Relax RV Podcast

By Paul Sebastian, RN

Ever get stressed while on the road in a RV?

Well this podcast focuses on Stress Management while RVing. I retired in June 2018 as a Nurse. I have been a Stress Management Consultant since 2003. Trish... more

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FAQs about Relax RV Podcast:

How many episodes does Relax RV Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 53 episodes available.

Relax RV Podcast episodes:

February 04, 2024 Relax RV Podcast – S2 episode 52
How are you doing?
These are strange and trying times.
It seems that people who are “not essential” are experiencing new stressors at this time of change.
..lack of income
..frustrations of try to negotiate super inundated systems like unemployment
..kids and adults are stressed with isolation from their friends
..adults are dealing with working at home OR being an essential employee
..hard to get comfortable with the uncertainty of when their lives will go back to the routine they are comfortable with
..try to keep needed supplies in the household
“Essential ” people may be feeling overwhelmed because of being overworked or fearful because of possible exposure to the virus.
Either way These ARE trying times.
Signs and symptoms of stress overload:
Anxiety or panic attacks, A feeling of being constantly pressured, hassled and hurried, Irritability and moodiness, Stomach problems, headaches, or even chest pain, Allergic reactions, such as eczema, Acne or asthma, Problems sleeping too much or too little, Over or under eating, Increased drinking, smoking or doing drugs, Sadness or depression, Feeling like you are losing control or need to take control, Having difficulty relaxing and quieting your mind, Feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless, and depressed, Low energy, headaches, Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea, Aches, pains, and tense muscles, Chest pain and rapid heartbeat, Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet, Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing, Clenched jaw and grinding teeth, constant worrying, Racing thoughts, Forgetfulness and disorganization, Inability to focus, Poor judgment, Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side.
Things that will help you to relax:
..Find diversions
..start new or do old hobbies
..read
..jigsaw puzzles
..crafts
..clean
..paint
..fix or repair things that have been on the “honey do” list
..plan or explore options for your travel plans when the restrictions are lifted
..TALK on the phone
..play games with family or Solitaire
..work on the list of things broken in your rig or do modifications that you have wanting to do
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18min
March 26, 2020 Episode 51 – Take 7 Minutes to Relax
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/track-03.mp3
Take 7 Minutes to Relax
I recorded this many years ago, I hope it helps you to relax. Do NOT listen to it while driving or operating heavy equipment.
Find a safe comfortable location. Use headphones or earbuds if available.
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8min
March 26, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 50 – A Progressive Relaxation Exercise
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/track-02.mp3
Progressive Relaxation
I recorded this many years ago, I hope it helps you to relax. Do NOT listen to it while driving or operating heavy equipment.
Find a safe comfortable location. Use headphones or earbuds if available.
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0min
March 26, 2020 Episode 49 – An Introduction to Stress
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/track-01.mp3
An Introduction to Stress
I recorded this many years ago, I hope it helps you to relax. Do NOT listen to it while driving or operating heavy equipment.
Find a safe comfortable location. Use headphones or earbuds if available.
...more
10min
March 26, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 48 – The last stop and then home
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/28b94-relax-rv-episode-48-the-last-stop-and-then-home.mp3
Episode 48 – Released 3/26/20
We visited Centralia Pa on our way to Bloomsburg Pennsylvania. Centralia is a town had an iron field under it and had caught in fire many years ago. We then arrived at our Boondockers Welcome host site, and met our hosts Scott and Amy.. They invited us to join them for dinner the next night we said absolutely and we would bring wine and dessert. We looked online and found Dalos bakery in Berwick, Pennsylvania.
The next morning Scott reached out and asked if our generator was working. Scott came out and after some finagling he noticed a wire dangling behind the carburetor. We spliced them together and voila it started and runs without a hitch. The next day we got all packed up then our goodbyes lasted another hour. It’s nice when we leave a place knowing you have new friends. We already have plans to get together with them.
We drove 2 hours home along the way we dumped and filled up with gas. We tend to fill up on every leg of our trip. Which means we have about 20 gallons to fill when we are at 3/4 of a tank.
After taking out stuff that could freeze I winterized it, following my own directions and hopefully this time nothing will freeze and break.
On this trip, we were gone 3.5 months. The number of nights we spent at each were: Boondockers Welcome 64. Campgrounds 32, Harvest Hosts 5, and no casinos, Walmarts, Cracker Barrels etc. And because of that we only spent a total of $1,050 on Campground fees, and some of the boondockers welcome hosts charged either 5 or $10 a night for electric. Not too bad for a 3.5 months.
We had some Problems. BUT Our Fun out weighed the stressors!
Places we visited and things we’ve done: Christmas vacation house, Assateague wild ponies, ocean city, Charleston, OBX, Myrtle Beach, Savannah, St Augustine, Disney, Miami, Clearwater, Tampa, the Keys, the Everglades, Destin, saw Manatees, the highest point in Fla, Mobile Alabama, New Orleans, The Tabasco factory, Eunice Louisiana, Helen Ga, Smoky Mountain National Park, Harpers Ferry and Centralia.
And that doesn’t include all the things we’ve learned and the wonderful people we’ve met.
So now that we’re home the podcast will go back to a less frequent release and I will talk more about Stress Management and with North America being turned upside down, I see my clients and friends are showing a heightened level of stress or anxiety. Everyone is being affected, full timers, part timers, vacationers, workers, parents, children, adults, loved ones and yes me.
I won’t be talking about the corona virus – if you want to learn about that read any of your emails from your bank, grocery store or if you must ….. the news. Try to limit the amount of time you watch or listen to the news your mind needs a break from it
There is a short guided imagery at the end of this episode, DO NOT listen to it while driving or operating heavy machinery. However to help you deal with your stress, in the very near future I will release 3 episodes. They will be an introduction to stress, a progressive relaxation exercise and a guided imagery. Please listen to them while in a safe place to relax and share them with anyone who needs to relax.
Be safe everyone and …. laugh as often as you can. Peace.
Here are pictures from Centralia
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33min
March 19, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 47 – The last full week on the road and the Coronavirus abounds
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ef18d-relax-rv-episode-47-the-last-full-week-on-the-road-and-the-corona-virus-abounds.mp3
We visited Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium.
The next stop was in Hardy Va. We stayed at a BDW and visited the Booker T Washington National Monument.
We then stayed at Devault Vineyard a part of Harvest Hosts. We then took a ride over to Lynchburg Virginia. We stopped in at a restaurant called Bootleggers. The next morning and drove to Gordonsville Virginia and stayed at Honah Lee Winery. We hooked up to 30 amp and had a water hookup which is totally atypical of a harvest host. The next day we drove to Messicks Farm in Bealeton Va. Which is another HH. Tuesday 3/17 we packed up and drove to a BDW in Keymar Md.
We were pleasantly surprised when we met out host that we had met them at boondockers welcome site in Defuniak Springs Florida. We drove over to the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emetsburg Md which is beautiful and peaceful. The next day we went hiking in Catactin Mountain Park we visited a rock formation called the chimney rock then we headed over to Cunningham Falls and took a hike there. We went over to Harpers Ferry. The National Park office was closed so there was no admission charge. All the shops in town were also closed.
Then on our way to our next boondocking welcome site in Bloomsburg Pennsylvania, we stop the Camping World in Harrisburg Pennsylvania to pick up the dipstick oil cap for the generator. Which didn’t solve the problem.
We then pulled into our last bdw place in bloomingburg PA. And that’s where I’ll leave you for this week…

Here’s a link to the pictures of National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg Md.
And The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
And pics from our hikes in Catactin Park
And finally a few from Harpers Ferry
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30min
March 12, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 46 – We visit the Smoky Mountains and our generator DIED
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/572d1-relax-rv-episode-46-we-visit-the-smoky-mountains-and-our-generator-died.mp3
On 3/10/20 this podcast celebrated it’s 2 year anniversary.
Our Boondockers Welcome hosts in Brooks Georgia invited us in for ice cream. We sat with them for over an hour having a really nice conversation about a lot of different things. Then I met my buddy Rob at Nic & Norman’s in Senoia. This is the town where Walking Dead was filmed.
The next day we drove to The Cottage Vineyard and Winery which are Harvest Hosts. After setting up we drove over to Helen Georgia. We were pleasantly surprised by it. We liked it better than Frankenmuth Michigan. You can park for free at the Unicoi Hill Park or in the City of Helen parking lot on the other end of town. Otherwise it’s $5 to park (March 2020). We ate at the Heidelberg restaurant which had really good heavy German food. We had nice conversations with some of the shop owners.
That evening we got back to the rig Trish suggested starting up the generator you hadn’t started it in a while. It started right up and ran for about 10 minutes and then it died. It’s not sending an error code. We have flashbacks from 2018 (check out episode 5 to hear about that mess).
We hope its the dipstick/oil fill plug, and have one on order.
That day we drove a whopping 7 miles to Timber Ridge Campground that we reserved through Passport of America.
We then went back to Helen Ga and hiked the Unicoi / Helen Trail.
Then we drove to Smokemont Campground in the Smoky Mountains National Park (no entry fee). We picked a sunny campsite for our solar (here is a link to our solar system in our rig). We then did a 5 1/2 mile hike. It was 62 degrees and beautiful. That night it was 30 degrees fahrenheit out, it’s nice having our inverter so we can use our electric blankets to warm up our bed. And its nice having heated tanks.
The next day we went for a hike on the Appalachian Trail.
The next day we woke up to total cloud cover and rain. We packed up and drove north out of the Smoky Mountains and by the time we left the campsite our batteries were fully charged, we love our 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter. We drove through Gatlinburg and will return to it someday.
We drove to Fall Branch, Tennessee. We met our Boondocking Welcome hosts. They invited us in for a glass of wine and nice conversation.
The next day March 11th 2020 I recorded this episode of the podcast while Trish did laundry. Then off to find a small park and go for a walk.

Pics of Helen Georgia
And pics of the Smoky Mountain National Park
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35min
March 05, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 45 – Out of Louisiana into Georgia and a fixed slide again
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/eaf4d-relax-rv-episode-45-out-of-louisiana-into-georgia-and-a-fixed-slide-again.mp3
Drove to Pearl River Louisiana. We wanted to hike but because of the flooding we had a hard time finding a place (see the photo for this episode). We drove a half hour to Northlake Nature Center in Mandeville Louisiana. And hiked for 2 and 1/2 hours. A nice park with boardwalks and small trails.
The next day we drove to Prichard Alabama to Chickasabogue Park and because we booked it through Passport America we camped there for $9 a night with full hookups.
We got set up and the slide started acting up again. The slide has difficulty going out. I remembered we had an issue in Montana with a wire going to the slide controller. So I asked Trish to hit the button to extend the slide while I went to the basement and I wiggled the wire that gets connected to the control panel that says ext (for extend) I wiggled it and as I wiggled it I heard an electronic switch going off inside of that control box and the slide came out.
I had a conversation with myself and reminded myself to take a deep breath and relax and come up with a solution. I also reminded myself to put things in perspective. With all of this wonderful traveling that we’re doing we’re seeing beautiful things learning so very much (like the fact that we like to eat mud bugs) finding fantastic foods and meeting fabulous people. And I reminded myself the RV is put through an earthquake in a hurricane every time we drive it down the road 60 mile an hour winds and earthquake bumps.
I then went on to Amazon found the control box Lippert Components 211852 Wall Slide-Out Controller V-Sync II for $250. I went ahead and ordered it and 2 days later I unplugged the old one –plugged in the new one – and the slide came right out without issue. So once again I hope that we figured out the slide problem.
The next day we drove 3 hours to Eclectic Alabama.
We then went for a hike of about an hour through the park. Got back to the rig worked on pictures and then grilled dinner. That night it poured all night. We were setup under a carport so it was nice bbqing and such and not having to worry about the rain. On 3/2 I was getting cabin fever so I put on my rain gear and walked 2 miles to the town of Eclectic. When I got to town, the rain stopped and the sun came out. So I called Trish, she picked me up and we went to Lake Talisi Riverwalk. It was nice to get out for awhile. The next day we packed up, and headed to Brooks Ga. We arrived in Brooks Ga met our host. And had a nice conversation about rv solar systems.
The next day we went in to Atlanta Ga. It was a so we found a Groupon for the Michael C Carlos Museum at the Emory University. What are really nice museum that had a great Egyptian display along with a lot of other interesting artifacts. Then we stopped in at the Ponce City Market which was the old Sears Roebuck and Company building. There was a lot of upscale shops restaurants and even a couple of bars in it. We bought a couple of chocolates at St Germain Bakery which were delicious. We then drove over to the Eclipse Di Luna in Atlanta. We got a few phenomenal tapas and it was happy hour so they were half price. Earlier in the trip Trish tried a coconut mojito and liked it. This place had one as part of their happy hour so she got one there and she liked it again. I guess this will be Trish’s cocktail of choice but her drink of choice will remain wine.

Some pics from Louisiana.
Pics from the Michael C. Carlos Museum
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30min
February 27, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 44 – Mardi Gras …. Cajun Style
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/d6981-relax-rv-episode-44-mardi-gras-cajun-style.mp3
We left New Orleans and I wanted to drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Why? Well according to the Guinness Book of World Records it is the longest continuous bridge passing over water in the USA (it was the longest in the world but now the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China is the longest).
Arrived in Lafayette Parish Louisiana and stayed at a Boondockers Welcome host, Lonnie and Antoinette. Wow what a fantastic time we had with these folks and their wonderful friends. We learned what a Parish is in Louisiana. They invited us to a cookout with cracklins and gumbo and a crawfish boil the next day. All of it was fun and delicious! The next day we joined our host at Little Big Cup for brunch. We had more crackling, a great jambalaya and gumbo and fantastic Creme Brulee French toast.
Then we went to the Tabasco Company Factory and Museum tour which was worth the visit. We bought a bottle of their bloody Mary mix for our host.
The next day we went to Prairieville in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Met our wonderful host. Set up the rig right next to the bayou. By the way a Bayou is a slow-moving Creek. Or swampy section of a river or a lake.
The next day we went to Eunice to see a traditional Cajun Mardi Gras. We had heard of this on the LINK Anthony Bourdain TV show.
This was 2 hours from our location and our host graciously offered to drive us there. We ate the best Alligator we have ever eaten, ala po’boy at Nick’s on 2nd. There was a stage with a band playing cajun and zydeco music, stands selling crafts and Mardi Gras clothing and decorations. Then the parade started with police on motorcycles having fun leading it. Then the real fun started. The horseback riders in full cajun garb rode down the street then the floats with bead throwers. And there were people walking in the parade holding chickens.
This was the most fun Mardi Gras Parade we have seen on this wonderful trip! The costumes, the friendliness, the food, music and energy were fantastic! Thank you Louisiana!!!!
We stopped at the LARC Acadian Village. We were so under whelmed by it I didn’t even mention it in the podcast.

Here are pictures from the Acadian Village, the Tabasco Factory and a great stay with fantastic folks. These folks introduced us northerners to some fabulous food and good times !!!
And picture of the Cajun Mardi Gras Parade on Fat Tuesday in Eunice Louisiana.
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35min
February 22, 2020 Relax RV Podcast – episode 43 – Mardi Gras the big one and the original one too
https://relaxrv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/b5ebc-relax-rv-episode-43-mardi-gras-in-2-states-and-3-cities-wow.mp3
We arrived in Fairhope Alabama and learned Mardi Gras originated in Mobile in 1703. We went to a Mardi Gras parade in Mobile Alabama which was our 1st Mardi Gras Parade ever. What a blast. While the downtown is filled with bars, Mobile keeps their festivities kid friendly. While there we visited the Mobile Carnival Museum. We highly advise you to take their free tour, admission was $8. We then went to a 2nd parade in Fairhope, which was much smaller but still fun. We ate at a fantastic Lebanese restaurant in Fairhope called Sage.
Then we drove to New Orleans (NOLA). Camped at 3 Oaks and a Pine campground (which we reserved through Passport of America $40/night for full hookups – and there’s a membership discount code I can email you which will save you some money towards their membership fee, just let me know). We are 15 minutes away from Bourbon St. We walked to Frenchmen Street and sat at Apple Barrel to listen to Great old jazz music.
And we had Beignets at Cafe Du Monde.
The next day we took the bus into town which was no bargain. In New Orleans we took a tour (hottest hell tour) which was touted as “adults only” and it was great. The owner/guide talked about alot of the dark stuff that happened in New Orleans, we found tickets on Groupon for it.
We headed over to the parade route where we had bought tickets to use bleachers for $15. We were so glad we did that. It started at 6:15. but It didn’t get up to us until 7:30pm. And the last float went by us at 11:15 p.m.
So now we’ve seen three different Mardi Gras parades and we agree we liked the one in Mobile Alabama the best.
But what a fun experience here in NOLA. We love all those bars with live jazz music, live bands, and oh yes the food !!!!!!!!
We were told to be careful of the crime on Bourbon Street. But we saw no problems at all. Yes, it’s a city so be careful. But there is also Mardi Gras for kidsin NOLA (New Orleans).
We met friends at drinks at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop — built between 1722 and 1732 by Nicolas Touze, is reputed to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States.
We are staying at Three Oaks and a pine Campground.
At the visitor center in town they have 24 hour RV parking (which would be dry camping) for $50 for 24 hours.

Here are links to my pic’s from the Carnival Museum and parade in Mobile Alabama.
Pictures of New Orleans (NOLA)
Pics of the Druid and Nyx parade in New Orleans
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44min

FAQs about Relax RV Podcast:

How many episodes does Relax RV Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 53 episodes available.