Choose Your Own Adventure

Between too much cold (I don’t like winter…at all) and having too much going on around here, I’ve been a little out of touch for a while. Things seem to finally be calming down, so hopefully, that continues.

It has been almost two years since everyone’s world was turned upside down. Like many others, when my family and I were spending nearly every moment together during lockdown, we were trying to think of things that we could do to get out of the house while not breaking any regulations or putting anyone’s health in danger.

We discussed multiple options. The most expensive was buying a rundown beach house to fix up and spend time in. We would also be able to rent it out when we weren’t using it, so it could have potentially become another source of income. Ultimately, we decided we weren’t ready to front that kind of money right then, so that option was scrapped. In hindsight, if I’d known what was going to happen to house prices over the next couple of years, I would have pushed for this option a little harder.

We also discussed buying an RV of some sort. We thought about this for a while, but never actually went to look at any in person. The appeal was the same as the beach house, but with an RV, we could take it with us. We talked ourselves out of this option at the time mainly because of the maintenance and storage that would be involved. We didn’t want to deal with either issue.

Ultimately, we decided on a swimming pool for our backyard. It has been a nice addition to our house both aesthetically and practically since we love being outside when the weather is nice. Being able to just jump in for a while without having to pack anything is a big plus.

But two years later, my mind keeps coming back to the RV. As I mentioned, we love being outdoors, and we all really enjoy road trips. The idea of combining both while still having some modern conveniences of home is too appealing. (Apparently, this is true for a lot of people as RV sales have increased dramatically in the past two years.)

A big part of my distraction for the past two months or so has been caused by us shopping around for a travel trailer, and about two weeks ago, we finally bought one. It’s nothing special…just enough for our family of four as we travel around to new locations and go RVing. (It’s funny to me how people can turn inanimate objects into verbs. Maybe I should stop overthinking things.)

We had four days off this past weekend, so we used that as an opportunity to take our first trip. We chose Martin Dies, Jr. State Park. We’ve tent camped there a couple of times in the past when our son was a Cub Scout, but sleeping in an RV was much comfier than sleeping on the ground. In fact, Martin Dies is where I took my son fishing for the first time.

It’s amazing how much planning is involved in taking a trip in a travel trailer. Fortunately, my wife and I are planning nerds, so the whole trip went off without a hitch…well, except the one on the back of my truck.