Transition

I was driving in June 2015 day dreaming about where I could go. I don’t mean for a trip, but to live. I’d only been in Florida a year so I started beating myself up for thinking about it. What’s the matter with me? Why can’t I be happy in one place life everyone else?

I had an epiphany. What if I’m not supposed to be in just one place? What if I’m the kind of person who is meant to wander and explore? It was like a huge weight had been lifted off me.

I kicked the idea around for about a month before running it past a friend. I told her I had decided to sell the house, buy a travel trailer, and travel full-time. Her response? She said when I talk about travel I totally light up. She could totally see me traveling full-time.

Coincidentally my volunteering had opened a door that would facilitate travel. I had totally fallen in love with working with visitors. It was so much fun answering questions, making suggestions, making their visit even more fun than it would have been. Then there was the chance to just visit with them. I had heard so many cool stories, felt a connection with so many people. So the plan became to go from park to park and volunteer.

But did I ever have a lot to do before then.

I started with the craigslist ads. Taking pictures, writing up ads, posting those ads, relisting them over and over when the item didn’t sell. Then a planning calendar. I wanted to hit the Dallas area to store my stuff in July or August and move into a travel trailer that I would have to buy between now and then. That meant I would have to list my house May 1st assuming it would take 3 months to sell it. Then have a volunteer position line up to start in October.

And the list went on and on and on.

So here I sit in my Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BHS on August 19th. I’ve already been in the Dallas area two months. I listed the house May 1st and it sold the first week. Do you believe it? Even pushing closing as much as I could I had to be out of the house by June 15th. in three years I’ve gone from 2300 sq ft in Texas, to 1800 sq ft in Tennessee, to 1540 sq ft in Florida, to roughly 189 sq ft in my trailer and I don’t mind one little bit.

Arrived in Texas wanting a 10 x 10 storage unit and only a 10 x 20 was available. I had crappy movers on this end anyway and they did a crappy job of moving my stuff into that big unit. I just had two guys help me move it to a 10 x 10 that became available and they packed that baby to within an inch of it’s life. It’s very full, but everything I have is in there. And yes, I’ve heard the advice to sell everything, but I figure those people haven’t lost their only child so they wouldn’t know how I feel about the last things I have of him. To me it’s worth the money to store it.

I love my little trailer. It has a Murphy bed so the bed goes away during the day without taking space. I got bunk beds for a storage area. I was argued with but ordered it with an upgraded air conditioner. I have been so glad I did once I got into the 100 degree days. Poor little AC unit ran it’s heart out as it was.

I have a volunteer position at Laguna Atoscosa National Wildlife Refuge starting in October. It’s down across from South Padre Island. It’s a huge birding area so I will be learning about the migratory shorebirds and butterflies. There are ocelots in the refuge. They provide a lot of really nice amenities for the volunteers, but there will be challenges with rodents. I’ve already been told I need to light the under-carriage of the trailer all night and open the hood of my vehicle and put a light in it to discourage rodents getting in and chewing up wires and just generally running amok.

Scrambling to get all my little ducks in a row before leaving. Had to sell my loved Xterra and have replaced it with a Toyota Tundra that has the towing capacity to pull my trailer. I still have to get a toolbox for the bed of it so I have a place to haul all my tools. I still can’t believe it – me in a pickup with a toolbox. I never would have thought it.

I’m setting up Texas as my domicile so I will be a Texan while I’m traveling. I hope I run across a place I love and will someday want to settle in, but I’m not in any rush. Hope I’ll be traveling for at least a few years.

This past year has been a year of transitions and so far all of them feel really good.