Escapees Profiles: Erik & Jeanne Anderson

Who do you have along with you?

We are a traveling trio: Erik (59), Jeanne (60) and our Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Hershey (1 ½). He goes just about everywhere with us and we joke that every time Hershey hops out of the RV he’s in a new place, with new smells, sights, and doggie-friends to meet!

At Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Michigan.

How long have you been on the road?

We have had our motorhome for four years, doing mostly long weekends and up to 2-week vacations. That is until this year when we finished up both stressful careers (Erik as a VP of HR in healthcare, Jeanne as a Registered Nurse), purged most of our possessions, sold our “sticks & bricks” home on Long Island, NY, and made our “Big Leap” into full-time RV’ing on July 6, 2020.

Are you full-time or part-time?

We are full-time RV travelers and loving it. Zero regrets so far!

Boondocking in Iowa.

What kind of RV do you have?

Our first and only RV, it is a 2017 Thor Windsport 29m Class A motorhome. We have absolutely loved it since the day we took delivery brand new. It’s a perfect floor plan and size for us and the pup. We named our RV “LinaBug” after one of our granddaughters, Olina (aka LinaBug). Seeing her name on the coach reminds us to always embrace her child-like sense of wonder and adventure wherever we roam. We also tow our 2014 Honda CR-V…which carries a bunch of stuff we couldn’t fit in the coach!

What got you interested in living the RV life?

That would be Erik’s former boss, Maryellen. After a particularly tough work day she joked, “Erik, we should just quit, buy a Winnebago, and drive around the country!” She said it a couple more times over a few weeks and Erik mentioned it to Jeanne one evening, who said, “Hey, do you think we could actually do that?!” Well, Erik started Googling, discovered the Escapees RV Club, and we found out that living, working and traveling full-time in RVs is a thing! And, yes, we could do it. So, we put in place a 4-year plan to prepare for a major Life Change and we stuck to our goals and dreams!

How do you fund your travels?

As part of our 4-years of preparation, we worked really hard to pay off all debt and squirrel away as much into savings as we could. Erik still works part-time remotely for his former company on a consulting basis about 15+ hours per week, but it’s very flexible. We also want to start doing some workamping assignments next year, such as camp hosting. At some point, we’ll tap into Social Security and our 401(k)’s, but we’re putting that off as long as we can.

What is your camping style?

We really like State, County and local campgrounds for their locations, typically spacious sites and lower cost, and the quiet natural settings. We do like boondocking/dry camping, as well, and we’ve outfitted our RV with a substantial solar system and other features to be self-sufficient for weeks at a time. We look forward to more boondocking as we travel out West. We like staying in areas for at least a week or two and probably longer starting our second year of full-timing.

What do you seek out when traveling?

Two things, mainly: our family and friends around the country, and our “bucket list” destinations like National Parks and historical sites, as well as we are trying to “follow the weather”. Erik is also an avid mountain biker, so he is always looking for fun singletrack trails to ride.

Jeanne drives our home-on-wheels, too!

What's been your favorite experience so far?

Each time we’ve left a location, Jeanne has said, “That was my favorite place yet!”, so we have a LOT of favorites! We have truly enjoyed meeting very nice and interesting people on our travels, as well as experiencing the unique beauty, sights, food, etc. that each state and region has to offer.

What's been your worst experience so far?

Jeanne was a little “creeped out” and nervous on one of our first boondocking experiences, but she survived! Probably our most difficult thing has been missing our 6 grandkids. Thank good ness for Facetime!

How many Escapees events have you attended?

Alas, we haven’t been able to yet. The one Escapade on the East Coast we couldn’t attend due to work and this year’s was canceled. So, we are looking forward to attending Escapees events in 2021.

Are you introverted or extroverted?

Jeanne is more the extrovert and Erik an introvert. But it depends on the situation and we can both flip-flop.

Tell us something weird about yourselves

Hmmm, so Jeanne says, “That could take all day!”. Erik has this thing about U.S. Post Offices. He’s a nut about taking a selfie in front of Post Offices in each area that we visit. Jeanne just rolls her eyes when he does a U-turn with the motorhome towing the car just to double-back to a Post Office we passed. And Erik knows better than to list all of Jeanne’s weirdness’s in public!