How we did it

MY TWO CENTS WORTH

I’m not sure where to start, so I may jump from subject to subject on the topic of how we did it and what I would do differently. Everyone’s situations are unique, so what worked and didn’t work for us may be just the opposite for you. I have a lot of kids, 4 of the six being quite young, I think that adds a level of difficulty that most families on the road don’t have. My husband is an engineer, so we are limited to camping at places that have signal for his air card and cell phone. Those two things alone make our situation very unusual.

Ultimately, I think for us it was good to sell our home. It wasn’t working for us any ways, so it was time to sell. We did have to come down on price a lot, so we didn’t get to buy the other storage trailer I was hoping for. We bought a 40’ very used storage trailer, fifth wheel. It was a wild trip trying to get it from its location on a high cliff to our yard in Highlandville, but of course, my amazing husband pulled it off. He should be a professional driver. We sold or gave away most of what we owned, but kept heirlooms and keepsakes. We did not make the kids get rid of things they absolutely didn’t want to. I do not want them to be bitter about this trip. But still, we did not have enough room to put everything in the storage trailer, so we made some phone calls and sent out an email and told everyone to come take everything that was left. It was difficult to see so many things that meant something to me just leave, drive away with friends and strangers. I purposed in my heart to have a good attitude. I remembered the scripture, do not grow weary in well doing for you will reap if you do not lose heart. I was determined to not lose heart. So, I was a joyful giver and had a good day. If our home had been one we wanted to keep, I think it would have been better to keep it. Traveling 4 months then going home for a couple. Every 5 or 6 months we need a break from traveling. We get our teeth cleaned at the dentist, sometimes do taxes, doctor appts, de-clutter the camper and take a rest. It would be nice to have a home to come back to do all of that. Also, Cody makes knives so it would give him somewhere to do that. It is hard at campgrounds sometimes because I do not just let my kids run around unattended. At our home in Highlandville, I knew they were fine in the front yard and didn’t have to watch them every second. At campgrounds they are limited to our campsite and can’t just run crazy all over. Now, we do get to go hiking and biking, four wheeling and swimming all over the country. My kids get to do so many amazing things outside on our trip. We just don’t always have the freedom and security of our own yard and home.

When our home sold, I knew I was about one month pregnant. I didn’t get the official positive result until about two weeks after the house sold. The first four months of the trip was difficult but amazing. The places we saw were incredible. We met such wonderful people at Ft. Bragg and River Oaks Retreat Center in Honea Path, SC. But, I had to really suck it up to make the most of our trip with feeling so sick. I wouldn’t change my choice to go on the road then, even knowing what was in store for me.

We bought our truck first, when we should have bought our camper first. Big mistake, but one we can live with. Really you want to buy your camper first so then you buy the truck that is capable of pulling it. We should have gotten a bigger truck for the camper we have. It does pull it great, but would do better if we had a bigger one. I do love all of the room in our Dodge, though. Be sure to look at the page on our vehicles.

We had the road fixed that led to our home. Dennis Hesher with Dirt Works did the work for us. He is a good friend and did a great job. There was a big storm, so we had to get a new roof. That experience was not as good as the road.

We cleaned, sorted, and packed. It was so much work. If we were moving to another home, we could of just packed stuff up and then thrown it into the next house, but instead we had to cram it all into a storage trailer and get rid of it.

We picked up our camper and began to get that ready, waiting for an offer to come in on our home. Once things were close to ready, we went on a camping trip and tried it out. Things went well and we were excited to head out, except for one thing....

I am used to a bumper pull camper. Now, we had a huge fifth wheel. The first trip from our home made me quite scared and ready to sell it. Shae slowly pulled out of our driveway with the huge camper behind. I turned backwards and began to nurse the baby in her car seat. Slowly, Shae pulled down the road and to the stop sign. I watched in horror as the camper rocked back and forth, side to side with all of our stuff in it. I said to Shae, “Honey....is it supposed to rock like that? It doesn’t look right?!”

Shae chuckled and replied, “Yes, honey. It is supposed to sway.”

“No, I don’t think so...this doesn’t look right! I think it is going to tip!”

“No, Sheri. It is not going to tip. It is just fine.” Shae calmly responded.

No, really, honey. It is bad. I can’t do this. Let’s go back.”

At that point I took a deep breath, stopped nursing the baby and turned around. I decided not to watch out the back window ever again.

Not long after putting our house on the market, we got the offer. It was pretty low, but after going back and forth, we agreed on a price. We got a lot less than we wanted, but we took it, knowing that this trip is what we wanted. Money is important, but not more than doing God’s will for our life. So, we went with out the other storage trailer and the rv washer dryer and sold our house.

Where to go first? There was a 508 Paratrooper reunion in North Carolina for Shae’s Grandad. We decided to meet them there, then work our way to Florida to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family.

Usually, we don’t have a plan. With six kids it is hard to make reservations. We typically go day by day. Sometimes we stay weeks longer than planned and sometimes we leave early. Making plans with family is almost impossible. It is better for us to not say we are coming since when we have to delay or cancel, we are a huge disappointment. We did spend 8 weeks at Shae’s grandparents, and 3 wks at his parent’s. We have seen distant and close relatives. It has been great to visit so many loved ones. We have two issues with scheduling, first is that Shae cannot travel during the week because of work and second, Tytus doesn’t always like his car seat. So, we go about 3 hrs at the most, once a week or once a month. We actually move more often than most full timers. A lot of them will spent many months in one spot. We have been traveling for almost two yrs now and I think we might try to slow down at least a little.

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