Chapter One, You want to do WHAT??

Before this gets underway, I actually wrote these chapters many weeks ago, so some of the info may be slightly out of date, but I don't feel like re-writing it. So here goes...

Several entries ago I said that I would someday dive into the thoughts and ideas into this big right turn in my life. Well, no time like the present. 

So, why in the world would someone actually WANT to get rid of 97.45% of the stuff they own, pack what’s left into a shoebox on wheels, retire from work, sell the house, and go roam around the country? First, let’s do a flashback. Here come those wavy, smeary lines! Ahhhhhh…..

A long time ago I had this crazy idea that I was going to buy a big boat, sell off everything (99.45% to be exact), and go take a big lap around the Caribbean. It was to be south down the Bahama chain, down the windward and leeward islands all the way to South America. Then make a right turn over to Central America and work my way back north again along the central American coast all the way up to Texas and then east back to Florida. I figured it would take several years or more. Sounded great! After that, who knew?

Then I did a really stupid thing…. I started reading blogs.

I read blogs/logs of a whole bunch of people that were in various places and stages of running around the Caribbean and Central America and you know what? They all sounded pretty much the same and they went something like this:

Sail to an island, check in, find groceries, see the island, fix something on the boat, wait for weather, go to the next island, check in, find groceries, see the next island, fix something on the boat, wait for weather, repeat, repeat, repeat.

All they ever seemed to talk about was the checking in/out process, finding groceries, doing laundry, fixing the boat, and on, and on, and on. I also started noticing that none of them lasted for much more than just a year or two.

I get that during that time it would be different and start out as a lot of fun. But I noticed that the fun part seemed to dwindle away really fast. Not to mention that the vast majority never really traveled inland, so the experience of an area was within a mile or two of shore. Then it seemed that the vast majority ended up right back to where they started a couple of years later doing exactly the same thing as before! Some even went back to their old jobs! Now if that’s what floats your boat (pun intended), good for you. But that just wasn’t going to hack it for me.

Flash back to the present! (Wavy, wavy, smeary, smeary)

One option is/was to just stay put (Wow, I got nauseous just typing that). I mean it’s not like I haven’t already lived here for the last 50-something years of my life. I could stay in Mel-boring for the rest of my life and let my butt become one with the couch. I could continue to work until I’m 80-something and have lots of funds and nothing to do with it other than continually fix the house and spend money on stupid shit. Yuk-Pooey!!

Yes, I could travel and do the tourist thing, but I hate the tourists that are here. I very certainly don’t want to become one of them! I can see it now, me sitting in one of those tour buses being carted from one tourist stop to the next while listening to a canned spiel from a tourist guide. Oh yeah, that sounds like a whole bunch of fun. Not.

Don’t even get me started about cruise ships. Human soup in a can carted around and dumped off into tourist hellholes. Sounds almost like a theme here doesn’t it?

Then I started thinking about alternatives and I remembered that I liked camping (or ‘glamping’ as the case may be) and what I call the slow experience. We did the Washington DC trip a bunch of years ago and I really liked being in one spot for a few days to be able to spend some time exploring the area. The rig became a portable home to jump off from.

So, what if I were to slow that process down a whole bunch more and extend it waayyyy out? I mean really dig into places with no time restrictions. What if I were to take the time to meet some people, get the local flavor, or possibly even do some part-time work if it looks interesting or fun? Having a great time? Stay!! Doing something interesting? Hang out for a while! On the flip side, don’t like the view out outside the living room window? Change it!! Don’t like your neighbor? Leave!!

Who cares if I spend a month in the tiny town of Hye, Texas because I got a part time job at a bourbon distillery (Yes, it’s an actual place/job that looks like fun). What if I were to work a couple of seasons at Amazon? What if I were to drive up to Alaska one summer? Or go down to a Mexican beach for a winter? Or maybe take a summer job at Yellowstone Park? Or Grand Teton? Or Glacier? Or do some volunteer work?, or, or, or??? The list goes on forever. I could even find a spot somewhere with a glass of wine, watch tour buses go by and laugh (I actually did that once in France!).

Some places might take a whole season while others might only take a couple of days. I also would have some ‘down days’ whenever I wanted. I could spend a day or five reading, catching up on some chores, maybe throw something in the smoker, work on a doll house, etc. I could mix up the days any which way I wanted. If it takes me 10, 15, or 20 years to make it to all the places I want to go to, so what. I’m in no hurry whatsoever. I might even spend some time way out in the boonies where my nearest neighbor is five or ten miles away! Wouldn’t that be awesome?!

I could drive US-1 from end to end just for the fun of it. I could check out as much of Route 66 as I want. The possibilities just don’t stop. But, I can say that I will avoid interstate highways like the plague. I’m not the least bit interested in making good time. I’m far more interested in stopping for every interesting thing I can find! See the world’s largest spitball?? I’m in! A museum of mailboxes? Pull over! A river that needs kayaking, a pond that looks awesome for fly-fishing, a mountain that needs hiking, a valley that wants its picture taken, etc., etc.

Then someday, when I get to the point where I’ve had enough, I can look back and decide on a place that I really liked and go call that home. Maybe buy a small piece of land somewhere and become a gentleman farmer (I’ve always wanted a tractor). Who knows? The possibilities are endless and it’s a long way off. I’ll make that decision when it needs to be made.

Ah yes, one last little item to address, those dreaded blogs. They should shoot people who write blogs, uh wait……. Yes, I do read blogs from people that are currently out there full-timing. In fact, I read about 5-7 of them at any one time. I have to say that they are totally different from the ones from the sailing community. These people truly enjoy living this type of lifestyle and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Obviously nobody stays out there forever, but it seems that 99% of the time people come off the road due to health, age, or something along those lines. Not usually because of being tired of it.

So does that mean that every day on the road is all rainbows and unicorns? Absolutely not, people write about being stuck when weather is bad or something breaks down, or something planned didn’t turn out exactly the way they dreamed it. But that’s true with anything in life. Seems I remember something about living the good with the bad.

Ok, so now I have a very basic idea that’s taking shape into a plan. But, how do I start? What sort of rig would be right for me? What would the budget look like? How does my life operate while I’m doing this? I can’t believe that I can just up and walk away from everything and disappear. These and a whole bunch more questions I’ll talk about in coming chapters.

Up next, so what kind of shoebox would you do this in?