Editor’s Note: This post is written by a member of LTV’s sponsored content team, The Leisure Explorers. Do you own a Leisure Travel Van and enjoy writing? Learn more about joining the team.
About Us
When Janet chose to visit me in West Africa, it set an adventurous tone from early in our relationship. In the mid-90s, my international engineering career brought me from the UK to Lafayette, Louisiana, for a two-year assignment. After moving to Congo and Janet narrowly missing a coup d’état when she visited me during her summer break from teaching, we learned there was a limit to how much adventure we wanted! My exciting career allowed us to live in China, the UK, and Texas while raising two children. Now that we have retired and both kids have left home, owning an LTV ushers in a new chapter of our adventures as we look forward to exploring much more of North America.
Each season of life has called for different ways of adventuring, building on the previous season’s experiences. Our Leisure Travel Van gives us a new means to adventure. I use blogs as a photo journal to help us remember our adventures, and it has allowed us to share our experiences with friends, family, and beyond. My blog’s name, The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys, combines Janet’s home state of Louisiana with the early 18th-century nickname for British sailors who ate limes to prevent scurvy. While our LTV season is just beginning, we are building it on top of many exciting experiences and are thrilled about where our campervan will take us. How did we get to wanting an LTV?
Tent Camping
In our first year of marriage, we quickly learned that my backpacking tent would not work well for Janet. After upsizing our tent, we enjoyed weekend camping in many Texas state parks before we had kids, making the most of the few months in Texas when you can survive outside without an air conditioner. The five years we spent in England allowed us to have longer camping trips. Having two small children and the high chance of rain led us to an even bigger tent.
The 200 square feet of space felt like an apartment, though the walls encroached on the inevitable rainy days. We were particularly blessed when my work transferred me to a location on the edge of The Lake District, England’s most beautiful national park. Following the recommendation of some dear local friends, our favorite camping trip was to Fisher Ground, a campsite tucked up a valley between the fells and becks with waterfalls and a steam train in walking distance.
Seasons inevitably change. A move back to Texas and the girls’ preference to sleep on proper beds caused us to explore other travel methods.
Road Trips by Car
When I met Janet, a one-hour drive was “long.” The UK’s population density, road network, and size do not facilitate extended road trips. As a reference, Texas is nearly three times the size of the UK. Soon after we were married and living in Houston, when I needed to visit St. John’s, Newfoundland, for work, Janet suggested we drive it. At first, I couldn’t think of a worse idea, but that journey changed our adventure. Janet had grown up making annual trips from Louisiana to stay with family in Maine, and it was very encouraging. After a warm-up trip to West Texas, we were ready to drive more than halfway to England! Staying with family and friends and in hotels along the way, our experiences included Hershey World in Pennsylvania, fresh lobster on the pier in Bar Harbor, Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island, and the overnight ferry to Newfoundland.
Road-tripping with the car was the best option for subsequent trips from Houston to Washington D.C. and Niagara Falls with teenage kids. The experiences “en route” made these trips memorable, ranging from the Chincoteague horses to the remains of the Kinzua Bridge and the Flight 93 memorial.
Hotels were ideal for one-night stays on busy itineraries, and the availability of reasonably priced hotels helped, though we all developed a dislike for a certain chain’s “free” breakfast. Also, we yearned to be able to prepare meals and spend nights in our own beds. While our North American adventures will become LTV-based, this travel mode will continue to be a great option when exploring other countries.
Pop-Up Camper
A pop-up camper with slideouts was our antidote to hotel “free breakfasts.” We could keep it in our home’s garage. In addition to some local adventures, we used it for road trips to the Grand Canyon and Chicago via the Dakotas. While we liked storing it at home, we were less happy with the long setup time. The showstopper was that Janet was not comfortable driving with it, and we wanted to be able to share the driving.
Boating Holidays
Many LTV owners have also been boat owners. We rented boats for a couple of different types of holidays. First, we explored the UK’s canal network on a narrowboat. This was a very cool way to explore, and we’d do it again, but it was a niche holiday.
Second, we chartered a bareboat yacht in March 2020 to cruise the British Virgin Islands for a week. It was a fantastic experience, and we especially loved being able to scuba dive off the boat onto a wreck that we sailed to. However, my limited yachting experience meant that I struggled to relax.
Rental Motorhomes
We have enjoyed memorable trips using rented motorhomes in the UK and the US. In the UK, we used one to visit Snowdonia and the Lake District from our base in Southampton. In the US, we used one in 2017 to drive from Mexico to Canada, visiting the western National Parks on the way, and in 2020 to visit North Carolina waterfalls during COVID. We greatly enjoyed the freedom and mobility it gave us and had some great adventures. It was crowded when sharing with two large teenagers, and we yearned to have our own rather than a rental.
Inn-to-Inn Hiking and Wilderness Backpacking
While our motorhome rental experiences convinced us that ownership should be in our future, there continue to be two types of adventures that it doesn’t support. The first is multi-day hiking in England, staying at pubs or B&Bs on the way, often with a service carrying your luggage. In 2022, we walked the 192-mile “Coast to Coast” trail across the country in 18 days and hope to complete many more trips. Britain’s unique Public Footpath system and regulations make walking in the countryside a beautiful experience, and being able to share it with friends makes it all the more special.
I still greatly appreciate the wilderness backpacking adventures that our son and I undertake, whether it’s Big Bend’s Outer Mountain Loop, Arkansas’s Eagle Rock Loop, a remote corner of the Grand Canyon, or Colorado’s Collegiate Loop. It is a blessing that I’ve enjoyed such father-son experiences.
Our LTV Season
We had known for a long time that we’d want an LTV for our retired adventures, and it has a combination of compact size, drivability, and full functionality. We quickly converged on the Wonder Rear Twin Bed. We greatly appreciated the recent factory upgrades in the new model we acquired in May 2025, from the improved batteries and solar to the soft start air conditioner that allows us to plug into any regular 110V outlet.
I am writing this after less than two months’ ownership, so it remains new, with more trips planned than completed. While we see two big ones in our future (Alaska and returning to Newfoundland), we also look forward to many shorter, simpler, slower-paced trips. We are particularly looking forward to the freedom to explore National Forests and BLM land while loving the idea of staying at farms around the continent with Harvest Hosts. Checking out all of a state’s parks is another goal, though it’s also a great way to visit friends and family. I don’t see us being full-timers, but I expect many adventurous years, and we will find the length of trip that suits us.
What’s Next?
Though nothing is planned, we have ideas for trips to Tennessee, North Carolina, or Colorado this year. Having been avid trip planners in the past, we look forward to being able to go, but I sense we will continue to plan to optimize experiences. We might embark on a five-day tour of local Harvest Hosts. I will continue to blog as it’s the best way to remember the great times and share with friends and family. First and foremost, we want to go. Get out there and feel the breeze. The above photo captures our new lifestyle. While spending time with family, we also enjoy nature. I could slow down and play with my cameras, capturing the moment creatively. The following morning, we were awoken by chirping cardinals. We are ready to move on at a moment’s notice.
One Issue Remains
Before receipt, we struggled with whether to call it our RV (too generic), our motorhome (it is a second home on wheels), or campervan (probably closest). I will continue to call it a “LEH-JURE” van rather than a “LEE-JURE” van, as we do speak the English language. However, we have been unable to find the right name for our van. Perhaps this will be like trail names in the thru-hiking community, where names are earned or given as a result of the experiences on the trail.
We look forward to meeting you on the road and seeing what names you suggest! In the meantime, I would be honored if you would read my blogs about our adventures in The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://leisurevans.com/blog/myltvstory-peter-janet/