Departure!

starting odometerAs we were driving out of the neighborhood, we turned on the radio and the song “Its the End of the World as We Know It” was playing!!  And the next song was “Brand New Day”!!  How is that for the universe sending us a message – “and I feel fine”!

It’s hard to believe we made it to the departure day! It was a whirlwind of activity since February.

We got the inside of the house repainted and lots of other things spiffed up. We put a bunch of our furniture in storage to make it look neater.  Just before we were ready to sign with the realtor, we got our first bite from the Zillow.com listing. A nice, young couple came by to see it and liked it so much they made an offer a couple of days later. Then the real work began.

After the inspection, there were repairs to get done and inspections to follow. We were absolutely amazed how many contractors of all sorts said they would come and then never show up or call. There was demand after demand from the buyers’ lawyer for things that were unnecessary (or impossible!). And then, there was the packing.  Our house was completely full from attic to basement. Being winter, it was difficult to work in those areas too. We slowly sorted and packed as the months went by. We got a larger storage place and began filling it. We gave away about 2/3 of our “stuff” to the Salvation Army. We begged our children to take things like the piano, larger tools and lawn furniture. It did feel good to lighten up and not be such a slave to our belongings.

I gave 4 months notice at work so they could get a new person up to speed. They gave me a very nice going away party and I will miss them all. They are a special,  dedicated bunch of young women. I hope to return part time on a travel basis in the fall.

Once the weather warmed, we bumped out Monty so we could start filling him up. It was really hard to decide what clothes to bring and what to store. We gradually whittled our kitchen items down to what we would be bringing because weight and breakability is an issue in the RV too. We got free moving boxes from Freecycle.org, and every day packed up a few. We never went downtown without putting something in the storage place.

We began planning our summer route. We knew we wanted to head north first to see family in New England and make our way up to Prince Edward Island. Given that these areas are in high demand during the summer months, we gradually planned our entire itinerary until the end of August. It was fun but sometimes difficult to pick campgrounds: like anything online, there were good and bad reviews for every place! Once summer is over we will start heading south gradually and stay as long as we feel like it wherever we are without a lot of planning.

Amazingly, the house closed on the 13th; our buyers graciously allowed us to camp in the driveway until Saturday morning; our next door neighbors took our last few bags of garbage and gave us a nice send-off. We got little gifts (puss-in-boots) and a poem from their kids too!

Our rowing club, Highlands Rowing Center, threw us a nice bash on Friday night with a yummy dinner and good company. My two children and their significant others surprised us too. It’s always hard to say good-bye but everyone was excited for us.

departing pic

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

 

5 thoughts on “Departure!

  1. I love, love, love the Mark Twain quote! It is so fitting! I’ve been thinking of you two every day – where are you now, how’s driving, and are you sleeping well! Miss you already! I am so excited to read more of your journey! Xoxo

    1. HI Terri! We are in Newport RI for another week. The weather has been nothing short of spectacular: 70s-80 in the day, 50s-60 at night. This makes for great kayaking, biking, paddle boarding, and sailing in the day and then perfect snoozing under the sleeping bags with the windows open! Spending lots of quality time with family. I’m going to post again closer to the end of the week just before we head to Wolfeboro. We miss you too — school’s almost out!

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