Maiden Voyage

My husband fulfilled a dream last fall.  He bought his first RV – a 2011 Aljo Ultra-Lite travel trailer by Skyline.  Now we’re working on an even larger dream of his – a trip along the The Alaska Highway, a 1400 one way trip from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska.  Only we’ve expanded the itinerary.  Our starting point will be our home in Southern California and our end point Fairbanks, Alaska.  Our furthest west stop will be Homer on Alaska’s Kenai peninsula and our furthest east stop Jasper National Park in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The 26′ Aljo will be our home for this 7500 mile adventure.

Trust me when I say, my husband has been planning this for years.

And maybe this is a good time to add that I’ve never traveled in an RV before, at least not until last weekend, when we took the trailer on its maiden voyage.  Up until now I’ve not even shown any interest other than in passing.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to the trip.  I like to travel.  I’m intrigued by the idea that there is no agenda but our own, no place we have to be other than where we want to be.  Chores confined to this tiny space (and therefore minimal) and none of the usual distractions and business of everyday living.  A simplified life.

But this is really my husband’s trip and the exhaustive research has been his relaxation therapy.  I don’t want to take that away from him by interjecting with my usual million questions and obsessive need to organize and make lists and control and to know.  No, this trip, for me, is more a lesson in going with the flow and letting all the wonderful things that are in store for me just happen.  As much as I can, anyway.

For our maiden voyage we camped two nights at Moro Campground in Crystal Cove State Park.  The campground sits on the bluff overlooking Pacific Coast Highway and has a stunning view of the coastline.  Campground amenities include electrical and water hook-ups, bathrooms and showers, wi-fi, hiking trails, access to the beach, and an RV dump station.

My husband laughed when I told him I had an objective.  We have an objective, he said?  But why not.  I’m a project manager by nature and by profession.  I live for goals!  First and foremost, to have fun (always!).  Then to make sure everything in the trailer works and to start familiarizing ourselves with the space and how to best use it for a long haul.  And finally, to evaluate the bed.

The campground is an easy distance from lots of great restaurants, one of my favorite in fact, and my inclination is not to cook.  But that would defeat the goals of making sure everything works (i.e., the oven, stove, and microwave) and familiarizing ourselves with the space, as well as the implied goal of – do we have the right stuff.  So for breakfast we had eggs and bacon/sausage.  Sandwiches for lunch and some easy and good comfort food for dinner: hot dogs and tater tots and carnitas burritos.  Healthy wasn’t high on the list of objectives this first time out.

Weather is all relative.  For us Southern Californians if it falls below 60 we’re freezing.  The projected high was 57, the projected low 48.  It rained buckets the first night.  But this is good because it’s comparable to the weather we’ll encounter on our trip.  Heater works.  Check.  Trailer doesn’t leak.  Check.  Brought the right kind of bed linen.  Check.  But I was cold.  Wardrobe needs work.  And we (I) did not store our dirty tennis shoes far enough under the trailer the first night so they got soaked in all that rain.  Note to self.

In spite of the rain, no device charger, my husband’s cold which set in the night before our departure, and  some serious insomnia I do declare our maiden voyage a success.  It was lovely drinking our tea outside (bundled up) the first morning, overlooking the ocean, watching the boy scouts below us who camped in tents during all that rain pack up.  So peaceful knowing there was no place we had to be and not much we had to do.  We didn’t kill each other, LOL.  Everything worked.  And we came away with next steps which are already in progress as we prepare for next month’s practice trip.

Stay tuned…..