It's about to get...uh...fancy

So, here I go. I mean, I went and did it: Last December I bought an Airstream Flying Cloud, a 19-footer, and a few days ago I put my notice in at work. My last day is July 20, so that's a little time to get everything squared away, but there is so, so much to do and it's all very overwhelming. How will I get everything done? It'll all get done of course, because there isn't really any other alternative. But, it's still scary. 

I plan to work as a travel nurse and travel around the country. I plan to do a lot of hiking, biking, camping, contemplating, reading, writing, and generally living my life as if it were a fantastic tampon commercial. I want to see as many national parks as I can and live as close to nature as possible. I want to meet hoards and hoards of interesting people and hear their stories, and share some of my own as well. I want to see every nook and cranny I can of this amazing country. I want to go to lots of concerts and take up too many hobbies. I also want to continue selling things I make at local farmer's markets when possible. And I want to talk about it all, here.

I deleted my last blog, because my last blog was about my life as a property owner, and what it was like living in this thing called a house. Well, I'm kind of over it. I'm over all the stuff that seems to accumulate in a house (I swear it multiplies on its own), and all the other stuff I need to buy and maintain and insure as a homeowner to take care of the original stuff. It's stuff, on top of stuff, and frankly, I'm just not a "stuff" kind of person. I figure anything that I have to maintain on a regular basis that doesn't serve a real daily need is just a silly waste of time and space, so why have it? Part of my goodbye to domesticity is getting rid of a whole lot of stuff, and seeing what stuff I can live without. I have a feeling this will be a long process, this divorce from stuff, and I will continue learning lessons on the way. Right now the hard part is giving away things that I originally paid a lot of money for, and I find if I give myself permission to get rid of valuable things and give that permission some time to sink in, the purge gets easier. 

Here is the Silver Palace:

The Silver Palace

The door is open in welcome, it's so inviting! The Silver Palace is begging to go on a camping trip.

The living room

This thing is tiny. I plan on taking my dog Lucia and two cats with me on the road. I think there will be moments when I look back on this and think: "That was an extraordinarily bad idea." I trust that the likely hilariousness of traveling cats will be worth the effort, and by hilariousness I mean hell for me and hilarity for everyone else. At least someone will be laughing.

So this is my little soon-to-be home. I drive down to Portland next week and bring her home on June 10th. While reading the "Airstream for Newbies" guide given to all new Airstream owners at the dealership is invaluable, I am very grateful for Kyle with whereiskylenow.com for his excellent post on how to live in an Airstream full time, his relevant technical advice, and his generous encouragement. Thanks Kyle. I look forward to being as comfortable and capable as you on the great open road.