Hello Pigeon Forge, TN

Our adventure puts us in Pigeon Forge, TN this week. I am sitting here at my "desk" which is actually the dining room booth that I have taken over as my office space. There is a lovely view out the window of the Little Pigeon River. I've walked the dogs past the edge of the stream a few times. I can see our Husky’s wheels turning. I'm certain she will have devised a way to swim in that water before we leave Friday evening. She's a clever one.

We had our first learning experience yesterday. Specifically,  in understanding how the black and grey tanks work. If you choose to travel in an RV and don't want your moving casa to smell like an outhouse EVER...there are things that need to happen before and after use. In our case, we learned the lesson after the literal poop-pouri scent permeated our coach. All better now. Thanks to YouTube. 

After a long work day, my favorite thing to do is sit out by the fire and relax. If I were home, I’d have a list of things that needed to be done. This experience is forcing me to take a breath and enjoy the moment. This never would have happened in the old normal. So, here we are, making lemonade out of lemons! 

It’s not just work and campfires, this week we sampled local TN country cooking, found pottery at The Old Mill and took a site-seeing trip up to Anakeesta by way of a ski lift (minus the snow and the skis).

A cookie that looks like me!

View of Gatlinburg, TN from the treetop at Anakeesta

Nick and I are taking the lift up to the treetop.

Finally, no stop is complete without Nick playing a course or two while I’m at the “office”. Here are some pics from his visit to Island Pointe Golf Club in Knoxville, TN.

Ciao.

First Stop: OBX

Our adventure begins in Coinjock, North Carolina to see close friends and family that were also visiting over the weekend. None of us expected that Tropical Storm Sally would be joining the festivities. All of the planned beach walking, sand dune pictures and lighthouse tours would have to wait for another trip. Instead, we enjoyed a couple lovely dinners, a competitive game of dominos and a spirited game of Exploding Kittens. Sally could do her thing...we were having a lot of fun despite the howling winds and angry surf outside. 

Highlights:

Above all else, great new memories with our family and friends. 

Outer Banks West/Currituck Sound KOA. Its a newer camp site located a the tip of the Currituck Sound.  On a normal day I would have loved to kayak in the morning before meeting up with folks in the afternoon. Unfortunately, not this trip, but we plan go back. 

Coinjock Marina. Really amazing buffalo chicken wings, excellent hush puppies and a pretty nice  Cosmo (of course, I'm going to a Cosmo at every stop). 

 

Dominos (Train). First time playing.  There were 7 of us playing the game. It was a nice number and made it pretty competitive.

The Plan Takes Shape

Purchasing a travel trailer is one thing. Planning and preparing to use it, for a long-term trip...completely different experience. In fact, I'd go so far to say that while the YouTube videos, RV blog sites and Pinterest checklists have helped tremendously, I'm sure we will forget many things and suffer a few mishaps before this trip is all over. While this is sure to be an adventure...I am certain that this will be quite the "experience".

So, after much deliberation, we devised a plan. Here's what we came up with:

PLAN A: Spend the winter months in San Marcos, TX. - Arrive there by mid-October. On the way, we remote work during the week at a single FHU (full hook up) location, with WIFI access. Travel on Sunday morning to the next location, no more than 4-5 hours from the previous location working our way to San Marcos. 

PLAN B: If, at any point on the route we decide that we have had enough of the RV life, we turn around and come back home. 

PS: Can't forget to secure memberships to KOA, Good Sam and Harvest Hosts. I will tell you more about these as we get started.

and now...OUR ADVENTURE BEGINS!

Remote Work Redefined

While the pandemic has put a damper on a great many things, one of the most unexpected outcomes has been the redefining of remote work. Think about it, when in our lifetime will we ever have an opportunity to work literally ANYWHERE we want to? Once we return to our offices, that’s it, we are back to our next “normal”. For many of us, remote work will be a solution that some businesses adopt while others either set it aside or limit it to only certain lines of business.

Remember the two lessons I shared? Life is fragile and NOTHING is guaranteed…especially TIME.

I’m 53 years old. I am an executive that easily spends 50+ hours working each week. I have a home office that is comfortable and provides me with all of the functional needs I could ask for, but it still feels completely claustrophobic. Four more months of this "normal" and I am going to need therapy...and gastric bypass surgery.…and then…my wheels began turning.

I am blessed with a husband who has a penchant for adventure. The mere suggestion that we consider an alternative lifestyle for the rest of this work from home mandate was all it took. When Saturday came, we were touring Camping World and other RV vendors in a 100-mile radius. By the end of the next week we had settled on a 30 ft. Keystone Cougar Travel Trailer. Complete with all the amenities a glamping girl would require, Nick and I pulled the trigger and took our first step on the path of our new adventure. 

Pandemic Lessons Learned

This pandemic has taught me two critical lessons over the past 6 months. The first is that life is fragile. The second, you are guaranteed NOTHING while on this planet. So, whatever it is that you hope to do before you leave this world, you need to get out there and do it! 

These two realities were brought to light most recently upon the passing of my father-in-law. After fighting a battle with COPD for almost 20 years and being cared for by my husband these last 3 years, we said goodbye to him on August 8th. COVID played no part in his death. We had taken every precaution to protect him from exposure and essentially quarantined ourselves since the pandemic began. In the end, it was his heart and the disease that took him from us. Life is fragile. 

Throughout the life of my father-in-law, he had worked hard and managed his finances. He spent many of his last years on a large property in Missouri where he had built a pond, complete with a dock so that he could fish whenever he wanted to. The man LOVED to fish and talked about that property often. He had to sell it a couple years before he came to live with us. His health was declining and his wife, Pat, wanted them closer to a hospital in the event of an emergency. They moved to Harrisonville, MO and that was really the beginning of the end. There would be no more fishing from that point on. You are guaranteed NOTHING while on this planet, not even the joy of throwing a line in the water when the mood strikes you. 

So now what? My husband and I are living a different life. Its not driven by a care-giver's schedule. There are not doctor appointments or Hospice workers coming in to provide support. There are no special meals to make or multiple loads of laundry to do. Life is different. We are like empty nesters again. Now we take the lessons and figure out the next chapter. We are calling it...OUR ADVENTURE.