We had three themes we carried with us into this journey.
"Expect the unexpected"; "Go with the flow"; and something a little colorful that translates pretty well to: "don't be a weenie" (or more positively: "be kind").
I should have set up a fourth theme of: "Stop worrying. You've got this."
Because the first couple of days were laced with worry. Not constantly, but thick servings when the unexpected did happen.
It's just what I do. Worry is my superpower.
Like when we rolled into our campground late on the first night, only to discover that it's wasn't a campground anymore (we punted and camped in their parking lot); or riding on fumes and fairy dust as we drove mile after endless mile through upstate New York, wondering if we'd make it to the next fuel pump (we did). Oh, and also that concerning noise the Nellie (our camper) made for most of a day. That was my biggest anxiety hit of all. (More air in our tires was a pretty easy fix).
We problem-solved. We punted. We pulled together. We figured it out.
And – so far anyway – everything turned out just fine. Better than fine, in fact.
Of course it did.
Wisconsin, to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and finally Vermont.
Seven states in the first four days days.
Such a journey! What a gift this trip is opening into.
Expect the unexpected.
Go with the flow.
Be kind.
And stop worrying. Because you've got this.
Yeah, I think we'll do okay out here on the road, after all.
More soon. I promise.
Love,
Rachel
P.S. I'm sharing regular postcards from the road over on Instagram. You can find me there as lusa_mama.
#wolfwanderings #roadschooling
Awww so exciting. Where were you in Upstate NY. That is where I live. There are so many things to see in the Finger Lakes Region if you had back through this way…
Beautiful pictures and I love going with the flow. It doesn’t happen, but that attitude is sure helpful. Happy Trails!
I mean, it doesn’t happen all of the time…
Rachel, I’m sure you are not looking for advice, and you’ve road tripped before, but we found on our cross country trip to always fill up our gas tank when it got to 1/2. I mean, you won’t need to worry too much in New England, because I’ve found everything is pretty close together, but everywhere else we just stopped at every gas station we saw. haha. It made it one less thing to worry about.
Good to know it was just the tires! 🙂 Love those smooth stones.
That is totally how I am when traveling too. That tire noise would have sent me into a panic. I can remember traveling back from Colorado with a friend’s 2 year old, a 13 year old boy and my husband. We tried to get a motel room in Iowa but soon discovered that during the Iowa State Fair time, there isn’t a motel room to be found either in Iowa or the surrounding states. We all slept in our tiny Dodge Omni in a hotel parking lot. You are taking the kids to see things that most other people don’t see. What a gift! I love the statue of Tesla! And remember, the trips where unexpected things happen are the trips you remember forever.