20 Days, and Counting

Just before we started the trip, a wise woman (experienced in family RV travel) told me, “The first week is fun, the second week you’ll want to quit, and the third week it’s your new normal.”

That’s been about right.

The first week or so did indeed feel like “vacation.”  Everything about the RV was new to us- the tight quarters, rookie visits to the laundromats and quirks of minute-long on and off showers were a novelty, and the creativity required in prepping and cooking meals with limited space made for a fun challenge (I do love my 8qt Instant Pot, by the way!).

In contrast, the scenery and the route were very familiar.  It’s the same trip we’ve made the past three years on our way to central Oregon.  So we hit several of our favorite fun stops in Bozeman and Missoula (both places you really should visit if you haven’t) and enjoyed some reminiscing.

When it came time to break from the usual route, a big part of me wished we were heading on West to settle in for a month, to spread out in a rental house with our dear Alison, just like usual.  And then I reminded myself that this trip is about finding the unknown and uncomfortable on new roads, with new people, in new places.  

As we turned North to Yellowstone and Glacier, and then into Canada, things started to get real.  Real in the “no turning back” sense.  Real in the “we are now living in this box on wheels, getting really far from home…and this is no vacation” sense.  Even though everyone we meet in Canada says, “What a holiday!”

My friend was right, the second week is hard.  Several things about our RV Maria aren’t as sturdy as we expected.  Things break or leak or go wrong almost on a daily basis.  (It’ll be another story to tell you about all the ways my partner is impressing me in his ability to navigate, maintain and repair our new home and a love that is rooting deeper as I see his daily care for all of us and this big rig).

The fact is, going from six people in a large home, with a yard and a whole neighborhood to play in to a 200 square foot home with constantly changing and unknown surroundings IS the challenge we expected it would be.

For example, when we spend nights without the slide extended, Ryan has to crawl over me to get in and out of bed.  And without the slide extended, we can’t access much of our clothing, so we have to plan ahead and rearrange things.  But we’re learning.

We store our dirty laundry baskets in the shower, so when we use the shower, the baskets get lined up in the space between our bed and the bathroom and we have to climb over them.  The showers are short, the water only on as needed to wet and rinse.  But they are mostly warm.  And I’ve learned that my showers at home were 10 times longer than they needed to be!

The kids sleep a lot on the days we drive, and we play a lot on the days we don’t have far to go.  Everyone exercises as often as possible.  Ryan has visited several Crossfit gyms and I’ve been able to maintain a basic training routine so far, though I miss my normal yoga classes and the camaraderie of my team.

In just 20 days, we’ve seen some of the most stunning landscapes I’ve ever witnessed, and my runs near Banff in Canmore, AB, were the most beautiful of my life.  I’m already looking forward to going back there someday.

We’ve so far been blessed by the kindness of several strangers, including two named Brian.  One gave us a place to park Maria several nights in Calgary and the other gave us a ride in the pouring rain.  And we’ve met many interesting people, like Marco Meza, a very friendly Mexican/Canadian at Expo Latino in Calgary, AB.

There is a personal vulnerability out here that is mostly unavoidable and it’s getting us uncomfortable in major ways.  We are close to each other and lots of strangers every day with none of our usual social escapes.

And with 20 days behind us, I think we’ve made it though our “vacation,” our hard week, and onto our normal.  Not that there won’t be a little of each mixed in along the way.  But we press on with the intention to show grace to each other and bless others with a little Sunnyside6 kindness and love as we continue on down the road, outside the bubble we’ve burst.