The LIST....

I am a list maker, I like having everything laid out on paper but most of all I like crossing things off my list-I may have even been known to add things to the list after I've done them just so I can cross them off... At any rate, packing for a camping trip, especially when that "camping trip"involves leaving your home and your country for six months makes for a enormous list.Not only an enormous list but a list with very important, crucial, cannot be forgotten items-forgetting dish soap is one thing while forgetting to get the dog vaccinated for rabies is another!
I can cross that rabies vaccination off this afternoon, as well as getting bank accounts and credit cards in USD set up. Crossing items like that off of the list really makes going on this adventure feel real, I still can't quite believe that we are able to do this!
Anyhow, speaking of lists I had better go and finish crossing things off the list for this weekend's camping trip...

Here Goes Nothing... Or Everything!

Well, here I am, writing my first blog post about the adventure on which we are about to embark. We being myself, my husband and our two children Lacey and Amy (pseudonyms) and the adventure being escaping the cold, dark and snowy winter of 54° north in a 32 foot travel trailer. In reality, the winters aren't that bad if you get out and enjoy them-our daughters have enjoyed sliding, skiing, skating and much more but I have difficulty enjoying them because I must use a wheelchair (as a result of a MVA years ago) and wheelchairs and snow don't mix very well! My husband, being from a warmer climate originally, just can't see the appeal of getting cold, wet and tired while digging out a snowmobile and clearing the sidewalks or being stressed and limited by poor winter driving conditions. He has also suffered from allergies and asthma ever since we moved to this area years ago and we're hoping that leaving for six months a year will alleviate his suffering.

My Girls and I, along with our dog Z on our first camping trip.

Hubby on the same trip.

The Trailer in which we will be traveling and living.

I already school the girls through distance learning (grade 5 and kindergarten) so this adventure will just be a huge educational opportunity for them. We will spend this winter on the Oregon coast and hope to make a different region of the United States our home base each winter. We will make our home at one location and explore the surrounding area and States from there. As Canadians, we can spend a little less than six months in the United States each year without penalty, so we will be there from late October until late April each year (hopefully leaving before the snow flies and coming home after it has melted).