"and bad mistakes, I've made a few...." Queen

This month's blog carnival at Families on the Road is talking about mistakes you've made along the way.

The universal truth and biggest mistake that immediately surfaces deals with stuff.

We brought too much stuff, and then we acquired more; rocks (my mistake, pets), feathers (I mean quills), sticks (sorry, wands) treasured art (ok when my children are the artists I'm the guilty mislabeler here); it still takes up physical and mental space.
It is an ongoing project.

George Carlin makes me laugh about stuff. Speaking of stuff; if you haven't seen this it is definitely worth a gander.

As with most subjects this is not unique to living in an rv.
We fill the spaces we have.

Other mistakes are more specific to us.

Was a failing hitch a mistake or just a narrowly avoided disaster?

Was pulling down a long narrow cliff sided road and discovering no place to turn around something you can put on a list of "not to do"?

On the other hand not checking to see if certain hot springs were still operational BEFORE we made a midnight trek could probably be classified as a mistake.

Oh and not testing the 'newly repaired' black tank BEFORE re-installing it might make it on my husband's list of mistakes.

Speaking of my husband's list I think he might also include trying to do repairs while parked on the incredibly small shoulder of a surprisingly busy highway.


Alas, mistakes, as painful as they may be at the time are also usually the stories you bother sharing with people later.

Visiting Home

I find it hard to report on our adventure when it is in flux.

We are in Coeur d'Alene to address some work issues. The duration of our visit is undetermined and I think part of me was feeling anxious and waiting until we had definite plans before I wrote about it.

Plans are only that and when you flow with life those plans change. Often.

This can be disappointing; we won't be able to visit the East Coast on this trip and Alaska has turned into a maybe. But the things that surface as alternatives are better because they fit correctly and ultimately will be what the memories are made of.

Robb flew down to Santa Barbara and picked up the motorhome last week and it is wonderful to have it back. We've each been missing some 'stuff' and are happy to have it back.

The current plan is to take some smaller local trips while we finish up the work that needs to be done and then head to South Bend for some family time. Yellowstone, Glacier, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse..., the route is not lacking.

I won't venture with further plans... have I learned a lesson here?! Probably not.

The other side of the coin has been anything but disappointing.

Being back in Coeur d'Alene and getting to see our family and friends who we have been missing has been soul warming! We have had so much fun catching up and enjoying the generous hospitality we are beyond grateful.

We just can't wait until we have a place of our own to reciprocate!