and family along our journey that let us camp in their driveway or yard. Honestly, I enjoy driveway camping!
This three-month period of living on the road has been so much fun. Our TAG has been fantastic! It’s gotten us through those cold nights in Indiana, stood firm in those windy Nebraska fields, maneuvered perfectly on those sandy Texas beaches, kept us safe from all those Florida alligators, and didn’t have a single issue chauffeuring us around all those roads.
Rachel and I wouldn’t trade these past three months for anything, and we’re just getting started!
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