Our family, friends, and strangers have had many questions (once they got over the initial shock) and you might too. Here’s the first installment of our adventure.
Q: How did you decide one day to sell everything and move into a 5th wheel?
A: Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, maybe it was the Maine January cabin fever, or maybe it was combination of these two these things. From my perspective one day Kevin and I were discussing our travels for my upcoming late summer maternity leave and he said “or we could just move into the camper.” We joked about it for a few days. Then we started watching YouTube videos of other people living the RV life style. Then we started researching RVs and campers. Before you know it we visited the Boston RV show and had made up our minds to give it a try. The stars were aligned and we knew if we didn’t take the opportunity now then we might miss our chance. Factors we considered: our daughter was not yet school age and we wanted to share our love of travel with her, we could make it work financially, I have always wanted to ‘stay home’ with the kids, we were getting tired of our daily routine/household chores and wanted to be outdoors more, and Kevin’s job was flexible.
Q: With so many campers and RVs out there how did you pick one?
A: We looked on line and in person at hundreds of different campers, 5th wheels, motor homes, all makes and models. We eventually decided on a 5th wheel so that we could have the freedom of unhooking and traveling more easily into town and a toy hauler so that we could customize the ‘toy’ area for Kevin’s office. With a young family we had a long list of criteria that were ‘must haves’: a tub for the new baby and Eloise, large dedicated office space for Kevin, a bunk or dedicated sleeping space for Eloise, space for washer/dryer hook up that was in the bedroom (not in Kevin’s office area), large pantry for feeding 4, dedicated living room for playing toys with ample floor space, and residential size gas/electric fridge for boon-docking. (Note: Boon-docking is camping off the grid without any hook-ups)
Q: Question from a 9 year old girl at our first campground: “What happened? Why do you live in a camper?”
A: Nothing happened. This is our personal choice for our family.
Q: Will you be gone forever?
A: Our travel plans will take us around the country but our heart is in Maine and as of right now, we plan to continue to summer in Maine each year.
Q: When are you leaving? Where are you going? What will your route be? How long will you be gone?
A: Stay tuned. Too many variables in that equation to answer with any real accuracy. What we do know is that the baby is due in August. We plan to stay in Maine until early October. We hope to make it to Florida and then over to the southwestern US by December/January. Our goal is to not be stressed and to take it one day at a time and enjoy the sites along the way. As for how long we do this: only time will tell!