In late June 2022, only hours after Avery and Zoe finished school, we said our final goodbyes and left Lake Tahoe. Our plan, in its simplest terms, is to roadtrip in our van around the US for the next four months and then move to Ecuador for the following 6+ months. The reality, of course, will be anything and everything but simple!
Why Leave?!
Andrew and I moved to Tahoe when I was pregnant with Avery thus it’s the only home Avery and Zoe have known. We have become part a community we love, have incredible access to the ultimate playground for the activities we enjoy, and cherish our local friends. The original impetus to leave was born out of my own growing burnout with work and the exhaustion I was feeling (like so many parents) after years of sleep deprivation and doing all of the things! So, in 2015 we cut back on our spending, started saving like fiends and put it out to the world that we planned to embark on a big trip in 2022. We said it enough times over the years that we started to believe it ourselves and eventually started planning! We chose this year because we thought the girls would be at a great age and it aligned well with the ending of some work responsibilities that I wanted to see through.
Exploration
In the last fews years the idea of this trip has morphed from being the ultimate escape plan to one of exploration. I think it was a natural but important shift in mindset! Andrew and I have spent many family dinner and hiking conversations preparing the girls and ourselves for this transition. On one hand, it will still be the four of us doing our best and dealing with the normal daily struggles, regardless of whether we’re living in our van or sleeping in a treehouse in Costa Rica (yes, that’s happening!). And yet, it has the potential to be so much more! We’ve made goals: silly goals, big goals, exercise goals, try-to-be-nicer goals. We’ve made rules (so many rules!) that really look no different than our old rules: get outside every day, clean up after yourself, give mom her alone time :). And we’re trying to create space for the unknown, for the challenges that will make us better, for being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Liftoff Becomes Reality
The logistics of actually leaving Tahoe were no joke (you can be sure that I went blissfully crazy with my planning spreadsheets!)! I’ve worked with my partners and the hospital for the last three plus years to ensure that succession plans were in place for my various jobs and started those transitions in February. My last emergency department shift was in May and I wrapped up my other administrative work in June. Andrew continued to coach both girls in soccer through the end of their spring seasons-their last tournament was just days before we left-and next season’s coaches are all set. We stored our other vehicles at various parent’s houses, gave away or sold many things, stored the rest of our stuff, and packed the van with everything we think we’ll need for the next many months-but nothing more!
Saying goodbye to our friends was bittersweet and for some downright sad. We know the time we have planned away will fly by, but we’ll still be missing out on time with people we like and things we want to do; this is especially hard for the girls to accept!
Funny Fact: Andrew and I have packed away any clothes that we aren’t bringing with us but since the girls are still growing, any clothes and shoes that didn’t make the cut for the trip were given away. They truly have a capsule wardrobe!
For the next leg of our trip-to South America-we’re limiting ourselves to a carry-on sized suitcase, so our current amount of stuff feels luxurious compared to what’s coming!
The hardest bit of leaving by far was our decision to move our beloved Sage (15.5 yo lab) into the home of Andrew’s brother and wife, who thankfully love Sage as much as we do. Life on the road is no longer working for her and only leads to pain and anxiety. But man, we already miss her so much!
Onward
We’ve created this blog so that friends and family can follow along on our adventures and also as a time capsule for ourselves. Thus, the beginning of ‘KAAZ adventures’! As we figure it all out we’ll be excited to share our good finds, our near misses, the fun and crazy adventures and everything in between. Stay tuned!