A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Our journey is much longer, but our first step is indeed monumental. We took that first step today.
You might recall we did not have a trailer yesterday, or even this morning. But the dealer was true to its word and had our beloved Mouse House buttoned up and ready to pick up at 12:30pm (shout out to Steve B – thank you sir). Alas no Alde heating system. The replacement control board is now on order and will be installed promptly upon our return in April. Fortunately, Micki has been fearlessly rearranging some of the long-held reservations to ensure we have electrical service every night if at all possible, so that we may use our rooftop AC heat pumps in place of the Alde heating system.
When the Mouse House arrived at home again this afternoon, we quickly began shoveling our piles of stuff inside. Clothes, shoes, tools, dog food, people food, scale, toiletries, towels, bathing suits, flip flops, spare parts, dogs, humans and 50 gallons of fresh water all were packed into the Mouse House over the course of 90 minutes. Future rearrangement is guaranteed.
I aired up the spare tire, checked the lug nuts, finished packing the bed of the truck, and applied the various supplemental screens – Garmin, Voyager, and TPMS – to the inside of the windshield. I unpacked my computers and my computer cables/accessories into the chair and desk drawer in the Mouse House, then I left the backpack in our garage. Yes I left the backpack behind, which might shock some of you who know me.
Then we got in the truck. I sat in behind the steering wheel with the engine running momentarily unable to pull the trigger. Fear of forgotten items, missed preparations, others’ perceptions, and uncountable other possible failures crowded my vision. But Micki showed me a small urn of her dad’s ashes that she had brought along, and my moment of hesitation passed. We do this because life is short and others we love have passed too soon. So we must not fear to do this while we are able.
Our first stop along the way was at the freeway offramp to Corvallis, where our son is attending college at Oregon State University. He drove to the freeway to meet us, hug us, and see us off. We had hugged our daughter at home earlier in the day before she headed back to college. These hugs were longer than normal, with a hint of melancholy befitting the planned separation. They will meet us in Orlando for spring break, but we will miss them tremendously between now and then.
The temperature perched on the happy side of freezing and the clouds forbore their typical cover, thereby choreographing a beautiful farewell sunset.
As the evening stretched, the dogs demanded their food, so we pulled over to a rest area to feed the dogs and feed ourselves. Micki had some leftover rotisserie chicken, to which she applied some special seasoning then heated it in a pan and wrapped it in a tortilla with cheese, lettuce, and optional salsa. It seemed the perfect road dinner in the Mouse House at a rest area on our first leg.
Then to our spot for the night, at the Seven Feathers RV Resort at Exit 99 south of Roseburg, which is a very well built and maintained RV park, and which was very welcoming for these emotion-weary travelers. Work, blog, sleep, then wake up early and jump in the truck. I can’t wait.
Mouse House Adventures 
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