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All right! We have officially been on the road in the Airstream for 3 months and 15 days. We left Utah for our house swap in Virginia 7 months and 15 days ago. INSANE. Wow. Time flies. We LOVE that you come and read our blog, but now we need some input. When we envisioned Currently Wandering, we wanted more than just a travel log. I have these memories of sitting in my grandparents living room while watching slide after slide of vacation photos and trying to stay awake. Although the places we visit are (for the most part) exciting and worthwhile, we definitely didn’t want that to be the complete focus of our writing.
We pow-wowed and came up with a few categories we could write about and hopefully provide useful and entertaining information: Homeschool, Photography, Our LDS Faith, Airstream Life (things we can’t live without, daily life, upgrades, travel schedules, recipes, money, etc.), and Adventure Reports (places we’ve been, what we liked, what we didn’t, campgrounds).
That leads us to where YOU come in. While we write for ourselves, for memory, and for our family, we also want to HELP you. ENTERTAIN you. INSPIRE you to get out and wander however that works for you in your life. We want to create and help sustain a community of those that are inspired to go and chase their dreams to explore the wonderful world around us. So, what would you like us to write more about? What are your favorite posts? What do you look forward to reading? Do we need more photos? Less photos? Is there something we shouldn’t write about? What are we missing?
Here is how this works: Leave a comment on this post before 8pm PST on Thursday, March 6th with your favorite topics/posts or other ideas to write about and we will pick a random commentator to win our prize!
Our giveaway will be copy (physical or kindle) of 360 Degrees Longitude, One Family’s Journey Around the World.
Before we left for Virginia, a friend loaned us this book and we both read and loved it. It’s an entertaining read, and was part of our inspiration as we set off on our adventures.
Once again so grateful for everyone’s comments, support, and interest. It helps us become more engaged, and our writing become more enjoyable.
I think you should have your kids take some pictures and write something about their experiences on the road!
Living in Europe, it’s such a treat to follow your blog and see the states through your eyes.
Our family also have a camping trailer, which we manly use during our summer holiday. Your adventures are fueling our dreams of traveling around Europe for a longer period of time, so I’m also all in for learning about not only the places you see, but the day to day life and practical issues with living in a trailer.
Safe journeys and greetings from Denmark
I would love to read more about your day to day activities. How do you do laundry? Dishes? How do you decide where to go? What do driving days look like? Where do you keep toothbrushes or brush your teeth? What are your kids favorite things about Airstream life? What do you do with their toys or souvenirs?
A day in the life of the Airstream. Hookups, dumping poo, hhow it all works from water to power to maintenance and flat tires.
I would like to hear mora about the cooking, daily routines, etc. thanks for sharing your dreams with us as well.
Thanks Julie! Congrats, Random.org picked you as our winner! We will be in touch to get your address. Enjoy!
Day to day life for sure. As well as day to day emotions! pros and cons list – from traveling, to cooking, to mothering, to … all of it.
Also your technology. What do you use, how do you keep it all charged? How much does it all cost? etc
What you miss the most about “house living” and what you don’t miss at all.
Healthy eating and fitness on the road.
If you guys do some kind of budget every month, that could be informative to read about. Love reading day to day posts. And I’d like to point out that your photos are some of the best that I’ve seen of most of the airstream blogs that I follow. Also a video every now and then could be fun if you guys have that capability. Hope this helps!
Back in 1985 we took our three kids on the road for 6 months. We both took leaves from work (I was doing bookkeeping and my husband taught elementary school), after spending months planning the logistics of how we were going to travel, pay our bills, “camper-school”our kids, get a house-sitter, keep in contact, etc. It was much more complicated since the age of instant communication and electronic banking was not even dreamed about. Phone cards, forwarded mail to my mother-in-law to pay our bills, and a weekly call to our housesitter and mom to troubleshoot problems were just a few issues that would be less complex today. Our kids were 5,9, and 10 when we left home in our cabover camper with very loose plans to circumnavigate the country (clockwise). We hit 3 provinces and 32 states with not a single campground reservation.
I enjoy comparing our circumstances….lots of junior ranger programs, lots of hikes, museums, waterfalls (my son said “too many”), two hurricanes, not enough people we knew east of the Rockies, journaling, the Smithsonians and Washington DC, and field trips at camper school. Kids got to alternate being the “navigator” learning to read maps, and bookkeeper who noted all of our expenses on a ledger sheet.
So, now we are nearly retired, just bought a RV/camper van and plan to take one grandkid at a time out for adventures. I enjoy reading your logistics of using skype, internet hookups, cell phone issues and other communication modalities that are pretty easy at home, but more complicated technologically on the road which I find somewhat daunting. Our kids still have great memories of our trip and we are excited to build wonderful memories with our grandkids. So keep those kid activities coming!
We really enjoy seeing the places you have loved along with the things you love doing as you travel around. I personally also enjoy the more technical posts covering many of the moving pieces that make your air stream life possible. It has all been enjoyable and has inspired us to make small changes in our life here locally.
Dido the day to day stuff questions, and question on where you store everything!… do you have a schedule on days you aren’t traveling? It sounds like you have to be pretty flexible, but is there anything that is stable in your lives right now? 🙂 I’m curious to know your thoughts on handling church and callings… seeing how you are not really going to just one at the time… which ward family do you technically “belong to” right now? Maybe no one else cares about the LDS aspect of this, but I am curious. 🙂 Also, love the financial posts, as they show my husband that it is fiscally possible to do something like this. Keep the details on the funds coming. Also, you mentioned there are many jobs out there that you’ve ran into while meeting other wanderers as yourself… so what do they all do? What other jobs are out there that make this lifestyle possible? Also, unless I am missing it, it seems you need a map tracking your stops and maybe showing where you’re headed? I know you may not have it planned out far in advance, but it’d be cool to see the places you’ve been (and especially the referrals for the favorite places you’ve stayed on that maybe? When you do talk about finances, I’m curious to know how that differed from your life at home- for example, did you spend the same amount on food before you left? More or less? etc. Any unexpected costs? And do you ever get any “me time” mom? How? Who does most of the blogging? When do you find time to do that without the kids interupting? OK, as you see I have many questions, but I’m also curious about the ages for your kids. Why did you choose to go at this time in your lives verses later or earlier? I know it was meant to be this time, as you mentioned, but did the kids ages have anything to do with it? I think that’s all for now. 🙂 Love everything you are doing, keep up the inspiring work! 🙂
OH ya, a few more questions for ideas to post on… 🙂 What gear did you decide to bring, where do you store it? Did I see a fishing pole in one picture? Do you rent gear/borrow gear along the way for some of your adventures? How many outfits did you pack for each person? How often do you have to do laundry, etc. I know you have bikes for all, where do you keep those?
Ok, believe it or not I actually thought of a few more comments. 🙂 I realized that you already have a map of those favorite places you’ve stayed, awesome! Also, I love the faith promoting comments that keep you going through the hard times, since doubts and fears are many of the reasons why don’t take risks, like wandering. 🙂 Keep the posts about the conflicts, the problems and the ways you’ve overcome them coming, they are really motivating. Maybe even a post on top 10 things you miss most about having a home, but top 10 reasons why it’s all worth it? Also, I asked about mom’s free time… also curious how you guys get time for adult conversation and quality time/date nights? And one last thought… you say you meet people all the time with their own amazing stories, I like to hear about those stories/people that inspire you too. Thanks again for taking the time to inspire and motivate the other dreamers like me out there!
I would love to hear more about homeschooling. Also, I would be interested in how you keep a schedule for your kiddos with so much going on! Do you still have regular bedtime, nap time, etc! What a fun adventure you guys are having!!
I always love photos! More photos, I say! I’m loving your blog and think that you’re doing a great job trying to keep it well-rounded. Maybe more lists of your favorite books (kids and you)that you’re reading on the road.
I love reading about your adventures. I love weekly roundup s of events, funny stories with links to places. Maybe we are headed here and a follow up post to why you liked it or didn’t like it. Maybe ask your kids questions and put their responses. I love everything you have done so far.
I like Mica’s suggestions especially about handling church and callings. Also about faith promoting things that your family has experienced. I think having Rachel do one of the blogs about her experiences and thoughts would be fun too.
I really enjoy your pictures so please do not cut back! I really enjoy post’s about your airstream. Do you have a tour of the whole thing? I am crazy curious. I really like your amazing travel posts and keep squirreling them away for a raining day.