One week in to living full time on the road. So far, I have to say it has not been as exotic and awe-inspiring as one would think. We are still deep into figuring out how to organize our new way of living. We’ve moved camp sites more often than we had imagined and so far I wouldn’t classify any of them as epic. We spent two nights at Pismo Beach which was amazing. Sleeping with the sound of the ocean always seems to take the location up a notch. However, we ended up being chased off the beach by tsunami storm warnings. Our next stop was camp off of highway 178 in Death Valley, for a quick stop-over. We had intended to snag a spot up in the hills further from the highway, but alas, someone else had beaten us to it. Nothing more disappointing when someone else is already in your desired camp site. The next morning finally brought us some off-road, overland adventure. On a recommendation from a friend, we went to check out the groves of Joshua trees on Saline Valley Rd. Joshua’s as far as the eye could see that dwarfed the size of our new home on wheels. Every turn brought unexpected changes as we found everything an overlander dreams about- dirt, snow, mud, sand and finally camp for the night. At 6500ft in elevation, the cold overnight temps chased us into the tent for bed prematurely and the next morning we rose early and agreed to scoot to lower elevations (& warmth) for the next camp. Our general idea is to chase warm weather on our travels and so far we have been going to bed freezing every night. As every overlander knows, things don’t always go as planned. On this being just our third night, we were in bed for 13 hours!
Downsizing our lives was an extreme, lengthy event. Eleven months ago, I moved in with Brandon and the process of purging stuff I had accumulated over the years had begun (man, it is astonishing the amount of stuff you hang on to just because you have the space). At that time, we weren’t planning on hitting the road for another 22 months. However, in July of 2021 we had an unfortunate reminder that life is short and can be taken at any moment. Without hesitation Brandon and I agreed to adjust our timeline and January 2022 would be a fresh start on our journey as full-time travelers. Altogether, we had the task of minimizing a combined total of over 4600 sq ft of house into less than an estimated 200 sq ft and only 5 months to get the job done. I think my brain still hurts from having to decide what to keep, take, put in storage, sell or simply toss. (Thank goodness for Facebook marketplace and Mercari. I was able to sell more items, especially things I would have never thought someone would buy, through these sites which was a great addition to our nest egg reserve.) I will say without the constant encouragement and incredibly positive responses I received from people as I shared about our new life ahead, I probably would have chickened out. I’d still be saying “some day.”
Anyway, a week in and I still feel like I’m on vacation. I keep thinking that in a few weeks from now, we’ll get back to our house, open the garage and begin the process of pulling everything from the truck & trailer and start the cleaning routine. My mind has not been able to wrap around the concept that I will not be going back to the dental world anytime soon. I won’t have to set an alarm to wake-up to go to work. I am free of the schedule and the daily grind. If I need to set an alarm, it will probably only be because I want to get up early and take photos at sunrise. Unbelievable! This is now my life?!
In a month from now, once we return from our travels to Mexico, we will reconnect with family for a brief stint and from there we get to decide where our wheels will take us from that point. A blessing. Re-read that last sentence. We get to decide where we go. We don’t have to do anything or have to be any where. Aside from a handful of weekends this year, we have no agenda or set commitments that limit our time. No schedule, no traffic, no rushing around. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t sitting here on easy street with no cares in the world. But, our cares are simply that of our own.
