Goin' Road Trippin'

Flower Power!

To become a flower, you may have to go through the poo.

Really, that might have poop on it?! — Ewww, that might have poop on it?!

What should you do when you dig yourself a hole? I say plant those seeds of knowledge, work through the crap and come out the other side, blossoming into a better version of who you were when you started.

Springtime showers and pretty red flowers. — Use tulips to say no, when you don’t know

After weeks of beating myself up, I really only have a bruised ego, and a bucket of regrets for not listening to my gut about the banana. You would think that after praying for a sign, having to go to three different banks and saying, ” I think this is a sign” we would have taken a step back. Nope, we just powered through. Now that We’ve festered in this feeling long enough, Let’s hope we have the wisdom to make better choices when faced with uncertainty, and listen to those signs!

If you can’t tell, we’re still not happy with the RV. For different reasons than you would think. The Blue Banana has taught us many things in the short time we have had it, most importantly, we’ve realized that a class A is not the right rig for us. We have decided on a 5th wheel and here’s our reasons why.

-More stuff for the bucks

-More room

-still have place to sleep if truck needs repair

-Feels more like a home

-easier to back up

-we can have 2 toilets!

-if we got a toy hauler and papa needs to use his walker, we have a ramp

Why didn’t we figure this out before? Maybe we weren’t meant to? Thank the good Lord we figured it out before we hit the road! Maybe because I read that class A’s are easier to just hop in and drive off. Or that they are used by many full-timers. Also that we wanted to see the country through that huge front window. But We weren’t thinking about the overall experience and what would be best for us. We thought about the driving, making sandwiches on the road and being able to go to the bathroom without stopping every hour for me. I wanted to do what was the norm. How silly to think we should do what is the norm! That’s what this journey is about, going your own way, not conforming.

Dude, you're going the wrong way! Jump up Johnny! — You go your own way, Johnny jump around!

Sometimes ya gotta go the wrong way to find your own way. So, lets hope that this is more of an emotional lesson than a financial one! Maybe someone will fall in love with the Blue Banana.

Just to update you on the list of frustrations with the banana. R&R looked the whole RV over, no mold was found (common in older RV’s), the engine is solid (huge plus),the generator they said take to cummins (ugh), but that clunking…there were no nuts holding the bolts in the sway bar! Seriously!

Awww man, sway it isn't so! — Awww man, sway it isn’t so.

The mechanic, Steve, who is awesome, was amazed that the thing didn’t fall apart on us when we drove it home from Portland. In response I said, ” that’s called the hand of God. ” Even when we don’t listen to him, he keeps us safe!

Lost in Uncertainty

We bought an RV.

It’s a 92 Holiday Rambler Imperial. We saw it on craigslist, decided to drive to Portland that night (a 6 hr drive) and stayed at Cindy’s house. Made it to Portland around midnight, woke up at 6:30 and was off to look at what we hoped would be “the one”. We were certain we did our homework. What to check out, what to look for, not to rush into anything. We said to each other, if we have any doubts we wont get it.

It was super clean, great shape for its age and a spacious layout. Rushed for time because I had to work the next day, I had my doubts, and felt uncertain, yet we still pushed through the process. We looked over the fact that the generator didn’t work, or the steps, or the camera. We just wanted to head home with our new old RV, figuring we can work out the kinks later. Now, two weeks later, there is a super loud clunking when Mitch drives down the road, it is still at RnR RV repair shop. But hey, we made it from Portland to Spokane, that’s a plus. How is it that we make such rash decisions with something that can effect our future? Are we so excited about finally finding something that looks nice in our price range that everything else goes out the window? Is it that we are the glass is half full, who cares if there’s a crack in the glass kind of people? Seriously self, C’mon! Since this purchase, my excitement has gone down the drain. I’ve just shut down and checked out for now. I’ve lost my mojo. Where did you gooo mojo? Maybe i should make myself a new motto, something like, If there’s any doubt, you should do without. Hmmm, i like it. Now to implement new set motto with conviction!

So as blessed and blissful as we were with the CRV purchase, not so with the RV. I am still on the fence about what we now call The Blue Banana. Mitch wants to pick it up this week and pressure wash it. I am dreading the idea of even dealing with it. Lets just say I had envisioned feelings of certainty, excitement and peace with this purchase, that has not been the case. So the jury is still out, only time will tell if we’ll keep it, sell it and hope to get our money back or dig ourselves a deeper hole. Lets just hope that whatever lesson we were meant to learn, we do, so as not to repeat it again!

Papa and the Keurig Coffee Maker

Not your average joe…

Pops likes his coffee strong, you know the kind that would take paint off a wall and make the average joe not sleep for days. Mitch and I are medium strength coffee drinkers. We thought that getting a Keurig would solve our usual two coffee makers situation for living in the RV. So far not the case, we wrapped up our old machine the first day and showed pops how to make his Folgers with the reusable my K cup. It wasn’t strong enough, he kept on using his maker. We did research to try and make it stronger, from pressing it down ( which you aren’t supposed to do) to taking the plastic from a used disposable k cup and putting the reusable one inside of it to slow down the water flow in hopes that it would be stronger. Nope. A few days pass, pops tries another cup and says, “I can get used to it, it’s not that different.” He cleans out his coffee maker sets it on the dinning room table and I show him again how to set it for the morning. When I come downstairs there is a half a pot of coffee sitting on the stove, but the maker is still sitting on the dinning room table. So it has gone this way for a few days now, he tries one from the Keurig and ends up making a pot the old fashioned way. The fancy buttons and sizes keep throwing him off and he just isn’t ready to give up having coffee the way he has for 50 some years. So, as with change, it may take time, but I know he will adapt. Today, for the first time in his life he made spaghetti and it was yummy! Ok, not the sauce, that came from a can. But knowing he is still up to trying to do new things at 72 makes me so proud and grateful that he’s my dad!

April showers bring daffodil flowers, and many people to our yard sale!

After 6 full days of cleaning, pricing, organizing and stresserizing we had our sale. Half of the day on Thursday Mitch and Eli put up tarps because the forecast called for lightning and buckets of rainfall. Friday came and the tarps were like toilet paper going down the drain, flopping around with the current. After sections of the rope gave way, we gave in and took it all down. We prayed about it, let the worry go and went with the flow. We set up throughout the house, left things in the yard that could get wet and utilized garage. Saturday came and so did the people, and the rain…. Not so much! Thank the good Lord for making it such a great day in every way! Cindy was such a big help, rearranging things, making sure they were visible and just being her great self. It was laid back, but busy. We made a good dent in thinning out our belongings and put the proceeds in our RV savings!