Change is terrifying

Today I started looking at the most terrifying thing in the world: Changing the schedule of the Ultimate US Road Trip.

Well, not the schedule, but one of the attractions. Doing that changed the timing on whole thing. I really didn't expect that. Let me explain.

I'm really not interested in going to Graceland, the book I just read for my book group notwithstanding (Killing the Legends by Bill O'Reilly, if anyone is interested). Instead of going to Memphis, I thought I'd go to Nashville, see the Grand Ole Opry, and visit S's brother, who lives not that far from Nashville. Honestly, I thought it'd just mean going a little further, extending that leg of the trip.

It turns out that one of the KOAs I'd looked at for Mammoth Cave National Park, KY is within 50 miles of Nashville. I took a look around, figured out that I could cut down on some serious trip time if I moved the Tennessee visit to the end of the trip instead of the beginning. And it doesn't add too much time there - where it added about 5 hours of travel if I kept it where it's originally scheduled. Not to mention, it's about $140 cheaper. That’s just for the entry fees; I don’t know about gas or anything like that.

So that's what's going on with me at the moment, as well as researching ideas and doing things like that. It means I need to change the legs and how they're counted. I'll have to change my walking path, too. I'll admit, it's frightening. I've done all this original work, and now... now there's more to do. I don't know what to think about any of this, actually. It's a little weird.

Okay, that's not true. I do know what to think about it. As I said above, it's terrifying. What if I do it wrong?

This is a common theme for me, honestly, and has been for a long time. I wonder if I can trace it back to school, to when I was graded on things? That's not important, though. This idea that someone is going to look at what I'm doing and say "That's not right!" has been one I've faced and tried to get over for a long time. I can't say when I realized that thought was getting in my way; I can, however, point to a couple of things that helped me realize that there isn't a "right" way. Especially for something like this.

The reason I asked about the school (in my head) was because my thought as I wrote this post was "no one is going to grade me on this." That surprised me. Because the person (Randy Olson, https://www.randalolson.com/) who wrote this trip, who organized it and decided to do it, isn't ever (probably) going to know I'm going on it. Like, why would he? So one little change isn't going to do anything. and it's a personal thing anyway. Like i said, my dh has a brother near Nashville, and I want to visit.

So if you need it, here it is: You have permission to do things “wrong” when it doesn't really matter. Don't fix your car wrong, or your computer, or whatever. But when you're figuring out how to write a book (I use this because it's what I do), or where to go on a trip and following someone else's map? There's no wrong or right, only what works for you. Take pieces of it and make it into what works for you. No, it won't be easy, but that's okay, too. It's not always meant to be.

RV Show

 A couple of weeks ago, Camping World held an RV show in my town. I'm looking for something I can use to make this trip comfortable, so we went. It was amazing. I didn't take as many notes as I thought I did, and I didn't get them coordinated as soon as I probably should have. But I have pictures, and I have some ideas of what I thought of each one.

Because my dh had some very specific ideas of what he wanted, we stuck to the smaller RVs, looking at trailers less than 21 feet long. I absolutely agreed with him on that. They even had camper vans, and a couple of conversion vans, all of which I was interested in seeing.

I think the best part of the whole experience was that I could see, physically, what was available, what the size of each one was, and how they were set up, things I couldn't really see on the computer. I also had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people who were looking like I was, and got to hear their input and ideas and experiences. It was obvious, probably to everyone, that I was a complete newbie, but I didn't mind. Getting to soak up people's experiences and thoughts and opinions helped me to form my own.

Here's what I discovered in spending three hours touring various trailers and other RVs:

1. I originally went into this thinking I wanted a conversion van. That's going to be too small. Sadly. The idea is just so cool, but it's not for me.

2. I want a dry bathroom, and a shower. No having a shower with the toilet in it. That wasn't a surprise.

3. If I have to choose between a bathroom/shower and a kitchen, I'll take the bathroom/shower. That surprised me. But seriously, I'm camping. I can cook over the fire. And with practice, I'll get better.

4. If we get a trailer, rather than a motorhome, it won't be longer than 21 feet. DH was adamant about that. I didn't mind, I don't need a lot of room (I have so many ideas!).

5. Some of the campers had Murphy beds. I didn't know about that! I don't want one of those, either, but that's still preferable to putting the table down and making a bed. I'd never do it. I want a bed that can be down all the time. I know myself. It'd be bad.

6. I didn't think about this until I read an article, but I have to have a night stand. or at least a headboard (there was one that was really cute). I have a CPAP machine. And a place to hang clothes.

7. Storage was key, too. I don't think I took down all the notes on that. A couple had a small fridge outside, with a grill (or at least a griddle). One man said it was for drinks; I suggested it might be for bait and fish. He'd never thought of that. That, too, would be nice but is not necessary.

I took pictures as well, although not of anything inside, just the outside and the paper with information on it. I'll look them up and find out more details. I plan to add them into the Notion database, collect everything in one place, and see about doing a comparison. Especially if I can find stats and stuff so I know everything I need to know about it.

So that's the next on a long list of things I need to get ready for this trip. I have about four activities I want to do, and I still have information I need to gather. I'm having so much fun with this!

The reason for the Blog: The trip around the United States

I want to explain why I even started this blog. Some time ago - I'm not even sure when, I ran across an article about The Ultimate US Road Trip. It was probably on my Google page, I don't know. Anyway, I looked it up, and it looked so amazing, that I decided I wanted to do it. It's a trip through the lower 48 states, with 50 attractions to visit.

I started by charting where to go, and where I might be able to stay, and then realized it wouldn't help if I did it on paper. I had a notebook devoted to ideas that I put it in originally, but this... needed more research. More flexibility. So I started by putting it into Notion. It has a sort of rudimentary database set up, and I was able to connect everything together, which is what I wanted. I started collecting data on some of the costs, like what it would take to visit the attractions. I checked into AAA, and AARP, and a few other things, just to give me a look at how much it would be to do this with the most comfort.

I know there's going to be more to costs because of gas, and groceries, and all of that. But I got as much as I could figure out. I'm currently working through the schedule, to see how long it will take.

This blog is about my journey toward getting prepped for this trip and then going on the trip, I hope. There are a lot of things I have to think about, things I need to change about me in order to make this work better, to make sure I can enjoy it. Some of it will be that I want to rent a couple of different RV/trailers in order to see how it will work, to see what happens.

I'm not only using Notion, but also the Dayzero Project, a site that allows one to make to-do lists. I found it because of something I ran across over 10 years ago, the 101 goals in 1001 days. I can't remember at all where I found it. I wish I could. I haven't done that particular goal list in a long time - the last time I tried, I realized it wasn't something I was interested in doing. I might try again another time, but for now, it's off. Still, I have a couple of lists focused on this trip: one is on the things I think I need to do to get ready for it, and the other is the list of things I want to see around each attraction. Options, anyway. I still have a lot to work on.

All About Me

My name is Jill, I'm a mother to three children and a wife to my husband, S, who I thank Heavenly Father for regularly because I would probably fall apart without him. S and I have been married over 20 years, a fact that still boggles my mind. He works from home and has for almost as long as we've been married. It has made raising our children more of a collaborative effort, and that has made it wonderful. 

My three children are V, non-binary (or possibly gender fluid) with they/she pronouns (they/her?); E, cis woman with she/her pronouns; and T, cis man with he/him pronouns. V came out to us two years ago, and we're still trying to adjust, all of us. We're doing okay. I think V feels safe with us, and that's the most important part of it.  

E just left to start school at Snow College, my first to do that. It's weird, not having her around. It's only been like... two days, and I miss her in a way I don't remember missing V. Mostly because when V left, they were three blocks away and I could (and still do) see them often. E is nearly 7 hours away. T is involved in the theater at the high school, and I don't see him much because of that. Early start, late return, at least I'm not a taxi mom anymore.

Some more about me:

• I read a lot. Not as much as I used to, but I still do a lot of reading.
• I suffer from depression, and while it's mostly under control, it is something I have to deal with.
• I write a lot. I have participated in 18 of the last 20 National Novel Writing Month challenges, and have done a fair share of other challenges as well.
• I love music. Right now, almost everything I listen to is Kpop. The list of groups I like and listen to is long. Very long.
• I am trying to get back into crocheting, learn knitting better, and maybe finish one of the way-too-many counted cross stitch projects I have before my son steals them.
• I'm a huge fan of The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran, and Getting Things Done by David Allen. I have also dipped into Tiny Habits and The Now Habit, all of which have helped me get things done.
• I am planning a long trip, and that's part of the reason I decided to start this blog. I wanted to document the prep I'm currently doing, and probably do a fair amount of reporting when I finally get to go.