John and Shelley Smith make a stop at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
When Shelley Smith recalls her "perfect day" at the bottom of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, you can understand why she and her husband John have decided to spend their retirement on the road.
"We camped in Santiago Beach, we went kayaking and the dolphins came by. Then we stopped at a baby island and put on our snorkels and got some scallops. We did some fishing and then we kayaked back, and they had some hot springs you could get into," says the 55-year-old retired teacher. "That was one of my favourite days, it was just amazing."
Shelley and John Smith are RVers, which means they spend their winters in their recreational vehicle – travelling with their truck and fifth-wheel trailer across the warmer parts of North America. Summers are spent at their home in Courtney, B.C., in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.
For the majority of their careers, the Smiths taught at international schools overseas, mostly in southeast Asia. That may have been where they caught the travel bug.
"We knew when we finished [work], we wouldn't sit and do nothing because we always travelled," says Mr. Smith, 59. "Then five years ago when we retired, we lucked into an RV. A retired couple who decided to stop travelling was selling and so we picked up a truck and our fifth wheel and hit the road."
Ms. Smith says the two enjoy the freedom of being able to come and go as they please in their home on wheels.
"We don't have a huge RV, but we have a fridge, a stove, a microwave, and we're on solar panels so we can go off-grid. We bring all our toys – bikes, climbing gear, fishing gear, kayaks. Wherever we stop, we explore and whatever suits us to do, we do it for a while and then go from there," she says.
Some of the the Smiths's destinations have included Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Florida, Texas, Virginia, California and the aforementioned Baja Peninsula, which they hit last year. Ms. Smith documents much of their progress on her lively blog, Honey Did You See That?
Mr. Smith, who does most of the planning before a trip, says he uses online resources such as TripAdvisor to decide where to go, and they belong to an organization that allows them to get into RV parks across the continent at a discount.
"We're leaving the first of January and I know the first two or three stops, but after that the adventure is in finding new spots," he says. "The beauty of it is you park next to someone and you get immediate tips where to go or where not to go. Your list gets bigger every year."
Ms. Smith might also post on Facebook that they're hitting the road, and they invariably get invites from friends to visit.
"We say, 'Make sure if you're inviting us that you mean it, because we will come,'" she says with a laugh.
Because they enjoy outdoor activities such as kayaking and hiking, the Smiths tend to frequent national parks and other scenic locales, but they do head into cities if the mood strikes.
"Driving the truck in the city can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but Phoenix is one of our favourite spots for cities," Mr. Smith says. "There's so much hiking and things to do and we've managed to see a lot of sporting events that we wouldn't normally see – hockey and basketball and baseball. This year we're volunteering as ushers at a big Palm Springs tennis tournament so we'll get to see some of the top stars in the world there."
Although they are always up for spontaneity, the Smiths say they don't take unnecessary chances. They travel with a GPS, rarely drive at night and usually limit their hauls to 2 to 3 hours at most, unless they are heading back up north after the season ends. To keep costs down and their diets healthy, they rarely eat out, preferring to cook their own meals in their RV or catch fish to grill on their BBQ.
When it comes to advice for others hoping to make the road their home, Mr. Smith says it's important to be smart about where you park.
"When we talk to people who say they're going to park on the beach on their own, we say, 'Well, you might be asking for trouble,'" Mr. Smith says. Travel websites and fellow RVers can be good resources to get an idea of whether an area is safe or not.
"And you have to watch the weather obviously," Mr. Smith says. "We've had to hunker down for a few days because the winds have been strong."
This year, the Smiths are getting on the road a little late because it's their turn to host Christmas (the Smiths have two sons, who are also teachers). But come January, they plan to hit the last two of Utah's five national parks. Plus, they enjoyed their time in Mexico so much, they plan to explore that country more, or maybe even venture farther south some day.
"We have friends whose goal it is to go through central America, so we're keeping an eye to see how they fare," Ms. Smith says.
If you are a couple who wants to include an RV in your retirement plan, don't forget that it means being together pretty much 24/7, notes Ms. Smith.
"Make sure you like your partner," she jokes.