The Plan

Have you lost your ever loving mind?!  This is the reaction I get either verbally or via shocked facial expressions (those are my favorite) when I let people know that Dave and I have decided to take a year off (a gap year!) to travel the country in an RV.  With three dogs.  Three geriatric dogs.  Oh – and no plan.  What could go wrong?

The quick answer is yes, I’ve lost my ever loving mind and I can’t wait to see how all this turns out.  After many years of working in an office, raising Mallory as a single mom, running a household and generally conforming to the rules of society, I’ve realized that life is alarmingly short and there are so many people who articulate that they sure wish they’d done something cool when they had the opportunity.  This is our opportunity.

So to keep friends and family apprised of our whereabouts and general state of mind, I’ve chosen to reboot the blog I kept during a two week RV vacation that turned out hilarious in more ways than we could have imagined (RIP “But Wait, There’s More”, blog from 2010 that was mercilessly deleted by some unknown internet entity leaving my inner author shattered and bitter).  To get us started, let me begin with a handy reference guide:  The Cast of Characters:

Shelley

I’m the author of the blog but by no means the leader of this adventure.  (This is a team effort and I stand by that, especially if things go horribly wrong.)  I am 51 years old, my beautiful daughter Mallory attends the University of Colorado in Boulder and I am lucky enough to have found a partner who also seems to crave adventure and a need to see what happens when you eschew most material goods to live in 300 square feet.

Dave

Dave is my wonderful partner of nearly 12 years and he is unique in that he finds my myriad quirks and strange views endearing.  He smiles sweetly when I tell him that my deceased mother helped me find my lost keys (she did!), he chuckles when I insist that the dogs have deeper human emotions than most humans I know, and he’s always game when I have a crazy idea.  Which is frequently.  He is the father of two gorgeous and successful daughters, Olivia (married to Jeff and mother to baby Halle) and Claire (engaged to Tito, wedding in 2019).

 

Brodie

Oh Brodie.  The Brode.  How we love him so.  And by “we” I mean me.  Brodie is a 14 year old chiweiner (that’s a dachshund/Chihuahua mix although Mallory is partial to the term “dachsahuahua) who is almost completely deaf, has had one eye removed and is missing a good portion of his teeth.  He’s hilariously vocal, barking in different voices and cadences to let you know his mood.  If I trim his nails he’ll wait patiently while I do so, but once he’s back on solid ground he’s going to give me what for.  Loudly.  Brodie’s demeanor is easy going, he’s happy to be wherever the people are, and as long as he’s fed and has a comfy place to sleep it’s all good.

Belle

Belle is … um… let’s see… Belle is different.  She’s a 13 year old rat terrier mix and even after sharing a house with her for 13 years she still doesn’t trust me completely. She can be very snuggly and funny and silly – which is why I love her – but she’s also skittish, doesn’t like strangers, won’t be fooled by a pill in a hunk of cheese, hates when we mess with her routine, loathes other dogs (she tolerates our two – barely), and anything new will throw her off her game.  We haven’t told her she’s getting into an RV yet. 

Maiya

Big gentle goofy Maiya is a 60 pound Catahoula mix who is around 10 years old.  She is very thoughtful and sensitive but not stressed too much by changes in her environment.  What stresses Maiya is when Dave pets other dogs – she’s the jealous type but doesn’t lash out.  She just looks pitiful until you notice her.  She sheds like crazy but her kind demeanor means we can take her anywhere and she’ll be right at home.  Her nickname is Moo for reasons I’d be happy to explain in another post.  We love our Moo.

So please raise a glass for our entire crew, wish us well, and shoot each other glances behind our backs that indicate you are very, very glad you’re not this insane.  More updates as the adventure continues!