Our Road Adventure - Colleen & Graham

Two Years On The Road!

11/28/2023

With absolutely no camper trailer experience, we left Nashville on November 22, 2021 to begin living life on the road. Our first stop was the family farm in VA to spend Thanksgiving. From there we made our way south and spent the winter in Florida. We have made a loop through the Southwest, and one through the Northwest.

We have enjoyed exploring our country, seeing friends and family along the way, making new friends and memories. We have camped in 31 states and have been to 28 national parks.

Some of our favorite memories include:

The totally amazing campsite we scored at Kalaloch Beach: the spectacular ocean view, two eagles in the tree above our camper, and sea otters in the ocean.

Even though it was often inconvenient, we loved the bison jams that stopped traffic. They take their time and remind us to do the same.

A very close encounter with an enormous elk, we named "Big Guy." We were sitting outside and he wandered through our campsite. We gave him space, and he gave us photo opportunities.

This was by far one of our most amazing experiences. We got to see a Big Horn Sheep turn a water faucet on with its head so that he could make a puddle of water to drink from.

We got married in Grayton Beach Florida where we have vacationed many times. So many friends and family gathered together to celebrate with us. Our wedding was filled with all of our favorite things, and we had a wonderful time sharing them with our guests.

Northwestern Loop

11/15/2023

We are in Nashville after six months of being mobile on the road. Our Northwestern Loop was epic. We saw some of our favorite national parks, and wildlife. The five national parks in Utah were highlights and we feel that Capitol Reef National Park has many wonderful features and is an underrated park. It's hard to believe that we are approaching our two year anniversary of living on the road and we plan to post a summary - stay tuned!

Capitol Reef National Park, June 2023

Capitol Reef National Park, June 2023

On The Road Again

4/14/2023

At the end of Jan 2023 we arrived in PA, in time for our niece to give birth to her first child. We enjoyed two and a half months of family time and are now so excited to be on the road again. We are tying the knot on April 27th, 2023 and are currently making our way south.

New Truck In Time To Head West

10/15/2022

We were recently in the Nashville area for Colleen to train Reiki at the Veterans Affairs. We found out while we were in town that a Tundra was available for us to purchase. We went in for a test drive and before we left the lot we knew it was ours. We are thrilled to have a more appropriately sized vehicle to tow our home. We are still on a wait list for the Hybrid Tundra and once that becomes available we will trade in the one we just bought. We like how this one is silver which matches the trim on Solas. It's a comfortable, luxurious ride that does not have a name yet!

Parked and Being Still

3/10/2022

Immediately after getting on the road in November, 2021, we decided we wanted to upgrade our new Toyota Tacoma, to a new Toyota Tundra. We knew the larger truck would feel more secure. While we waited several months and still have not received a Tundra, Graham may have just found out why this hasn't happened. Toyota is going to be releasing a hybrid Tundra. When? We don't know! Corporate Toyota has yet to give the exciting news to the dealers. What we do know is that the hybrid Tundra is such a better fit for us, and we have decided to wait until we get it before we travel out west.

In the meantime, gas prices are skyrocketing, and we have decided to park for a while on family land in VA. Graham's parents are welcoming us onto their beautiful property.. We are grateful for a place that we can continue to live in Solas, and at the same time, be near family.

We are excited to have a different phase in our adventure.

Returning To Where We Started

2/25/2022

After three months on the road we went full circle and headed back to Nashville. We got to visit with friends in Atlanta on our drive west from the coast. When we arrived in our previous home city we were welcomed by so many wonderful friends. After a few days of visiting, we flew to Philadelphia to visit family and more friends. We are so fortunate to have such generous, lovely people in our lives. Now back in Nashville again, we are doing more visiting.

We lived here for fifteen years and while it feels very familiar, it no longer feels like home. Even though our camper, Solas, is tiny, it is comforting to feel at home while living on the road. We have our own living space that we take with us.

We like knowing that while we won't always live on the road, it is what is right for us now. We are experiencing lots of relief to be house-free, and debt-free. There is immense freedom in making the decision as to where we want to spend our time. Towing our home allows us to do that.

Learning To Trust

1/16/2022

Life on the road is amazing. There are so many new experiences that old fears are being challenged like never before. I have found that I am cutting through outdated habits at a rapid rate. I feel myself growing and becoming the person that I have wanted to be. I am trusting more than I have ever trusted. When fear comes up, and it occasionally does, I do something about it. Yoga has given me many tools to utilize, and regardless of the situation I can always find something that helps to settle me. Each day on the road is a new adventure. I am happy to be showing up for myself.

Christmas For Two

12/27/2021

I spent every Christmas with my parents until they passed 11 years ago. When I lived in NYC I traveled by bus or train to Philly to be with my family. Even after moving to Nashville, Graham and I always visited for Christmas. For a few years after my parents passed, we continued traveling to Philly and spent the holidays with my sister Lisa, her husband, Fran, my nephew, Franny and my niece, Kelly. At some point through the years we decided to stay in Nashville and to not travel. Since then we started many new fun traditions, and we looked forward to the holiday season, even though a part of me always missed being with my family.

This fall when we headed out onto our road adventure we had full intentions of spending Christmas with my sister, and her family. However, we realized shortly after we started traveling around FL that it didn’t make sense to turn around and drive back to Philly so soon after our arrival down south.

Once we made the decision to stay in Florida, we then had to choose where we wanted to spend Christmas. The answer came quickly; at the beach! We were lucky to snag someone’s cancelled reservations and to book a state park right on the coast. Leading up to Christmas day we played lots of Christmas music, and watched Christmas movies to get in the spirit. I was unsure how it would feel for the two of us to be celebrating with only each other. Christmas morning we woke up early, listened to my childhood favorite albums like The Partridge Family Christmas. We ate sugar cookies from Wholefoods (rather than homemade ones). We had fun Facetime calls with friends and family. We made a delicious lunch, packed up the wagon and went to the beach. We spent the whole afternoon relaxing in the sun, splashing in the water, taking walks, eating, reading, and chillin”. It was the most perfect day I could have imagined!

I am starting to believe that the more we are open to change, the more room there is for us to be surprised and delighted by the things we leave space for.

Happy 2022 you all!

Solas Gets A Bath

12/19/2021

On one of our "stay days" we borrowed a ladder from the campground host, and washed the camper. We like taking good care of our home on wheels. There is plenty of maintenance in this lifestyle. Some tasks are already feeling like second nature. There have been more firsts for both of us than ever before.

A Good Day To Have A Good Day

12/18/2021

We went into Crestview, Florida, on a rainy Saturday, with many loads of laundry to do. It is a charming small city, and we appreciated that all of the errands we had to do were easy. The person working the printing center at Staples gave us some of the best customer service possible.

We want to give a special shout out to Back Home Bakery & Cafe.
www.backhomebakerycafe.com
We got an amazing sandwich and salad, and some great bakery treats, that we took back to the campsite.