NüRVers Gathering 2010: Day 1

Hill Shade has been steadily filling up to capacity with NuRVers, and today was the "official" kick-off of the 2nd annual rally! It's been SO MUCH FUN living in this temporary nomadic community...side by side with other "young" full-time travelers. There is much information to glean and endless inspiration to share.

One of our favorite aspects of a gathering like this is the diverse mix of people. There is a lot of "geekiness" here, as you might expect, because most of us use computers in some way to make a living. And there is a lot of "granola"...as many of us are vegetarian and are into sustainability. There are also many motorcycle-drivers, margarita-drinkers, photography buffs, animal-lovers, and Vibram FiveFinger wearers. Be sure to watch the video above to "meet" everyone here!

We kicked off the day at 4:30 p.m. with happy hour and announcements...and then rolled into a "crowd-sourced" Tex-Mex themed meal at 6:30 p.m. The food...oh the FOOD! It was amazing. After that, there was lot of stimulating conversation, campfire & marshmallows, more margaritas, and flaming poi spinning by Cherie!

We're looking forward to an amazing weekend...there is a lot of cool stuff planned! I have taken lots of photos already and I will work on getting them posted soon...along with a daily update. And if you've been reading our blog for any time at all, you will know that it's a BIG DEAL for me to post something the within the same day. Or the same week for that matter. So you KNOW I must really be having fun!

If you have a Twitter account and want to follow along, search for #NURV and you'll be able to see everyone's tweets! If you don't have a Twitter acccount, what are you waiting for?!

There is also a new NüRVers Flickr group that will have photos of all NüRVer events.

Our photo gallery is here and the Flickr set is here.

Ticknor Tribe

One common "objection" we hear as to why a family just cannot travel full time is that they have too many kids to be on the road. Well, to that we say..."Nonsense!". And to prove our point, we introduce to you, The Ticknor Tribe.

Vaughn and Dana Ticknor are traveling the country with their 11 children this year...in a 40 foot fifth wheel pulled by an extended cab truck and followed by a 15 passenger van. Be sure to watch the video above to hear about their travels and get a tour of their rig.

When Christine came by the RV and said "there is a family rolling in with 11 kids!"...we said "SWEEEEEET!". Apparently that's not the normal reaction the Ticknors get from campgrounds :) Sometimes they won't even let them camp there. Which is crazy when you realize how fun and inviting this family is! They fit right in with the 11 other kids that were already at Hill Shade! Their arrival was quite the event...check it out:

Bella had so much fun playing in the field with everyone...


Matt shared the veggie oil love with Vaughn...

And here are a few photos of their rig:



Aren't these skylights great!?

You can see more photos of their home here...they also explain in more detail how they made this rig work for their family.

The Ticknors are from Montana...so we hope to catch up with them again someday! Be sure to check out their travels at their blog, The Ticknor Tribe.

Mama Retreat

During the time when Dan and Alicia were here, the mamas took little "retreat" trip up to Austin and spent the night at a hotel and explored the city. We had a blast!

We went out for some DELICIOUS Thai food at Titaya's. Best Thai I've had in Austin. The placed was PACKED on a Wed. night. Great people watching too. SXSW was going on while we were there...so everything around town was a bit crazier than normal.

We had a slumber party at a fancy hotel and stayed up WAY too late.

We had breakfast at Magnolia Cafe. I love their banana & peanut butter corn pancakes!!

We went to Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Free People, Starbucks, Costco, and other fun stores that we saw along the way.

We got a nose ring for Christine.

We had lots of fun. And took lots of photos. See more of them here. I love these ladies! Can't wait to do it again someday.