Name: Mark Cognata and Katie Mancine
Location: Anytown, USA
Type: T@B RV with U-Shaped Floorplan
Years Lived In: Since August, 2008.
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Mark Cognata and Katie Mancine live life in a sort of contradictory state. They have a living space of 10' 3" by 5' 9", while simultaneously making over 5,984,685 square miles their home. Since the end of August this year, Mark and Katie have begun traveling the country wanting to "Go out and relearn what America is about."
What began as the ubiquitous "What do I do after college?" question, slowly morphed into an idea for a cross-country trip. They write on their blog Wanderful, "After many enthusiastic (read: inebriated) discussions of how to harness our creative instincts into meaningful outpourings, we arrived at a concept. What else could feed our mutual longing for excitement and discovery but an American road trip!" With three years of planning, their trip was finally coming to fruition. Mark and Katie gave up their apartment in Montclair, New Jersey, where they had been living for four years, sold most of their belongings, packed up their chihuahua, Mister, and gave it a go.
For Mark and Katie, one of the main questions was not where to travel, but what to travel in. After looking at various options, Katie fell in love with the T@B RV. Katie and Mark began writing to the T@B company offices in search of sponsorship -- which at first, was met with silence. Katie remarks, "As soon as they e-mailed us and said 'No', I knew we were getting somewhere since they were now acknowledging us!" With much convincing and pleading on Mark and Katie's part, the fine folks at T@B decided to lend them one of their beauties.
So far, their trip has taken them to Cleveland; Amish country in Pennsylvania; Monticello, Illinois; Providence, Rhode Island and Grand Rapids, Michigan among several other places. We had the opportunity to meet with Mark and Katie last week to discuss their trip and future plans. As the fabulous aqua beauty pulled up to our home, we were instantly smitten as well.
Getting ready to shoot the T@B...We spent an evening, during their stop in Chicago, taking photos of the T@B (which they plan to decorate with regional items they find throughout their travels) and talking over dinner...
What has been the most interesting thing of your trip so far?
Seeing the landscape of America unfold in front of me is continually mesmerizing. I can't tell you how many times per day my jaw drops at an unexpected marvel -- a yellowing field of soy in Central Illinois, or an old building with a slanted roof in Milwaukee, or the uncommonly high proportion of stop signs in a small town in Michigan. Each new day promises the amusement that comes with a new discovery. My favorite part of the road trip is simply experiencing delight everyday.
Have you felt homesick at all?
Not at all. The T@B is home. It's felt like home since the first day we got it and camped in a Wal-Mart parking lot. When we went to pick up the T@B we didn't realize that we needed an electrical hookup on the car, and no mechanic was available to install it until the next morning. We cautiously pulled the T@B to the Wal-Mart across the street and set it up for the first time. Once inside we felt so comfortable that, after a few minutes, we forgot that around us was a busy parking lot with customers constantly driving in and out. We slept easily that evening, knowing we were home.
Behind-the-scenes at the photo shoot...Talk about Smallest, Coolest -- this T@B makes me want to travel. Tell me more about it; what's your average day like?
Most of the day is spent exploring away from the T@B. At night we use the dinner table like a desk and spend long hours writing, editing, and researching. After all our work is done we convert the table into the bed, play with Mister for a long time, stare out the window, play a game, read, or just fall asleep. There's an attachable screen room that we've been itching to put up, but we haven't really stayed in one place long enough to justify breaking it out. Sometimes we will attach the Thule table on the exterior hooks of the T@B and sit outside. I like those moments to sit peacefully in the campground and let nature do its thing.
It's actually kind of fun converting the dining room table and benches into a bed every night. As we change the settings, I like to imagine that James Bond's interior designer would be totally into our furniture.
How has Mister been handling the trips?
When we lived in the apartment he didn't get to see us very much, and he only went outside a few times a day. On the trip, he gets to experience our adventures with us. He's getting a lot more attention and a lot more exercise now. When it's time for bed he cuddles up extra hard with us, as if to say "Thanks for including me."
Mark and Mister in Wicker Park...I know your travels are still quite young, but do you have any places in mind you would want to revisit?
Chicago, definitely. We want to go to Michigan again, this time to see the Upper Peninsula. We missed out on Lincoln's Cabin when we were in Illinois. We kind of sped through the first couple of weeks of the trip, but now we're taking it slower and savoring our surroundings a little more.
You've said you hope to be on the road at least until December. What's on your agenda after that?
Katie and I talked today about working for a few months when we get back to New Jersey in December. We'll save as much as we can and use that money to fund another travel expedition. We thought about venturing out of the states, but there will be so much more of America to be seen that we might do a second cross-country trip to catch what we missed the first time. I usually read a good novel twice. It gets better the second time.
While it may seem as though their trip is all fun and leisure, Mark and Katie would like it to become something more. They are also using their travels to canvas the country and see where they could possibly stay and help out a community -- perhaps in some sort of volunteer capacity.
And after Chicago, where is the road taking Mark and Katie? They tell us "We're attempting to see all the northern states before it gets too cold. We're in Wisconsin now, and we'll probably go through Minnesota and South Dakota next. When we finally reach the west coast we'll go south through California, then up and down the central and southern states in as logical an order as we can."
Even though road trips are on the decline, Mark and Katie were both surprised by how many people do want to travel the road, "Everyone we talk to is totally interested in taking their own road trip across America. It must be a shared American characteristic."
Katie enjoying the view...Be sure to keep an eye out in your town for Mark, Katie, Mister and the T@B. You can follow their adventure on their Web site Wanderful and they’ll be visiting other AT cities, as well.
Photos by: Mark Cognata, Katie Mancine and Christopher Barrett.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
A very nice life if you can afford it.
view elvedon's profile
Fun!
view La loca's profile
How cool!
I was just daydreaming about being able to do what you guys are doing.
It's so funny--I was just looking at these little campers last week!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157607434383779/
What are you using to pull it?
view art's profile
Hi, Art! Mark and Katie have limited internet access, but I can tell you they are using a Jeep to pull it. Surprisingly, the T@B is pretty lightweight considering all it carries. It's 1585 lbs.
view Alex's profile
cool. Jeeps have pretty good pulling power. That's what my folks used with our camper (pop-up) when I was growing up.
view art's profile
The T@B is adorable and it looks like they've got everything they need. The inside reminds me very much of the home of friends who are currently living in their sailboat - a place for everything, everything in its place. I love the idea of stripping down to the essentials even if only for a few months. Enjoy the rest of your adventure!
view CMcB's profile
Someone in my neighborhood has the exact same model, and it makes me happy every time I see it in their driveway.
Randomly, I met someone today at physical therapy who has one. She tows it with her CRV and loves it.
view Jen (SLC)'s profile
To get to relearn "america" it's best to actually trying living in it and not just travel through it. Instead spending loads of money on traveling for a year, why not go into one community and try living on the average wages of an american.
people who's biggest concern is "what to do after college" will never "learn" what america is really like.
taking a road trip is a shared american experience? considering that more than half the US population never travels more than 150 miles from their place of birth, I don't think so. A common experience for upper middle class American, sure.
view TheoJ's profile
Hi guys!
Thanks for writing up this AWESOME post on our road trip & T@B, Alex.
Let's see, to answer some questions:
Art,
We're pulling it with my mom's 98' Jeep she let us borrow. It's a piece of junk (radio doesn't work, passenger side is constantly soaked, etc) but we couldn't afford a nice car to tow and I had too many high hopes that Saturn would really loan us a VUE for this (we only asked them two weeks before we took off and it seemed so likely! But then it didn't work out :( ) Those photos from the Flickr link are also a T@B, the Clamshell version. The T@B that they loaned us is supposed to be their most popular model.
Elvedon & TheoJ
I worked the last two years, on my own, as a freelance web designer (self taught), to afford paying for this trip. We lived in a small apartment and spent as little money as possible. Both Mark and myself are by no means rich, nor are we anywhere near upper middle class - although perhaps if you know a little about Montclair, NJ, you know it's filled with a bunch of rich people, we just happened to go to college there. We worked very hard, and spent the entire summer applying for grants and sponsorships for our project. It really paid off. If we can do it, so can you two! Good luck.
Everyone else,
Thanks for the comments and I hope you become regular Wanderful readers. If anyone is interested in having us over for dinner (Alex and her family were our first), please drop us a line at markatie@wanderful.us - we've already got one offer from Julie in Portland OR. Thank you!
view katie mancine's profile
Oh to be young again and have that amount of freedom! Love the little camper!
view suzy8track's profile
Wow. Whats the deal with TheoJ? My sister and I road tripped from NC to CA a few years ago on $800. We slept in the car. You don't have to be rich to travel if your willing to rough it.
I for one rediscovered my country this way, and I don't think you have to go work in the coal mines for 'average wages' to appreciate your country more.
More power to you guys--enjoy your trip!
view pronetowonder's profile
Now I am truly jealous!
view xieta's profile
wonderful! enjoy it to the max - i guess you are learning as much about yourself as about your country.
(TheoJ probably is just jealous, or had a bad day.)
(off to check out the blog.)
view maike's profile
The traveling around the US is cool ... I've done it a few times in different ways. I just don't understand the "getting grants" and getting a sponsored RV. Saving up for a trip like this is great, but why should anyone give you money for basically an extended vacation?
view BlahDeBlah's profile
After reading your blogs, I like this idea even less. (Not saying I care you're doing it, I don't like that people are feeding into it.) Asking for donations? Really? I know a couple who spent a year traveling through New Zealand and Australia after saving up 5 years to pay for the trip and cover not getting an income for a year. I know people who have traveled through Nepal and Tibet and India to do work while they saw the world. I myself lived abroad for two years although I worked the whole time I was traveling. That is awesome that you can take time while you're young (and I'm not too much older than you so I'm not saying that to look down on you) and people don't see enough of their own country (mostly because they can't afford the time/money to do so), but expecting people to sponsor, feed and pay you to go on a long trip around to take pictures is just spoiled. To get the human experience, you have to LIVE the human experience. How about working your way across country? how about working your way across doing amazing deeds in each town? Volunteering everywhere you go. I read a dozen or so of your entries on your trip blog and your own personal one, and all you seem to say is you don't want to work and you may or may not ever want to come home. That's awesome if you want to be free like that, but to want people to fund it really pisses me off when so many people even as young as in high school, college etc. are truly doing amazing things with their time building non-profits whatever doing amazing work. You stressed for hours every day that you wouldn't get sponsorships for your trip? Really? You do realize real people are sick to their stomachs on a daily basis these days worrying about losing their jobs (that you don't want to do) and their homes. It's cool if you want to keep up your trip, but it'll really infuriate me if another publication thinks your "cause" is a worthy one. And let's face it, they sadly will.
yes, I know other readers will just complain that I'm having a bad day ... I am not. I love my life just as it is ... and I am very happy to have the job that I have and to be contributing.
view BlahDeBlah's profile
I have to agree with BlahDeBlah. These people are actually freeloaders. I actually feel sorry for those who have been gullible enough to give their hard-earned money to them.
BTW, these trailers are typically known as "teardrop trailers", and I'd love to have one, myself.
But please, no donations.
view ohjodi's profile
There are websites and forums that will teach you how to build your own teardrop trailer or renovate/customize a used one. I love the T@B but the hand-built ones are a good bit cheaper so anyone else looking to do this project might want to save a couple k for the trip by building their own.
I would do it if I could convince my significant other of the joy of camping, lol.
Best wishes to anyone RVing full-time. It looks like it could be a hell of a life, and Smallest Coolest for sure.
view JosieDaisy's profile
Please remind me to invite BlahDeBlah and TheoJ to my next party, so when people ask "who invited THOSE two" I can just shrug my shoulders and smile.
view regruve's profile
Oh please, they're not freeloading, they are enterprising. Companies pay millions of dollars for advertisements that don't work and have a terrible ROI. These guys were able to convince these companies that their trip would be great advertising and a worthwhile investment, and based on the fact that a whole audience is seeing this product that may not have otherwise, it seems to me like it's a win-win. Frankly, their ingenuity and clever thinking IS work. Their blogging and PR skills IS work. It's work that relieves them from sitting behind a computer all day reading AT when their boss isn't looking, and more power to them!
view teeze's profile
D'oh! I just wanted to see the cute little camper. But oh hate the blog. I'd prefer to read one by the couple that was just on Oprah who have been RVing the last few years across the US. Their story was more interesting. And Katie's reply here is just so presumptuous and weird to me: "If anyone is interested in having us over for dinner..." Why...?
view ridge_van_winkle's profile
I wouldn't mind being at a party with TheoJ and BlahDeBlah.
view jamiealyse's profile
All I'm saying is, if you're going to get sponsors for what you're calling a "project" and not a vacation (especially if a 5th grade class is following your trip), give back more than just driving around drinking beer and visiting relatives. That said, my beef was more with people thinking it's something important enough to cover in the media. I understand the AT connection (small space) but if this ends up on Ellen or 20/20 or something it'll really suck.
And I'm sorry, but asking for paypal donations on your website is the very definition of "freeloading". The problem now with the internet is everyone thinks just being on it is a real profession and a reason we should all be interested. It's not true of TV and it's not true here.
By the way, the RV company totally should have covered the whole thing with promotional graphics so everyone would know about it (on the highway and elsewhere) ... they really missed an opportunity there.
view BlahDeBlah's profile
And thanks, jamiealys. What time should we drop by? :)
view BlahDeBlah's profile
this is so awesome. i want to do this one of these years. recently we've been thinking about buying a camper.
view brand-eye's profile
Two quotes stood out to me from their blog:
"...just for a brief moment while I was drunkenly stumbling over a walkway that spanned the width of the Milwaukee River."
There was also something in this entry about "beer, beer, beer." Really? And fifth graders are supposed to be following this and learning from it?
Also, this one really confused me:
"Right now weâre in Wisconsin, where they say âbackpackâ and pronounce the âaâ like the âaâ in ask - a backpack."
If there's another way to pronounce backpack, please let me know!
view madsarah's profile
"Both Mark and myself are by no means rich, nor are we anywhere near upper middle class - although perhaps if you know a little about Montclair, NJ, you know it's filled with a bunch of rich people, we just happened to go to college there".
Whaaaat?
I am with BlahDeBlah and Theoj, too.
They sound typical for their age - and their class. (Only upper middle class people deny being so).
Sorry kids, but I don't think this is a particularly new-school marketing project nor the ethereal romantic American experience you're trying to get away with chalking it up to be.
It's a cool road trip with your purebred purse dog, using borrowed stuff that's not yours, that you're blogging, and that's about it. Seriously. You're not the first to do it.
Buster Peabody from Pocatello, Idaho, could be doing the same exact thing, with a borrowed, rusty '82 Econoline and a smelly old mutt, and not blogging about it. I bet his trip is just as meaningful and probably a hell of a lot more interesting.
The "So What"? factor in this story is cranked up to 11. Come on, AT.
view Bx's profile
My husband I and own a t@b. And while we love it for camping, it would be a tight squeeze for us personally to do it for longer than a week.
However, there's a couple who is living the nomadic lifestyle (and supporting themselves while doing it - no freebies there). Their website: http://www.radven.net/
They started out in a t@b that was solar powered and have upgraded recently to an Oliver.
view Kathie in Chicago's profile
Thanks for the tip, Kathie! That's more like it. That blog looks like a fantastic read. I look forward to enjoying it over lunch.
Madsarah missed the best one: "Milwaukee, why did you have to make me so drunk?" I can't imagine this being approved school curriculum. By the way, my favorite little bit of cheekiness: the girl got her entire wardrobe furnished for the trip. Huh?
view ridge_van_winkle's profile
I gotta say, i'm thinking maybe ya'll are just jelaous. I know i am, i already sent an email... i'd feed these two in exchange for some tales of the road. And if they want they can even have a tour of the non-profit i work at.
C in Seattle
view DahliaCactus's profile
I would love to travel around like this. But...I sort of agree that it seems odd that everything is not paid for by themselves (including her clothes? wahh?). I guess it's the new way of doing things - start a blog, ask for sponsors and donations and do something "quirky" - then hope for a book deal.
view Nikita's profile
These people make me SICK!!! I read and saw this HORRIBLE story and pics on their blog, these immature college kids terrifying their poor chihuahua "Mister" by forcing him down a slide and into a lake. They know he hates water, and they even acknowledge this on their blog, and admit it is their "source of amusement"!!! Read the first couple of sentences! They find the terrifying expression on his face hilarious, and post pictures of his face close up. SICK. You can see the whites of this dogâs eyes, he is so terrified. I couldnât sleep last night after seeing this. They posted this for the amusement effect on their blog, but I am NOT amused. I am appalled. This people donât deserve to be dog owners, and they justified themselves by saying he was wearing a life vest and water doesnât hurt puppies: http://wanderful.us/?p=332#more-332
view telula's profile
I just visited the site after reading all these comments and I have to say, I think you guys might be jealous you didn't think of this first. If you read Katie's comment correctly, you'd see that she states she worked for two years to afford the trip, as a website maker. Maybe she's continuing her work from the road designing webpages, and that would mean she's paying her way through it. Looks like all they got are product sponsors anyway, hah! I commend anyone with the ability to design websites because I have no idea how to make one myself, and their site looks pretty awesome. Oh wait I just read their bio and see they got a little cash for gas. Good for them! I work in PR and it is a bitch to sell something like this because no one wants to take a chance on blog advertisements unless they're getting hundreds of comments per post. I guess you guys don't know the amount of work it goes into doing something like that, selling something you're not apart of is hard enough, I know when it's something you have your heart in it's even harder to take the gruff. I have friends who blog once a week or less and say it's hard to keep up with, Marc and Katie doing it daily! While traveling on the road! You go guys, I'll be following. Emailing you now.
view BobbyShaysHouse's profile
I hereby refer readers to another pertinent blog:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/01/11/120-taking-a-year-off/
And please don't toss up that tired "you're just jealous" line. I lived in Prague and taught English and traveled on the $$ I earned. No sponsors, no wardrobe freebies, no ads.
If these kiddos want to see "real" life, they should hook up with Teach for America or the Peace Corps. Anything to smack them out of their sheltered, coddled, semi-drunken freeloading lives.
view nmrosycheeks's profile