Today I think I saw ten thousand cell phones, but not one decent conversation
Location: Gold Hill, Oregon
*There are videos yet to come of our time in the South and our road trip back, but we took some time off to catch our breath.
What’s up, y’all!
We’ve spent the last week decompressing from our insane, way-too-fast road trip across the country. The idea when we left was to take a leisurely drive to Louisiana. We would find sweet, off-the-grid camping spots and stay there for a few days to a week, then head to the next one, eventually ending up in Baton Rouge.
It did not go like that at all.
After only being on the road a few days, we did the math and figured out that in order for me to make it to my half marathon on Baton Rouge by March 4th, we were going to have to travel a little bit faster than we planned.
No big deal, though, we’d make it up on the other end of the trip. Once my races were over, we didn’t have a deadline to get back to Oregon, so we could do the leisure part then, right?
Except some things happened that we weren’t expecting.
First of all, the weather. Now, I suppose we should have expected inclement weather, seeing as how we departed in February. It was still winter, after all. And when we finally made it to East Texas and Louisiana, it was as promised, warm and wonderful.
Then we left again, and from East Texas onward, we were basically in a snow storm. Heard there were a couple of good days in Oregon before we got back, but as soon as we got here, yep, it snowed.
You may have seen the video where my sister and I discuss how impossible it is to tent camp in August in Louisiana. Well, it’s also impossible to tent camp in a snow storm. I know there are crazy people who do that kind of thing. I am not one of them. If I could never be cold again, it would not be too soon.
We did manage to spend nearly a week camping in the woods behind my sister’s house, and that was the most enjoyable part of the trip. Taking walks with the dogs, cooking simple dinners, bird watching, reading, and relaxing. And running. Of course, there was running. 😁
And that was the other unexpected thing.
Compared to the pace we had been keeping, camping in one spot for days felt like heaven. More importantly, it was a WARM heaven, lol.🌞😎 And the longer we sat there, enjoying the peace and solitude, the longer we wanted to keep sitting there.
This trip was a dry run, so we could work out the kinks in our setup. It’s been our goal for a while now to do this travelling thing full time. But it turned out that once we finally got our tent in place for longer than a few days, it wasn’t the travelling we really longed for: it was the feeling of completeness that comes from spending time in nature.
We didn’t really want to travel, we just wanted to be outside.
Once we realized this, we knew there was no point in leisurely making our way back to Oregon. While it would have given us more short-term pleasure to stay camped out somewhere warm in Texas, it’s long-term pleasure we’re after.
So we sucked it up and drove through awful weather as fast as we could to get back to Oregon.
Why would we head back to the cold?
Because we’re returning to our original plan, which was to move to Costa Rica eventually. Eventually has now become ASAP.
So if you’ve ever wondered about the immigration process, I’m sure I’ll be sharing it with you as we jump through the international hoops to receive a two-year temporary residency in Costa Rica. It may not be our final destination, but it’s a good start.
We’ll still be in the garage in the meantime, because we’ve got to get Danny Bonaduce and the Fairlady finished before we can put our house on the market. Luckily(?), gnob quit his job before we left on this trip, so we’ll both be able to work full time on getting out of Oregon.
I’m glad we took this trip, because not only was it an excellent adventure, but it helped us figure out what’s really important to us.
Life is short. Go do what makes you happy. None of it matters, anyway.
Quote of the Week
That wraps up another week with Snale Racing! We’ll leave you with the quote that was most powerful for us this week. Our way isn’t crazy, it’s just different from yours. Peace!✌
Did You Know?
You can like and comment on these stories by using the links below. We’d love to hear from you!
We’re not just on YouTube, we’re also on Instagram!
You can also kick us some gas money through Patreon, and it will be much appreciated.
Sometimes, links in this email are affiliate links, and Snale Racing could earn some pennies if you use them. If you’re enjoying our content, why not use them to show your support?🙏Thanks for reading!
title track:
Great lesson - thanks for sharing. Costa Rica is our most likely destination in a few years so I will be interested in following your journey. 😀