Reality has hit! The journey across the U.S. over the next year that my husband Perry and I talked about for awhile was about to begin. Exciting, but also bittersweet as we leave behind our grown kids David, Kaylyn and Brandon and a house that we lived in for the past fifteen years. We decided to bring our dogs, Gracie and Daisy. Deciding on the perfect travel vehicle for us was no easy task and after a lot of research, we decided on a 33 foot Grand Design Reflection. Perry has always felt the need to have nicknames for family or important things in his life so we "reflected" and decided on "Papi" for the truck (yes we're fans of Big Papi's) and Edna for the fifth wheel (also fans of Edna Valley chardonnay).
With so much to do after the sale of the house with packing up the fifth wheel, deciding what items will be stored over the next year and scheduling physicals for ourselves and for the dogs, our take off day of October 5th is coming quickly! There is never enough time to spend with close friends and family!
The pre take off day was a little crazy trying to fit last minute things into our storage unit and waiting for them to pick it up to store for more than a year. After watching our fifteen years of household items get carried away in a 16' pod, Perry and I stopped by the high school that I worked at for fourteen years to say "goodbye" to my dear friends. Afterwards, we needed to find a gas station that carried diesel for Papi. You wouldn't thing finding diesel would be that hard but after a lot of driving around (I did use the app but once we got to the station, they either were out or no longer carried it), we found a station at $2.79 a gallon. We now were on our way to pic up "Edna" from storage about 30 miles from home. The entire process was about two hours with so much packing left to do. I had a much needed hair appointment with my long term hairdresser, Faye and knew I'd be late for my 4:30 appointment. Thankfully, she was willing to wait since it would be my last hair appointment with her for a long time!
A fifth wheel is such a wonderful way to travel because you have more living space and you can disconnect it from the truck to sight see. It sounds so easy but yesterday was round one of patience testing. Parking in front of the house with the 33 foot fifth wheel was a breeze but separating the truck from it was (an understatement) a chore! With no other means of transportation besides the truck, I knew I'd be more than a little late for my hair appointment (very important to a woman)! Thankfully, my wonderful daughter, Kaylyn showed up just in time. I took her car for my two hour appointment while she stayed to help Perry figure out why the releasing bar of the hitch wouldn't release. IT TAKES A VILLAGE! With help from our kids, David and Kaylyn along with neighbors and a call to the place where the hitch was installed....victory! Hair done, hitch released and pizza for dinner. Several friends were over to help us finish packing up "Edna" and to wish us safe travels. At the same time of our crazy move, David and his girlfriend Taylor were moving the same day into their own place in Woodland Hills. Many moving parts to the transition of a lifetime!
For those of you who know me, family has always been my main focus! To have David and Kaylyn here made the transition easier. Our youngest, Brandon was not here but in a few days we'll be spending a couple of weeks with him in Chico, Ca. Okay, I have to do a shout out to my friend Lisa who really helped me focus on getting rid of things and to pack up the fifth wheel. She saved me a lot of time and that being said, I slept a little better that night. Knowing our kids are happy and excited for us makes the trip a lot easier and leaving our home (filled with memories) of fifteen years. As I walked through each room for the last time, I reminisced about the gecko that Brandon didn't particularly bond with but lived forever, the music that came from each room..(some desirable and some not), the many sleepovers, the holidays......ah I will miss the holidays and the beautiful church choir that Kaylyn and I were fortunate to share a year singing together! Snap out of it.....it's now time to meet the new chapter of our lives head on. It's also time to spend with my husband, dogs and well.....Edna and Papi!
Carol what model rv did you guys get from Reflection.
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