Whew! The final 24 hours in Oakland were a whirlwind. Once the kids were asleep (after 9 pm!) on Sunday eve we packed our RAV4, removed carpets from 2 of the rooms, created a bulky pickup pile and finalized the packing of the POD. In order to stabilize the contents in the POD, Andy acted as a step stool as Laurie hoisted herself onto the boxes and under the rolled POD door to find the ratchet strap hooks. We worked well together, feeling grateful for sleeping kids and using a phone as our flashlight since all headlights were packed away.

Finally around 1 am Laurie headed to bed. Monday would be another whirlwind as Andy had a 7:30am appointment for the RV alignment. And we had plans to leave for the airport at 3 pm. Andy, the night owl, did a little more before he too, headed to bed.

Monday we put the final things in either the RV, the garbage, a free pile in our driveway or Brownie (our nickname for our Rav 4). At this point there was no system, everything just needed a place. (As we discovered later, way too much ended up in the RV)!

At 2:30pm, Andy drove a loaded Brownie to store it in Joanna’s garage. From there he got a ride back with Daniel and Joanna. Laurie took the opportunity to shower, not concerned about watching the kids since there was nothing left in the house to mess with. Strangely, both kids followed her into the bathroom and the 3 of us took a shower together, a nice last memory of our life on Chabolyn Terrace.

Traveling with kids is very different than traveling solo or with other adults. The largest difference is the amount of stuff you take. We had a week in Anchorage before Andy arrived and we had 2 duffle bags (1 with clothes, 1 with a pack n play and collapsible high chair), a stroller, a hiking backpack, Miles’ rolling backpack, Ani’s car seat and Laurie’s backpack filled with snacks, water bottles and plane games.

Laurie was in denial and figured somehow we would make it work. Turns out, we had more to carry than arms to hold it all. And… we were determined to take public transportation to avoid traffic to and from SFO, despite the multiple very generous offers for a ride. While a little cumbersome and involving way too many smelly BART elevators, we made it work.

Getting to the airport was the hard part. Once the duffles and Joanna’s suitcase were checked in we floated to the gate. Ani and Miles ran in circles giggling at one another. It is moments like this that I can see into the future, hoping these two remain friends.

Miles is a great traveler. It doesn’t hurt that he got to watch more Stinky and Dirty than he ever has in his life. Half way into the flight Laurie paced up and down the aisle to get Ani to fall asleep in the carrier, eventually she did and slept for over an hour.

We landed around 10:45 pm and it looked as if it were 3 pm. The sun was shining and it was oddly hot! Luckily our Airbnb had blackout curtains.

Tonight we are grateful for friends who offer to take us to the airport and giggling kiddos.

On November 14, 2022 Laurie’s mom passed away. Her death was peaceful and marked the end of a 9 year battle with dementia. Laurie was committed to caring for her mom through the end and Andy supported her and stood at her side during the entire process.

As the grief lifted, we started to talk about what was next. Ever since chatting with a couple (Toaster and Smudge) in Trout Lake Washington while hiking the PCT in 2016, we had been very curious about Boise, Idaho.

Over the years we visited a few times and were impressed by the clean parks, friendly people and great access to nature. House prices are more affordable than California (and would have been MUCH more affordable had we purchased in 2016), but alas, we are in the here and now.

So after many back and forths about our timeline, we made plans to move to Boise in the fall of 2023, after a month long trip to Alaska. With that transition on the horizon we both quit our jobs in late spring to prepare for the move.

It felt like the PCT all over again. We were packing for both a trip and a move, boxes were numbered and spreadsheets were created to track where things were put.

Our original plan was for Andy to drive to Alaska in Monster Truck (our truck camper) and Laurie would fly with her godmother Joanna and the kiddos. But after a mosquito ridden evening in the Eastern Sierra in late June we accepted the fact that we have outgrown Monster Truck.

The Four Wheel Camper is wonderful for a couple or family with 1 kid, but we felt too cramped as a family of 4. Some families do it, but it feels incredibly cramped for us. We wanted to enjoy our Alaska adventure. Traveling with 2 young kids is hard enough and we didn’t need to add more work and frustration.

Once home from that trip in June, Andy did what he does best – pour himself into research. He started sending Laurie links to RVs which totally overwhelmed her. We were 1 month away from packing up our life and Andy wanted to switch up our adventure rig. Laurie initially refused as she couldn’t handle another big change. Plus, she grew up camping in a tent and already felt like we were glamping with Monster Truck. But slowly the idea of the RV made sense and Laurie changed her tune.

On August 13, only 2 1/2 weeks before Andy hit the road and Laurie and fam boarded a plane, we bought a 2010 Coachmen Freelander in Reno, NV.

The following 2 weeks were a blur of packing boxes, moving boxes, organizing and learning about the RV, doing RV maintenance, and saying goodbye to friends and a house that Laurie had lived in on and off for 35 years.

The week before we left, we signed a lease for a rental house in the Boise area starting in mid September. Andy will drive the RV directly there from Alaska while Laurie and the kiddos fly to Oakland and spend a week with Joanna and friends before flying to Boise to meet Andy.

But until then, the adventure continues in our new-to-us home, a 25 ft RV that has yet to be given a nickname.