A Month Away From Following My Dream

                 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 without, and soon we had dozens of boxes and totes and garbage bags full of things to give away or sell. The next step was to sell our house. 

                                          Our former house in Pilot Mountain

      We cleaned the house from top to bottom until it was show ready. Then after only six days on the market, the house sold. Saying goodbye was bittersweet. I was leaving the house I'd lived in since I was two months old, but at the same time I was leaving to travel America. 

            Once the house was gone, we went back and forth between my grandpa's and nana's house. Ping ponging between houses was difficult at times, but I knew it was only temporary. We began looking at fifth wheels (a type of RV) and trucks. We finally decided to get a Reflection Grand Design RV and a Ram 3500 to pull it. We parked the truck and RV in my grandpa's driveway and put our hitch on order. 

                                                         Our camper, Cleopatra.            

                                                         Our truck, Phoenix   

              Now it's August and we are planning to leave in the beginning of September. Looking back on how much we've accomplished since that afternoon in April, I'm kind of amazed. So much has already happened. But it's made me even more excited for my adventure across America.