However busy the ER has been during Paul’s time on, his time off has made our Idaho life feel like a series of long weekends. I love a long weekend, who doesn’t? While Southern Idaho is not about to make the Lonely Planet’s list of must-see destinations, our long-weekend lifestyle has allowed us to explore a lot of wonderful just-beyond-local destinations.
Read MoreThe great thing about trailer-life food shopping is that it is exactly like stationary food shopping.
Even when we’re traveling between gigs, we make coffee in our coffee maker and we drink that coffee from our favorite mugs as we prep our normal breakfast in our every-day kitchen. We never have to resort to awful road trip, rest stop food. We buy perishables and keep them in our fridge where they stay cold while we drive. It is far more delicious and economical than trailer-less road trip food.
But--the terrible thing about trailer life and food shopping is that travelers can never fall in love with a grocery store.
Have you been in love with a grocery store? I have...
Read More1. In the lower 48, Idaho is the sate that has the most land that is the least inhabited. Much of Idaho is totally inaccessible by road.
2. Idaho has the 2nd highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. Recently a teacher was fired for using the words 'penis' and 'vagina' in public school, in a sex ed class, which is optional by the way.
3. Jerome county (our current home) is the most irrigated county in the US.
This seems plausible, there are canals everywhere and children are not allowed to play in them and what’s more is that it seems like children really actually don’t play in them. A true irrigation miracle and mystery!Read More
Some of the very best parts of travel nursing are the times in between gigs. It's a forced vacation every 3 months. During anchored life vacations you are either a) driving through familiar roads to local destinations or b) paying the big dollars to fly someplace exciting. In contrast, travel nurse vacations start from a relatively new location (Southern Arizona) and bring you to an even newer location (Southern Idaho, what are you about?!?).
There was SO much to see and do in Arizona and Utah, we had to pick and choose. Here's a quick photo-romp through our adventures.
Read MoreTruth time: we left Tucson. We left it two weeks ago and we're just finally beginning the grieving process. We LOVED this city and, in celebration of our time there, we've compiled a few of our favorite Tucson activities. Ordered by level of exertion, we hope you get a chance to experience them all!
Read MoreWhen I first started organizing this series of post, I tried to write what we did day by day, but the days and the tasks all blended together. We didn’t really paint first and then worry about the desk second. We made these changes all at once over the course of 10 days. Waiting for paint to dry meant you better be sanding down the headboard, or hemming curtains, or figuring out what dishes you want to haul with you. I’ve organized this series in “steps” because it’s easier to digest this way, not because we actually did these steps in this nice, leisurely order.
Read MoreThis is the DIY used RV to cute RV post. Ugh. I have been putting off writing this post, but the time has come. You, however, are free to avoid reading it.
Fixing up an RV was not a pet project that we completed on the weekends. We picked up our trailer on January 4th. It was 7 degrees out. We hit the road on January 15th. We were limited by time, money, and the weather, but mostly by time. It was so gratifying to see our project take shape, but it was also tons of exhausting work. Hopefully others can learn from our process.
Read MoreQ: How long does it take to renovate your new-used trailer?
Read MorePeople usually assume that I am the nurse, because gender typecasting, but once they figure out that I cannot identify their weird rash—they want to know what I do for work.
With one month left in our current assignment it’s time for us to figure out where to go next. I get asked how travel nursing works all the time, and while I’m still new to the system, I can answer most of the frequently asked questions.
Read MorePaul says I write too much. I can't help it. I can't bear to leave anything out. This is an attempt at a brief "club" update.
Hardy Hikers: This is the only club that both Paul and I have joined. The hiking group heads out twice a week and goes between 8 and 16 miles each time. They are mostly Canadian and hard of hearing, so we hike along and shout at each other. I tried to teach them“stinky pinky” a rhyming word game, and they liked it but they kept trying to rhyme things like ‘rock’ and ‘hop’ or ‘poodle’ and ‘park.’ Most of them were electrical engineers or lab chemist, professions that did not prioritized word play.
Bonus Treat: The full post includes a video of my choral debut
Read MoreTUCSON UPDATE: We’ve moved sites several times, but we’ve finally settled in at our permanent parking spot, on Doggie Promenade
It’s not really called doggie promenade, we actually live on the corner of “one” and “entrance”—the very first site in the park. We’re kind of like the welcome committee, which is also kind of like being the village doormat.
THE CONS: Our new site is across the street from the dumpster and the punch code accessible “butterfly garden.” We are also across from the motorized entrance gate. Everyone entering or exiting the park has to pass through these gates. The butterfly garden is also a popular place to walk pets, so the majority of the K-9 community passes by our porch on a daily basis. What I'm saying is, it’s an aurally rich location.
Read MoreThis post is step 7 in the steps you need to take in order to become a travel nurse. It’s time to choose a trailer!
We should probably mention that there were other options for housing; agencies will offer company housing or help you find a place nearby. We weren't that excited about living out of a suitcase or staying in hotels for months at a time--and while some of the company housing is probably very nice, the travel trailer gave us the freedom to take our home with us wherever we went. Plus, without the company housing, most contracts will throw in a living stipend which will cover the cost of the campground easily.
When we first started looking at trailers, we knew nothing. We had always been tent people. We did not know the difference between a Class ‘A’ RV and a camper. Now, we are experts and for the ignorant and foundationly anchored, here’s the quick breakdown
Read MoreYou don't always completely appreciate a good bike until some miscreant steals it out of a hospital staff parking lot in broad day light.
Recently, on my drives to work I've had some time to reflect on my bike (a gold colored 2004 Kona "Jake the Snake" serial number: F006K0007 in case anyone in the Tucson area spots it) and the adventures we've had over the past 12 years.
Read MoreHey! It's valentines day! I took this picture of a heart shaped cactus on our hike up to Douglas Springs. I got cactied on the way back down and I'm still pulling prickers out of my shin!
I thought it'd be interesting to ask the valentine veterans who I live with what they're doing to celebrate this hallmark holiday. There are folks staying here from all over the country and perhaps they have other romantic gestures worth noting.
Read More1. Meet a peppery nurse from New Zealand who will convince you that nursing is secretly the best profession out there. She will call boots "wellies." She will casually talk about working in Antarctica. She will think back fondly on her time as a travel nurse.
2. Move to Chicago, get into an accelerated BS to BSN program. Somehow manage to go through school and feed yourself and pay rent. Pass the NCLEX. Get a job in the ER working the overnight shift. Stay awake on Lake Shore Drive while returning home at 7:30 AM after a 12 hour shift of ill and angry people and avoid dying in a fiery crash before you can realize your dream of travel nursing.
Read MoreThere was a lot riding on our first placement. I was (am) still a little unsure of what I should be doing while Paul is at work. Plus our trailer was (is) still a new and unfamiliar gadget.
We hoped to be close to outdoor adventure, but close to amenities, and close to Paul's work, but in a location that didn't feel like a glorified parking lot. We knew we'd have to make some compromises, but then we somehow got ourselves a spot in Tucson's premier 55+ retirement community and we didn't have to make any compromises at all.
Read MoreAt the end of December, Paul and I quit our stable jobs in Chicago to hit the open road. We'd been dreaming of travel nursing for years, and finally decided the time was right to take the adventurous leap. Neither of us had ever spent even a single night in an RV/Camper/Travel Trailer before.
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