In 2008 my husband reminded me that he had an upcoming sabbatical in 2010. Being a homeschooling family, there's little that prevents us from traveling save my husbands job. With 4 months off from that responsibility we were free to roam. I conjured images of tropical Caribbean cruises and romantic Paris retreats until I came to my senses and remembered the other two things that keep us from such things - our 8 and 9 year old children. The Louvre and the Caribbean quickly faded and a new idea began to form -- the image of the four of us crammed into an SUV, RV in tow, driving across the great U.S. of A. What could be more appropriate for a homeschooling family in the midst of studying American History?
I remember sharing this idea with my husband who basically laughed at the thought. And so it began -- me planning and sharing with all of our friends how excited "we" were about our upcoming cross country trip in 2010, while my husband stood nearby rolling his eyes and muttering under his voice "Uh Huh." Oh, don't get me wrong -- there were rainy evenings when we'd sit and talk about the trip (much like we'd discuss winning the lottery which we never play) but while I was imagining all the wonderful possibilities my spouse was busy pointing out the obstacles (not the least of which was money). Saving greenbacks has not always been my forte. It was apparent I'd have to resolve this small issue if I was going to win his support.
After months of creative accounting and recreating our spending habits, I was finally able to convince my spouse that I was, indeed, able to save a dollar or two. After 10 years of marriage I think he was quite impressed with his new penny-pinching wife and thus, the window of possibility began to open. And so the real planning began. What had previously been only speculation of where and how we'd travel, became a full-time preoccupation and research project. Terms and acronyms such as horsepower, tongue weight, towing capacity, GVWR and CVL became part of our everyday conversations as we worked diligently to educate ourselves about campers and tow vehicles.
Conveniently, the annual RV show was in town and gave us a great opportunity to get a closer look at all the wonderful possibilities. So after touring the 40 ft. models with their drop down 50" t.v. screens, formal master suites, and $200,000+ prices, we ventured to the back of the show where the real possibilities awaited us -- the 10, 12 and 15 ft. pop-ups. Whoo Hoo! I'll admit there were some mental gymnastics involved in making the leap from a 400 sq ft apartment on wheels to the 90 sq ft space we were suggesting we live in for four months. Visualizing the four of us eating, sleeping, hanging out on rainy days -- living in this space, day-in and day-out, for 120+ days was no small feat. But we soon embraced the idea with open arms and our search ensued for a "gently used" PUP (as we learned they were called in RVing circles).
Of course finding the right PUP meant that we needed something with which to tow it home. Although we entertained the idea, it didn't take long to confirm that the Mazda MPV minivan sitting in our driveway wasn't quite up to the challenge.
We now have a Ford Expedition with a nice tow package sitting in our garage, an old but well-kept Coleman Niagara PUP sitting in our back yard (the neighbors love us!), our pets all have temporary homes (thanks to some very generous friends), and our friends have given us a warm send-off. It's been quite a journey and a lot of work just getting here. There have been many moments when I asked myself "What were we thinking when we decided to leave for this trip just after Christmas?!?" There's been no small amount of chaos in trying to prepare for both. But, I'm looking forward to spending a lot of quality time with the three people I love most in the world and that will be worth every moment it took getting here.
Christmas is just around the corner and our departure date approaches -- 13 days and counting. . . SO LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!
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