February 21, 2025 • 39 mins
Rachel Lathrop and her family traded in their traditional Michigan life for full-time RV living, and she’s not just surviving—she’s thriving!
With a full-time remote job, two teaching gigs, and a PhD in the works (yes, really!), Rachel still found time to dive into content creation while traveling. (Oh, and did we mention her whole family is neurodivergent?)
In this honest and inspiring chat, Rachel shares how she balances a packed schedule, keeps her ADHD family running smoothly, and found a creative outlet that brings in extra income without the pressure of becoming an influencer.
If you’re already living the full-time travel life but looking for fresh inspiration to balance business, creativity, and family, Rachel’s story is packed with ideas you’ll want to steal.
Key Takeaways
1️⃣ Balancing Life with Neurodivergence
• Rachel’s family of four all has ADHD, but with the right tools (hello, checklists and timers!), they’re thriving on the road.
2️⃣ Turning Travel into a Creative Outlet
• Content creation started as a fun side project for Rachel, but now it’s a growing income stream that fits seamlessly into her RV life.
3️⃣ Juggling Work, School, and Family on the Road
• From full-time remote work to pursuing a PhD, Rachel shares how she manages it all without burning out.
4️⃣ Finding Community in Unexpected Places
• Joining the RV Queens Circles helped Rachel build friendships and discover her passion for content creation. (Spoiler: community is everything!)
5️⃣ Travel as Therapy
• Whether it’s soaking up the sun in the Florida Keys or finding peace in Acadia National Park, Rachel shows how travel is more than adventure—it’s healing.
Connect with Rachel Online
Follow her family’s adventures and creative journey:• Instagram: @outside.the.box.travel
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
One thing I've noticed, not justwithin the RV Queens, but
talking to all travelers as you kind of do at the campground,
right, get chatty with folks, isI've noticed a really common
theme of trauma, this history oftrauma, and that can be
physical, emotional, you know, all different types of trauma.
And that travel and this nomadiclifestyle is really therapeutic
(00:22):
to them and helpful in kind of processing that trauma.
Welcome back to the RV Queens podcast where we dive into the
lives of women making money and living life on the road.
Today we're sitting down with Rachel Lathrop, a full time RV
UH mom, college administrator and content creator who's
juggling a full plate while traveling the country with her
(00:42):
family. Rachel's journey from a
traditional nine to five grind in Michigan to a remote
lifestyle on the road is inspiring.
But what's even more fascinatingis how she balances a PhD
program, a full time job, homeschooling, and a budding
content creation business, all while living in a tiny home on
wheels. In this episode, Rachel opens up
(01:05):
about their decision to hit the road, how they manage life with
neurodivergence, and how she found her creative spark in UGC.
Plus, she shares practical tips for thriving with ADHD while
juggling a busy life on the move.
If you've ever wondered how to balance work, family, and
personal passions on the road, this episode is packed with
(01:27):
relatable insights and inspiration.
So grab your coffee and let's roll.
Hello Rachel, and welcome to theRV Queens podcast.
Where in the world are you this week?
Hi, Kate, Thanks for having me. We are in East Texas right now.
(01:47):
OK, how is the winter weather inEast Texas?
Last week it rained and was likein the 50s all week so that was
not fun but now it's been in the70's the last few days and
looking towards 80 this weekend and sunny so I can't complain.
OK, nice. That's kind of like how Florida
is. It's like mostly wonderful.
And you can go for walks and such and swim occasionally and
(02:10):
then sometimes it's like rainy. But still, I'll take it over the
Midwest winters, and I know you know what I'm talking about.
Yeah, absolutely. Yes, absolutely.
Better than the Midwest for sure.
When we feel sad about the weather, we look at what it is
back home and feel better. Exactly.
You're like, awesome. It's not dirty and depressing.
(02:31):
OK, great. You know where I'm going to
start this interview? We're going back before you and
your family started living in anRV.
What led up to you and your husband shaking up your
traditional Michigander life andbecoming full time RV years?
I think like a lot of people you've talked to on the podcast,
a lot of RV years, our journey starts, you know, just before
(02:53):
COVID. COVID changed everything for a
lot of us. So before COVID, we kind of wore
that typical, you know, family where, you know, we'd both go
off to work. Our kids would be at daycare or,
or at school. We only saw them a few hours a
day. You know, I would wake up in the
morning, I'd get them off to daycare and school, and then I'd
work my 9 hour day. I had an hour commute each way,
(03:15):
so I would go do that. By the time I got home, my
husband who worked 5:00 to 2:00 would have already picked them
up, made them dinner. And so I get home, everybody
else has already eaten, and I sit down to the kitchen table to
eat dinner by myself. And when you have little kids,
they go to bed pretty early. So I would only have two hours a
day to spend with them, you know, in the afternoon, 3 hours
(03:37):
in the day total if you count the morning.
And then they'd be off to bed. And it was like rinse and repeat
every weekday. And then when you shift to the
weekends, you know, all those things you didn't have time to
do during the week, you do on the weekends, the laundry, the
groceries, the yard maintenance,which was never ending.
And you'd have like one day a week as a family.
And that was our life. You know, it feels like we live
(04:00):
the same week every every week for eight years.
And then COVID hit and I was sent home.
The kids were sent home, which was wild, but it ended up being
wonderful. My husband had to work through
the whole COVID period. He never really got sent home
because he works in like the construction, worked for a
construction company like supplier building and lumber
(04:24):
materials and all those kinds ofthings.
And so he had to continue to work, but we still got to see
him a lot more in the afternoon,You know, So finally during
COVID, like, even though I was working and we did hire someone
to come in and help the kids with school part time because
that was really rough on them. But I got to have lunch with my
kids, I got to have recess with my kids.
I got to see my husband at 2 instead of seven and just ask
(04:47):
him about his day. We just had so much more time as
a family. And this is when we started
hiking on the weekends and after, after work and school.
And like when I shut the computer off for work, I, I was
home already. I didn't have to sit in the car
for an hour. And we just a lot of people
struggled during COVID, but we really thrived in the slow down.
(05:09):
And, you know, then you Fast forward a year, you know, kids
are back in school. And my husband had had a knee
injury and he had surgery. And after the surgery, he needed
to be off for three months. And when he went back to work,
he he would come home every day.And this was, you know, by this
time early 2022, he's like, I can't keep doing this.
(05:30):
This job is meaningless. They don't value me.
I want to be home where I feel like I'm valued and where
there's meaning in what I'm doing.
And I that coincided with me also receiving a promotion.
And my department went remote permanently around the same
time. And just like a lot of full
timers, we've been watching those Youtubers travel in the
(05:52):
country with their kids. And I'll never forget it was May
of 2022. We were watching Keep Your
Daydream. Hey, Tricia.
Mark and I just looked at him and I said, could we do that?
And he looked at me like I had two heads because I'm kind of
bougie. Like I like a bed, I like a
toilet. I, you know, but he's like,
(06:14):
yeah, I think we could let's, let's work the numbers and, and
figure it out. And we hit the road seven months
later. That is awesome.
OK, You're considering yourself bougie because you like a bed
and a bathroom, OK. My husband was a hardcore tent
camper before this. Yeah.
So I was, yeah. Go ahead, go ahead.
(06:36):
So to him, I'm bougie because hegrew up in a family of campers
like you. Tent camp with five kids.
It's normal. And I did not grow up with that
same environment. So yeah.
Yes, well, that's what I was about to say.
It's funny that you mentioned that, because in this lifestyle
you do meet a lot of people thatare way more hardcore than we
are. You know, the the kind of like
(06:57):
normal Americans are like, well,you live in an RV, So like
that's a lot, that's a very small space, all these things.
And then you get like this even more narrow strip of humans that
are like the overlanders and I mean even the van lifers and the
tent campers. And it's just amazing.
(07:20):
Like I totally agree. I feel pretty good about myself
for kings in bed. Absolutely.
Well and you're not on vacation in this lifestyle, you're living
your life right and it would be hard to live your life in that
way all the time. I know some people do it and
they're incredible, but you know, like connectivity,
Internet, you know, we can't payfor our life without it.
(07:43):
So. Yeah.
But yeah, his whole family had camped for years and years and
years. And so he's familiar with
towing, He was familiar with thetanks.
We, you know, we had owned 2 rigs ourselves prior to this.
So we were not, you know, green to.
A lot of it. Here's what I really want to
dive into. You are an extremely high
achieving woman. Like, I seriously don't know how
(08:04):
you do everything that you do. Tell us all the ways that you
are making money on the road. Well, I'm doing it because I'm
hyperactive, Kate, That's one. And I have a lot of support.
I have a really supportive partner.
My husband doesn't work. So there's a lot of
responsibilities that moms have that I don't have that I give to
him and he he takes off, takes off my plate.
(08:26):
But I'm an administrator for College in Michigan.
And so that's like, you know, my9:00 to 5:00.
I'm also an adjunct instructor and their social work program
and I'm teaching two classes right now for that.
I just started content creation in the fall.
I would say December, I really got started.
So very, very new to that. And then I'm also in school
(08:49):
getting a degree. Wow.
And are you working toward the PhD?
Yes. Or I hate to say, yeah, yeah.
I mean, I don't, I don't like tolead with that because it can,
it can be off putting for some people.
It's more about workload than itis about intelligence.
There's a lot of, you know, a lot of it's a lot of work.
But yeah, I don't always like tolead with that sometimes because
(09:12):
it can be off putting. But yeah, I'm getting a PhD in
educational leadership. I didn't know that could be off
putting. I'm fascinated by no but.
You know, when they hear that, it's that you may be
unapproachable or judgmental about schooling or academics and
you know, or highbrow, whatever they, you want to call it.
I found that sometimes, but I amnot that way at all.
(09:35):
I it's just a choice that I'm making.
It's definitely not for everyone.
I don't even know if it will help me in my career.
It's just something that I want to do.
And so, yeah. Dude, I say power to you.
Like can you? I'm sure you can because you
have been imagining this. But like having the initials PhD
after your day would feel prettysick.
(09:56):
You got to admit, I don't care who you are.
That would feel good. Yeah, I'm looking forward to
that part, I'm not going to lie.Work is over and yeah, worked
your butt off for years and it'sworth it.
I really want to get into is your content creation journey
and because it's has to do with your travel life and it's like
on top of everything else that you have going on, going to
(10:19):
school, like you just said, you're teaching two classes,
you're an administrator. How did you get started in
content creation and what does that look like in your daily
life? Actually, you helped me get
started. You may not know this the so I
had joined the RV Queens back inMarch of last year and I had
(10:40):
joined at the time we had the Gold Circle because I needed
friends. I wanted to make friends with
other RV women. Our first year on the road, we
had found it to be very lonely and we were not often in places
around the country where other RV families were in any given
month. So we were really felt like we
were missing the boat on friends.
(11:01):
And so I joined RV Queens to make friends with other RV
women, you know, And then we transitioned to the Platinum
Circle. And I just took, I took a good
nine months of just like listening, making connections,
digesting the information, just being like a student, if you
will, of what other people do and just listening to the
(11:22):
struggles and the successes and the opportunities.
And one thing that had been missing in my life because of
all this other work that I was doing is a creative outlet.
I used to write all the time. I used to paint, I used to do
yoga. There's so many things I used to
do that are taking a backseat because of work and school.
And so you had mentioned, well, have you thought about UGC in
(11:43):
one of our circles? And that kind of sparked me to
think more about it. I had also been developing a
really lovely friendship with Ryan Smith for rowing with The
Smiths. I Ryan.
And obviously she's UGC Queen. And so just asking her about it
and her friendship and her encouragement, she's like,
(12:04):
you're already taking the video and the photos anyway.
Your photography is beautiful. You have the organization
skills, like just try it. And if you don't like it, you
don't have to keep doing it. And so, you know, she gave me a
lot of the steps that I should take to really start that
journey. And I just started kind of
slowly getting things going, asking for her help or support
(12:26):
or feedback. And in December, I started
pitching brands and campgrounds.And it's been wonderful.
And I like, you know, for me, itis something I do on the side as
a creative outlet that happens to also make money or benefit us
by saving money in some way. And so that's what it is for me
right now. But I do love the idea that
maybe it could grow into something more, because you
(12:49):
never know what could happen, right?
That's amazing. I didn't realize you kind of had
creative endeavors before. You know your career spun up
quite a bit there. For the listeners, can you
describe what UGC is if people aren't familiar?
User generated content and how it manifests in the work that
(13:10):
I've done so far, which isn't a ton, you know, only two months
now, is producing reels or photography for campgrounds or
brands that they can then take and use themselves, you know,
themselves on their platforms, whether it's their website or
their social media. I don't have to ever post it on
my socials. Often times I do just because
(13:31):
I'm new and I kind of want to get our name out there, but I
don't have to. And I like that because then the
pressure is only on creating the, it's only the creative,
artistic part of creating the, the piece or the product, the
deliverable. It's not about being an
influencer and having 10,000 followers and, and needing to
influence people in that way. And that's, that's an area of,
(13:53):
of social media I'm not super interested in.
If it grows into that one day, great.
But the thought of having to worry about followers and and
that being what I'm selling was not appealing to me.
So UGC was much more appealing in that way.
OK. So you talked about finding paid
gigs. How do you make money from this?
(14:14):
Is, is there like a site that you go to or is it just outreach
that you've learned how to do? Well, I think like most
creators, I've started off with trade and that can lead to paid
deals down the road. I've only been having really one
conversation with one brand about it and we're not quite
there yet. But I do think if if you are, if
you are starting out and there'sa product you're going to
(14:35):
purchase anyway, trade is a really good place to start
because then you're saving that 403 hundred whatever dollars.
And the same with the campgrounds with hosted stays.
But knowing kind of how the creative world works in terms of
when I did photography, I don't,you know, that's not my
intention to do that forever. I do think there comes a point
(14:55):
where your time is worth that plus additional pay.
And so being able to ask for that and pricing is different.
It depends who you ask. Every creator I've asked or
picked their brain kind of has adifferent pricing model.
But I think you just need to look at what's out there in the
industry and look at what othersare doing and find a price that
is, is comparable to what you think you're worth, maybe hourly
(15:17):
or even per package deal, whatever that would look like.
And just don't be afraid to ask.You know, I had another RV queen
say to me, you know, you can askto be paid.
And if they say no, you could godown to trade.
It doesn't have to be the end ofthe conversation.
So being flexible in that way too is, I think, important.
But again, I'm very new to all of this so.
(15:38):
I love it. OK, so Speaking of creating
content on your Instagram account, you talk a lot about
being a neurodivergent family. So I'm curious to hear what does
that mean and how does it fit oraffect your daily life?
I was saying to another RV queen, you know, I talked to
(15:58):
these ladies a lot, as you can tell, like, I don't know what is
so great about us. I don't know what our brand is
like. I don't feel like there's
anything particularly special ornoteworthy about us, right?
And well, then I realized the fact that we are able to do what
we're doing with our neurodivergence and just our
(16:18):
family dynamics is kind of a niche in itself.
It's kind of a brand in itself. And I never thought about it
that way. Like just being ourselves and
being authentic is your brand. That's our brand, right?
So our family, we have all four of us have ADHD and different,
different types of ADHD as well.And so that kind of manifests
(16:43):
itself in a lot of ways. So ADHD is a neurodevelopmental
condition and it affects the structure and the functioning of
your brain and it impacts everything from speech to motor
coordination, emotion regulation, time management,
memory, lots of different things.
And so for us, the way we can beproductive and successful, both
(17:07):
as travelers, but then also working and raising children is
we develop a lot of, we have a lot of tools to keep us in check
and we've developed a lot of systems.
And so using our tools and usingour systems, we're able to be
successful. But I'm not going to lie,
there's a lot of chaos a lot of the time.
And I think we're kind of the humor for us comes in is we just
(17:30):
have to laugh at it because sometimes it can be so
ridiculous that, I mean, you can't take yourself too
seriously in this situation. You, you just really can't.
And I know a lot of people struggle with ADHD or you know,
autism, Tourette's, these are all forms of neurodivergency,
right? All different flavors and
there's differing severities. You know, for us, we are very
(17:54):
lucky that we are high functioning in other areas.
So it kind of does lessen the difficulty, but but the systems
and tools we have in place are everything.
Without those, we would not be able to do half of what we do.
So you're probably planning out your travels for the rest of the
year. And if you're heading out West,
I hope that Bryce Canyon is on your must see list.
(18:15):
It's one of our family's favorite national parks.
I recommend staying at Bryce Canyon RV Resort, which is a
short drive from the park entrance, has incredible views,
full hookups, and all the familyfriendly amenities you're
looking for. Bryce Canyon RV Resort is an Our
Journey campground, so you know it's going to be clean and safe.
Click the link in the show notesto book now and start your
(18:37):
journey with Our Journey. If you've talked about your day
job and you're working towards your PhD and your UGC gigs, like
on top of being a mom and holding down domestic life and
stuff. So how do you stay organized and
like on top of all of your projects and tasks that you have
going on? First of all, I wouldn't
(18:58):
recommend overloading yourself like I have.
I will be done with the degree this year if it kills me.
I don't have. I was just listening to Dora
Rakin earlier. There's not a lot of white space
happening. There's not a lot of mothership
happening, mothership time. So I just want to preface it by
saying that, but we have planners, calendars, phone
(19:20):
reminders, visual aids. If you come into our RV, you
will see calendars and checklists everywhere.
And it looks very type A and kind of, you know, weird, but
it's not to be type A. It's because if we don't have
these checklists, we will forgetmedication, We'll forget to
brush our teeth. There's very like typical things
(19:42):
that you don't usually have to remind yourself to do.
Maybe if you're neurotypical that we need reminders for.
Timers are huge. The Pomodoro technique I know is
very common. Penny uses it with the RV Queens
and their Co working sessions. I use that every single day,
almost all day to keep myself incheck.
(20:02):
Some days if I'm having like a hyper focus day and I don't have
a lot of meetings, there's not alot of tasks switching.
Maybe I don't need it. But other days where there's a
ton of tasks switching, I need to have those timers and those,
excuse me, visual and auditory reminders to to switch tasks.
So those are kind of the tools we use.
(20:23):
The checklists are huge for the kids because then they can
physically check something off, which gives them a little a
little boost, a little accomplishment feeling when you
physically check something off. I see you're you're a big write
down the list person. I've seen that on your social.
That's huge. And then supports.
Supports are the other piece. Having people in your lives who
(20:45):
you know the, the, it's hard having 4 neurodivergent people
all in the same family because it's hard to regulate your kids
if you're having trouble regulating yourself.
But at the same time, you can understand exactly what your kid
is going through emotionally andrelate to them in a way that I
wouldn't be able to if I didn't also have the same condition.
But we have people in our lives that are really supportive that
(21:06):
understand, you know, when you're having a kind of a more
hyper manic day versus a really down day, you know, they, they
get it. If you're in the middle of a
conversation and you interrupt them, which is super common with
ADHD, you're not doing it to be rude.
You're doing it because your brain is jumping forward in the
conversation to the next topic or even topic switching in the
(21:29):
middle of a conversation. It can be very frustrating for
other people. And when you have people in your
lives that get it and don't takeit personally, that means
everything. And positive self talk is huge.
So like I said, we're huge on goal setting and we're huge on
the checklist and celebrating like tiny wins.
Like, hey, we got through this week without a meltdown.
Or hey, we got through today. Let's you know, have have a
(21:51):
celebration of all of the accomplishments.
Because a lot of people that areneurodivergent have low self
esteem, depression, anxiety, because they don't feel like the
world accepts them as they are. And one thing that I wish we
were better at, it's super important for folks,
neurodivergent folks, is taking care of your body.
Exercise, nutrition, sleep hygiene.
(22:15):
We're really good with most of it.
But I would say we have trouble,all of us with disordered
eating. And so I would say that's one
kind of big area that we struggle with.
But we do make sure we get a solid 8 hours if we can, and
that exercise is a huge part of our life.
So that's really how how we juggle.
All of it. Wow.
Thank you for being so open and vulnerable about that.
(22:37):
I'm curious, like, how long did it take you?
What does the path look like? To understand that's what's
going on in your brain and your kids and your husband and to
like set this environment where everyone is like functioning
well together. We're functioning.
Sometimes it's well, sometimes it's not so well, right.
(22:58):
I, well, I'm, so I'm a by trade.I'm a trained mental health
professional. I have a master's of social work
degree. And even though I use that
degree for different type of work, I am trained in like the
diagnostic statistic manual for mental, mental health disorders.
And so, or conditions, I like tocall them conditions, not
(23:18):
disorders. And so I, you know, can
recognize the signs very easily.I've known that I've struggled
with it most of my life, even though I, at the time I was
diagnosed, I was diagnosed as borderline.
They like to diagnose women as anxious and depressed instead of
ADHD. There's a lot of women that go
undiagnosed with ADHD for a longtime because it presents very
(23:40):
different. The hyperactivity is in our mind
and not in our bodies. So that's a challenge, but I've
kind of known what it was all along.
And the more I went to school and learned about mental health,
I was like, OK, yeah, this is the thing.
My sons, you know, so I asked for them to be tested very early
on so they could receive accommodations in school and the
(24:01):
five O 4 accommodation plans. And they were diagnosed, I think
in first grade with two different types of ADHD.
And my husband is technically undiagnosed, but very clearly
undiagnosed by someone other than me, I should say very
clearly inattentive ADHD type. And you know, he was growing up
(24:24):
back in the 70s and early 80s. And they didn't the test for
that were more like, oh, you need to be in special Ed.
Let's put you on some Ritalin. That's it.
There was no accommodations in school.
There were no like, tools there,like there wasn't much help.
And so he was in a really difficult situation in school
where he just thought he was stupid and they treated him like
(24:46):
he was stupid. And so he got a really bad taste
in his mouth about education just because it was so long ago.
They didn't really know what we know now.
And so now that we're on the road and I'm spending 24/7 with
him, I'm like, hey, so there's this thing, you know, let's talk
about the thing. And he will tell you hands down,
he is, has been ADHD his whole life.
(25:07):
That's been his problem all along.
And and he, you know, ADHD has afair amount of masking too, of
acting like you're not having these troubles so that society
will accept you. And he was very successful in
his career. And people would probably be
shocked to know that he has ADHD, but he has, again, other
gifts that kind of make up for that and allow him to mask
(25:29):
really successfully. Yeah.
But as you get older, your brainchanges, too.
And so a lot of people don't really realize they have it till
they start to get older and haveother kind of, you know, memory
concerns or what have you. Yeah, I'm starting to feel like
every everyone has ADHD. Well, we live in a society that
is very difficult to attend to one thing at a time because.
(25:50):
Of everything, right? Yeah, right.
Yeah, yeah. Phones alone, I'm like, yeah, I
feel like my brains like bug bugbug bug bug.
Okay, I do want to switch topicsjust slightly, but it's still
kind of on this theme because I know you're a deep thinker.
We you mentioned you've been in RV Queens circles for months and
months. Thank you, by the way, for being
(26:11):
such a fun part of the group. I've really loved getting to
know you more. But so because I know you like
to think deep about things, I'm curious to hear what
commonalities have you noticed among your fellow RV women and
like as travelers and women making money on the road?
(26:32):
Wow, well, a lot of similarities.
I think resiliency is a huge 1. And I'm speaking specifically
about the RV Queens and, and other women, particularly moms
that I've met on the road, although not just moms, because
we do have a lot of women that are not moms, are not moms to
young children. But resiliency and kind of this
need to have something for themselves, right?
This, this whether it's an outlet or, or a thing that they
(26:55):
can kind of own that is separatefrom their mom and life or
partner responsibilities and, and daily life and finding a lot
of kind of comfort and travel inthat way.
Maybe separation too from what what was going on back home.
One thing I've noticed, not justwithin the RV Queens, but
talking to all travelers as you kind of do at the campground,
(27:17):
right? Get chatty with folks, as I've
noticed a really common theme oftrauma amongst travelers, and
this is all different types of trauma.
And you know, people get really open around the campfire and you
kind of get to know folks reallyquickly and deeply and
intimately this history of trauma.
And that can be physical, emotional, you know, all
(27:38):
different types of trauma. And that travel and this nomadic
lifestyle is really therapeutic to them and helpful in kind of
processing that trauma. Like going back to like my
training, it makes sense becausetraumatic events, you know, one
event may be traumatic for one person and not at all traumatic
for another person. So that's, there's a lot of
individuality there. But trauma originates when we
(28:01):
don't feel like we have control over this massive thing that
happens to us, right? Or we perceive it that way.
And when you're traveling, you have a lot more control over a
lot of things. You don't like a campground,
leave, the weather is going to be bad, leave, you know, you
your winter plans aren't shapingup.
Then you find other ones like there's a lot of pivot and
decision fatigue. But you also have so much more
(28:23):
freedom when you're not locationally dependent.
And I think that's part of it interms of the therapeutic aspect,
but also getting out in nature and seeing things that are
bigger than yourself, getting yourself out of your head and
maybe out of habits or environments that weren't
healthy. That's just kind of a common
thing, thing that I've I've noticed, a theme that I've
(28:44):
noticed across a lot of the conversations we've had.
Wow, that is so fascinating to hear you articulate it like that
because I also wonder if it's just that everyone's more
willing to be vulnerable about what's gone on in their lives
and in their past and to share about it with their fellow
travelers. Because I was just thinking
(29:06):
like, even if we if if we would go back to like our normal, more
traditional life living in the suburbs in Omaha, NE, and if we
would have people over to a fireand be like you guys, we're not
going out to eat out a fancy dinner.
Everyone just wear sweatpants and we're just going to have a
night around the fire together. Like those stories would, I feel
(29:27):
like would start coming out then, too, because you're in
this setting where everyone's just more free to be to, like,
let down their hair all the time.
Like, we're literally living in campers.
Like, there's no room to be pretentious.
There's no room to like, you know, like, have any kind of
(29:50):
veneer because we're living in campgrounds, you know?
Yeah. I.
Mean, I think it depends if you have around the fire and I'll
say if you feel with. Those people, right?
Makes sense? And I think the campground
environment, so using your example, like we're in Michigan
a lot of the time for my work, we have to be.
So. But even when we're in Michigan,
we do take opportunities to go to like a campground that's a
couple hours away or maybe across the state.
(30:12):
And so we can still be close to work, but also, you know, have
that camping experience. And yes, I would say people are
more relaxed in that environmentbecause a lot of people feel
like they're on vacation or justkind of sets the tone you're out
in nature to be more relaxed andmore, more vulnerable.
But I would say some of it with travelers may also be that
you're not going to see these people at work every day, right?
(30:34):
When you, when you go back on Monday.
And so, you know, if you're not going to see someone, you need
to like figure out if you click with someone pretty quickly when
you're on the road because you're likely not going to see
them again. And are you going to take the
effort to drive 3 states to campwith them again, right.
It's a that's a big decision. And so I think that's part of it
too, is just cutting through thecutting through the crap and
(30:56):
saying, hey, or do we get along?You know, do we vibe?
And if we don't, that's OK. And some of that is being very
vulnerable about your past because it influences who you
are. So if there are people listening
to this episode who are living amore traditional life, working
their nine to five job, living in a house, all these things,
(31:17):
doing the daily commute that me and you both did our best to get
away from, right? And they're trying to figure out
how to live a life of travel. What advice would you give them?
Have conversations. You can ask for things like
maybe some remote options even if you are at a nine to five
(31:40):
button seat job. Ask for flexibility.
The worst they can say is no, right?
Take opportunities when you do have vacations or time off to
travel to places you don't typically explore, get out
there. And I would say really the
biggest thing for us was realizing that what your life
looks like today doesn't have tobe what your life looks like in
(32:02):
a year. I mean, we completely changed
our life in seven months becausewe decided to, you know, and
granted, I was already in a remote position and it just had
a promotion. If either of those things
weren't the case, we wouldn't betraveling as much as we do now.
But developing skills and investing in yourself so that
you can maybe find work that is more in tuned with what you want
(32:23):
out of life. If that is travel, you know,
just believe in yourself. Believe that you can change your
life. And if travel, you want travel
to be a big part of it. You got to make it happen in
whatever way that looks like foryou.
You know, whether it's in the summer when the kids are off
school or those couple of weeks you have vacation, just don't be
afraid to stretch yourself and to kind of think of what's
possible. A lot of people on the road are
(32:44):
very creative with how they makemoney, you know, and if you to
every family you talk to, their story is going to be very
different about how they supportthemselves.
And that's really encouraging. But that means there's a lot of
options out there. Girl, you are so articulate.
I'm so glad I invited you on thepodcast.
I just want to like keep going for hours because I feel like
you have a lot to offer. OK, I want you, before I ask my
(33:09):
last couple questions here, to go ahead and share with everyone
where they can connect with you online.
Morally on Instagram right now, we hope to branch out to
Facebook, but we are at outside the box travel and there's a
period between each of those words on Instagram.
And I know you just hit over 1000 followers, so
congratulations. I know that's a thank you from.
(33:30):
I remember when it was like a year or two ago when we hit that
number and I was like, whoa. And that just feels like it kind
of snowballs. So.
You know, yeah. Hooray High 5.
Thank you. Thanks, Kate.
OK, so this season I've been ending my interviews with a
couple of rounds of one-on-one questions where I asked a
question and then we each answerit.
(33:51):
So, and it's like, you know, just whatever answer comes to
the top of your head, you don't have to think too hard about it
or anything if you don't want to.
So my first question today is about coffee because I know
you're a big coffee lover and soam I Yes.
So what is in your favorite cup of coffee?
Vanilla cold brew with sweet foam.
(34:13):
Oh OK. Is this like Starbucks specific?
I mean, Starbucks is OK, but I really like kind of the local
coffee shops, the smaller. That's where I've had the best
tasting coffee, honestly. Yeah, I do like Dutch Bros a lot
though, I'm not going to lie. And I can't get it back home.
So when I can get it, I get a lot of it.
Probably too much of it. OK, so my answer to this
(34:33):
question is we've gotten bougie our in home coffee situation.
We used to be pour over people and then we got a French press.
And so we start the day with a French press coffee with four
sigmatic, like cacao Creamer or something with some adaptogens
(34:54):
in there and we have honey. And then we have right now we're
really into the Chobani creamers.
I think that's all. And we, we got the little
frother and man, it's so good every morning.
That sounds. Great.
Wakes me up. Yeah, big time.
I didn't used to be that it takes like 25 minutes to make a
(35:17):
cup of coffee, but it's worth it.
But like, a huge motivation to get out of bed, right?
Like, if you know you're going to have something delicious,
yeah, fine. I'll get out of bed.
I can as long as I can just likemake that coffee right away.
That'll make you feel good. It's good stuff.
All right. Last question is, what is a
place that you visited in 2024 that absolutely took your breath
(35:39):
away and just gave you a sense of awe?
So one that I've been to before is the Florida Keys.
The Florida Keys being near water that looks like that is
just, if I could live there, I would in a heartbeat.
I don't like all the storms obviously that hit that area.
But I would say if you get the opportunity to go to Florida
Keys, I mean, it's the closest thing to the Bahamas you can get
(36:01):
in the United States. It's gorgeous, it's relaxing.
I cry literal tears every time we need to leave.
And then and then a place we had, it was also a place that
was really kind of, my dad had taken me there and we had a
really great vacation together. My dad has passed and so it
reminds me of him a lot. So it's kind of like I feel like
(36:23):
part of my heart's down there. But then a place we'd never been
to before that we just visited in the fall was Maine.
We'd never been to the state of Maine.
And Acadia National Park is probably one of our favorite
now. And just the whole feeling of
that state, it reminds us a lot of Northern Michigan, but like
with a coast, like a ocean coastline as well.
(36:45):
So I would say those two places for 2024, the year prior, we
went out Westmore. So there's a lot there.
Of course, man, so many people have said that about Maine.
We haven't been there yet, but I'm like itching to get there.
So that's good stuff. My answer to this question is
Mount Rainier. Did you guys go there when you
(37:05):
went out West? No, we've never been to
Washington yet. Yeah.
It's like, you know, you see themountain from afar for like a
long time and you're like, wow, that thing's huge.
And then I mean. I can't even.
Describe the feeling when you like, it's like AI think it's
like a 45 minute drive up to thekind of like main place with the
(37:26):
lodges and, you know, the National Park, all the buildings
and stuff are at the top. And we got so lucky this past
summer. It was a beautiful sunny day,
like 75°, perfect weather. And it felt like we were in a
different country. Like I felt like I was in
Switzerland and I'm not kidding,Like it was, yeah, insanely huge
(37:50):
and beautiful and Oh my God, I can't even describe that
feeling. It's so good and it's it's kind
of like out of the way like if you're staying around Seattle
area, it's probably going to be like a little bit of a trek for
you to like actually go up the mountain.
If it, you know, might take a couple days to do that whole
(38:11):
trip with your family, but it isso worth it so.
That sounds beautiful. That sounds wonderful.
We need to get out there all righty.
Rachel, that is a wrap for today.
Thank you so much for inspiring us all for being on the show.
I have loved this conversation. I wish we had another hour and
I'm not kidding because there's so many things I want to pick
(38:31):
your band about. But that's all for today.
Thank you for having me Kate, I've enjoyed it as well.
Are welcome. Alrighty, I will see you on the
road. Thank you so much for tuning in
to today's episode and for beingpart of the RV Queens community.
Remember to hit subscribe on whatever platform you're
listening on. And guess what?
You can have conversations like I had on this episode with your
(38:55):
fellow RV women who are living intentionally and making money
on the road. Head to
rvqueenspodcast.com/community tojoin RV Queen circles today.
It's a totally unique online space with a shared prosperity
model that's all about communityover competition.
I'd love to have you be a part. All right guys, I'll see you
(39:16):
next week or hopefully I will see you on the road.
I'm starting to feel like everyone has ADHD.
One thing I've noticed, not justwithin the RV Queens, but
talking to all travelers as you kind of do at the campground,
right, get chatty with folks, isI've noticed a really common
theme of trauma, this history oftrauma, and that can be
physical, emotional, you know, all different types of trauma.
And that travel and this nomadiclifestyle is really therapeutic
(00:22):
to them and helpful in kind of processing that trauma.
Welcome back to the RV Queens podcast where we dive into the
lives of women making money and living life on the road.
Today we're sitting down with Rachel Lathrop, a full time RV
UH mom, college administrator and content creator who's
juggling a full plate while traveling the country with her
(00:42):
family. Rachel's journey from a
traditional nine to five grind in Michigan to a remote
lifestyle on the road is inspiring.
But what's even more fascinatingis how she balances a PhD
program, a full time job, homeschooling, and a budding
content creation business, all while living in a tiny home on
wheels. In this episode, Rachel opens up
(01:05):
about their decision to hit the road, how they manage life with
neurodivergence, and how she found her creative spark in UGC.
Plus, she shares practical tips for thriving with ADHD while
juggling a busy life on the move.
If you've ever wondered how to balance work, family, and
personal passions on the road, this episode is packed with
(01:27):
relatable insights and inspiration.
So grab your coffee and let's roll.
Hello Rachel, and welcome to theRV Queens podcast.
Where in the world are you this week?
Hi, Kate, Thanks for having me. We are in East Texas right now.
(01:47):
OK, how is the winter weather inEast Texas?
Last week it rained and was likein the 50s all week so that was
not fun but now it's been in the70's the last few days and
looking towards 80 this weekend and sunny so I can't complain.
OK, nice. That's kind of like how Florida
is. It's like mostly wonderful.
And you can go for walks and such and swim occasionally and
(02:10):
then sometimes it's like rainy. But still, I'll take it over the
Midwest winters, and I know you know what I'm talking about.
Yeah, absolutely. Yes, absolutely.
Better than the Midwest for sure.
When we feel sad about the weather, we look at what it is
back home and feel better. Exactly.
You're like, awesome. It's not dirty and depressing.
(02:31):
OK, great. You know where I'm going to
start this interview? We're going back before you and
your family started living in anRV.
What led up to you and your husband shaking up your
traditional Michigander life andbecoming full time RV years?
I think like a lot of people you've talked to on the podcast,
a lot of RV years, our journey starts, you know, just before
(02:53):
COVID. COVID changed everything for a
lot of us. So before COVID, we kind of wore
that typical, you know, family where, you know, we'd both go
off to work. Our kids would be at daycare or,
or at school. We only saw them a few hours a
day. You know, I would wake up in the
morning, I'd get them off to daycare and school, and then I'd
work my 9 hour day. I had an hour commute each way,
(03:15):
so I would go do that. By the time I got home, my
husband who worked 5:00 to 2:00 would have already picked them
up, made them dinner. And so I get home, everybody
else has already eaten, and I sit down to the kitchen table to
eat dinner by myself. And when you have little kids,
they go to bed pretty early. So I would only have two hours a
day to spend with them, you know, in the afternoon, 3 hours
(03:37):
in the day total if you count the morning.
And then they'd be off to bed. And it was like rinse and repeat
every weekday. And then when you shift to the
weekends, you know, all those things you didn't have time to
do during the week, you do on the weekends, the laundry, the
groceries, the yard maintenance,which was never ending.
And you'd have like one day a week as a family.
And that was our life. You know, it feels like we live
(04:00):
the same week every every week for eight years.
And then COVID hit and I was sent home.
The kids were sent home, which was wild, but it ended up being
wonderful. My husband had to work through
the whole COVID period. He never really got sent home
because he works in like the construction, worked for a
construction company like supplier building and lumber
(04:24):
materials and all those kinds ofthings.
And so he had to continue to work, but we still got to see
him a lot more in the afternoon,You know, So finally during
COVID, like, even though I was working and we did hire someone
to come in and help the kids with school part time because
that was really rough on them. But I got to have lunch with my
kids, I got to have recess with my kids.
I got to see my husband at 2 instead of seven and just ask
(04:47):
him about his day. We just had so much more time as
a family. And this is when we started
hiking on the weekends and after, after work and school.
And like when I shut the computer off for work, I, I was
home already. I didn't have to sit in the car
for an hour. And we just a lot of people
struggled during COVID, but we really thrived in the slow down.
(05:09):
And, you know, then you Fast forward a year, you know, kids
are back in school. And my husband had had a knee
injury and he had surgery. And after the surgery, he needed
to be off for three months. And when he went back to work,
he he would come home every day.And this was, you know, by this
time early 2022, he's like, I can't keep doing this.
(05:30):
This job is meaningless. They don't value me.
I want to be home where I feel like I'm valued and where
there's meaning in what I'm doing.
And I that coincided with me also receiving a promotion.
And my department went remote permanently around the same
time. And just like a lot of full
timers, we've been watching those Youtubers travel in the
(05:52):
country with their kids. And I'll never forget it was May
of 2022. We were watching Keep Your
Daydream. Hey, Tricia.
Mark and I just looked at him and I said, could we do that?
And he looked at me like I had two heads because I'm kind of
bougie. Like I like a bed, I like a
toilet. I, you know, but he's like,
(06:14):
yeah, I think we could let's, let's work the numbers and, and
figure it out. And we hit the road seven months
later. That is awesome.
OK, You're considering yourself bougie because you like a bed
and a bathroom, OK. My husband was a hardcore tent
camper before this. Yeah.
So I was, yeah. Go ahead, go ahead.
(06:36):
So to him, I'm bougie because hegrew up in a family of campers
like you. Tent camp with five kids.
It's normal. And I did not grow up with that
same environment. So yeah.
Yes, well, that's what I was about to say.
It's funny that you mentioned that, because in this lifestyle
you do meet a lot of people thatare way more hardcore than we
are. You know, the the kind of like
(06:57):
normal Americans are like, well,you live in an RV, So like
that's a lot, that's a very small space, all these things.
And then you get like this even more narrow strip of humans that
are like the overlanders and I mean even the van lifers and the
tent campers. And it's just amazing.
(07:20):
Like I totally agree. I feel pretty good about myself
for kings in bed. Absolutely.
Well and you're not on vacation in this lifestyle, you're living
your life right and it would be hard to live your life in that
way all the time. I know some people do it and
they're incredible, but you know, like connectivity,
Internet, you know, we can't payfor our life without it.
(07:43):
So. Yeah.
But yeah, his whole family had camped for years and years and
years. And so he's familiar with
towing, He was familiar with thetanks.
We, you know, we had owned 2 rigs ourselves prior to this.
So we were not, you know, green to.
A lot of it. Here's what I really want to
dive into. You are an extremely high
achieving woman. Like, I seriously don't know how
(08:04):
you do everything that you do. Tell us all the ways that you
are making money on the road. Well, I'm doing it because I'm
hyperactive, Kate, That's one. And I have a lot of support.
I have a really supportive partner.
My husband doesn't work. So there's a lot of
responsibilities that moms have that I don't have that I give to
him and he he takes off, takes off my plate.
(08:26):
But I'm an administrator for College in Michigan.
And so that's like, you know, my9:00 to 5:00.
I'm also an adjunct instructor and their social work program
and I'm teaching two classes right now for that.
I just started content creation in the fall.
I would say December, I really got started.
So very, very new to that. And then I'm also in school
(08:49):
getting a degree. Wow.
And are you working toward the PhD?
Yes. Or I hate to say, yeah, yeah.
I mean, I don't, I don't like tolead with that because it can,
it can be off putting for some people.
It's more about workload than itis about intelligence.
There's a lot of, you know, a lot of it's a lot of work.
But yeah, I don't always like tolead with that sometimes because
(09:12):
it can be off putting. But yeah, I'm getting a PhD in
educational leadership. I didn't know that could be off
putting. I'm fascinated by no but.
You know, when they hear that, it's that you may be
unapproachable or judgmental about schooling or academics and
you know, or highbrow, whatever they, you want to call it.
I found that sometimes, but I amnot that way at all.
(09:35):
I it's just a choice that I'm making.
It's definitely not for everyone.
I don't even know if it will help me in my career.
It's just something that I want to do.
And so, yeah. Dude, I say power to you.
Like can you? I'm sure you can because you
have been imagining this. But like having the initials PhD
after your day would feel prettysick.
(09:56):
You got to admit, I don't care who you are.
That would feel good. Yeah, I'm looking forward to
that part, I'm not going to lie.Work is over and yeah, worked
your butt off for years and it'sworth it.
I really want to get into is your content creation journey
and because it's has to do with your travel life and it's like
on top of everything else that you have going on, going to
(10:19):
school, like you just said, you're teaching two classes,
you're an administrator. How did you get started in
content creation and what does that look like in your daily
life? Actually, you helped me get
started. You may not know this the so I
had joined the RV Queens back inMarch of last year and I had
(10:40):
joined at the time we had the Gold Circle because I needed
friends. I wanted to make friends with
other RV women. Our first year on the road, we
had found it to be very lonely and we were not often in places
around the country where other RV families were in any given
month. So we were really felt like we
were missing the boat on friends.
(11:01):
And so I joined RV Queens to make friends with other RV
women, you know, And then we transitioned to the Platinum
Circle. And I just took, I took a good
nine months of just like listening, making connections,
digesting the information, just being like a student, if you
will, of what other people do and just listening to the
(11:22):
struggles and the successes and the opportunities.
And one thing that had been missing in my life because of
all this other work that I was doing is a creative outlet.
I used to write all the time. I used to paint, I used to do
yoga. There's so many things I used to
do that are taking a backseat because of work and school.
And so you had mentioned, well, have you thought about UGC in
(11:43):
one of our circles? And that kind of sparked me to
think more about it. I had also been developing a
really lovely friendship with Ryan Smith for rowing with The
Smiths. I Ryan.
And obviously she's UGC Queen. And so just asking her about it
and her friendship and her encouragement, she's like,
(12:04):
you're already taking the video and the photos anyway.
Your photography is beautiful. You have the organization
skills, like just try it. And if you don't like it, you
don't have to keep doing it. And so, you know, she gave me a
lot of the steps that I should take to really start that
journey. And I just started kind of
slowly getting things going, asking for her help or support
(12:26):
or feedback. And in December, I started
pitching brands and campgrounds.And it's been wonderful.
And I like, you know, for me, itis something I do on the side as
a creative outlet that happens to also make money or benefit us
by saving money in some way. And so that's what it is for me
right now. But I do love the idea that
maybe it could grow into something more, because you
(12:49):
never know what could happen, right?
That's amazing. I didn't realize you kind of had
creative endeavors before. You know your career spun up
quite a bit there. For the listeners, can you
describe what UGC is if people aren't familiar?
User generated content and how it manifests in the work that
(13:10):
I've done so far, which isn't a ton, you know, only two months
now, is producing reels or photography for campgrounds or
brands that they can then take and use themselves, you know,
themselves on their platforms, whether it's their website or
their social media. I don't have to ever post it on
my socials. Often times I do just because
(13:31):
I'm new and I kind of want to get our name out there, but I
don't have to. And I like that because then the
pressure is only on creating the, it's only the creative,
artistic part of creating the, the piece or the product, the
deliverable. It's not about being an
influencer and having 10,000 followers and, and needing to
influence people in that way. And that's, that's an area of,
(13:53):
of social media I'm not super interested in.
If it grows into that one day, great.
But the thought of having to worry about followers and and
that being what I'm selling was not appealing to me.
So UGC was much more appealing in that way.
OK. So you talked about finding paid
gigs. How do you make money from this?
(14:14):
Is, is there like a site that you go to or is it just outreach
that you've learned how to do? Well, I think like most
creators, I've started off with trade and that can lead to paid
deals down the road. I've only been having really one
conversation with one brand about it and we're not quite
there yet. But I do think if if you are, if
you are starting out and there'sa product you're going to
(14:35):
purchase anyway, trade is a really good place to start
because then you're saving that 403 hundred whatever dollars.
And the same with the campgrounds with hosted stays.
But knowing kind of how the creative world works in terms of
when I did photography, I don't,you know, that's not my
intention to do that forever. I do think there comes a point
(14:55):
where your time is worth that plus additional pay.
And so being able to ask for that and pricing is different.
It depends who you ask. Every creator I've asked or
picked their brain kind of has adifferent pricing model.
But I think you just need to look at what's out there in the
industry and look at what othersare doing and find a price that
is, is comparable to what you think you're worth, maybe hourly
(15:17):
or even per package deal, whatever that would look like.
And just don't be afraid to ask.You know, I had another RV queen
say to me, you know, you can askto be paid.
And if they say no, you could godown to trade.
It doesn't have to be the end ofthe conversation.
So being flexible in that way too is, I think, important.
But again, I'm very new to all of this so.
(15:38):
I love it. OK, so Speaking of creating
content on your Instagram account, you talk a lot about
being a neurodivergent family. So I'm curious to hear what does
that mean and how does it fit oraffect your daily life?
I was saying to another RV queen, you know, I talked to
(15:58):
these ladies a lot, as you can tell, like, I don't know what is
so great about us. I don't know what our brand is
like. I don't feel like there's
anything particularly special ornoteworthy about us, right?
And well, then I realized the fact that we are able to do what
we're doing with our neurodivergence and just our
(16:18):
family dynamics is kind of a niche in itself.
It's kind of a brand in itself. And I never thought about it
that way. Like just being ourselves and
being authentic is your brand. That's our brand, right?
So our family, we have all four of us have ADHD and different,
different types of ADHD as well.And so that kind of manifests
(16:43):
itself in a lot of ways. So ADHD is a neurodevelopmental
condition and it affects the structure and the functioning of
your brain and it impacts everything from speech to motor
coordination, emotion regulation, time management,
memory, lots of different things.
And so for us, the way we can beproductive and successful, both
(17:07):
as travelers, but then also working and raising children is
we develop a lot of, we have a lot of tools to keep us in check
and we've developed a lot of systems.
And so using our tools and usingour systems, we're able to be
successful. But I'm not going to lie,
there's a lot of chaos a lot of the time.
And I think we're kind of the humor for us comes in is we just
(17:30):
have to laugh at it because sometimes it can be so
ridiculous that, I mean, you can't take yourself too
seriously in this situation. You, you just really can't.
And I know a lot of people struggle with ADHD or you know,
autism, Tourette's, these are all forms of neurodivergency,
right? All different flavors and
there's differing severities. You know, for us, we are very
(17:54):
lucky that we are high functioning in other areas.
So it kind of does lessen the difficulty, but but the systems
and tools we have in place are everything.
Without those, we would not be able to do half of what we do.
So you're probably planning out your travels for the rest of the
year. And if you're heading out West,
I hope that Bryce Canyon is on your must see list.
(18:15):
It's one of our family's favorite national parks.
I recommend staying at Bryce Canyon RV Resort, which is a
short drive from the park entrance, has incredible views,
full hookups, and all the familyfriendly amenities you're
looking for. Bryce Canyon RV Resort is an Our
Journey campground, so you know it's going to be clean and safe.
Click the link in the show notesto book now and start your
(18:37):
journey with Our Journey. If you've talked about your day
job and you're working towards your PhD and your UGC gigs, like
on top of being a mom and holding down domestic life and
stuff. So how do you stay organized and
like on top of all of your projects and tasks that you have
going on? First of all, I wouldn't
(18:58):
recommend overloading yourself like I have.
I will be done with the degree this year if it kills me.
I don't have. I was just listening to Dora
Rakin earlier. There's not a lot of white space
happening. There's not a lot of mothership
happening, mothership time. So I just want to preface it by
saying that, but we have planners, calendars, phone
(19:20):
reminders, visual aids. If you come into our RV, you
will see calendars and checklists everywhere.
And it looks very type A and kind of, you know, weird, but
it's not to be type A. It's because if we don't have
these checklists, we will forgetmedication, We'll forget to
brush our teeth. There's very like typical things
(19:42):
that you don't usually have to remind yourself to do.
Maybe if you're neurotypical that we need reminders for.
Timers are huge. The Pomodoro technique I know is
very common. Penny uses it with the RV Queens
and their Co working sessions. I use that every single day,
almost all day to keep myself incheck.
(20:02):
Some days if I'm having like a hyper focus day and I don't have
a lot of meetings, there's not alot of tasks switching.
Maybe I don't need it. But other days where there's a
ton of tasks switching, I need to have those timers and those,
excuse me, visual and auditory reminders to to switch tasks.
So those are kind of the tools we use.
(20:23):
The checklists are huge for the kids because then they can
physically check something off, which gives them a little a
little boost, a little accomplishment feeling when you
physically check something off. I see you're you're a big write
down the list person. I've seen that on your social.
That's huge. And then supports.
Supports are the other piece. Having people in your lives who
(20:45):
you know the, the, it's hard having 4 neurodivergent people
all in the same family because it's hard to regulate your kids
if you're having trouble regulating yourself.
But at the same time, you can understand exactly what your kid
is going through emotionally andrelate to them in a way that I
wouldn't be able to if I didn't also have the same condition.
But we have people in our lives that are really supportive that
(21:06):
understand, you know, when you're having a kind of a more
hyper manic day versus a really down day, you know, they, they
get it. If you're in the middle of a
conversation and you interrupt them, which is super common with
ADHD, you're not doing it to be rude.
You're doing it because your brain is jumping forward in the
conversation to the next topic or even topic switching in the
(21:29):
middle of a conversation. It can be very frustrating for
other people. And when you have people in your
lives that get it and don't takeit personally, that means
everything. And positive self talk is huge.
So like I said, we're huge on goal setting and we're huge on
the checklist and celebrating like tiny wins.
Like, hey, we got through this week without a meltdown.
Or hey, we got through today. Let's you know, have have a
(21:51):
celebration of all of the accomplishments.
Because a lot of people that areneurodivergent have low self
esteem, depression, anxiety, because they don't feel like the
world accepts them as they are. And one thing that I wish we
were better at, it's super important for folks,
neurodivergent folks, is taking care of your body.
Exercise, nutrition, sleep hygiene.
(22:15):
We're really good with most of it.
But I would say we have trouble,all of us with disordered
eating. And so I would say that's one
kind of big area that we struggle with.
But we do make sure we get a solid 8 hours if we can, and
that exercise is a huge part of our life.
So that's really how how we juggle.
All of it. Wow.
Thank you for being so open and vulnerable about that.
(22:37):
I'm curious, like, how long did it take you?
What does the path look like? To understand that's what's
going on in your brain and your kids and your husband and to
like set this environment where everyone is like functioning
well together. We're functioning.
Sometimes it's well, sometimes it's not so well, right.
(22:58):
I, well, I'm, so I'm a by trade.I'm a trained mental health
professional. I have a master's of social work
degree. And even though I use that
degree for different type of work, I am trained in like the
diagnostic statistic manual for mental, mental health disorders.
And so, or conditions, I like tocall them conditions, not
(23:18):
disorders. And so I, you know, can
recognize the signs very easily.I've known that I've struggled
with it most of my life, even though I, at the time I was
diagnosed, I was diagnosed as borderline.
They like to diagnose women as anxious and depressed instead of
ADHD. There's a lot of women that go
undiagnosed with ADHD for a longtime because it presents very
(23:40):
different. The hyperactivity is in our mind
and not in our bodies. So that's a challenge, but I've
kind of known what it was all along.
And the more I went to school and learned about mental health,
I was like, OK, yeah, this is the thing.
My sons, you know, so I asked for them to be tested very early
on so they could receive accommodations in school and the
(24:01):
five O 4 accommodation plans. And they were diagnosed, I think
in first grade with two different types of ADHD.
And my husband is technically undiagnosed, but very clearly
undiagnosed by someone other than me, I should say very
clearly inattentive ADHD type. And you know, he was growing up
(24:24):
back in the 70s and early 80s. And they didn't the test for
that were more like, oh, you need to be in special Ed.
Let's put you on some Ritalin. That's it.
There was no accommodations in school.
There were no like, tools there,like there wasn't much help.
And so he was in a really difficult situation in school
where he just thought he was stupid and they treated him like
(24:46):
he was stupid. And so he got a really bad taste
in his mouth about education just because it was so long ago.
They didn't really know what we know now.
And so now that we're on the road and I'm spending 24/7 with
him, I'm like, hey, so there's this thing, you know, let's talk
about the thing. And he will tell you hands down,
he is, has been ADHD his whole life.
(25:07):
That's been his problem all along.
And and he, you know, ADHD has afair amount of masking too, of
acting like you're not having these troubles so that society
will accept you. And he was very successful in
his career. And people would probably be
shocked to know that he has ADHD, but he has, again, other
gifts that kind of make up for that and allow him to mask
(25:29):
really successfully. Yeah.
But as you get older, your brainchanges, too.
And so a lot of people don't really realize they have it till
they start to get older and haveother kind of, you know, memory
concerns or what have you. Yeah, I'm starting to feel like
every everyone has ADHD. Well, we live in a society that
is very difficult to attend to one thing at a time because.
(25:50):
Of everything, right? Yeah, right.
Yeah, yeah. Phones alone, I'm like, yeah, I
feel like my brains like bug bugbug bug bug.
Okay, I do want to switch topicsjust slightly, but it's still
kind of on this theme because I know you're a deep thinker.
We you mentioned you've been in RV Queens circles for months and
months. Thank you, by the way, for being
(26:11):
such a fun part of the group. I've really loved getting to
know you more. But so because I know you like
to think deep about things, I'm curious to hear what
commonalities have you noticed among your fellow RV women and
like as travelers and women making money on the road?
(26:32):
Wow, well, a lot of similarities.
I think resiliency is a huge 1. And I'm speaking specifically
about the RV Queens and, and other women, particularly moms
that I've met on the road, although not just moms, because
we do have a lot of women that are not moms, are not moms to
young children. But resiliency and kind of this
need to have something for themselves, right?
This, this whether it's an outlet or, or a thing that they
(26:55):
can kind of own that is separatefrom their mom and life or
partner responsibilities and, and daily life and finding a lot
of kind of comfort and travel inthat way.
Maybe separation too from what what was going on back home.
One thing I've noticed, not justwithin the RV Queens, but
talking to all travelers as you kind of do at the campground,
(27:17):
right? Get chatty with folks, as I've
noticed a really common theme oftrauma amongst travelers, and
this is all different types of trauma.
And you know, people get really open around the campfire and you
kind of get to know folks reallyquickly and deeply and
intimately this history of trauma.
And that can be physical, emotional, you know, all
(27:38):
different types of trauma. And that travel and this nomadic
lifestyle is really therapeutic to them and helpful in kind of
processing that trauma. Like going back to like my
training, it makes sense becausetraumatic events, you know, one
event may be traumatic for one person and not at all traumatic
for another person. So that's, there's a lot of
individuality there. But trauma originates when we
(28:01):
don't feel like we have control over this massive thing that
happens to us, right? Or we perceive it that way.
And when you're traveling, you have a lot more control over a
lot of things. You don't like a campground,
leave, the weather is going to be bad, leave, you know, you
your winter plans aren't shapingup.
Then you find other ones like there's a lot of pivot and
decision fatigue. But you also have so much more
(28:23):
freedom when you're not locationally dependent.
And I think that's part of it interms of the therapeutic aspect,
but also getting out in nature and seeing things that are
bigger than yourself, getting yourself out of your head and
maybe out of habits or environments that weren't
healthy. That's just kind of a common
thing, thing that I've I've noticed, a theme that I've
(28:44):
noticed across a lot of the conversations we've had.
Wow, that is so fascinating to hear you articulate it like that
because I also wonder if it's just that everyone's more
willing to be vulnerable about what's gone on in their lives
and in their past and to share about it with their fellow
travelers. Because I was just thinking
(29:06):
like, even if we if if we would go back to like our normal, more
traditional life living in the suburbs in Omaha, NE, and if we
would have people over to a fireand be like you guys, we're not
going out to eat out a fancy dinner.
Everyone just wear sweatpants and we're just going to have a
night around the fire together. Like those stories would, I feel
(29:27):
like would start coming out then, too, because you're in
this setting where everyone's just more free to be to, like,
let down their hair all the time.
Like, we're literally living in campers.
Like, there's no room to be pretentious.
There's no room to like, you know, like, have any kind of
(29:50):
veneer because we're living in campgrounds, you know?
Yeah. I.
Mean, I think it depends if you have around the fire and I'll
say if you feel with. Those people, right?
Makes sense? And I think the campground
environment, so using your example, like we're in Michigan
a lot of the time for my work, we have to be.
So. But even when we're in Michigan,
we do take opportunities to go to like a campground that's a
couple hours away or maybe across the state.
(30:12):
And so we can still be close to work, but also, you know, have
that camping experience. And yes, I would say people are
more relaxed in that environmentbecause a lot of people feel
like they're on vacation or justkind of sets the tone you're out
in nature to be more relaxed andmore, more vulnerable.
But I would say some of it with travelers may also be that
you're not going to see these people at work every day, right?
(30:34):
When you, when you go back on Monday.
And so, you know, if you're not going to see someone, you need
to like figure out if you click with someone pretty quickly when
you're on the road because you're likely not going to see
them again. And are you going to take the
effort to drive 3 states to campwith them again, right.
It's a that's a big decision. And so I think that's part of it
too, is just cutting through thecutting through the crap and
(30:56):
saying, hey, or do we get along?You know, do we vibe?
And if we don't, that's OK. And some of that is being very
vulnerable about your past because it influences who you
are. So if there are people listening
to this episode who are living amore traditional life, working
their nine to five job, living in a house, all these things,
(31:17):
doing the daily commute that me and you both did our best to get
away from, right? And they're trying to figure out
how to live a life of travel. What advice would you give them?
Have conversations. You can ask for things like
maybe some remote options even if you are at a nine to five
(31:40):
button seat job. Ask for flexibility.
The worst they can say is no, right?
Take opportunities when you do have vacations or time off to
travel to places you don't typically explore, get out
there. And I would say really the
biggest thing for us was realizing that what your life
looks like today doesn't have tobe what your life looks like in
(32:02):
a year. I mean, we completely changed
our life in seven months becausewe decided to, you know, and
granted, I was already in a remote position and it just had
a promotion. If either of those things
weren't the case, we wouldn't betraveling as much as we do now.
But developing skills and investing in yourself so that
you can maybe find work that is more in tuned with what you want
(32:23):
out of life. If that is travel, you know,
just believe in yourself. Believe that you can change your
life. And if travel, you want travel
to be a big part of it. You got to make it happen in
whatever way that looks like foryou.
You know, whether it's in the summer when the kids are off
school or those couple of weeks you have vacation, just don't be
afraid to stretch yourself and to kind of think of what's
possible. A lot of people on the road are
(32:44):
very creative with how they makemoney, you know, and if you to
every family you talk to, their story is going to be very
different about how they supportthemselves.
And that's really encouraging. But that means there's a lot of
options out there. Girl, you are so articulate.
I'm so glad I invited you on thepodcast.
I just want to like keep going for hours because I feel like
you have a lot to offer. OK, I want you, before I ask my
(33:09):
last couple questions here, to go ahead and share with everyone
where they can connect with you online.
Morally on Instagram right now, we hope to branch out to
Facebook, but we are at outside the box travel and there's a
period between each of those words on Instagram.
And I know you just hit over 1000 followers, so
congratulations. I know that's a thank you from.
(33:30):
I remember when it was like a year or two ago when we hit that
number and I was like, whoa. And that just feels like it kind
of snowballs. So.
You know, yeah. Hooray High 5.
Thank you. Thanks, Kate.
OK, so this season I've been ending my interviews with a
couple of rounds of one-on-one questions where I asked a
question and then we each answerit.
(33:51):
So, and it's like, you know, just whatever answer comes to
the top of your head, you don't have to think too hard about it
or anything if you don't want to.
So my first question today is about coffee because I know
you're a big coffee lover and soam I Yes.
So what is in your favorite cup of coffee?
Vanilla cold brew with sweet foam.
(34:13):
Oh OK. Is this like Starbucks specific?
I mean, Starbucks is OK, but I really like kind of the local
coffee shops, the smaller. That's where I've had the best
tasting coffee, honestly. Yeah, I do like Dutch Bros a lot
though, I'm not going to lie. And I can't get it back home.
So when I can get it, I get a lot of it.
Probably too much of it. OK, so my answer to this
(34:33):
question is we've gotten bougie our in home coffee situation.
We used to be pour over people and then we got a French press.
And so we start the day with a French press coffee with four
sigmatic, like cacao Creamer or something with some adaptogens
(34:54):
in there and we have honey. And then we have right now we're
really into the Chobani creamers.
I think that's all. And we, we got the little
frother and man, it's so good every morning.
That sounds. Great.
Wakes me up. Yeah, big time.
I didn't used to be that it takes like 25 minutes to make a
(35:17):
cup of coffee, but it's worth it.
But like, a huge motivation to get out of bed, right?
Like, if you know you're going to have something delicious,
yeah, fine. I'll get out of bed.
I can as long as I can just likemake that coffee right away.
That'll make you feel good. It's good stuff.
All right. Last question is, what is a
place that you visited in 2024 that absolutely took your breath
(35:39):
away and just gave you a sense of awe?
So one that I've been to before is the Florida Keys.
The Florida Keys being near water that looks like that is
just, if I could live there, I would in a heartbeat.
I don't like all the storms obviously that hit that area.
But I would say if you get the opportunity to go to Florida
Keys, I mean, it's the closest thing to the Bahamas you can get
(36:01):
in the United States. It's gorgeous, it's relaxing.
I cry literal tears every time we need to leave.
And then and then a place we had, it was also a place that
was really kind of, my dad had taken me there and we had a
really great vacation together. My dad has passed and so it
reminds me of him a lot. So it's kind of like I feel like
(36:23):
part of my heart's down there. But then a place we'd never been
to before that we just visited in the fall was Maine.
We'd never been to the state of Maine.
And Acadia National Park is probably one of our favorite
now. And just the whole feeling of
that state, it reminds us a lot of Northern Michigan, but like
with a coast, like a ocean coastline as well.
(36:45):
So I would say those two places for 2024, the year prior, we
went out Westmore. So there's a lot there.
Of course, man, so many people have said that about Maine.
We haven't been there yet, but I'm like itching to get there.
So that's good stuff. My answer to this question is
Mount Rainier. Did you guys go there when you
(37:05):
went out West? No, we've never been to
Washington yet. Yeah.
It's like, you know, you see themountain from afar for like a
long time and you're like, wow, that thing's huge.
And then I mean. I can't even.
Describe the feeling when you like, it's like AI think it's
like a 45 minute drive up to thekind of like main place with the
(37:26):
lodges and, you know, the National Park, all the buildings
and stuff are at the top. And we got so lucky this past
summer. It was a beautiful sunny day,
like 75°, perfect weather. And it felt like we were in a
different country. Like I felt like I was in
Switzerland and I'm not kidding,Like it was, yeah, insanely huge
(37:50):
and beautiful and Oh my God, I can't even describe that
feeling. It's so good and it's it's kind
of like out of the way like if you're staying around Seattle
area, it's probably going to be like a little bit of a trek for
you to like actually go up the mountain.
If it, you know, might take a couple days to do that whole
(38:11):
trip with your family, but it isso worth it so.
That sounds beautiful. That sounds wonderful.
We need to get out there all righty.
Rachel, that is a wrap for today.
Thank you so much for inspiring us all for being on the show.
I have loved this conversation. I wish we had another hour and
I'm not kidding because there's so many things I want to pick
(38:31):
your band about. But that's all for today.
Thank you for having me Kate, I've enjoyed it as well.
Are welcome. Alrighty, I will see you on the
road. Thank you so much for tuning in
to today's episode and for beingpart of the RV Queens community.
Remember to hit subscribe on whatever platform you're
listening on. And guess what?
You can have conversations like I had on this episode with your
(38:55):
fellow RV women who are living intentionally and making money
on the road. Head to
rvqueenspodcast.com/community tojoin RV Queen circles today.
It's a totally unique online space with a shared prosperity
model that's all about communityover competition.
I'd love to have you be a part. All right guys, I'll see you
(39:16):
next week or hopefully I will see you on the road.
I'm starting to feel like everyone has ADHD.
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