Drew, Jen, Taylor, Campbell and Daisy Cheese have made a decision to shake up life a bit and begin a big adventure. Beginning in July 2010, we will be selling most of our possessions, buying a single-wide on wheels (sometimes called an RV) and hitting the road for a year. There I've said it, and now you know. The details of the trip and all the adventures along the way will be posted here on our new family blog. It will be a year of learning, discovery, simplicity, adventure and family connection.
Here is the macro version. We've really enjoyed our time in Fort Wayne and will always remember it as the foundation for our family, the place we learned to be parents, the place where we shifted our life from the crazy big city, .com, intense lifestyle of San Francisco, to a more low key, smell the roses, somewhat routine based life. A place where we met so many fantastic people.
In 2002 Jen and I sat in Sally's, our favorite San Francisco breakfast place, it had been a tough but interesting year, Jen was 4 months pregnant with our first and we decided then it was time to make a change. Our vision was to move to Fort Wayne (via Rockford, IL), so our kids can spend time and know their cousins and Jen and I could live close to family. John, Kathy and Mary helped us learn to be parents, taught us the way of the Midwest and overall enhanced our lives more than words can express. Being close to Jen's brother's family was also special. We know the connection we've made with them and everyone else in Fort Wayne will stay with us forever.
What are we doing and Why?
It's hard to say "why" exactly, but it's almost like Jen and I are uncomfortable with comfortable. We have both traveled the world and lived in many places, and we'd like the same for our kids. We decided that while the kids are young (and don't really have a vote) it's one of the best times to do it. It's Littles v2.0. Our plan is to sell our house and leave in July this year. Jen will be home schooling the kids, Taylor for 2nd grade and we'll start Campbell off early in a kindergarten curriculum. The schooling component is probably the most daunting aspect, but we are confident we'll figure it out and dump something into their heads during the year. And as we study subjects, we'll use the world to help teach by putting things in a direct context. Imagine driving down the highway counting telephone poles for 5 hours, now that's high-impact in-your-face education. But touring Washington DC while teaching US history may also be interesting.
First and foremost, we are offering EVERYONE an open invitation to join us at any location. We can be tracked here and you are welcome to stay in our RV with your family. We will be driving something very similar to this, which actually has more square footage than our San Francisco apartment.
We'll begin by heading up to northern Michigan. From there, we'll drive over to Maine to enjoy the fall leaves and eat some lobster. Our general rule will be to be in the ideal place at the ideal time you want to be there, considering events, weather, activities, etc. As it gets cold, we'll head down the east coast spending time in NY, Washington DC, NC, and South Carolina. We plan on visiting as many people as we can along the way. We'll travel across the bottom of the US through Texas, AR, NM and into Southern California. Sure, that's probably enough travel for a year, BUT NO, we want more! we'll then head up through Northern California, sample some wine sitting under the redwoods. At this point snowboard season is under way, and spring being our favorite boarding season, we'll probably split the time between Salt Lake City and Breckenridge CO to ensure we get the best of all mountains and snow conditions!
This article really captures our feelings on traveling and life in general. Read
And this is our theme movie. RV.
What happens after the year?
We're not sure exactly and are leaving it open to decide along the way. We may continue the traveling but do it overseas or we may find our new home along the way. The only thing we know for sure is we decided life is too short, and we'd regret not doing this later in life.