Paul & Janet
The Kennedy's
In 2009, with California’s economy crashing; our family restaurant Outlaws was barely making expenses, and everyone was working 18hr+ days trying to keep everything going.
We’re an old fashioned kind of family: my Grandpa/ma Wyatt survived the Great Depression. My Japanese Mother at 18yrs old survived World War II. PK’s family had lived on Cattle Ranches without electricity or running water.
So our family motto is “Just do It.” Work harder, work smarter, and we’ll get through this. But the local businesses in Sonora were having problems due to the failing tourism industry.
In August 2011, I collapsed with zero blood pressure and was diagnosed with severe anemia and walking pneumonia and now looking at least 8+ months to recover. In September, with a heavy heart, we closed Outlaws. After 8 long years, we lost everything and gained a mountain of debt. But we also spent those years enjoying our daughters’ families and watching the grandkids grow — that was Priceless!
One of our largest expense was our 2-Story house; over 2,738 sq ft of wasted space. PK and I only used 3 rooms downstairs: the bedroom, bathroom, & our office/den. The other rooms? Just filled with stuff that we weren’t using, but paying utilities to keep them livable
Here’s our Journey to the Simple Life…
Embracing the Nomad Lifestyle.
We kept driving by this used RV for sale, and on a whim, we decided to take a look at it. That started the wheels turning. It was WAY smaller than our house; the basic layout had everything we needed: Living room, Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom, which started the wheels turning.
When I mentioned moving into a used RV, most people thought we were crazy. But for us this was our escape plan. Time to ditch the “sticks & bricks” and enjoy life, traveling & working when we wanted.
After 3 years of full time RV living, PK and I realized that this was a lifestyle we could embrace, but the RV wouldn’t work for us when we retired. I craved a larger kitchen, we needed to get rid of MORE stuff. So we started to go to RV shows, asking fellow RVers how they liked their RV, joined RV groups on FaceBook, watched YouTube vids to help us to create our RV WishList:
We started embracing the minimalist lifestyle (yes we’re old hippies). The started sorting through all mountains of stuff we had accumulated, deciding what we wanted to keep and sold or gave away the rest. The RV was cramped, but this was ok. because we still needed to get rid of more stuff. The kitchen fridge was VERY SMALL and we needed to install a small chest freezer & kitchen cart to prepare our meals.
After 3 years, PK and I realized that this was a lifestyle we could embrace, but the RV wouldn’t work for us when we retired. I craved a larger kitchen, needed to get rid of MORE stuff. So we started to go to RV shows, asking fellow RVers how they liked their RV, joined RV groups on FaceBook, watched YouTube vids to help us to create our RV WishList:
- Large kitchen with plenty of room to make our meals,
- Lots of insulation; An All-Weather Coach was a must,
- Rated for Full-time Living (most aren’t),
- On-demand water heater (no more running out of hot water),
- LED lighting system and Solar ready,
- Separated living room and kitchen areas.
The Perfect RV for Us!
In 2017, We found the perfect RV for us at the Quartzite RV show. ForestRiver – RiverStone – 39FKTH
Must haves for the RV.
The dark side of RV or Tiny House living is that you don’t have room for everything. Most either rent storage or start downsizing.
When we started downsizing, we picked things that were multi-functional and easy to store.
Mojo’s Passport is from TagsForHope.com
Mojo Kitty - The Prince of Darkness.
I love working nights. Working 3rd shift allows me to turn my insomnia into a preferred lifestyle. I noticed a stray cat hanging around the RV when leaving for work. While PK was doing the “long-haul” trucker thing, I would feed the stray my leftovers…. grilled chicken, eggs, rice, didn’t matter; He’d eat it! He’d follow me to the pool at night, sit on my plants (kill them), and generally be the cat in my yard.
When we decided to move from Apache Palms RV Park, I asked Angie (manager) if she knew if the cat belonged to someone. She administered a straightforward “Cat Test.” 1 – Does he have a collar? (No). 2 – Are you feeding it? (Yes) BAM, and just like that, it was official. I was now Mojo’s hooman.
A trip to the Vet for a $300 full spa treatment (neuter, shots, flea & anti parasitic treatment, chipped), and he was ready to come home. PK said, “that was the most expensive free cat that he’s ever had.” But that didn’t include all the other sh*t I need to buy… food, litter box, brush, & CAT TOYS!
Mojo’s a pretty cool cat. He comes when called; enjoys Cat Worship time (brushing & playing with toys); still hisses at visitors tho (doesn’t matter if you like cats or not). The best part is he travels well.
Now he’s the Prince of the RV and refuses to eat “People Food.”
Mojo Fun Fact: On his 1st visit to the Vet, she indicated that he was slightly on the heavy side. Since it was November, I wasn’t worried (winter weight) and replied that “He’s just Fluffy.” She said “Well, he’s a medium-haired cat, so he’ll look bigger. But, he’s 13 lbs!”