Rollin with the Holmies
We said no more babies… cheers to adventure and solid insurance.
The exact date of when we decided to chase the RV lifestyle eludes me - though I can look back over the past 20 years - and the reason ‘why’ is explicitly clear.
Brandon (AKA B from this point forward) and I met 24 years ago, while working at Applebee's (sexy I know). If you’ve ever seen the movie Waiting, I would compare my (then) future husband’s personality to that of Ryan Renold’s character; outgoing, humorous, goofy to a fault, and extremely handsome. I was the younger, quiet, shy ballerina with a crush on the young man who reenacted Mr. Peepers on top of the bar after closing time. I’ll save you the young love details, but I will hold claim to our first kiss being behind the dumpster during a ‘smoke break’ (ironically, neither of us smoked).
While dating, I explained that I could never be with anyone in the military. Having grown up with an F-14 pilot father and Captain of the Blue Angels grandfather - I had an extreme respect for our men and women serving - though the deployments and time away from family was a lifestyle I did not wish to experience again.
While visiting me at the University of Utah, B mentioned “What would you do if I joined the Navy?”
I just laughed, then turned around to see why he had stopped walking.
“I already signed the papers” he said. “If I am going to keep a quality woman like you, I need to do something with my life.”
Long story short; I married him and had his babies.
So what does this have to do with RVing?
Stay with me…
After seven years of military service, marriage and two beautiful children - you can sprinkle in the typical good, bad and ugly that life throws our way - graduations, degrees, corporate careers, promotions, entrepreneurship, world travel, lay-offs, debt, a cancer diagnosis and surgeries.
The days with young children were long, but the years have flown by.
I had been ‘let go’ from my position as a Financial Analyst in 2019, when we decided to downsize from 2,500 sq ft to 1,500 sq ft in order to give our family more room for travel and experiences. Little did I know that this dangled carrot of simplicity would lead to something more.
2020 brought us all to our knees for various reasons. I hit my breaking point last July, when the kids had been home full time from the neverending Spring Break. I could now add to my resume “Circus Director” whose primary responsibility was a mixture between IT support, tutor, mac and cheese extraordinaire, and one that no longer cared about wearing a bra in front of 3rd grade zoom meetings.
So, last August, we purchased our first Travel Trailer. As the wife who NEVER camped, B was shocked that I suggested it. He didn’t fight me. Kids initially cried, imagining the stereotype of “trailer park living”. Now, we are hooked. We hate leaving our weekend trips, get better sleep while on the road, connect with each other, disconnect with technology, and experience the beauty God created (outside AND inside).
Anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes with me, knows that following rules isn’t my strength. So, after a year of “doing our best” with pandemic stipulations... we are taking our power back and hitting the road. Mount Rushmore on the 4th of July sounds like a nice history lesson, right?
We have had the ‘stuff’ and scratched the itch.
One more week in our house. Then, “Home is where you park it!”
I have decided to blog about our experience for the following reasons:
We are first time RVers (though we’ve taken our new TT out for 8 weekend trips) - we have no idea what we are doing - and our You Tube education should prove entertainment. “Shared joy is twice the happiness, shared sorrow is half the misery.” Or something like that…
I’d like to share tips / tricks / locations etc. No questions are “dumb,” well, because are still asking them. FYI - I was shocked to realize a TT ‘slide’ did not equate to a vertical projectile for my children.
Laugh with us, cry with us, and please follow us.
See you on the road!
Cheers,
Cara
