RV FAQ

Jill's Journal: At this point, we’ve shared our RV plans with just a very few people. They all seem to have the same questions. So, without further ado, here is a list of common RV FAQ, complete with answers!

What about Rob’s job?

That one is easy – Rob already telecommutes, so as long as he has a computer and an internet connection, he can literally work from anywhere. We’re envisioning doing most of our driving on the weekends and setting up base camp for a week at a time, giving him an uninterrupted work week. I’ll spend lots of time exploring kid-friendly activities with the girls to give him plenty of peace and quiet for work.

What about school?

I’ll home school the girls. Erika will be in first grade, Madelyn will be in second-year preschool, and Victoria will still be too young for anything at all official. My girls love to learn and we already do little educational sessions here at home for fun. I don’t think this will be a difficult transition for them. We do worry a little bit about a lack of social interaction for them, but it’s only for a year. They have each other and we have lots of friends we plan to visit who have kids their ages. And surely we’ll find other kids to play with at campgrounds and various places. I also have no qualms about hunting down parks and all sorts of fun places in new cities where kids come in spades. In addition, we have many kid-friendly activities already on our developing itinerary (i.e. Crayola Factory, Sesame Place, etc.).

Are you crazy, doing this with little kids?

Maybe! It’s something we’ve always wanted to do and for a long time we entertained the notion of doing it sometime in the future. But when? The kids likely won’t enjoy it when they become teenagers and we don’t want to wait until they’re all out of the house because we’ll be too dang old! We’ve decided there’s no time like the present. They’re young, enjoy adventure and travel, and still like our company right now! What a wonderful life experience and incredible education for them. Plus, we want them to always follow their dreams. This is a pretty good example for them.

Do you realize how tiny an RV is? Especially for five people?

Oh yes, we know. But we’re already in a very small home and Rob also works from home, so we’re all used to spending lots of time together in a small space. Lots of larger families in history lived in a smaller space with a lot more people. It’s only a hardship if you believe it is.

Won’t you get sick of being on the road?

That’s always a possiblity. But we don’t think so. Rob and I have always loved road trips. Loved them with a passion. We really can’t think of any better way to travel right now than in an RV. To be able to move our home and necessary belongings pretty effortlessly, to see the country but still sleep in our own bed every night appeals to us tremendously.

When your trip is over, will you still live in Lexington?

Honestly, we don’t know, but that’s part of the reason for our trip. We had been planning on buying a new, bigger house in 2010 and really had no intention of living anywhere but Kentucky for the rest of our lives. However, lots of things have made us rethink that stance lately. We really do love it here, but since we got out of breeding Thoroughbreds (a whole ‘nother story but primarily because our focus is 100% on our children right now), it’s not as crucial that we live in Thoroughbred “Mecca.”

Moving is something we’ve been thinking about for a while – are we 100% certain we want our children to call this area of the country home forever? We’ve been here for 12 years and it’s a lovely place to raise a family, but is it a perfect fit for us? We’re open to other areas too.

This RV trip is partly to let us “live” temporarily in a few of the places on our list that we’ve been considering and let us “scratch the itch,” so to speak. We hope it will tell us if Kentucky is going to be our “forever home” or if that might be somewhere else. High on our list is the Central Coast of California, a place we fell in love with on a recent trip and, as an added bonus, a place where Kristi and Adam will be moving after school. The four of us have had many conversations about the “compound” we want to build together! Another place that really appeals to us is Montana. Or we may find somewhere else…or we may recommit entirely to Kentucky. We shall see, but we don’t see any point in buying a new house until we know exactly where we’re going to live for the rest of our lives. Enter the RV plan. Perfect timing.

Why?

Think of the adventure! This will be something to remember for a lifetime. We only live once and we’ve always believe in making the most of it.