From the Road: The Whole Truth Two Months Later

We have been on the road for almost 2 months now. Eight weeks and three days to be exact. Some days it seems like we’ve been doing this forever and other days I walk out of this motorhome door bewildered. We’ve spent our time in nine states so far- Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and a corner of Minnesota.

I have had friends write to me and say, yeah, but I want to know the truth. I want to know what’s really going on behind this blog of yours. The truth? I’ve been giving it to you. If you know me, you know I am not one to sugarcoat things. I am absolutely ok with being vulnerable.

On the other hand, I am a pretty positive and flexible person (as much as a Type A first-born woman can be) who can acclimate to most surroundings and happenings that come my way. I think this comes from the sporadic lifestyle I lived for years moving around for modeling. Then, I marry an NHL guy, and life continued to be on the move forcing me into embracing changes I really didn’t want to make. I’m pretty good at regulating my positivity and happiness and quickly getting myself out of any funk I may find myself in. With that being said…

The truth is….

This is my master bedroom by day. There is nothing Pinterest worthy about it whatsoever. It also sometimes serves as my laundry room and storage unit for the kids’ beds and bedding. I just try to look past it all because it could make me nuts if I didn’t.

We have been having as much fun as you have seen here. I keep us moving. I keep us adventurous and exploring. We had a lot of downtime in Coeur d’Alene, ID because two of the boys were in a hockey camp taking up most of our family time there. I actually enjoyed the downtime as we have been on the go ever since we pulled out of our driveway on June 2. I’m not sure what this camping lifestyle is doing to me. Hmmm..

I have only threatened to drive this rig back to Paradise Valley one time in the 4000 miles we’ve traveled. Not bad out of 8 weeks on the road in a small amount of living space with four children and a husband. Thank goodness there are no pets in this equation. We are good with the 6 breathing beings we have here. In my head I do sometimes question our sanity and if we can actually keep this up. I don’t really voice it though because I feel it’s like using the word divorce during your worst marital spat. You just can’t do it. Once you put the negative out there, it’s hard to take it back.

I have had times of missing my normal California summertime routine. Tradition is a hard thing to break. We have been spending our summers in Orange County for the past 11 years. We love everything about our place there and I miss seeing our friends and the white sand beaches.

Just a little shout out to our neighborhood beach in Dana Point, California.

Speaking of the white sand, I am not really a lake girl. We have been around a lot of lakes lately and they honestly make me miss California. Sorry lake folk. They are pretty to look at, but boy that lake “sand” can be downright gross. I left the downtown Coeur d’Alene beach with a dirty film all over me. Ick.

This lifestyle is definitely not for the weak or weary. Breaking down and setting up “home” takes a lot of work. There are a lot of things to remember and do each time we set up shop. Keith has to unhook and hook back up the car at every stop, as well as our electric, sewer, and water. There are so many things to unpack and pack back up each time. I think this is the toughest part. There are some days I simply don’t feel like doing all of it but you have no choice, so you just get ‘er done.

Our living quarters by day….

and tight quarters by night…This is a morning shot so not sure what happened to everyone’s sheets in the night, but we do have them!

Remember our kids are going on 13 and 11 so they are pretty independent making this a huge reason why we are doing this trip now. I see families at the campgrounds with toddlers and I feel so thankful that I am just dealing with tweens and their moods and messiness. They are actually pretty helpful overall.

We had one family lunch pow wow when we were in West Glacier. This is a lot of together time so of course, we are going to get on one another’s nerves at times. Everyone was getting snippy with each other that day, so we went around the lunch table airing our grievances with one another and then came back around to say what we were enjoying about each other. We were laughing and there were even tears. But, it was real and it helped diffuse all of us.

But, the truth is what you see here on the blog. It just all comes with a lot of planning, flexibility, and adaptability behind the scenes. Eight weeks down. Twenty-some to go. Gulp. Will we make it all the way around the US as we have planned? I think so. I hope so. God willing. But, only time will tell.

Our Route for the next month

Aug. 1-Aug. 3

St. Louis, MO

Aug. 4-7

Louisville, KY

Aug. 8-10

Indianapolis, IN

August 10-13

Cincinnati, OH

August 14-17

Mackinaw Island, MI

August 19-20