Lessons Learned

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• We can live in 20' of space together and survive  : )

• KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR ! ! !

• We learned to wash dishes or take a shower using VERY LITTLE water.

• We rarely used real plates or utensils.  We used mostly paper/plastic and yes...we washed the plastic!

• 22 months is too long to be gone from our home in Boise, Idaho.  For future travels, we will be gone 1-4 months (max) at a time.

• "Living" in your trailer is very different from "camping" in your trailer.  The items you need and use are different.

• We packed WAY TOO MUCH.  We did not use many of the items we packed and sent many boxes home.

• We STILL have never used the oven in the trailer (it is used for storage).  We felt we were never any place long enough to use it.  I had planned to bake, but...did not.

• We both missed having a routine.  Too difficult to establish one when you are moving every 1-4 days.

• We can go two weeks without doing laundry.

• North America is a beautiful Continent with amazing scenery and people! 

• And...we realized that Idaho has similar topography as many of the States.  We found ourselves saying "this reminds me of _________ in Idaho!"

• City parks are some of the best free and inexpensive places to stay and their locations are awesome!

• Staying in a location for 1-4 days does not do it justice.  You should spend at least 5 days in an area to get a feel for it.

• We love to volunteer and give back to the community we are staying in.  It is the best way to learn about the community, people, and culture.

• Sometimes you have to go with the flow and live by the seat of your pants.

• However, sometimes you have to plan and schedule ahead!

• KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR ! ! !  Did I mention this already?  : )

• Craig missed reading a paper and drinking his coffee every morning while he listens to music.  Unless we stay a few days some place, it seems like we are always rushed to get out of a spot by 11am and then have a 5-6 hour drive ahead of us. 

• We missed not having more space to walk within the trailer.  Meaning, if it is raining outside or the heat is unbearable, you stay in the trailer and sit....no room to walk. 

• We both REALLY REALLY REALLY missed working out and going to a gym.  It's way too hot to do anything outside and the trailer is so small it's hard to do anything inside.

• Although Craig likes to drive, he is better at navigating than I am.  So in stressful situations, it was better for me to drive and him to navigate.

• Build in maintenance time for the truck, trailer, bicycles, etc.

• Build in down time so you do not feel like you are always on the go.

• I felt like we missed so much.  20 minutes in one direction was something cool, however, 30 minutes in the opposite direction was something cool also.  There is no way to cover EVERYTHING you want, the trip would take 5 years ; ) 

• Be okay with not seeing everything!

• Research more ahead of time on places to go, see and what time of year is best.  Example: music festivals, Baseball Spring training camps, car racing, etc.  All of those have specific dates so try to be in that area to catch the events.

• Follow the 70-85f temperatures.  We did not do this as much the 1st loop and experienced some hot weather.  The 2nd loop we were much better at it.

• We rekindled some old friendships and made some new long term friendships.

• We did not use the KLR 650 motorcycle as much as we had anticipated.  We actually shipped it home from Maryland!

• We used our our electric bicycles a TON!

• We did not use our stand up paddleboards as much as we thought we would.

• It was hard to eat a Paleo lifestyle on the road.

• Although writing the blog was fun, it also felt like work and was a self imposed stress.

• I could have monetized the blog, but then it really would have been like work ; )

• KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR ! ! !

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