On the road again

Bexley family sells all, then sets out for the RV life

Last week, Hugo and Campbell Walker watched in awe as a large alligator devoured another alligator during a swamp tour on Lake Martin in Louisiana.

The previous weekend, the brother and sister, 8 and 5 respectively, danced with the Easter Bunny on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as he handed out beaded necklaces. And prior to that, they frolicked on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The past year may have been rough, but as the Walker family cruises across the country in a 20-yearold recreational vehicle, they clearly are making up for lost time.

Inspired mostly by the pandemic, Steve Walker and Nicki Herd-walker sold their Bexley home – along with most of their possessions – in October and renovated an old RV with plans to travel the country for at least a year. They left central Ohio on March 11.

Nicki Herd-walker

RV resident

“It’s been really awesome,” Herd-walker said last week from the road, just outside of the Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge. “We’ve adjusted well to the space (330 square feet), and it only feels small when all of us are moody – but we’re out so often and not just sitting in the RV.”

When 2020 began, Herd-walker said she never imagined that the family would make such a drastic change in their lives. The pandemic not only made them feel the need to take such a leap, but it also made it possible.

Herd-walker, who grew up in Sunbury, and her husband, who is from England, traveled the world extensively before they had children. They had hoped last year would be an ideal time to start traveling with their children more, starting with a three-month trip in Japan.

“We started to get itchy feet and wanted to get out with the kids and explore this world,” Herd-walker said.

But halfway through that trip to Asia, they had to leave unexpectedly because the coronavirus was ripping its way through the continent. They returned to central Ohio in March 2020 to closed schools, restaurants and businesses.

“Full-on lockdown is not a good thing for people with itchy feet,” Herd-walker said. “We began to think, ‘How can we explore and fill that need in our soul but do it safely?’”

The answer, it turned out, came in the form of an RV. While making updates on their Bexley home – just in case they decided to sell it prior to their next adventure – a friend mentioned to Herd-walker that her parents were selling their 2001, 35-foot camper.

“I take nods from the universe seriously,” Herdwalker said. “It was perfect timing, and we bought it without looking at another one.”

Although the RV was in good shape, the Walkers opted to make numerous updates to make it the home that they wanted to live in for a year. Together, the couple did most of the renovation work, adding a reclaimed wood kitchen table and bunk beds and a desk on which Hugo and Campbell – who already were being homeschooled due to the pandemic – could do their school work.

The vehicle also features hardwood-style flooring, a fireplace and a photo gallery wall, all to make the RV feel like home.

In order to make the journey possible, Walker has taken a break from his custom woodworking company while his wife will maintain her life-coaching and skin care businesses remotely and writing a book while on the road.

“It’s really been a combination of things,” Walker said. “2020 was a crazy year for everybody, and with their school being flexible, we thought about what that might mean for them and wanted to do something a bit more interesting for them.”

“We wanted to use this time for real change in our life … and we were looking to inject a little magic,” Herd-walker said.

As far as where to stop and what they’ll see, the

family says they’re flexible; none of them has seen much of the United States. They know they’ll hit some national parks, and each of the children has ideas of what they want to do.

“I don’t care where we go, I just want to go somewhere warm,” Campbell said. (Hence, the 10 days spent on a beach in Alabama.)

And as for her older brother, Hugo has a simple request: “I want to see cactuses.” Soon enough the family should be seeing plenty of prickly vegetation, as they’ll be spending the rest of the month sightseeing in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Besides figuring out how to maneuver the large vehicle in windy conditions – plus the Jeep they’re towing – Herd-walker said they’ve learned to not be in a rush to get anywhere and to drive no longer than five hours at a time no matter the distance covered.

That allows them to uncover hidden gems along the way, such as the olive farm where they’re staying this week. A membership to Harvest Hosts, a website that points out interesting places that allow RVS to park overnight, has helped as well.

Herd-walker said she’s often been asked why they sold their house as part of this adventure. The answer is more philosophical than practical.

“Letting go so completely has to make room for something new,” Herd-walker said. “It forces you to find the next thing by not having that safety net there.” award@dispatch.com @Allisonaward

COURTESY OF NICKI HERD-WALKER The Walker family – Hugo, Steve, Nicki and Campbell – spent 10 days playing on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. “It’s been really awesome. We’ve adjusted well to the space (330 square feet), and it only feels small when all of us are moody – but we’re out so often and not just sitting in the RV.”

FRED SQUILLANTE/COLUMBUS DISPATCH Nicki Herd-walker and her husband, Steve Walker, with their children – Campbell, 5, and Hugo, 8 – in the RV that they are using to cross the country after selling their Bexley home.

PHOTOS BY FRED SQUILLANTE/COLUMBUS DISPATCH Steve Walker and his daughter, Campbell, 5, explore their recreational vehicle in January before setting off on a cross-country adventure during the pandemic.

Nicki Herd-walker and her daughter, Campbell, 5, in January, before leaving Bexley with the rest of their family on March 11 on a year-long cross-country trip in their newly renovated RV.