It's been 6 months since we went on the road.
I'll spare you the details of how many miles we've driven, how many driveways in which we've mooch-docked, and how many tacos we've eaten.
The main thing we've learned is: This life works really well for us.
Despite constant rain for weeks, interruptions for family events and a few business trips (did I mention rain?) we are having a blast.
Our orderly plan for our trip kind of got thrown out the window early on, and we've done quite a few impromptu changes of plan. Once upon a time, that would have put me in a tailspin (Nancy is way more flexible), but if I have learned anything, I've learned that plans change.
6 months ago, we had planned out a big loop for the winter, going from CO to AZ then circling California. Our (failed) attempts to stay dry now results in a map trace that has so many loops it would make one dizzy. We've figured out how to make circumstances work for us. Nancy sometimes has to paint inside the camper (when it rains all week, what choice do you have?).
We've both worked in palapas, laundromats, under awnings and in friend's kitchens.
We've met some very cool people, and have made some new friends.
We haven't really gotten serious about looking for a new home yet. Our "short list" has undergone a few changes, with one or two towns getting added and one or two getting dropped. We are a LONG ways from figuring THAT out. And that's OK.
The constant rain has put a bit of a dent in our fitness. Although we have hiked a good bit in the rain, there are times you just get sick and tired of everything being wet and/or muddy, especially when you live in a very small area. We are looking forward to drier and warmer weather and getting back to regular exercising.
We've seen bobcats and elephant seals, 1,000 year old petroglyphs and the faces of dear friends. We very much miss our friends from home, and are desperate to see what's around the next corner.
Biggest miss so far might be Big Sur...just before we got there, the road was closed by any number of mudslides, and now a bridge has been taken out by a mudslide. Who knows when we can onto Highway 1 again?
The truck has run great, although we had to replace an intercooler in New Mexico. We started getting lousy gas mileage and had no boost (The F500 has two turbos...even is heavy as we are, when you floor it, you can feel it accelerate.) Nancy found a Ford dealer that could see us in Deming, NM. It wasn't the biggest or fanciest dealer we'd been to, but everyone was really nice, and they bent over backwards to find a new intercooler and get it installed. In 24 hours, we were back on the road.
Where will the next 6 months take us? We have a rough plan, but aren't foolish enough to think we'll stick to it. We'll see a lot more of CA and AZ in the next few months and assess from there. I have some great work projects coming up, and Nancy is taking an online art class and is learning some cool new things.
We have stuff to see, places to go, and stuff to explore with new and old friends.