The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Just because I’m traveling full time doesn’t mean it’s all perfect and fun out here. I continue to struggle with my PTSD some days, I still have days where nothing, and I mean nothing, goes right.

I could be in the most beautiful location in the world, but it doesn’t mean I don’t lay in bed all day watching movies on my ipad.

I’ve been on the road almost a month. Seems crazy that it’s been that long! Time is flying by really fast!

I’ve compiled a list of the good, the bad and the ugly…

the good

I have my health. I don’t think I’ve felt better. I get regular exercise, low stress, nap when I want, always able to eat when I want…feeling great.

Parley, Sydney and Murray are happy and healthy. I did worry that they would hate the travel world, but they love it. Makes me happy to see that!

My truck is running great…hope I didn’t just jinx it. Most of the large things that needed be replaced in it have been. Most importantly it has a/c.

The 1967 Bell camping trailer is doing better than I thought it would. It’s old, and there are some things that seem to be falling apart on it, but guess what, the RV’ers that I’ve talked to have new rigs and they are breaking too. So I feel pretty good about it.

I’ve used my organizational skills to get my trailer organized and minimized as much as I could. Feels good to have room in here, and not have the cupboards completely packed, really good.

I get to pick my destinations. I can look at a map and say to myself, “self, let’s go see this place, then this place, then this place, then this place, then this place.”

I have a huge support system. Love you all that support me! I know you all have my back in this adventure, which means a lot to me.

Friends and family have all told me that they have places for me to stay if need be…all over the country! Love that! Thank you!

I have learned how to use my trailer brakes, especially when I’m going down a hill that is 6% grade downhill for eight miles. I would like to ask the person who decided it was ok to have such a sharp grade…why the fuck did you do that?

I have found that I’m smarter about this fixing stuff, trailer stuff and mcgyvering things then I thought I was.

I have learned that being patient and not getting mad about things is a super power that I am happy to say I’m mastering…thank god. Especially when the cats knock everything off the table, when the cats walk across your laptop keyboard while your writing your blog, when the dog jumps off the table seat and his foot hits either his food bowl or water bowl and it sends all of its contents onto your newly cleaned floor, or when the grey tank line gets plugged and you have about an inch of water on the floor of your small bathroom after you just scrubbed the bathroom clean, or when you forget to open the grey tank so that it can drain into the sewer…ok, ok, ok, I could go on forever, I digress.

the bad

I don’t have too much money. If I budgeted correctly I will be ok, but I’m another couple of truck breakdowns away from being almost broke. I’m working on my writing and hope to publish articles, etc to help fund my travels.

I can only drive up to 55 maybe 60 mph with the trailer. That means I have had semi trucks on my ass, like literally an inch from my trailer bumper, I’ve been pulled over for having more than five cars behind me and I have figured out that in 1967 the speed limit pretty much everywhere but Montana and Texas was 55 mph. So of course the trailer gets caught in the wind and tries to push me into the other lane when I’m traveling at 60 mph, or sometimes even at 45 mph.

When you roll into a campsite that is not level…not even close! When I have to lay in bed the opposite way because all the blood rushes to my head if I lay the right way. Plus the door won’t shut well either. I have to slam it shut a few times before it will latch.

When I don’t have shore power to hook up too. I’m grateful I got my generator, but…I feel bad running it all day in the campground because it is a constant noise. It’s not as bad if fellow campers have theirs going too. I don’t feel like as much of a bad neighbor then.

The worst is when I run my trailer battery to 0.00. I have done this way too many times. So pissed about it. When I do that I have to hook up my truck, start my truck and run my truck for about 30-60 minutes so I can get the battery up enough so that my battery charger will kick in and start to charge the battery. It’s so damn annoying I sometimes want to scream and kick something…like the battery. Patience grasshopper, patience.

the ugly

The septic system on these trailers is a pain in the ass. And not just in my old trailer…all trailers. When I first started traveling I didn’t think this was going to be such a problem. I was so wrong.

You would think that they would have figured this out already. You have to buy this cool little ramp thing to place your sewer hose on because half the time the sewer hole is above your trailer. (thanks for getting that for me Q) It works good, but when you unhook your hose you still need to raise it up as you walk towards the sewer hole, and hope that you don’t accidently undo the plastic end of the hose and have the stuff in the hose spill out on the ground.

Or when you go to dump the septic and when you screw off the outside lid some water (let’s just say its water) comes out at you, bleck. Then you realize that your septic outlet thingy is leaking…fucking leaking. So you flush your whole septic tank out, then open the valve and clean the port making sure that there is nothing between the two rings that is making it leak…nope. all clean. Still leaking, not too much tho, not as much as before. Then it dawns on you that you have to replace that outside piece…what the f…..gross.

And the ugliest part of traveling full time…knowing that one day you will have to stop traveling and go back to a normal life…or do I?

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