We made so many mistakes our first day. The first was actually done before the first day -- we didn’t do a test drive with the tow vehicle behind us. We tested the set-up and made sure the electrics and brake worked, but we hadn’t actually driven it. The first time we drove with the Jeep behind us was with everything packed and stowed, the cat in his carrier in Duchess, just as we were about to set off on our adventure. We hitched the tow vehicle on the road in front of my aunt’s house (where we had been parked for five days getting ready for our departure), taking up a good bit of road, causing a minor traffic diversion. Marina had to fiddle with the brake cable on the tow bar, but she wasn’t satisfied that the brake lever on the tow hitch was working as it should. I was crestfallen, stressing about the animals in the vehicle, thinking we would have to postpone our departure yet another day. Marina decided it worked well enough for Florida and we would get it sorted out at a mechanic before we hit mountainous topography out west.
When we arrived at our destination five hours later, we had to drive down three miles of unpaved washboard road. We had read about this road in the reviews, but figured we could handle it. That will be the first and last time we take Duchess down an unpaved road. Even at 5 miles an hour, everything inside the cabinets was clattering, and the coach itself squeaked and rattled as she lumbered along.
3 miles of unpaved washboard road!
We unhitched the Jeep before putting the parking brake on, so it started rolling gently forward towards the back of Duchess! Marina held the Jeep back while I jumped in and engaged the parking brake. When I came back out, Marina calmly said, “That’ll teach us.” I loved her for the way she said it.
Other things we learned on day one:
1. Don’t trust that things on the kitchen or the table will stay there when you start moving. Some things will, and some won’t. Within minutes of us setting off, we made a right turn and a basket of onions, garlic and beer bottles clattered to the floor, terrifying the cat.
2. Double and triple-check that the fridge door is locked. I left it unlocked accidentally at a stop and as soon as Marina drove off, the fridge door flew open and bottles and jars came flying out. Yogurt splattered all over the bathroom floor and lower cabinet.
3. Before departure, eat something or have something ready to eat handy because it’s going to take a lot longer than you think to get to your destination.
4. Don’t forget your outdoor set up. I had bought a lovely little portable aluminum table for all our outdoor meals, but Marina had packed our almost-new beach chairs, which were low to the ground, and nowhere near usable with the table. An outdoor mat is also essential for campsites without a concrete pad.
Chairs don't match the table height and no outdoor mat
5. There are no mistakes, only learning experiences. This is perhaps the hardest learning of all.
At the end of the first day, as I was thinking about all the things we could have done better, it struck me how much pressure we both put on ourselves to do things right. But when we sat in our beach chairs that didn’t match our table, with Charley laying in the grass, and Handsome sitting on the steps of the coach, ready to run back in at the first sight of danger, the Spanish moss on the trees swaying in the gentle breeze, and the laptops, tablets and phones put away, it occurred to me that all the screw-ups we had made that first day were part of the journey. No matter how much we researched and prepared, there would always be something we couldn’t anticipate. We were both under a lot of pressure the last few months – finding a tenant, moving out of our home, preparing Duchess for the journey, settling things and tying up loose ends. Had I known everything that’s entailed in packing up your life for a year, I’m not sure I would have done it. But I’m also 100% sure that I will look back on this year with joy and not regret a moment of it. And I’m sure it will be full of learning experiences!
Beautiful oak trees draped with Spanish moss
line the trails at Hickory Hammock
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