As COVID-19 surged, family swapped home for RV to take national tour
During a time when many families were spending more time at home in a COVID-19 lockdown — perhaps thinking about household projects and family game nights — the Gamble clan had a different idea: What if home had wheels?
After all, the family’s teenagers Jack, 16, and Stellie, 14, were already going to school remotely. Grant, an author and business strategist, and Jana, a creative director, had the ability to meet with clients virtually while pursuing their own projects. The moment seemed ripe with opportunity to do something drastic, like traveling the nation — including a monthlong stay in Florida.
The thought of moving into an RV was hatched when Grant and Jana noticed how coronavirus restrictions and cabin fever were adversely affecting the whole family, especially the kids.
“You don’t want to watch your children suffer, it’s hard to do that,” Jana said. “It was driven by the children and their well-being more than anything else.”
The wheels were set in motion. Grant and Jana purchased a 40-foot, 15ton recreational vehicle dubbed “Thelma,” a motor home with lots of “character” and beige on the inside. Months of work went into their new home on wheels, bought for just over $20,000, making it livable and highway-ready.
“We spent about two months repairing, restoring and refitting her and that was pretty much fulltime. We invested a lot in her, more in labor than money,” Grant said. “Thelma is big and beautiful, that’s the way we describe her. And wellworn.”
The family came to terms with selling their Charlottesville, Virginia, home of 18 years, as well as with downsizing from a 3,000-square-foot abode to a 300-square-foot bus.
At the same time, they started spreading the word of their plans to friends and family.
“We thought people would think we were crazy,” Jana said. “Pretty much everybody was like, ‘What you’re doing is amazing. It’s what people dream of doing but don’t really ever do.’” On Oct. 30, 2020, after weeks of packing, selling, sorting and consolidating the family’s belongings, the Gambles hit the road, bringing along their Great Dane and two Labradoodles. There were pangs of, “What were we thinking?” but after selling the house, there was no going back.
Following stops in Roanoke, Virginia; Asheville, North Carolina and Massachusetts, the Gambles headed south to warm up on sunny Hilton Head Island before spending nearly a month exploring Florida.
“We were surprised by how diverse (Florida) was and how big it was. We didn’t really have a perspective on that,” Grant said. “When you drive the state, it’s quite amazing how big it is and how much it has to offer. We did love the Everglades.”
After visiting iconic landmarks of the Southwest, including Big Bend National Park, White Sands National Park and Saguaro National Park, the family is now stationed in Los Barriles in the Mexican state Baja California Sur.
More than four months and 8,000 miles later, Grant and Jana have been able to recognize the rewards of traveling fulltime, seeing communities and places they wouldn’t experience on an ordinary vacation.
“Even now, when you look back 100 days, oh my goodness — we’re different people with a completely different perspective,” Grant said, with Jana adding: “Full-time travel like this is like therapy on steroids. It’s individual therapy, couples therapy, parents therapy, family therapy — it’s kind of amazing in that sense.”
And while being on the road and living in such a small space has presented its own set of challenges, such as finding reliable internet, the family has found freedom in a more minimalist lifestyle.
“Everything we have on this bus is what we need,” Jana said. “It’s amazing how quickly you adjust and how liberating that is in so many ways. In some ways, I don’t want to see our storage units ever again.”