Why?

When 2020 started, we posted a little something on Facebook that went like this;

I don’t remember ever being this excited and nervous for a new year. 2020 is going to be big and scary for our family. Lots of adventures and big changes.

Let the roaring 20s begin!

We couldn’t have been more right, and wrong.

Since COVID started we have been tossed into uncertainty and not sure what the next steps are, like most everyone. While John was planning on retiring this year, it came earlier than we thought. My work has had many big ups and downs. John and I have plans to open a new business this fall which will take up much of our time. And, our plans to travel Portugal this summer have been upended.

We decided to embrace the uncertainty and live our lives the best way we know how; by going on a crazy adventure. We will have lots of time think and plan. Our biggest and best decisions always seem to happen while we are out on an adventure. That is how we got our dog, our house and then an Olivia. We plan on being as safe and cautious as possible to protect all members of our family, even the 34 ounce one.

Where are we going?

Good question! Like the name says, Coddiwomple is to travel towards a vague destination with a purposeful manner. Our purpose is to keep our family together, keep us safe and keep our family value of having adventures alive and strong.

Where we are going is vague. We know we will head towards Montana traveling through Utah and Idaho over the next three days. Then, we will be camping with our dear friends in Montana for a week. From there, on to Seattle, and down through Oregon and California.

How long?

Who knows? We have plans to be gone for over a month but could be gone up to two.

What are we going to do?

1. Have adventures

2. Meet up with friends.

3. Stay safe by social distancing as much as possible.

4. Spend lots of time with our dog Toby and take him on as many adventures as we can.

5. See beautiful places.

How are we doing this?

Packing three humans, an elderly dog and a sick hamster has been a huge challenge.

Storage

We almost invested in a travel trailer, but realized we have so many travel points and free rooms at hotels that we could go for about 10% of the cost by staying in hotels.

We ordered a large storage rack for our Jeep. Which promptly was lost by UPS. For three days the status was “on way to UPS.” So, we were able to cancel and Amazon gave us a refund. Yesterday, we called dozens of places all over Phoenix until we finally found a storage unit here in town. Of course, UPS then found the lost one and it will be here next week. Amazon said, just keep it, so now we will have two! Our tiny electric car may take flight if we put one on it.

Instead of suitcases, we purchased large storage bags for duvets. Each person has a large bag where all their items will be stored and placed on top of the Jeep. We could make Marie Kondo proud with our mad organizing skills. Only what we need will be brought in to the hotel each night.

Staying safe

Staying in hotels and being out in the world is a scary thing right now. We don’t want our trip to be cut short because of sickness. So, we sat down as a family and discussed our many rules for this trip. These include;

* only one person goes into stores, restaurants, and checks in to hotels.

* wear masks in public places. We invested in all kinds of masks to see which will be best for each of us.

* dads will be the disinfecting strike force who will go in to each hotel room first.

Work

Balancing four jobs has always involved a complex ritual of spreadsheets and Alexa lists. And, there is one list to rule them all.

For this trip, we have strategically found hotels with excellent internet on days when have meetings and teach live classes. We purchased an Alexa for our car and phone hot spot for more internet options.

Toby and Chippy – the geriatric pet travel club.

We didn’t want to leave Toby home as he is very needy in his old age. Not because of any health problems, but because he has worked so hard to train all of us. He is too old to have to train pet sitters to keep up with all his needs for that long.

Why the hamster? Unfortunately, the DJ Chippy party is coming to an end. It is hard to believe a tiny creature could bring us so much happiness and cost so much money. He only has three working legs (and one kickstand as we call it). And, over the past month there have been four exotic vet trips and surgeries. Today we learned that he has a tumor in his ear. The vet is still hopeful that he has many months left and we keep his pain under control with medicine. We couldn’t bare to leave him home during this. And, we are hoping that with lots of love and care he will pull through long enough to see some great sights. The vet has been great and adores him almost as much as we do.

Journaling

We will update our blog every day. This will be our journal and something for us to look back on. If anyone wants to follow, we are happy to have you along for the ride.