December 30: a significant date

Calendar dates can be very significant.  

December 30 has become one of those significant dates for me. 

It was the date that I became a grandma at age 60.

It was also the date that we headed out for a new adventure, living life on the road for a few months at a time.

Six years ago today, December 30, 2013, we headed out on our big adventure - with a few fears about the unknown and lots of hopes and dreams.  It’s fun for me to look back at those months and revisit the links to things I have written about the various spots and to share them with my readers.

Three years earlier we had decided to downsize and sell the tree farm.  We thought it would be fun to explore other places for awhile before deciding what to do next.  So we sorted and pitched stuff for two years while trying to sell the farm. Buyers came and went but without being able to put together a purchase.  Eventually we found renters for the big house and moved ourselves into the cabins out by the road - first one and then the other.

We found the perfect RV for us and headed out toward the American Southwest on this date, December 30, 2013 anticipating the adventures ahead.

We lived in our little rig in Southern California where we served as work-campers in a small county park for the winter and spring.

In the summer we drove north to Canada and the Alaska Highway. We were able to get a campsite just behind the Black Bear Cafe where our daughter worked as a manager and barista. ’Twas a glorious 5 weeks to live in that place and get acquainted with her Denali world.  

Autumn brought the final sale of the tree farm so we got rid of more stuff and packed the rest of it away in a storage unit because the 28-foot fifth-wheel was now our only home.

December 30, 2014 saw us hitting the road again for another winter in the south. This time we lived on three different islands for a month each:

• January - Dauphin Island, Alabama
• February - Anastasia Island, St. Augustine, Florida
• March - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

We rented a campsite in southeastern Michigan for the spring and summer and then moved to the west side of the state to welcome a new grand-daughter in September.  

We also lived at a lighthouse in western Michigan for two weeks serving as volunteers in the tower and the gift shop.

December 30, 2015 found us in Rockford, Michigan, wrapping up the year and preparing to return to the little village of Las Galeras in Samana, Dominican Republic, for the winter. 

By December 30, 2016 we had come off the road and were experimenting with the idea of staying in one place again - namely Michigan - in closer proximity to our moms and our kids and where we could hang out with Internationals, a long-time dream of ours.  

Sure enough; by December 30, 2017 we had decided to put down roots again - even buying a an old fixer-upper house in a historical neighborhood near downtown and the universities.

And here we are on December 30, 2019 still living "off the road" and loving our new life in our old house...

One week on the road

Today: June 4
One week ago today we pulled out from Kenney Grove Park

Miles traveled so far: 1160

Nights on the road:
- Four in California
- Two in Oregon
- One in Washington

Location:
Olympia, Washington

Outside: Deep green woods surrounding our little camper. Tall tall trees. So lush. Feels like a jungle. No other people or vehicles can be seen from my window

Hubby is: sleeping and gaining strength for another day of driving

Remembering: my dad who died eighteen years ago today

Recent happenings: fun visits with great people. First my aunt and uncle and cousin in southern Oregan and then a dear friend from 25 years ago near Portland

Surprises: Dolphins seen from our "camp-site" along the California coast; rice paddies in northern CA; corn growing in the fields - maybe 4 feet tall; very few wind turbines; a deer and two fawns

Discoveries:
Several long steep mountain grades - one of them was an eight-mile descent
Majestic pines and all kinds of lush green deciduous trees all through Oregon

Reading: Pulled out an old National Geographic article about the Pacific Crest Trail, but didn't get very far into it yet. Seems like I don't find much time to read on the road. Well, I do read things from the internet on my phone, but mostly use it for keeping in touch with people and especially for checking maps and finding fuel or lodging.

Working on:
- Streamlining my morning routines so that my husband doesn't have to wait for me when he is ready to disconnect the utilities or to pull out of camp
- Cleaning out our fridge to prepare for border crossing

Lessons learned:
- Be careful about pushing too far, too many miles for the day.
- Wash dishes early enough so they have time to air-dry before being packed away to hit the road.

Agenda: Driving across the border today

Looking forward to: being in Canada for the next few days

　

　

Travels with Steinbeck

John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley has been an inspiration to us in our own travels. A couple days ago we were able to visit the area where Steinbeck grew up and which became the backdrop for much of his writing.


Read some of my thoughts on that visit on the travel blog.

Camping on the Pacific Coast Highway

 

 What a cool place to camp! On our right side is the ocean and on the left is the Pacific Coast Highway - just inches away. So close that passing trucks cause this rig to sway like crazy. Actually even a small car going by gives us some pretty good sway. Basically we are parked on the shoulder of the road - albeit a nice super wide shoulder with painted lines to mark the parking/camping spots. Our rig fits site #56 perfectly without having to unhitch - with barely inches to spare. The front bumper of the truck is about two inches from the line and the spare tire on the back of the trailer might be hanging over the line by an inch. Just a few feet beyond and above the road are the railroad tracks - where Amtrak trains come by every so often. Above the railroad a few hundred feet is the busy traffic of the 101 - the major thoroughfare between west Los Angeles and San Francisco. How cool to have most of the traffic sounds drowned out by the sound of the surf.

 

 

For the five months we have lived here in southern California, we have been fascinated by this phenomenon of campers lined up for miles along the PCH and have wished we could join them. Well, now here we are! Yet another unexpected gift!