The Journey Begins

Photographer: Heather Edmunds

Sell the house - check!
Buy a camper - check!
Sell our stuff - check!
Set up home school - check!
Get temp jobs around the country- check!
Hit the road - check!!!

Some of you may be wondering "WHAT?! WHY?! HOW?!" Let me try to explain.

The WHAT

Dominic, myself, and the kids will be traveling the country for a year. We will tow a travel trailer and live in it full time. We plan on visiting most states, including Hawaii and Alaska. We don't have it all figured out yet and we have no idea what we are getting into, but we are going along for the ride!
In January Dominic and I were contemplating our next move. Dominic was looking into changing jobs and so in between jobs we thought we might take a nice long vacation. We brought up an old idea we had years ago. Why not take a couple of months off and travel across the country. With some calculating of time and budget we came to the conclusion that it would be best to wait it out through the end of summer. Mainly due to Dominic's job period ending in late August. That makes this trip go from just summer travels to full time RV living for the year. What!!!? (See above. Repeat if necessary)


The WHY
We hope to

• Spend quality time with family we rarely see
• Expose our children to this beautiful country and its history
• Live a more simple life
• Go for some time without over consuming, over accumulating
• Take advantage of this short time where we are free from running around for sports and activities, pulling our children away from their friends and schools.
• Fulfill a dream of traveling up the west coast and into Alaska, maybe even Hawaii

Here's the BUT WHY!? Why would someone do this?

Some of you may think 'I could never do that. I couldn't go from 3000 sq ft to 300 with my family, whom I love, but not that much. I wouldn't want to hook up my poop sewer every few days or shower in a space the size of 1970's hall closet. (You know the ones) or  feel the constant shaking of my house, even while I sleep. (who is doing that!?) 

Well,  I actually like small spaces. I think it's good for me. Small, minimalist spaces work best for me, but not everyone feels this way, and so I understand how even the thought could send some people into a panic. We believe all the little inconveniences are worth it to gain such an experience. 

I actually gave out a sigh of relief when I walked through the door of the camper after moving out of the big house. No more will have to clean (or worry about cleaning) three floors, 4 bedrooms, and three 3 1/2 bathrooms. No more will my kids ask the question "where's my ____?" and we will have to trek through all three floors and every room to find the tiny little SHOPKIN!!!! Breathe. Breathe. Ok. I'm better.

You should really ask my husband why anyone would do this because he is normal. Whatever that is.
So for this year we will home school Josephine, who is in first grade. We will hold science lessons in the actual woods and read more, because sometimes we have very poor internet connection, and that's just fine with me. We have also signed her up for a Scout-like explorers program. I know that this experience will be an education in itself and all the math and reading and writing that we do with her on the road will be a bonus.

THE HOW
In order to do this without using up our savings we will have to find work on the road and/or work remotely. We have lots of resources and ideas on how this should go and we are looking into all of them. Have you heard of traveling nurses? Why not be a traveling PA? Dominic plans on working temporary jobs here and there to fund the trip. Some positions offer travel and lodging expenses. I'm hoping to pick up some creative gigs along the way, as well. Anyone in need of a photographer? Painted signs? Custom sewing? Yes, I brought almost all of my tools and equipment to do this work.

So far we are content. The children don't seem to notice a difference in their lives. It's like we always lived this way. I love watching them play together. They depend on each other for entertainment and it is really a sight to watch their relationship grow during this time. We hope they continue to reap the benefits of this nomadic, simplified life.

We don't have it all planned out, we are learning as we go, and we decided that we like it that way. So wish us luck!

What's in a name?

    If you've wandered onto this blog page you may be wondering why we've landed on the name "The Unpredictable Blueberry" for our blog.  After all, what do blueberries have to do with our travels or our lives in general?

   The impetus for our name started many years ago when Annie and I were dating. As with all couples we were getting to know each other's likes and dislikes as well as trying to show off our best qualities. As it happened one morning we were sitting down to have breakfast together. One of Annie's many talents (she truly is a jack of all trades),  is that she is an excellent cook and she had prepared a breakfast of pancakes and blueberries. When she noticed that I was not eating the blueberries it sparked a conversation that went something like this:

Annie: "I see you aren't eating any blueberries, do you not like them?"

Me: "I like the good ones. Don't you find them so unpredictable? For every one that is ripe, firm, juicy, and tastes delicious, I feel like there are one or two that are mushy, bland, sour and feel slimy in my mouth. I'd rather not play Russian Roulette with my food."

Annie: "I know what you mean, but I still think its worth the risk. That's a funny name though, The Unpredictable Blueberry, it'd be a perfect title for a book."


    Since that time we have gone back and re-visited this conversation, always with the notion that one day we would use that line as the title to a book and now in keeping up with the times a blog seemed more practical. And while the past 15+ years have seen their share of ups and downs they have mostly been as unpredictable as the aforementioned blueberry, which has served as a useful metaphor. Some notable highs include getting married, buying our first home, the births of our children, and spending time with family and friends whenever possible. While lows have involved loss of loved ones and missed opportunities.

     As we prepare to make this journey as a family it occurs to us that most people, while encouraging us and supportive of the idea of our adventure, must believe it is a little bit crazy to sell your house, pack up your children and belongings, and live in tiny home travelling the country. We get it, and we often have that thought ourselves. We realize that this could be a huge mistake, like that mushy, slimy blueberry which leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, but we hope to find the sweetness in the freedom of our travels and experiences on the road.

   We invite you to join us on our adventure, weather in spirit or in person along the road, and encourage you to live a little outside your comfort zone, to experience living your dreams today instead of waiting for the opportune time, you can always start again. While I still don't particularly like the unpredictable nature of the blueberries I have found out over time it is worth the risk to get the ones you really want.