The RV-Life

Man, what a ride the last year and a half has been. If you read this blog regularly, besides facing long droughts of posts, you've come to know that there has been lots of change over this period.

In my own mind, 2018 was characterized by lots of playing. Lots. For the first time in almost a decade I was not a homeowner and was therefore not constantly dealing with that monkey on my back of the next (or usually current) project. Our rental house has been perfect for us at this time. If I had owned it, there would be a long list of things I'd want to address (very few of which actually matter), but I don't own it, so instead it's play time.

My favorite toy of the year was the travel trailer we bought in September of 2017. Our Sonoma.

I'd thought for years about buying one and after camping in a tent with our whole family once I finally resolved it was time. The day we bought it, I made it known:

 "There have been two times in my life that I made what I considered to be a bad financial decision, but that I got a lot of enjoyment out of.
Here's to number three. Hopefully"

As I'm now preparing to sell it, I can attest that it was a bad financial decision, but for my money, me an my family will have irreplaceable memories from this. Many of our trips were to Whidbey Island. You can read my recent post about Whidbey Island in particular here on the blog and you can see my feelings on that.

Too many people buy trailers only to find that they didn't use them that often, if even at all. That's because it's a lot of work. To say otherwise is patently false. Don't take that to mean I don't think it's worth it, because without a doubt, it is.

Our trips always started out the day before departure. I'd have to retreive the trailer from storage and spend a bunch of time the night before getting ready to go. Many times this would penetrate into the night, ensuring that I would start the trip short on sleep. Then it was always a scramble on departure day. Since we always wanted to minimize vacation time use and maximize trip time, we'd always leave after work.

Most days we'd leave before dinner because the kids would be so keyed up with excitement it was impossible to get them to sit and eat even just a sandwich. Many times we got to our destination very late at night. As we were preparing to go on the Cape Disappointment trip, Isaiah closed his thumb in the trailer door, injuring it badly. After a while he calmed down, so we still decided to go, but we didn't get to the campsite until almost 11:00 pm. (The kids then woke up at 5:30 am, but that's another story.)

Trips down to the coast, like Cape Disappointment or Twin Harbors were always tough because they were long drives. Trips to Whidbey were my favorite because we got a relaxing ferry ride out of it, and even though the travel time was kind of long, it was less than 90 miles of driving to get there. We'd always get there at a more reasonable 7-8 pm.

We also took advantage of some close camping. There are choice campgrounds right here in Kitsap County that are frequented by travelers from all over the country. It's human nature to overlook the sights found in one's own backyard. Our local favorites were Scenic Beach State Park and Kitsap Memorial State Park. Both very close and exceedingly beautiful.

The sleeping arrangements were always tough. Our youngest simply cannot sleep when other people are in the same room. Of course, in a small trailer like this, you're all in the same room, so she was always a challenge to get to sleep. The trailer had two bunks, a queen bed, and a dinette. Enough beds for five people. We tried a different sleeping arrangement on every trip. We never found one that worked for us completely. Also, you know how finicky kids are. One trip they wanted the bunks, the next they refused the bunks.

Often when I would go with just the boys, all three of us would sleep on the big bed together. We would either lay down and watch a movie or read together, depending on our moods. It will be a great memory for me.

When I'd go with them we would usually all sleep at the same time. There were exceptions to this when I would stay up after they went to sleep, but generally our sleep schedules aligned. For the boys, this was not quite enough sleep and their eyes would be betray it. For me it was more than plenty and that allowed me an improved mental state and an additional store of patience against their inevitable conflicts.

So, as for my facebook post, I did get A LOT of enjoyment out of it. And it's a good thing, too, because it WAS a bad financial decision. I regret nothing.

Alas, the time has come to let it go. We need to shift the focus of our lives for a while so there is not room for this. There are not likely to be any further trips with this trailer, so here is a comprehensive list:

1. 21-23 Sep 2017 Fort Ebey (Maiden Voyage; Everybody)
2. 6-8 Oct 2017 Dungeness Recreation Area (Anniversary Trip; Me, Chelsea, Jake)
3. 1-3 Dec 2017 Kitsap Memorial (House Showing Weekend; Me and boys)
4. 23-25 Mar 2018 Fort Worden (Me and boys)
5. 27-30 Apr 2018 Fort Ebey, Tulip Festival on the way home (Everybody)
6. 25-28 May 2018 Twin Harbors (Lipsense Vendor Show, Everybody)
7. 30 Jun - 3 Jul 2018 Newhalem, North Cascades (Everybody, with Chelsea's sister's family)
8. 7-9 Sep 2018 Scenic Beach (Lipsense Vendor Show, Me and kids)
9. 27-30 Sep 2018 Cape Disappointment (Everybody)
10. 18-21 Oct 2018 Fort Ebey (Everybody)
11. 16-18 Nov 2018 Scenic Beach (Me and boys)
12. 15-17 Mar 2019 Kitsap Memorial (Me and boys)

Too often people find they don't use the trailer they bought with the best intentions. I can proudly say we used the crap out of this thing. It was a great period of my life and I hope the kids look back fondly on it, too.