Mar 30 2021

Winnebago Boldt BL Review

Overall the Boldt has been a good vehicle after a few fixes!  At first, we thought the BL may stand for bad logic but it has grown on us to become better life!  You know what they say about don’t buy the first model year of a car?  Oh well, when life gives you lemons… make lemonade!  For starters, this review is going to skip items that you can find from other reviewers that cover other items.  I recommend reviews from Ultramobility and the FitRV about the Boldt (we hyperlinked the videos for you to review if interested).  Keep in mind we are not receiving any consideration from Winnebago for this review, which should be self-evident once you see it.

First off, the Mercedes chassis.  Looks good, we like the styling, get lots of compliments on the Cobalt Blue stealthy color, so far the auto dim headlights work awesome.  I love the cruise control that adjusts based on traffic speed.  Although, it will become disabled if it gets dirty or covered with ice.  It’s fairly easy to park and change lanes with the vehicle’s sensors.  I love that you don’t have to break and turn off cruise control when someone cuts you off or slows down in front of you, it automatically does that for you.  

Cons, the Hey Mercedes ‘hands free’ navigation system must be either deaf or based on tech from 20 years ago.  It seems to never ‘hear’ or understand your voice commands.  My hunch is that the cabin is too noisy when driving??? We still haven’t figured out how to input geo coordinates even after reading the manual and searching Google.  We asked a Mercedes Dealer in Reno, NV about it and got no help so far.  We found out after our fourth visit to Mercedes we needed  a system software update and the GPS works.  You do need to be exact with your coordinate input what is West, what is East you can’t just put the negative digital coordinates.  

The mileage on our 4×4 diesel version is about 14 mpg after 6,000 miles of driving.  By comparison, I hear that the 2-wheel version is averaging around 17 mpg.  The automatic sliding door works great until it doesn’t.  Our 2-month-old van door stopped working as I was trying to exit the van with my dog Bode (he can only easily exit that way) at 5 am when it was 19 degrees.  It opened about 6 inches then gave up.  Some people in the users groups have said that this may be a low battery issue, the Mercedes rep I spoke to said it’s a known issue with no work around and that we are only supposed to open the door when the engine is running.  So, there’s got to be some fix for this or customer education on proper uses.  We have had times parked on an angle when with the engine on it still won’t shut you either need to shut it manually or have someone on the outside help push it shut as it is closing.  

One of my other pet peeves is that in order to disengage the instrument panel after turning off the engine you must open and close the driver door otherwise everything on the chassis will stay on- draining the battery until the system reaches low battery mode and automatically shuts itself down.  We have also learned from the Boldt forum that you can also turn the engine off if you remove the key from the holder and push the lock button on the key fob.  Also, because of emission controls you are not supposed to idle the diesel engine, which defeats the effectiveness of using the alternator to charge the Volta system.  

The house part of the Boldt designed by Winnebago also has some good stuff and some poorly thought through stuff.  We would think after years of building the Travato they would have fixed items on their high-end Boldt, but these beasts are very complicated and so far Winnebago has fixed all our issues via the warranty at no cost to us but time and days off the road.  So I guess we can’t complain.

Let’s look at the good: We’re cooking and eating nearly every meal in the RV so the dinette comes in handy and is useful.  I’m going to revisit the fold out single bed that’s under the dinette in the bad section, but could be good if you have a younger more agile dog that can jump to use as a bed or a smaller child.  The toilet/shower combo is good if you are skinny and not too large.  Keep in mind I’m just under 6 feet tall and 160 pounds and Rane is 5 feet 4 inches and 112 pounds, it would be comedy genius (or horror show) to see the average (large) size American in the bathroom, but it’s working ok for us, it sure reminds you the importance of staying flexible and fit.  The beds are okay and can be made from side by side full to a little bigger than Queen size.  We have slept both ways and find it very comfortable to do twins in the Summer and the queen in Winter!  We have added twin bed covers with additional padding which has made the beds more comfortable.   I like the smart design of the pull-down racks above the sleeping quarters.  We like the cassette style blinds-especially now that we had the Winnebago factory service center remove them and put a foam gasket around the edges to prevent light bleeding through, added insulation and reduce rattling.

The kitchenette is serviceable, would have been nice to have a convection microwave like on the KL.  I would have preferred a kitchen faucet with a removable spray wand and more of a U shape for easier hand and dish washing.  But its great to be able to have your refrigerator always running,  be able to grind coffee with the grinder, run the espresso machine on the induction cooktop and microwave all at the same time while your boondocking! 

Battery life, we arrived at Eagle Lake at about 2pm with full Volta lithium battery capacity.  We dry camped 2 nights with warm sunny days (63 degrees) and cool nights (25 degrees) and cooked all our meals in the van.  We ran the Truma heating system on gas only mode at about 60 (and 68 or so when we woke up) degrees setting during the night.  We ran the tank heaters both nights.  Using all these amenities with 2 people and a dog we were left with about 10% percent Volta state of charge by the second morning.  No alternator was used and my guess is that the solar adds about 5 to 10 percent capacity per day.  Oh, I also tested the Truma water heater on the EL2 Hot setting to test out the outside shower after a bike ride.  That alone burned 5-10 of the battery and my shower was luke warm after waiting 10 minutes for it to heat up.  I should have waited 20 minutes but lost patience.  After boondocking a bunch we have learned to use the propane mode to heat the water if we aren’t going to do a big drive, keep the inverter off and only turn it on when you need to cook.  The JBL sound bar is awesome and sounds great!  We like to boondock and stay off the grid and find  having to turn on the inverter and use power for the sound bar and TV is a waste of electricity.  We have decided to take the TV down and leave it at home to not waste battery and just use a Fire Tablet since most of our viewing is Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube and we have a USB chargeable outdoor speaker we use for our music and video viewing pleasure that works great and takes significantly less power.  This way we can charge on the USB and our 90 pound doodle has a lot more room to lay down and not hit his head on the TV.  

Tank capacities:

  • Fresh water 21
  • Gray sink 10
  • Gray Shower 26
  • Black: 24 gallons
  • Propane: 16 gallons

So far, we are on day four after dumping and filling up our fresh water tanks on Sunday.  The black tank is at 1/3 full, the sink tank is over 2/3 full and + shower tank is still empty.  We still have about half a tank of fresh water but we opportunity filled with the gravity method about 6 gallons at the Lava Beds National Monument campsite.  We do appreciate that the GVRW is 1973lbs allowing you to add a lot of cargo. The side and rear Rolef screens are a great addition and we’ve already used them this winter.

So, the limiting factor for us seems to be the kitchen sink tank and then fresh water.  Winnebago are you listening… We need a bigger fresh and sink tank, sacrifice some of the shower tank if needed or possible just switch the tanks.

Oh, I forgot, the other trouble that we have had with the van started on about day 3 after picking up the van in Forest City, Iowa.  Our sink gray tank macerator pump stopped working, which means you can no longer use your sink?!  Lame!  So for 2 weeks we washed our hands and dishes inside of our Instapot. Back then we were still asking Lichtsinn for service advice and their only idea was to stop at the nearest authorized service center. 

They didn’t mention the trouble shooting tips I later found deep within the owner’s manual.  Anyway, La Mesa RV Tuscon was sort of on our way, so we made an appointment and spent half a day waiting around for them to decide that the pump was bad(which ended up being an incorrect diagnosis).  They didn’t have one in stock, so we soldiered on towards our house in Oregon to try and resolve it there.  Then we went to our local shop in Bend, All Seasons RV spent the whole day on the pump issue that turned out to be a bad fuse.  Well, long story long, turns out Winnebago poorly designed the fuse panel and the tank heaters and pump to the gray tank were on the same 12-volt fuse.  This apparently was a design flaw and the fuse was overloaded.  So apparently, it’s thanks to our product testing that the Boldt will now have a service campaign to correct that issue, but it was quite a headache for us and ended with a week’s worth of fixes at the factory service center.  In the end, we also got them to add a bypass value so if the pump goes out we can still manually empty the sink tank.   

We find the black tank size is fine we have gone five days without needing to dump.  We find ourselves needing to dump because of the sink grey tank being full and the black tank is still at ½.  One thing is Winnebago puts in a very simple sewer house that you must hold that doesn’t lock or have an elbow.  We found a more durable one on Amazon that has  a clear elbow, which really helps in knowing when you are done and not having to hold it in place and step in the sewer dump area.

Truma is great, but control knob not wasn’t installed correctly.  It is a tiny screw and if the installer drops it, Truma says many times they just take another screw and use it.  If it isn’t the flat head screw then it won’t work properly, which is what happened to us.  Truma sent us a new screw and we are back in business.  So if yours isn’t working this is your issue.  

Locking cabinets perform well and a good amount of storage for the items you need to live in the van for the size of the van. Con, cabinets veneer is paper thin and not durable be careful ladies that your nails don’t scratch them .  Expect more for the money.  Also, the sharp end of the cabinet above the driver side bed, get ready to have your shin banged and scratched several times.  We have suggested to Winnebago in the next edition to make it a more curved corner.  

The fold out bed under dinette is a waste of space.  We’re considering removing it and opting for more storage-if possible.  It could fit a child that is under 5 foot well or a younger dog but no one else.  It also slips and slides and needs Velcro to keep the cushions it in place.  We added Velcro and now it works well, Bode has slept on it once but its too high for him to jump now that he is 12 years old, he likes to sleep onto of Rane instead.  

We don’t like the fact that you have to turn on a pump to suck out the water from the shower drain and it’s got to be cleaned after every shower. Only tiny fingers can do this- poor Rane is designated to this ‘fun’ job.  We have found after 10 showers you then have to open up the cabinet under the driver bed and clean out the screen in the pump.  Another fun job for poor Rane.  We have done a video on this and you can find it on our YouTube Channel, be careful not to wrench on the pump to hard in taking off the screen. Another reason to opt for the KL shower which simply uses a gravity drain.  Also, the BL had no toilet paper holder, we had one (Dometic) installed at the factory service center.  Check the height of the shower wand-the installed height for ours was installed below factory specifications and had to be relocated higher.  Once done it is a good height for those 6 feet tall.

Bed storage access is poorly thought out.  If my 5-foot-tall 112-pound wife can accidentally rip off the aluminum leg that props up the bed, Winnebago needs to revisit their durability testing.  The Service Center put a new one on and added a new Velcro to hold it in place.  I still think there could be a better design like a notch in the wood but it works now.

Nova Kool Fridge- works decent except for the door fell off day three after we picked up the van.  We called the manufacturer and they sent us new door hinges.  It’s been 2 months and it seems that the hinges are going to be a constant source of failure and poor design.  The bolt that holds the door on only is designed with a 1/16 of an inch of thread. I’ve had to fix it already on our current trip and we are only on day four. We finally had them add locktight and now we haven’t had any issues.  We do like the refrigerator size and we go grocery shopping about once every 7-10 days.  We have a full level for sparkling water and beer, one level for all the veggies and one level for cheese, meats, eggs, tofu, etc.  Condiments, yogurt, butter, half and half fit well in the door.

It would have been nice to have one Master control panel instead of 6 different gauges and systems.  Multiplex wiring and touchpad controls would eliminate the need for so many controllers and are commonly found on vans at much lower price points like the Coachmen Beyond, Pleasureway Ascent, etc.

As you have probably read on your research, Winnebago isn’t known for their quality control or warranty protection.  Unfortunately, our rig was finished on Friday the 13th, so the team must have been anxious to leave the factory.  Not only did we have the issues above, our counter wasn’t installed properly and there was a large gap against the wall and trim where a lot of food and debris could fall down and looked very cheaply done.  Also, there was no backsplash so it allowed food to fall behind the counter.

We were happy that at the factory service center they added one for us.  It looks really nice and no food debris behind our kitchen to attract rodents.  The Rolef screen was installed improperly and had a significant hole in the corner where mosquitoes and flies could easily fly in.  The bathroom shower had the hot and cold flipped, resulting in 5 super cold showers for us, until we figured it out not to mention the fact that the shower drain screen was installed backwards.  The shower was installed 1.5 inches below specification, making it difficult to use for a 6 foot man. The outlet next to the sink was poorly aligned and didn’t sit flush.  A couple of our drawers weren’t installed properly and had to be reinstalled.

In the end, the VP of Winnebago called us and made it right and had all our issues fixed (at that time, we now have a few more), taking a full week at the factory service center in Junction City, Oregon.  We are going back to have the next set of items fixed.  We highly recommend if you have issues with your Boldt take it there- the team is professional, knowledgeable and detailed oriented.   He also sent a product engineer from Winnebago, Chris Bienert, out to meet with us(you may recognize Chris from several FitRV videos) and for us to share the items that need to be fixed for the next models that get built.  We enjoy our BL now, but it should have been this way when we purchased it and hope people who purchase it no longer have all of these production issues.  If we had to do it over again, we probably would have purchased the KL.  Live and learn.  😊  We are really enjoying full-time living and surprisingly comfortable for two people and a large doodle.  

Jan 26 2021

Western Arizona RV Trip

For the month of November, we explored Arizona and had several amazing trips!  This week I am going to share our Western Arizona Route and great places to boondock or camp that are affordable and fun! 

One question we get is living in a van how do you manage all your toys of all the different seasons?  We purchased a 6×12 cargo trailer that we leave in Tucson, AZ (Greg’s parents live in Tucson so we can visit them while we drop off or pick-up items).  The name of the RV Park that we store it at is Diamond J’s, its very affordable and located next to some great hiking and mountain biking at the Tucson Mountain Park.  We store all of our gear so we can transition from Summer and Fall activities to Winter and Spring.

For our Western Arizona trip, we wanted to paddleboard, bike, hike and run as we adventured to different areas.  November was a very pleasant temperature, with lows in the 50s and highs in the 80s.  We like to travel about 100-175 miles a day or every few days.  Here is our last trip- the good and bad of each location and if we would go back.  

  1. Picacho Peak Campground ($30- no water)
  2. Lost Horse Tank BLM Sonoran Desert National Monument (free 14 days)
  3. Painted Rocks Petroglyphs BLM Campground ($8/$4 w/Access Pass)
  4. Dome Rock Mountain, Quartzsite (free 14 days) recommend Cholla Road instead
  5. Buckskin Mountain Campground ($35 electrical)
  6. Craggy Wash Lake Havasu (free 14 days)
  7. Katherine Landing ($20/$10)
  8. Temple Bar ($20/$10)
  9. Cerbat Foothillls Recreational Area (free 14 days)
  10. Burro Creek Campground ($14/$7)
  11. Chandler Cracker Barrel (free)
  12. Gilbert Ray Campground Tucson Mountain Park, Tucson, AZ ($20)

Picacho Peak State Park is about 49 miles west of Tucson.  Be aware there is no water in the park even though there is electrical spots and water for showers.  You need to bring your water or fill your 5-gallon water jug with a 64 oz water bottle in the ‘wash your dishes sink’ and do gravity fill.  For $30 a night, we feel it’s a little over priced and suggest just do a day trip to do Sunset Vista and Hunter Trails.  I really enjoyed the hikes make sure you bring walking sticks, gloves and wear hiking shoes as it gets rocky and steep and you will use a steel cable to climb up a rocky steep area.  There is an RV dump here, no potable water.  We were under whelmed and won’t be coming back for the price.

Our next stop off old Highway 84, about 60 miles from Picacho, is Lost Horse Tank BLM area (GPS 32.8411, -112.3244) that is in the Sonoran Desert National Monument. There is decent Verizon cell coverage between 2 to 3 bars. You need to be careful where you camp if you go too far South you are in the drug and human trafficking route.  Don’t stay right at the entrance of the area as several people came there to shoot guns, we recommend going down the road and to the right.  We found a great spot away from the freeway and away from the trafficking route with no nearby neighbors.  You can stay here for free for 14 days, were stayed here two days and did a few bike rides and runs through the desert.

From here, you have 51 miles to Painted Rock Petroglyphs (GPS 33.02437, -113.04543).  Since I have an Access pass this is an awesome stop for $4.  They have fire rings, picnic tables, trash cans and ancient petroglyphs.   There are good trails for mountain biking and trail running.  No water, no hook-ups, no RV dump but it’s a great spot.  We love this spot, so few people its like having a campground to yourself.  We have returned to this spot 4 times now.

Next, we headed about 158 miles to the famous Quartzsite.   You need to check in with the Dome Rock Campground host at the entrance to get your 14-day free permit on Dome Rock Road, then head to Cholla Road GPS: 33.6493, -114.28, there are a lot less people staying off Cholla Road.  You head around the bend and you will see dirt road to the right.  I suggest staying away from the wash area so you don’t get stuck.  It was great in November, there were very few people the camp host said they get busy in January. We did several mountain bike rides, and trail runs, there are so many trails everywhere.  There is Verizon 3 bars on Dome Rock but the cell coverage is pretty limited on Cholla Road.  For us it was worth it to get away from people and generators and we just biked or ran to more cell coverage couple times during the day.  If you want to stay longer than 14 days you can head over to RoadRunner and stay there for a few days then head back to Dome Mountain (we haven’t stayed here but drove by it.  It didn’t look bad and we would consider staying there.  We stayed here for 3 days.  We will be back in off-season.

From Quartszite, we headed fifty miles to Lake Havasu and stopped at Buckskin Mountain Campground to fill up with water and to dump.  There is free WiFi and good cell coverage here.   It’s a beautiful location and great stop for paddle boarding and great hikes and trail runs right from the campground. There are 68 campsites, 30 with electric, all with picnic tables and fire pit/grills and you must reserve online ahead of time. We really liked this spot and will come back, it is spendy at $35 but coming from Quartzsite you need to dump and refill water and it is a good middle point before Lake Havasu and less people than the state park in Lake Havasu.  You will also find since there is a drought there are no free water fill areas in Lake Havasu, many of the grocery stores have the water fill stations you pay for potable filtered water but will need to fill 5–6-gallon containers and do gravity fill. We stayed here one night and would be willing to come back here.  Since we prefer non-campgrounds that is why we only stayed 1 night. 

Next, we traveled 36 miles to Craggy Wash (GPS: 34.5863, -114.364586) in Lake Havasu.  There are several areas you can boondock for 14 days.  Craggy Wash used to be one of our favorite free spots but it has become over run with homeless and people pretty down and out.  Depending on the time of year there is great trail running and mountain biking but in November it is pretty deep sand making mountain biking difficult.  Also, with a lot of the homeless, mentally ill, not the most-friendly dogs off leash and folks sporting side arms on their hips as a woman I did not feel too comfortable running by myself.  We used to love this spot but I don’t think we will be back, we only stayed 2 days. 

We were excited to explore the Lake Mead National Recreational Area, our first stop was Katherine Landing which is about 66 miles from Craggy Wash.  There is WiFi and cell coverage and with an Access Pass it was only $10 a night.  There is first come first serve spots and only two of the loops are open during COVIOD19 and winter.  Each spot has a picnic table and firepit.  There is water and a RV dump no electrical. There are several hikes and you can head down to the marina to paddleboard or rent water equipment like kayaks, paddleboards fishing boats, etc.  When we were there it was way too windy, we just did a few hikes.  We spent 2 days here and will come back. 

(temple bar pictures)Surprisingly, there are very few people at Temple Bar which is 97 miles from Katherine Landing.  The park ranger said since its off the main highway not many people head this way.  We really enjoyed the peace and tranquility of this spot (and lack of wind!).  There were nice views of the Lake and other than the camp host there was only one other camper at this 71 campground site.  There is Wi-Fi and great cell coverage and a nice walk down to the marina and beaches.  We liked this spot better than Katherine Landing.  I paddle boarded and did several runs.  Similar to Katherine Landing it is $20/$10 a night with picnic tables and firepits and some sites also had grills, water and RV dump station.  We stayed here two nights and we’ll be back. 

From Temple Bar we headed back to Tucson as we had an appointment at La Mesa RV to get some items fixed.  We had planned to take the old Route 66 near Kingman but we ran out of time.  Kingman is a great spot to get gas, groceries and get your Starbucks. On freecampsites.net you can get several free spots to stay on Route 66 and if you are a Harvest Host Member there are two spots on Route 66.  For us, we headed down the hwy 93 to the Cerbat Foothills Recreational Area about 76 miles from Temple Bar. Its convenient, right off the freeway so we only stayed one night.  It’s a true boondocking spot with nothing but just a gravel parking lot but there are lots of cool mountain biking and hiking/running trails.  The landscape was beautiful you have a mixture of one-night campers and a few long-term homeless campers.

A nice quiet spot that is right off the freeway is Burro Creek Campground that is 75 miles South.  (Top 4 pictures below) For only $7 a night it is great to get water and have an RV dump.  Its right on the river and a few nice spots with views.  We stayed here only one night there was a little too much generators for peace and quiet.  I had a nice run in the area but there are a lot of cattle and the trails are over grown.  There is BLM booondocking spot above before you get to the campground that we would most likely stay next time.  We left super early so we could get through Phoenix before rush hour traffic.

(We needed to stock up on groceries and there is inexpensive Costco Gas in Chandler, so we drove 139 miles to the Cracker Barrel in Chandler for the night.  There are three RV spots and its pretty calm place.  Early the next morning we headed out to bypass any traffic and headed to Gilbert Ray Campground in the Tucson Mountain Park which is about 98 miles.  We really enjoy all the trails you can mountain bike and hike.  For Arizona $20 a night is the most inexpensive campground you will find outside the forest service and there is an RV dump, water, picnic tables and firepits.  Its quiet and there is a first come first serve loop.  We will be back! 

We hope you enjoy these spots as much as we did!  Enjoy!

Jan 19 2021

New Year’s Resolution: I can’t do everything and that is okay!

Welcome 2021!  As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, I feel his quote is particularly fitting for this blog: ” Even though we face difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”

This week I am going to deviate slightly from van life travel.  After one year of retirement, touring the country– living in a van and experiencing life during a pandemic, I decided my New Year’s resolution would be that of being fully honest on my capabilities and accept I can’t do everything. 

Being a Type A overachiever, who believed and spent the last 40+ years if you put enough effort and determination you can do anything you want to try, it’s hard for me to now admit I am prohibited in doing everything.  Living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), now makes it no matter how hard I try there are things I just can’t do anymore well.  TBI is a hidden or invisible disability I have been living with the last seven years.  Many people don’t realize what is an invisible disability, a physical, mental or neurological condition that is not visible to others because they can occur in life but the person does not outwardly appear to have a problem since there is no need for a wheel chair, walker or crutches.  After spending years multi-tasking, sitting on multiple global projects, advisory boards, commissions, tasks forces and doing it all successfully, empathetically, and professionally it’s hard for  people who have interacted with me, that I just can’t do those things well anymore.  When you have TBI your Amygdala and occipital lobe can be damaged.  Your Amygdala is responsible for many important brain functions like, memory, learning, executive function and emotions while the occipital lobe controls your visual processing, distance and depth perception, object and facial recognition and memory formation.  Due to my damaged Amygdala and occipital lobe:

  • I now forget a lot of things and need lists
  • If I am told something in confidence I may forget and discuss it
  • I no longer have a filter and say things I should know not to say that may hurt someone’s feelings (lack of executive function)
  • My emotions are constantly on over load,
    • I get overly upset if I hurt someone and can’t stop worrying about it
    • I anger easily over silly things
    • I am quick to cry
    • I am quick to yelling and raising my voice
    • I feel like I need to apologize to my husband multiple times a day for my behavior
  • It’s difficult when I drive, I must concentrate really hard due to my challenge with depth perception and reaction time has decreased significantly
  • I get migraines often, feel woozy and need to nap daily

Because of this, I sold my business at the end of 2019 and retired.  I finally learned I couldn’t work anymore when I needed to nap daily, I’d get frustrated and set-off so easily, and if I had a hard day, I would be dizzy, nauseous and have a migraine.  So, Greg made the executive decision for us to hit the road and enjoy the vanlife and start RGBAdventures to document our adventures.  When you visit our blog, our YouTube, Facebook and Instagram it looks like all fun but you don’t see the tough days dealing with TBI.  In a social media world, we see all the positives and don’t share the challenges. It’s hard to be vulnerable when we live in a society that must show competence and achievement. 

I write this post for four reasons:

  1. To remind us that many people have disabilities and challenges that are hidden and we don’t realize and that we need to be more patient and understanding, especially in a time of COVID-19
  2. Don’t let social media get you depressed and feel like I wish I had that life, as that person probably feeling same challenges and difficulties as you but can’t really show it and wants to create positive influence in your day.
  3. If I personally hurt you by my actions, I am so sorry it wasn’t my intent and I can’t make TBI an excuse but hope it gives you some understanding to forgive me eventually.  And if you know someone who may have TBI please understand they may look normal but if they do something that upsets you try to understand that they may not have full ‘control’ of their brain anymore. 
  4. To remind myself and others that we can’t do everything and that it is okay to lean on friends, family and loved ones and admit when we need help.  I hope this also allows you to ask for help.

During this pandemic, we need to give ourselves and our community a break and be more understanding.  It’s okay for us to have a little more self-care and do a little less.  It is a great time to enjoy the outdoors and what mother nature can bring us to relieve anxiety and stress.  When I can’t control my brain, the one thing I appreciate the most living in a van right now and being able to control is being able to run, hike, bike, ski, paddleboard, swim and focus on my physical health.   It’s okay to be vulnerable, not be perfect at everything and let people help you.  If you want to learn more about TBI here is a great article.  Hoping for a positive and wonderful 2021 for everyone!