many of you know about our plan to sail the americas, once steve retires (about eight years from now). well…
over the past few weeks, i’ve come across some blogs of folks, who are RVing it…living (and traveling) out of their RVs. reading about their adventures, i have begun to think,
is it possible? could we do this? maybe we could RV it after tampa. or steve’s last assignment (he has three left)…sort of a pre-sailing prep. or am i just crazy to even think of such a thing?
of course, having middle or high schoolers at the time, things would be different than the families i’m currently following. i’d love to find an RV family, with older children. and it wouldn’t be as exciting for us, as we wouldn’t be able to travel all that much, with steve still being in the military and having to work, deploy, etc. but even with that said, my mind is churning and dreaming about the idea.
here’s a few families i’m currently following:
child’s play
the organic sister
walk slowly live wildly
these families are all amazing, strong and inspirational. and their lives fascinate me.
i’m not sure i could purge as they are or have. rather, we will purge some, take some and plan to put some into storage. we’re pretty minimalistic as it is; however, we do have things that we just can’t let go of (or shall i say, i can’t let go of).
not long ago, someone asked me,
what happens if one of our kids is some star athlete or something in high school? will you still pull them out of school to go sailing?
no, most likely not. if something like that happened, we would wait until they’re out of high school. but for the moment, we talk about beginning our sailing adventure when ryder is 14 and sky is 15. kiele will be 21 and will have the choice, but for now, she has said that she wants to go with us.
yesterday, kiele asked what she should do for her next big project in her gifted class. her project can be on anything; it just has to be some huge self-guided writing project. i suggested that she do her project on our future sailing adventures. we discussed plotting our sailing route and writing about each destination–the communities, their cultures and how we can give back to the people at each stop, as that is an essential part of our journey. and i’m excited that she’s excited to take on the project.
another statement i hear a lot is,
your kids are going to hate it; they’re not going to want to be pulled out of high school, to go sailing with you.
my reply is that we’ll see when the time comes. i am well aware of football, soccer, cheerleading, homecoming, prom, friendships, etc. for now, a girl has to dream…dream about possibilities.
even now, many people think that children would hate moving every two to three years, but i truly don’t think mine do. they might not love it, but they don’t hate it either. i’m constantly talking about how lucky we are to live in and experience the different locations, as we do. and how lucky we are to have special friends all across the US. i enjoy moving and i try to teach my kids to enjoy it too. the only challenge is kiele’s education, but i think we’re now to the point that her services are so engrained into her individual education plan, i don’t think there’s a school out there that could rightfully challenge them.
we will see.
we will see.
for the moment, i will just continue following these incredible families living out of their RVs and dreaming about the possibility of my own family one day doing the same. if not out of an RV, definitely out of a sailboat.
or maybe we could just get an amphibious RV 
if only it weren’t a million dollars. crazy, huh?
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi! thanks for the link!
I’ve never seen the amphibious RV…but now you have me wondering… LOL.
This year my daughter is 13, son 10, other daughter 5. My oldest is approaching high school age. It is a different approach, but so much fun as they get older. And oh, what a life experience!
I’m excited to see what you are able to figure out to do for your ‘pre-sailing prep’ time.
When our four boys were small my hubby and I looked into a sailing adventure. Life took over and it never materialized but if you haven’t already found “Kids for Sail” You should read that one. BTW my sons are now 23,21,19,&17 and the older two are commercial fishing…they all surf and windsurf and have a love for the sea. Our adventures just ended up being shorter ones.
my husband’s parents pulled him out of school when he was 10 and they cruised on their boat for years around the Caribbean. he caught his own food. wandered around islands alone, exploring, finding freedom in being a pre-teen, living among third world island kids, learning appreciation, gratitude, the world. those years defined who is now; an artist, and activist and a musician. i mean you’d have to know him to know what i am talking about, but it’s really why i fell in love with him. the hardest part was brining him back, a teenager, into a materialistic, cliquey, at times cruel, high school in long island. i think he almost wishes they stayed on the boat (but his mom was DONE!) for the rest of childhood life and skipped high school completely. anyway. everytime i talk about “when WE are going to do it” he says to me “when you can live with exactly 3 shelves for your belongings! and don’t get freaked out in the middle of a crazy storm and we are on death’s door and i am comanding orders at everyone”. Serious stuff. But so is life.
Go for it. All of it.
much love
mb
Hey Deb! I’ve been following the Janssens website since before they set out on their first trip and was so inspired! We left SoCal last year and literally sold everything we owned except what fit in the back of a pickup truck and moved to west Texas so that Tommy could finish his degree in wind energy while I get my masters. We’ve been taking extended road trips since out move and have loved every minute of them. Gracie is seven now and can’t wait for our next one! As soon as we both graduate next year, we’re seriously considering the RV lifestyle for a year or so as we tour the US looking for a new place to settle down. I think your kids would love it!
so crazy!! my husband and i were just discussing doing the exact same thing(getting rid of all the “stuff” and living in an RV)!! we are in point mugu, ca (just moved from san diego) and he is finishing his degree. he also is in love with the idea of sailing after he retires. cool to hear someone thinking fun/crazy ideas too!!! i think your kids would love to sail with you guys, sounds adventurous!!
Deb,
check out Diane Stuemers books- Voyage of the Northern Magic. It is a very touching story about her family (from Ottawa) sailing around the world together, and how the GAVE BACK along the way! you would love it.
sadly, Diane passed away from Cancer shortly after returning home. It goes to show- you have to live every day…… and she did. thankfully.
read it. it’s inspiring.
live your dreams.
Sarah
it is so intriguing to me, as well. I have long dreamt of packing up my sizeable car and doing the whole route 66 across the country trek. We are currently contemplating uprooting our two high schoolers, in favor of a lifestyle change. They are both on board ( have not always been in support) as they too, like the thought of a little bit of adventure, and the possibility of beginning the next phase of their lives in a place they adore (we travel and visit there often). Even so, it is daunting to think of actually doing it……the purging that would be required ( space would be a bit smaller for us, when one considers how we currently live), the kids would be developing all new friends, though they already know a few acquaintances at the destination, and then there is the unknown for all of us….but isn’t the unknown what makes us wake up every morning? I say, do not listen to the naysayers about your kids not wanting to travel with you. You have nurtured these children with what I see ( from afar) as a tremendous sense of family….and they appear so comfortable and willing to be in those surroundings, and that will not go away. If you were a family filled with individuals that did not interact with one another, kids playing alone in their rooms, tween needing her space, I would say caution….but continue nurturing that amazing concept and reality of fun an togetherness that you seem to have and it will be second nature to them, and they will think nothing of it. I hope this dream adventure pans out for you. What an amazing gift it would be for your kids.
I can’t believe you brought this up because this is our dream since my husband and I sailed to French Polynesia and Hawaii before we were married. We are waiting for the kids to be old enough to help and do what they are told to do on the boat (they are 1 and 4 now!). So many of the same questions and concerns come up for me every day but it’s still our family dream and we live our lives by it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!
Deb – we are heading off up the east coast of Australia in three months. We will be travelling with a caravan, and our four girls (aged 7, 5, 2 and currently 4 weeks). The 7 year old will be in Grade 2, and the 5 year old will be starting her first year of school. We plan on schooling them via the School of the Air – a big change from mainstream ‘go to school’ pattern that we are in. My husband works offshore -two weeks on and two weeks off – so he will travel with us when on land, and then park us somewhere for two weeks – rinse and repeat! I cannot wait! Looking forward to opening our eyes and widening our horizons – and our children! Whilst we are up North – we will hopefully fit in some sailing around the Whitsundays – LOVELY! It has always been a dream of mine to do this – so I am VERY excited that it will happen!
Go for it Deb!
Hi Deb
We are friends with the Janssen’s and are planning to take the plunge in the next few months to full time Rving. We bought our RV in Nov and are doing some painting etc.
We have four kids ranging in ages from 15 to 3. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited they all are to be making this life change.
I’d love to answer any questions you have. We are still figuring out logistics but our determination is strong.
My husband is 37 and had cancer last year. I do not want to wait to live.
Alicia
Deb, I am so excited for your plans. I’m not sure you know this about me, but 10 years ago I rode my bike solo from Oregon to Jackson Hole, WY, and pulled all of my camping gear behind me in a bike trailer. I am so glad that I did that. It is something that I would like to do again with my husband (and instead of lugging 60lbs, I’d stay in hotels and charge it all on a card!). Anyhow the point of all this being, I met such incredible, ordinary/extraordinary people along the way and their souls stick with me to this day. One thing to note; I thought that on the bike ride I’d have this great epiphany or life realization, turns out I didn’t, I just enjoyed the ride and the moments and people along the way. I can’t wait to read about your adventures! Keep up the great work.