A week ago our 18 year old niece flew in for a visit. We had planned this visit after my Dad and I both decided we didn’t want to fly to TX in early June for an outdoor high school graduation ceremony, instead we thought it would be more fun to fly our new graduate to us for about 12 days and split the time she spent with each of us. My niece grew up in the DFW area and has really only been in TX/OK/NE for her entire life other than one short band trip to Chicago last winter for an invitational. So now she has seen mountains, the ocean, waterfalls, old growth forest, and of course, downtown Seattle and Tacoma sites.
This was the first time we’ve ever had someone stay more than one night with us in our RV and the only other time we had someone for a night we still had our couch with the pullout bed. We had a few challenges in the morning just trying to get all of us out the door with the use of just one bathroom, but overall it went far better than I could have imagined. We had cleared out space in a closet for her suitcase and “stuff” and each morning her air mattress and bedding was put out of the way on our bed so clutter was kept to a minimum, gave her a quick lesson on RV showers and life was good.
I’ve got to be honest and say that while we had fun, we’ll think twice about having someone stay with us in our RV for more than 3-4 nights again, even if it is a younger, special member of our family. We enjoyed the visit, but it did make my “work from home” job a bit more complicated, especially on those days with early morning calls and having to move her bed so I could sit at my desk. We’ve also been quickly reminded of why we like to stay in an area and have more than one weekend to see the sites. We had some very long days of site seeing, took an extended weekend over the 4th of July with an extra day off after the weekend ended for most folks to show her the sites and by the time I went back to work on Tuesday morning we were all exhausted.
We did learn several lessons during this visit, particularly that we should have had a longer conversation on expectations of visiting so many places. Museums / site seeing road signs / visitor centers, etc. – we had one person who read nothing and another who wanted to read everything, hmm, yep, she breezed through all the exhibits in 25% of the time it took Dale to look at everything, I was moving at a slightly faster pace than Dale but definitely felt rushed. Her idea of seeing the sites was taking pictures of each location with minimal walking, and especially NO Uphill! LOL, so you want to see mountains, waterfalls, etc. but you don’t want to walk up hill and don’t want to hike more than about a mile at a time? Hmm, we didn’t really talk about this with her ahead of time, I had described some of the potential hikes that would provide great vistas as we chatted on the phone before her arrival, but until we were actually in the park she never voiced her dislike of hiking. So much to see and do, and so little time, rapid site seeing, yep, makes me really grateful for our much slower “normal” pace of exploring a new area. Although, I have to admit it was nice to see some of our old favorite places, just wish we could have stopped longer, maybe taken a long hike instead of all the short hikes.
So as I get ready to turn her over to my Dad, her Grandpa, I’m breathing a sigh of relief that we had a great visit, she saw many, many new sites, and now we can head to the Olympic Peninsula the weekend before Dale’s next art show to enjoy a weekend to ourselves and a much slower site seeing pace.
-- Edited by NWescapee on Thursday 9th of July 2015 09:17:06 AM
RickandJanice said
09:35 AM Jul 9, 2015
We also find extended visits fun but exhausting. Once you get used to living in an RV with just the two of you, it does take allot more effort and create some unexpected challenges to have someone else stay with you, even if just a few days and even if they have stayed in an RV before. We have even had a great niece and nephew age 7 & 6 stay a week with us last year. It was exhausting but so much fun that we will do it again. We just consider that our time is limited on this earth so it is still fun to just "camp" with close family members or friends from time to, just to enjoy the time and create memories.
gilljr said
01:10 PM Jul 9, 2015
We take our Grands, twin boys, every summer for a week or two and even though we love them a lot, we can't wait to get our home back.
TRAILERKING said
03:19 PM Jul 9, 2015
YOU invited her as a "Guest"...................Stop your whinin'.
Jo And Craig said
06:57 PM Jul 9, 2015
In 13 days we will be hosting my second cousin who will be arriving in the U.S. from Spain for the very first time. He is 18 years of age and will be staying with us for FIVE WEEKS! We will be flying home to Texas for him to meet the rest of the family during this time. We will be gone for 12 days, but three of those days we will be spending on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. We hosted his older brother and cousin about 5 years ago, but we were in a sticks and bricks then. I have tried to envision how all of this was going to work out, but realize this is an opportunity of an entire lifetime for him, and there is always a possibility he may never see his family in the United States again. Regardless, this trip is all about him and we want it to be something he will never ever forget. So, pray for us as we take on this Herculean task!
I want to thank Bill and Kelly for watching over our home on wheels while we are in Texas. It is only because of them flying home to Texas is possible! THANK YOU, GUYS!!
NWescapee said
08:01 PM Jul 9, 2015
@ TrailerKing - not whining, I know we invited her, just sharing lessons learned.
MarkS said
10:11 AM Jul 10, 2015
Someone once posted ~ entertains many, feeds 4, sleeps two. That is my rule.
The Bear II said
10:29 AM Jul 10, 2015
We would fold out the sofa bed for guests until my wife's best friend said she'd like to try sleeping with the sofa made up. She liked it better. Luckily our sofa has removal back cushions so it ends up twin bed sized. It's a lot easier to get by in the morning.
Since then if we have a single guest they sleep on the closed up sofa.
We have a few guests who go out of their way to help out and others who seem to think they are staying at a 5 star hotel...I hate being a bell man. The little hat gives me a headache.
2riker2go said
04:12 PM Jul 10, 2015
We have had our grandson stay over a few times. It always takes some extra thought and organization to make it work in such a small space. What I always find a bit challenging with kids is getting them to want to play outside. For some reason their first thought is to stay inside.
We have never had anyone over the age of ten stay over and I can't quite imagine how that would go in our small space.
DebbieM said
10:32 PM Jul 10, 2015
We've had friends and family stay with us several times this past year. We actually enjoy it! One tip is we let the air out of the guest bed and leave all sheets/blankets on it (we do take the comforter off). Then we fold it up and put it on our bed. At night we move it back to the sofa and fill it back up. Stays made nicely and saves a lot of time so you don't have to make and unmake the bed each day.
Terry and Jo said
07:54 AM Jul 11, 2015
First of all, "Hah" to Bernie's (Trailerking's) remark. One thing about having been a moderator and having to read each and every comment, it allows one to learn when a sense of humor is being applied to a comment.
Now, to Dale and Ruth,
You've done an excellent thing for the graduate. What better gift can one give than to share the beauty of nature and all other attractions of an area where they've never been. Good job!!!
While we've had Jo's sister overnight a few times, we will get the supreme test this August. Our youngest son is coming up on vacation for two weeks then and wants to stay with us. Time will tell as to how well this works out, because he is a night-owl and we are earlier risers than he is. However, it it doesn't work out for him to stay with us, we can always ship him off to Jo's sister's house in Colorado Springs. Love the son, but we've also gotten REALLY accustomed to it just being the two of us. At least 4 nights of that two weeks will be spent camping out in tents over near Silverton, Colorado when our nephew is back on vacation from the Middle East. Ha!!! Then the three of us will be in the same tent.
Terry
Offtosmelltheroses said
09:15 AM Jul 11, 2015
Note to self....Number one purchase: nice roomy motorhome for the two of us. Number two purchase: 9 X 10 Tent for everyone else.....
Jake62 said
09:56 AM Jul 11, 2015
Offtosmelltheroses wrote:
Note to self....Number one purchase: nice roomy motorhome for the two of us. Number two purchase: 9 X 10 Tent for everyone else.....
Too funny ...my wife wants us to take her father for a trip when we hit the road, this may be a great idea - although I think I'd be the one in the tent
-- Edited by Jake62 on Saturday 11th of July 2015 09:57:43 AM
Offtosmelltheroses said
11:21 AM Jul 11, 2015
Jake62 wrote:
Offtosmelltheroses wrote:
Note to self....Number one purchase: nice roomy motorhome for the two of us. Number two purchase: 9 X 10 Tent for everyone else.....
Too funny ...my wife wants us to take her father for a trip when we hit the road, this may be a great idea - although I think I'd be the one in the tent
-- Edited by Jake62 on Saturday 11th of July 2015 09:57:43 AM
Sounds kinda like what my wife tells me when I complain about the two dogs taking up too much room in the bed...."if it's getting too crowded, sleep on the couch dear...."
NWescapee said
06:48 PM Jul 11, 2015
Thanks all, we were just having a discussion that if our kids and grandkids ever visit at the same time, we'll definitely buy a tent for the "guest room"!! And no, we won't be the ones sleeping in the tent.
We did have a wonderful visit, thanks Terry for your kind words. Nothing can describe introducing someone to the mountains (Mt. Rainer and Mt. Saint Helens up close and personal), the ocean (even if it was the Puget Sound which is relatively calm) and yes, her first ever waterfalls. We had so much fun, just need to make sure in the future that we better set expectations regarding any hiking, long walks, elevation changes, etc.
But, I have no regrets and honestly was happy to give this niece a fun graduation trip and experiences she's not likely to forget any time soon. I just hadn't really thought through all the impacts of living in a small space, having another person around and the impacts on all our daily routines. Yes, I would do this again, no question about that, but would go into it with a better set of expectations.
ChefMom said
07:21 AM Jul 13, 2015
We only had our 4 year old granddaughter for a weekend with us. It was a lot of fun but I was exhausted at the end of that time as she is like the energizer bunny in a finite space. She had no problem with playing outside but once inside for the evening she thought everything in our rv was something to climb on, swing from or jump off of. I love her dearly but I think the rv visits will be a once a year thing.
Terry and Jo said
10:49 AM Jul 13, 2015
Ruth,
One last thing. You might have planted a seed in your niece. I remember that the mother of one of the wife's sister's husband came out to Oklahoma from Pennsylvania on vacation. They went to the Rockies in Colorado, and she was so disappointed. She called them ugly and barren. (Remember, she's used to Pennsylvania mountains that may be completely covered with trees.) Anyway, a few years later, they are again planning a vacation and the mother asks if they can go back to the Rockies. Evidently, that rugged beauty grew on her.
The same may be true with your niece. She may want to return, but this time to take the hikes to see that back country that she missed this time. At any rate, you've given her a great and awesome gift.
Terry
Trabuco said
10:58 AM Jul 13, 2015
We've had our grown children and their wives stay with us, my sister and brother-in-law and one grandkid. These have all been one night stays and it has worked well for us. A week or 2 would be a whole different story. I think 2 nights at a time would a good limit to put on a visit. But everyone is different.
JayKim-no regrets said
05:33 PM Jul 16, 2015
When we bought our RV we removed the big couches and replaced one with an entertainment center for hubby's 46" flatscreen and the other with two recliners. This gave us the perfect excuse for not being able to host overnight guests! When our Son and DIL visit they stay in a local hotel, I love to entertain and cook for them, but we are happy to hug them g'night and see them here again for breakfast.
huggies Kim x
soos said
01:43 PM Jul 18, 2015
We sometimes do something different, that not many people would be willing to do. If our kids visit they get the pullout. Other guests actually get OUR room. I clear out a shelf in the bathroom and 2 drawers in the bedroom. That way my brother and his wife, who are on vacation, can sleep in, retire to their space to read or watch TV or just get away from us, and we can get up anytime we want in the morning and not feel constrained.
Having a cat is part our equation and its easier and nicer if the guests don't have to deal with him overnight.
Our pullout has a temperpedic topper so its pretty comfy.
We usually make a list of all the things there are to do in the area we are staying and have the guests decide what is interesting to them. We can see whatever interests us after they leave.
I figured its worth being accommodating for the guests and it has worked out even better than I thought it would, eliminating much the stress of sharing space.
Sue
Offtosmelltheroses said
02:01 PM Jul 18, 2015
soos wrote:
We sometimes do something different, that not many people would be willing to do. If our kids visit they get the pullout. Other guests actually get OUR room. I clear out a shelf in the bathroom and 2 drawers in the bedroom. That way my brother and his wife, who are on vacation, can sleep in, retire to their space to read or watch TV or just get away from us, and we can get up anytime we want in the morning and not feel constrained. Having a cat is part our equation and its easier and nicer if the guests don't have to deal with him overnight. Our pullout has a temperpedic topper so its pretty comfy. We usually make a list of all the things there are to do in the area we are staying and have the guests decide what is interesting to them. We can see whatever interests us after they leave.
I figured its worth being accommodating for the guests and it has worked out even better than I thought it would, eliminating much the stress of sharing space.
Sue
I actually like that plan!
Someday said
02:27 PM Jul 18, 2015
soos wrote:
We sometimes do something different, that not many people would be willing to do. If our kids visit they get the pullout. Other guests actually get OUR room. I clear out a shelf in the bathroom and 2 drawers in the bedroom. That way my brother and his wife, who are on vacation, can sleep in, retire to their space to read or watch TV or just get away from us, and we can get up anytime we want in the morning and not feel constrained. Having a cat is part our equation and its easier and nicer if the guests don't have to deal with him overnight. Our pullout has a temperpedic topper so its pretty comfy. We usually make a list of all the things there are to do in the area we are staying and have the guests decide what is interesting to them. We can see whatever interests us after they leave.
I figured its worth being accommodating for the guests and it has worked out even better than I thought it would, eliminating much the stress of sharing space.
Sue
X2. We are like you Sue, but also recognize that different strokes for different folks based on individual personalities and what works for one doesn't always work for others.
Guests get our bedroom and we sleep on the pull out - hubby complains at the start about giving up his bed, but after the second night it's never mentioned again to me (LOL) Longest we've ever done that way is 13 nights. I can imagine for those trying to work FT whilst living in an RV though it can be a lot more challenging. I just like that I can mooch around in the morning prepping things without disturbing our guest if they want to sleep in which invariably they are usually up within half hour of me hearing them turn over and hubby or I give them their first morning cuppa in bed :) Hotel On Wheels complete with butler service.
Have a different cousin coming over next year from the UK who has knee problem following surgeries and has put on a huge amount of weight (saw her for the first time in 22 years last month when we visited UK to say our last farewells to some members) - we will take her all around Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, into BC etc and our focus is typically water based. We know she won't be able to access in and out of kayaks as we do and spend a lot of time in them, or hike/walk as much as we tend to do. We are accepting of that and know we will have to adjust our expectations, but make sure we enjoy plenty of laughter, fun, reminiscing about our childhoods spent together, other family members and enjoy the too short a time we will have together especially over happy hour.
Curtis and Rhandi said
12:40 PM Jul 20, 2015
Bless your heart - I can only imagine how difficult this made working, etc. This is why we subscribe to the rule, dinner for four, sleeps two! LOL We even removed the sofa that folds out into a bed. Well - we had to so I had a place for my desk - but it was also so no one can stay with us! There are hotels! LOL
A week ago our 18 year old niece flew in for a visit. We had planned this visit after my Dad and I both decided we didn’t want to fly to TX in early June for an outdoor high school graduation ceremony, instead we thought it would be more fun to fly our new graduate to us for about 12 days and split the time she spent with each of us. My niece grew up in the DFW area and has really only been in TX/OK/NE for her entire life other than one short band trip to Chicago last winter for an invitational. So now she has seen mountains, the ocean, waterfalls, old growth forest, and of course, downtown Seattle and Tacoma sites.
This was the first time we’ve ever had someone stay more than one night with us in our RV and the only other time we had someone for a night we still had our couch with the pullout bed. We had a few challenges in the morning just trying to get all of us out the door with the use of just one bathroom, but overall it went far better than I could have imagined. We had cleared out space in a closet for her suitcase and “stuff” and each morning her air mattress and bedding was put out of the way on our bed so clutter was kept to a minimum, gave her a quick lesson on RV showers and life was good.
I’ve got to be honest and say that while we had fun, we’ll think twice about having someone stay with us in our RV for more than 3-4 nights again, even if it is a younger, special member of our family. We enjoyed the visit, but it did make my “work from home” job a bit more complicated, especially on those days with early morning calls and having to move her bed so I could sit at my desk. We’ve also been quickly reminded of why we like to stay in an area and have more than one weekend to see the sites. We had some very long days of site seeing, took an extended weekend over the 4th of July with an extra day off after the weekend ended for most folks to show her the sites and by the time I went back to work on Tuesday morning we were all exhausted.
We did learn several lessons during this visit, particularly that we should have had a longer conversation on expectations of visiting so many places. Museums / site seeing road signs / visitor centers, etc. – we had one person who read nothing and another who wanted to read everything, hmm, yep, she breezed through all the exhibits in 25% of the time it took Dale to look at everything, I was moving at a slightly faster pace than Dale but definitely felt rushed. Her idea of seeing the sites was taking pictures of each location with minimal walking, and especially NO Uphill! LOL, so you want to see mountains, waterfalls, etc. but you don’t want to walk up hill and don’t want to hike more than about a mile at a time? Hmm, we didn’t really talk about this with her ahead of time, I had described some of the potential hikes that would provide great vistas as we chatted on the phone before her arrival, but until we were actually in the park she never voiced her dislike of hiking. So much to see and do, and so little time, rapid site seeing, yep, makes me really grateful for our much slower “normal” pace of exploring a new area. Although, I have to admit it was nice to see some of our old favorite places, just wish we could have stopped longer, maybe taken a long hike instead of all the short hikes.
So as I get ready to turn her over to my Dad, her Grandpa, I’m breathing a sigh of relief that we had a great visit, she saw many, many new sites, and now we can head to the Olympic Peninsula the weekend before Dale’s next art show to enjoy a weekend to ourselves and a much slower site seeing pace.
-- Edited by NWescapee on Thursday 9th of July 2015 09:17:06 AM
In 13 days we will be hosting my second cousin who will be arriving in the U.S. from Spain for the very first time. He is 18 years of age and will be staying with us for FIVE WEEKS! We will be flying home to Texas for him to meet the rest of the family during this time. We will be gone for 12 days, but three of those days we will be spending on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. We hosted his older brother and cousin about 5 years ago, but we were in a sticks and bricks then. I have tried to envision how all of this was going to work out, but realize this is an opportunity of an entire lifetime for him, and there is always a possibility he may never see his family in the United States again. Regardless, this trip is all about him and we want it to be something he will never ever forget. So, pray for us as we take on this Herculean task!
I want to thank Bill and Kelly for watching over our home on wheels while we are in Texas. It is only because of them flying home to Texas is possible! THANK YOU, GUYS!!
@ TrailerKing - not whining
, I know we invited her, just sharing lessons learned.
Since then if we have a single guest they sleep on the closed up sofa.
We have a few guests who go out of their way to help out and others who seem to think they are staying at a 5 star hotel...I hate being a bell man. The little hat gives me a headache.
We have never had anyone over the age of ten stay over and I can't quite imagine how that would go in our small space.
We've had friends and family stay with us several times this past year. We actually enjoy it! One tip is we let the air out of the guest bed and leave all sheets/blankets on it (we do take the comforter off). Then we fold it up and put it on our bed. At night we move it back to the sofa and fill it back up. Stays made nicely and saves a lot of time so you don't have to make and unmake the bed each day.
First of all, "Hah" to Bernie's (Trailerking's) remark. One thing about having been a moderator and having to read each and every comment, it allows one to learn when a sense of humor is being applied to a comment.
Now, to Dale and Ruth,
You've done an excellent thing for the graduate. What better gift can one give than to share the beauty of nature and all other attractions of an area where they've never been. Good job!!!
While we've had Jo's sister overnight a few times, we will get the supreme test this August. Our youngest son is coming up on vacation for two weeks then and wants to stay with us. Time will tell as to how well this works out, because he is a night-owl and we are earlier risers than he is. However, it it doesn't work out for him to stay with us, we can always ship him off to Jo's sister's house in Colorado Springs. Love the son, but we've also gotten REALLY accustomed to it just being the two of us. At least 4 nights of that two weeks will be spent camping out in tents over near Silverton, Colorado when our nephew is back on vacation from the Middle East. Ha!!! Then the three of us will be in the same tent.
Terry
Too funny ...my wife wants us to take her father for a trip when we hit the road, this may be a great idea - although I think I'd be the one in the tent
-- Edited by Jake62 on Saturday 11th of July 2015 09:57:43 AM
Sounds kinda like what my wife tells me when I complain about the two dogs taking up too much room in the bed...."if it's getting too crowded, sleep on the couch dear...."
We did have a wonderful visit, thanks Terry for your kind words. Nothing can describe introducing someone to the mountains (Mt. Rainer and Mt. Saint Helens up close and personal), the ocean (even if it was the Puget Sound which is relatively calm) and yes, her first ever waterfalls. We had so much fun, just need to make sure in the future that we better set expectations regarding any hiking, long walks, elevation changes, etc.
But, I have no regrets and honestly was happy to give this niece a fun graduation trip and experiences she's not likely to forget any time soon. I just hadn't really thought through all the impacts of living in a small space, having another person around and the impacts on all our daily routines. Yes, I would do this again, no question about that, but would go into it with a better set of expectations.
Ruth,
One last thing. You might have planted a seed in your niece. I remember that the mother of one of the wife's sister's husband came out to Oklahoma from Pennsylvania on vacation. They went to the Rockies in Colorado, and she was so disappointed. She called them ugly and barren. (Remember, she's used to Pennsylvania mountains that may be completely covered with trees.) Anyway, a few years later, they are again planning a vacation and the mother asks if they can go back to the Rockies. Evidently, that rugged beauty grew on her.
The same may be true with your niece. She may want to return, but this time to take the hikes to see that back country that she missed this time. At any rate, you've given her a great and awesome gift.
Terry
huggies Kim x
Having a cat is part our equation and its easier and nicer if the guests don't have to deal with him overnight.
Our pullout has a temperpedic topper so its pretty comfy.
We usually make a list of all the things there are to do in the area we are staying and have the guests decide what is interesting to them. We can see whatever interests us after they leave.
I figured its worth being accommodating for the guests and it has worked out even better than I thought it would, eliminating much the stress of sharing space.
Sue
I actually like that plan!
X2. We are like you Sue, but also recognize that different strokes for different folks based on individual personalities and what works for one doesn't always work for others.
Guests get our bedroom and we sleep on the pull out - hubby complains at the start about giving up his bed, but after the second night it's never mentioned again to me (LOL) Longest we've ever done that way is 13 nights. I can imagine for those trying to work FT whilst living in an RV though it can be a lot more challenging. I just like that I can mooch around in the morning prepping things without disturbing our guest if they want to sleep in which invariably they are usually up within half hour of me hearing them turn over and hubby or I give them their first morning cuppa in bed :) Hotel On Wheels complete with butler service.
Have a different cousin coming over next year from the UK who has knee problem following surgeries and has put on a huge amount of weight (saw her for the first time in 22 years last month when we visited UK to say our last farewells to some members) - we will take her all around Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, into BC etc and our focus is typically water based. We know she won't be able to access in and out of kayaks as we do and spend a lot of time in them, or hike/walk as much as we tend to do. We are accepting of that and know we will have to adjust our expectations, but make sure we enjoy plenty of laughter, fun, reminiscing about our childhoods spent together, other family members and enjoy the too short a time we will have together especially over happy hour.