New years are always filled with a lot of excitement and a little bit of nerves about what is to come. 2020 was no different, but if we would have known what this year held, we might have flipped those feelings to a lot of nerves and a little excitement. 😅 Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we didn’t take full advantage of this crazy year, grab life by the horns, and write a great story in our 365 days of blank pages. 

It has been a wild ride, and we can’t believe that it is already time to welcome another new year. Going into 2021, we are ready to continue leaning towards our fears, learning, growing, and pushing ourselves to new heights, and truly living it up to the fullest! But this doesn’t come without spending some good old time reflecting and preparing for this next chapter. 

Without further ado, here is a glimpse into what we have loved about 2020 and what we are looking forward to in 2021!

Tyler:

Finding a place I love. 

In 2020 we (because of COVID) had a chance to spend some extensive time in Tucson, Arizona, exploring all it has to offer. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Tucson as a place that I really came to love this past year. Before we started our full-time RV journey, we lived in Denver, Colorado. It was and still is a special place for both of us. That is where Andrea and I started many important chapters of our lives.

When we left, I thought I would never be able to find a place that I connected with as much as Denver ever again, but to now know that there is another place that is simply phenomenal makes me excited and helps me realize that many places in this world can feel like home. 

Pushing comfort levels.

The standout memory for me in 2020 goes to Andrea’s great influence with boondocking. I fought going out and boondocking for quite a while. It wasn’t something that was in my wheelhouse or that I was comfortable with, but being uncomfortable is what 2020 was all about, right? So this past year, we took it to the next level by boondocking in a cold spot. I guess you could say it took my breath away 🥶😉 because I became sold on the experience after that. And it has made me want to continue to push ourselves so we can go boondock and stay in the most gorgeous spots that one can only see when boondocking. 

Andrea:

Eyes wide open.

One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen is White Sands National Park in New Mexico, and getting to experience that is by far one of my most favorite experiences in 2020. It is one of those places that is just totally unique in every way. I remember walking over my first dune and thinking that I didn’t even know a place like this could exist, and I think that is what a lot of what living on the road has opened my eyes to.

There are so many places that I never had on my “travel bucket list” – either I didn’t think they were worth taking hopping on a plane to go see, or I didn’t even know they existed.  Many of those have been my favorite places so far, and I would have missed out on them if we didn’t choose to live a life full of travel.

New ways to experience things.  

Another favorite experience of mine was when we were in Michigan at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. That moment stands out to me because I was really really looking forward to doing a ton of hiking there, and on the first hike, I hurt my foot. Ugh. I was frustrated to say the least, and I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to see the park while we were there. That’s a feeling that’s difficult to come to terms with on the road because we never know if or when we’ll be able to make it back to an area. But I decided to try something new and work with what we had.

Instead of going on vigorous hikes, we found secluded coves to hang out on the beach and skip some of the coolest stones I have ever seen. It was peaceful and serene, and a moment I will never forget because it showed me that there are a ton of different ways to experience a place.  It seemed like there was only one thing we were interested in doing at Pictured Rocks, but thinking outside the box helped us to not only work within the confines of my injury, but also see a different side of the park. There’s no ‘right’ way to see any of the places we visit.

Tyler:

New interests.

In 2020 I started to learn how to pick up new interests while we were on the road. If you have followed along with our journey then you have seen them in real time as I was discovering them, which is pretty cool! This year I really got into jiu-jitsu, archery, and my Strangers Worth Meeting podcast. I felt like I finally got to focus on not just surviving the full-time travel lifestyle (along with work) but thriving! I was able to find things that were good fits for me for all of the different interests that I have.

This leads me to my resolution for 2021: taking those things that I was able to find and learning how to take them on the road with me and make them an even bigger part of my lifestyle. I love that these hobbies allow me to build communities of people all over the country who I connect with on a deeper level. I want to continue to use jiu-jitsu and my podcast and anything else I discover during 2021 to forge meaningful connections with people.

Andrea:

Be patient.

My resolution for 2021 is to be patient. This might seem like a cliche resolution but it really fits with this season of life that I am in right now. This past year I sustained a groin injury that has made its presence very known. I’ve been unable to do a lot of the things I love for several months – that includes going on long hikes, climbing, most yoga, and any workout that actually gets my heart rate up. I may be a little bitter. 😅

I am currently in physical therapy, and anyone who has been in physical therapy knows that that process in itself requires a ton of patience. And living on the road presents its own challenges with having to change providers every time we move. Right now, that means we are spending a full two months in Tucson to let me keep working with a physical therapist that I trust. That is a long time to spend in one place for me and I am already itching to get traveling again.

So my biggest goal for 2021 is to be patient with gaining an understanding of my injury, letting my body heal, and taking it slow until I’m ready to go fast again!

2020 wouldn’t have been the same without one major change in our life, and so a special thanks goes out to all of our friends at East to West for making 2020 so exciting for us! We started living on the road over a year ago, but getting into the new Alta RV in August and creating the Wild Hixsons have made this year a special one in our memory.

As we leave one year behind and roll into the next one, we hope that 2021 brings us wild new adventures that keep life entertaining! We hope you all had a great year and hope to see you come along on the journey with us in 2021! 😊