Ever seen the magazine Real Simple? It’s about half an inch thick and weighs as much as the Sunday paper. I have always mocked it (in my own mind anyway) for not being real or simple. But now I see I’m being a hypocrite. You see, the idea of this trip, which crystallized in our minds last spring on a trip to Sesame Place with Elise, was in part to simplify our lives. We expected to sell our house and divest ourselves of, not all, but a significant portion of stuff; to not focus on the schedules of jobs, school and lessons, but instead on the vast and diverse geography of a country we’ve hardly seen; and to enjoy the company of each other and strengthen our little family. Then I realized I would have to learn all about RVs and how they operate. Ugh.
As you can see in Danine’s previous posts, we’ve come a long way in understanding trailers and how they run. We’ve even bought our rig for the trip: A Nissan Titan crew cab pick-up and an Airstream Safari trailer. ‘Course these components are currently 600 miles apart and neither of us has any experience driving a truck with a trailer in tow. Soon and very soon.
So our planning continues and it’s a mix of cool National Park guides, talks with people who’ve been to this or that beautiful place, and poring over maps (which is fun regardless). Oh, and it includes lots of reading of vehicle manuals, analysis of gross vehicle weight ratings and similar statistics, and figuring out what to sell/give away and when to do it and where to put the left over stuff. It ain’t simple, but it’s real.
Elise’s exuberant presence provides perspective of course. Her energy and inventiveness tend to push us back to the present: we already are a great little family, experiencing life and discovering and enjoying many things right here. Gotta keep all that in mind…
January 4, 2007 at 1:39 am
That’s great. Best wishes on your trip and you had better make it down to San Antonio. I get a trip of my own but will be back by the end of May. Look us up.
January 8, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I’m so excited for you! I highly recommend stopping in Utah. Southern Utah and Moab is beautiful with all the red rock and desert. Also, the Canyons of northern Utah (Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyon) and Zion National Park are incredible!
) I wish I were going with you guys, it will be an AMAZING experience and I wish you all the best of luck. I can’t wait to see the pictures!
If it is any help, I drove a 16 foot moving truck with a car trailer attached to it cross country. It wasn’t too difficult except you learn very quickly why you have side mirrors since you can’t see out the back!! Also, truckers are your best friend on the road. I would definately have a CB handy so you can learn about traffic jams ( hear some very interesting stories/jokes for entertainment) and they are also on the road 24/7 and are courteous i.e. they will flash their lights at you to let you in, they know the road a lot better, so just kind of keep an eye out for them. I know, you’re probably thinking I’m strange to say that, but seriously, when I was driving cross country (done this twice now) the truckers were the nicest ones on the road, and we saw several truckers pull over to help a stranded family in a car, help someone change a tire, ect. And a lot of times, when there is 100 miles between you and the next Anything (there are stretches where it is just you and the road and miles and miles of nothing) and your cell phone won’t work, a CB is the next best thing to call for help on the emergency channel.