The plan is: there is no plan

This blog will not be a “how to” guide, that is for damn sure.

The questions we get asked the most are “where are you going?” and “when are you leaving?” They’re good questions. Ones I would definitely ask me if I were on the other side of the conversation. And we’ve gotten some weird looks when we’ve replied “no idea” and “don’t know.” The best answer we’ve landed on is, “the plan is, there is no plan.”

Our timeline has changed so many times, it doesn’t make sense to have one anymore. We were originally going to sell our condo in the Spring of this year, but then my partner called me one day while I was at work last autumn and told me he simply couldn’t do it anymore. “We have to get out of here,” he said. And I said, “Okay, let’s do it.” And everything has been complete chaos since then.

But we did it. We sold the condo, got rid of most of our belongings, and crammed the rest into a storage unit. We took the dogs and moved in with my parents while we shopped for our Airstream and our tow vehicle, and by then it was the end of May.

We’ve taken our time gathering supplies, learning how to operate the systems in the Airstream, and tying up loose ends with our in-person jobs. The trailer had to go back to the dealership for a few days to fix some more problems that we discovered once we got it home, but we tried to take it in stride and consider everything a learning opportunity. We got more practice towing, I got more practice backing up and parking it (and hope to one day not have a complete mental breakdown during that process), and we were able to see how the dogs would react to being in the truck while we were towing. They didn’t even notice.

Now it’s the beginning of August. We have a lot of maybes and what ifs but have only gone on one official camping trip. For two days. But it’s okay. We’ve got our home base, organizing the trailer and the truck is finally coming together, and luckily our work is very flexible right now. We are so fortunate that this is our situation and that literally making our dreams come true is the current source of our stress and anxiety. Did I picture this whole process going very, very differently? Yes, I did. But considering how far we have come, all of the work and effort that we’ve put into this, and how much we’ve learned before we’ve even really started, I am very proud of us and am trying not to worry too much about the future. We’ll figure it out. We’ve already proven to ourselves that we can get this far.

So. The plan continues to be no plan. But part of this lifestyle is embracing the unknown and taking each day as it comes. Who would’ve guessed that would be the hardest part? I thought it was going to be dumping the waste water tanks XD

The tragic tale of our first camping trip is coming soon…