By Jemi Chew
While most can only dream of traveling, Devin Harris-Davis and her husband Phil of Pendleton County have made it a reality, even quitting their jobs and creating a YouTube channel and blog (search Creatives En Route) to pursue this aspiration.
Their journey proves that one does not have to be rich to accomplish “bucket list” goals — you only need to be organized, creative and bold according to them.
The couple had always enjoyed traveling, but the idea to do it full-time began to take root during COVID-19 when Harris-Davis was inspired by travel videos she watched online and realized it could be feasible.
After doing extensive research by reading blogs and learning from other YouTubers, she pitched the idea to her husband, who was doubtful at first but eventually was won over by Harris-Davis’s persuasiveness.
The timing was also right — their savings were looking good, and both were desiring professional change.
Her parents were nervous about the idea as well: rightfully so as they love and worry for her, Harris-Davis said.
But after a convincing “presentation” of her plans, where it was clear that the couple had thought through everything, she said that her parents supported the idea.
The couple travels for around three weeks at a time, with short breaks between, and Harris-Davis keeps track of their expenses through an Excel spreadsheet.
They do not plan to travel forever and had initially planned to do so for three months, which might be extended if the budget allows for it.
For a culture that values security, Harris-Davis said that the reality of life is that it is impossible to plan for everything.
“In order to have all of these great life experiences, and in order to receive rewards, you have to take some amount of risk,” she said.
That risk included a punctured tire early on in one of the couple’s trips, requiring the whole tire to be replaced, and being stuck in New Orleans during bad weather and tornado warnings.
“We parked on the third floor of a parking garage, which was a good call because the streets around us were completely flooded,” Harris-Davis said.
But her favorite trip, she said, is when she visited Falmouth, Massachusetts, a small coastal town which donated clothes, food and other items such as a rescue boat to her native Falmouth, Kentucky, after the flood of 1997.
During the flood, the house that she was born in was destroyed along with her great grandmother’s house.
“It was really special to me and really sentimental to be able to be in that town knowing just how much they helped my hometown during that really difficult time,” Harris-Davis said.
The couple has gone on many adventures across 46 states, and Harris-Davis said with a laugh that the two things she misses the most on the road are being able to cook in a kitchen and good toilet paper.
As they did not have enough money to buy a camper van, Harris-Davis and her husband converted a 2022 Toyota RAV4 into a camper car, and only stay at campgrounds for access to bathrooms and showers.
They make food to bring on the road and supplement the menu with grocery store budget picnic meals and the occasional dine out.
The two things Harris-Davis loves about traveling are seeing how other people live and strengthening her relationship with her husband through new experiences and problem solving.
She said that while living in Pendleton County has been a blessing, it is easy to get caught up in a specific life situation and that traveling brings new perspectives she would not have had.
And their travels have brought Harris-Davis and her husband closer, with lasting memories of conversations and watching the sun set together.