Sunday, September 19, 2010

Construction almost finished

Been getting the old trailer ready the last few days. This is but one of a couple of renovations. I have driven  her around the NW, up to Leavenworth and the coast, but never 2,671 miles. But she was born to roll, and why not see what she can do in her golden years. Feeling better about the trip in general. Still some concern about driving so far, but probably won't explode on the way. I need to get in touch with some old airstreamers out there to see what advice they might have. Some of the sheet metal on the rear of the trailer is peeling off a little bit and not sure how to address that. Anyway, still got nine days to figure some things out, do a couple more catering gigs, and then roll out the morning of September 27, 2010.

Friday, September 17, 2010

The backstory

Ten days before departure... part scared witless, part excited as all getout. I have never lived outside of Oregon's walls. Sure, I've traveled to distant parts of the world. New Zealand, Guatemala, East Germany. But I really haven't ever moved away to live. So it is with trepidation that I embark on my journey. I am moving to New Orleans, Louisiana, to be with my daugther and ex-girlfriend. My ex-girlfriend wanted to move back to New Orleans because the winter in Portland sucks, and I am game for an adventure. My daughter is almost three years old, and I couldn't live without her anyway, as she means the world to me. Admittedly, wintertime here in Oregon is pretty rough- all  8 months of it- and my catering company (Headwaters Cafe) suffers in the long and wet winters of the Northwest. So it's actually a pretty good option, all things considered, just a scary one. Anything is possible with enough money and time, but both might be scarce, and that's what scares me the most. The worst thing in my mind would be to leave Portland without very much money and either break down and be stranded, or get there with absolutely nothing. So hopefully that won't happen. As in many things in life, it seems like it could go either way. Hopefully, I will meet great people on veggie oil websites and couchsurfing.com and have a great time. I do beleive this country is full of great people who are willing to be helpful and reach out. We shall see.