Part 1: Our Maiden Voyage: From Dream to Drive

Part 1: Our Maiden Voyage: From Dream to Drive

We’d been living in our trailer for a few months when the idea hit: why not make Disneyland our maiden voyage? By that point, we’d already found our rhythm in small spaces and slower mornings. Other full-timers say it takes three months to adjust, but for me, it didn’t feel like adjustment at all. It felt like exhale.

There’s a quiet power in realizing you’re living inside a dream you once only sketched in the margins. For the first time in my adult life, I could choose my destination. No shared custody calendars. No “maybe next years.” Just the road, Eric, and a sense of possibility.

We’d just entered a new chapter as empty nesters. My city council term was winding down, our kids were thriving on their own paths, and the universe gave its unmistakable nudge: go now. When I brought the idea to Eric, we didn’t hesitate. We both knew this was our time. I had remote work that could travel with us, and he was ready to trade suburban routines for something wilder.

Then life tested the dream. A few months into trailer life, I lost one of my main contracts—a major piece of our income gone overnight. But because we’d already downsized, we weren’t panicked. We had mobility. Between the RV payment, insurance, and basic bills, our monthly costs were still far lower than our old house. It wasn’t just about saving money—it was about saving sanity.

That’s the beauty of RV life: flexibility becomes resilience.

And so, we pointed the truck toward California. The plan? A road trip to Disneyland for the half marathon we’d signed up for the year before. Instead of a pricey hotel, we booked a week at Orangeland RV Park. That single choice saved us about a thousand dollars—and gave us a front-row seat to the adventure ahead.

Next up in Part 2: dancing to disco in a vineyard, surviving a desert downpour, and why sleeping in your own bed after a half marathon feels like magic.