I just noticed recently that it has been almost a year since I had written a blog entry.
It is pretty amazing how much things have changed since last November.
I was beginning to approach the 1-year anniversary of my first in-office full-time job since graduation from University, and Mel and I were just starting to chat about possible upcoming life changes.
Over the Christmas vacation, we talked and discussed things a lot more, and started coming up with a plan for a whole new journey.
The beginning of the new year brought mention of a mysterious virus spreading in a region of China. After living through the big SARS scare in 2003, and following other virus outbreaks, I wagered that it was overhyped media, and would fizzle out soon without affecting our daily lives in any significant way.
When China locked down their populace in January, the consensus seemed to be that they were overreacting and nothing like that could ever happen in a “civilized”, democratic country.
Mel and I gave notice at our jobs, and we continued to plan out our new adventure in more detail. Some international travel restrictions were starting to pop up, but we weren’t worried about this affecting our plans, since all of our travel would be within North America.
We got our YouTube travel channel, “Home A Roam” up and running, and started learning all about RVs and video production.
Needless to say, everything went out the window in March when we started seeing media images of hospitals being overwhelmed, first in Europe, then in big city centers like New York.
One by one, regions started to lock down, and then the unthinkable: The Canada-US border, the longest undefended land border in the world – closed to all but essential travel.
This did affect our plans.
We weren’t sure if we’d be able to sell our house, which we needed to do before we bought our new truck and trailer.
Also, we’d originally wanted to visit family in Ontario, then head south and take a long meandering route around the perimeter of the United States, taking several months to wind home to BC.
Both of our jobs generously told us that we could delay our resignations as long as we needed, given the new situation, but we decided to continue on with our “life reboot” and we’re very glad we did.
Our house sold in less than a week, and despite record demand for trucks, trailers, and RVs in general, we were able to find the perfect truck and trailer for our needs.
And less than a month after moving, we ventured out on a cross-country adventure to be with our families in Ontario for Canadian Thanksgiving.
We had some amazing adventures and interesting challenges along the way, which we filmed and documented in great detail, of course. We’re still organizing, editing, and publishing footage from the trip down!
We’re now settled in for the winter, continuing to build and grow our “Home A Roam” channel, and working on some new projects as well.
2020 has had its challenges and unexpected changes, but overall it has not been a completely terrible year for us.
It’s given us a new appreciation for turning challenges into opportunities, being flexible, and being able to quickly adapt to big waves of change.
Here’s hoping everyone out there is prepared to snuggle up and settle in for what could end up being a cold, lengthy winter.
Stay healthy, safe, and warm!