Day 2 of our epic RV road trip adventure dawned bright and early. Turns out that sleeping in an RV, while a much better sleep than camping outdoors, still means that you wake up pretty early. We realized that we had forgotten to shut some of the blinds before bed, and would make sure to do that the next evening.
In RV life, the day always begins with “stowing.” I had never really thought much about this term or process prior to our trip, but quickly became engaged with the practice. One of our beds in the RV, where at least one of our children slept each night, also doubled as our dining table. Upon waking each morning, we had to collapse the bed, reset the table, and also undo the upper bunk above the driver cab, where the remainder of our kids slept. After cooking breakfast, all items taken out had to be stowed and secured in cabinets, containers, or other storage areas. We had a lot of stuff with us, so this was a process.
We spent a few days in Mendocino, hiking a great deal each day. We explored the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, Caspar Beach Area, downtown Mendocino, and also Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. Hiking for our family always involves a great spectrum of attitudes, ranging from complaining (“Mom, you always lie to us and say that the hike is going to be really short, and it is never really short!”), to sheer and utter joy that shows up in skipping and singing along the trail. Usually it’s the same kids that seem to fall into the same categories on this spectrum, but I won’t name names. Our eyes beheld such beauty along the coast during these few days. Our hearts reveled in the time away from our normal routines, taking each step as an adventure, unplanned and welcoming the unknown.
RV living continued to have a learning curve for us though. As first-timers, there were so many moments that offered the perfect mix of frustration and hilarity. Like Justin emptying the “black and grey water tanks” for the first time, as he loudly critiqued my angle of holding the tube – “We need more slope! More slope! We need gravity on our side, Al!” Like trying to get the kids used to stowing before we moved each day, as game pieces, headlamps, and various stuffed animals went flying every time we turned a sharp corner. Like Grace and I taking our first shower together in a shower no larger than a half of a hall closet (“This was not a good idea, Mom.”). Like Justin fixing a broken shower door with only the screwdriver he packed last minute and a bottle opener. Like a Tupperware container of ground beef falling out of the refrigerator on a bumpy road and spilling all over the inside of the RV. And like our family returning from a hike to find our entire RV site flooded in a pool of muddy water because our threads on the city water connection were stripped and the hose had come detached. There were so many times when Justin and I looked at each other, almost doubling over from laughing so hard, and said, “If one or the other of us was not ALL IN on this adventure, this just wouldn’t work.”
Luckily, we were both all in.
