Hatching the Plan

One night, Cheryl and I were watching Ken Burns' “The National Parks: America's Best Idea”. This was about the third episode we had watched, and we were mesmerized. Then Cheryl posed the question: “Wouldn't it be cool to get a motorhome and go around and see all the National Parks?'

So, for better or for worse, this whole thing was her idea, with help from Dayton Duncan, whose book the Ken Burns series was based on, is aboard.

“Cheryl's Best Idea” began to take on a life of its own. We began talking about it daily, discussing how we could do this. We had wanted to relocate, so the original plan was 8 months on the road and then take up housekeeping elsewhere. As circumstances changed, the start was delayed three times. The length became a year, more or less, depending on what happens between now and then and how frugal we are.

So after the initial delays, a timetable was set. It was a real right-brain decision because it flies in the face of the adult-onset insecurities we have developed over the last 25 years or so. But the uncertainty is part of the allure.