On The Road: Family travel and taking a leap of faith

About 8 months ago I decided that it was time for our family to take a leap of faith and head out on a grand adventure. The girls were 4 and 7, Aaron and I were both self-employed, and we were considering homeschooling Karuna for 3rd grade.

I was determined to begin our journey sometime in early 2017 and wanted to travel for at least 3 months. I didn’t know where we would go, or how we would make it work financially. We had some debt, no savings, and were living paycheck to paycheck. Being self-employed was a bonus, but Aaron’s business was locally based so it was hard for him to imagine how he would continue to serve his clients on the road.

The Grand Adventure

Fast forward to today, it’s the spring of 2017, we are on an epic 3-month adventure living, working, and traveling across the US in an Airstream trailer as part of Airstream’s #endlesscaravan campaign. We’re bringing the spirit of The Art Pantry along and co-hosting family art events with local collaborators throughout the country. To share the experience of process art and creativity with families across the country is truly a dream and I’m constantly in awe of how it all came together.

I’ll save the “how” of this story for another post, but the beauty of it all is that I felt a deep desire to travel with my family, I got them on board, I set a date, and things began to fall into place.

We’ve been on the road for a little over a month and I’m feeling like Airstream just might have to pry the keys out of my hands when we return the rig in June. I’m really digging this lifestyle of (teeny) tiny house living, of opening our door every morning to find the woods, a river, or bayou, just steps away.

Connecting IRL

One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to visit friends and family who are spread out across the country. So far we have visited old friends, relatives, and new friends who I had previously only met online. Blogging and social media have connected me with so many incredible people over the years and I finally get to meet some of them in real life (IRL!) through this journey.

Me and Jean from The Artful Parent

In-person, real life connection is something I don’t think much about at home. Back in California, I’m an introverted homebody and prefer to hang out in my PJs all day or have a quiet family dinner at home rather than be out with friends. But when I’m traveling something shifts in me and I feel fulfilled and energized when I connect with others. Even the strangers in the campgrounds smile, wave, and make me want to find out who they are.

Me and Jess from Growing Up Creative

The Adventure Continues

Living and traveling in 175 SF with 4 people hasn’t always been easy (more on that in another post!), but it’s been the most incredible thing we have ever done as a family.

Now that we’ve settled into the pace of this lifestyle, I’ll be updating our trip more frequently and sharing all about our art events and adventures along the way. Please keep in touch and if you are on our route, come to one of our art events or let’s just meet up and hang out!

Click here to see our route and event dates

I want to give a BIG THANK YOU and shout out to Airstream for making this all possible and for Lonely Planet Kids and Ooly for supporting us on this adventure and believing in our creative mission.