Hannah and I have been talking a lot lately about our upcoming RV plans. Our lease is up where we are right now October 31, so we recognize the need to have something lined up by then. Tonight I think we might have settled on a tentative plan that will increase the money we have in our RV fund and get us on the road sooner than anticipated.

I will most likely be working for Amazon.com through the end of October, all of November and most of December. It’s a temporary job through the holiday season, and the money is great. We will not, however, be in a position to buy our full-time RV in October. But, that’s okay, because we’re going to start small, with a used Class C.

In the next couple weeks, we will be purchasing a used Class C motorhome to start our little adventure in. We will use it while I’m working at Amazon.com (they’ll be paying our campground fees), and then bring it back to Ohio for Christmas and the New Year. We will be in it until the end of February when we’ll have enough saved to buy a nice tow truck and 30-31′ Travel Trailer.

Yes, we finally decided on going with a Travel Trailer. Since we will be docked more than we are on the road driving, it just makes sense to make sure our time in campgrounds is as comfortable and livable as we can afford to make it. In February, we’ll be able to afford a nice used tow truck and brand new travel trailer big enough for all of us. Then we’ll start saving up on the road to buy a Class A with bunks, like the Georgetown 350, which we’ve been able to find brand new in the upper 60’s. Which, If we workamp and I keep up my freelance work, pinch pennies and don’t splurge all the time, we could save up and actually buy a lot sooner than we originally thought possible.

But, we’ll be starting off in a 27′ Class C it looks like right now. I hope to be able to report something on that soon. So until then, keep us in your prayers!

Hi everyone. Just a quick note to say that our school work (Hannah and I are both full-time college students working and raising two kids) has picked up considerably since we’re now back in session. It looks like things are going to be a bit hectic for the next 2-3 weeks and then our schedules slow down again until the Spring term.

We both love school and attend Liberty University through their Distance Learning Program. It’s incredibly fast-paced and intense, and we love it (most of the time). Both Hannah and I are about 18-20 months away from finishing our first Bachelor’s Degrees and we both plan on continuing through for our Master’s, which will most likely be in Psychology for both of us.

Posting will also be slow because the hard drive in my three-week-old laptop went kaput. Turns out it was a model that was part of a huge recall that affected tens of thousands of computers, both PCs and Macs, so my Mac-hatin’ buddies can blame Western Digital and not Apple. Still, it has been very frustrating to lose my main computer while the drive gets replaced. Hannah and I have been forced to use our daughters’ computer for school.

“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.“

~ Juan Ramon Jiminez, the Spanish poet and winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize for Literature

After doing some math this past week, we calculated that we could save about $20 per month by changing our internet and telephone services now instead of waiting a few months when we leave for wherever we head first.

I went ahead and signed up for Verizon’s BroadbandAccess service because even though I receive “only” 5GB of transfer, it’s $22 cheaper than what I’m paying for internet right now. We’re also going to cancel our cable T.V. because, frankly, the girls, Maddy especially, just watch too much “educational” programming that annoys the crap out of Hannah and me. Ever since Maddy figured out the remote, its been a battle. So, instead of prolonging this battle, we’ve decided to eliminate the battlefield altogether. Bye-bye cable T.V. Good riddance.

Hannah and I have switched to cell phones sharing 700 minutes, way more than we currently use on our current VOIP phone (which we couldn’t keep anyway since we’re getting rid of cable internet). Well, to be more accurate, we use more than 700 minutes, but most of the people we call all have Verizon cell phones, which, under our new plan would be free calls. I went through the last six months of our phone records and removed all calls to our parents and others we know who have Verizon phones and figured all other calls equal about 350-450 minutes. We concluded that the odds of us using more than 700 minutes was slim, and were able to justify getting the two phones.

In the end, we end up with about a $20 difference in our favor. Not a whole lot, but, hey, $20 is $20.

For internet, I decided not to incur an expense buying an ExpressCard wireless modem when Verizon offered some highly-rated USB models for free with the contract that I was going to have to sign up for anyway. I opted for the Novatel Wireless USB727. It was very easy to setup and within three minutes, I disable the AirPort in my MacBook Pro and surfing very quickly using the USB modem. And when I say fast, I mean FAST. I was getting consistent download speeds approaching 2.0mbps. Upload was about 600-700kbps which I was very happy with. I know that speed will not be consitent across the country, but I would be happy just to have half, or even a quarter, of those speeds. All in all I think I made the right decision.

As for phones, Hannah and I have completely different tastes. Here’s the phones we got; can you guess which one is mine?

Hmmm…

Anyway, enough with the boring technical post. When we get going I’m going to start a separate Tech Travel blog where I wax eloquent about all my gadgets.

So, like I said, the RV show was a bit of a letdown. Local media was reporting that this year’s show was about half the size as previous ones. Overall, however, it was a beneficial trip that gave us a lot to think and pray about. Even though the show was smaller in scope than we were expecting, we were able to poke around several models of RVs we hadn’t seen before, including several Class C’s and smaller Class A’s.

The more time we spent in the Class C’s and small Class A’s, the more Hannah and I began to realize that with our family, the two of us and two toddlers, we didn’t NEED a large travel trailer to begin our journey. In fact, starting out smaller would actually beneficial because part of our reason for embarking on this journey is to reprogram our way of thinking regarding possessions and living space requirements. Buying a used Class C or small Class A would also let us get going with less money up-front, vs. buying a truck and trailer.

So when we got home I started surfing the net and found HUNDREDS of used Class A and Class C motorhomes that would cost us about HALF the expense of buying a truck and trailer would. With one of these, we would be able to pull a car behind us, and we happen to have a 1997 Saturn SL2 that gets 29MPG that would be the perfect “toad” car.

So right now, I’d say we are leaning 80% towards finding a used Class A or Class C motorhome and pulling our Saturn behind it.

There are several advantages to a motorhome over a travel trailer. For starters, the girls would be able to work on schoolwork, watch TV, or play games while we’re driving. While actual traveling on the road will be something we do only once a month or so, the girls will have more freedom when we do so. Boondocking would be easier because we just park, pull the curtains and sleep.

We already have a few Class A’s in mind that are in excellent shape that just need a little “decorating update” with their interiors. We’ll keep you updated!

If we can find the right RV at the right price, we’ll be able to hit the road in November, when our lease is up on our house!

Well we learned our first lesson about traveling today. I believe its called Murphy’s Law: if anything can go wrong, it will…

Looks like it’s time to get new tires. I checked out our other three and have decided to take it easy on the way home. No need to take unnecessary risks, even if we can go 70 on the turnpike.

I don’t know. I’ve changed a lot of flat tires in the past few years…

No, we haven’t left for full-time RV’ing yet, but this is my first blog post from the road. We came to Indiana this weekend to go an RV show and explore Amish country with the girls. We’re in Shipshewana, Indiana, and we’re surrounded by buggies and restaurants with really, really, really good food.

Last night we ate at the Blue Gate Restaurant. Family-style buffet. Madeline, who is usually not one to compliment food no matter how good it is, could not stop saying how incredible our meal was. Every few minutes, she would say it was the best she’d ever had, that it was so good, that she wanted more. She told our waitress that it was the “goodest” food she’d ever had.

Makayla, likewise, didn’t barely mutter a word after the food came to the table, which is not only out of character, but usually cause for concern because it means she’s probably doing something sneaky and underhanded in her toddler-stealth-mode. This time, her silence wasn’t something to be worried about. She was too busy eating.

Our dinner included chicken, ham, noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, chicken stuffing, homemeade bread (with homemade peanut or apple butter spread), our choiceof beverage and a huge slice of pie to finish things off. We took the pies back to our cabin and had them after our stomachs had time to work on dinner a bit.

Our cabin was very cozy and a nice “upgrade” from the tent:

It was nice to “camp” and sleep on something better than an air mattress for a change.

The RV show was a little disappointing, and I think it was a bit overhyped. It may be the largest, oldest RV show in Indiana, but the advertising for it should have mentioned what the media was reporting locally: that this year’s show was going to be about half the size of previous shows because of the sagging economy. Showing a picture of last year’s show with about 300 RVs was misleading, becaue I estimated about 120 at this show. And the “huge indoor RV gallery” was, in reality, nine Class A motorhomes.

Even though the show was a lot smaller than we were anticipating, we still were able to walk away with some more information to chew on in our search of our family’s perfect RV. We got to poke around inside travel trailers of just about every length, and also got to look at some Class C motorhomes that just might turn out to be a pretty good fit for us, too.

After the show we came back to the cabin and made big bubbles:

All in all, we’ve had a good time so far. We fought the “fall asleep in a different environment battle” with Makayla again, something we feel we probably won’t have to worry about on the road with her because she’ll be sleeping in the same bed every night, even though the BED may be in a different place, her surroundings will always be the same. I’m sure we’ll have an acclamation period, but once she recognizes her new bed as “hers,” the late-night, bedtime jitters will diminish.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to the Midwest RV Supershow and Rally in Goshen, Indiana. This is our first RV show and we are very excited. The local dealerships we’ve visited so far have had a handful of RVs to look at and browse, so this is the first time we’ll get to see a wide range of floor models and features.

We decided not to “rough it” by staying in a tent at a local campground, mainly because we’re only staying one night. Just too much work to stay the night somewhere. And rather than stay in a hotel for $80-90, we got a cabin at an “Amish campground” in a nearby town for $45. The girls are looking forward to it because the cabin has a bunk bed for them. Hannah and I are looking forward to it because it has central air and we won’t have to mess with setting up and tearing down a campsite.

So anywya, right now, instead of sleeping like I should be, I’m up going through my pre-trip routine: making sure all my gadgets are charged. I really, really need to get a charging station. Right now I have two iPods, a cell phone, a Bluetooth headset, two cameras and a laptop charging. I’m such a nerd.

We ran to Columbus today to buy a two-seat wagon for the girls to use at the RV show this weekend. Found it on Craigslist! It’s almost brand new and would cost $90 from the store. We got it for $20.

So anyway, while we were there we went to Red Robin for the first time.

And I must say…

Red Robin… Yum!

Today our five-year-old, Madeline, approached me and asked when we were leaving.

“Leaving for what,” I asked her, sure she was thinking about a local park or Grandma’s house.

“For our journey,” she said.

Still not getting what she was talking about, I thought she wanted to pretend that we were on one of our make-believe adventures as pirates looking for treasure, superheroes fighting crime, or rock starts at a concert.

“What do you want to be on our journey, Maddy,” I said.

“No, Daddy, not one of our pretend adventures… when are we leaving for our real adventure?!”

Then it clicked, and something in my spirit threw a can of gasoline on the pilot light inside me. I want to go now. Not for me, but because my kids are getting anxious to go. My five-year-old wasn’t interestd in some made-up, fictional adventure. She wants the real thing.

We may not be digging up treasure or fighting crime. The odds are we won’t be performing for sold-out stadiums to thousands of screaming fans. But that doesn’t matter… traveling the country with my family, exploring places we’ve never been, teaching our children what true diversity and acceptance is, instilling in them a love for God and all His Creation… that’s more exciting than any adventure I can make up in my head.