Welcome To The Roamies

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Hi, I'm Alexa.

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And I'm Rory. And together we are the Roamies. We're a husband-wife duo and longtime travelers who believe travel isn't just about where you go. It's about how it shapes the way you live when you get home.

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On the Roamies podcast, we explore where to travel, how to travel, and why to travel. Through our lens of creativity, wellness, and everyday life.

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We're calling it this season Rome Doo Hall. As we travel near and far, we're sharing the ways we bring inspiration home.

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It's all about making travel tangible, livable, and meaningful long after the trip ends.

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So whether you're planning your next adventure or reimagining the life you're building at home, you're in the right place.

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And now, let's get into today's episode. Hi

Why Relax Belongs In Travel

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everyone. R is for relaxed. R has been such a fun episode for us to dream up because travel and especially RV travel does all of these like R's reconnect, recharge, roam, romance, retreat, rebirth, renew, real, refocus, reflect, rejuvenate, reset, restore, rethink. Even routines. Sometimes travel shakes up those routines in the best possible way and gives you new ones to implement. And then, of course, there's road trip, especially when you're talking about hitting the road with Road Surfer, which we talked about in our Jay Is for Journey episode. Of course, we will have that in the show notes for you to reference. And if you're not sure what we're talking about, Road Surfer is an RV rental company that we have connected with and like just fell in love with how they approach RV travel. So when you hear us talk about them, you'll have a little bit of an idea. And we are still like having such happy thoughts and vibes from our road surfer experience. So it is just apropos, I think, for this R episode when we talk about relax that we also give a big shout out and highlight to R Ving. Because when we R V, we especially find ourselves reconnecting and relaxing. And that's really where this whole episode started for us. And so when we think about travel, we tend to think about all the places we go and all the things we do. And one of the things we love most about getting out on the road is how it affects us. And sometimes travel gives us that chance to slow down, gain all new perspective, see your life from the outside, breathe deeper, change the routine, spend more time outside, reconnect with people either that we're going to visit or that we're traveling with and just relax. And then we come home. And sometimes that maybe isn't so relaxing for us. So we wanna, we wanna kind of incorporate how we can bring that relax home. And so that's what we've been thinking about with our whole roam to home idea this season. How can we bring some of that relaxed feeling home with us? And so that's what we're gonna explore and talk about today. We recently got to talk with someone who has been RVing practically her entire life and who has spent her career working in the RV industry. It's Monica Jeracey. She's part of the RV Industry Association, and she's involved with the RV Women's Alliance and with Go RVing, and she's deeply involved with promoting the RV lifestyle, and she's got a whole lot of personal experience that goes along with all of that. And so we're gonna talk about RVing, relaxing, reconnecting, what happens when you take that feeling of being awake and bringing a little bit back home. Let's dive in. So,

Meet Monica Jeraci From Go RVing

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y'all, we are so excited to have Monica Jeraci on this episode. And Monica, thank you so much for joining us. Previously on our Jay Is for Journey episode, we had a whole episode around road surfer and our experience uh with renting an RV from them and how fun that was. So, y'all, we will put a link to that in the show notes, of course. And depending on when you listen, we might still have a promo code you can plug in and get an added discount. And uh we have a link that you can use. But we are we loved our road surfer experience. And as we've mentioned, so if you guys are following us, you'll know Rory and I owned an RV for a while. And as touring musicians, that was like our tour bus. And it was so great to have that and to be able to travel with a little home, you know, home on the road kind of thing. And so we're still just like pumped from our road surfer experience that we're just excited to talk to Monica with her experience around the whole RV space. And so as we think about the letter R, we have road surfer, we have road trips, and of course, RVs. So, Monica, you grew up RVing before you even had a choice in the matter, right? So, like, what did RVing look like in your family? And what did those early experiences give you that like stayed with you?

SPEAKER_05 5:22

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for having me on. This is really exciting, and I'm so pleased to be talking all things R, and RV is probably the best one. I have been RVing my entire life. Uh, I am one of five kids, and we had a motorhome. My parents had RVs from the time they met, and our family saw the whole western part of this country. I saw it from the back window of a 40-foot dolphin class A motorhome. That was my childhood. And so it's been really fantastic to be working in the industry for the past 16 years this month. So it's been a minute, and it's just the best way to travel. And so I'm so lucky to be able to talk about and share the joys of R Ving and helping more people discover what you also know from your extended experiences with R Ving that it is just the best way to travel because you are able to bring those pit bits and pieces of home with you, right? Like you feel so comfortable on the road at your destination when you're able to have uh the pieces of home with you.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Yeah, I love that. You know, you mentioned class A. The RV that Rory and I owned was a class C, and the RV that we rented from Roast Surfer is a class C as well.

RV Types Explained Simply

SPEAKER_01 6:42

And for someone who is brand new to RVing, and like before we dive in even more, would you mind just kind of like explaining what each class is so that as we continue our conversation, if we refer to something, it won't just go over our heads or something.

SPEAKER_05 7:00

For sure. Because it's crazy when you say RV, even at that level, people aren't always sure what you're talking about. Right. People, a lot of people just think it is what we were just talking about motorhomes, the drivable RVs. So class A are the ones that look like a bus, like a tour bus. I didn't name these. I don't know why it goes in this order, but it goes class A, which is the biggest one. Then class B are the camper vans. So the smaller van camper. And then class C, we go back up to the mid-size, which is what a lot of people think of when they think of an RV, the area over the cab, what you kind of think of as a traditional like Winnebago. Those are class C motorhomes. So motorhomes are the ones that you were able to drive. It's one unit, you drive, living quarters, all together. Um, and fun fact, motorized actually only make up about 10% of RV production. The other 90% are towables or trailers. Okay. And that's not always like oftentimes people are like, wait, those are those are campers or those are something else. Like they think they're not RVs, but the entire ecosystem are recreational vehicles. So, and when you're looking at travel trailers, you've got traditional travel trailers that are bumper poles, so hooked to the bumper of a tow vehicle. That makes up the vast majority of RVs, are bumper pole travel trailers. Then you've got fifth wheels that have the gooseneck and the hitch goes into the bed of the truck. Those are going to, in most cases, be larger, oftentimes more luxurious. Fifth wheel travel trailers. You've got truck campers, which are really cool. They slide into the bed of a truck. Okay. And then you've got different variations of travel trailers. You've got teardrops, you've got they're called pop-ups or folding camping trailers. These are the ones that condense down. These are great if you want to keep it in your garage and very garageable, very lightweight. And then there are destination trailers or park bottle RVs. And these are ones that oftentimes after people have RV'd for a while and they found that that favorite campground or that favorite spot, and then they set these RVs up for a longer, longer stay. So there's there's an RV for every lifestyle, price point, personality. So they really run the gamut.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Thank you. That's super helpful. So you have spent 16 years working in the RV industry, and you work with Go R Ving, which is super

Why People Choose RV Travel

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fun. So what are you seeing that tells you like why people are choosing RV travel today? And what are people looking for?

SPEAKER_05 9:47

Yeah. So Go R Ving is the consumer-facing marketing arm of the RV industry. It's like got milk. Everyone knows the got milk campaign. It's that, but RVs. We aren't selling a certain kind of RV. We're not telling you where you should go buy one, which kind you should buy. We just want to get more people aware of RVing and all of the benefits, how you can do it, all the different types of RVs. So that's what Go R Ving is. We also have a lot of research. And I will say that the number one purchase motivator from our demographic profile is unwinding and being able to relax. That was 58% of people flagged that unwinding and relaxing was the number one reason why they purchased an RB. Spending time in nature and visiting scenic wonders were above 50% as well. So those are the top motivators, which makes sense. Like getting outside, being able to relax, take in this beautiful country of ours, and travel in a way that where you have flexibility over your itinerary, freedom to travel, and then also controlling your costs. Like you have so much more control over what your vacation is going to cost when you're traveling in an RV. You can decide how far you're going to go. Is gas a little more expensive today than it was a little while ago? Maybe I'm going to go three hours instead of, you know, 18 hours road trip. We'll say a little closer to home. Um, maybe I'm not gonna go out to as many restaurants on this trip. I'm gonna make sure that RV is nice and stocked with my with my groceries and I can choose what my grocery bill is going to look like. So having that ability to control while also having the freedom to travel is is a big, big reason people choose RVing.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yes. Your hotel and your restaurants are all in one place and and your vehicle to your means of transport. They're all in the same one unit kind of thing. It's all connected. And that's really definitely super fun.

Luxury RVs And Resort Parks

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Let's say that someone would prefer maybe some luxury travel, or they maybe want like the high-priced resort. What would you say to someone who is all about the whole luxury side of things when broaching the RV subject with them?

SPEAKER_05 12:14

So there truly is an RV for every lifestyle and and budget. And for those looking for the finer things in life, there are not only RVs that are built for that. You can get any type of RV that are what would be considered a luxury RV, but really those class A's and and fifth wheels are where you're gonna find the most. And I mean, there are there are very, very nice motorhomes in particular out there that costs more than a home. Many, many people's homes. Um so the if you're looking for luxury, let me tell you, it's it's out there and not only on the the actual RV side, but then also in the campgrounds and RV parks. So those run the spectrum. So you've got off-grid boondocking, which that is a huge thing. A lot of people want to be able to go and boondock. That's a big reason that people purchase RVs. But there's also on the other end of the spectrum, there are very, very nice luxury campgrounds. One I was at earlier this year had, if you maybe do your walk outside and you want to come, and there is like the nicest gym. It was a nicer gym than I had been at in hotels. There's RV parks with swim up bars. If you're like, I want to sit in a pool and I want to be able to order my drink while sitting on a water stool from the pool bar. We got you covered. There are RV parks that that have those amenities as well. Full arcade and bowling alley. Um, that was at another RV park that I was at just this year. So there are options out there for people who want that more resort. And there are a lot of RV resorts, and that's what they're calling themselves to make sure that people know we have the resort type amenities that you're looking for.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yeah, great. What we should do is maybe we can provide a link to some of those places on the show notes. If you wouldn't mind providing that, we can include that on the show notes, and folks can just hop on the show notes and find what suits them.

SPEAKER_05 14:29

Yeah, so we've got a couple different, and we can definitely provide you some links. Also, the GoR Ving website that that is what GoRVing is for, is to provide the tips and inspiration and expert advice for people who are either new to R Ving or R V curious. Like what is R Ving all about? And so there is a campground finder on there. We also have a bunch of like itineraries that can inspire people and a bunch of roundups of the best luxury campgrounds in the country. Or we've we've got a bunch of different ones, like for taking your pets to places to see like astro tourism is a big thing. And so we've got you know, where are some campgrounds where that is really gonna like dark sky friendly? Yes, dark sky friendly, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Okay.

Pet Friendly RV Life And Gear

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One thing that we loved about our road surfer experience was that they are pet friendly, and so you can rent an RV and take your pets. And so we took both of our cats, and it was so great because our whole family got to go on the trip. We didn't have to worry about pet sitters and where are they and how are they doing? Like they were with us the whole time, and we were able to allow for having them in a safe place while we did our adventures, come back, you know, and and they were with us that whole trip. So that was really that's really cool. Some parks are amenable to that, and there's something for everybody. So that's super great.

SPEAKER_05 16:06

Absolutely. The pets is such a huge part of RV travel for our owners' demographic profile. So this was insights into people who currently own RVs. And 43% of RVers cite the ability to bring their pets as a deciding factor in choosing to purchase an RV. And then our latest piece of research, just this pulse on people's travel intentions. 23 million people are planning to go RVing this fall, but 70% of are planning on bringing their pets along. And that includes, it's mostly people who own their RVs, but includes people who are planning to borrow or rent an RV as well. Like that is so critical. And I'm it was definitely a KOA, and I'm not remembering which where the location was. But I just saw yesterday, this is the first time I'd seen it, it looked so cool. It was a campsite that had a fenced-in area so you could have your dog off the, or depending on how good your cat is, like if it's not gonna run away, you know, you can have your pet right there in a gated area. So you've got this, this little pet area, and then the picnic table and grill, and then your RV right there, which is I was like, that is so awesome.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

I just want to point out, too, that the loves uh rest stops and their gas stations have when you talked about the pet-friendly fence, the fenced-in area. Loves have a lot of pet parks with picnic tables. They're growing their RV stops where you can stay the night, plug in, um, get your gas, get some little snacks or whatever. So even Loves is is accommodating RV life. So just a fun thing.

SPEAKER_05 17:48

Absolutely. Loves has done a lot in the past few years, really catering to the artying audience. And like you said, opening up campgrounds. Um, they're probably not places you want to like, they're not destinations, they're stopovers. They're you're on your way to your destination, and you can stop and get gas, let your pets out, stay the night, and continue on to your next destination. So yeah, they have really upped their investment in the RV community. So pet travel is so important, and there's also a ton of features coming out in RVs, everything from and Go Arving just did a recent video within the past few weeks that highlighted a bunch of pet-friendly features. So little things from places to secure the leash to the outside to built-in dog bowls, to there are systems that have cameras that you can log in. So exactly what you're saying, you know, the RV, you can have the generator running or plugged in and have the AC, and you're able to leave your pet there and know that they're safe while you're off hiking or taking in some local experiences. And there are RVs or aftermarket products that have like a camera in there. So you can also check in on your pet to have that extra level of um comfort and security.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

We did an episode previously with MJ and Victor who built their own camper van. And they also built in because they have a cat and a dog, so he customized his camper van, like the bowls, like you mentioned, and things like that, so that it accommodated their pets. And I love that you can customize things and you can buy an RV that's customized for you and the things you want. And I just want to like also hop back to when we were talking about like maybe someone who isn't the biggest fan of glamping or camping, maybe that's not their bent, and maybe they might lean towards, you know, maybe something a little more luxury or whatever. Like, you can also do a trip where you are RVing for some of the trip. You know, you could take your RV, go somewhere and leave it while you go do your whatever else that you want to do, hop back in, go have another adventure, have the scenery and the hikes and the paddleboarding or horseback riding or whatever you want to do. And then you can hop on and drive somewhere else and have another adventure. So again, that gives you that freedom to hop. 100%.

SPEAKER_05 20:22

Love it. I was just gonna say like a couple things. One, one of the best trips to to do that combines multiple things is taking an RV to Alaska is a big bucket list for a lot of RVers and doing the trip up in the RV and then maybe taking a week or however long you want to do it to do a cruise around up in Alaska and then coming back is probably one of the best examples of like a bucket list multi-type of travel that people can do. And it's was another really interesting piece of data that came out of our demographic profile. It's a very colorful chart and it's the types of trips that RV owners take. And the biggest, about 40% of their trips, are RVs. That that makes sense, right? You own an RV. The majority of your trips are probably in the RV, but there was another 20 different types of trips that RVers take because it's not just because you own an RV doesn't mean you're never gonna take another type of vacation again. Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Right.

SPEAKER_05 21:21

It doesn't lock you in to just the way to go easiest.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

And and if your own if you own one, you can be super spontaneous. If you find a company like Road Surfer or similar rental place that's not far from your home, you can have a spontaneous trip and just be like, you know what, babe, we've had a really tough week. Let's just go somewhere for the weekend. Let's hop in an RV and go. And uh you get a lot more flexibility than like, oh, well, we'd love to just go away for the weekend. How are we gonna book a flight? You know, and and have it be affordable. It's it's not realistic. So uh just Doing a spontaneous road trip. It just gives you that freedom.

SPEAKER_05 22:02

And it can be spontaneous because most RVers have an and maybe it's not the first year, but after you you stock that RV, you have a set of clothes, like it's easier. Like those are the RV clothes and those are the RV dishes, pantry staples, all of that. And so it really is trip to the grocery store, or you can do that on the way, and you really can be spontaneous. And where do you want to go? Okay, well, this campground has availability, maybe this one doesn't, and those last minute there are cancellations, and now there is an an opening at the campground you really wanted to get into. So yeah, that owning an RV and you being 80% packed already is again one of the top things that people love about RVing.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Yeah. And you talked about like relaxing. And for a lot of people, packing is a stressful thing. Like sometimes it can be stressful for me and sometimes it's super fun. If like if I have a lot of time, I can think about okay, what outfits am I gonna bring and what am I gonna coordinate, you know, and where are we going? And packing can be super fun, but for a lot of people, packing can be super stressful. And so again, this RV concept helps you relax even before the trip with the packing already done. So that's really great. Yep.

SPEAKER_05 23:26

And if you're like me and you overpack, like I don't know. I'm I'm like, I don't want I'm going on a five-day trip, I need at least 15 outfits. Like I don't I don't if it's only I need options. I need so like and sometimes that's hard to get in your your checked suitcase and you don't want to check two and luggage fees and and all that. So throwing in that one or two extra uh dresses is a little bit easier when you're you're going in in an RB.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Absolutely. Or if you're going somewhere where the weather's gonna be super unpredictable and you need a coat and a bikini all at the same trip, you have all of that. And again, super easy. Yeah.

Last Minute Stops That Feel Legit

SPEAKER_01 24:04

And one of the issues Rory and I had when we were on a trip, there were not enough loves en route that had availability when we were traveling. And we had I it may have been the same night or a different night, but we found ourselves on Google Maps saying, okay, where are the RV parks and calling and finding it really difficult to find like last minute availability? And a lot of times the way Rory and I travel is that spontaneous kind of thing where it's or hey, let's just drive till we get tired and then let's find a place. And he didn't want to just stop in a Walmart parking lot and sleep for the night, you know. I mean, you have your toilet and everything in the RV with you, but he was like, No, I want to have a legit place that I'm parking for the night. And so maybe you could address that andor any other kind of RV obstacles that people run into, then maybe you have some advice and tips and workarounds.

SPEAKER_05 25:08

Yeah. So I think another option that is great for exactly that that situation. Um, I don't know if you've heard of Harvest Host. There's also a company called RV Overnights. And what they do, and Harvest Hosts is kind of the OG. They're not that old. They're less than 10 years old. And I think O RV Overnights is is even younger than that. But they partner with it started with farms, Harvest Hosts, um, and wineries and breweries. And they they're businesses where you pay a membership to Harvest Hosts, which I don't know what it is now. It's it's less than $200. I know it was under $100 for a while. And that's a year's membership. And you can stay at these establishments. Now, they would like you to purchase something from the establishment, you know, from the winery, from the farm stand, any of those things. But you're able to stay in a place that is allowing you to. So it's it's not just staying at a Walmart parking lot. So that's a great option when you're traveling and you're like, I don't know how far I'm gonna get. Well, okay, but here's where I can stay on harvest hosts. So there's a lot of options like that that have popped up in the last five to 10 years as there are companies and people who are looking to address these pain points. And again, you're that's not the that's not usually the destination, but another great thing about RVing is it's not all about the destinations. The destinations are fantastic, but it's also about the journey. It's about getting from point A to point B. Conversations in the car. And I mean, you don't have to be in an RV, you don't have to be on a road trip for those to happen. I think any parent out there will tell you like some of the best conversations happen with your kids when you're like just driving and both looking forward. And it's it's a really great area for dialogue. And it's not just parents and kids, it's partners, it's friends. Like there's a like a low, low pressure thing about talking while driving that just can help you reconnect. And so it's about that that journey. And so there are companies that are that are popping up to make that that journey and those stops along it um even easier. So great.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

And again, we will have those in the show notes so you guys can click on those and find those resources for you for your harvest host and beyond.

Women Building The RV Industry

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Um, all right. I want to kind of go back to just like you and your career. You've been involved with the RV Women's Alliance. And what have you learned from being a part of that organization? And what do women bring to the RV community?

SPEAKER_05 27:47

Yeah. The RV Women's Alliance is for women in the industry who work in the industry. I am I'm a founding board member of the RV Women's Alliance, founded in 2019, right before the pandemic. So then we were ramping up and trying to do not a lot of events, but we actually did a really cool, it was called Drab to Fab and took an RV that was five or six years old and took it down to the studs and completely rebuilt it back out. And it was all women. I have never been more aware that I have a desk job than when I was working on uh this unit and and ripping out the screws and like doing all of a sudden and rebuilding it back. It was it was a great experience, and it really brought a lot of women who work in the industry together during that time period. So it's about educating and elevating women in the industry. I was part of creating the RB Women's Alliance's awards program that recognizes um Trailblazer, Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer, which is about, you know, accomplishing great things, but also doing it in a way that you're building a path behind you for the women that are coming up behind you. So that's a like really special award. I've been very proud of the women who have been awarded that, but also recognizing companies who are doing great things for women in the RV industry, as well as a champion of women, there's a champion of women for an individual and then also for a company. And then another, I mean, I love them all, but then also there's the for someone who's starting out in their career, less than five years in the industry, and someone who like is just doing stellar things and you know that they're going to make an impact in the industry for years to come. So I've been really proud of the work there and just elevating the work of women across the RV industry. Women have a lot, when we're looking on the consumer side, women have a lot of power in the the decision making on purchases. And so we need to make sure that the designs of RVs, the features in them are speaking to women who are oftentimes more of a voice in the in the purchase decision of RVs.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Yeah, I mean, women are traditionally the the home maker. Like we may be a bent towards making home a home. We probably tend to be more of the nesters. And so we would have more insight on what feels right in a space and making those decisions. So that totally makes sense. And I love that you are supporting women in the industry. And just as we're talking, it's like, you know, there is space for so many people in this RV space, not only for us as travelers to just get out and utilize RVs and go see the world using an RV, but also there is a whole job circuit. Like there are jobs that are available in this industry. And then also, like you mentioned, the farmers or winery owners or you know, that type of thing. Like business owners can also have a foot in this space. And yeah, absolutely. With your efforts, people are finding a place that people can plug into.

SPEAKER_05 31:07

Absolutely.

RV Technician Careers And Training

SPEAKER_05 31:08

Another area that we haven't talked about. It's it's related, it's another part of my my job is we have something called the RV Technical Institute, and it trains RV technicians, and that's an area of lots of opportunity. There are 8.1 million households that own an RV. That's a lot of RVs that need maintenance and upkeep and repairs. And RV technicians, it is a is an area for career growth. And so the RV Technical Institute does training and certification there. And a really cool crossover with the RV Women's Alliance is the RV Technical Institute has partnered with the RV Women's Alliance to offer women's only classes. For so because I think the stat a handful of years ago was like 3% of RV techs were women. And we have grown, we've grown that by providing training, especially for women who not always, but can sometimes listen better, um, can like have some attention to detail. They make really good RV techs. And that's not necessarily the the first thought. Men make great RV techs too. Like there are, it's not a one-gender thing, but it has been really great to just open that door and and get that out there that that is an opportunity. So that's another fun, fun area that I've been able to work on at my time with the organization.

SPEAKER_01 32:32

Super, super fun. You've been R Ving your whole life. So what is something you still love about it? Maybe that we haven't talked about yet.

SPEAKER_05 32:42

Yeah, it is really the time that you're able to spend with your family. I was able, it was a it was a work RV trip a few weeks ago that I was able to bring. I have two daughters, middle school age daughters, and I was able to take them with me on that. It was an RV trip, also a work trip. And just being able to share my job and what I'm doing professionally and them to be able to see that while also being able to get outdoors and go do all the fun things at the campground and share that with them. I wish my husband had been able to come too, but it's kind of fun to have just like girls trip too. So it is just that connecting with the friends and and family is going to always be the best thing about RVing. I one of five, I had two sisters, and we have, whenever I talked about like RVing, I talked about how we played this game called Queen of the Bed. There was a queen bed in the back of the class A, and we would just, it's exactly what it sounds like. You're just trying to get the other two off the bed. And it was, you know, typical little kid things, but it's something my sisters and I, I don't, the boys were never able to play with us because I have two brothers also, but like it's something we still talk about regularly, like, oh, remember when we played Queen of the Bed? Um, and that's a core RVing memory that we'll we'll always be a part of our memories of our childhood.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

That is so special. And that's really bringing that reconnection and connecting with family. And we've kind of touched on this, but that's really a lot of what you bring home is those deeper connections with those you're

Restorative Habits To Bring Home

SPEAKER_01 34:20

traveling with. One of the things that we love about travel and the flexibility in it is that sometimes you come home feeling different than when you left. And so you talked about that relax. It gives people that opportunity to relax, to recharge. Why do you think it's so restorative in that way?

SPEAKER_05 34:39

And that's what I love about your platform here is taking those lessons from travel and applying them back to when you are home. And, you know, RVing literally does flip that dynamic. You are you are taking those foundational comforts of home with you. So it's still very similar to your environment, but just that added layer of you are away, you are traveling, you are on vacation, you are in oftentimes, not for everyone, the amount of people who walked into RVs and who live in apartments and are like, whoa, this is bigger than my apartment. But oftentimes you're in a smaller area than maybe at home. So you're literally closer to your travel companions. It just allows you to have those simplified, enjoying the great outdoors, a calmer life that when you come home, you're able to hopefully slow down and it can be an easier transition back home because you you had part of home with you. I think that's one of the key takeaways. You know, being outdoors, there have been studies that have shown two hours outdoors is as good as 10,000 steps, which is fantastic. But I actually think, you know, you putting those two together and and getting your your steps while you're outdoors, for me personally, whether on vacation or at home, an hour outdoors walking is a non-negotiable and it is so good for my mental health and physical health. And I will say when you're on vacation, especially RVing, taking those trips around the campground, around you're often in very scenic areas. The trip I was just on last month, walking, being able to do laps around a nice lake that was there in the campground was the perfect way to start my morning. So those are things that you can supercharge while you're on vacation, especially in an RV out in the grid outdoors, that you can bring back home and hopefully make sure you're incorporating that into your daily life.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

And like you mentioned earlier, you're in a smaller space, you have to maybe face each other a little more. And it's just really bringing that connection together and also that relaxation. And so you bring home kind of this rejuvenation with your relationships, with your yourself, your soul. Is there anything else that might be just a practical take home from when you're not on the road that RV travel kind of lets you bring home?

SPEAKER_05 37:08

I mean the like kind of neat freak in me is like there you do have limited space. So everything having a place and and only you can bring more than with traditional travel, but you still are limited. You can't bring everything. So being mindful about what you really, what you really need and making sure that everything has a place so it doesn't get cluttered. Um, you know, when you come back home, like even if you have more more space, it's a wonder what everything having a place allows to keep your living area nice and clean.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

So this that's super practical and not necessarily inspirational, but like I think it's a it's a good yes, you are speaking my language because that is something I always strive for and feel like I am always not achieving is you know, uh that minimalism idea and decluttering. Like I'm always thinking about what I can get rid of and how can I streamline things at the home. And I think packing in itself, when you're packing for whatever trip you're going to helps you kind of realize what is really important to you because you're going to take those things with you. And so packing in one sense does that. But I love that like an RV gives you this kind of microcosm of your home and your values, and you're able to kind of assess all of that and then bring that into your living space at home. And you're like, you know, you can reference and say, you know what? When I was in the RV, I didn't need six of these things. I didn't need 10 of these things. So it's okay if I only have one of these things or none of these things. I can just enjoy them in the RV, you know. So I I I really appreciate you saying that. And I feel like that is a very practical thing. And then Rory is always telling me, put it in its place. What's its place? You know, because if I'm losing something or misplacing something, or, you know, sometimes I just like throw everything in the bag just to like make sure it's there and I'll organize it at some point, but I'll know I have what I want, you know. But that's not putting things in their place. And then you're digging through a bag for six hours. And if it just was in its place, then it's in its place and then you can go on and have a happy life. And so I just I really appreciate you have you saying that. And I know Rory appreciates you saying that too, just to inspire me, encourage me along those lines, because that is something that's super important as you're managing your home. You really need to know what's important to you and keep things clean and put them in a place and find a place and make a place for those things that bring you value. Which we talked a little bit about that in our previous episode with Amber on Q is for quaint. So we'll put we can reference that in the show notes as well. So this will be packed full of lots of fun references for you guys.

Go RVing Tools And Where To Connect

SPEAKER_01 40:05

So when visit those show notes and um, how can people connect with you, Monica? How can they find you and reach out?

SPEAKER_05 40:12

Yeah, so I encourage people to check out go rving.com for sure if you have any questions or thoughts about RVing. We have a great quiz that you're like, I don't even know. Do I towable, motorized? How but what kind? We have a great quiz that asks you only five or six questions and it's gonna give you some recommendations. You can also compare side by side different types of RVs, and we had talked about some of those tips and and expert advice. So yeah, I really encourage people to check out go rving.com and go rving is on all of the socials as as well. Great, awesome.

SPEAKER_01 40:48

All right, y'all. Well, check that out. Monica, thank you so much for your time and your expertise and your inspiration and really what you bring to this whole RV space and having this R V space as part of our R episode. Really appreciate you your time and your input. And we'll go check out Go R V more and really enjoy all the tips and helpful resources that you are providing for travelers. Thank you so much for all of your efforts and your time today.

SPEAKER_05 41:19

Thank you so much for having me. This has been a blast.

SPEAKER_01 41:22

As

Rigi Switzerland Road Trip Story

SPEAKER_01 41:23

we're talking about reconnecting and relaxing and road tripping, RVing, but road tripping, we can't not talk about R is for Regi.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

You mean to say we must talk about? It's not it's it was a good double negative, good use of a double negative.

SPEAKER_01 41:46

Thank you. It's it's a must discuss when we have an episode that's an R-themed episode because we took a little day road trip to Regi. We our Swiss friends and hosts actually led us there last year, said that's where we needed to go, and it's become one of our favorite places within one of our favorite places.

SPEAKER_02 42:10

Yeah, yeah.

Trains, Views, Hikes, And Cowbells

SPEAKER_02 42:12

Yeah, it's gorgeous. There's a town and a lake, and it's gorgeous like all the Swiss lakes and mountains all around the lake. We got up to the top. There's a a train you can take up to the top of the mountain.

SPEAKER_01 42:24

Riki is this beautiful mountain destination in Switzerland, and there's a little village up near the top, and it feels so quaint because we just did our cue episode. It's quaint and peaceful town. And you take this uh, it's more like a cog train, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 42:39

Yeah, it's either a cog or a cable train. Maybe both. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

So you take that up the mountain. Um then when you get to the top, then you're actually in Rigi itself, and you're surrounded by these, right?

SPEAKER_02 42:51

Rigi Coolm, is that how they say it?

SPEAKER_01 42:54

Oh, yeah, they're right because there's several versions of Rigi.

SPEAKER_02 42:57

I think Regi's town at the bottom of the mountain, and Rigi, is it Cool?

SPEAKER_01 43:00

No, Vitznow is the town at the bottom.

SPEAKER_02 43:05

Rigi Stofel. Stafel.

SPEAKER_01 43:08

Well, they're not looking at that.

SPEAKER_02 43:10

And Rigi Coolm was the top of the mountain.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

K-U-L-M. Yes. Rigi is R-I-G-I.

SPEAKER_02 43:16

And the view up there is breathtaking. Ridiculous. It's ridiculous. Like all the views when you go to the top of Mountain Switzerland. And while we were up there, they oh, by the way, they have a hotel up there that you can stay in at the peak there. It's so cool.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

Eat there too.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

Yeah, you can eat there. Big restaurant. Um, they have loads of hiking around there and open pasture areas, and people were lying around, picnicking in the pastures, and there were cows around with cowbells and all that.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

We love that soon.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

Really cool. It was so nice that instead of riding the train all the way down the mountain, we decided to walk part way back down.

SPEAKER_01 43:53

Yeah, we did a mostly hike down. So we did a train ride up and a half mostly half hike down.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

And on the way down, we found this old place that was abandoned that, of course, you know, we should buy and restart. I I love old historic places. And then after that, we continued down and found a new hotel and area in a little village there. And this has a brand new spa and resort and everything built in there.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Which is also relaxing.

SPEAKER_02 44:24

Very relaxing, very modern, if you want modern relaxing, instead of the old school relaxing. I think at the top, the hotel's probably very modern as well. But we didn't go in there.

unknown 44:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

Because we were busy looking at the views.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

We were busy, yes, looking around.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

So yeah, at the top of the mountain, you have these incredible, serene blue-green lakes that just stretch out below you. And for for me, there's just something about when I'm up there, it's just like you're taking in the awe and the wonder, and it just makes your heart really like big and creates all this emotional space to just go. Yeah, it feels like everything that's where the relaxing comes from, I think for me.

SPEAKER_02 45:11

It's a bit like everything around you is so powerful with nature and the things you're seeing are so epic that it allows you to go, yeah. I don't have to be big. I don't have to be epic. I can just be me because there's no way I'm gonna outdo this. I don't know. It's something about it. It gets a bit humbling, but in a really good way. Of course, being humble is good anyway. But I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_03 45:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:35

Uh and my dogs were so tired when we got to the bottom of the mountain. I remember specifically my feet were hurting or burning or something. We've been walking up there all the time.

SPEAKER_01 45:44

I never heard you call your feet dogs.

SPEAKER_02 45:46

Oh, yeah, my dogs are burning. That's what it was. We walked down the mountain and I was like, let's get on the train because we're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 45:51

Oh yeah, you needed you needed new shoes that that's yeah, I needed new shoes.

SPEAKER_02 45:54

So we got to the bottom of the bottom of the mountain, and of course I soaked my feet in the lake, and it was awesome because for me the water was cold and it was so refreshing for my feet. But then the dogs was what is the noise a dog makes when they're happy? That wasn't the one. Whatever noise a dog makes when they're happy. Maybe that's when they're unhappy and they're crying. They were happy anyway.

SPEAKER_01 46:18

Then you had happy feet.

SPEAKER_02 46:19

I had happy Oh, that was good. Then I had happy feet. I did the little penguin dance in my heart.

SPEAKER_01 46:25

Yes, yeah. And I kind of felt like I did the penguin dance at the top and the middle and the bottom. Like the whole area was all happy dance for me.

SPEAKER_03 46:37

And so it's like you speaking of disco.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Well, we actually weren't at the disco, Rory. We were at the accordion.

SPEAKER_02 46:45

Oh, yeah. Um, we had an exhibition disco thing.

SPEAKER_01 46:53

Remember that at the top?

SPEAKER_02 46:54

Yes. There's a big restaurant.

SPEAKER_01 46:56

And the actual Riggy Coolm at the very top of the mountain.

SPEAKER_02 47:00

Yep, there's a big restaurant at the restaurant. As they all had these huge patios, and there was an accordion band. There must I think there were thirty people there with accordions. I don't know. At least five, maybe thirty. There's a bunch of people.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

And here's what they sounded like.

SPEAKER_02 47:24

Between that and cowbells, the only thing that could have made it better were Alpenhorns and Alp cheese. To have some good fresh farm cheese. That would have made it even better.

SPEAKER_01 47:36

We even ran into some folks from India, and they sang for us too. They did indeed. They sang for us.

SPEAKER_02 47:43

It turns out they had studied music. Both of them had studied voice.

SPEAKER_01 47:46

We ended up just having a conversation with them at the top of the mountain while we're looking at the cows and listening to the cowbells. And somehow that got into music and talking about how Rory and I do music, and then they ended up singing for us. So that was fun. So it's a very musical day for us. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:02

As I recall, it was sisters, and they they had both studied voice in India, and we were like, I want to know what that sounds like. So it was really cool.

SPEAKER_01 48:11

But not like our no, very, very different. Very cool. So from that to cowbells to accordions, we had quite the variety that day. And of course, music can relax your soul too. But yeah, so yeah, we had that hike down, all of that stuff. Anything you want to add from the hike down? Cute little cute little stops, like a cute little picture with our train. We're excited to share these pictures with you on our socials because they're it's just so beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 48:40

Yeah, what do you see? I'm so cool. And the little village there made you want to stay in it. I mean, it was like a single intersection kind of a deal, you know. Oh, there were some homes spread out, but further down from the village. And there was a horse and carriage being pulled through the village. Uh yeah, which is it was very That's the same village where the spa was, right? Uh yeah, yeah, just down a little bit, but yeah, same village where you catch the train, I think. We were waiting for the city.

SPEAKER_01 49:04

We can get ice cream.

SPEAKER_02 49:06

We did get ice cream as we were waiting for the train. Which was on time because we're in Switzerland.

SPEAKER_01 49:13

So there's little like mini towns on the way down from the top of the mountain is basically what we're trying to say.

SPEAKER_02 49:19

And those little you could stay there.

SPEAKER_01 49:21

You could stay there, you could take the train halfway up or all the way up.

SPEAKER_02 49:25

Or you can hike up.

SPEAKER_01 49:26

Or you can hike up or hike down because Switzerland is built for hiking.

SPEAKER_02 49:30

When your dogs are burning, you can do what I did. And that feed them dogs. Soak them in the water.

SPEAKER_01 49:40

Y'all, so the summer oh go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 49:43

Well, is it what's the the lake called? Is it Riggy Lake? I don't remember even.

SPEAKER_01 49:48

I don't know. It's it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

Oh no. That's what you just said.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

Okay. So so y'all, so it was a really so this was last year for us. It was a really hot summer. We had been in Switzerland for two weeks. And of course, as we're taking road trips across Switzerland, there are all of these beautiful lakes and Alps. And that's the German part of Switzerland, German and Italian parts have all the Alps. The French part is not as mountainous.

SPEAKER_02 50:22

Not as Alpy. Not as alpine. Not as Alpine.

SPEAKER_01 50:28

There you go.

SPEAKER_02 50:28

That's the word.

SPEAKER_01 50:30

There you go. They're not as alpine. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 50:33

I'm looking at pictures as we're talking.

SPEAKER_01 50:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 50:35

Of the trip.

SPEAKER_01 50:36

So every time we drove by a lake, the sun is just like beaming down. It's gorgeous. And I'm like, I was jealous of every single person that was in a body of water when we were driving by for those two weeks.

SPEAKER_03 50:51

I'm glad we didn't see anyone drowned.

SPEAKER_01 50:54

I just, I just want to be in the water, in the mountain, like have be in a lake where I'm surrounded by gorgeous Alps in this summer when it's so hot, because that's a perfect time to be in the water. But going up to the top of Rigi was the priority more than seeing the town, the village below, right?

SPEAKER_02 51:14

The view from above.

SPEAKER_01 51:16

We like road tripped to Regi that day. This all was in a day trip.

SPEAKER_03 51:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:21

And we drove to Rigi, went up the train to the top of the mountain, did the hike down. Okay. So by the time we got down, it was like evening time. It was like five-ish.

SPEAKER_02 51:36

It's the only explanation I can find. Who sang that?

SPEAKER_01 51:41

Carpenter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:44

Thank you, Karen Cockley.

SPEAKER_01 51:46

Are you done singing?

SPEAKER_02 51:48

I think I'm done now.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

Okay, so I'm gonna continue my coverage. Yeah, joy that I found.

SPEAKER_02 51:59

Oh, that's good. I see what you did. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 52:03

So we're getting there in the evening. Well, y'all, I mean, it's Europe. It's Switzerland. Everybody closes at like five or six. Like you're up the size. You're not, you can't count on that anything's open.

Paddleboarding And A Lakefront Wedding

SPEAKER_01 52:15

Yeah. But y'all, this one place on the water had paddle boards. And I was like, Rory, look, they have paddle boards and they're signed. They look like they're kind of open. So I ran in. Y'all, they were open. I was so happy. And I said, Can I please just have this for an hour and just go in the water? I don't even think I used the full hour because I knew Rory's just waiting for me.

SPEAKER_02 52:39

I was waiting in the hot sun.

SPEAKER_01 52:42

And so, y'all, that was the best. Like, it makes I'm gonna cry because it was so great. It was everything I wanted it to be. I got to float and paddle and like you can paddle boards are so awesome because you can just like you can stand up on them, you can do pilates and weights on them, or you can just lay on your back and look at the sun or lay on your stomach and fall asleep. You can sit, whatever. Like, if you like kayaking and you like sitting, well, you can do that on a paddle board. Like they're the best ever. You can have lunch on you, have picnic. You could have green eggs and ham on a paddle board. And so that's why they're so great. And so I was paddling and then I was doing some stretches, and then I was doing some, I just laid and looked at the sun and let the paddle board just carry me wherever it was. And I did paddle over to one section of the lake where there was this giant mansion. Oh, and there was bride and groom having a wedding ceremony and like reception and everything. And so I was like, oh, I'd love. So I took some pictures from the lake of their wedding, and that was really fun. And I thought, oh, I should find out who they are and send them pictures, but I didn't.

SPEAKER_02 53:55

I think that was the Grand Hotel because I remember thinking it was grand place. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:00

Yes, it was grand.

SPEAKER_02 54:01

Beautiful, historic looking, but very sweet looking Grand Hotel.

SPEAKER_01 54:05

So I paddled over there, and the lake is super clear. It's this green blue water. It's a gorgeous color and it's just clear water. Yeah, yeah. It's just how they do it. And and I just I felt like this is my heaven day. And so it was so relaxing, and I was so grateful that A, there was a business that was open in the evening, and two, that my wonderful husband let me, you know, pay to rent a paddle board and enjoy the the area. It was just the biggest highlight for me because it was like the perfect setting that I had so been craving. So that was like my dream situation in Rigi.

SPEAKER_02 54:51

I'm just glad I'm so wonderful. And as I'm looking at the picture, so it calls the town, I believe, Vitznow. Vitznow.

SPEAKER_01 54:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 54:59

Yeah. So I think Rigi must be the mountain.

SPEAKER_01 55:03

Maybe, right? And then Rigi Coolm is the top.

SPEAKER_02 55:07

Yeah. So maybe Rigi's the mountain, and Vitznow's the town that where the lake, the uh powderboard.

SPEAKER_01 55:13

That's where I got the powderboard. Yeah, that's the supporting town. And that's where I soaked my dog. That's where you get the train to go up the mountain. And we absolutely loved it. We, of course, highly recommend it. So if you're heading over, very much. We definitely want you to visit there. And, you know, when we first got instructions on where to go travel in Switzerland, we were told, you know, Interlochen. And we love the surrounding mountains and lakes that Interlochen serves.

SPEAKER_02 55:45

Yeah, it's a jump off point.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

You know, it's so, so great and was such a great introduction. And what I loved about Regi is that it gave us all of those same feels without as many tourists. There's still a ton of people there. Yeah. Because you it's gorgeous. But uh as as many years as we've been to Switzerland and have never even heard of it until last year, I I feel like that it's not one of the more popular publicized areas.

SPEAKER_02 56:16

Well, Interlochen certainly is one of them.

SPEAKER_01 56:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 56:19

But Rigi, what I'm saying is, yeah, no, otherwise I'm just saying Interlochen certainly is.

SPEAKER_01 56:23

Right. So you have a lot of lot of tourists, whereas in Regi, you had a lot of people there, but they were more like probably local to Switzerland tourists.

SPEAKER_02 56:32

Yeah, possibly. It keeps blowing our mind that as many times as as we've been there, we continue discovering new places and regions we haven't been to that are spectacular.

SPEAKER_01 56:43

Yeah. And even this year where we're sharing about Regi, we've found even more. So we look forward in future episodes to telling you about even new areas and new discoveries. And it's such a like comparatively small country, and we still keep finding things. And I that's what is so fun about travel. There are always, even in your own backyard, y'all, if you just get out and explore, there are always new things to discover, new details to capture. And and to me, again, like if I could somehow explain it, it just opens up the heart, it opens up the soul where you can breathe and just have that relax moment, you know? It allows you to take in the moment and you want to be there. You don't want to know the only thing you want to be using your phone for is to take pictures.

SPEAKER_02 57:30

I think instead of relaxing, it's reglaxing. Riggy. Relaxing. You see what I did there? Like I took Riggy, the R-I-G, and I put relaxing after it. Relaxing.

SPEAKER_03 57:41

Relaxing.

SPEAKER_02 57:42

Yeah. So yeah, that's what I did. Relaxing. Yeah, that's cool. Relaxing. You are so cool, Roy.

SPEAKER_01 57:50

R is Ferrari.

SPEAKER_02 57:52

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 57:53

Come on now.

SPEAKER_02 57:55

R is Ferrori relaxing. Yeah. See how you rigged that?

SPEAKER_01 58:04

And y'all, you know, Regi is a great place to RV

Roadsurfer In Europe And The US

SPEAKER_01 58:09

to. I don't know if you are aware, if you took note from our previous episode, Jay is for journey, but Road Surfer makes exploring places like Rigi a whole lot easier because y'all, they are a German company, and so they have multiple pickup locations around Germany and Europe and throughout Switzerland. Like they have several pickup locations across Switzerland. And it was really, really fun this summer. We're just driving along doing our road trips, and road surfer motorhomes would pass us by, and it was just so fun to see road surfers in Switzerland. So please know that Road Surfer is not limited to the US. It is brand new to the US. And so you can build a European road trip and an RV trip around places like Rigi and have the freedom to explore along the way. And, you know, over the years, Rory and I have seen so many RV campgrounds all across like Europe, the UK. In the UK, they're going to be called a caravan park, you know. So just know that R V life is not just for the good old USA. So when you're ready to try it, our roadsurfer link is H T T P S colon forward slash forward slash. Here we go. Link dot roadsurfer R-O-A-D-S-U-R-F-E-R dot com forward slash Romies. R-O-A-M-I-E-S. Normally we have the in front of Romies, but for this link with Road Surfer, it's link.roadsurfer.com forward slash Romies. So use that link. And then I think for another month, depending on when you're listening, we have code Romies10 all in caps, capital R O A M I E S 10, and that'll get you 10% off. And all of that will be in the show notes, but I wanted to give it to you audio, audio-wise in case you can only listen right now. Maybe it'll get in your brain. But yeah, just remember you can come back to our show notes, reference that, click the link, and uh and book. It's just super fun. They have unlimited mileage, they allow pets. So it's just like we really enjoyed road surfing with them. We hope to have future adventures with them as well. And I'm so grateful that Monica gave us some emotional and practical ways to bring that relaxing and road trip and RV experiences home.

Five Simple Ways To Relax At Home

SPEAKER_01 1:00:51

And I just kind of want to recap and bring it all home as we talk about relaxing at home. And, you know, you don't have to completely redesign your house and turn it into a spa. But here's just some five simple ways that you might be able to bring a little bit of that road trip feeling home. Number one is create a place to pause. So it doesn't have to be a whole room. You could have a chair by a window, a spot on the porch, a corner in the backyard, or a little place where you can sit with your coffee. Just give yourself somewhere in your home where the purpose is simply to stop for a minute. A lot of times for me, that's in my bathtub. And if you guys listen to our Beas for Bath episode, we talked about Rome and the products by William Rome and all of those luxury bath items. That just helps create that spa type feel in your home. And so for me, sometimes just taking a wonderful hot bath is such a wonderful escape and a great place for me to pause. But I think there's also values creating that chair by the window where you can sit, chill, pray, all those things. Another way to bring the relax home is to get outside. And even if that's to do something active, like go for a walk, that is still so relaxing for your body and for your soul. And one of the things we love about traveling is being outside and paying attention to the amazing scenery and the things that are around us. And so to create more of that at home, maybe create spaces where you can eat outside or just sit outside or work in the garden, take your coffee out to the porch, your tea out to the porch. Of course, tea is way more relaxing. That's number two B is drink tea from my brand, Vegabond Teas. I'll put that in the show notes too. But just, you know, enjoy that outside. You can ice it if it's summer. But just spend 10 minutes enjoying the sunshine. Get your vitamin D. Just make sure you're wearing your sunscreen, folks. But you don't have to go anywhere far to change your environment. I think another way to bring relax home is to make everyday rituals feel special. And so even when you're traveling, even something as simple as making or going to get coffee or sitting down for dinner feels like part of the experience. So why can't we do that at home? Use the good mug, put on the music, light a candle, set the table, make the meal. Like you don't have to save all the good stuff for when you're away. And I think some of those things don't have to take up a lot of time. Sometimes we think like lighting a candle could take an extra 30 seconds out of your meal prep time, and it could have such a huge impact. So I think sometimes we might overthink the little things and think, I don't have time for all of those little tiny things. But I think there's maybe one of those things that you can throw into your hectic schedule that just bring that moment of that we talked about when we experienced that in Regi. Another way, number four, give yourself permission to do less. I don't think I've done this yet, but so it's probably the hardest. But we can get so focused on what needs to be cleaned and fixed and renovated and organized and answered and accomplished that sometimes we forget we're supposed to actually like live in our homes. And and so sometimes you just have to decide that that project can wait one more week, you know. And sometimes there's gonna be seasons where you're gonna work super hard and sometimes seasons of more space in your schedule. But I think it's important to find those moments to be able to relax and restore your soul and your body daily and weekly. And then my last little tip in here, number five, is really the bringing the feeling home and not just the souvenir. Remember, you know, we've talked about souvenirs before in the sense that like what Rory and I like to bring home are very practical things that we would enjoy and use. Like usually it's food that's gonna get consumed. It's not going to junk up our house and be more stuff that we have to manage. And I think that being very mindful of what you are bringing home from your trip, the more that those can be feelings, are going to help create less clutter in your home than if you just bring home a bunch of just like memorabilia that could lead to clutter and chaos and junk and more things to clean or dust in your home. So digital photos and happy feelings, you know, new routines, new mindsets, those are some of the best souvenirs to bring home. And maybe that's why these are called mindful souvenirs, because if there's a place you've traveled that made you feel peaceful, energized, connected, inspired, or just happy, if when you take the time to think about why was it the colors, was it the outdoor space? Was it the pace? Was it the people, the music, the food, the lack of distractions, was it the schedule, whatever it was, think through that. Is there a little piece of that feeling that you can create at home in some way? And a lot of times that could also mean getting rid of some things so that there is just space. And that's really what Rome to Home is about. We're not just bringing things home from our travels, it's bringing home ideas, attitudes, inspirations, routines, and experiences that make our everyday lives a little better. So we think those are the best souvenirs of all. So whether you find your relaxation on the road or beside a lake or in a beautiful little town or coffee house or right in your own backyard, you know, we're always gonna say R is for Rory and for Rome. We wanna encourage you to take this season that you're in right now and let that be your R is for relax. And we will see you all next time as we keep roaming and finding ways to bring it all home.

Final Wrap And How To Follow

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