I am sitting in our RV at the end of our first day on the road as I type this.
Our first day on the road has turned out to be rather uneventful except for one thing — the FREEZING weather.
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When I woke up Saturday morning, I turned on the weather app and discovered that it was -1 Fahrenheit. That is pretty gosh darn cold!
I then looked up the temperature for the day in Nashville, which was our destination, and it was showing a daily high of 20 Fahrenheit. Granted 20 is a lot higher than -, but it is still cold.
When my husband woke up, we spent time praying for wisdom together. Do we leave in such cold temperatures or do we wait it out until Nashville is at least above 30?
We decided to go for it with the backup plan of ditching the RV for a hotel if we couldn’t get it warm enough. We had never tried camping in cold weather before, so we were not sure if the heater in the unit was going to be able to keep up. Plus my husband was very concerned about water pipes freezing.
With our minds made up, we flew into action packing the last of our items and making sure the house was ready for the house/dog sitter.
The drive to Nashville was relatively uneventful except for a few stressful moments at a gas station trying to maneuver the RV around the pumps and back onto the road. We want to stop at large gas stations that cater to semi-trucks ideally but today we ran low on fuel, and there were none in sight.
We pulled into the campsite at Nashville in time to unpack and start dinner. It was higher than the weather app said it was going to get but still pretty cold. The RV warmed up quicker than we thought it would though. It took about half an hour to feel livable and an hour to be warm and cozy.
We decided to not hook up our water for now. We are two spots over from the restrooms in the campground, and they are warm and clean. We do have to bundle up to use the facilities, but my husband didn’t want to risk frozen water pipes.
It feels a little surreal to finally be doing something that started as a dream years ago and became a plan just 9 months ago.
This week we are heading to Atlanta, and I promise in next week’s update I will have pictures of what we see. For now, I just wanted to let you know that the adventure has finally begun.
How To Follow Us Now That The Journey Is Over
My husband and I are currently traveling one weekend a month, you can check out our adventures on our blog The Parents Flew The Nest.
We also have an Instagram account that we keep updated with our most recent travels — @theparentsflewthenest is where you can find us there.
Wisdom Learned On The Road
12 Tips For Long RV Road Trips
10 Things To Bring When Exploring The National Parks
Want to read more about our RV trip? Dig into the links below!
Finally on Our Way! (you are here)
Week One Update: Nashville and Atlanta
Week Two Update: Atlanta, Savannah and St Mary’s
Week Three Update: St Mary’s and Little Talbot Island
Week Four Update: Orlando and Niceville
Week Five Update: Niceville, New Orleans, and Sea Rim State Park
Week Six Update: San Antonio, Carlsbad Caverns, and White Sands
Week 7 Update: Gila Cliff Dwellings, City of Rocks & Sedona
Week 8 Update: Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam & Lake Mead
Week 9 Update: Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Palm Springs, Laguna Beach
Week 10 Update: Joshua Tree, San Francisco, Yosemite, and Sequoia
Week 11 Update: Sea Glass Beaches and The Giant Redwoods of California
Week 12 Update: Seattle, Port Angeles, & Victoria
Week 13 Update: Nanaimo, Tofino, & Courtenay
Week 14 Update: Vancouver Island & Vancouver
Week 17 Update: Canadian Rockies, Drumheller
Week 18 Update: Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake
Week 19 Update Carters of The Moon, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton
Week 20 Update Grand Teton National Park, Salt Lake City, and Zion
Week 21 Update Kolob Canyon, Red Cliffs, Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon and Estes Park
The Final RV Road Trip Update: And Now We Are Home
Visit our RV Trip page for the story of how the trip came to be, a map of our route, and more
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Hi Victoria, Finally sat down to look at your blog! I remembered you said Fridays. I haven’t been back to the Y after visiting our grandson in Chicago, relatives in Madison WI and then on to see my Mom. Someone gave me a cold so now am feeling really crummy. Hope to get back on Monday.
Will look forward to reading where you are, etc…hopefully you are now in warmer weather. We are expecting freezing rain sometime this weekend. Don’t have any major plans but to watch the Packers play on Sunday. Safe Travels!!! Julie
Hi Julie, I miss my yoga buddies. I brought my mat but have yet to figured out how to do it in the RV with 4 other people in it. Monday’s are going to be RV updates. Sorry to hear you have a cold. Stay safe in the cold weather, and yes we are in a warmer area now–but I will try not to rub it in.