We did it!

 

We did it! After contemplating it for over a year, investing into a new engine, celebrating five years in the original Eco Womb Tour Bus, and then deciding as a family to sell our home, we did it (in less than a couple weeks)! It all happened so fast and the past two months have been so very busy with such a big transiton, that I am just now getting on here to catch up. If ever you see this Blog space go quiet, visit us over on Instagram. It has become this busy Mama's space for journaling our days in a quick and easy fashion, with snippets of our daily life and pics from our travels. It's for the days that I don't have enough hands (or minutes) to pull out my computer to compose a Blog, but can find a few minutes (tucked into the bathroom maybe, or late at night when all the kiddos are fast asleep?!) on my phone to post an update. Silly, but true. And, when I can, as time allows, I will come back here, to this space, where my words can flow more freely.

As for the big transition, we had been talking about getting a new (to us) rig, a little bit bigger, maybe a slide or two, more horsepower (said the Daddyman), definitely a bigger fridge (said the two growing teen boys, ha!), and more storage compartments for all of our event materials. So, we perused Craigslist often over the winter, and came across another full-time family that was selling in order to downsize. We loved that their rig was move-in ready for us, meaning we didn't have to do a ton of renovations just to move in which would have been difficult when living in the space. And, we loved that they had already retrofitted for their family, adding a bunk space, took out furniture for more floor space, etc. And, it was everything else we were looking for, diesel pusher to convert to veggie, space for solar, big fridge, two slides, bathtub, big and separate closet space to convert to bunks, and plenty of outside storage bays. And bonus that it was located in the Florida Keys, so we thought what a wonderful excuse to get to the Keys for a few days, haha. So, we did, and not only fell in love with the rig, but also with the family that had loved in it and lived in it for the past year and a half. It was their first rig that got them on the road, and now they were looking to downsize to a Toyota Mini-Motorhome so that they could camp in smaller spaces and not have to tow a car, but instead just fit into a regular parking spot. Be sure to check out Freewheelin Family to follow along on their adventures. They were so sweet and so accomodating and that weekend we knew we were really ready. It was the push we needed to say let's make it happen. And so, I wrote up a sale post and put it out there on Facebook that night, sitting in the Keys, thinking well, if we are going to do this, let's do this!

And, if by fate and timing, almost as soon as I posted the sale, I got several interested people and one family in particular that was also part of the Fulltime Families group and super interested. We communicated over several days and by the end of that week we were making plans for them to come and see it. It was all falling into place! They visited, camped outside next to us in their tent, we caught bugs with them and explored the teeming life in the garden, and hungout under a full moon at the beach. It was beautiful and they had big plans to keep the Eco Womb going as a Biodiversity Bus doing Bioblitz's across the country, taking inverntory of all the organisms in a particular habitat in a 24 hour period, cataloging species with a team of community scientists. Check out their new website at Biodiversity Schematics for more info and to follow along on their new journey! So, knowing our first home on wheels would be out there continuing to make a difference and protect our environment for all to enjoy was just what we needed to let her go. And, so we did.

Another week went by and we were heading to the Keys again to pick up our new rig, coming back and making a major move within two short days, and then driving the original Eco Womb to the wrap place to have her stripped down so that they could paint her for her new adventures to be had. It went crazy fast, and was super emotional, and I wouldn't have had time to Blog about it when it was happening anyway. With a family of empaths and super sensitive souls, it was enough for me to just handle everyone's needs during such a big transition. Funny, but of all the places we've been in our travels, moving into our new home on wheels after being in our original one for five years, was the hardest change of scenery that we've experienced.

Slowly, though, as we took to "making home" in our new digs, and having loads of emotions, it was actually our youngest baby boy that made the most profound observation. When picking up the RV after having the wrap stripped, and driving her to her new owners, he said, "Daddy drive RV to people, we follow." And, I nodded yes. It was the first time he ever called our home a RV!!! He has always called it the Eco Womb. And, it was then the tears that just wouldn't break in my Mama eyes cleared. He knew the Eco Womb was not inside those walls on wheels, but in our family, in what made up that home. In the love and light that we spread and will continue to spread. It is us, our expression of home. An eco-safe place to raise our babies in connection with Mama Earth and our rhythm with the natural world. And, now after an exhausting few weeks, we breathe in the new and start planning the next part of our journey. Oh we are super excited!

The new Tour Bus is getting a new wrap! We are prepping for our first event, getting ready for big travel days ahead as we start our trek north and west again, and truly making our home the new and approved Eco Womb. We have bunks and tables and desks to build. We have solar and a veggie conversion to add. And, it's a lot and exciting all at the same time. Looking forward to our first event and big Earth Day launch on April 23, 2016 at the Florida Earth Festival, and ready to hit the road again after a long winter break. Will post more pics soon of our new tiny sustainable home on wheels, and couldn't be more excited for the adventures ahead. 2016 Tour here we come!

 
Angela MalsonComment