Onward

As we near 70 days of quarantine, things have slowed down for us considerably. During the first 30 days, we were hopeful about being able to go to Montana, so were hustling to ready the house and Jeep. We were really bummed about cancelling. I was having a difficult time adjusting life after mid-March. Being retired had already been a major adjustment for me. By the time March rolled around, I was just starting to feel like we had gotten into a good daily routine, and that I was in a good place with balancing my time. I had to start reminding myself daily that I’m working on becoming more flexible and adaptable to change. I’m a work in progress, folks!

So, now what?

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is, “what are you going to do now that travel is severely restricted and you cancelled your big trip?” Around day 50, we decided to revisit purchasing a B or C class RV or travel trailer. This was something we talked about a year or so before retiring. At the time, we concluded that we wanted to do more international travel and didn’t necessarily want to live long-term in an RV/trailer, nor drive everywhere we went.

Things have certainly changed. With safety being a biggest factor to consider in our current climate, an RV/trailer seems to make the most sense since you can take your own living quarters and restroom everywhere you go. Even with many parks reopening across the country, bathrooms are often still closed. After a lot of waffling between tow behind trailers verses RVs, we settled on a small C class RV, the 2020 Dynamax Isata 3 24RB. I’ll spare you the ridiculous amount of research that has gone into this decision, but please ping me if you have specific questions. We have a short trip planned for soon after Homie Roam-o comes home. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post a little tour video on Instagram once we take possession of the RV.

We are actively working to gather things for our maiden voyage (does that phrase only apply to boats?). Andy is doing reading up on all of the onboard systems and technology. He’s also reading forums, and installation and user manuals like it’s his job. Most days, I’m very thankful to have married an engineer. I’m looking at the organization and supply side of things, and also relying on Andy to explain how everything in the RV works. I want to make sure I am just as efficient and knowledgeable at operating everything.

We foresee doing a bunch of fairly local trips in the near future to see what it’s like to stay in places with amenities (water and power), and we will also be dry camping (aka boondocking) since the RV is equipped with solar panels, LP gas, and batteries. Once we assess how comfortable we are living in a small space, we’ll start planning longer getaways. Stay tuned on that front.

We subscribed to a service called Harvest Hosts, a network of free one-night stays at farms, wineries, breweries, museums, and golf courses. Hopefully it will be a great way to get to know and support local communities as we travel. I’m really looking forward to those kinds of stays. Here’s a snapshot of all of the current locations:

The second most asked question I have been getting is whether I would have retired in late November had I known what was to come in 2020, and I have to say yes. Yes, a million times over. In fact, we probably would have retired sooner so that we could have traveled more prior to being locked down.

In other news, here’s a rundown of some of what we’ve been up to since my last post.

• We’ve been playing virtual trivia weekly. If you’re local to Maryland, and are interested in playing, let me know.
• We discovered an amazing trail near our home, and have had fun exploring it with Stevie Mix.
• I colored my hair for the first time ever, and I let Andy cut it. He has been cutting his own since college, but it was his first time cutting long hair and my first time letting anyone other than my mom or stylist touch mine. I’m happy to report that he did a great job, and I have a photo to prove it!
• I finished reading 10% Happier by Dan Harris, which frames the importance of meditation in a much more relatable way. It’s in part a memoir as Harris explains how he entered into life as a newscaster, had an on-screen panic attack, followed by a downward spiral. He sought a way to put his life back together, and also manage stress and anxiety. During his journey, he researches benefits to meditation and presents compelling results of many studies. He also attempts to make sense of the teachings and advice of some of, what he refers to as, the “woo-woo“ hippie-dippy experts. He highlights the techniques that work to make himself at least 10% happier. I promise you that it’s witty, humorous, entertaining, and helpful.
• We haven’t embarked on any major house projects other than some painting.

Recipes:

• I made the ricotta cheese I mentioned last month, and it did not disappoint. I’m obsessed with it.
• I jumped on the sourdough starter bandwagon, and spent a long time obsessing over my mother (aka Mother Teresa). In the past few weeks, I have baked a couple loaves of bread. We also made some amazing sourdough and ricotta cheese pancakes (the key is to zest some lemon into the batter).
• My mom sent me a peanut butter cookie recipe that was pretty yummy. I used peanut butter powder, and had good luck freezing the batter to use when we want to make cookies. I think next time I will use chunky peanut butter. I added chocolate chips in the last batch I made, which was a hit in our house… among the two people that live here, and one of them (me) is biased.
• Coming up next: soda bread from Nadiya’s Time to Eat (now on Netflix)

Until next time. I hope you’re all staying busy, sane, and safe.

xo