This is either our best idea, or, quite possibly….one of our worst.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to a few two a.m. throat-shrinking twinges since we came up with this plan.
I can only say that after three weeks of brain-melting Puerto Escondido heat, too many margaritas, and a lot of palm-chattering time on our hands, well…our thoughts tended to wander in slightly askew directions.
How else could we have cooked up The Plan?
We began implementing the new idea as soon as we got back.
In fact, the day after we returned from Mexico, Kevin headed to Penticton. He returned with our new-to-us RPod 171 trailer also to be known as…OUR NEW HOME.
And…just like that…our tiny apartment suddenly feels quite expansive.
Damned spacious in fact.
Today at 1:30 p.m., a woman from Rent-it-Furnished.com will check out our place and we will list our furnished apartment out for one year – starting on May 1st.
And then, we will, as the song so eloquently says, hit the road. (Though there will be no one named Jack. Not, at least, as far as we know).
With that move we will become people of no fixed address. We will dress suspiciously like Olive Oil and Popeye with our drastically-reduced wardrobe. We will, in short, begin living a severely-edited version of our lives. Given the volume of condiments in my fridge door, the whole enterprise sounds both liberating and terrifying.
I laugh now at my former self who was losing her mind over downsizing to this apartment. “Ha!”, I want to yell at that three-year old version of myself, “That…was a walk in the park compared to this!”
Already, there are a few logistical issues. I’m flying to Quebec on a press trip in June but out of what airport? Where will we be? Wait! We planned to be in Saskatchewan by the end of May so why not fly out of and return from there? Okay. That one worked.
But then there’s the trip to Cape Breton for the TMAC conference. That’s near the end of June. Where will I be? What airport should I book? Um….no idea.
Other first world problems pop into my brain. Will we have room for the VitaMix? What about our new love affair with the yogurt maker?
Happily, we have storage lockers here at our apartment. They will soon be stuffed with all that we’re not quite ready to divest and will also be the repository for seasonal clothes and other props. In the fall we will find a place to rent or housesit or…something.
But really, there’s no point in planning too far ahead because who knows who we’ll meet or what we’ll find? (It might even be that elusive guy named Jack).
In May 2017 we can decide – good plan? bad plan?
And do we need a new plan?
….
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
… OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
WHAT A COOL JOURNEY!!!
My all-time favourite Dr. Seuss rhyme. Thank you Gwen. I’ve got my shoes full of feet and am ready to roll.
Mine too!
WOW! So cool cousin — do it before dementia or worse sets in. Love your sense of adventure and can’t wait for the stories.
I’ve always thought there was wisdom in this song and it seems to fit:
“Know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run”
Good luck and happy travels!
You’re right Martha. That song is a great fit to this latest move. It’s time to go on a bit of a walk…
Brave, adventurous, and even a little crazy, in a nice way! This simply does not sound like the Kevin I knew….waaay back when…Holy crap…you’ll be living some of my/our fantasies…and, the stories coming out of this adventure, are not to be missed. Can’t wait!!!!
Sophie. I think you’re right. This New plan is on the crazy side of the equation. I do believe there will be some good story material 🙂
How I envy your drive and imaginative spirit! Where will you go?
Good luck and keep in touch.
Hey Catherine. We’re starting to rough together some plans and dates for our new life on the road. Much of it will be up in the air but will (hopefully) become clearer as we go. I’ll be posting updates as we go…
Fantastic!!
Who knows where you’ll end up! If you make the UK, look Norah and myself up!
Good luck!
Carol ????
Hey Carol,
We would love to meet up with you and Norah in the U.K. Who knows where we’ll end up? We sure don’t!
Sounds like a perfect plan ! Really exciting. Please continue your blog so I can live your adventure vicariously.
Thanks Robin. I plan on writing lots of blog posts from the road. Stay tuned!
Holy Shiznet! You make my impulsivity look like stick-in-the-mud choices. Thank you for that. We will be dying to know how it all works out – and is Kevin working from, literally, the road? What about connectivity? We can hook you up with maker folks adept at ‘finding and leveraging nearby wifi’ if you want (I would want).
We have a dear friend who comes and stays in our yard, and last year was here about 9 weeks. I thought it would be a bit much but not so, we really miss her and want her to stay even longer in 2016.
I formally offer up our yard as a Sunshine Coast campground for you whenever you’re up. There is the little matter of getting the downstairs shower installed, but I suppose you will have your own as well.
Well you’re either brave or foolish, can’t wait to see which!
Kevin has gone rogue! He is officially freelancing as a strategist and business consultant.
Meanwhile, I can continue to do my writing assignments from wherever (I finished two pieces for BC Ferries onBoard magazine while we were in Mexico) and yes, WeeFee (as they say in France) is key to our lives.
Be careful what you offer. We might be stringing a big orange tarp up and cooking hot dogs in your driveway:)
Woohoo! As the past owner of a lovely Scamp that we sold when we moved into our current home, I wish you great fun on your travels and your pared-down life. I LOVED the times we traveled with our tiny trailer. Enjoy the adventure!
Thanks for the encouragement Shelly. When I panic as I look at my pile of shoes (!) I remind myself that it’s certainly more room than a backpack. We have our whole turtle shell with us wherever we go:)
Yesterday I met an 80 year old woman at the pharmacy. Hard not to notice her with her bright purple hair and matching purple cane. Intrigued I struck up a conversation with her. She told me that at age 75 she decided she had been a conservative, middle-of-the-road, unadventurous person long enough so she decided to get an orthodox tattoo on one arm which felt so liberating that in time one tattoo has become a collage. The new hair color she recently adopted was the most liberating of all she said as it was a statement to the world that she is free to be a rebel to society’s expectations of aging women. Not that I am insinuating that you are an aging woman yourself, of course.
Thanks for the purple-haired inspiration Bigi! I love, “…that she is free to be a rebel to society’s expectation of agin women.”
And no worries on the insinuation or lack thereof…it matters not.
I was looking down at my wrinkled hands the other day and after my first Holy Shit I’m old thought, I switched over to thanking my hands for being there through everything so far and thanked them as well for still working.
It was a nice reversal and I ended up smiling at my hands for probably longer than what is deemed normal – but then again, who determines normal anyway??
Trailer for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain’t got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin’ broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I’m a [wo]man of means by no means, king of the road.
I used to love love love that song! I’d completely forgotten about it. And yet…who knew it would be so prescient?
Yes, I suppose we should set up a rib-eye steaks minimum. You would have a nice fire pit and wood pile and fresh garden veggies…
Always key to have standards and protocols in place 🙂