Kati, Edwin, Isabella, Vera, & Daisy Warner
I still can’t believe that we are actually doing this. And I’m so happy that we are. I’m pretty sure I’ve been wanting to do something like this since I was about 8 or 9 years old. I still remember when friends from Germany (which I’m on the phone with my mom and she corrected me, they weren’t friends, they were family…My dad’s uncle’s wife’s brother and nephew. Yup, that’s family in my family 🙂 visited for the summer back in ‘87, rented and RV and visited Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc… There was a day or 2 in the beginning and end of the trip when the RV was parked in the driveway. I remember being so excited that I was allowed to sleep in the RV. I still remember the sleeping bags they bought for the trip that I slept in.. My mom, who keeps everything, still has those same sleeping bags from over 30 years ago in her condo in Hawaii. Even now, when I visit Hawaii and open the closet to see those creme colored sleeping bags with the plastic black zippers it brings me back to that moment of the RV and a deep desire to travel around and live in a house on wheels.
When I met Edwin back when I was only 19 years old and we were both students at UC Berkeley, he had pictures of unimogs (a Mercedes Benz truck) and expedition vehicles of all types up around his room. He specifically had this signed poster of “the Turtle IV”. It was a couple named Gary and Monica Westcott who built their own successive fleets of RVs, travelled the world and wrote about it. (They even towed a trailer across Siberia). As I’m writing this now, I’m realizing maybe just how significant those posters may have been in Edwin and myself already behaving as a married couple in our early 20s only a year or two into dating.
So how did this trip really come about now…in a more realistic and current way?? Well, I think I thought it was a possibility the moment both our girls started school. It was a bit traumatic for me. I am a stay at home mom, and pretty sure those younger years will always be one of my favorite times in life. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want things to stay the same and there is beauty in watching our girls grow and get older and it feels natural and the way its supposed to be…but there are some sad moments about it too. I really think the main motivation other than that yearning for “going” was to “steal” a year with my kids during what we’re calling the “Sweet Spot”. Isabella, age 11, turning 12 in December, is in 6th grade. Vera, age 9, turning 10 in October, is in 4th grade. Isabella is young enough that both Edwin and I are still “primary” in her life. We know that in a few years that may not be the case. Vera is old enough that she can really explore with us and we can do real 5-12 mile hikes and bike rides. A bonus was the “Every Kid in a Park” program run by the Unites States National Park Service put in place by President Barack Obama that gives every 4th grader in the country a national park pass for the year from September 1-August 31 of the next year. Each 4th grader can bring in themselves and anyone in the car for free. (It is easy to get, just go online and your 4th grader can do it themselves or you can contact your teacher or Boy Scout troop leader #edguzman)
So a few years ago I started thinking that this may be something we want to do. Or even can do. I had entertained homeschooling the girls at one point when they were very little and still living in Idaho. I always knew I wouldn’t really homeschool the girls for many different reasons, but I also wasn’t scared about the idea of doing it for a year on the road. I had confidence we could. Edwin is a earth science/geology major from UC Berkeley and I am an Econ major/Forestry minor from UC Berkeley. We had the education, knowledge, covered lots of bases, both like the outdoors, and I guess simply if you know either Edwin or myself, we are capable. The girls didn’t want to miss 5th grade and miss out on their kindergarten buddies, their “sweet spot” ages, the national park pass…all these things pointed to being this was the year. I had the idea and the drive. The girls were on board. Edwin was the engineer and RV logistics and put the actual physical pieces into place.
When the girls started 3rd/5th grade I thought I would begin the planning/itinerary. But I didn’t. It wasn’t until we received the letter from school in the early spring about our intentions for returning the following year that we realized we really have to commit and also tell the school. That was harder than I thought it would be. But we did it. I put up a giant piece of white butcher paper in our playroom, drew the map of the U.S., and starting filling in different national parks and people we knew around the country we could visit. That helped us realize that YES, we do want to do this. It would almost be stupid if we didn’t. Or at least it would definitely be something that I/we would regret.
Harder than telling the school though, was telling my family. I had been casually talking about it for a long time, but I don’t know if anyone really thought it would happen. I still remember telling my sister and she was in disbelief and felt like it came out of nowhere. Her husband Mike gently reminded her I’ve been talking about it for awhile. He’s also a Sagittarius and adventurous and understood. I knew my sister didn’t NOT want us to go…she just knew how much she would miss us, and her kids would miss us. Same for my mom, slightly in disbelief, scared that something would happen, but really just sad that we would be physically gone for almost a year. My dad was excited and said YES, this is THE TIME to DO IT. Show the kids everything and anything you can, it is the best kind of learning (thanks dad). My 2 brothers were excited for us too. And really it’s because of my family and specifically my 2 brothers that we were able to entertain this idea and make it a reality, without selling everything and still having the security of home. Growing up in my family, the family business, the support both emotionally and financially, is what makes my life possible. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU!! Because of the tenacity, work ethic, and success of my parents and brothers I had the option to not work and choose to stay at home with the girls (which has its own challenges). It has made it possible for us to be able to leave for the year, not sell our home, and on top of it buy the amazing RV that we feel so lucky to able to travel in. Making this decision, however much we wanted to, was scary and don’t know if it would have happened if we didn’t have the security of being able to return to life as we knew it before. (Thank you Zsolt & Sebi. We will never be able to specifically repay you but hope that you truly FEEL THE LOVE!)
At the beginning of summer, specifically on the last day of school, we found out my sister had breast cancer. It was devastating. I now know she had an inkling when I had first told her that we committed to the trip which was probably part of her apprehension. The trip was immediately put on hold. By August 1st, Edwin and I got to the point where we had to commit, one way or the other. It was pretty stressful. We made the decision to go ahead with the trip (thanks Julia & Mike for just being awesome supportive people, for JJ for being the strong mindful person you are, and thanks Mike for being an awesome brother to me and Edwin, but specifically an amazing husband to my sister 🙂
Then another hiccup, my 97 year old grandmother who lives 1/2 mile from me and the girls walk up and visit regularly, play cards with, a real part of our daily life, became ill. Up until that point she lived alone, cooking for herself, etc… Heartbreaking II. What in the world is going on? Are we not supposed to go? Now my sister, my mom, my grandmother all need me. The 3 most important women in my life. And on the other side, my family, my girls, my husband, need me too and I deep down felt like we needed this, I needed this. It felt unfair. Then guilt for me feeling anything selfish about it at all. I’m not the one dying, losing my mother, or dealing with cancer, chemo and all the awfulness associated with. But as you know, we are on the trip. So this is the decision we made. Still hoping that it won’t be one that we regret…for different reasons.
A bit hard to change direction from what I just shared above, but wanted to be real, share our story, our experience, our journey up until now. Our goal is to have fun, not be a part of “the race”, see as many national parks as possible, visit the lower 48, see and experience the country, and give our kids, but also really us too, an adventure of a lifetime.
So yeah, lets bond with the kids, bond with each other, and have an experience that we or the kids will never forget.
Love to ALL of YOU. many cheers, happy trails, and Happy Days! 09.09.19