The Speed of Life on the Road

What a difference a week can make. Some things are the same: I am still very excited about the adventure, I still marvel at the kindness of strangers and the general "goodness" of people we encounter, I am still on a very steep learning curve, and I still long for friends and family. But there is one very important difference. I am realizing the value of slowing down.

Somehow I thought it would be a good idea to be in a different place four days in a row last week. Duh! It was exhausting! Not that I didn't have good reasons for scheduling it that way, but they weren't good enough to outweigh the exhaustion caused by packing up, driving, and setting up daily. When I first considered this adventure, I firmly believed that I could drive an RV as well as any male - that it did not require great feats of strength. And I was right. But driving is the easy part. It is the maneuvering, attaching and loading of the tow dolly, the strapping on and ratcheting of the car's tires, and the lifting and securing of the bikes on the rack that require strength... fortunately, not more than I have. But I can tell you that after doing it four days in a row, I was ready to park and go nowhere for awhile. Lucky for me, we were meeting friends here in this campground and have done just that!

Lesson learned: fewer locations, longer stays. I am determined not to carry my over-scheduling habit with us on this trip and burn out 2000 miles from home. I want my kids and I to enjoy this adventure and each other, so it's off to google calendar to make some adjustments to the itinerary... speaking of which, some of you have expressed an interest in meeting up with us along the way. I am attempting to put my google calendar on this blog so you have all our info in one place. Please know that it is subject to change until/unless I know someone is joining us :) But please join us!!!