Kate's America

               I'd been waiting for what seemed like a million years for us to go on our first trip in Cleo and Phoenix, and the time had finally come!  We were going to embark on our very first trip to Lake Myers in Mocksville, North Carolina.  My mom booked our campground site for August the twenty-seventh, and we planned to set out that morning for Lake Myers, which was about an hour away.  The campground promised many fun activities, like mini golf, a pool, and canoeing.  I could hardly wait!  The days leading up to the twenty-seventh seemed to drag, but we kept busy and prepared Cleo and Phoenix for our trip.                Our first to-do was get some practice backing Cleo.  My grandpa and mom went out to help my dad back it into various parking spaces.  Next they went to empty the black tank (that's where all the waste goes- I know, gross, but necessary).  Thankfully I wasn't there for that particularly disgusting chore.                                               

                     We were only a couple of weeks away from our expected departure date and there were just a few last minute things to attend to.  Number one on my list was having one last sleepover with my best friend Anna.               I spent the night at Anna's house near the beginning of August, and we had an amazing time.  Anna and I have been friends since we were seven years old, and though we've changed a lot over the years, we're still very close.  Spending time with Anna was so fun.  We went to the pool, to a dance and just talked with each other.  It was a fantastic sleepover that I will remember forever.                                                                   Ready to leave for the dance!!               I also started tenth grade!  I was excited to start back, because even though I'd had an awesome summer, I missed learning and reading about things like science and literature. I go to the Greenholts in Yadkinville for my English classes, and o

                         Now that my family and I had our truck and RV, we needed to get moved in.  Honestly, at first it looked like a tornado had come through Cleo the camper.  Stuff was everywhere: on the floor, on the kitchen counters, on our beds: it was chaos.  But we tackled it head-on and soon we had it looking great.  We also removed the couch in the room Mia and I shared and used the space to create a reading nook.                                                                       Let the unpacking begin!                                                                                              Before                                                                                                                               After             Our first night sleeping in the camper was so exciting! It was really beginning to feel like home.  It was easy to imagine us in some far-off state like Montana or Minnesota, cuddled up in little Cleo.                             

                 Easter 2021, I was at my nana's house for the holidays. My nana had just bought a new RV and my sister Mia and I were having a BLAST playing in it while the adults talked inside. At one point, I ran inside the house for something and my mom asked me what I thought of the camper. "I love it! I wish I could live in one!" was my reply. Imagine my surprise when my mom said we might be able to. Whaaaat?                 My family and I began to go through the pros and cons. What if I missed my friends? What would we do with our cat? Where would we go when we needed a haircut or a doctor? Was it worth giving up all the comforts of life in a sticks and bricks home so that we could travel and explore?               But RVing had become something my family and I had to do.                After Easter my family and I went back to Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, which was where I lived at the time. We began to sort out our keepsakes from the things we could do withou