It’s been a while since you’ve heard from the epoch48 crew.
Way too long, and I apologize for that. We know many of you enjoy getting these updates in your mailbox – and we all but disappeared. Or so it seemed.
Back in October, our life got busy on the road, busy back at home and some stuff had to be put aside for a bit in order to get things taken care of! We lost our Sweet Oli on October 18th while we were in Indiana, we had business to take care of back home and the clock hands seemed to fly by in overlapping circles. Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but seriously, our calendar was full. Overflowing. So, we did what we needed to do. We still have video updates, blog updates, state updates – and we’ll get those going again, so keep your eyes open for those.
As for now, today, we are back in Colorado for Christmas. And for good! Don’t worry – nothing bad happened. Our 5th wheel didn’t go south on us. We didn’t run out of money. Our family isn’t being torn apart. Charley and I are not getting divorced. None of that nonsense.
(Yes, these are all questions people have asked ~ indiscreetly, openly and internally)
One reason for our early return is the winter. On the east coast. The north east. The cold, frigid, I might be an icicle, north east. This year all the talk is how the temperatures are about 10-20 degrees colder than they typically are.
Really? The year we choose to spend the colder months there? Go figure.
So, since we hit Minnesota, in September, we have been cold. And we’re from Colorado, so that’s saying something. Cold. Frozen. Stuck inside an almost 500 sq ft 5th wheel. It’s dark late into the morning (pre daylight savings) and dark early in the evening. Not much sunlight. No warmth. Tons and tons of propane being used. Maybe a couple cranky people thrown in there. Or at least one cranky mom!
Yes, we didn’t feel like spending another 2 months in this routine – and knowing it would only get worse, we decided we should make our way back and it worked out that if we planned it right, we could be back in time for Christmas!
Now, that isn’t the main reason, although it sure made making the decision super easy, we do have a more important reason to end our year long road trip 6 months early.
Opportunity.
An opportunity we started looking at back in October with real intention. Over the past couple months we have pursued a business opportunity for when we were back home and done with our trip. As most of you probably know, Charley quit his job of 16 years a couple months before we headed out on the road. So, we needed to be diligent and figuring out what our income would look like when we got back. We’ve had my parents helping, the realtor helping – and us doing as much as we could from the frigid east coast. But, when we realized that we were really serious about this, we knew that we needed to come home and be involved, hands on, not have everyone else do it for us.
So here we are. Back in Colorado, after being gone for almost exactly 6 months. Just four days shy of the 6th month mark – and oh what an adventure we had. The trip of a lifetime. So many dreams came true. So many “firsts” occurred. So many eyes-wide-open experiences. I know we are so fortunate and so blessed to have done this. I will never regret it and I plan on never forgetting it. Thanks to all the documenting we did, that shouldn’t be a problem!
So, what’s the business opportunity?
We’re not saying just yet!!! We have told some friends and our family, but we will definitely fill you all in once the next step has been accomplished. It will be fun. It’s quite the adventure as well. It’s how we live our lives. Always stepping outside the box and doing something a little different.
Okay, a lot different. It’s how we enjoy living life!
As for epoch48 – we plan on finishing the remaining 18 states, here and there, and in more favorable weather conditions. Gipzee will get some TLC between now and then, so she doesn’t leak every time there is moisture in the air! Or when someone takes a shower.
We hope you continue to follow us on our journey of life, as each day brings something new! We still have to upload quite a few states, then we will begin sharing our new journey. Our new adventure. Bring it on!
And a little side note: as Charley and I sat outside today taking a break from some work, it was 58 degrees here in gorgeous Colorado. Then throw in that we are 6300 ft above see level and closer to the sun, and we were soaking all that warmth and vitamin D in. For kicks, I got on my handy Accu Weather app to see what the weather is like in the states where we would be had we stayed on route.
Hahahahaha! Literally, I looked up 5 states and all were cold (high in the low 30’s) and rain or snow. Winter weather advisories. Windy. Dangerous travel conditions. Oh, how I thanked the sweet Lord that we were back in Colorado! Sitting out in the sun, listening to our chickens cackle and coo and crow!
This is still mama’s happy place.