Well, it's official! Lauren is retiring at the end of July. Now comes the implementation phase of this dream. There is so much to do when you decide to hit the road on a more "permanent" basis. First, we have to sort through our personal effects. Everything we own either has to be packed in our trailer for use on the road, or packed into a storage facility. It is an interesting exercise when you objectively look at all the "stuff" you have acquired through the years to determine it's future. I am afraid to even think about how much money we wasted buying things we thought we had to have, only now to face the prospect of donating them to goodwill because we never even used it. Secondly, have you ever noticed how much junk mail you get? Over the past couple of months, we have been contacting solicitors to ask them to remove us from their mailing lists. It is stupefying to realize how much money is wasted with this junk mail. The paper for the mailing and envelopes is one thing and then add the postage on top of that. It will cost us by the pound to have our mail forwarded so it was important to eliminate all the "junk" that we could and this has been a lot of work. Lastly, comes the insurance aspects and not just the liability kind with cars and the travel trailer, but making sure we have our medical and dental records with us in case something happens on the road. Also, updating our wills and deciding what goes into the safe deposit box (like Lauren's jewelry), etc. You really need to think about these things because when you're 1,000 miles away from what used to be your home, you just can't run back and grab stuff. On a fun note, Lauren's wedding set will be held at the bank while we travel. We felt it was prudent to do so given the activities we plan for this trip. She will, however, not be ringless, so to speak. We are in the market for a Kim Kardashian-style CZ for her to wear. Trip details: We "launch" on Labor Day weekend. First stop, Gladwin Michigan for a family reunion. After that we're off to Sault Ste. Marie and the rest of the Upper Peninsula for the month of September. In October we will be headed south through Wisconsin and land in Chicago by October 10, where Lauren needs to be for school. She is going more "full time" with her seminary studies so we will be visiting Chicago frequently. Ok, that's it for now. We will write more as we hit the road and will begin adding pictures and commentaries in the gallery section. Just for the record, we are not "camping" in the strictest sense of the word. A friend of Lauren's coined the word "Glamping" (glamorous camping) which more accurately describes it. Our trailer has a fireplace, stainless steel appliances, a pop-up flat screen TV, and a walk-in closet. Tough life, huh?.
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Here are some pictures of our Windjammer travel home. We have dubbed her "Wendy".
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Past Blogs
December 2013
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