Our first trip-Seattle to Santa Rosa

We picked up our trailer the day before Thanksgiving in Woodinville, Washington. Our goal for the holidays was to be in Santa Rosa, CA for the month of December. We made three stops along the way down south and kept driving days to 4 - 7 hours each day. 

Highlights

• The first night sleeping in our trailer. Snug as two bugs in a... new home on wheels. 
• Stopping to see old friends along the way 
• Seeing the landscape change from evergreen lined roads, snowy mountain passes, dry and windy plaines, and green lush pastures. 
• Going swimming and hot tubbing on Thanksgiving at an RV resort. 

Challenges

• It rained the entire trip from Seattle to Santa Rosa. 
• We were not yet organized, so finding things was impossible. And again, it was raining the whole time. 
• We had Thanksgiving dinner in a casino restaurant. We both forgot that you are allowed to smoke in casinos. 

First official campsite with our Homegrown Trailer

Where we stayed on our west coast inaugural road trip:

First Night Chehalis RV and Camping Resort

• We got in late, but they had a convenient spot available right away. Looks like it would be gorgeous and fun during the summer months when it is an active resort. 

Second Night Seven Feathers Casino Resort

• Really nice facilities and staff. Escorted to our spot, complimentary bus over to the casino, clean showers, and indoor pool and hot tub. 

Third Night Win-River Resort and Casino

• Continuing our tour of casino parking lots, we found this convenient spot right off the freeway. Easy plug in and inexpensive. Not very quiet, and no facilities close by. 

Arrived safely to the driveway of my lovely parent's house on Saturday, November 26th. 

Switching Rigs

We named our 33’ RV “Harvey”. We put our own touch on the interior, updated the batteries, and got a full tune up. Harvey was like driving your apartment to the campground—spacious and comfortable. We loved the space when it was set up, but travel days were stressful, and we were nervous to take it into the mountains. We also felt it may struggle with towing our car and felt limited by its capacity to boondock and be off grid.

So again we were at a crossroads, trying to figure out the right rig or us. While we were reconsidering our options we came across a blog post about a company called Homegrown Trailers starting to make wooden trailers outside of Seattle, Washington. It was like a lightening bolt hit us. It was the tiny house that I always wanted, but in the aerodynamic shape that Steven was looking for. What do you do when you are considering purchasing a completely sustainable trailer? Fly to Seattle for the day of course! (We see the irony of using those fossil fuels, believe me). The result of our speedy trip? We fell in love with Homegrown Trailers and put in an order. And almost a year to the day of picking up Harvey in a whirlwind trip, we drove to Seattle to pick up our new wooden trailer. 

This was the right rig for us. We got to customize the trailer to our specifications and we were supporting a new small business. These trailers are made out of sustainable material, and come with solar and batteries that allow for off grid living. We had to downsize, but the benefits far outweigh the choices we had to make of what to keep. Furthermore, I feel like I am living in a hobbit house and Steven is confident driving the trailer because it tows really well. (Added bonus, we got to keep our beloved 4runner as our tow vehicle!) 

Find out more about Homegrown Trailers on their website: www.homegrowntrailers.com. They also do rentals! 

So here we are, officially beginning our trip in the perfect trailer.  Ahead of us is adventure. And it’s ours for the taking. 

Adventure

Adventure.

About two years ago, on a drive home from work, Steven and I had a conversation about the future. We were at a fork in the road…should we go the traditional route and get a dog, buy a house, and reach for the “American dream”? A mortgage didn’t sound appealing, and the Denver housing market was exploding (not in our favor), and one of us is allergic to all animals. So what was our alternative? Buy an RV, head out to live in it full time, and travel around the country? 

Sounds good. We'll take option two. 

The second stage of this new American dream accelerated quickly. After some research, we found a 1993 33’ Safari Kalahari that had been beautifully updated and was in our price range. The only problem was, there was competition and it was Thanksgiving Day. The answer? Gather the money in cash, drive the two hours to the RV, make the sale, and drive home. But the sun was setting, and it was beginning to snow. 

But we asked for adventure right? So with white knuckles, we made the journey and parked the rig at its new home in Denver. Then we went straight to get a beer. 

We were at the beginning of this adventure and like most parts of life, it would continue to change, but we did know that it felt right. 

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Thank you for joining us. I think we are in for a fun ride.