The End of One Journey and the Beginning of a New One

Ariele:

No fireworks? Not even a congratulatory pop-up message when I press “submit?” This is what I was expecting on Friday, 11/11 when I made my final student loan payment, signifying the end of debt for Justin and me as a couple. I wanted cheers and applause and a parade because that is what I felt on the inside! FREE FROM DEBT. DEBT FREE. ZERO DEBT. WE OWE NOTHING. I formed these thoughts in my head, trying to find a way to say it that had the most impact. I still don’t think the enormity of this feat has hit me. We paid $28,806.67 in less than a year, all to catapult us closer to our goal of leaving conventionality.

It wasn’t exactly easy to pay off that much debt in a year, but it’s all about your mindset. (This is something Justin has taught me the past few years.) We could have taken that money we put towards debt every month and lived pretty lavishly, going to concerts, out to bars, buying new clothes, going on trips, etc... But, wait, we were able to do all of those things, just in moderation. A budget sheet is not a scary thing, kids. It’s actually one of the most freeing tools I’ve ever used.

So, with that, I left my job and we traveled south.

Justin:

We woke up at 4 am to finish packing up our belongings in our 200 square-feet sublet at Hampton Beach. As I made my way to the trashcan at the end of our street, I could hear an irate woman with a thick NH accent yelling at someone. I’m a sentimental person, always going back to take another look before leaving, but I was ready to get the heck out of there.

Up until this point, I had almost given up on Blue. When we first started her renovation, I had so much excitement, so much energy, so much passion to make her our dream home. But overtime I lost sight of our end goal. Blue was being stored in a very messy place and her parts were not being taken care of by the people working on her. This haunted us constantly because she’s an investment in our future.

We had had enough. No more deadline extensions. No more excuses. We were picking her up and moving her to a place we know we can give her the right care and attention she needs to be brought back to life (back home to Virginia).

We were told that the excursion wouldn’t be possible, due to another deadline missed. Blue’s siding was on, but it wasn’t bolted in; it was just hanging there with duct tape (what?!). Additionally, she was missing her exterior lights, making her invisible at night time. This could have been a defeating reality, but when you go through enough shit, you learn to set certain expectations and prepare for situations like this.

Leaving her behind was not an option. We purchased a waterproof camper cover, 500 feet of ratchet tie downs, and a set of magnetic trailer lights.

When we arrived to pick her up, we went to work immediately. We performed a scavenger hunt for all of our belongings scattered about; if we thought we owned it, it was coming with us. We packed everything inside the camper as best we could to prevent it from sliding back and forth during transport.

Once we packed everything, we put on the cover, and puzzled on the ratchet ties, interconnecting them to create a secure netting to hold everything in place.

 

A photo posted by Wild We Wander (@wildwewander) on Nov 13, 2016 at 11:50am PST

As we cautiously pulled Blue to a nearby gas station to make a pitstop before our journey south, I could feel the reality of the situation setting in; we have all of our belongings and our house in our possession and we’re headed home to Virginia with the opportunity to finish it. Each breath in was a restoration of the hope and joy I once had with this project, and each exhale released all of the angst and resentment I had been experiencing over the past year.

As we turned on to Route 2, my eyes stayed locked on my side mirrors. I was praying for two things: 1) that a gust of wind wouldn’t creep underneath the ratchet ties that secured the cover and fling a piece of our aluminum siding into the cars around us, and 2) that we didn’t have a flat tire.

But it never happened. We traveled 492 miles in 12 hours, unscathed. (That doesn’t mean that I didn’t leave my fingerprints branded into the steering wheel from tensing up every time we hit a bump in the road.)

Blue’s seen some shit. But now she’s hunkered down in her slip in the woods smiling at us, appreciating that we didn’t give up on her, and is just waiting to be worked on.

 

A photo posted by Wild We Wander (@wildwewander) on Nov 15, 2016 at 2:35pm PST

This is not the journey that Ariele and I signed up for, and that's what's beautiful and real about it. 

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In life, it’s hard to predict the future and control the outcome. The only thing you really can control is the effort you put in. 2016 was one of the most eye-opening, overwhelming years we have experienced. And we’re not alone. Turmoil abounded all over the world this year, making our troubles seem insignificant. We felt so defeated at times, but we dragged each other back to the path, continuing our journey to downsize and live a more meaningful life. We are hoping to inspire others who are ready to make a change to do the same, but at this point, we are just happy and grateful to reach the end of this year.

Sincerely,

An exhausted Ariele and Justin