THE DREAM

The dream started about five or six years ago. We've been weekend campers since John was a toddler, and as the boys grew we upgraded to bigger RVs and started taking longer and more frequent trips. One day Eric told me about a YouTube channel called Keep Your Daydream. This family of 5 had set out on a six-month road trip in their RV, but loved it so much that they decided to just keep on traveling instead of returning home as planned. Eric wanted me to watch their videos because he was intrigued by the idea of full-time RVing. I scoffed because that's the life of retirees, not a young family...right? But we started watching their videos and they made it look so appealing and attainable. Over the next few years, our conversations evolved from "It's crazy to even think of doing that!" to "It could be fun...but how would we ever manage work and school?" to "This is something we all want to do, so let's make it happen!"

Along came COVID, which gave us a crash course in homeschooling. (Operative word: crash. We learned a lot of what NOT to do through that experience.) It also opened the door for Eric to work remotely full-time. We camped a lot that year, experimenting with working and schooling away from home. It seemed doable, but the dream still felt a bit out of reach. Then last summer, Eric came across an opening for Vice President of Real Estate Development at Kampgrounds of America (KOA). We both felt that God was placing this opportunity before him as the perfect combination of his professional experience and personal interests. Needless to say, we were thrilled when he was hired.

Eric's job requires that he regularly visit KOA properties, so we have the ability to join him in his travels around the country. We've decided to spend the next 6-12 months on the road, beginning with a few stops in the east and then heading west to Montana and other bucket list destinations over the next few months. We will return to Florida in December and decide at that time whether we want to settle back into "normal" life or go back out on the road. No doubt there will be challenges, but we are excited to embark on this adventure!