Anxious For The Open Road

It rained last night. Actually, it poured. Or at least it did where we are currently holed up for a few days. Today the weather is cold, wet, and overcast, with the temperature dropping more as the day progresses. That's a bit of a change from the last week where we were breaking temperature records with highs in the mid 20s Celsius.
My husband and I have been flipping through our road atlas these past few days, planning routes. We have been scanning States, discussing roads we have already been on, and trips taken. My husband has been to every State west of Chicago, and a few more to the east. I have been to most of the western States except California and Oregon, and a few eastern States as well. Neither of us like to travel the same routes over and over. We like to discover new roads. And we prefer to travel the red highways, staying off the interstates as much as possible.
So, we have been checking the maps, trying to determine where to go. I keep saying that it really depends on the weather on the day we leave. If it is cold here when we leave, we will blast down through the first few States, until warmer weather is found. But if the weather is nice, we may go west before going south. We never set a route in stone, and we are always open for changes along the way. Our philosophy when we travel is that it is not the destination as much as it is the journey that matters.
We picked up a great atlas a few years back. It's a Rand McNally that we got from Walmart. The atlas shows every Walmart across Canada and USA, listed by State (and Province). This comes in handy when looking for our favorite campgrounds, the Walmart parking lots. We prefer the super centers that are found in the USA because they are open 24 hours and have a great grocery section with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as prepared foods and bakery items.
The atlas also has "red ribbon" routes showing recommended scenic roads as well as other scenic routes through each of the States. My eyes keep wandering over all the scenic highways and by-ways. I would love to plan our routes based solely on scenic routes.
Anxious, anxious, anxious.
Anxious to get on our way.

Getting The Motorhome Ready For Travel

Well, we handed the keys over for our house that we no longer own. What an odd feeling. We are homeless. Everything is in storage or in the motorhome, and it seems nothing is where it should be.
We have been couch surfing the last few days while we wait for the final papers to go through on the sale of the house.
During this time, my husband and I have been going through our belongings, making decisions on what to load into the motorhome, and where to put everything. First thing, I started setting up shelves in the sleeping area above the cab. We don't need that space for sleeping, so we may as well turn it into storage. I got shelves put in, and a rod for hanging clothes. My husband has been spending time checking over the engine, topping up fluids, and making sure everything is in working order.
We are exhaused from all the moving we have been doing over the past few weeks and months. But it feels good to be so close to our new adventure. The motorhome is close to being ready, as we fill it with everything we think we will need.
I picked up a mobile internet stick so I can have access to the internet while on the road. We will be in Canada and The States, so I got the flex plan for US/Canada from Rogers. As for our telephone, I got a pay-as-you-go phone from Virgin Mobile and picked up a 365 day card for $100.00.  Rogers and Virgin both have pay-as-you-go plans for about the same price, but Virgin had a cheaper basic phone, so I went with them. We can use that phone while in Canada, and pay for only the time we use. I will get another pay-as-you-go phone in The States to use when in America. Again, we will pay for only the usage on the phone. We have made no decision yet on television service. We may get a satellite dish, maybe not.
Another topic of discussion has been how we will provide power to the motorhome when we are travelling. We won't be staying in campgrounds all the time. Walmart parking lots may be our most popular 'campground' to start, until we figure things out a bit more. For electrical needs we may get a generator. But what size is best? For cooking, fridge use, and heat we have propane. But how much will that cost? Maybe we will invest in solar panels. But that would involve getting batteries and an inverter. I would like to eventually go at least partially solar, but I think we will have to put that on the back burner for now.
We have so much to learn, and all the time in the world to figure things out.

The Adventure Begins ...

We have been talking about this for years now. How can we get away from these icy cold winters of Winnipeg? How can we get away from 40 below temperatures with wind chills so bad that your skin freezes in seconds? Well, we came up with a plan.
The first thing we did was make the decision to sell the house. That involved down-sizing our keepables, the stuff we really want to keep, those things we cannot do without. We spent the fall holding garage sales and giving stuff to friends. Then the house went up for sale. Once it sold and our possessions were put into storage we secured our new home, an older model motorhome.

Now we have to load the motorhome with things we need, and things we want, and most importantly things that fit into our new quarters.
Then brush off the passports and head for warmth. We are going south until summer comes to Canada.
Wish us luck on our new adventures!!!
Be sure to stay tuned for updates as we adjust to our new way of life.