The Top 5 Questions I Am Asked About “The Trip”…Answered
As the day of my departure comes closer, more and more people have been asking me about “The Trip.” Well, I guess that makes sense since I leave in just 34 days! That’s just a little more than a month… and here I sit at home on a snow day in April1 CeeCee is buried in a recent 2 feet of snowfall, preventing me from getting her into the shop to have her engine checked out. Luckily, there’s still time – IF Spring ever arrives here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin!
So, while we wait for the thaw, here is a brief list of the questions I’m continually asked, and their answers.
1. “Why Is The Trip So Long?”
The short answer? The trip is 83 days long by design. John was hospitalized for 83 days last year. Each day, he was miserable. All he wanted was to be out of his hospital room and out in nature, in the camper, away from the stress and exhaustion of living in a hospital. The trip is 83 days long to take back every day that was stolen from him.
The long answer? Read Big Plans for the longer version on where we are going and why.
2. “Are All of Your Kids Going Along?”
At some points in the trip, all of my daughters will be with me. The “littles,” Anna, and I will be doing the entire trip together. I’m not sure about how much of the trip my oldest daughter, Alicia, will be able to join us for. My first major destination is California and her home. She will hopefully be able to come along for some of the stops after we get to her home, but that will be decided once we get there.
3. “Will You Be Sharing Any of the Driving?”
Yes, and No! I would be happy to share some of the driving! Anna has already driven CeeCee and lived to tell the tale! She wouldn’t be comfortable driving in mountains or through major cities, so any stretches that she takes on will have to be planned ahead of time. Alicia hasn’t said anything about driving CeeCee, so we’ll see about that!
Because I still hope to be a semi-truck driver some day in my life, I may NOT share! I love to drive; it calms me and makes me happy, so maybe I won’t? HA! I guess you will have to follow the blog in order to find out.
Which brings me to another point. Several people have said that they are no longer on Facebook due to the privacy issues that have recently come to light. They were worried that they wouldn’t be able to follow along on my trip. Well, there are several ways to follow other than Facebook. I have an Instagram account and a YouTube channel. Also, if you go to My Official Blog, there is a red subscribe button in the lowest part of the right column. If you subscribe to my blog by entering your email address, you will be sent an email every time I post something.
Many small pictures and videos will only be shared on Facebook, Instagram, and hopefully YouTube, so follow them all if you are really interested in everything we do! There are links to my accounts on the blog as well.
4. “Are Your Pets Coming Along?”
Yes. Our dog, Kricket, and our cat, Sadie, are coming along. I couldn’t imagine asking anyone to take them on for the entire length of the trip! I tested Sadie out last Thanksgiving when we took her to Tennessee in CeeCee for a week and she did just fine, right from the start! Kricket is a seasoned veteran at travelling!
Honestly, though, bringing them along is one of my biggest worries. Much of our trip will happen in the southwest and in the south during the hottest months of the year. CeeCee is our home and has air-conditioning, but the AC can fail, the electrical hookup can fail, and I want to be able to enjoy sightseeing without worrying about their safety. They both have had their vet checkups and shots, and I have papers so that they can stay at doggie daycares and kitty spas on occasion when we reach some destinations. I’ve already plotted some locations on my trip map.
Manny, John’s leopard gecko, will not be coming along. I’ve just started searching for a summer home for him. And funny… he would be the one who could handle the heat the best! Oh, well!
5. “Aren’t You Nervous?”
Yes, but not for the reasons that most people would be. I’m NOT nervous about driving 10,000 miles. I’m NOT nervous about breaking down. I’m NOT nervous about being away from “home” for so many days. I’m NOT nervous about getting everything “IN” that I want to do. When it comes down it it.. there are about 10 MUST DO things on the trip agenda. That will be another post!
I AM nervous about making sure that we have a place to stop and sleep each night. I’ve spent countless hours creating a trip map with locations of truck stops, WalMarts, and other spots with free overnight parking for times when I can or need to use them. I’ve also found several different types of campgrounds, but have only made one reservation. I have a campsite booked for the Grand Canyon because the dates I will be there are so close to the 4th of July that I felt it was safer to set up the reservation and then adjust it if I need to rather than rolling into the area with no place to sleep or plug into electric if it’s brutally hot.
I AM nervous about being able to manage this highly mobile lifestyle for 83 days. I don’t plan to be staying in one place for more than 2 or 3 days (except for the town in California where Alicia lives). I will drive no more than 8 hours on any given day, so there will be a lot of living on the road, which I’m excited about. This “agenda” is going to be a daily regimen for me. This will be especially hard since I often struggle to even sit up each morning and get out of bed, get dressed, and leave the shelter of my room or my classroom at work. I hope that by venturing out into nature, my soul, my girls’ souls, and even John’s soul will once again heal, and that each day will bring some small excitement rather than overwhelming sadness. And that would be a new and welcome feeling for me.
And, a bonus question that no one asks, but I think is on many people’s minds…
6. Is John Coming Along?
Yes, he is.
No, I will not be leaving his ashes at different stops. I had thought of doing that and personally loved the idea, so I asked all of my daughters what they thought. Three of my daughters thought it was a great idea, and one of them did not. She said that she didn’t like the idea of her daddy not being “whole” and didn’t like that parts of him would be left all over the place. Having lost my father when I was a young girl, I understood her point immediately. So, John will come along and I have plans for him. He will be returning home in one piece.
Hopefully, so will we!
If you are interested in learning more about RVing, here’s Everything You Need to Know!
