The nomadic life is a life filled with ups and downs just like “regular” sticks-and-brick life. Over the past month, we’ve had our share of ups and “OH CRAP!” moments. Here are the top 5 things we’ve learned during our first month of full-time living:
1) Sometimes you just need to ask.
Are you looking for an opportunity? Sometimes all you have to do is ask! Seriously! Sometimes it is just that simple. We had this dream of full-timing but lacked the opportunity until I asked. In mid-April, we visited a Georgia state park and inquired for information on camp hosting. There is some information on the Georgia website, but many of the links were broken in the files and the process was not clear. The park manager called me back almost immediately with a month-long opening they had needed to fill very soon. We went home from that trip with only a week and a half notice that our full-time adventure would begin much sooner than even we had expected. That adventure began May 1, 2018. ~ Angelica
2) Expect the unexpected.
We began our full-time living adventure by heading out early in the morning for what was supposed to be a 4 hr drive down to South Georgia. About 2 hrs into the trip, while being passed by a couple of moving trucks, I heard a light thump. This prompted me to look out my side mirror just in time to see one of our emergency escape widows go crashing down on the highway. We had an issue with that same window on an earlier trip. That time it was flapping in the wind and we were able to stop and secure it before of disaster happened. Figuring that one of us had forgotten to latch it closed, we didn’t think much more about it. Evidently, it had a faulty latch though. While it was definitely a scary experience, we were able to patch it up at the next exit with a tote lid and finish the trip without further complications. ~ Philip
3) Space is important.
We had no illusion that 4 people, 4 dogs, and 2 cats were all going to be perfectly comfortable in a 26 ft. travel trailer all the time. We all got on each other’s nerves when we lived in a 4,000 sq ft house. Living in The Tin Can is no different. The difference is that you have to find ways to escape the chaos when times get tough. Some of our favorite ways to escape are:
- Quiet time, where everyone gets in their own beds for a little while.
- Takie a nature walk. If you follow us on Instagram, you will know that we love looking for and taking pictures of all the great wildlife we have found.
- Play a card game.
- Go for a walk/run.
- Go ride around on the golf cart picking up pinecones. This is actually one of our camp hosting jobs and probably mine & Philip’s favorite. We enjoy just riding and talking while we pick up bucket after bucket of those pesky pinecones.
Regardless of what we do, we try our best to be as respectful as possible of each other’s personal space. We won’t be in a 26 ft. travel trailer forever, but this time right now is bonding our family tighter together and preparing us for bigger and better adventures to come. ~ Angelica
4) Family matters.
Most of our 19-year marriage, have been without having family close by. Philip’s siblings are spread from Tennessee to Florida. I’m an only child. My parents, as I mentioned in the Color Scheme article, live in the Seattle, Washington area.
It has been a huge change for us to have Philip’s sister, Kim, right here in the same city we are in. We have had a great time having she and her husband over for dinner, going to church with them and just enjoying their company in general. Another of Philip’s sisters is only an hr and a half from us here. We also plan on getting to spend some time with her & her husband before we leave in July.
After all, love for our kids and love for our family is the main reason we took this journey in the first place. The time we have spent outside making memories, roasting s’mores, grilling out, playing cards, shopping, hanging out together & sharing our adventures with each other has been invaluable in our growth as a family. ~ Angelica
5) Rookie mistakes are inevitable.
Except for about the first week after setting up at the state park, it has rained at some point every day. There hadn’t really been any wind, but some pretty good downpours at times. I had put out the awning and set up a canopy tent over our picnic table right after we arrived at our spot and hadn’t thought much about needing to take them down during any of the storms we had encountered.
One afternoon, we left the campground to go eat and do some shopping. I knew that it was most likely going to rain that day, but like I said, I did not think about the possibility of wind. Well, when we came back that evening, we found our awning on top of The Tin Can and our canopy on the opposite side of the trailer from where it had been. It had been quite a storm! Two of the trees pretty near our spot had been struck by lightning and there was evidence that A LOT of water had fallen. Luckily the awning itself was unharmed. The awning rafters and brackets, on the other hand, were broken beyond repair and had to be replaced. It was a $150 rookie mistake, but it could have been a lot more costly. ~ Philip
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