And So the Journey Begins. . .

It started out as a rather harmless, innocent idea. Wouldn't it be cool to pack up the whole family in an RV and travel around the country? Sure it would be cool, but how could anyone actually do it? With jobs and schools and homes and budgets, how could you actually pull it off? Well, I think we've figured it out.

Thankfully, we own our own business and we have great people who work for us. It doesn't say much for me I guess, but the office does fine without me there. They'll miss Kim, but Roger and Shirley can hold down the fort without either of us being present. We're considering hiring another person, but for now, we're going to have to play things by ear.

How are we going to school the kids? Thankfully, homeschooling is becoming more and more popular and there are a ton of curriculum choices to choose from. We've done our research and we're convinced that both Shelby and Lou will do fine with homeschooling. Plus, the plan is to stay on the road for only 7 - 9 months, so the kids will be back in regular school next year.

What about our home? Other than the RV, we won't have a home. Wherever we are at the moment will be our home. It's going to be a big change, but I have no doubt that in time we'll adjust.

Next, what about the budget? That's our biggest question mark. We think we're going to be just fine, but who knows for sure what kind of expenses (expected and otherwise) we'll run into on the road? It's a little scary, but it also makes the entire adventure more interesting.

Finally, why would anyone want to give up their home to travel around the country in a big metal box? I suppose that everyone who has ever contemplated such an adventure has their own reasons. For us, there are four main reasons.

First, it has been a desire of ours for some time to experience the freedom that comes with being on the road. I love road trips. I love being on the road. Unfortunately, most road trips consist of traveling from point A to point B as quickly and painlessly as possible. We're going to travel from point A to point B (and then point C, point D, etc), but we're going to enjoy the journey between the points just as much as the points themselves.

Second, the kids are at the right age to do this. At 12 and 7, the kids are still young enough to adjust to life on the road, but old enough to appreciate the things we are going to do and see. If we don't do this now, we may never get the chance again.

Third, the trip itself will be educational for both the kids and for Kim and me. In school, the kids learn about different places and historical events from around the country. We'd like them to actually get a chance to see and experience these places. For Kim and me, we've been fortunate to live in several different places around the country, but there's so much more that we haven't seen. Our great big road trip will give us all a chance to see parts of the country that we otherwise may never see.

Finally, as a family, we've gone through a lot of struggles over the past four years. It started in December 2003 when I was diagnosed with cancer. Because of that, 2004 and the beginning of 2005 was probably the toughest time any of us have gone through. In 2006 one of our businesses failed (not our main business, thankfully). We've had a few other challeges over the last couple of years as well. We could seriously use a little time away to recharge our batteries.

So how is all of this going to come together? Our goal is to be on the road by Thanksgiving. That's only about 54 days from now. During that time, we need to purchase an RV, pack all of our stuff, move all of our stuff into storage, change our address, arrange for our mail to be forwarded, set an itinerary, make reservations at campgrounds, and a bunch of other stuff. It's going to be a busy (and exciting) time.

In the immortal words of Jack Kerouac, "the road is life." We'll be following in Kerouac's footsteps to see how much life is out there. It should be a great ride.