When we began dreaming about this trip two years ago, we weren’t sure it would ever really happen. Now it’s come to this. Purging. Packing. Moving. Relocating tools, yard equipment, etc. So, we aren’t moving to any one place. We’re moving into a storage unit. And into family garages and sheds. And in with Jessie’s parents for a few weeks. And of course, into our RV. In other words, we’ve got stuff all over North Carolina.

We’re finding how complex it is to unplug from a life we’ve spent years building. Made more complex by turning a dream into nitty-gritty details (I think they call that reality?).  We’re in our last week of employment, which is equal parts exciting and terrifying. Well, maybe not equal parts. On top of wrapping up work and making tough decisions about “essentials” as we purge and pack (and did I mention, as we try to pawn off stuff on family and friends relocate valuables?), we’re also forwarding mail, organizing our finances, preparing our tax documents, finishing a major upgrade to the RV battery/electrical system, prioritizing time with family and friends, getting our teeth cleaned/eyes checked/vehicles serviced/prescriptions filled/last-minute items purchased/etc. Oh, and we’ve started route planning. We aren’t planning too far in advance (a big reason we’ve chosen this kind of travel), but we do realize that some of the more popular places we want to visit do require some advance preparation. For example, finding affordable beachfront camping in Florida for February…let’s just say we should have done that many months ago.

But by far the hardest part of all this is saying “see you later” to family and friends. This is probably the single biggest reason for this blog/website. It is our sincere hope that between this blog and our RVgapyear Facebook page (and maybe Instagram account…stay tuned), we will be able to stay in touch with everyone in North Carolina while reconnecting with friends and family we haven’t seen in years. We’re also really looking forward to making new friends with interesting folks we encounter along the way.

So there you have it. Lots of moving parts (pun definitely intended), and Amazon.com loves us very much.