Where We're Going & What We're Doing

We're going to bring back an old school memory - a little review before we move ahead. This review will also contain a fun little game called, "Then and Now". It will help bring everyone up to speed on a few things as well as answer a few questions that have been popping up more and more.

One of the most frequently asked questions and/or spoken statements we've been hearing lately is, "I thought you guys had already left" or "OK - When are you guys really leaving?" At this point in time, the answer is "In God's time, not ours". Yes - we are relocating out of Maine; we're just trying to tie up a few loose ends before we leave. The problem is, the timing of these loose ends is mostly out of our control.

Back in June and July, our original game plan was to be on the road by the end of August / beginning of September. By now, we all realize that's been shot to you know where. To say that numerous aspects of this journey got delayed would be an understatement and a half. It took longer than expected to sell the possessions we weren't taking with us as well as our vehicles, to find a decent candidate for an RV, to bring the camper home, to make the necessary repairs, as well as dozens of other aspects that must be considered and dealt with prior to taking a serious road trip.

Everything seemed to take a week at a time - especially the part of purchasing the RV then getting it home, then with the repairs we knew it needed. We'll admit this is something we didn't plan for. But when dealing with the multitudes of people that were involved in one way or another (from the seller to parts & tire vendors, the DMV, etc), it's no wonder it took as long as it did.

Another hurdle we had to deal with was where we were heading. Back in the throws of summer, we were planning on heading out to Washington State. While that is still a major part of the plan, and we will get there in due time, that aspect of it has been delayed. We are now pointing the compass to southern coastal Georgia at least for the winter season through the end of April. We never thought we'd be snow birds, but things change in one's life and we are going with the flow.

While some of these hurdles have brought about feelings of frustration and uncertainty, there are silver linings in these delayed happenings. The first thought that comes to mind is the weather. Washington and Oregon are getting some wild wind and rain storms that are very unusual for this time of year. It's also been 15 to 20 degrees colder than normal in parts of the Pacific Northwest where we would have been driving through.
The second thing that pops into our minds is the recent government shutdown. What does this have to do with us? Simple - all the national parks we wanted to stay at and visit are now closed until this matter gets resolved. Never mind that most of the parks we wanted to see were at the tail end of our journey out west - and if we had left at the beginning of September, we would have landed smack dab in the middle of these closures, since we were allowing about 4-5 weeks for this trek.

There are several other facets that fall into the category of, "...if we left when we wanted to, this unfortunate thing or that one would have happened". So, at this juncture, we're taking life one day at a time and we are grateful we missed the snow in Grand Rapids, MI. We have to - we have no choice. It is the ultimate of letting go and let it all work out for their greater good.

Until next time,
The Happy Campers,
Jill & Dave