This box of a thing becoming our HOME

Day 1

The day finally came. We were so excited to pick up our RV and it wasn't a moment too soon. It was hard enough sleeping on a couch for 2 nights let alone 2 months. Jason got off work in the AM and met me at my parent's house before driving to Palm Beach. After signing some paperwork, going through a 2 hour demo of our RV, and Jason's new 5th wheel hitch being installed, it was finally time to hook up and hit the road. My stomach was in knots. I couldn't believe the guy trusted Jason to back up and fit the hitch all by himself. After all, it would be his first time doing this. It actually wasn't as hard as I imagined, but my stomach was still spinning at the thought of Jason driving this huge monstrosity of a thing down the highway for an hours time.

We pulled out and immediately missed our turn. I was more concerned with getting the first photo of our RV on the road than I was reading the signs :) We made our way to the highway and the pictures continued to snap. People seemed to be extremely annoyed with us as we drove the speed limit and they swerved around us. I literally stopped breathing when semi trucks would pass Jason.

Not only were we traveling in rush hour traffic, but God's humor grew in strides with things like rain and missing another turn. Jason drove over to Markham Park where we would be staying for our first week (somewhere local to everything we've ever known but still with full hook ups and the opportunity to learn the ins and outs), slot A 7. With daylight savings taking away our sunshine early, Jason had to park and set up in the dark. All of our 'first times' seem to be fairly extreme on the scale and not at all easy like everyone said it would be.

I rushed over to my parent's house to load the cars with our RV items. 2 car loads full of stuff seemed a bit excessive. It looked like Target exploded in our RV living room when I arrived and unloaded. Jason just had to make a smart ass comment about me bringing way more than we needed. Such a guy thing to say. . . I spent the first night unpacking our belongings and trying to make our RV feel more like HOME. Taylor seemed to be settling in nicely by claiming almost every spot as her own. The stairs seemed to be her only weakness. Jason ran out and grabbed Burger King for dinner. It seemed a bit bizarre sitting in our 'living room' eating dinner when just a few days ago we did the same exact thing only in a home about 2500 sqft larger. Did we really sell everything and do this? It was still hard to believe.

The bed called to us louder and louder with every passing minute. It actually turned out to be softer and bigger than I expected. Coming from a king sized bed, I was worried to go down to the queen.

Day 2

I woke up at 7:30am. . . I haven't done that since my last day of work in July. Maybe I was just excited to start our day. We spent all of that day talking with neighbors, breakfast at Panera, running up to the RV store (K&K off 441 and Stirling Rd. - a bit expensive and large amount of cheap dollar store items for more money), and getting organized a bit more. The hook ups on the RV are mid way down while the site hook ups were in the very front of the spot. Of course the hoses the RV dealership sent us with weren't long enough to reach, so $400 in hoses, locks, and chocks were a must. When we returned from the store with all of our goodies, we couldn't help but get so pissed off when the brand new sewer hose we bought was too short. . . the 20 ft hose only went half the distance. Fan-fricken-tastic. Still no sewer hookup means filling tanks without a release. When they get full. . . what happens? I didn't want to find out.

Tara came out to see the RV for the first time. I think her expectations were extremely low at first, but  seemed to be pleasantly surprised after just a couple of minutes. After all she just like Taylor ran right in and sat down. Jason made cheeseburgers and hot dogs on the George Forman grill for dinner while Tara had a cheese sandwich. We haven't bought a good gas RV grill yet. We may even be able to hold off a bit. The George Forman worked great. It was my first time cooking on a gas stove. I was extremely nervous but I did it. Mac-n-cheese and green beans for sides was a good start.

Justin joined us after dinner for a couple games of scrabble (it was more like shake the dice and make a word). I shouldn't have packed all of my good games and put them in storage. It was a great night of fun and laughs.

I took my first shower in the RV tonight. I do wish we would have found one with a bigger shower stall. The one we have is called a neo-angle shower and it is pretty tiny. Definitely not like our shower was at home. It's only a 'one person' stall. I ran out of hot water half way through. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Jason and I laid in bed talking about how we loved that we could still entertain people. We didn't need that huge house to do it. Our RV bed actually is bigger and more comfortable than I expected. I haven't had a good nights sleep in a while, so it is nice to be able to sleep soundly. The only thing about the bedroom is the second air conditioner we had installed is extremely loud. Bummer.

I ask Jason almost every hour "Are you happy we did this?" He responds every time with "Oh yeah!" I think Taylor likes it and wouldn't trade it either.

Day 3

I am starting to miss watching my TV shows. No more DVR for us. We barely get 3 channels from our satellite that I even care to watch. I guess it gets us outside more. I'll have to try and look my shows up online (Greys, Real Housewives, etc.). We basically wake up in the morning, make a cup of coffee, make a bite for breakfast, and head to the dog park with Taylor. Our spot at Markham is A 7. It was actually the last spot available out of 88. With the Thanksgiving holiday they were all booked up. A 7 is near the road and the very first spot when pulling into the camping area (those are the negatives). Positives about the spot are it's the first spot so it's closest walking distance to the dog park, unrestricted lake view, completely canopied by trees and brush which provides privacy and shade. We will probably request this spot every time. 

I laid outside in the hammock today. Took a mini nap. Taylor joined me for some of it. I heard Jason on the phone with his dad. I am assuming Steve asked how we were doing and Jason's response of "Living the dream" was just so cute. We took Taylor to the dog park. Next time we will bring our own chairs. Seating is limited there. I guess mainly because it is Sunday and everyone in the world brought their dog to the park today. Justin and Tara came over again. The boys went mountain biking while Tara and I went to Target for a few more needed things.

Dad and Tammie, Briana and her girlfriend, along with Chesney came out to see the RV. The kids seemed to like it. 'Camping' is always a fun thing for the kids. Tammie thought it was nice but wouldn't be able to deal with the short lived hot water showers. I can barely take them either. We all walked over to the dog park. We stayed for over an hour as we all sprawled out on the grass and talked. It was a lot of fun. 

Justin and Tara stayed over for dinner again. Chicken on the George Forman grill and rice and green beans on the stove. I was even able to make cookies in our oven. . . I had Jason light to pilot with the lighter and then brought the oven to 350 degrees. I originally put the cookies in when the flames were high and at full power. That batch burned. No I know I have to wait until the oven preheats and then provides an even temperature. The cookies came out great. Justin and Tara took off while Jason and I ran out to Wal Mart to buy more sewer hose. We still were not hooked up and at this point every tank was full. No using water or flushing allowed until we get these tanks hooked up to the sewer! Wal Mart in Sunrise was crazy. Now I remember why I love going to Target instead. With another $150 spent, we headed home. It's so funny to think of our RV as home. Jason asks me all the time if I have the house keys. My response is "No. I don't have any house keys." I then realize he is talking about the RV keys. It will take me a little while to get use to this all.