After 10 very long days of driving we finally made it to paradise/Texas. We learned 2 important lessons on our first long trek. One is do not drive over 8000 ft. mountain ranges and the second is make your children go to the restroom when you stop for gas (even if they say they don't have to go) or you will be making an emergency stop on the side of the freeway 5 miles down the road. It was an awesome drive all in all and we had a great time. Our first stop was in Vegas where we ate some incredibly delicious ice cream on the strip and watched the fountains of the Bellagio with the kids. We even saw Darth Vader but no amount of bribery would convince the kids to get their picture taken with him. We stopped in an awesome park near Phoenix called Pleasant Harbor to visit an old dear friend of Jenny's which she hasn't seen in quite a while. After Phoenix we made our way through New Mexico where we stayed for one night at Tom's RV park in Sorocco, NM, which we will not be recommending to ANYONE. We saw aliens in Roswell and went deep into the earth at Carlsbad Caverns (if you haven;t been here put it on the list). And finally we rolled into Corpus Cristie last night after a couple of days in San Antonio for a well needed rest. The Spanish Missions are worth noting and are very neat places if you are ever in the area. We are meeting Grandpa later this afternoon and I am taking vacation all of next week to meet some of my great uncles and aunts. Sorry I haven't posted more during the drive but it was pretty much non-stop driving, sightseeing and sleeping.
So to my utter amazement we somehow managed to empty our house in a week while having Christmas and moving into our trailer. We even somehow managed to clean and patch all the holes in the walls. We basically have spent the last 48 hours nonstop working because we decided to leave a few days early. Joel & Becky are awesome and came over to help us during crunch time and Miguel did too. Thanks you guys sooo much. Anyway we are leaving in the morning at first light to begin our new life and I am going to take one last bath in the wonderful jetted tub. It seems so weird that this will probably be the last time in our house. I am really looking forward to getting out of this %^&$#@$ snow and ice and into the sunshine. Goodbye Hooper. Well today was very long but very productive towards our goal. We picked up our new home on our way back from the ranch (pics) here. This last week has seen us shift into overdrive. Grandpa is planning a trip to Corpus Christi and will only be there from Jan 3rd through Jan 18th. If we don't get on the road soon we will miss our chance to meet that whole side of my family and this may be our last chance. With that in mind we decided we had to get the trailer now. So we scrambled to get the hitch installed on the truck and after a lot of looking we decided on a trailer and got it. Now that it is sitting in our driveway the real fun begins. We only have about two weeks to get everything moved out of the house, get our trailer loaded with everything we will need and sell the rest. We have now passed the point of no return. So we have discovered that deciding to sell everything and hit the open road and actually doing it, are two very different things. We are going to be steadily whittling away at our vast collection of useless junk over the next few months while we wait for our home to sell. It certainly seems daunting right now. The list seems very large as I scroll through it in my head. All of the projects on the house that need to be completed, the services we will need to cancel and figuring out what we will need to keep or throw out. The other hard part is not having the RV yet, because we don't even know how much room we will have. It's a bit like trying to pack for a vacation but you don't know where you're going, how you're getting there, or what you will be doing when you do get there. All in all this is pretty stressful, and we are starting to question the sanity of this plan. Oh yeah and Christmas... I don't recall exactly when we started to talk about selling everything and starting over as nomads but it was at least 3 or 4 years ago. It started out as a joke, a laugh it off as absurd idea that we would kick around and fantasize about. It was our go-to suggestion when things would start to get too stressful or mundane. Recently things have changed in our life as things tend to do. Jenny finally quit her job of 10 years to spend more time at home with Tanner and Evan before they are heading off to college. As part of this change we have been discussing our options and after alot of number crunching and comments like "do you really think we can pull this off?" we decided today that we ARE doing this. It is an exciting and very scary feeling but I think we are both committed to this idea and we are going to see if we can make this fantasy a reality. We are all to often caught up in our daily routine to take the time to slow down and breathe in the world. To really look at it. To smell it. To connect with it. There are schedules to keep, bills to pay, kids to feed, and the ever present drive to be successful. What happens after you get there? When you have finally passed all of the lower levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The final step, self actualization. To pursue your inner talent and creativity. I made a valiant effort to fulfill this final step while working in corporate America. I worked on projects of all shapes and sizes. Humanitarian missions to help the community and training seminars to inspire others to succeed. You name it. I tried it. All to often volunteering for anything that seemed like a new challenge and inspired me I have been working for a fantastic company with a boss that I love. Our friendship has been ten years of blood, sweat, and tears. "Like" just doesn't cut it after working together that long. She gets the credit for helping me become the person that I am today by always believing in me. Two weeks ago I gave her my notice. Today is my last day. It has been a tear filled goodbye, but my resolve is cemented. I have made that final decision. My path has irreversibly shifted. I have been in the driver's seat for to long. It is time for me to pull over and get out of the car. Stretch my legs. Maybe smell a wild flower or two. It is time for a new journey. |
Author'sStephen Buck (35) Archives
November 2014
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