Kristie and I have long been full partners in life. We have known each other for nearly 30 years and have been together for over 20 trips around the sun.
I'm pretty sure I would be featured on one of those weird hoarder TV shows if I didn't have Miss K to keep me on the straight and narrow. If left to my own devices I tend to "collect" things. We have a running back and forth conversation about how we need to simplify our lives (her view) and my assertion that what we really need is more storage space. Thankfully this tendancy doesn't seem to afflict me when I'm out and about. When I'm away from home I become a "less is more" kinda guy.
It is as much a function of physics as anything else. There just isn't that much room available on my Harley, a river raft, or a sailboat. The new RV does give me a little too much space to play with, after all it does have a garage. I'm trying really hard to keep the weight down as it has a pretty strong impact on fuel economy and I am, at my foundation, kinda cheap.
The RV purchase came after a couple of years of looking at a variety of options but I kept coming back to the Damon Outlaw. This was strongly influenced by my love of riding my Harley balanced against my brides need for a comfortable platform for us to make extended road trips with our pair of Boston Terrorists in tow. The shake down cruise for our home on wheels is still five months away but there will be a couple of short excursions as soon as the winter snows and freezing temperatures abate... C'mon Spring
"Planning is good but plans are worthless" Gen Omar Bradley
With the start of a new blog the snow is falling outside and we (more correctly I) am found to be making plans for our trip to visit our daughter in Seattle this summer. Flagstaff to Seattle would be pretty straight forward but we're gonna throw a twist to the trip and get there by way of Morgantown West Virginia.
First off, we are Dave and Kristie, a pair of soon-to-be retired paramedics (within a few years anyway). I am also a Fire Captain and college instructor but the eye has turned to the impending retirement years. We love to travel but have modest means. None the less we do seem to pull off the odd trip or two.
One of our last big adventures put us in the Carribean for two weeks at the end of July 2012, along with our daughters (the son had work commitments) and a few other close friends.
The trip was a logistical challenge. Herding all the disparate cats into some semblance of order was all part of joy of the journey for me, you see, I am The Planner, and I love it when a plan comes together.
I love the process of putting together the bits and pieces that coalese into a series of events that bring a smile to the face of my bride, my family and my friends.
It may be a white water rafting adventure through Grand Canyon...
.... or riding our Harley's across the country to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9-11 along with a few thousand brother and sister firefighters.
We love to sail and through the years have made a few trips to the British Virgin Islands as well as the San Juans and Channel Islands. We will probably come to spend the portion of the year that finds snow falling on our roof at home floating "on the hook" in more temperate climates.
In the mean time we will be spending as much of our summer months as we can on the road in our 2007 Damon Outlaw.
And thus todays "planning session". Looking at maps. Calculating distances. Do we go north or stay to the south? How long do we stay and visit friends in Texas and how long will we stay in Yellowstone? What mischief will our daughter have planned for our stay in Seattle?
We never really know where the road will lead, but the plans will be made and re-made right up to the the day we roll out of town.
No matter which path we follow we will be out there living our lives to their fullest.
This ain't no rehersal.
