The day has finally come for us to leave California. We have been ‘free-loading’ at Marlene’s parents’ house since we sold and moved away from our last home. Almost 40 days later, we have tied up all loose ends and prepared one last BBQ before heading out.
One of the more significant tasks we are taking on during this trip is homeschooling our own little kindergartner. Ava is now 5-years old and will officially start kindergarten in the fall. We began researching different types of homeschooling programs when we decided to go back on the road and were really lucky to find a great program for newbies like us at Ventura Charter School.
Ava’s first-ever set of official school books.
We are down to the final stretch before leaving our possessions and family behind. We are filled with excitement, last-minute jitters and, ever so slightly, a bit of doubt. OK, maybe doubt is not the right word to describe it as it has little to do with the actual trip itself. We are quite excited to get back on the road. The main cause for our concern is Luka. There are a couple of small but lingering health-related problems we were hoping to resolve.
Luka at his 3 month’s check up today with an off-the-charts weigh in.
Getting your trailer ready for some serious boondocking usually calls for some type of replenish-able, off-grid power source like adding solar panels and a generator. However, power generation is only 1 part of the formula when considering ways to build up your off-grid power. You will also need to consider ways to increase power storage capacity as well as items to help lower your consumption. The latter two are frequently ignored even though they can be more cost efficient.
After a couple of weeks of playing hide and seek with LAPD parking enforcement in San Pedro every 72 hours, we hopped on the saddle and went back to our old stomping grounds for the weekend to do some proper camping with some old friends at Lake Casitas.
In 18 days, we will have packed everything we will need into the Airstream and head east. Although the first 5 nights will be spent in a Vegas hotel room, we are nonetheless leaving.
Back in mid-May, when Luka was just a month old and we were still living in Ventura, we took him on his first Airstream trip as a test to see how he would handle living on the road and also to check out the local KOA Kampground that we have never been to after living there 12 years.
Since we left our old house a little more than 3 weeks ago, we have relocated to the part of Los Angeles that is referred to as South Bay. That is the area between the LAX airport and the Port of LA. Specifically, we are in San Pedro. And if you are a local, you would know that it is pronounced ‘Pee-Dro’ and not ‘Pay-Dro’.
Since June 9th, we have been living in the Airstream on the driveway of our old house. Technically, we are full timing in the Airstream but emotionally, it didn’t quite yet feel the same. We had a lot of work to do to get our stuff packed up and cleaned out and it took all of the time we had to do it. Today, after 4 trips with U-Hauls and 11 days of driveway living, we finally departed our beloved home of 8 years and left the town that has embraced and sheltered us for nearly 12 years. This time for good.
All packed and ready to roll.
It has been a stressful couple of days so far this week. A lot of things have gone as planned but some have hit snags that we fortunately were able to overcome without any major disasters. First of all, we finally were able to close escrow and take possession of our new house.
Last night was our first night in the Airstream as our full time home. Because of some problems with our buyer’s lender, they had to extend their escrow closing day. You’d think we are glad to have a few extra days to move out, but the changes in plans are actually a bit aggravating. We have had our plans in place and this was not going to change them.
People are here at the house today making last minute repairs and fixes for the new owners. In the meantime, I am sitting in my breakfast nook/office trying to work in the middle of a construction site.
The Mish is spending one of her last few days at this house with some new visitors working next to her.
We are a young family traveling the country in our Airstream. To read more about us, click here.
