We are moving into a 33-foot fifth wheel RV. We’ve been spending the past few weeks sorting through all our belongings deciding what we need, what we want and what we can do without. It almost feels good to purge our lives of all the excess we’ve accumulated since we moved from Hawaii back to the mainland.
As with everyone, our belongings fall into two main categories: What we need, and everything else.
It’s that everything else category that is giving us problems. We have lots of “stuff” that we don’t need, but we want to keep. But when your living space goes from 2,000 square feet down to 264 square feet, you only have room for what you need. And hopefully those items can serve a dual purpose to make them even more valuable.
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| Our house is in chaos right now. Getting ready for a moving sale, selling pretty much everything except a few treasured items. |
Of course some things we do not NEED, but will keep anyhow are obvious to us, such as family photos and heirlooms, the things our kids (and grandkids) made when they were little, books (I’ll read all those someday, really), ... and for me ALL my triathlon gear (racing kits, finishers medals and finishers T-shirts, signs that family and friends made to cheer me on during Ironman (yes, I still have those), movie posters and ALL my running shoes (because I WILL run again full-time ... some day! There’s a few ultra-marathons still calling my name). Oh, and my guitar (I already sold two of them and given one to my son).
And I can’t get rid of my tri bike that I did two Ironman World Championships on and many other triathlons. I’ve ridden thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of miles on that little Kuota and the memories I have while riding it, the people I rode with, the pain, the fear, the joy that I experienced while riding it all comes flooding back to me every time I see my bike.
My tri stuff will have to be something that those I leave behind will have to sell or throw away.
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| Our rig all hooked up and ready to go ... Only thing is we can't go yet, but one of these days we'll be hitting the road. This is right after we picked up the fifth wheel and took it to a CAT Scale to get the empty weight on it. It's the first time I towed it or anything, and also the first time I backed it up. |
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
Our plan is to begin traveling across the country as soon as possible. And for me, I plan to sketch and interview people and places along the way. Sticking with rural America — farmers, ranchers and small-town life. Maybe asking the same three questions and see if the answers change dramatically from state to state and/or region to region.
What are the three questions and why only three? Those are good questions ... The answer: I don’t know — yet. Why only three? Not sure. Originally I was thinking of asking the same 10 questions but that seemed to be too vague and of course the answers, depending on the questions, could have dramatic differences.
So I’m thinking that by narrowing the questions to just a few, it’ll create a focus and maybe give me a better snapshot of rural life across the country and how culture, the environment and regional beliefs influence our way of life — or does our way of life influence our culture and beliefs?
We'll be starting a new Youtube channel and blog once we get up and running in the RV life style chronicling our adventures, mishaps and learning as well as posting interviews, sketches and documentary-style videos along the way.
So a new adventure awaits us, but it'll have to wait until a few things fall into place, such as finding jobs that lets us work remotely, and ... well I guess that's pretty much the only thing that's stopping us. Sooo ... if you know anyone who needs a graphic artist/photojournalist/illustrator/copy editor/handyman/blog writer or whatever can be done remotely (telecommuting) contact me ... PLEASE ...
But until then we are planning and dreaming and planning some more and getting everything in order so we can begin our adventure.
Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.
SUPPORT OUR ADVENTURE FOR FREE
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Here's some links to some of my sketching supplies I order from Amazon.
My main sketchbooks are Stillman and Birn Beta Series A5 sketchbook
Da Vinci Kolinsky sable travel brushes No. 10, 6 and 4 round I love these brushes
Pentel Aquash water brush: This works for quick watercolors and on thinner papers such as general sketching paper.
My palette: Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: The Classics (I took out the Prima paints and replaced them with half pans of M. Grahams and W and N paints)
Noodler's Eels Black waterproof ink: This is a slow drying ink so be patient. It is also only waterproof on certain paper so test it before you use it something you really like.
Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: This is my main ink I use in my fountain pens. Unfortunately, I can't find a U.S. supplier so it takes a few weeks to get through Amazon so order ahead of time. I also love the shape of the bottle it comes in.
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