Prepping For Unemployment and Camper Life…

The Transition To Camper Life!

We’ve been busy these past few months!  When we originally made the decision to quit our jobs and travel, we thought it would be simple.  Just quit everything, get rid of all our junk, and hit the road!  Unfortunately this is easier said than done.  Long gone are our days of binge watching Netflix and happy hours.  Surprisingly it’s a lot of work to get ready to not work!  Here’s some of what we’ve been up to lately.

Moved Out

We absolutely loved our apartment.  The proximity to great restaurants, friends and our jobs was tough to give up.

Sold Our Cars

Adios Accord!  Hello truck and 15mpg…if I’m lucky.  We used the money from my car to offset the cost of the camper.

Put In Notice – Quit Your Job And Travel!

This made things feel REALLY REAL!  We love our jobs and telling them that we were leaving was a bit stressful.  It’s not easy to explain why you are tossing aside the relationships, money and benefits you have worked so hard for.  No turning back now!

Spilled The Beans!

Telling friends, family, and coworkers was an exciting process and in many cases a huge relief.  We realized that while we had slowly become accustomed to the thought of living in a tiny camper and driving through areas that Fox News would describe as a ‘guaranteed kill zone’, others were hit with the information all at once.  A year’s worth of questions that we had pondered ourselves, were now being asked from all directions and varying perspectives.  “You’re going to skip Mexico right?” “OMG that’s amazing!” “Are you bringing guns?” “What will you do for health insurance?” “Where will you poop?”  We definitely prefer the supportive responses but realize that we had similar uncertainty, and doubts, during our research and planning for the trip.

Moved In With Jenna’s Parents

Moving sucks! But it needed to be done.  There was no way we could finish our laundry list of projects while living in the apartment.  I have to admit that moving in with your future in-laws is a bit scary and feels like a step back in life.  In reality they have been great and we can’t thank them enough for their support during our transition.  Saving a couple months’ worth of rent also means a lot more tacos down the road.

Website Release

Neither of us had ever created a blog/website but we really enjoyed reading the stories of other travelers who had taken this trip, so we figured we’d give it a shot.  We were a bit worried that the site would come across as “look at me, look at me!”  Hopefully it will serve as a way to stay connected with friends and family, and maybe even convince someone to take a chance and risk it all on their own dream.

Never Ending Projects

We won’t bore you with the details but one thing led to another and our list of projects turned into a formidable beast.  For example, I wanted cold beer, so I needed to install a fridge, so I needed to install solar panels, so I needed to re-wire the camper, so I needed to …

We’ll get some of the project details posted in the near future – CAMPER PREP!

Beer Fest!

All work and no fun makes Josh a dull boy, so we signed up to volunteer for our third Shirlington Beer Fest.  Pouring beer, drinking free beer, and hanging with friends was a welcome reprieve from the project list.

Camper Trial Run

We had measured the camper a bazillion times but still weren’t sure if it would truly fit on our truck.  Our calculations had us with less than a ¼ inch of clearance on each side of the camper.  Luckily the Four Wheel Camper fit like a glove!

Immunizations

Before leaving our jobs (and insurance) Jenna dragged me to the doc for our annual physicals, booster shots and travel immunizations.  The yellow fever vaccination was required, and Typhoid and Hep A were strongly recommended.  After getting poked full of holes, we also snagged prescriptions for broad spectrum antibiotics and various other meds that may come in handy after a night of questionable street food.

Vacation!

“Wait, What??? You’re going on a vacation right before you quit your jobs and travel??”  Umm..the Trip is a “lifestyle change” so we’ll still need vacations.  At least that’s what we’re telling ourselves.  We had a serious case of FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) a few months ago when we agreed to go sailing in the BVIs for a week!  I worked on a couple credit card bonuses to get us flights,  Jenna picked up some extra babysitting,  and we booked the smaller “staff” room on the catamaran to save money.  Who are we kidding…this was a terribly irresponsible decision.  Regardless, we’ll love every minute of it!  See ya’ll next week.