Brett and Jennifer Scott were focused on their growing family when the idea of RV travel popped into their lives. Neither Brett nor Jennifer imagined traveling home-schooling or living in such small quarters would be so enriching.
When Brett, a restaurant investor, learned a business associate owned an RV, it got him thinking. The Mechanicsville, Va. residences didn't own a coach at the time. After some discussion they decided it was a great time to invest, pack up and take the kids on a trip across the country.
Jennifer, a full-time mother, was on board immediately, as were her three children, Connor, Trevor and Autumn, ages 9, 5, and 3 at the time. “We spent a lot of time comparing models and different amenities to see what would work best,” Brett explained. “We went with a 43-foot Monaco Dynasty because the living room in the back of the vehicle gave the kids their own space while we drove.”
After taking the driver confidence course at Lazydays, the Scotts took a trip in June to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park. “Every time I drive, I use something I learned in that class,” Brett says. “It was a lifesaver.” The Scotts had so much fun in those first few weeks that when they returned, planning for an even longer trip out west began immediately.
Their plan was simple: Pick a place they wanted to see and meander until they arrived. In October 2008, they headed to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, but the weather did not cooperate. “It was kind of a bummer,” Brett admits. “But it made us see the weather was starting to turn, and instead of continuing west to California, we headed north first.”
They went to Mesa Verde, Colo., and from there they traveled to Moab, Utah, and nearby Arches National Park. “We only planned to stay a few days,” says Brett, “but there was so much to do, we ended up being there a couple of weeks. In fact, we would’ve stayed longer, but Jennifer was pregnant and the doctor wanted her home by December.”
With plenty of mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing, along with geology and archeology workshops, Moab was the family’s favorite stop. “We’re really active,” Brett says. “We’re always out and about and on the move, so Moab was perfect for us.” It was also where they encountered their first obstacle.
“We were sleeping one night,” Connor, now 11, recalls. “And the lady in the camper next door started knocking on the door. She woke up my dad and said there was a wildfire in front of the RV park.” The family quickly packed up the lawn chairs as the sirens approached. They ended up sleeping at a nearby equestrian ranch for the night. Fortunately, no one was hurt from the wildfire.
The Scotts spent Halloween in Las Vegas where the kids participated in an open-air mall trick or treat event hosted by the shops. “There were thousands of kids in costumes,” Brett remembers. “It was a really neat deal for the kids.” After visits to the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam, they headed to California.
While on the road, Jennifer home-schooled both Connor and Trevor three to four hours a day, four days a week. As part of their trip planning, Jennifer had contacted the Mechanicsville, Va., school board for home-schooling guidelines and after submitting a letter of intent and a home schooling request, received approval.
Jennifer incorporated experiences from the trip into a curriculum, creating a different kind of educational experience for the boys. “When we went to the national parks, I would have Connor write a couple paragraphs about the park,” she explained. “He also did the junior ranger program where he got to learn more about the park directly from a ranger and participate in activities with other kids his age. Trevor was in kindergarten, so he drew pictures of the places we went.”
The Scotts used San Jose, Calif., as a base for day trips to San Francisco, Monterrey and Santa Cruz. Then they drove to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with family. On the way, they encountered their second surprise when their motorhome started losing power going up hill. “I’m not very mechanically inclined,” Brett admits, adding that the experience made him a little anxious with three small children and a pregnant wife in the RV.
As they approached the Texas border the problem got worse, so Brett called Monaco’s service line. “They said they’d tow us to Tucson, Ariz., or we could try to make it to El Paso, Texas, where there was a Cummins dealership,” Brett says. Brett decided to continue to El Paso, which proved to be the right decision. “They were awesome at Cummins,” he remembers. “It was a clogged fuel filter and they reminded me that it needed to be changed as part of regular maintenance. Then they showed me how to change it for the next time.”
Since that big trip, the family has taken their RV (and their new son, Brody) to Arkansas and to the Florida Keys. The Scotts plan to head north for the summer to visit New York and New England; they can’t imagine returning to a car for cross-country travel. “It’s so much easier this way,” says Jennifer. “The kids have space to move around and watch TV, not to mention easy bathroom breaks.”
They both agree RV travel has brought the family closer. “Even though it’s a relatively large motorhome, you’ve got five people living and sleeping together, using one bathroom, plus all the things we were doing together every day,” she says. “It strengthened those bonds.”
“When you’re in a car, it’s about getting there in a certain amount of time,” adds Brett. “This way, if we saw something we liked, we’d pull off and stop and do it. It was about the trip not the destination.”