It has been a wild few weeks as we have been getting ready to trade our stationary lives in Houston for a non-stop, full-time-working adventure on the road. Here’s what’s up.
We moved
We finished getting everything out of our house, which ended up being a huge endeavor — even despite having gotten rid of a lot of stuff through a garage sale and posts on Craigslist and Facebook.
First, I got caught in a famous Houston flash flood on the way to drop off a carload at the storage unit, which detained me for hours longer than expected.
Josh and I successfully boiled down all our belongings we’re not taking with us to a 10’x7′ climate-controlled storage unit. It was a challenge to fit everything — which includes some nice kitchenware we received as wedding gifts, my work desk, a beloved Scandinavian-design couch that has been in the family for decades and some books of sentimental value (I’m looking at you, Animorphs).
Thanks to six wonderful friends — four of which helped us load up the U-Haul and three of which helped us fit everything into the storage unit — we got our belongings squared away.
We’re really going to miss our friends.
We crashed with the ‘rents
My parents graciously offered us their spare bedroom as a place to stay while we’re between the house and the RV.
We knew it was true love when they even invited over the dog and cat, considering my mom’s life-long aversion to felines.
We sold the house
We finalized our house closing on Thursday, October 23rd after putting it on the market on September 22nd. We’re extremely lucky to live in a city with such a strong real estate market, and recognize that this has given us an edge in getting on the road fast.
We’d like to extend a huge thank-you to our tireless, wonderful realtor, Cookie Davenport, who provided great advice and put up with our myriad first-time-seller questions.
We test drove a truck
With the house sale and move done, we’re able to start really shifting our attention to the RV. We’re in the process of getting quotes for the modifications we want to make to the 5th wheel, itself, but we still need a vehicle to tow it. The RAV4 and Civic just aren’t gonna cut it when it comes to towing a 6-ton trailer. Imagine that!
Josh has been doing a lot of research on trucks, and he found one that fit our specific needs this week. It’s a Ford F-350, and test driving it was one of the most intimidating experiences ever.
Still, it’s less terrifying than the idea of driving a Class A motorhome. I’m sure we’ll get used to it in time.
No rest for the weary
On the docket for the few remaining days of this month is
- Catching up on work
- Getting our mobile internet needs taken care of, especially considering the double-your-data deals going on this month
- Getting our RV in the shop for modifications
- Updating my health insurance plan, since it expires this month and isn’t national anyway
- Finish updating our contact info everywhere
We can’t wait for the relative peace of the road! At least, we’re hoping it’ll be peaceful by comparison.
I do plan to catch a break in the meantime with a hammock camping trip in early November. It may be my last chance to head into the woods with my number one hiking buddy for a long time, so I don’t want to let this opportunity pass.
If you’ve made the transition from stick-and-brick to RV, what were the most challenging aspects for you? Are you seeing anything we’re missing? Tell us in the comments.
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