Uncategorized

So here we are at the end of week two of Michele and Darryl’s Excellent Adventure spending a few days in Nashville, TN.  It is always so wonderful to be in Nashville visiting family and friends – too much food, definitely too much wine, too much laughter (is there such a thing?), and wonderful conversation.  It’s no wonder this is our third trip to Nashville in the last year – and why Nashville has moved up on our list of places to live after the trip!  Many, many thanks to my Cousin Chris and his wife Marci, my Aunt Janice, and great friends Missey and Brad for taking time to get together with us during our stay!  You have no idea how much your excitement for our trip and your words of encouragement mean to us!

As I’ve mentioned, we wanted to start the trip in familiar places with friends close by to help us get into the swing of things – and Nashville is the last stop on the “friends and family” section of the tour.  From here, we head north into the real beginning of the adventure.

Two weeks in, and we still have our good days and bad days – I’d love to say that we are adjusted and comfortable with our new routine and raring to go into the Great White North.  But I’d be lying to say that we have it all worked out just yet and that we aren’t still more than a little anxious and nervous about the next phase of the trip.

It has definitely surprised us how much time we have spent working, and how at times it feels like we have just sat in the trailer all day and worked, had dinner, watched some basketball (Go Spurs and Wizards!), and gone to bed… just like any other night.  We have had to have a few honest conversations about the impact of our jobs – neither of us really expected to be working during this trip so we’ve had to reset our expectations a bit.  We’ve also had to think long-term about the time commitment to work and the impact that will have – do we really WANT to work this entire year?  Can we afford to?  Can we afford NOT to?

We had a 10 hour drive today (because we kind of screwed up our scheduling in Nashville – still not sure how that happened!) and we spent the first few hours talking about our thoughts and feelings so far into the trip.  We actually came up with a name for it – the trip-o-meter.  At least once a day we check in with each other on how we are feeling that day (from 1-10 – decimal points and fractions are encouraged).  I think it says a lot about the strength of our relationship that we’ve both made a real point of checking in with the other person and discussing the good and the bad of this trip – frustrations, issues, as well as what IS working for us.  When you are sharing 400 square feet, communication is pretty important!  LOL

This morning was a low – a 500 mile drive ahead of us, still anxious about the setup of our rig, making it to Alaska by Memorial Day… the fear that because we aren’t “settled in” yet does that mean that this isn’t for us?  Or maybe we are just overthinking it?  Maybe we just need to not worry so much and deal with things as they come?

By mid-day we were feeling better about things – driving through Louisville, KY in picture-perfect weather (sun shining brightly, 75 degrees) will do that for you I think.

And after a VERY long driving day we got to the campground, settled in and ate dinner, and actually started talking about how excited we are about heading into Canada to parts unknown (to us at least).

The “success” of this trip (if there is such a thing as “success” or “failure” for this kind of thing) is 100% contingent on our frame of mind and how we deal with the daily issues and challenges that will come up (and they will come up – there is no doubt about that).  It’s funny – we both knew that this trip was going to be a completely new paradigm for us but somehow we are both surprised at the unexpected ways we are feeling it.  But I guess that’s the good thing… we are both feeling it – and it is new, exciting and scary all wrapped up in one big silver package.

 

Since we weren’t expecting to be in Chattanooga, TN we hadn’t really looked into things to do in the area.  We aren’t really the type to do a bunch of touristy things…. but sometimes when in Rome…

The campground happens to be very close to Lookout Mountain – which boasts several attractions including a place called Rock City.  It looked pretty cool – so we decided to check it out – plus every time I saw the name “Rock City” I could hear KISS singing “Detroit Rock City” in my mind…

We were expecting a small state park-like area with a parking lot and maybe a wooded trail.  Not so fast my friend…. this was more like a small-scale Disneyland.  A little confusing, more than a little expensive.  But when they say you can see 7 states from the overlook, who can refuse?

I have to admit it was pretty cool – the view was pretty awesome.  And did I mention the weather has been freaking amazing for the past few days?

Here are Darryl and I at a section of the path called “Fatman’s Squeeze.”  I’m guessing they named it that a LONGGGGGGG time ago….just a wee bit political incorrect, no?

Sometimes even a tourist trap can be pretty impressive.

 

So it is the end of the first week of our adventure – one down and 51 to go?  LOL  And while I can’t say that we have it all figured out, we are working out the bugs and getting the last of the kinks worked out so that we are ready to head north in less than two weeks.

It’s funny how when you are open to it, inspiration can come from the most unlikely places.  Since Darryl and I are both trying to work along the way, internet and cell connectivity have become much more of a priority than we had expected.  We purchased a WIFI booster before the trip, and that has already come in handy to give us workable WIFI in the campgrounds that offer internet.  But state and national parks don’t always offer these kinds of amenities – and even cell signal can be problematic if you are even just a bit off the path.  And even though the state park we stayed at in Columbia is just yards from a commercial area, we were having problems getting our work done.

So we stopped at the Verizon store in Columbia to find out about personal WIFI hotspots and how it all works.  Have I mentioned how NICE everyone is in the south?  Our sales person was a stunning young lady with an engaging personality – and she could not have been more knowledgeable or nicer.  It is so nice when salespeople are actually helpful, no?  Anyway… we were still a little down about some of the challenges we were still working out, so we were telling her about our trip.  She said “you know, you’ve done the hard part – you started.  Most people never even start – they just talk about it, but never actually DO it.”

And you know what?  She is absolutely right.  And I don’t think any of us give ourselves enough credit for the things we do – big and small.  Sometimes you just have to say “yes” and see where you go from there… what a powerful message, and just the one we needed to hear.  There are angels everywhere – and she was ours that day.

We are still working to create our “normal” for this trip, and still working out the kinks.  But every day it is a little easier, and getting a little better.  It has helped tremendously that we’ve been in familiar spots, with friends and family close by to keep us uplifted.

We have been hanging out for a few days now in Charleston, SC with our good friends the Carretta’s – and decided to hang out for another night and rearrange a bit of our schedule for the next few days.  The weather here has been spectacular… time for a walk and a paddle on the pond!

It’s the end of Day One now – and we are still speaking to each other!  LOL

Up early in Charlottesville after a fairly restful night’s sleep (it’s GOOD to have Air Conditioning and HOT WATER!).  We are struggling a bit with all of the changes – we have no idea where anything is, even though we just put it there last night!  LOL  Packing up to head out didn’t take nearly as long as usual… because we don’t really have to pack anything up anymore!  Weird… it still hasn’t hit me that we won’t be coming “home” in a few days – and I’m not sure it will for quite some time.  It might not even be until we cross the border headed for Alaska… time will tell.

Today was another test of our patience and our ability to work together to solve problems – and I’m guessing we are going to get a LOT of practice at that this year!

The day started off well… got out of Charlottesville early, and on the road.  Stopped in Lynchburg to get gas and kept heading south.  We are caravanning during this part of the trip – I’m selling my Honda to a friend in Charleston and we’ll be dropping that off later this week – so I’m following behind.

I’m not sure which is more stressful – being in the truck and being worried about the trailer and everything in the back or being in a car following the truck/trailer.  Regardless, we pull out of the gas station and about a half mile down the road I see a kayak fly off the back of a truck.

Well…. Shit……

The kayak scored a 10 for the dismount – and all of the cars around us also scored 9-10 for evasive maneuvering.  The kayak survived with a few scratches after I rescued it off Southbound 29 and fortunately no cars were injured.  Darryl was able to pull off in a large parking lot, and we got the kayak strapped back in (double straps) and continued on our way.  Of course – we stopped at least every half hour for the rest of the day to check and make sure everything was still in place.

Top Gear Top Tip – check your straps every time you stop!

When you ride motorbikes, there is this “thing” called Motorcycle Miles… basically, 50 or 60 miles takes MUCH longer on a motorbike (for some of us at least) than it does in a car.  No idea why – you’re going the same speed – but it just seems to take SO much longer!  Same rules apply in an RV – especially when you are driving like a 90 year-old grandmother after Sunday School.  It took us FOREVER to get to Columbia today – but we did at least manage the rest of the drive safely.

Top Tip – Subway… NEVER eating there again… never, never never…. There will be NO MORE convenience food on this trip.

On a good note – people in the South are SO freaking NICE!  Once we got to Columbia, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up wine (of course we did – don’t be ridiculous!).  We must have looked lost, because a woman in the store (who did NOT work there BTW) asked if she could help us find something.  Really?  How cool is that?  In DC she would have run over you with the cart to cut in front of you at the check-out line!  And the cashier was just so lovely – just a wonderful southern lady.  The South has its flaws for sure – but it is just so NICE that they are so NICE down here!  I’ll take more of that this year please!

But the BEST thing about being in Columbia is getting to see Lexie and her boyfriend Matt in just a few hours for cocktails!  (sidenote – when you kids get older, it kind of sucks because that means you are getting older too… but it’s kind of awesome when you can go out for cocktails with your kids!  Trust me on this one….)

Hanging in Columbia for three days… yippee!  Let the adventure begin!

The Wine:  Cupcake Chardonnay

The Menu: BBQ Pork Chops with steamed broccoli and a side salad.  Pretzels with honey-mustard dip appetizer.