Geoff and Jo Yunker were tired of being stuck working at home while longing to travel, so they picked up their work and their lives and hit the road. Despite a rocky start, the couple fell in love with traveling and their new daily freedom. Everyday they hope to live a “Bucket List Day” and inspire others to do the same. They’re life on the road entails chasing after the things that bring them happiness and fulfilment while spreading kindness along the way.

Meet Geoff and JoAnne

Geoff Yunker has spent the majority of his career on the road. While he was collecting patents designing and developing technology to meet the specific needs of various companies, militaries, and the government, he had the privilege of traveling the world. His wife JoAnne (Jo) was a former professional dancer who had a fifteen-year career in sales, and while she mostly traveled for leisure, Jo spent time traveling the country and some parts of the world as well. When Geoff and Jo got married, they connected over their shared love of travel and knew that one day they wanted to make travel a lifestyle.

In addition to their shared love of travel, Geoff and Jo love spending time outdoors. Whether they’re simply out exploring and walking around in nature, going hiking, or riding their e-bikes, they cherish the time spent together enjoying the fresh air. Another favorite pastime is golfing. While both love to golf, Geoff has transitioned to mostly coaching Jo, helping her to improve her swing and golf game. They love playing a round of golf together and Jo especially loves going to the driving range.

Whenever Geoff and Jo have spare time, they are always looking for new ways to get outdoors together. This became especially true when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. At the time, both Geoff and Jo were working from home and the world began to slow down around them. Geoff realized he could take his work on the road and work from anywhere he wanted but, even though Jo was working remote, she needed to be close to the office. Despite these challenges, Geoff and Jo decided they were ready to start transitioning into full-time travel so they could get out and see the world more. They purchased an RV, downsized their belongings, and Geoff hit the road with Jo joining him on the weekends.

A Rocky Start to Full-Time Travel

As Geoff started his travels, he and Jo quickly realized how challenging RV life could be. Within the first two months of traveling in their new RV, Geoff brushed off a bad gut-feeling that led to the rig getting totaled. Thankfully, Geoff walked away from the accident, but it left him and Jo with a whole new list of difficulties. With the timing of the pandemic, there were very few RVs available and it took them three months to find a new rig that fit their specifications.

Not long after getting a new RV, Geoff was out on another trip and the brakes completely failed. He then spent a month tracking down all of the parts he needed from all over the country and repaired the RV.

The challenges continued when Jo received a shocking cancer diagnosis. Following treatment and surgery, she is fortunately in remission with a new lease on life. Jo realized it was time to start chasing her dreams, so she quit her job to go on the road full-time with Geoff. Now that the two of them were traveling together, with the worst of their difficulties behind them, they realized the day-to-day challenges of living in the RV. The unpredictability of weather and the economic struggles of fuel and campsite prices forced Geoff and Jo to spend much more time and energy meticulously planning their travel routes. In addition, they have to call months in advance to book doctor’s appointments, hair appointments, and visits with medical specialists. It can be very difficult for the two to know where they will be traveling months in advance, let alone trying to find good doctors and the needed medical specialists in that area.

Coupled with the extensive time spent planning out upcoming travels, Geoff is also working a remote job and running he and Jo’s social media accounts. He tends to struggle with finding time for leisure while traveling as he finds himself working from 7:30am to 7:30pm every day. Geoff estimates that he spends 40-50 hours a week on their YouTube channel and social media accounts and 20-30 hours working with his clients for his “day job”. With the other hours spent planning out travels and scheduling appointments, there are very few hours left in the day for relaxing.

Each of Geoff’s obligations requires reliable internet while on the road which poses its own host of challenges too.

Living a Bucket List Day Every Day

Despite the challenges they’ve faced, Geoff and Jo wouldn’t trade their life in the RV for anything. Before they went on the road they realized their life wasn’t living up to their expectations–the two wanted to do more of what they loved and inspire others to do the same. “We decided we wanted to live a bucket list life every day.” While everyone defines their “bucket list” differently, Geoff and Jo hope to inspire others to do the things that bring them happiness and spread kindness to others. Geoff and Jo’s bucket list includes people they want to meet, random acts of kindness they hope to complete, activities they want to do, and places they hope to see. Each step of their travels is planned to continuously keep checking things off their list.

Along their journey and through their previous travels, Geoff and Jo have visited many incredible places. While Geoff fell in love with Zermatt, Switzerland and Austria during his international travels, Glacier National Park is one of his favorite place in the United States. He and Jo also both love North Carolina and fondly remember horseback riding through the Cherokee Mountains. Jo’s favorite place she’s been is Sedona, Arizona, and her and Geoff loved the time they went rented a jeep and went rock crawling and four wheeling there. Another favorite memory for the pair was paddle boarding in the Salt River while watching a horse and her baby cross just feet in front of them. Each of these magical moments are what inspire Geoff and Jo to keep traveling.

Geoff has done around 1.8 million airline miles and has traveled around the world 7 different times, but, surprisingly, he and Jo are still finding new places to discover. They love the constant sense of wander as there is always somewhere new and different to explore. In addition to the excitement of traveling to new places, Geoff and Jo love all the people they’ve been able to meet along the way. Everywhere they travel, the couple strives to meet new people and cultivate friendships. The people around them have made the journey worth while. And just like Marc and Trish from Keep Your Daydream inspired Geoff and Jo to travel full-time, they hope to be that same inspiration to others.

Bucket List Adventures Powered by Battle Born Batteries

For Geoff and Jo, RV life has been everything they expected it to be, and also nothing at all what they had pictured. As they’ve worked through the various highs and lows of the last two years with their RV, they’ve learned to make adjustments to make their life easier. When they initially purchased their rig, it came with one lead acid house battery. From the beginning, Geoff knew that wouldn’t be enough for him. “I just couldn’t do what I wanted to do, period. I knew the lead acid limitations.” Even after switching the one lead acid for two AGM batteries, his electrical system improved but was still lacking.

After researching lithium-ion batteries, Geoff was determined he wanted to make the swap to Battle Born Batteries after deciding he liked the state-of-the-art battery management system (BMS) the best. He met with a few Battle Born executives, and Geoff officially switched over his electrical system in his 2021 Grand Design Momentum T76TH – ToyHauler 43’ which now includes:

• 6 – 12V 100Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 GC2 Battle Born Batteries
• 2 – Victron 3000w MultiPlus’
• 1 – 500A Victron SmartShunt
• 2 – 100/50 MPPT Solar Charge Controllers
• 3 – Micro Air EasyStarts
• 1 – Lynx Distributor
• 6 – 200 w 24V Solar Panels

The biggest change Geoff and Jo have noticed after switching to Battle Born, is the amount of freedom they have in their travels. Instead of constantly having to plan out campgrounds and reservations, they’re confident in parking anywhere. While traveling, Jo will say, “just park there” when they’re looking for a place to stop for the night. Although Geoff is sure to only park in places that are safe and legal, the new confidence they have in their electrical system is unmatched.

Over the last 2 years of RV travel, Geoff and Jo have fallen in love with their RV. They rearranged their living space to be suited to their particular needs. Geoff took out a second couch in the living room to make space for a custom office setup that he could work from, and he turned the space where the dinette was into a custom craft table for Jo.

Their love for the outdoors is reflected as they created a custom living space outside. Jo, who practically lives outside, created a space with carpets, chairs, solar lights, and custom cushions for a picnic table (if their camping space has one), and it all matches. She absolutely loves this space and will even be sure to set it up during short 1-2 night stays as it is such an important part of their space. Geoff even created a custom net that acts as a portable driving range for Jo so she can practice her swing no matter where they are.

What’s Next for My Bucket List Day?

Looking towards the future, Geoff and Jo’s ambitious bucket list continues to grow even as they keep checking things off. In addition to their ongoing goals of reconnecting with old friends and doing random acts of kindness for strangers, there is a list of people they would love to meet one day. They hope to tailgate and attend a football game in every US football stadium and crew a 12-meter race one day. The list of places Geoff and Jo hope to visit still expands and includes places like every U.S. National Park, Alaska, the Seychelles Islands, New Zealand, and Nepal. Geoff and Jo plan to continue making progress and checking things off of their bucket list.

This year, they can’t wait to visit Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend. While in Arizona they also plan to revisit Mesa Verde, Sedona, Phoenix, and the Salt River. Following their time in Arizona, Geoff and Jo will start working their way back across the country to spend the holidays in Orlando with their family. They’ll stay in Florida for the remainder of winter, spending a month in the Keys and planning to leave in late March or early April. From there, they’ll continue fulfilling their bucket list, meeting new people, and exploring new places.

To follow along with Geoff and Jo’s upcoming adventures and to keep up with their growing bucket list, check them out on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and their website.