For Sale: Tiny Home on Wheels

It's true. We have listed the old girl for sale. She's been a wonderfully fun and cozy home. We are being called to new frontiers and we feel she would be better off with a new owner who can keep giving her the TLC she deserves. Any takers?

We recently decided on "settling" (take that with a grain of salt) in a small town in central Vancouver Island. It was a 6-week-long decision...

It started when we went to an awesome vegetarian cafe for lunch with a friend. A woman in the building was offering free mini-massages. We happily accepted and soon had appointments for the real deal. At our massage appointment, she proceeded to pass on a brochure to us. It was for a lovely property that was available for a work-trade position. A retired fellow, John, with two old hounds, was seeking a caretaker for his land and animals while he travels to do some humanitarian work. 

We called up John and went to have a visit. A beautiful forested property with numerous fruit trees and berry patches of all kinds was nestled around a little cabin and a workshop with a small studio loft apartment above (about triple the size of our moHo). We really clicked and had a lot of great conversations. We discovered that he's a former social worker, a vegetarian and practices yoga and meditation. We told him we would consider the position and do some more exploring. We had been applying for numerous work positions, but nothing had panned out so far. We felt less and less hopeful about how to make an income there.

As the weeks went on, we strongly considered moving to Victoria. We had been offered a cute apartment there by some kind friends and the city work force seemed to be flourishing. We emailed John and told him we were sorry but the city seemed like a better option. He had been kindly and persistently emailing us for several weeks, sending us job listings and community info to boost his "sales pitch" for living at his retreat in the woods. He said he understood and wished us well. Then he proceeded to keep emailing us local job postings, as if he knew something we didn't...

It wasn't until we went into the mountains of interior BC last weekend to fetch our old pickup truck that we realized what we truly wanted. Our friends had driven our truck full of various sports gear, spare tires and a rototiller from northern Alberta to central BC. They also piled in the bounty of food that they had grown and worked for on a completely off-grid farm all last season. So it was a win-win. 

We hopped on the ferry on foot, rented a small car on the mainland and drove up, up, up into the wintery mountains to a lovely ranch with several log cabins and outhouses. Sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and chickens roamed the property. We stayed for the night in a cozy wood-heated cabin. We shared some great conversation with our friends and they told us how much they love living on farms, helping out and learning valuable skills. They asked what our plans were and we explained our options and our reservation to accepting the work-exchange because of the shortage of work opportunities in the rural areas. After all, we are certain that we aren't the only young couple to flee the harsh Alberta winter to seek greener (literally) pastures. The job market is very tight on the island (which we had been warned about many times). Our friends laughed and said something like "you'd be crazy to not embrace this opportunity! You could learn so much!".  Suddenly we realized how awesome of an opportunity this was. We emailed John from the ferry on our way back to the island. He was thrilled to hear that we reconsidered and would take the position of helpers / property-sitters. 

We came to the conclusion that if we don't take these little leaps of faith in life, we may never have what we truly desire. Envision the situation you want to be in, follow the signs, and the rest will fall into place. We plan to move in next week. Hopefully the moHo finds a new home soon. We will miss her but we know that she served her purpose and will lead others to great adventures. Now, I need to tweak the title of this blog...no more wheels...for now. 

Stickers we picked up on our USA tour special for the moHo

On the Road to TRUTH

I feel excitement and uncertainty today as we pack up our few belongings and travel-prep the motorhome. The end of one chapter means the start of another, with the potential for much discovery and wonder. We are departing from Northern Alberta headed for the West Coast, where we will leave our cozy home on wheels to make a loop around the USA by car (providing the USA doesn't self-destruct before then, with this silly government chaos).  We are both gypsies at heart and we are always seeking more meaning and more truth in everyday life, regardless of where we are on the globe. 

Ultimately, this search is internal. No one else can show us the right way. No one else can complete the journey of life for us. We need to do this for ourselves. I remember the exact room I was standing in when I made this realization for myself in my mid-20's. I remember thinking that I had received a major key to the mysteries of life that day. I am so grateful. These keys aren't necessarily easy to grasp, but they sure are blessings if you 

string them all on a necklace and wear them everyday. I'm on the hunt for other keys that may help me to solve more of my own mysteries. 

One of the bittersweet challenges in life is leaving the amazing people behind along each leg of the journey. I have been touched by the open hearts and the longing for truth in so many whom I have crossed paths with in my 31 years. I often ponder how I can somehow bring the energy and essence of each of them with me along the heart trail. I find that photos and storytelling are good ways to keep the memories alive. Of course, with social media, everyone is only a "Like" away. I think we all leave behind pieces of ourselves and take snippets of others along with us on the journey, planting seeds of change in all of us. 

A couple of years ago, I realized that part of my life's purpose is to help others find their truths and remind people that we are all the same in spirit and in heart, in spite of our outward differences. For me, life is about encouraging people to speak their truths and to know that they aren't alone in how they think or feel. Over the next month (and maybe beyond that) we will be working on two new projects. One is about being positive and being connected with the greater global community, connecting with strangers and spreading good vibes. More to come...

The second is an idea that has been brewing in me over several months, and it will involve collecting voices on the topic of GMOs. That's all I will say for now. Oh boy!!! Can't wait to start on those...but right now, we must focus on the road ahead of us. Snow is looming in the mountain passes and the motorhome is a dry-road hog so we can't waste any time....