I was going to just write a status update, but I’m sitting here with a big cup of coffee looking out the kitchen window in Bend, Oregon and I’m feeling like this might get a bit wordy for a mere status update. So here goes...
Why a tiny house on wheels you ask? Why not just a camper, or an RV or a teardrop camper...or something cheaper and easier to navigate across the continental US? Well here’s why:
I like going on RV camping trips just as much as the next outdoorsy chick, but this is going to be my HOME. Not just my home, but my cats home! Yes, they are going with me - whether they like it or not. So I want something the feels like a home. Not a dressed up RV. I want wood flooring and wood beam ceilings, and a soaking tub (maybe), and a compost toilet, and probably some solar panels, and propane tanks, and a big generator, and all kinds of other stuff that will allow me to pull over in any Walmart parking lot across the country and chill out for a few days if I need to. The plan is to see the country - at least all the places that I’ve always wanted to see. I can probably skip Iowa. But everything else peaks my interest!
I’ve got friends and family in various states across the country, so when I’m visiting those places I’ll stay for a month or so. If not on their property, then in an RV park nearby. Which leads me to another reason I don’t want an RV...when I’m staying somewhere for extended periods of time, I’ll be able to unhitch my THOW (that’s short for Tiny House On Wheels for you newbies) and use my truck to get around town and do some sightseeing. Now I know, I don’t actually HAVE a truck at this point, but I’ll get one right after I decide on a tiny house! I’m looking at various options right now, both used and new, but this is a BIG decision and one I don’t want to make hastily. My goal is to have my THOW by April/May of 2018...which is when the real adventure begins! Once my 18 month - 2 year tour across America is over, I will have undoubtedly decided on a place to settle down (most likely the Volunteer state!). At that point I will buy a regular house on an acre (or 5) and my THOW will be turned into a cozy little AIR BNB. See? I’m thinking long term financial solvency people! I can totally rent it out, raise chickens and rabbits (for eggs and meat), grow my organic vegetables and make the full blown transition into hippy-chick survivalist!
I’ve decided to sell off my furniture and put the rest of my belongings in storage so that I can vacate my beautiful Huntington Beach condo rental by January 1st. (YIKES! Kinda scary). As most of you know I sold my Anaheim condo last October, which incidentally is how I was able to take all these awesome trips in 2017! Fortunately all my trips were pre-paid, because as of right now I haven’t seen a paycheck in 6 weeks and am still at least another 6 weeks out from seeing my first retirement check. Thank GOD I have simple tastes and like Top Ramen. It’s like 1994 with two kids as a single mom all over again! Ok, so I have a months worth of paychecks in bad ass knives, but a girl’s got to have SOME vices, right? (Half Face Blades are my weakness).
I’ve already spoken to my folks in Arizona who are happy to have me there for a month or longer come January. Of course I’ll also be with Emily Cottle in Tennessee for a while, and most likely Ron Rayburn in Kentucky for another stretch. Then there’s Vittoria Ferrari in Madeira Beach, Florida - who hopefully will let me wait tables for free (I keep my tips!) at the Sweet Brewnette for a few weeks or so. Oh wait, then there’s Kate Favara and her family in Montana - and Lord knows I’m dying to hang out in Big Sky Country and do some fishing and hunting. So it shouldn’t be much of a problem be-bopping around for 3-4 months while I wait for my THOW to be built or purchased. Once I get my THOW I will leave my Honda Accord in Tennessee with Emily Cottle (I can Uber there in Nashville when I’m visiting) and hit the wide open road. I’ll probably make a YouTube channel or become some other self-promoting type of Vlogger. I mean, OF COURSE I will - right?!?!
It’s going to be an EPIC adventure.
(I just need to convince Neville and Christian Grey)