On the road again…
July 22, 2013 in New Zealand, Oceania, Travelogue
It feels good to be back in our little camper pod.
We enjoyed housesitting in Paraparaumu very much. The best part was making new friends, as our hosts are just the sort of adventurous people we love to encounter on the road. The kids miss Ramona, the pup we had the privilege of borrowing. All in all, our first experience house sitting was a raging success and we’re really looking forward to the next round, in Australia next month.
This morning we’re in Wanganui. I’m tucked into my little bunk over the cab, propped up on pillows in what has become my mobile office. I have the second cup of tea for the day balanced inside a small cooking pot next to me, so I don’t spill it on the comforter. The younger boys have a massive game of lego going outside. I can hear them shouting orders through their little lego men as their fantastical ships whiz around in the air. Hannah is battling email woes. Gabe is writing. Tony, as ever, is knee deep in viking blood waging war for our family. He’s a lover, and fighter.
This is what most mornings look like for us on the road. We spend them working on our little projects, creating home for ourselves, even when we are away. What exactly are “home” and “away,” anyway?
Today I’ve got an editorial deadline for a column, two posts to write for my own websites, an audio interview to edit, content to create for the Momentum project, four questions from readers to respond to, a guest post to get started on, two technical difficulties to untangle and our arrival in Sydney to sort out. That really must be done today. I’ve been putting it off for too long. It was the email from hostelbookers.com that reminded me this morning, so that’s where I’m starting, hoping to drum up something affordable in a notoriously expensive city. Have I mentioned we have six people? Yeah. Hostels are our friends. 🙂
And then there’s laundry, and some birthday preparations, those need to be done today as well.
Here’s the thing:
This exotic life of travel and adventure that we lead, it’s mostly just life. We work. We play. We have some fun. It rains on our parade.
I got two emails this week that struck a chord: One expressing awe at the unending string of wild adventures we have. The other wondering if CPS (Child Protective Services, in the USA) had something to say about the amount of privacy/personal space kids had to have, legally speaking. They both made me laugh. The first, because I’m cooking for six on two burners and living in 156 sq. ft. The second because it’s precisely the lack of “personal space and privacy” that allow us to give our kids the whole world. We have tons of personal space and privacy, we just sleep stacked like cordwood in our camper at night! For now, last month we had a three bedroom house and a hot tub on the beach. Next month we’ll have an antique farmhouse of sorts on the south coast of Australia. In Thailand we had three bedrooms and a pool. In Guatemala we had 2 acres of manicured gardens as personal space. Sure, we lived in tents for a year across Europe and N. Africa, but the whole continent was our living room, how cool is that? It’s all in perspective, isn’t it? Bunk beds in a hostel is luxurious. There are so many ways to live life; ours is quirky, but we love it. It’s neither all adventure, nor neglectful of our kids’ basic needs.
What does morning look like in your corner of the world? Any suggestions for us in Sydney?
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Hi Melanie! Hehe… Good question, although it made me chuckle. It depends on your definition of a date, I suppose. I’ve gone out for dinner with a few guys before, but they’ve always been friends of mine for ages. If that’s what you call dating, then yes, I’ve been on a date. But if you mean searching out a relationship with a boy near my age by going for a movie or dinner, then no. I haven’t been on a date. Primarily because I see no point in forming a romantic relationship with any guy at this point, for a few reasons. For one, anything formed at my age is unlikely to last. In the majority of other couples my age I rarely see anything I’d want to emulate, and most of them break up after less than a year. For two, it would be unfair to the guy, because I’m away for so long. For three, I’m probably better off focusing on other things, like music, art, and education at this point. And for four, if there’s something happening beneath the surface with me and some guy, then if it’s worth having at all it’ll still be there in a few years, even if we aren’t “dating” or even talking about it. And if it’s not, then I’m better off not getting involved in the first place. In general, it seems to be best not to make important life decisions on the spur of the moment. Guys included. So that’s where I stand on dates. Did I answer your question? 🙂
Of course, if you have a daughter who’s worried about dating and traveling, I would point out that the internet probably makes that easier. There’s Skype and Facebook and email, so she could still communicate with her boyfriend if she wanted to.
I am so reading Hannah’s reply to my boys! Healthy stance!
Hi Hannah, thanks soooo much for your response! When I looked at my question again it may have come across as a bit flippant, but that certainly wasn’t the intention. My eldest daughter is only 11 so it wasn’t really coming from her but more from me thinking about my misspent youth! Honestly, I think I am just imagining up obstacles as to why we shouldn’t travel, and how I will traumatise my kids so that they will end up in therapy for not having a “normal” childhood; I’m only half joking. 😉
Anyway, you are wise beyond your years, and if you don’t mind I have printed this out to memerise and repeat to my girls when they need it (i couldn’t have said it better myself).
We love hearing about your adventures and lifestyle, and I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer. Hopefully our paths will cross in the not so distant future…….your mum’s got the whip out!
Hi Melanie, no worries whatsoever! It was a reasonable question, and I didn’t find it flippant at all! I was just laughing because the idea of me romantically dating someone is something so foreign to me at the moment that it cracked me up. Hehe. And honestly, I think everyone who’s gone past the “I wish I could” step and on to the “maybe I can do this step” starts firing reasons why they shouldn’t at themselves. Some of them are important to think about, like whether or not it’s financially feasible or safe. But from what I’ve heard, a lot of the reasons aren’t reasonable (pardon that, couldn’t help it 😛 ). I don’t know if you’re religious or not, but if I were you I’d just pray about it and try to sort out which reasons are plausible and which aren’t. Personally, I think there’s more upsides than downsides to travel. But that’s just me. And as far as your kids go, if it makes you feel better, all the traveling friends I have are without exception really smart, really cool, really unusual, and amazingly creative. If you don’t want your kids to start thinking differently than their peers, then whatever you do, don’t travel. Because travel is guaranteed to expand their mindset and teach them to think out of the box. Yes, we may be a bit eccentric. But that can be kind of cool. Anyway. I hope that was more or less inspiring and helpful. 😛 And when it comes to that sort of thing, aren’t you in my Mom’s class? If you aren’t, you should be!
This really made me laugh! We have been renovating “the little house” for 8 years. 3 years ago, when we had our 3rd child (first son!) we made the decision to sell our “big house” (whopping 1100 sq ft) so we could live in the “little house” (800 sq ft). Down from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom. And you wouldn’t believe how people responded to THAT! I can’t count the number of times that someone has “warned” us that we will eventually HAVE to give our son his personal space. I totally did have someone bring up the legality of girls and boys sharing rooms. Only in this country is a loving family in 800 square feet and a fluffy bed viewed as neglectful.
Sara… yeah, people lack perspective. Truly. This is why we travel.
So, how much did you end up paying for the Motorhome? And for how much did he buy it from you? 🙂
Anders, I don’t remember, frankly… I could look up the numbers, if it matters that much to you, PM me… I know that what we rented it for was about what we’d budgeted to lose in a buy-sell switch if we’d used an agency and left it there in the hands of a “seller.” This way we were guaranteed the amount. 🙂
Hey Jennifer, I send you an e-mail through your contact form 🙂 best, Andreas