Yep, that about sums it up!
Helluva day, weekend, week…. you name it. Not in a negative way, thank goodness. But in a “whoa did that just happen?” kinda way.
So…. I think I left off at what all we had been looking at in terms of move-to vehicles. Truthfully, after seeing and driving like the 5th rickety old bus…. and just ONE RV… it was abundantly clear that we need to hone our search. We had a little pow-wow and agreed that the bus was not necessarily our route because we ( me namely) would not like the adventure (the new lifestyle) to be about the bus as a project, but the travel and exposure to the world around us. I was drawn to the class C with the sleeping loft above the drivers cab. This offered enough sleep space for everyone, was small enough for me to maneuver and perfect for the task at hand.
As the weeks wore on however, I was getting a little stressed trying to (a) hone in on one specific/suitable/affordable vehicle and (b) get our twelve year home packed up and move us out by the end of the month. As K’s 48 Hour Film Festival project approached it became even more apparent that I needed to nix the vehicle search for the present moment and get us packed and moved. So two weeks ago, that’s the direction in which we moved.
August 26th through the 28th K participated in the Chicago area 48 Hour Film Festival. Last year’s participation was on a team with others guiding the way, and with that experience at hand, he wanted to lead his own team this year. He signed up under his business name, Saikouba Entertainment, and rallied some friends to help with writing, acting and filming. It was quite a whirlwind of a weekend with everything that came into play but overall a super amazing experience. He learned a great deal both from the successes and the mistakes and is already gearing up for next year’s festival (not to mention several other festivals he may participate in throughout the year before then). I’m extremely proud of the efforts he put forth and all that he carried away from the weekend. It was a seriously intense project and from what we found out from the first night…. he is the youngest director to enter this festival. Huge kudos to K and team! We look forward to the movie premier this coming weekend back in Chicago!
From the close of that weekend we had the rest of the house to pack up, purge, move, freecycle, sell, store…. you name it. The 72 hours before we locked the door behind us is truly kind of a blur 😉 . I recall lots of phone calls, texts, emails, FB posts, people stopping by. I frankly to remember what was thrown to the curb and what was taken away. All I know is that 5 x 11 storage space is truly packed to the BRIM! Not an inch to move. Had we had our RV (or alternate vehicle) in hand before leaving, we would not have packed likely so much into the storage unit. There is lots crammed in there awaiting a second and third round of purging as we move into the new RV. So that will be a whole other experience to endure. Bracing myself.
Our last night was bitter sweet. All of our beds had been moved out but one. Rock star C kept me company as we packed up the last of the last. And we all camped on the living room floor on a pile of blankets and pillows. The final day we had three more trips to the storage, packed up, slipped the key under the door and we were OFF!
We did not find and RV or similar before leaving town. But alas it was time to go. End of month, end of lease, and conference pending. We were venturing off to the Rethinking Everything gathering which we are still truly reeling from. It was such a remarkable time being among this significantly profound group of people. It was right where we needed to be at that very moment in time. So much ahead to still face and settle, and at this very moment in time we could be among the kindest, gentlest, most supportive and abundantly grateful group of people we could have ever met. It was remarkable.
Leaving there Monday we headed to Chattanooga where we were going to look at an RV. I figured, once I got over my stress of the immediate need (or the original thinking that it was an immediate need), it would likely be best to check out RV listings on Craigslist all the way down and back from AL. After all, we were going through several states, many of which would likely have plenty of listings at a price range we could afford! Thus the Chattanooga stop. It was the perfect size RV but it was in really rough shape. Onward…. to a wee bit of bummer. We were hauling to Louisville to see another and just an hour before arrival we get a text that one had sold already.
We stop for dinner, set up two more appointments and think we should just haul but to Cincinnati that way we were right there to see the next two. Welp….. about an hour out from Cincinnati a text….. it’s sold already.
Ergh. Well, at the very least we got to enjoy a very nice hike through Mammoth Cave, and a super cheap pizza buffet. We decide to stay in OH anyway cause we need to see one more in OH tomorrow, and then hopefully, one in Indianapolis. Also, a quick peek online tonight and I revealed there were two more super great listings in the Chicago area! So there are options ahead! We are eager and abundant! Looking forward to finding *the* one so we can begin to feel more settled in this process. The hotel living and eating out WAY too much is getting old. It’s bringing about mama grouchy at that moment, and that means everyone is feeling it. Realizing it has me revamping myself…. but it is going to be SO amazing to finally have something picket out! To get the storage unit purged, *and* to feel we finally have a ‘home’ to settle into! Keep your fingers crossed that we may fall in love with *the* perfect one before pulling back into Chicago!
-xo
