We finally found the time and what a great time! We highly recommend adding Key West to your RV Adventure bucket list. Key West packs more fun things to do per square mile in that just about anywhere in the country (NYC gives anywhere a run for its money but that’s a post for another time).

Picture by Annandale Photography

In this video we take our 2015 Entegra Aspire down to El Mar RV Resort in Key West (Stock Island) staying just a few miles from the world-famous Duval Street. The video says just about everything but here are some helpful links to items mentioned in the video. Questions? Leave us a comment below and we’ll get right back to you!

Where We Stayed

We stayed at El Mar RV Resort, on Stock Island which is part of Key West. El Mar RV Resort is small, with only 9-10 sites in total but they are extremely spacious. If you like quiet and a lot of space, there is no better place to stay in Key West. For those looking for a little more adventure we recommend Boyd’s Campground which is an extremely well run (but tightly spaced) RV park located just across the street from El Mar.

Boyd’s has a lot more action, laundry, a pool, and a store on site while EL Mar gives the feeling that your staying at a private waterfront beach-house with friends. They both are awesome, just depends what you’re in the mood for!

Palm Beach Motorcoach Resort

Before we headed south to Key West we stayed at Palm Beach Motorcoach Resort. This place is a gem, not just because the property is amazing but because it is one of the most friendly and well run parks in the COUNTRY! Seriously its amazing.

They accept Super C’s and Class A’s only though, but no age restrictions if your coach is in good condition. Sorry to our friends with 5th wheels but don’t worry all of the Key West parks are bumper pull and 5th wheel friendly!

Checkout the RVLove Remodel Series

Make sure to checkout the RVLove remodel series. It’s absolutely amazing and incredibly produced for a web show. You won’t regret it.

Series Starts Here

Thinks To Do

There are plenty of “Things to Do” posts out there talking about key west so we decided to pick a few less talked about items that we had a ton of fun doing while in Key West. Below are links to each of the activities in our video adventure.

Picture by Annandale Photography

Key West Top 20

1. Rent a Bike – We rented our bikes at We Cycle – Rent on Stock Island as that location has better bikes for less $$
2. Mile Marker “0” – Take a picture at the end of the road. It should be on everyone’s bucket list! Location Here
3. Sunset Cruise – Commotion on the Ocean Departs from Key West for $59 dollar sunset cruises with an open bar. Worth it!
4. Rent a Scooter – We brought our motorcycle but there are rental locations everywhere!
5. Conch Calling – Conch shells are everywhere! Look for a conch shell with the end cut off as those are made for “conch calling”!
6. Rum Distillery – Free tastings? What? Yup its true and the Bad Bitch Rum is worth buying, we picked up two bottles.
7. B.O’s Fish Wagon – A hidden gem, make sure to eat at B.O’s Fish wagon and bring a sticker if you have one!
8. Chickens! – Key West Chickens are everywhere. Look up in a tree – Chicken! Under a Car? Chicken!
9. Harbor Walk – Checkout the Boat House Restaurant and many others on Harbor Walk. If you look carefully you’ll find Buffet’s music studio!
10. Rent a Kayak – Rented at Hurricane Hole on Stock Island, great prices and an amazing staff and great food for after your return.
11. Southernmost Beach Cafe & Resort – Seriously the Key Lime Coolata is amazing. Grab a drink and put your feet in the sand at this beach front restaurant hotel.
12. Buy Souvenirs – We stopped by the Funky Chicken Store and picked up a t-shirt had and beer coozie! Chickens!
    

    Picture by Annandale Photography

13. Sunset Pier – The BEST place to watch the sunset on Key West conveniently located at the end of Duval Street (north).
14. Mallory Square – A beautiful public park with street performers and amazing waterfront and sunset views (plus you can drink on the street)
15. Leave a Dollar at Willie T’s – On Duval Street, Willie T’s is impossible to miss and actually a lot of fun. Money up front is cleared annually and donated to Veterans. Just ask for a stapler.
16. Conch Republic with Friends – An open air restaurant near the historic harbor with life music, a great bar and excellent food.
17. Key Lime Pie – Its everywhere! Kermits or Key Lime Pie Company? You be the judge!
18. Schooner Warf – A great night spot on the water with live music, an outdoor atmosphere and surprisingly good food. Try the crab salad.
19. Better than Sex – A Dessert themed bar with a sexy theme that adds sweats to an amazing drink/dessert menu. Worth it!
20. Drag Queen Show – This isn’t a drag show in the “automotive sense” – Drag is part of Key West’s culture and a Drag show is a must see (heaviest pours in Key West at Aqua!)
21. Relax – Your on Island Time – What Can we say.. don’t forget the point and make sure to just let go and have fun!

Picture by Annandale Photography

The post Our Key West RV Adventure appeared first on LivinLite.net.

Once we started looking into the idea of filming our setup we realized there was quite a bit to tell and much more than we could cram into a single blog post. Looks like its time for a series!

This is “Our Setup” – The Series

This will be the start of a serious of post/vlogs where we talk about our setup, the features and benefits, and if we regret any of our choices.  We encourage you to make comments and recommendations on any topics you would like to know/ learn more about, as the topics we will cover will be highly focused on what you want to hear more about. Now on to the good stuff..

Our Rig – “The Black Pearl”

This is our 45ft Enterga Aspire Motorhome that we’ve lived in full time for 3 years. It is a Class A diesel pusher with 4 slides. We purchased our coach from Motorhome Specialists in Alvarado, TX. After a year of researching several different, types, styles and RV set-ups we decided on the Entegra Aspire 44B even though it was a bit out of our price range. The layout was what we were looking for, a coach that had the durability and function to live and work in full time, while having a floor plan that resembled a traditional home setup for a couple. Even though it was 30% over our budget, once we experienced the Entegra’s quiet ride and superior insulation for ourselves, we couldn’t go back to looking at gas coaches in our budget.  Make sure to subscribe as we’ll be posting detailed videos on our Entegra, the 2 year bumper-to-bumper warranty and all manner of our experiences.

Our “Towed” Toad

For all of our non RV’ers a TOAD, also know as a “Dinghy” is a small vehicle being towed behind a large RV. Our Toad is a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 door), Rubicon edition. We’ve owned the jeep long before we decided to RV full time, but it turned out to be a great 4-down flat-tow vehicle. The Jeep’s off-road heritage actually lends itself really well to being towed. It has no steering lock (yup none) and does not require anything special to tow it with all 4 wheels on the ground. To tow we use a Blue Ox Alpha Tow Bar  . We outfitted the Jeep with a Blue Ox Base Plate that allows our rig to be towed easily as well as a Air Force One Tow Braking System to ensure our vehicle meets all applicable laws for tow vehicle braking.  More on the tow setup later!

Motorcycle & Motorcycle Lift

Our 2010 BMW R1200GS Adventure motorcycle also comes along with us. We have a motorcycle lift on the back of our coach that allows us to carry the bike and the Jeep behind that. We’ve done videos on our motorcycle lift setup which can be found here and we will also post subsequent articles on this shortly!

Storage

Diesel pushers are expensive which is a huge draw back but they can carry a lot of weight as a nice trade off to their price. Pass-through storage and tons of clearance mean you can take it all! Check out our post on  “How much stuff can fit under A diesel Pusher” to learn more.

Sun Powered!

We’ve added 10 160 watt solar panels made by Grape Solar to the roof of our bus and 6 Lifeline 300 amp hour batteries to store all that solar power. We have two 80 amp Outback Solar Flex Max Charge Controllers that convert the solar energy into 12 volts for our batteries and we are very happy with the setup. We utilized the factory solar wiring in our setup which has certain drawbacks that added to the overall cost of our setup (but meant we didn’t have to run huge battery cables down from the room). We will be posting future videos on our solar setup, in the meantime make sure to check out our video on adding cheap solar to your RV.

Come on In! (Entry)

The driving area, which is very important during travel days tends to be a waste of space when you are parked. To maximize the use of our front door area Erik crated a steering wheel table (video). We use this table and area as place where we put our mail/paperwork and leave our shoes to keep the rest of the RV clean. Above the steering wheel is a cabinet that we converted into a charging station for all of our blogging gear. And above the passenger seat is the control center. Where we have the solar controller, batter monitors and other major controls for the RV.

Lets Get to Work

We still work and not just on this blog, we both have full-time jobs. Erik works in technology and Kala in human resources. We converted the Entegra’s integrated dining room areas into a desk area for Erik. For the most part we left the setup as-is but we removed the supplied dinning chairs and replaced them with an office chair. We installed a printer in the under-cabinet and put a monitor, phone, headset and docking station near the window. Our complete internet setup video is here.  Stay tuned for a full post on our work setup coming soon!

Kala will either sit on the couch or use the passenger chair for her office. This nifty table from Camping World allows Kala’s desk to double as a coffee table and is also used quite a bit for eating dinner.

Beside having to stagger some work calls, this desk set up works well as it convert our living space into a traveling office during working hours.

Security

We’ve added a Canary Internet Security Camera that keeps an eye on our bus when we are away. The Canary security device allows us to monitor via video from our cell phone and also provides us with information about temperature, humidity and air quality. You need reliable, unlimited data cellular internet in order to use a system like this, but more on that later as we’ll be providing a complete write up of our connectivity in future videos posting shortly.

Our Kitchen

Our kitchen has a residential refrigerator, convention microwave, 2 propane burners and a ton of storage space. Our rig came with drawers inside each of the cabinets. We tracked down these shelves which are celled “Rev-a-shelf” and think they would make a great addition to any RV providing your cabinets are deep enough.

The only real issue we have encountered in our kitchen has been the kitchen faucet which we replaced twice under warranty. The RV grade faucets don’t seem to be durable enough to handle full-time use so we upgraded our faucet to a touch-less residential grade faucet made by Moen. This one has worked great for us so far, and we love that it is motion sense letting you easily turn on the water when you have dirty hands. 

The Bedroom

Our 2015 Entegra came with a Sleep Number bed.  While the Sleep Number was very comfortable and gave us more flexibility for firmness control, it also proved difficult when traveling at elevation. The bed would change firmness when the coach changed altitude and many folks have reported popping their mattress when climbing mountain passes. To prevent that from happening we replaced our mattress with a Tempurpedic and have been happy every since. There is quite a bit of bedroom storage in our RV and we think its plenty for two people. With seven drawers in the vanity, three large & deep cabinets above the the bed and storage under the bed we’ve got plenty of places to put things. That said, during our 3 years on the road we’ve figured out a bunch of organization and space saving tips.

Links for Items Featured in This Article

• Complete Internet Setup
• Unlimited Cellular Data Plans
• Blue Ox Alpha Tow Bar
• Blue Ox Baseplate for Jeep Wrangler JK
• Air Force One Tow Braking System
• Rev-A-Shelf Pull Out Shelves on Amazon
• Moen Motionsense Faucet
• Canary Internet Security Camera

Thanks for Coming Over!

Thanks so much for coming on a tour of our home. We hope you enjoyed learning about our setup, and hope you stay tuned for future videos that go into much more depth on a variety of topics on all things mobile. Make sure to comment below on what you’d like to see us cover in future videos and see you on the road!

The post Our Setup Episode 1 – A Tour of our RV after Living on the Road for 3 Years appeared first on LivinLite.net.

We started our RV journey with the Coleman Road Trip LXE Portable 2 burner Propane Grill – 20,00 BTU but during a recent shopping trip we purchased the Weber Q 1200 LP Gas Grill. Since we have owned and cooked on both grills we wanted to share our pro’s and con’s list for each, along with making the above comparison video because one maybe better for you!

Coleman Road Trip LXE Grill

Pros-

• Stand and grill are attached – makes for easy set up and easy stow
• Integrated utensil hooks
• Larger grilling surface (285 sq. in. cooking surface area) – cook more food at one time ~ great for BBQ parties
• Two separate grill areas (2 burners) that can be lit separately – can cook meat on one side and veggies on the other at different heat settings
• Slide out trays
• Optional replacement griddle rack – on one or both sides
• Comes in a variety of colors (e.g. blue, red, black, etc.)

Cons-

• Heavy – we find it hard to pull the grill in and out of our bay, especially with only one person
• Lid is shallow – hard to use grill accessories
• No external thermometer
• Hard to access and non-disposable cleaning tray – small and difficult to clean
• Gas connector not in ideal location – the connector sticks out of back causing it to be easily damaged by hitting things while stored and during the stowing process. It also blocks the cleaning tray, you need to disconnect gas to get to the cleaning tray.
• Wheels on grill stand are weak – the interior of one of our wheels broke while I was stowing the grill for travel

Coleman Summary

The Coleman’s cooking ability is great, the flame/heat range can be adjusted ever so slightly, letting you get just the right cook for your favorite meal. We found it a little bulky and heavy to constantly take in and out of our coach. In all a good grill for large families and parties, giving you the ability to cook a lot of food quickly. It is also cheaper, with stand and grill attached, a good camping grill for the cost. It is currently around $140 on Amazon and in Walmart.

Weber Q 1200 LP Gas Grill

Pros-

• Strong build construction – feels like a mini weber not like a camping stove
• Extremely light and portable
• Larger grilling volume – ability to cook a roasted chicken due to the high top lid
• Traditional grill designed lid – better for grill accessories
• Exterior thermometer (not available on Weber Q1000)
• Easy clean tray – easy to access and throw away tin
• Gas connector is located under grill to the left – out of the way but still easy to access for connecting propane
• Optional replacement griddle rack – on one or both sides
• Comes in a variety of colors (e.g. blue, green, pink, red, black, etc.)

Cons-

• Stand and grill are bought separately and Weber stand for grill is not very study
• More expensive – needing to purchase grill and stand separately
• No area to hang grill utensils
• Single burner – can heat entire grill to only one setting
• Heat range is subtle – meaning the low to high heating is very similar and it is difficult to cook something on a low setting
• Finicky regulator – sometimes the regulator will go into protection mode and block the propane flow

Weber Summary

The Weber Q 1200 is light weight and extremely portable. While it was a little more expensive, currently pricing at $199, we really liked the size and style of this grill. As it is easy to pull out of your coach and start cooking. While the regulator can be ‘finicky’ and you don’t get as much versatility in cooking (due to the single burner) it still cooks a delicious meal, and you have an external thermometer to assist in cooking food at the right temperature. We found this grill to be better for smaller crowds or great for your grill aficionado. As you can purchase all kinds of grill accessories to tailor to your specific grill needs or desires.   

Want to get one too?

Below are the links to purchase one for yourself. We also included a few links on our favorite grill accessories.

• Coleman (Amazon link)
  • Extended Gas Connector (Amazon link)
  • Grill Cover (Amazon link)
  • Griddle Option (Amazon link)
• Weber (Amazon link)
  • Extended Gas Connector (Amazon link)
  • Griddle Option (Amazon link)
  • Disposable Drip Pans (Amazon link)
  • Weber Grill Stand (Amazon link)
  • Grill Cover (Amazon link)
• Our Suggested Grill Accessories
  • Grill Utensils with Case (Amazon link)
  • GCI Cook Station/ Grill Stand (Amazon link)
  • Grill Vegetable Basket (Amazon link)
  • Grill Matt (Amazon link)

Don’t like either? Here are a few other popular grill options that RV’ers and campers are also purchasing.

• Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Portable Tabletop Gas Grill (Amazon link)
• Coleman NXT Lite Tabletop Propane Grill (Amazon link)
• Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Portable Grill2Go Gas Grill (Amazon link)

Let us know your thoughts! What grill and grill accessories do you use?

Or better yet,  have any good grill recipes? We love trying to cook new things on our grill.

Happy chillin and grillin!

The post The Portable Grill Challenge appeared first on LivinLite.net.

Campground(s) We Stayed

We stayed at the Stone Mountain Park Campground for one week during the month of February. The campground was beautiful and allowed us to relax and enjoy the massive lake that was right next to our RV site. It has a total of 431 campsites, 202 of them are RV full hook ups and 189 are partial hook-ups (water/electric). All campsites included fire rings & picnic tables and some sites have a small deck complete with gas grills overlooking the lake. A few other amenities include; heated comforts stations, laundry facility, a swimming pool, free wifi and cable, along with a discount for passes to other attractions within the park.

Things To Do

Confederate Memorial Carving – The Civil War can be a touchy subject but for history buffs the Confederate Memorial Carving is chock full of American History. The carving is the largest relief carving in the world measuring 3 acres in size and is larger than a football field. In the summer the carving is highlighted by a massive Lasershow Spectacular provided in “Mountainvision” which we think is a fancy way of saying “with really really big lights and projectors”.  We were not there to witness the laser show since we visited off season but the pictures on the website and the reviews we read all say it is quite the experience.

Adventure Pass – If you have a family and/or want to visit more than one attraction then pickup an “Adventure Pass.” This give you access to all the attractions (depending on the season). We visited in the winter, our attractions included; Stone Mountain Museum at Memorial Hall, 4-D movie experience, the SnowZone, Tube Runers, Avalanche Alley and more.

Summit Sky Ride – A high-speed Swiss cable car takes you to the top of Stone Mountain providing great views of the Confederate Memorial Carving locate on the side of Stone Mountain. Once you get to the top there are amazing views of the park and the Atlanta skyline. Watch the video above to check out our Sky Ride experience!

Recreation and Golf – Hiking trails are located all throughout the mountain and park, along with places to have picnics while enjoying nature. If you like golf there is also a 18 hole golf course along the base of the mountain.

And More… check out the Stone Mountain Park website to see all the fun things you can do at the park!

Places We Ate

1910 Public House – During our brief stay we took a drive into Lilburn, GA where we had a great dinner at 1910 Public House. We started off with the Diavolo Mussels and Roasted Beet and Spinach Salad. Followed by the Seared Sea Scallops and Pork Chops for mains. The food was great and hit the spot after a long day of work.

Overall Opinion

We were not able to stay at this location as long as we normally do but overall we had a great time at the park. Stone Mountain and Stone Mountain Park is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year, with tons of activities for people of all ages. It is definitely geared towards families but there is more than enough for everyone, especially if you include what is available in Atlanta.  The campground is very nice with amazing views and unique sites. We were there in the winter and not a lot of people were around but I’m sure this park is very popular in the summer due to the lake and laser light show.

Would We Recommend

Yes, we would recommend going to Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, GA to enjoy nature and to stay at a beautiful campground.

The post Exploring Stone Mountain Georgia appeared first on LivinLite.net.

We attended their 13^th annual “Spicy Celebration” on Sunday, August 23^rd where we got to try a 1 0unce cup of each vendor’s chili, both in the amateur and professional divisions! That doesn’t sound like a lot until you try 40 chilis and realize you had 40 ounces of chili!  The event also had craft vendors, where we purchased some really tasty BBQ sauce and seasoning, additional food & beverages for purchase, and a live concert (cost including within admission) by Rosemary Baby Blues.

Where we stayed:

During our time in New Hampshire we stayed at Sandy Beach RV Resort and Campground. It’s an Encore property located in Contoocook. It’s about a 15-minute drive to Concord, New Hampshire’s state capital, and about a 10-minute drive to Pats Peak. This is a beautiful park with sites large enought o accomidate our large 45 foot rig (call ahead they dont have too many that big). The campground is located on a secluded private lake with only a few houses on it and no power boats; great for paddle boarding or just for a dip!

If camping isn’t your thing then check out the Colby Hill Inn, an amazing bed & breakfast in the area. Make sure to stay for dinner, the restaurant is amazing!

About the Area:

Southern New Hampshire is a well traveled destination for locals, but many tourists haven’t found it yet (we love that!). Henniker New Hampshire is the home to New England College, the college that Erik’s father went to. That is when Erik’s father fell in love with the area and decided to settle down in the town next door, Hillsborough, NH. There is a bit of a debate on how to spell Hillsborough, the sign on way into town says Hillsboro, others say Hillsborough… we’ll let you be the judge!

Just a few miles away is the Franklin Pierce Homestead, the childhood home of the 14th U.S. President.  You’ll also find tons of hiking, ATV & snowmobile trails, skiing and sales tax free shopping! If boating or the beach is your thing check out Franklin Pierce Lake, a powerboat and swimming friendly lake that offers spectacular views and the best nature has to offer.

Attend the Chili Festival & Other Great Local Events

Next year’s chili festival is on Sunday, August 21^st 2016. If you like to eat or make chili mark your calendar because you can attend to eat or enter your chili to win. Check out the Chili New Hampshire link for additional event information and to see the 2015 winners!

Happy Chili Eating!

The post Chili, Chili & More Chili – Henniker, NH 2015 Chili Festival! appeared first on LivinLite.net.