Work, Life and Baton Rouge

Our traveling RV lifestyle isn’t glamorous. We work full-time, relatively normal corporate jobs with the exceptions that I am permitted to telecommute, and Ryan’s involves a significant amount of travel. We’ve had to move a lot, and we do not live anywhere close to family. Throw a small child into that mix and sometimes it is total chaos. Choosing to live small and mobile was more about eliminating the exhaustion of maintaining that “white picket fence” dream which I practically maintained alone and Ryan was never around to enjoy than about endless adventure and breaking societal rules.

Ryan had to be in Louisiana for work so after a fantastic Easter weekend in Murchison with the closest family we have not just in Texas but in this entire region we hitched up the Airstream and headed to Baton Rouge where we camped out for a week. It rained, a lot. We both had to work, a lot which means most of Ryan’s time was spent in the field, and most of mine was spent working from the Baton Rouge KOA which was very nice and had excellent Wi-Fi.  Not super exciting but we were able to spend time together as a family and see a little bit of the city on one free evening when Hank was more cooperative about a late bedtime. 

Ryan and I have been married for seven years, and he has been away for more than half of that. I lived in our traditional family homes while Ryan lived at various Hampton Inns scattered across the US. This switch to tiny living on wheels means more family dinners together, bedtime stories read by Dad and precious time as busy working parents unwinding outside by a fire or inside with a movie and a glass of wine. 

Ryan’s work doesn’t take us to the most glamorous of cities, but if you are open-minded enough, there is fun, glamour, adventure, culture, and inspiration everywhere. Smaller cities just aren’t outright “selling” it to you. They are living it and pulling up a chair for you to their table if you want to visit.

With busy work schedules, we were able to carve out one evening to venture into Baton Rouge taking a drive around Louisiana State University, it’s quaint southern neighborhoods and grab some traditional po’ boys for dinner at George’s. If you get the chance to peek in George’s don’t let the “lived-in” ambiance fool you, the food is fantastic. It’s rated as one of the top 10 restaurants in Baton Rouge, and it serves traditional Louisiana pub food. George’s is located in an eclectic spot mixed with cool old buildings, neat restaurants, and a few cute shops right under a highway overpass. If you find yourself at the intersection of Perkins and Christian you are in the right place. Park your car, grab some food and pop in some shops in this little gem of a hidden neighborhood.

Friday night we stopped at the Bass Pro Outdoor World because this is apparently who I am now. I get excited about Bass Pro Shops, camping equipment, and outdoor gear. My child, on the other hand, gets excited about anything motorized and entirely age inappropriate.

We are not full-time Airstream living just yet. We won’t be until June, but this is pretty much what it’s going to look like. Not all full-time RV traveling families are free-spirited, homeschooling nomads hiking slot canyons all day and going where the wind takes them. Some are just working stiffs like us trying to gain some sanity in our hectic lives by putting some wheels on our house, grabbing some po’ boys and checking out a Bass Pro Shop along the way.

This lifestyle gives us small adventures, a lot more calm and more time together. I’ll take it.