Welcome to Lessons from Lilah. This blog will serve as a location to document our travels in our new-to-us 1996 Roadtrek 210 Popular named Lilah. Her name stands for "Life is Like a Highway" with twists and turns, bends and curves, and hills and valleys. Our family has endured many challenges this last year but we have rejoiced in many victories as well. Our connection to Lilah is soulful, magical, and symbolic. Her name reflects every sorrow and every joy we have experienced, but most of all, it reflects hope about what is up ahead just around the next bend in the road.
Our next big adventure, a Pacific Northwest Tour, begins May 17th!
We have been preparing for this trip for months. We have been dreaming of the places that we will visit and the people that we will meet along the way. Our plans began with picking a tentative route. I say "tentative" because we want the road to take us on a free-spirited journey rather than us forcing a route on ourselves. Of course, as a recovering Type A personality, I have to remind myself often of the pleasures that are certain to be found in the no-definite-plans type of lifestyle.We have made no reservations and have no set dates to be anywhere with the exception of a Boondockers Welcome stay in Wyoming on our third night out. My trip notebook is filled with information on roads, boondocking sites,
campgrounds, national parks, a few roadside attractions, and the names
of wonderful people that we have met online that have offered
encouragement, advice, and even the occasional place to stay.
Once we had our route, we had to think about all the things that one must consider when traveling for an extended time in a small, somewhat aged, although much loved motorhome. Things like tune-ups, tires, fluids, batteries and the like became the topics of conversation. It was a good distraction as the snow settled in and our trip seemed light years away.
Thoughts about inside modifications came next. How can we make the most of the space we have available? Maybe a cabinet here, a shelf there, a basket in that spot. We spent a lot of time sitting in Lilah thinking about how we would use the space. We even took a few small road trips for practice! lol A seat was removed, cabinets were built and installed and various storage items were added.We are three weeks away from leaving and for the most part Lilah is ready. She is definitely liveable, comfortable and quaint!
A small one page list of to-do's is all that is left. There are groceries to buy, medications to refill and legalities to finalize. We have arranged for the care of our sticks and bricks for the duration of our trip. All those little things that you do in life on a day-to-day basis have been thought through...or at least we think they have. I am sure there will be things we have forgotten but we have a supportive family and good lines of communication should something need taken care of while we are out on the road.
So for now I leave you with this thought: Life goes by way too fast! Make the most of it by doing things that bring you joy and never lose hope!
Charlie and Tammy
