Last weekend the three of us had a wedding reception to attend in Gig Harbor, so we decided to stay there for the weekend instead of making the trek out just for an evening. As much as we love spending time on the Olympic Peninsula, we pretty much stick to the areas north of Poulsbo, so Gig Harbor was a town we’d never done more than pass through.
Since we were going to be closer to friends who live in the South Sound, we reached out to them to see if they had time to meet up with us. That family will be moving out of state soon for the military, so we wanted to get one more good day with them before then. They’ll be out of area, but considering we flew to Florida for their daughter’s (our goddaughter’s) baptism, being half a country away won’t keep us apart long term. That, and we’re gunning for them to retire back in Washington eventually.
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Friday’s Frugal Five
1. We have been looking at buying a travel trailer eventually (specifically this model), so when I had the chance to book an RV via Airbnb for our weekend in Gig Harbor, I jumped at the chance. While we aren’t looking to buy a class A motor home, some of the space was similar enough to get a feel for the trailer we are looking at. After staying for the weekend, the kiddo is ready for us to buy one now.
It was also a very reasonably priced place to stay (as it should have been), which meant we could stay late for the wedding and make a full weekend out of it instead of a long day of driving back and forth. I especially don’t drive well in the dark, so staying and having more fun was definitely appreciated. And the experience of staying in an RV was definitely a fun perk.
If you haven’t stayed in an AirBnB before, I would highly recommend it. We love the flexibility it gives us while traveling as a family – full kitchen, laundry, and extra bathrooms, and it’s usually considerably cheaper than a hotel, especially when you travel as a group. If you’re new to AirBnB, here’s a link for $40 off your first stay.
2. Since we arrived in Gig Harbor on Friday around dinner time, we grabbed an easy meal from the grocery store and headed to the RV. We had breakfast there as well and then took the bus to a neat park about three miles away. As Champagne and Capital Gains and Beau Humphries learned at FinCon, I am a total public transportation nerd and always jump at the chance at trying out a new system. Even better, they are in the same overarching system as we are, so we could use our normal transit passes on their buses.
After the park, we slowly made our way back to the downtown area for lunch, hangout time at the brewery, and the wedding reception. We walked home in the evening because the buses didn’t run that late, which wouldn’t have been bad if it didn’t start to rain steadily and the kiddo fell asleep half a mile in and we had to trade off the rest of the walk back. Even so, it was cheaper than a Lyft (which also meant we didn’t have to haul a car seat with us).
3. My mother and grandmother were out of town this week, so my mother in law stepped in and took the kiddo an extra day for us. She’s fully retired, which makes that possible, but she also very willingly helps out whenever she can when we are in a childcare pinch.
Two working parents can be pretty complicated sometimes, and we are so lucky to have so much support from our family and friends in that regard. It’s a lot of juggling on occasion, but it works, in large part to the wonderful community we have supporting us.
4. I mentioned in the quick note in the Frugal Five where I hit two and a half years into my clothing ban that I was eventually looking for a pair of new to me black boots to wear to work. I have one pair that still have a decent amount of life on them plus a pair of pretty worn Georgia Boots, but in looking ahead, the boots were one of the few things I needed in order to consider making a full three years or more with this ban.
After reading that post, my mom dug out a pair of black boots she’d purchased a good while back but had barely worn and offered them to me, with the note that they may as well be worn by me since they were otherwise just sitting and gathering dust in her closet. And then, in full disclosure, she bought me six pairs of new underwear – and removed the tags so I couldn’t return them. When I protested, she said it was a gift and I was allowed to accept gifts. So thank you mom, I do very much appreciate them. And yes, it is nice to have new underwear, as much life as I think is left in my current pairs.
5. I recently purchased some dried blueberries and raisins to take to work to have with the oatmeal I so often have for lunch at work. The meal isn’t terribly exciting, but adding the berries has made it a lot more exciting on the days I don’t bring a banana. I keep meaning to pick up some shaved almonds and coconut flakes as well, so soon my oatmeal will be even more exciting.
Exercise Update
Our full day in Gig Harbor on Saturday meant I ended the day with more than 23,000 steps, and about a half mile of those were done with a sleeping four year old in my arms. Thanks to Military Dollar’s fitness and health challenge group on Twitter, I did a bunch of squats, crunches, and (very bad) push ups on Sunday in between cooking dinner. Thanks to that motivation, I’m thinking more in terms of small things I can do to add more mini workouts to my week.
Monday my husband picked up the kiddo so I headed to the gym for a workout and then a short run. After his bedtime, I headed out and took the dogs for a good walk as well. I didn’t quite hit 20,000 steps that day, but I came close.
Tuesday was my normal walk to work after dropping the kiddo at preschool, but I had a late day at work so I didn’t have time for a workout afterward. Wednesday I wanted to go for a run in the afternoon, so when I ended up taking the kiddo and a neighbor friend to the park, I ran in circles and small spurs and ended up with a twenty minute run, with breaks to check in with them and answer questions. Still, I worked up a sweat and got a run in, which absolutely counts and feels really good to get done on a day I wouldn’t have otherwise.
PS – today is #climatestrike day. Here’s why I’m at work instead.
If you have young kids, how do you fit workouts into your life?
You stayed in an RV!?! That is something I would like to try sometime. Glad to hear it was a positive experience for your family.
Also, it made me chuckle to hear that your mom gifted you underwear and removed the tags to ensure that you would have to keep the gift. Moms are clever like that! 😂
Happy Friday!
It was so much fun!! I would definitely recommend it. Since it was parked we didn’t have to worry about driving the big rig or finding a spot for it either.
I really want to try staying in an RV too. Anything like that on the San Juan Islands? That would be great.
Oh, not sure I’ve seen one, but I bet there is!
Have you looked into RV Share? They are similar to AirBnB for RVs (person-to-person RV rentals).
We rented a Class C motorhome (think Minnie Winnie with a bed in the back and a bed over the truck cab) years ago to try it out, and it was pretty rickety on the road. Once we got settled at a camp spot, it was a lot of fun.
We wound up buying a travel trailer (20′ with queen bunk beds and a futon couch) that we live in during the summer. After searching high and low for a used RV, we found a new one was the right choice for us. Used RVs had a lot of odors (we have pet allergies) and the price wasn’t significantly lower than a new base model RV. I can tell you all kinds of adventures from the road, like don’t hitch your bikes to the back of the trailer itself b/c that is an aluminum bumper that will warp and crack while you’re cruising I-5 through Los Angeles… For real, if you have any questions about RV stuff let me know!
I’ve heard of it but we haven’t gotten around to renting one. My husband has a very specific model in mind, and it’s an A frame pop up so I haven’t seen anything similar to rent for a weekend.
did you mean to have a link to the trailer model? we don’t have any children but i have a “non-athletic” spouse so when we were away she took the dog and walked and i ran out ahead a couple of miles and turned back to join them for some more walking. that turned into more like me running circles around them on a trail but it worked out and we all still got some social time. it’s not the same as a good non-stop run but breaking a sweat is always a win and better than a sedentary day.
my good friend in new orleans has a little pop-up travel trailer in his big yard. we haven’t needed it as a guest room yet but some day we might and we sure will use it as a spare bedroom in an expensive hotel town. we had one when i was growing up and those are some good memories without a huge enormous cost.
Oops, yep, link added! Thanks for the catch! And clearly I am all for running circles if it means an extra workout in 🙂
For exercise I do a 10 minute morning yoga routine and at work we do a 10 minutes Barre3 break each day. We have a online account and stream the video in a conference room. Other than that it’s just trying to get in steps, take the stairs, etc.
We have a 22 ft pull behind camper, a Jayco Hummingbird and love it! We started with a used camper and then upgraded to our brand new one. This was before I discovered FI so probably not a very sound financial decision but I’m so glad we did it! We camp all around Austin and the farthest we’ve taken it is to Colorado. We have a 10 year old and we usually let him bring a buddy when we camp and he loves it!
Your kiddo is the cutest by the way!
Cool if you get an RV, I’ve always wanted to stay in one.
I had peanut butter and frozen blueberries in my oatmeal this morning, it was exciting enough for me and the toddler (ha he is so picky with food). I know what you mean about eating oatmeal plain though, it’s not enough.
Yeah, plain oatmeal is something I can rarely convince myself to eat lol
Niiiiice, on the RV! Definitely do your homework. We were enamored with a vintage airstream, ended up passing due to restoration cost, but are casually looking for something in the future. Check out the Shasta. They are pretty badass looking. You can spend it quick if you don’t want to do any work orrrrrrr it could be a pretty cool project…
Yeah, we are definitely avoiding Airstreams for that reason even though they are SO pretty.
That top pic is just a bit adorable…. and I have yet to do an RV trip and it’s been on my bucket list like forever!
Apparently this is your sign to get on it then!
I am totally on that oatmeal train these days! I go through phases with it but lately, the go-to has been with some almond milk, a bit of pb2, shredded coconut and a banana. Yum!
No kids in our life, which makes it even more unfortunate the I struggle with getting enough exercise in my life. For me, the biggest source of exercise is walking to work most mornings (about 40 minutes) and then trying to get out for a walk at lunch. That said, this will be changing soon, I fear — winter in Atlantic Canada is nothing to joke about!
Other than the peanut butter add, that sounds delicious! And I hear you on phases. I can definitely out-oatmeal myself.
How serious are you on the RC/Travel Trailer? I would urge against it as something that might just end up sitting and of course is a type of purchase that comes with extra costs of ownership. Think of the budget you want to spend and then look up what renting costs locally, then spread that cost across the amount of annual trips you want to do. Will it cover a couple years of trips? I’ve owned a few trailers and motorhomes so just want to be sure you have really thought that through.
Very serious 🙂 We’ve talked it through EXTENSIVELY at this point and have done some back of the envelope analyses on cost per trip etc.
Don’t forget about all the unforeseen costs and cost of ownership and also your truck fuel bills doubling pulling a trailer as well as extra wear and tear on the truck.
Understood 🙂 We have been talking about this extensively for years at this point.
Right on, well I can’t wait to hear about all the awesome camping trips then👍🏼
We are definitely not being hasty here 🙂