Where I Last Left You - Asheville - a Dream Fulfilled

- Wednesday, April, 4 -

As I write these words, I'm living a 20 year dream. It started as a teenager, reading Christie, by Catherine Marshall. Mystery and magic of the misty mountains danced in my imagination and never left me. Somehow, I never made it to Asheville til now, in spite of encouragement from many, many people, reinforcing Asheville as a place that was not only delightful in the 1800's, but is still alive with healthy, vibrant culture and growth today.

- Thursday, April 12 -

A week ago, I was sitting in my co-pilot perch, just as I am now, and you and I were having a delightful chat. I forced myself to close this computer and soak up the moment. I nearly missed the glory of a dream fulfilled in my eagerness to record it and share it with you! Isn't this the tug of war we all experience in this super techie connected world? We are so eager to be seen and heard and validated, we often miss an opportunity to fully soak in an experience in our eagerness to share it.

We are on the road again, beginning our next adventure, but for now, let's soak up the last 9 days together.

This photo says it all. We woke to breathtaking views every morning, played beside and bid these views goodnight, every day and night, in Asheville. 

Literally, all of these scenic photos are taken from our RV windows. To prove it, a glass of wildflowers from my morning hike, placed on my dinette and the mountains behind...

How often does anyone do a puzzle on a picnic table in front of a view like this?

The following demonstrates why these are called the Smokey Mountains or the Misty Mountains.

Everywhere we drove in Asheville, beauty took my breath away as we drove up and down common roads, rounding corner after corner to see another awesome view. I fuss instead of giving praise far more than I care to admit, but there has always been something about mountains which draw spontaneous hallelujahs from my soul. 

Souvenirs from this week include a handmade, colorful purse from Asheville's covered, open air flea market, open 7 days a week. Proceeds of this purchase went to support Nepalese women. 

Mother's Day we enjoyed brunch at Tupelo Honey Cafe with Mom and Dad Sherman. Winning national awards, this is a "must visit" anytime you're in Asheville. Light, flaky, plump biscuits and an intro to the concept of a fried avocado left me a happy mommy.

If you like honey, The Bee Charmer is another "must visit." After tasting only 7 of the 18ish available testers, we walked away with Cranberry Honey for the road.

Our last night in Asheville, we drove a mile, to the bottom of our hill, to drink and have a snack at The Thirsty Monk. We like visiting unique pubs during our travels and The Thirsty Monk was family friendly. Samantha enjoyed a Root Beer and, we have NO idea where she picked it up, but she loves to do "cheers" with Mommy and Daddy and clink glasses. 

On that note, "cheers" to you and your weekend, wherever you are... Russia, Poland, Nepal, China, Indonesia or United States... just a few of the places you live! May my travels, discoveries and conversation inspire you to live life to the fullest in every culture and circumstance. Praise to the One who created all of us!

for Cute Photos of RV sink baths, click here

for New Artwork of Northern Georgia, click here

Northward Bound - Highway Pictures - Goodbye, Georgia!

What a gorgeous day to be on the road. Blue sky and cool breeze pave the road ahead as I write to you now. Below is the view from my windshield!

We're pressing Northward. You'll never believe the beautiful location waiting for us in North Carolina. In the meantime, where have we been the last 5 days?

Saturday, our journey began in Southeastern Georgia.

It all started with an early morning discussion over cheerios. 

It was our first major drive from one location to another. During projects like this, both Chris and I tend to focus on a task list and end goal and become stressed and snippy with one another. We often miss joy available in the journey. We've both heard that the journey is equally important as the destination. Nonetheless, we get emotionally attached to a time frame in which we want to accomplish a goal (such as arriving at the next campground by a certain time - Chris) or we rush through the "mundane tasks" to hurry up and get to the "fun part" (Kara). For example, I detest packing and unpacking, but I've been trying to view this task as an enjoyable life experience. I didn't manage to stay in this lovely frame of mind all day, but for a moment, at the start of the day, I paused my morning dishes to dance with Annabelle.

The freedom to "meander" is, after all, one of the reasons to go RVing. We must be getting better at this, because, literally, as I'm writing this, we just passed a sign for strawberries. I casually commented, as I usually would, "awww, we could pick strawberries," not actually expecting to stop. About 30 seconds later Chris says, "you wanna stop?" 

That did it. My heart is what stopped. We've arrived! We have officially entered the spirit of RVing. "Yes!" was my enthusiastic response.

As it turns out, they aren't open today. But at least we stopped. It's a start. Next time we will have the full unplanned experience. This time I'm satisfied because I chatted with a local for 5 minutes on the side of the road. He wanted to hear all about our RV trip, something he's dreamed of doing for years. Perhaps our detour lit another spark to push him towards his dreams.

Every time I have one of these impromptu conversations, I'm reminded of my Dad who never met a stranger. He didn't do small talk. Every day with him was an opportunity to inspire people to love Jesus, fix social injustice and pursue worthy dreams.

But I digress. We stopped for strawberries today. We were at Stone Mountain, in Northern Georgia for the last three nights between Jekyll Island and our next location. Stone Mountain attractions were mostly closed for the slow season, so we didn't end up doing much there, other than enjoying the playground, which was enough to thrill our three year old. We also surprised her with a trip to the Atlanta Zoo where she met up with her best friend, Mari. Samantha and Mari have been neighbors for 2 years, which amounts to the majority of their lives. Mari will return to Japan at the end of 2016 and we will move to Virginia, but Samantha and Mari are deeply sad to be separated. Samantha does not miss the "Birmingham house," but she does miss Mari. I wish you could have seen them spot one another at the Zoo entrance, shout one another's names, and run, like a scene from a movie, falling into a delighted embrace. Samantha and Mari led us four parents through the park to point out each new animal with squeals. The highlight? Panda Bears. In the evening, as this glorious day slipped into memory, I was inspired to "computer paint" the following for the girls to save and remember always.

The location we have just pulled into now is a place I've dreamed of visiting for twenty years. I will post more tomorrow... right now I need to soak up this moment...

Day 4 - At Home on the Road - Under the Trees

That's right. Just minutes ago, I was on my back, basking in this vision of trees, upside down, in my "living room." 

Seems like vacation, doesn't it. But my responsibilities are the same as they have been for the last 4 years as a Stay at Home Mom. Nothing has changed, other than the location. I'm learning to take these 5 minute, upside down, breaks.  At roughly 11:00, every morning, I start to feel like the urgent tasks and demands are becoming a runaway train. And the day is not half over. And I've completely lost steam. And...

... and that's when I go upside down. Five minutes like this and I'm ok again, ready for another round. I could have been doing this a long time ago, but it's just doesn't inspire me to stare at the ceiling of a typical living room.

This was yesterday around 11:00... same routine. Re-directing blood flow to my brain. Resting. Letting it all go for a moment. Doctors can explain the health benefits of this pose, but this five minute simple new habit is changing my life. At the end of the day, I feel like I'm living part work, part vacation, and I'm happier all the way around.

Chris and I knew we had to try this RV lifestyle, but we also knew we might try it and dislike it. It's day 4 and I'm here to tell you we are still in SET UP MODE. We are still shouldering the extra work of unpacking and organizing, on TOP of normal life with babies, and I'm still in love with this new life! If I'm going to have moments of sheer exhaustion and emotional freak out, I'd much rather do it out here under a canopy of trees in 73 degree weather, than in suburbia. 

I know RV life isn't for all of you. RV life is meant for some, but not all, so I hope my posts inspire ALL of you to pursue what makes you happy. I'm talking about deep down, soul healthy, type of happy. Make it realistic and attainable, then pursue it and DO IT. Be patient. My dream of living as a nomad started 7 years ago. (If truth be told, it really started 30 years ago, when I was reading the Boxcar Children series.) So be patient when it seems like your dream will never happen.

My three year old took this photo yesterday. Usually I praise her up and down for her camera learning skills and then quietly delete, but this one captures a joy that is not staged.

Images from Day 2, 3 & 4.....

Installing rain gutter extentions

(isn't he awesome??? He is a highly successful desk nerd with numbers and he is also an eager and skilled handy-man, tackling outdoor living and a huge diesel beast of a machine!)

It is GOOD to have a Mommy who likes to do face painting EVERY DAY!

I know. It looks staged for a Gander Mountain ad. But there was nothing staged here except the part where I told them to re-create the part where they looked at each other adoringly just moments before. 

Samantha's new favorite activity... Mommy and Daddy story telling. (Stay tuned for more details about this in a future post)

Coming soon: Specific practical solutions for doing RV life with babies...

Some of you have asked for inside pics. Stay tuned...