6 Months, 2 Newlyweds, 1 RV

We watched RV again tonight. The movie that started all this...


It was a dark and stormy night, and we had to look after a brand new puppy called Buttons. Around February, 3 years ago.
Actually, I think it was quite a nice night, not a storm cloud in sight. But that doesn't sound as good.
We were at my house at the time, looking after my sister’s 9-week-old puppy as everyone else was out, as they didn’t want to leave her alone.  We got some takeaway (Fasta Pasta) and borrowed out RV.  Buttons ended up sleeping in my underwear drawer, which I got in trouble for, as she then didn’t sleep much that night.  So we watched RV, and the conversation went something like this...(may not be historically accurate)

Kate: 'Hey Kade...'

Kade: 'Yes my darling and sweet girlfriend?'

Kate: 'Wouldn’t it be fun if we could do that one day?'

Kade: 'Do what the love of my life?'

(Meanwhile in the background, it is the dumping of the sewerage scene that goes horribly awry)

Kate: 'Travel around America in a RV'

Kade: 'Sure would be fun, anything with you and me together would be the best time of my life'



hytgfvbzyhntuyft give me the laptop, Kade here, this is how the night really went...
It was a clear day near the end of February, as Kate has said we went over her parents place to mind their new puppy, so we took the RV Runaway vacation DVD as it was next on our pile of "to watch" movies.
I think the conversation Kate may be referring to went a little something like this...

Kate: "How cool would it be to travel around America in a RV?"

Kade: "I'd say about 10 cools" I replied.

Thus the idea was born.  When we'd finished watching the movie and Buttons had curled up to sleep, Kate and I both started talking about how cool it would be to RV around America and all the places we would like to see and visit.  We spoke about the normal tourist stuff that comes to mind when you think America like Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knottsberry Farm and the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame (and of course Roswell and Salem - from Kate). Then of all the natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, and then of course all the other cool things that America has to offer like the sights and sounds and differences between all of the states and what each one has to offer (and the CANDY and POP TARTS!!! not to mention the rest of the food...mmm...food - from Kate again). From that one night of puppy sitting, a dream was born, and revisited constantly and updated with new ideas and things Kate and I had seen in our daily travels. Who knew that that little dream would become a reality?

Ok. Me again.

We have a lot to thank the movie for, without it who knows where we would be going for our honeymoon. Imagine if we watched Harry Potter instead, we would be going to see Hogwarts...wait a second....we are :) (For those of you who don’t know, Universal Studios in Orlando are opening Harry Potter Land in April, which we will be visiting).


On another note, we have finished paying our wedding rings off today :) One less thing to think about...

Night all...sleep well

Another thing paid for now - Trek America, Klondike tour - the most coveted tour of the lot.  28 days, Seattle to Seattle, stopping at Vancouver, Hyder, Whitehorse, Chicken, Dawson City, Denali National Park, Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, Alaska Range, Skagway and to finish it off, a 4 day Inside Passage Cruise.

We have an Australian flag :) Thanks to the great timing of Australia Day near our trip, I was able to pick up a flag from the shops.  We will have the flag hanging in our RV to show we are from Australia...I wonder if many people will know what the Australian Flag actually looks like...66 more days till we go :)

We have paid for the RV :) So we have money for our house here in Brisbane saved, the flights, visas, insurance and RV are paid, money for the wedding is in a separate account, and everything else we save is SPENDING MONEY!!!
Its going to be weird, actually having the freedom to spend money, to buy lollies (or candy as its known over there), to eat out, to spend money on something because we like it, not because we need it...after two years of saving everything we can, eating on a budget, using flybuys and frequent flyer points to get movie tickets, working two jobs.  I guess that is something we have to get used to. I'm sure it wont be too hard :)  The past two years will be worth it though...6 months of no work, of driving, seeing, experiencing...
We have put a road map of America on our wall in the lounge room, along with 3 huge pieces of butcher paper, one with wedding, one with home, one with honeymoon on top.  These are our to-do lists.  We are currently getting the house and garden into a very presentable shape, in my eyes I want it as good as if I was to be selling the place.  We need to buy 6 months of pet food, flea and worm treatment, clean out the freezers, wash curtains, pack up clothes...The yard is weeded, mowed, cleaned up, dump runs with bits and pieces that were lying around...final invites to be sent/handed out (well, currently its only the family who have theirs thanks to family Christmas parties), things paid for, final dress fits (which I'm sure wont be the final ones) for me and the bridesmaids, suits hemmed...at least the honeymoon side of things is nearly done, except for buying Kade a backpack...
24 more work days for me :) not long now...

Ok, now that we have actually started handing out the wedding invites, with this address in them, we better explain what we are doing next year. As we are being asked by people and just assume they know...
SO...

When/Where are you going?
Next year, after the wedding (leaving on the 21st March, getting back on the 13th Sep) we are going to America and Canada for an extended honeymoon.

What will you do over there?
We arrive, pick up the RV, and drive for the next 4 3/4 months.  We drop the RV off on the 13th August, and fly to Seattle, from where we will be taking part in a 4 week tour through upper Canada and Alaska.
 While we are over there, we want to see as much as we can, and go everywhere we can.  We have not real set plan, apart from trying to avoid the cold, thereby starting by driving from LA to Florida.

What are you doing with your house/pets?
We are getting professional house sitters in for the time we are away, to look after the house and the pets.  They are reliable, and the deal is stay in our house for free (apart from paying the phone/electricity) and we get someone to look after our pets and deter would be robbers from an empty house.  They came through a company, and we have checked references, and met with them face to face.

How can you afford this trip, with a mortgage?
We have been saving for this trip for ages, to the point were we are working two jobs (day job and night fill), which we started when my tutoring stopped due to school holidays.  We have learned to live on a budget, and have stuck to the budget for the most part.

Wouldn't the money be better spent on renovating your home/saving/buying an investment property?
Well, maybe, but this is something we want to do.  If we don't do it now, who knows when we may be able to do it.  We want to have kids, and a trip like this is not something we would do with them.


How can we contact you while you are in America?
We will have our phones over in America, but with an American sim card, so best way to contact us, if required, would be to email nicol.family@hotmail.com, or comment on the blog.

Why do you have a blog/What is a blog?
A blog is kind of like an online diary.  We can update with pictures and stories about what we are doing, and people can read it when and if they choose.  This is to avoid the long emails with many pictures attached that can clog up email accounts.  Also, when we get back, we can have the blog printed so we have a written account of our trip, without us having to write it all down again.

I think that is the main questions we have been asked, if anyone has any, feel free to comment and we will answer them.

On another note, when we went to buy pet food for Woody (our dog - basset hound) yesterday afternoon, the pet shop had mini dachshund puppies for sale. This is what we want to get, in a years time.  They had this cute lil black and dark brown one that I held, that we would of walked away with, except for the knowledge we are going away next year and feel bad enough about leaving the pets as it is.  The good news is the pet shop gets dachshund puppies in approx every 6 - 12 mths, and we can put our name down when we get back, and they will contact us when they get the next litter in.

Well, this has been a long post.  Will update again soon

Well, we now also have travel insurance.  After much looking around, reading page after page of fine print in policies, and examining prices, we decided to go with AAMI insurance. Their price was good, they have 24/7 contact, will pay unlimited medical bills, will organise with a hospital the payment of bills and have rental car excess.  The only thing they didn't cover that we were looking at is pregnancy (not that we are planning on falling pregnant over there), but that was just a caution more so than a need to be. 
We are just waiting now for the dollar to rise a LITTLE BIT more...and then the money will be changed over and the RV paid off :)
117 days left till we go...
102 days left till we get married...
51 days of work left for me...

AND CHRISTMAS IS COMING :) also Kades birthday...

WE HAVE VISAS! Our trip down to Sydney was successful. We got up early to fly down, had a nice breakfast on the flight, but it was simply take off, serve food, pack up food and land. Once in Sydney we went to do the budget thing, catch the train to the city, but it turned out two train fares was more expensive than a taxi to the hotel. So we got a taxi. It was to early to check in so we went for a wander...unfortunately it kept raining on and off. We did see the mandatory sights - the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.


We wasted time until we had to head back to the airport, and caught our flight home.

America here we come!