Have you ever felt like the carrot is hanging right in front of you, but it’s on a string and the magician keeps pulling it away from you? Kinda like Charlie Brown with Lucy pulling the ball away just as Charlie gives it his all to kick! We’ll that’s what most of 2014 felt like, a year of teaching me patience, “just be patient grasshopper”, the voyage will come. We finally got on the road, here’s an update on the last 2 months.
After selling my business, Durango Dogs in March I had hoped to sell my house likety split in May of last year, I sold it in November. The long wait helped me to heal from the losses of my Father and my dog, Minnie. The time spent waiting calmed me and allowed some stillness into my life that I had not had in a long time.
Then in November with a contract on my house came the “Oh, crap, I’ve got to pack up this house and get rid of most of this stuff and then move necessary things into a motorhome.” So I did purge, purged some more, moved all irreplaceable items into a 10’x10’ storage unit in Santa Fe, NM. I found the perfect motorhome from some friends in Durango, a 2001 Winnebago Minnie. A 24’ C class, very basic rig with lots of room for decorating! So I threw all last minute items into the rig on moving weekend and drove to Santa Fe where I promptly took over my Mom’s 2 car garage. Then more sorting, purging and moving into the motorhome occurred, all during winter weather! I spent a great 6 weeks with my Mom, enjoying the holiday times together with my sisters too.
Next stop, Sedona, to stay a week with good friends at their lovely home on the edge of open space. The Boys and I moved in with 3 cats! Mick gets pretty darn excited with cats, but after a few days, we had all critters passing each other and living quite comfortably. Blue Dog Cat, was a kitten that I had fostered and my friends adopted. I raised Blue with tons of dogs, but since he has not been around any other animals except for his cat housemates, he is very cautious around Mick and Romeo.
We had 8.5” of snow on New Year’s Eve, which ended our hiking due to lots of mud. So the boys and I enjoyed neighborhood walks after that. They got to attend 2 parties, which they enjoyed and were very good. They both do lap rotations, moving from one lap to another.
On Jan 5th, we made our way down to Phoenix and finally stayed in The Minnie, our rig for our first night. Yahoo! Usery Regional Mountain Park is on the East side of town, a county park that is gorgeous. Hiking trails, nature center and lots of nice people helped us feel welcome in Arizona. We spent 2 weeks in the area getting some body work on the rig, a few things fixed, a TV installed, new radio/speakers installed, several trips to Ikea for organizing things and more trips to the hardware stores! Now we are west of Tucson, hiking trails right out of the RV park.
In Santa Fe, The Minnie got a new floor and new cushions with fabulous new covers. The rig is getting more homey by the day. Will post some photos of it soon with more news on living small and all of the many life changes while living in a RV.
So grateful for all those who conspired and cheered me along to get here! Thanks for reading, love to hear from you.
You are an inspiration to so many of us that have a dream that has not come true yet. Perseverance and a clear goal have paid off. You’ll have to get a little carrot sticker and put it on the entry door of Mini. You’ll know the meaning behind it and it just may be a great conversation starter.
Safe travels out there my friend. Keep the tails from the road coming 🙂
Thanks Delilah for the kind words, we couldn’t do it’with out our fan club! We are looking forward to you joining us sometime soon.
Yes you are an inspiration! Truly living the dream. Looking forward to more pictures and tails from the road. My wild,wacky, brave, wonderfully amazing friend…..so proud you!
Keep the rubber on the road. XOXO 😀
Couldn’t do it without you sista! Thanks for the cheerleading, I need it somedays!
It sounds like you didn’t wait to get into the RV to enjoy some wonderful life events, like spending time with family and enjoying days of stillness. That bodes well for your future travels.
Can’t wait to see the interior pics of your new home. I’ve read advice from several cruising sailors to not live aboard your boat like you’re camping. You have to make it feel like home. Sounds like you’ve already learned that lesson for yourself.
Thanks for the note. Definitely not camping in here. Still working on getting rid of stuff, I laugh at what I “thought” I needed. It’s going to take a few more months to get it all dialed, each day brings new gifts of knowledge!
I’ve been lurking around your blog, meaning to leave a comment but usually I’m on my phone which is not comment friendly. Your desert photos make me a bit homesick. Anyway, I wanted to say that I enjoy your blog so much that I’ve nominated you for a Liebster award. I hope you’ll accept, but if not I’m still sharing how much I love your blog with everybody I know. I’m anxious to watch your adventures unfold. — Kelley