RV LIFE Podcast
The RV LIFE Podcast, created by one of the premier companies in the RV industry, is for the RV Community with a mission to Educate, Entertain and Explore the RV Lifestyle. The Podcast will explore all things RV Life: living, working, exploring, learning. With hosts Dan & Patti Hunt, full time RVers, content creators, educators and explorers.
RV LIFE Podcast
Embracing the Adventure: Navigating RV Life with Kids featuring Christine Swartz, the RV Mama
The RV Mama of 4, Christine Swartz joins us to share the challenges and rewards of hitting the open road with her 4 kids.
Today’s episode Christine shares how her husband would drive the RV with her and their 4 kids, set the RV up and then drive home. After many trips Christine not only decided she had to learn how to drive and set up the RV but she teaches other Mamas how they can do it too.
In addition to Christine's story, we discuss RV trip planning, Christine's for showing others how to plan, Thousand Trails to help save on camping costs and so much more.
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you, you, you, you, you. This is the RV live podcast. I'm Dan Hunt, with my incredible wife, patty Hunt, and today's guest. Well, she had a dream. She has four kids and she's a lawyer. She has a husband who hated the idea of RVing, yet was extremely supportive, driving her, the kids and the camper to campsites around the state of Colorado, setting them up and then heading back to civilization where he worked, leaving her and the kids to make the memories of a lifetime. She is a serial promoter and her story was featured on Fox 26 news in Houston just last week today's guest is RV mama of four, christine Swartz.
Patti Hunt:Welcome to the RV life podcast, okay.
Dan Hunt:Christine, thank you so much. Let's talk about that. First day that you sat down in the kitchen table with the kids and the husband and said I really would like to go RVing. My sister just bought an RV for $150 a month and it's been my lifelong dream, so we're gonna do this. Who's in? how'd that work out for you?
Christina Swartz:well. Oddly enough, it worked out pretty well. I don't think my husband knew that he didn't really care for camping that much, that I grew up tent camping and he had it. But we ended up going out that next weekend and I picked out an RV that we call breakdown Betsy after we bought it and he did, just as you mentioned, take me up an hour away all over, all over different places in Colorado, so that we could make memories with the kids. And then he decided I'm out every week. It was the same excuse. I got to work, but I loved every minute of it. And here I am, eight and a half years later, still doing it all on my own now and now you started traveling with four kids.
Patti Hunt:First of all, how old were they when you started?
Christina Swartz:well, it's been about eight and a half years and my oldest is 18 now. So I would say right now my kids are 10, 13, 16 and 18, so it's tracked eight years all my, all my math friendly people out there and they were just young and they loved every minute of doing this and they still do so they were quick math here from two to ten years old, the four of them I'm not gonna do big-time math and they did all love it.
Patti Hunt:They were all on board. Nobody wanted to stay home with daddy no, they were all on board.
Christina Swartz:They all took after me in that regard, i guess, but yeah, they still. Just since I've been in Texas this week to go on the news and to teach other people how to RP, both of my older kids have messaged me mom, when are you coming back? we want to go on a trip where we go, and mom, can we go to Maine? they always take like the farthest places possible, of course that's fun.
Dan Hunt:Well, we, we are considering summering in Maine this year, so maybe we could meet you up there and have some fun, because one of the things about this lifestyle is that you can do things that like that, like say, well, we're going to summer in Maine or winter in Florida. That's what we did last year is we wintered in Florida and had a great time. Christine, let's talk about some of the little things in life. You know, patty just has a a conipption fit. She absolutely loves it when we pull into an RV park that has a great laundry room and we don't have four kids with us. We only have one, that's me. So. So how does it feel when you fill in, to pull into an RV park that has this incredible laundry room and you can go in and get all your laundry done from all of the bodies that are in this camper with you?
Christina Swartz:it's so funny that you bring that up, because I had two laundry quick But one whenever laundry mat always check sure there's at least 5 w, because one of the reasons I don't want to do chores, i got to keep it to the min I do laundry I need about in California. All five w was right next to the pool. My laundry, put it in ju with the kids jumped out e popped it in the dryer. A I'm just going to bring t. Laundry is going so well, go bring dinner down. So keep a wagon in my RV, do spaghetti in the wagon B while the laundry is cook or laundry is going the um, and I came back with a platter with my spaghetti dinner. Memories with the all in one bout, so that you ask that question down.
Christina Swartz:I was going to tell you wa bought a. I'm currently si Fifth wheel here on the s good wi fi in front of Star. I also just bought a 45 b. We purchased a washer and garage. It's blue, it's p it. Before we even install, said Mama, where are we? Well, one of the things ab the garage is there's no for ATVs. And so I thought laundry, laundry, washer, and I guess you guys win. So washer, dryer before we eve, so laundry matted and camp me for a while.
Dan Hunt:You know year old class A diesel pu and dryer inside of it tha it still had the original. for some reason, patty p comfortable with using th about laundry.
Patti Hunt:I do have a mama moment, for sure, to swim with the kids and do moment, but for most of u more complicated And eve, like you said, by the tim there's four or five loads any kids with us, so you be able to make those mom fun a little more enjoyable. Brought something up that awesome, tell us about. On that didn't go so well.
Christina Swartz:So back to the very first ye driving me back and forth. I thought you know, one that he's not getting to with us, and two, i reall outside of the state. So my big girl pays up and l. And so for Mother's Day you could ever ask for T checklists how to hook up RV and how to set up and for four and a half years, my Bible. I kept them ou. I used them every time An I thought, oh yeah, i've it out west to go chase m scholarship in California, in Vegas, you have a scol.
Christina Swartz:We didn't make it to Vegas. I don't know how you've e Utah, it's one of the mos there, but their mountains is their heat. It was lab. We were headed out. It was at nine in the morning, i, but it was an F 150. They my trailer. First mistake, or do your own research. But not Utah. And all of is good, and all of a sudden, power failure. Power failure. There was such a code on like what is that? So I p I've gotten much better.
Christina Swartz:At weekend, when I had some r to be done, i did panic, come so far in eight years, my first time ever. So I pulled off the road and t exit was camel safari. So and calling and calling c, i'm trying to get help a after the fifth time and don't open until october. The camels, i don't care, me and my mom and my bros straining on the side of Okay, we're going to turn, going to give you a whole camels and we'll come res. They met us in the middle. I was having mirages or w it was so hot and I couldn. It was, you know, power f them the once over. I'm l say popping the car. Kid was nice day, not as I d option, and so we got in, gave the kids the whole t single camel because all was. I hope nobody takes, but you know what I always angels, because we've had m that and you learn from t them And I think our ve percent mindset If you w lifestyle and you want to, if you are convinced that you can do it you can do.
Dan Hunt:This life is probably one that patty and I have ever to do things and see thi ever thought I would be ab. We just love every single lifestyle. Now you talked, do the camping angels appa as well. Uh, you know we little things earlier. Um, three teenagers, and a one is almost worse than a te teenagers, um, and privacy for them. You have three and yourself, um, how have of your lifestyle out?
Christina Swartz:So to be something that's in have to do a part two to.
Christina Swartz:But in the 35 foot that we are really lucky We have, i have a door on the master, me usually, because my husband about the pillows, the mat above, so it's usually ju, and then in the bunk house back there and they each one of the beds converts t a dresser. It's fabulous then in the front we hav both pull out into a bed, takes the sofa and even t it hasn't been a big deal to the back shut the door, but we have actually jus decision. So we have a 4200, the golf course communit think it's the american d, my american dream, because a lot of clutter and clea piles and I, as I stated, a chores. I want to get out my kids, so somehow, and d I don't know, but my husband a full time RV living, so in a state sale right now on the side of the road i way back to Denver after, and Mike is working, but back we are going to get to live in. And so privasi, a little bit different in be yet to be seen, but in we lucked out.
Patti Hunt:We have a b like staying in the living is a incredible story of, and now you're full time on board. What would you tell our listeners? What to success with you and f along making things work. Nothing's perfect And in having your husband there, say, key to successes for s 45 foot RV, no matter wha.
Christina Swartz:That's funny that you ask says aren't you going to mom? I have a friend, i w three months during covid. I, literally in the middle, went segue riding UTV r so remote People would t the rules, but we weren't really ranges and we went and we met these camping across from us. Melanie a been an inspiration to me, sold their 4000 square fo horse barn to which was h was a horse trainer and I said did you guys like with? they only have two p are grown and she said I I have never been closer in all my life. She said about this lifestyle and and taking away the press and you know pest control and all the errands and j seeing things just like d never be able to see eve in a hotel because you're in a hotel, you're not. I know yesterday I was jus and turtles while I'm stra repairs, wishing my kids beautiful. I never would, wasn't, you know, in my r.
Patti Hunt:And again, i think there We actually did a podcast. Small space, basically wit, but it's interesting that I also. We went from a 35 pool and hot tub. The whole are 2002 monaco. I'm not s feet, it is, but it doesn' it. There were some adje lie, but now when things you walk outside to a bea thing is right now we are. We've been here in virgina. My mother and I feel mor this house than we do when big part of it is getting being out in nature. All contributes to, you know, the peace, the not thinki other stuff, the cleaning, so I do think this is a g. Now again, talking about t to help other mamas with us, a little bit about tha.
Christina Swartz:I am so passionate about that. They can learn to R in life. I have had more people I don't know you to do what you're doing it. You guys, i am nothing in New York City and work, had, you know, fancy clothes. You'll rarely find me out, but it's all about mindset because things are going to go wrong, like right now.
Christina Swartz:I was so determined to be on this podcast. I told the people fix in my RV, look, i might be like in there as you have this raised up If you don't get it done in time. And they were so amazing to me, um, and they had it done and ready to go. And I just feel like, if you are willing to accept that nothing in life is ever perfect just like you described, even in a house, your car could break down, you could run out of gas, so many things. It's not going to be perfect, but it gives you an opportunity to just explore the world and make memories that you wouldn't otherwise be able to make.
Christina Swartz:So I have a business now called the RV, mama of four and I teach people how to RV. It's an online membership community and we do zoom meetings once a week and people We have a topic each week and people ask me RV related questions and, um, we help them. But just last week we did a meeting on the RV life trip wizard app teaching people how to plan their trip and what a great app that is so that they can make that piece of their journey easier. And it's very reasonable It's only $29 and 99 cents a month and you have access to me, my courses, my videos and a community. So I'm passionate about it, patty, because I want everybody that has this dream to know that it's attainable.
Dan Hunt:You know, christine, you said earlier that you got the best Mother's Day present ever, and it was a checklist off of a plastic sheet that could be erased. You must have been a pretty cheap date in college.
Christina Swartz:Huh Well, my second best gift was my second AC and my RV and that one was over $2,000. So that was a little more expensive than the chocolate and roses, So I guess I made up for it later in life. but I actually am running my journey right now and running my AC, so it's getting its use.
Dan Hunt:Well, now that you're a media superstar appearing in Houston on Fox 26 news and I think you were on somebody's show in Dallas as well not to mention the international RV life podcast, what's next for the RV mama? You seem like you got it all. Where are we going from here, girl?
Christina Swartz:Well, as soon as I get home on Wednesday, i'm headed up to Grandi, colorado, to meet some other fellow RV YouTubers and content creators and just RV aficionados, and I can't wait. I'm bringing my kids with me And then after that we're going to Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon. I'd actually had that booked during COVID and my kids decided they wanted to go to the first day of school. Mind you, this is a home school co-op. I'm like you guys, this is a great day, this is a great day for me and I'm excited to go to the first day of school. Mind you, this is a home school co-op. I'm like you guys, you don't need to be there the first day. And they insisted. And my mom said, christine, just let them go, you can always go back to Zion and Bryce.
Christina Swartz:So here we are, two years later, revisiting the trip that I had to completely cancel for the first day of school, and I'm excited. We're going to go sand duning and all kinds of fun things. And, dan, i have a two weeks open All the way through next June. But I have two weeks open and I need some ideas of where to go. So I would love to hear from viewers or you or anybody where can I fill my two weeks?
Dan Hunt:Well, we call it our current thought where we're going next because we, like you, change every two minutes. Somebody calls and says, well, would you come and be on this, or would you come and do this, or come do this? And so we call it our current thought now. But right now, our current thought is to go to break to pay some of the bills And after the break we're going to talk about the RV mama giveaway. We're going to talk about some of the hard stuff. We're going to talk about water pressure in an RV with four teenagers Oh my God, that sounds terrible. And we're going to do all that right after this.
Patti Hunt:When traveling in your RV. How do you navigate? Do you use a paper map, a GPS, or do you use Google Maps? Our sponsor, rv Trip Wizard, has the solution and it just works.
Dan Hunt:It just works RV Life Trip Wizard. we do not move our RV one single solitary inch without putting it into RV Trip Wizard first.
Patti Hunt:And I know, christine, for you you just did a recording or a meeting. I guess you do an online meeting, That's what it is, and you were teaching people about trip planning and that is just so important. So how did that? it's a virtual class, i guess it is. How did that class go It?
Christina Swartz:went so great. Honestly, patty, that's my number one question for women. I have those women and men in my group, but for women, oftentimes the trip planning will fall on them not always, but they want to know how do I get from the art museum in Kentucky to my conference in South Carolina and know that I'm not going to run into a tunnel or a bridge along the way? And so that's one of the things that I love about this app is that you put in the height and width of your RV before you even start planning, because that is important. I actually had a situation in Colorado sometimes Colorado is like Utah, where you can get in the middle of the doon box And we were, we were. This is before I got the trip planning wizard app And this is why I got it, because I was just using one of the good old Googles And I got myself into a situation where we were in the middle of nowhere with no Wi-Fi and any Arapaho National Forest alone, and I didn't see the car in an hour And all of a sudden there's a tunnel and it says 12 feet And I thought, oh my gosh, my trailer is 11 feet six inches.
Christina Swartz:If anybody's estimating, we're in trouble, but, patty, they weren't estimating. Thank goodness I made it through. I had my kids run up ahead to see what was on the other side of the tunnel because we hadn't seen cars in forever. But that's one of the great things about this app is you're not going to get yourself stuck in a situation like that and you can download everything so that you're not dependent on Wi-Fi. So both of those would have been stress waivers in my situation two years ago.
Patti Hunt:Absolutely, and so what I'm hearing you say is, instead of having RV TripWizard, you had kids that you sent out on the road to make sure the RV would go through. Ok, let's not do that.
Speaker 4:And since Dan and I don't have kids that could help us with that.
Patti Hunt:We do use RV TripWizard. It is great.
Dan Hunt:I'll tell you what If you're planning on going to the Hershey RV Super Show which is coming up, patty, what are the dates?
Patti Hunt:The dates are September 13th to September 17th.
Dan Hunt:Now, patty and I have been named the feature speakers for that show And every single day we will be giving a lecture on RV TripWizard and planning your trip. Now, when we do our planning, we make it a party. Patty gets her candy and chocolate and we get some drinks and we set up in front of a computer. We also have our cell phones with us and we make an evening out of it and just have fun And we really go out and plan our trip. Wherever it is we happen to be going this winter along with you, or this summer along with you. I think we're thinking about going up to Maine.
Patti Hunt:Right.
Dan Hunt:And the summering in Maine.
Patti Hunt:So, as we're talking about trip planning, it's just Dan and I And for some this is a very stressful time is trying to plan, but, like Dan said, we've really enjoyed it, christina. Christine, tell us a little bit about how you plan with your four kids. Obviously, they had some say in Zion or going to the first day of school. So how does planning work for you guys?
Christina Swartz:So you're going to get a kick out of this. But my 10-year-old is my trip planner. I even called him from Houston and said, Kate, go find me somewhere to stay on my way to Dallas, And so I can do it. But it takes time, Like you said, and I love that. You make it a party, I love that. But I'm always the one driving and cooking and doing all the things to the laundry And so the trip planning. Often I'm exhausted or driving And so my 10-year-old actually will download maps. He downloads all kinds of maps And I showed him He's got the trip plan, He's got the RV Life Trip Wizard now too, And he will find me a campground based on wherever I tell him I'm going. I said I'm going to the Fox26 news in Dallas And the Jeff really showed me, or I flipped those in Houston And he booked. He not only planned my trip, he booked my campsite And he called them and paid. So when I got there they always comment oh, are you the one with that little boy that plans your trips? So it's kind of our joke.
Christina Swartz:The one time that I took over because I told him he had to go to bed And he was mad He wouldn't do my trip planning. I actually went backwards. I was trying to go to Denver and I went towards Kansas. So when I have time, like you guys do, and when you're doing your party planning, I do sit down and use the app and plan everything out in that regard, But we change a lot. I love I'm stealing that RV thought, Because as fast as I booked something, I get enticed by where everybody else is going. So when you said Maine, I might leach up there in Maine Because I want to go there in August.
Patti Hunt:Yes, that sounds great, exactly when we want to be there And from what I'm hearing, rvturp Wizard, even a 10-year-old could do it. So that's what I'm hearing. Now, what is your next big thing? I know we talked a little bit, but what is the next big thing you're looking to do to plan?
Christina Swartz:So I actually, when I get back, one of the biggest things that we need to figure out is we've taken, we've gone through and downsized everything in our house to get ready for this big move, and I left for Texas the exact same day we moved out, so our 45-foot fifth wheel currently is the pile of stuff, and so I said to my husband when are we going to be able to get ready?
Christina Swartz:to move in Because I'm going up to Grandi the day I get back, and then we're going here and there And he's like I don't know, you figured out, i'm staying at my mom's. So until I get that set up, he's not sweating, he's fine where he's at. But yeah, that's going to be my next thing. And then I really also want to go to Oregon and Washington. They're the only states in the entire West that I have never been to, so they're on my bucket list, patti, i'm coming for them.
Dan Hunt:We actually spent last winter in Oregon and Washington.
Patti Hunt:Actually the summer.
Dan Hunt:No, it was into the winter, It was snowing. Remember.
Patti Hunt:Yes, it was very early Because you don't want to be well, i don't want to be there in the winter. But yes, it did snow. It was like a half an inch. I woke up in the morning I said OK, time to get out, get out of town.
Dan Hunt:Yeah, it got very cold very, very quickly. We stayed at a Harvest Host there And if you listen to our podcast Religiously, which I know most of you do you heard last week we had the marketing brand manager from Harvest Host was our guest last week on the RV Life podcast, but we talked about going up into Maine and going up into Washington and Bend, oregon, where my son lives and two of our grandkids live. We just had the greatest time in the world up there. We spent a whole day where we took a canoe and a couple paddle boards And we just floated down a river And it took the whole day to get down this river.
Patti Hunt:It was very cool And for you, Christine, and our listeners, you could check out some of the video on our YouTube channel. exploring through our lens. We did video up in that area. It is amazing up there. I highly recommend it.
Dan Hunt:La Veyland was one of the videos that we shot when we were up there And it's on Exploring Through Our Lens our YouTube channel Very interesting video, that one, because it was shot by our seven-year-old grandson. So it was an interesting day, just like this conversation we're having right now with Christine Schwartz, the RV mama, and we will be back with more right after this on the RV Life podcast.
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Dan Hunt:We are talking right now with Christine Schwartz. She is the RV. Mama of four, christine, are your kids having a good time? Are they liking your decision to take them RVing and take them out of school and do remote schooling and all of that kind of stuff? Let's talk about that a little bit. Are they having a good time? Do they enjoy it as much as you and I do?
Christina Swartz:They do, dan. My 16-year-old is now getting more into the high school social scene, so if she's not available, i just take the boys who are. But she's the one that just messaged me and said mom, i got to get out of here, let's go on an RV trip. Where can we go? Just yesterday. So I know that she still loves it too And I have to tell you one of our most favorite trips we ever did was Glacier National Park And I will never forget this picture of in my head of these four kids standi blue water that looks like so close to Canada, that m to Canada, jumping off of watch other people do.
Christina Swartz:It were up on and then we did them looking back and the face was priceless and th so much, dan, that we werent minutes and the kids were and they're head out to su not supposed to be that and tell them to sit down. There's sirens behind me and so the police officer. Ma'am, i know you're only an hour, but you know you their head out the sunroo. I'm so sorry we couldn't. This is like heaven And laughing and he's like o, but you got to be careful. I know there's not much t he's like, but if a bear you might have to slam on, and so whenever I think a of do the kids love it, i of their face turned around jumping off this and I kn doing it.
Patti Hunt:That and I think is really all about its. S could talk about the things breaking down. You know repair issue. We have bl people like to talk about. There are things that hap the memories, like what y outweighs all of that stu. For Dan and I it's worth like for your family. We'r what your husband thinks again in about a month, or from what he thinks.
Dan Hunt:I thi I want to have your kids o guest and see how they're as much as you are.
Christina Swartz:Yes, that would be a great ide in the past. For the last, the whole summer Last ye extended from July to octo. I told you during covid, three months beforehand. A are long and the kids love they'll always be back in baseball and they still w they're very heavily into. So I wanted this to be fun. We're gonna travel. All s will come meet you in main to go to Williamsburg Homes, hershey in September, but us to do that on the road. It would be a really neat to find out the difference. Have a home to go back to.
Dan Hunt:Yes, i 100% agree with th that every day myself I s you know, patty, before we high school science teacher. She misses the kids and I getting up every morning a but uh, i gotta tell you that we and all the kids lifestyle on the road are day. Just being out there is way different. Um no, though, as we are out on need help and right now i life pro. Tip of the week.
Speaker 5:Once you have your basic trip wizard and have secu, it's time to add all of t want to make At this po campground icons filling in the way. You can easil off by clicking this sma upper right hand corner to focus on adding fuel s, places to eat or things t wish to add to your trip.
Patti Hunt:It again, if you need to s for RV life, i'm Pat Buch you so much, patrick, it we get a new tip of the w and more about RV trip wiz of products. They are ama about learning Christine, us in the interview secio to share your knowledge a little bit about your c. You say classes, courses, the saying.
Christina Swartz:Yeah, so I d have a zoom call. Every wee have a certain topic that people ask RV related ques have access to me, so sta ground and they're like o remember how to hook up m. My air conditioner is no Celsius instead of fairnigh. That happens all the time. Me, you know text messag or whatever works best. A a class. I have it's still to it all the time. But t once they join the membur in and they can look up. I buy What is the differ a cross B you know an purple, what, what, what. How do I hook up at the? c can just go in and they c.
Christina Swartz:It's funny because Dan sa grandson did your videoi that videos and my 10 year for many things He video. He, my 10 year old, knows m than any of the kids. He' me back up in the storage at 10 o'clock at night. He knows how to do everything. He even does the sewer S those videos and he'll t And so it's just a way for to help people not have t things that I'm sure you first as well. All the ne back up with your stabiliz in and out of the gas sta off your tail end. There' that seem overwhelming. B somebody here to support. It's available to you Y of mistakes and money and and you can just get out now.
Patti Hunt:Yes, and you know wh some help with this Eve to be learn the hard way how people can get to you everything Sure.
Christina Swartz:So my M A, m A O F, the num written for you as well, dot com. You can find me, the RV mama of four, at a. I also have a Facebook. Gr. Okay, and we're actually.
Dan Hunt:Oh, that sounds means it's of the week here on the R, week's question came from somewhere in the great sta RV group specifically for Yes, jim, there is a group and they specifically are and families, um, they are. we know a lot of the people. we have had them on the R, so it is definitely out t of four who helps people. she takes kid questions al, she's got a plethora of c with her, um, so, yes, jim and Christine, do you hav to Jim's question here?
Christina Swartz:I and that's a great one, tha 1000 trails is very fami. Them, when we were in texas, got 35 nights of camping And they offer it at such the year and they're very a lot of activities. So w Conroe in Texas and we kn that 1000 trail staff, we you'd come over for dinne. We always had extra food. Coordinator We'd be shar home school crafts with h became this community wha us and I have found that me all the time about saif.
Christina Swartz:The RV community is like in my mid forties where y off to go bike ride and b That's what the RV community not tell you. How many peop me out on the road becaus of hands and toes to Adam, of fixed leaks you know about, you know why is m breakers that have flipped, and I've learned from all that. And so now we're in the stage where people are actually asking me for help at Kentgrounds, people that are running, men, women. They don't understand, you know, they don't know how to do this and we'll go over and help them. And so it's just been an amazing opportunity. And so between really just having a helpful RVing community, no matter wherever you go, the full-time families and the Thousand Trails, i think those are great options for kids.
Patti Hunt:Absolutely, and Dan and I are also part of Thousand Trails. We're not part of full-time families because while we travel with some of our grandkids we are not part of that group, but we often see Thousand Trails I'm sorry full-time families in a lot of the Thousand Trails campgrounds we go to. Now, dan and I have done video on Thousand Trails. There's a lot of information and misinformation out there. Our big suggestion is if you want to know anything about Thousand Trails, reach out to our reps, jim and Brandy Reneau. They have been so supportive and so helpful. They are sales reps but there is no sales-y.
Patti Hunt:We were able to figure out what was right for us, what worked best for us, and it has really saved us. I mean, it has allowed Dan and I to be on the road full-time, especially when money was tight. I mean, i'll be just totally transparent and honest. So, since Christine brought that up, i just want to share that. I will put Christine's website in the show notes. I'll put Jim and Brandy's information. I'll put the phone number in the show notes, as well as anything else we talked about on the show today. I just want to make sure people listening in their car or on their bike ride will have all that information.
Dan Hunt:That's right, It will be in the show notes. To get ahold of Jim and Brandy, it's very easy. I put together a little Google Docs form asking a couple of questions just to get them into the idea of what kind of camper you are so they can have information ready for the phone call when they do call you One of the things that Patty and I actually love about Jim and Brandy. And now they're in Colorado right now. They're in a campground in Colorado right now. What's your name?
Patti Hunt:I think it's called Blue Mesa, if I'm not mistaken. That's what it is. Yes, brand new 1000 Trails.
Dan Hunt:Campground. It's in Colorado, but they're not salesy. I mean, when we called them he didn't push. He's like I want to get what's the best for you, i want to get the best membership that'll work for you and your family. And that's exactly what we did. They have become personal friends of ours. We've gone camping with them, we've spent weekends with them down at the beach in Savannah, georgia Just incredible people.
Dan Hunt:And we do love the 1000 Trails System, like you said, christine. I mean, i'm in my 60s, so you know, when I was a kid and went camping and you went to a campground, there were all kinds of things going on all the time And that kind of stopped, especially during COVID. All of that kind of went away. Well, it's starting to come back. You're seeing the potluck dinners again. You're seeing the bingo nights again. You're seeing getting together and having great big campfires and talking or singing around the campfire. And that's what I love about 1000 Trails, along with the fact that every time we book 1000 Trails Park, so we'll book and you say you'll get an email that says you are confirmed for three nights at wherever Give me the name of a campground Orlando You're booked for three nights straight. Your cost zero.
Patti Hunt:Yes, that is the nice part. We love that. That is a nice part of it. I want to talk a little bit about zero costs for something, and that's the free giveaway. So, christine, i know we're coming to the end of our time, but can you share the giveaway with our listeners, and I know there's only a couple days left for people to sign up, so share that with them.
Dan Hunt:Now let's not make things difficult here. There are two giveaways going on. One is Christine's giveaway And, christine, you're going to talk about that right now And then, after you're done with that, we're going to talk about the RV Life Podcast giveaway, because June is giveaway month here on the RV Life Podcast And we're trying to give away anything that we can. So we have a glamping package that we're giving away. You're giving away a camping package, christine, so you're giving away that. So why don't you tell us about your package first and how you can sign up for that, and then we'll talk about our package as well?
Christina Swartz:We'll do. This is definitely giveaway month, you guys, and don't delay because you don't want to miss out on being the lucky winner. So actually we are so blessed to have the RV. Life is actually one of our sponsors for our giveaway, And it is a camping package worth almost $399. We have a Blackstone tabletop grill. We have a three-year subscription to the RV Life Trip Wizard app. If you already have the RV Life Trip Wizard app, that membership will add on to whatever you already have. And then, on top of that, we have a hiking backpack, and so we are just excited to be able to share that. You can find it at my website, the RVmamaof4.com. There's a giveaway tab or you can go to the RVmamaof4giveawaycom either place, But the live drawing will be June 30th, so don't delay.
Patti Hunt:That is awesome. Now there's a lot of things for people to do today. The next thing after you sign up for that giveaway, you want to sign up for the RV Life podcast and luxury in the outdoors Lido for short. This June Glamping giveaway includes and I'm going to read this because it includes so many incredible things It includes one gorgeous Lido outdoor tablecloth. I love my Lido tablecloth. It is bright, It is thick, It cleans well Me too, Me too.
Dan Hunt:I love it too.
Patti Hunt:It doesn't blow away. Dan loves it too. It's very colorful, the one I chose, and I'm not done. You're also going to get two Lido wine tumblers, and these are fantastic because the lids are leak-proof. I hate when those lids leak all over the place. They keep our drinks cold for a long time.
Patti Hunt:And what's really cool and exciting and if you go to our social media and I'll tell you where that is you could see the dog leash and dog collar that lights up. This is a nice bright collar, so there's no more tripping of a leash when you walk out of your RV. There's one beautiful solar lantern and a one-year membership to RV TripWizard And, again, if you're already an RV TripWizard member, you'll get a year added on. You'll also get two RV Life Podcast t-shirts and two RV Life Podcast mugs. I'm running out of breath because there's so much stuff here. This is a package valued at over $400. Yes, there you go. It is done June 30th. So you still, you only have a couple of days. Get signed up. I know sometimes for these giveaways I say, oh, i'll do it later. You only have two days. Get signed up for both of these giveaways.
Patti Hunt:But we have one more thing to talk about. We talked a little bit about Hershey and I just have to share a little more. Hershey, the Hershey RV event event. It is a super show and it's going to be September 13th to September 17th. You want to book your campground, you want to sign up, but RV Life is also doing an event on September 14th from 6 to 10. Now this event will be off campus at a place called Inglewood. We were there last year. It's an amazing venue. You can get signed up. I'll put all the information in the show notes. It's called the RV Life live event. Dan and I will be hosting order hookups If you've never heard them. We'll be performing. They're fantastic. Kids who are under 12 are free and you get food, drink and entertainment and thousands of dollars worth of giveaways I mean literally thousands all for $15 a person. I think I'm out of breath now. Everybody's got lots to do.
Dan Hunt:I'll tell you what one of our sponsors, kraken Adventure Bikes. They are actually giving away an e-bike And I get to give it away at that event. I am so excited about that. Somebody is going to drive out of there with a brand new e-bike. It's white. I have it in my RV already. I have it for you And it is time for you to take it with you. So you're going to want to come to this event. It is going to be sold out. There is only limited space. We will not be opening spots for people, so you want to get your tickets as early as you possibly can. If you have kids under 12, they are free. They can come and eat on me And we're going to have a great time all night. But we do have a lot of great giveaways to give away and all that kind of stuff.
Patti Hunt:And Christine said they are going to be there, so I'm looking forward to meeting you in person And thank you, christine, for being on the RV Life podcast.
Christina Swartz:Thank you. It was such a pleasure And I would love to meet you in person too. I feel like I already know you. It was just so much fun to share with other people that have a similar passion to get others on the road and share what that life can be like.
Dan Hunt:Well, we will be staying at the Thousand Trails in Hershey Hershey, thousand Trails It's called the Hershey Thousand Trails. We're staying at the Hershey Thousand Trails. We stayed there last year, had a great time Just a beautiful, beautiful facility, an incredible pool, an incredible indoor hot tub. You just can't ask for much more than that. So we really enjoyed ourselves last year. We'll be staying there again this year. It's only about 10 minutes over to the RV show from there, so get your reservations early and make sure that you see the link in the show notes so you can get your tickets to the RV Life Live event. We're going to have a great time there and we hope you join us. Okay, christine, thank you so much for being with us. I am going to follow up. Maybe when we're in Hershey, we'll have your kids as guests on the RV Life podcast and let them tell the story of being on the roads from the kids' point of view.
Christina Swartz:I love that.
Dan Hunt:Again. Rvmamaof4.com is the website and there is a link in the show notes. You can get a list of the course and the Facebook group that Christine does. We just really love that. She gives back the way that she does to the community And I can't say enough about the RV community in a whole. People have really helped us. We have helped other people while we're on the road. People always seem to want to pitch in and that's what this lifestyle is all about. I'm Dan Hunt with my incredible wife, patty Hunt, on the RV Life podcast. Have a great rest of today and an even better day tomorrow.