Saying Goodbye

When Steve and I first started talking about taking a six month camping trip, I admit, I never really thought we would do it. It didn't take long, though, for discussions of a six month trip to turn into plans to sell our house and camp full time. All four of us love the adventures that travel brings. It's a great opportunity for the family and you only live once, right?

At first our conversations revolved around all the places we wanted to go. I'd like to take a trip across Canada but Steve prefers the warmer climates. I had to remind Steve that parking the camper in Key West for a year was not the "opportunity" for the family we had originally discussed. At first we thought we would stay close to the east coast. My family is in Virginia and no camping trip would be complete without an extended stay with family. Soon our plans veered further north and to the west. Our kids were open to any route as long as they didn't have to cross the border into "ichigan". 

We have a fabulous life in Florida that we sometimes take for granted. We have an amazing homeschool population, Universal Studios and Disney, beautiful beaches, and lots of cultural events. It was no surprise that our conversations eventually turned into concerns about missing friends. When kids go to a traditional school, they have an automatic "pool" of friends. (I'll save the dreaded topic of socialization for another day.) Kids who are homeschooled have to make a bigger effort to meet friends. Our kids have made some really good friends in Florida. It will be difficult to say goodbye to the families we have gotten so close to. They are more than friends, they are family.

The kids and I have discussed numerous ways to keep in touch with friends. I'll list them out for you because we think some of them are quite clever.

• FaceTime, email, text messaging, Skype 
• Small mail with a twist - think chess by mail
• FaceTime co-op - we are going to continue our Story of the World co-op, only we will "meet" on FaceTime.
• YouTube - we plan to share science experiments with our friends by recording them on YouTube. They have agreed to do the same for us. 
• The blog - Steve and I felt it was important to include the kids in blogging. Not only does it teach a few skills, it also allows their friends to keep track of our travels. 
• On line classes - the kids plan to coordinate online classes they can take with friends

We are excited to meet new friends. And we already know this is going to be an amazing adventure. We will be back in Florida. It called the sunshine state for a reason! Hopefully our friends will take us up on the offer to come see us as well...wherever that may be!