Living In Beauty

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/10/04/diving-board/ I was five the first time I remember standing at an edge, frightened by what was ahead but unwilling to turn around. More than fifty years later, Carmen and I sat beside a koi pond considering an unexpected possibility: selling our properties, retiring early, and choosing a differ...

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/09/06/rv-foul-ups/ Ten years and more than 78,000 miles into full-time travel, we look back at seven memorable mistakes that cost us money, time, dignity, and occasionally all three. The habits and checklists that followed show how those early foul-ups changed the way we travel today.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/08/16/paso-robles/ Sun Outdoors Paso Robles combines full-service resort amenities with a surprisingly peaceful setting among mature California oaks. During our month-long stay, we found spacious campsites, comfortable places to relax, and an easy base for exploring the wineries, breweries, beaches,...

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/07/18/still-rolling-decade/ Ten years of full-time travel have brought far more than memorable destinations. From unexpected kindness to slower days and lasting friendships, this anniversary is really about the life that grew from simply deciding to go.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/06/14/rode-to-joy/ After more than fifty years together and almost a decade on the road, we've learned that the things we remember matter far more than the things we owned. Reflecting on a lifetime of accumulation, we consider why some memories remain vivid while so much else fades away.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/05/10/california-streamin/ A simple drive from San Diego to Sacramento turns into a three-month stretch with no reservations and no pressure to move quickly. As we settle into each stop, the trip begins to shift into a slower, more grounded way of traveling.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/04/12/tale/ What starts as a call for advice becomes a deeper process of defining what matters—space, function, health, and how we want to move through the world. That process leads us to our Airstream, Beauty, and the truck who moves her.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/03/09/cochiti/ Cochiti Lake campground near Santa Fe, New Mexico sits above a broad lake with open desert views and generously spaced sites. With hiking trails, a swimmable shoreline, and a quiet setting removed from town, the focus stays on the landscape rather than amenities.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/02/11/trust-us-we-lie/ Living on the road, we find ourselves sharing the best parts while much of what actually fills our days stays in the background. That’s where most of the glitches and lessons usually end up.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2026/01/16/stellaluna/ While on the road, we find ourselves unexpectedly bringing a rescue puppy named Stellaluna into our lives. As she begins to settle in, we adjust to her pace, her personality, and the new dynamic she brings to life in Beauty.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/12/19/vienna/ For our 50th wedding anniversary, we set aside the road and spend three months living in Vienna, trading motion for a temporary sense of place. Staying long enough to settle in, we begin to experience the city as part of daily life rather than as visitors.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/09/22/campground-hosting/ Trying campground hosting for the first time, we find ourselves in a situation that doesn’t go the way we had imagined. As it happens, we begin to look more closely at what led us there and what we might have approached differently.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/08/21/palo-duro-goodnight/ At Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, Texas, the depth of the canyon and the network of trails create a setting that invites both movement and stillness. Spending time there, we settle into the landscape and let the days take their own shape.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/07/18/whoppers/ Starting our tenth year on the road, we look back at the many things people have said about full-time RV living, some close to the truth and others not at all. Over time, those conversations have become part of how we make sense of this life.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/06/11/civil-rights-trail-7/ As we reach the end of our time on the Civil Rights Trail, we begin to take in the weight of what we’ve seen across these months. Alongside it, the food, music, and people we encountered remain just as much a part of how we understand it.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/05/15/bridges/ The many bridges we’ve crossed over the years begin to feel connected to the changes and challenges we’ve moved through more recently. As we find our footing again, we continue forward.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/04/07/galveston-island-state-park/ Galveston Island State Park provides camping along a broad coastal stretch with direct access to the beach and a network of trails on the bay side. Though not far from town, the setting feels open and exposed to the elements in a way that defines the stay.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/03/12/good-king-biscuit/ At the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, we settle into a few days shaped by live music, local food, and time spent moving between stages and the riverfront. Over time, the rhythm of the festival begins to carry it.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/02/08/blue-ridge-parkway/ After years of circling around it, we give the Blue Ridge Parkway a full month of our time, moving slowly and without a fixed pace. The road begins to feel like something we’re part of rather than just passing through.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2025/01/08/sam-houston-jones/ Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles, Louisiana is set among bayous, river bends, and wooded trails, offering easy access to hiking and kayaking in a calm natural setting. Though close to the city, it feels removed enough to enjoy the beauty and pace of the landscap...

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2024/12/15/civil-rights-trail-6/ In Montgomery, we spend time moving through the places that define the Civil Rights Movement and begin to see how deeply it is rooted here. Being there brings a clarity to events we had known, but never fully understood.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2024/10/04/3000-days/ At 3,000 days on the road, coinciding with a 70th birthday, we pause to take in what this life in Beauty holds. Over time, the people we meet and the places we spend time in begin to shift how we understand the world around us.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2024/09/15/civil-rights-trail-5/ During an extended stay in the New Orleans area, we shape our days around local food, music, and time spent moving through neighborhoods beyond the usual stops. With the Civil Rights Trail guiding our time there, the history becomes part of how we begin to understand the c...

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2024/09/06/olly-olly-oxen-free/ As we continue living in Beauty, the people we meet and the help we share become part of how this life works. Through small exchanges and ongoing challenges, a sense of community begins to form that travels with us.

Experience the complete story: read, listen, and enjoy the photos. https://livinginbeauty.net/2024/07/18/magic-number-nine/ As we begin our ninth year of full-time travel, we take in the scope of where we’ve been and how we’ve lived in Beauty. From there, we start shifting toward traveling less and settling more into each place.