We are a family of FOUR HAPPY TRAVELERS
                   four kindred spirits that love to see what life has waiting around every turn for us!

                                            

Ever since high school, it has been a dream of mine to travel cross country. Well, in the summer of 2006 Pete made that dream a reality for us. In a booming real estate market, we refinanced the house and decided to forego the basement remodel. Instead we opted for the mother of all road trips!

We bought a new pop-up trailer, attached it to the mini van and headed off into the unknown. We left Pennsylvania determined to hit California, with alot of stops along the way.

In three short months we managed to see Mt. Rushmore on the 4th of July, play baseball in the Field of Dreams in Iowa, go to the Grand Canyon with Luke and Katie, play the slots in Las Vegas, surf the beaches of southern California, climb the temples at Mesa Verde, stand on the Four Corners of the United States, ride a trolley in San Francisco, check out the incredible wildlife in Yellowstone, watch Tony Hawk perform live, take in a rodeo in Wyoming, watch the amazing sunsets in Arizona, take a boat out onto Lake Tahoe, gamble in Deadwood, watch Rascall Flatts from backstage, participate in a celebrity golf tournament, and walk along the stars on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

It was an unbelievable summer and from that point on the travel bug had bit us. We had seen so much of America that it became harder each day to sit back in the same neighborhood watching the world go by. We wanted to get back on the open road. After ALOT of research, soul searching and luck (not to mention the financial economy and housing market that was quickly heading south) - WE TOOK THE PLUNGE AND HIT THE ROAD! In September of 2007 we sold our beautiful house in Zieglerville, Pennsylvania, traded in the pop-up for a 5th wheel trailer, bought a new truck and headed off on our journey.

                                     

Since that time we haven't looked back. Some days have been easier than others but for the most part, life on the road has been a blast! We have seen so much in two short years. Who knows what the future holds for us - but for now we are enjoying being a Family on the Road!

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THE TRUCK:

We enjoy GOING DOWN THE ROAD in our 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup. Pete did major research before deciding on the perfect truck. He test drove the Chevy Silverado HD, Ford F250 and GMC Sierra but couldn't find what he was looking for with the right price tag. He then came across the Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 and fell in love.  According to Pete:

"Our 2007 Tundra is the real deal with a maximum towing capacity of 10,600lbs., a 381hp 5.7L V8 and six-speed automatic transmission.  It's a real American 1/2-ton pickup truck".

The brand new $800 million manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas, is the primary truck builder while the aluminum plant in Troy, Michigan, casts the aluminum engine blocks and sends them to the new facility in Huntsville, Alabama, where the all new 5.7L iForce V8's are built and shipped to the assembly plant.

Pete loves driving the truck because it has huge disc brakes on all four corners, providing tremendous braking power.  Combine the stopping power with the enhanced state of the art brake control system and it affords us with the best vehicle stability, traction and braking around.

The best feature other than the 8ft. bed is the towing and off-pavement exploration package that comes with the 4.3:1 axle ratio.  The performance off-road at any speed is awesome.  The "Tow/Haul" mode is invaluable; holding gears when accelerating or decelerating, which is great for trailering.  

After 84,000 miles traveling up and down both coasts and cruising the Alaska Highway TWICE, the truck has proved it's power. Looks like Pete picked the right truck for us! Everywhere we go he is constantly being stopped by someone wanting to know more about the Tundra and they are shocked by it's towing capacity. We're still waiting for Toyota to get back to us about a sponsorship deal! Until then we'll keep on truckin' and enjoying the ride!


                   
                   2008 MOTORTREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER - Pete is ever so proud!!

We looked at about a million trailers before we found that one that we currently live in. The minute we saw it, all of us fell in love with it!  We went with the 2008 Northshore 28LBBS 5th wheel trailer. The weight is 10,600lbs, which is considerably lighter than alot of other trailers we looked at- making it much easier to tow. It has two slides and tons of cabinets and storage areas - a must for the fulltime RVer. We went with the Pac n' Play model that has a back door that we use to put the bikes in while traveling. The most important feature for us was to find something that had a separate bedroom for the boys. The Northshore is unique because it has a separate room with a set of bunks and then a loft overhead, that we use as a toy area for the boys. We love the design of it and have made several modifications since hitting the road so that we can call it home! We pulled up the carpeting and now have hardwood floors throughout - which I love!! We took out the eating area booth and found a great looking pub table to use instead. We turned the sofa and took the bench from the booth to create a L-shaped seating area. We then mounted the television into the entertainment unit to create an enclosed flat screen tv (Dad's favorite feature). I had my Mom help me make curtains for the bedrooms to suit each of our individual tastes (Christian went with bunnies and Dylan went with skateboarders). We love the changes that we have made so far and really do have everything we need when traveling. We love having our home with us everywhere we go (no more need to pack suitcases for vacation). All of us have gotten used to the tight quarters and the boys have gotten good at giving us our privacy. We can honestly say that we love our house on wheels!

                                  

                            

                This is what our trailer looked like BEFORE the remodeling...                      and here are the AFTER photos