Fernweh Families: The Davises
Next up in our Fernweh Families series are the Davises.
I connected with Ashley Davis as we were leaving our campsite in Galveston, Texas. My husband and I hadn’t spent much time in the “yard” of our site that week, so we hadn’t met as many of our neighbors as usual. As we were breaking camp, I glanced next door and noticed a nicely kitted workout space in our neighbor’s fifth wheel. Figuring that might point to full-timers, I struck up a conversation with Ashley and her husband, Lennon. We quickly connected over our love of RV life and expressed a shared wish that we’d met sooner during our stay. In lieu of more time together, Ashley thoughtfully offered to share more of their family’s story here in our Fernweh Family series. We know you’ll enjoy meeting the Davises, too.
Please tell us about your family.
Lennon’s background was in manufacturing and he made the shift to a new career field as a drone pilot shortly after we got on the road. He’s also a reservist in the Air National Guard. He’s always loved to travel. I work remotely as a Marketing Manager; together Lennon and I also work as video content creators for brands. I’ve always loved travel and grew up going abroad more than state-side, so a life of travel is a literal dream. Lennon and I traveled quite a bit together before we had our son. Ace is 5 years old and the light of our lives. He loves traveling full time and is always excited to go to new places and try new things.
Please tell us a bit about your journey.
Lennon and I have been together for 15 years, married for 10. We’ve lived in 3 states together and owned 3 houses. Every time we were in a house we never felt “settled.” It always felt nice, but like something was missing. We’d moved from Charleston, SC to Pennsylvania to be closer to family back in 2019, and while that was great and we enjoyed our time with them, COVID hit and we felt so incredibly trapped. We had a big beautiful house, but what did that really matter or mean?
Lennon and Ace walk to the Washington Monument in D.C.
I came to Lennon with the idea of RV life after seeing someone doing it online, and he was interested in it. We actually drove around Iceland in a camper van back in 2017, so an RV seemed like it would be significantly simpler! We talked more about it and agreed it was what we wanted to try. Neither of us had lived in an RV or even spent time in one before buying ours and hitting the road. But, we renovated our house, sold it during the height of the market, researched the RVs that were best suited for us, and got ours.
We already planned on homeschooling our son even in a house, so that was not going to be a big change for us. We hit the road at the end of April 2022. When we first started out, we hit a new state once a week for 7 weeks and while it was fun, it was exhausting. It felt too fast-paced like we couldn’t enjoy where we were enough, so we slowed down tremendously, and now we spend at least 3-4 weeks in each location, sometimes more, sometimes less. Our goal is to hit all 50 states and then make our way through Central America. But we are in no hurry! We also plan to continue mixing international travel in–our goal is four trips per year abroad…maybe more someday!
The Davis family at the immersive art exhibit WonderSpaces in Austin, TX
What was one of the most important ingredients in getting your family on the road–what did you do that worked out well?
We discussed the idea for a while and didn’t just jump in. We researched heavily and created a plan to achieve our goal. We knew we wanted to buy the truck and RV outright to not have payments on these items because debt heavily weighs you down. So, we renovated our house and sold it at the height of the market to capitalize on earnings. This was the best thing we could’ve done. We also had to ensure we were in a good place in terms of income, since Lennon quit his day job and I would be working remotely.
What’s outside your window right now? What fascinates you about where you are?
Right now I am looking at palm trees on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. This is our first time in Galveston, TX, and it’s definitely beautiful. We’ve spent this winter in Texas, mostly because I thought it would be warmer (oops). I think what fascinates me about this particular area is how it doesn’t feel like “Texas.” Whenever I envision Texas, I picture cowboys and ranches and farms, maybe some desert. I thank movies for these depictions. When it’s actually warm here you feel more like you are on an island or in a tropical climate.
Can you describe a time when learning for your child or family happened organically and profoundly…when you learned outside any “plan” you started with?
As I mentioned, we always planned to homeschool. But with travel, our son is learning things where they have actually happened, or experiencing them in person. I think had we stayed in a house, we’d be doing a very specific program and while the education would be there, it would’ve been drastically different. Instead of reading about everything in a book, or watching it in a movie or documentary, he gets to learn about it in person. He’s seeing and doing so much, all the time, and getting endless information, but it’s also fun for him. I truly can’t imagine him trying to sit all day in a classroom, it feels so incredibly foreign.
Lennon and Ashely in front of Seljalandsfoss in Iceland.
What have you discovered about your family by being on the road together?
How much we truly love being together all the time. I’ve heard of families full-timing only to learn they don’t mesh well in such a small space and so much togetherness, but we love it. Our only regret is not doing it sooner.
What does community mean to you, and how have you found it during your travels?
This community is incredible, especially fellow full-timers. We love meeting other traveling families on the road. It’s great when you meet people you can relate to in so many ways, and usually when they full-time with kids that also means they homeschool. Our son is so incredibly social, so when he gets to meet other kiddos on the road and make new connections, he is ecstatic. This community is always eager to help out one another. It’s like a beautiful traveling “village,” if you will. We’ve met friends on the road that we’d never have met if we didn’t get on the road, friends who I believe will be lifelong. We’ve also met friends who we plan to caravan with in the future.
Are there other traveling families you follow online who particularly inspire you?
Oh goodness, yes! I didn’t know how many people actually full-timed until about 5-6 months on the road. I started discovering more people online which was really awesome. I’ve made some really close friends via Instagram which sounds so crazy, but it’s so awesome. Some families and couples who really inspire me are @outherewandering, @gills_on_wheels, @heartandsaultravel, @georgeandcris, @wanderlusttravelcouple.
What do you wish a fellow full-timing family had told you before you left home?
To really spend some time in the RVs and write out a list of must-haves. I did so much research and knew we wanted a separate room for our son, but mistakenly thought that could also double as an office, and that hasn’t really worked that way. If we went back in time, we’d have opted for a toy hauler instead of our current fifth wheel. It’s kind of like buying your starter house and learning what you do and don’t want for your next house. Now we know, and we will make our next decision according to what we’ve learned.
What’s your favorite story to share about this experience?
Not sure I would say it’s a story exactly, but something we didn’t realize would happen is the complete lack of interest in settling down in one location now. In fact, traveling has made it way harder to determine where we’d want to be! We love something about many places we’ve been to and have so many places we want to see. We know we’d want to be someone warm, but have no idea where that would be! We plan to do this for at least 5-7 more years.
What are you excited about doing next?
We are so excited to continue our journey in general, but we specifically look forward to visiting all 50 states and continuing to add in international trips. I think we just love the journey itself, because that is what it’s all about, and it is something we are always excited about. Now that we are constantly traveling and having endless new experiences, I can’t imagine not doing it.
Thank you so much to Ashley, Lennon, and Ace for sharing their story with us. To follow along with their journey, find them at:
You can also check out other Fernweh Families on this blog to get inspiration for your own adventures.
Fantastic view from the front of the family’s rig in Key West, FL.
