Homeless Again

Current location: Fife, WA at an extended stay hotel

Yesterday morning, we packed up the RV and towed it into the dealer. Although we weren't looking forward to being without our home, it was kind of a relief to drop it off. At least we don't have to worry about any more tree limbs falling! Over the last few days, we cringed everytime there was a breeze. I guess we're a bit paranoid now.

After making all the arrangements with the dealership, we left in search of a hotel. I had scoped several online, but we wanted to check them out in person before reserving anything. We weren't looking for anything fancy, and basic is pretty much what we got. But it is clean, located in a decent part of town and convenient. It is your typical studio efficiency. It has a little kitchen with a full size refrigerator, a stove top, a toaster and a microwave. We won't be cooking any gourmet meals, but it will allow us to eat at "home". The supplies are sparse. They give you just enough for one meal - 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 glasses, 2 sets of cutlery. I guess we'll be washing dishes a lot.

But the one thing we did comment on was how spacious it feels. It's funny how your perspective changes when you're used to living in less than 400 square feet. There is plenty of room for Hunter and his bed. We have more than enough cupboard and closet space. And there is a bathtub. You can bet we'll be taking advantage of that while we're here!

The repairs on the RV should begin today and will take about 2 weeks. That is, of course, based on the preliminary estimate. If they find structural damage once they remove the roof then our stay here will be extended, but we're crossing our fingers that it will all go as expected.

They will be fully replacing the main roof, as well as the slide roof. They offered us the option of replacing only half of the main roof, which would require a seam in the middle. This would be a cheaper and quicker alternative. They were confident that this would be just as good as replacing the full roof, but admitted that anywhere there is a seam there is always a chance for leakage. They also admitted that the "right" way to fix it would be to replace the full roof. Since the insurance company also estimated for a full roof replacement, that is what we agreed to. Now is not the time to take shortcuts, even if it would mean getting back into our home sooner.

So here we sit, homeless again. It dawned on me the other day, that in the approximately 12 weeks since we left our workamping gig, between our trip to Colorado, our trip to Alaska, and now this, we'll have lived outside our home almost as much as we have lived in it. This is definitely not what we expected when we dreamed of fulltiming. I thought the whole point of having a house on wheels was so that you can take it with you! I didn't think we'd ever have to pack a suitcase again.

But life is full of unexpected adventures and I think we've learned pretty well to just go with the flow. In many respects, the timing is as good as it could be. We don't have any firm commitments right now, so we haven't had to rearrange any plans. It's a relatively quiet time at the dealership, so they are able to get the work done quickly. And being in a hotel with unlimited heat is not so bad when the weather forecast is for freezing temperatures and snow! As I've said before, it could be so much worse.

I sure hope 2011 brings us a few less adventures, though. Or at least less of these types of adventures. The way I figure it, we're getting all this stuff out of the way during our first year of fulltiming so that we have nothing but smooth roads ahead!