Home on Wheels

Before we left town five months ago we spent two months living in the RV in someones back yard while we tried to work out some of the bugs in the system. We both worked and kept going about life like we would otherwise except that we came home to this beast every night instead of an apartment. My friend Jessi sent me a link to this blog and I began to wonder. I have never really felt like anywhere that I have lived is "home". People tell me all the time that they show up someplace and just know instinctively that it is where they are supposed to be. Some tell me that they finally found the place they call home and that they will die there. But I have never had that experience. Like Meg, I hang things, play music, have familiar things and watch Star Trek to make it feel like the place I live but it never feels permanent.
So far we have been on the road for five months. I miss my bathtub more than I can explain. No hot shower anywhere on the planet can substitute a hot bath. I miss just being able to stop at the end of the day and not do anything and lazy mornings to just lay around. I miss just jumping in the car to run and grab lunch with Jason or poking my head in across the hall to say hello to Erin, Jeramiha or Tyler. I miss the extra room and/or space to go when you get on someones nerves or they get on yours. To be honest, there aren't a lot of places to go in a twenty four foot long box when you are cranky.
But I think that everything comes with a trade as well. No matter what, I have my house with me. You know that brush you forget to pack or your prescription that didn't make it in the bag right before you left. It's in the RV just outside the door now. When people say things like "Where do you live?" we just tell them that we live in the yard outside. Despite having to drag the generator outside and plug it in every time we want to watch television it is actually very efficient to have everything that you need in one room. Every night we tidy things up a bit, make dinner, do dishes and curl up on our couch/table to watch Star Trek while the generator hums under our feet just on the other side of the door. I don't think that I want to be in here forever but as my friend Jena would say... I live here now.

Some Facts and Figures

Since I haven't posted for awhile I thought that I would start out again with some basic stats on the trip so far.

We have been living in the RV, Abenteuer for about six months and been on the road about four and a half months.

We have driven over 9000 miles through 22 states most of which we have had the chance to visit and see interesting things.

We have replaced three alternators, found four leaks and been on fire once.

We have replaced one GPS, bought one heater and a generator.

We have taken the 1975 Dodge Sportsman Travelcraft with the 360 engine through over 10 major mountain passes including the highest altitude on highway 80 in Wyoming which is over 8000 feet above sea level.

We have couchsurfed 7 times and had a fabulous time with everyone we have met through that program.

We have visited old friends and met so many new ones. We have also missed many people along the way but hope to catch time with them the next time around.

It hasn't always been easy and sometimes I feel like this may have been a poor life choice. But days like today when we are sitting with good people and enjoying new things I know that it was a good choice.