Yesterday marked two years since Sandy, Youk, and I started this journey.
Ironically, we started August 14, 2022 in the exact same spot in which we ended August 14, 2020 at – in the driveway of our daughter and son-in-law’s house in Robesonia, Pennsylvania.
What a difference a year makes. Last year, on August 14, we woke up in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Green Bay, Wisconsin and started out on a tour of cheese shops throughout Wisconsin on our way to Antigo for our first project experience with A Year to Volunteer. The day before we were staying at a Harvest Host called, Farm Wisconsin. We were next to a sunflower field and witnessed two calves being born while we were there.
Since that time, our participation with A Year to Volunteer has involved parts of six different projects, 37 volunteer days and countless friendships made. Most importantly it has given us a greater purpose for our journey.
In our first year of travel, we logged over 22,000 miles and 26 states. In year two, we added another 13 states, bringing our total to 39, but only added an additional 14,000 miles. We’ve been in a bit of a pause since May, trying to help our niece and nephew with the house and transition following their mother’s passing.
I must admit, at times I feel a little bit like a caged lion being in one place for so long, but I also know that it’s necessary. The Lord reminds me that the down time is needed when I start to get a little uneasy regarding our pause.
He reminds me of all of our wonderful experiences we’ve had since May in Pennsylvania as well as the things that I never would have been able to dive into had we been on the move all summer. Even the painful times of loss and grappling with the reality that another loss is in the near future, have led to the beautiful understanding of the precious value of our time on Earth.
We have been able to have some amazing experiences this summer in Pennsylvania. We’ve been able to spend a lot of time with our niece and nephew, Rebecca and Matthew. Even though one is in Staten Island and the other is in York, Pennsylvania, our time spent is much more intentional. Both in person visits as well as text messages and phone calls, we’ve certainly grown closer.
We’ve been able to have some fun family time at graduations, graduation parties, amusement parks, birthday parties, breakfasts, pool time, concerts and so much more.
We’ve been able to reconnect with old friends, but still not enough of them. We’ve been able to see some old players and coaches. Went to a wedding and visited some at a campground that we weren’t actually staying in.
I was able to get to two minor league baseball games with buddies which was a blast.
We’ve been able to reconnect with some of our volunteer friends over breakfast in Lancaster and hopefully another this week over dinner.
We’ve been able to hike and walk many miles this summer. Youk is still making new friends daily and seeing how many people he can make smile each day.
Fuel prices over the summer have certainly allowed me to cope with us being stationary better.
We’ve experienced so much amazing music this summer and still have more on tap. Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows how much of a role music plays in my life. We’ve seen some amazing shows this summer that we wouldn’t have been able to had we been traveling. Great free shows as well as some of my favorite musicians like Brent Dennen and the Zac Brown Band so far. We’re heading to the Philadelphia Folk Festival this weekend and camping there. My favorite band, Michael Franti and Spearhead will be headlining the festival on Saturday night. I’m looking forward to the show as well as reconnecting with my buddy, Manas Itene, who plays the drums for Spearhead. I did a podcast with him back in March and we’ve been able to stay connected since then. We’ll be seeing Chris Stapleton in Hershey on August 27th.
At the Brett Dennen show, I was able to reconnect with Galen Deery, the lead singer of Mystik Fool. He was performing solo that night when he opened for Brett. Galen and I first connected back in 2020 when he was embarking on a Van Life journey to spread kindness and love. We had just started our own journey at the time and we were trying to get a podcast scheduled. We weren’t able to get it done at the time, but now we’re working on it again. I love his story and understanding that we don’t have to live by the standards that society tells us to. Especially having that understanding at such a young age. It took me 50 years to understand that, he “got it” in his early twenties.
All of these artists have recorded a song that strikes a special chord with me. One that especially resonates with our RV Life journey and have become part of the soundtrack of my life.
I encourage you to take a few minutes out of your day and listen to these songs that I’ve listed below. And when I say listen, I mean, really listen to the lyrics and let them speak to you.
Brett Dennen – See the World
Zac Brown – Free
Chris Stapleton – Starting Over
Manas Itene – Be Yourself
Mystik Fool (Galen Deery) – I’m on my Way
Michael Franti & Spearhead – Gloria (opening lyrics inspired the subtitle of my podcast) and Stay Human 2 (Michael wrote this for his mother and it resonates for me).
Trusting God and His timing is a constant work in progress for me. This time of pause has definitely been a time for me to trust Him, His timing, and the process.
For instance, I’ve really focused on growing my podcast since we’ve been back in Pennsylvania. I’ve been able to expand my audience and my guest list and have really recorded some amazing interviews. This is something that I would not have been able to do if we had been on the move all summer long.
The downside of that is my writing has suffered a bit. So, I need to recalibrate and find that balance again. This is my first blog entry since May, so I need to find that balance between podcasting and writing. I love doing both, so I can’t neglect one and just give all of my attention to the other. Having the discipline to stay focused and work on both is a challenge I have to accept.
The time that I spent this summer building up my podcast was very beneficial and is something that I needed to focus on. The boost was needed, but now I have to make an adjustment to make sure that I’m paying attention to both crafts. Like anything in life, you have to keep a healthy balance in order to continue to move forward.
With two years of RV Life under our belts, we’re still trusting the process and His timing. Understanding that moving or being still, there is always a reason. We need to have faith and trust His plan in our lives.
Our pause will be coming to an end in just a few short weeks. It will be bitter sweet for sure. It’s hard to believe that four months in Pennsylvania have flown by as quickly as they have. We’ll only be gone for about a month. We’ll be coming back in October for a few weeks to take care of a few more family matters before heading south for the winter.
We still have no regrets. If we hadn’t made this decision two years ago, we would have still been in Pennsylvania this summer, but we would not have been able to help Matthew and Rebecca nor would we had experienced most of what we did this summer.
The freedom of this lifestyle is what we cherish the most. The freedom to move. The freedom to stay in one spot. The freedom to help when and where we can. The freedom to dig into building a podcast and writing business on the road.
The freedom to understand that there is a cause for the pause.
My brother says that he thinks of Sandy and I whenever he hears the song Free by the Zac Brown Band. It’s on that list above for good reason for me too.
When he played that song at the concert last night, Sandy and I held each other tight. We embraced each other and we embraced the freedom that this lifestyle has given us.
I think the lyrics explain exactly why…
Free (by Zac Brown Band)
So we live out in our old van
Travel all across this land
Me and youWe’ll end up hand in hand
Somewhere down on the sand
Me and youJust as free
Free as we’ll ever be
Just as free
Free as we’ll ever beDrive until the city lights
Dissolve into a country sky
Me and youLay underneath the Harvest moon
Do all the things that lovers do
Just me and youJust as free
Free as we’ll ever be
Just as free
Free as we’ll ever be
Ever beNo we don’t have a lot of money
No we don’t have a lot of money
No we don’t have a lot of money
No we don’t have a lot of money
No we don’t have a lot of money
No we don’t have a lot of money
All we need is loveWe’re free as we’ll ever be
Just as free
Free as we’ll ever be
Ever beSo we live out in our old van
Travel all across this land
Me and you
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