Lately, it’s seemed a little like chaos in my house. Having a baby is a trip of its own, but trying to keep up with the a baby on the verge of crawling, housework, diapers, laundry, our small social life AND plan our trip while packing the entire apartment for storage is a mind warp. Normally, I would have had a plan to do this months in advance. I would have a list to help me get each and every little thing done in a timely manner with enough “free time” at the end to serve as my “buffer time”. I would have a complete schedule, but always stay at least a few days ahead of it. And I would end up suffering a couple extra days without couch pillows and dishes to know that I was ready early. Alas, these are not “normal” times…
We did not have the plan to leave until the day we literally had to give notice to our complex. This was the first day we were both returning home after spending a month in Arizona for the holidays. I opened my computer when I got home and the complex had just sent out an email announcing rent increases. It gave us 48 days to consolidate ourselves to living out of what we could pack into a minivan. Of course, we also had to acquire this minivan and sell our Subaru Crosstrek first. Then we needed sell or store the rest of our belongings. Oh, and care for an almost crawling, definitely teething baby.
I initially thought I would absolutely hate having a van, but honestly we’ve had it for two weeks now (ish) and I am actually loving it! We have a 2016 Honda Odyssey and it seems super spacious and has a lot of cool features. I feel like a child again planning which DVD’s to bring on the road to try in the van, but also old because I was also very excited to see it had a mini vac system. Our van seems like the perfect road trip vehicle for us. It gets 28 miles per gallon on the highway, which isn’t too much less than our old Subaru. We have WAY more space for suitcases, our legs, AND the dogs. Overall, I’m excited about the new adventure van. Now I just need to get the final packing done in the apartment…
Wish me luck!