Training Wheels

Once again, it's Christmas Eve at our house. If all goes as scheduled, we'll take delivery of our new moose tomorrow. After three days sitting around in flooding rains, all the creatures in this house are stirring! We are definitely ready to get moving.

Tonight also just happens to be the 200th night we'll spend in Bullwinkle. (Yes, we've kept track!) So, with nothing else to do, we're finding ourselves reflecting over our time with this nifty little moose.

The night before we picked him up, we were like two six-year-olds on Christmas Eve. We couldn't sleep. We were excited and scared. Most of all, we didn't know what we were doing. And, we knew it. After all, the sum total of our RVing experience was a 10-day trip to the Grand Canyon in a rented Class C just eight weeks earlier. What we did know was we were hooked. And, this shiny new Class A gasser was just what we needed to scratch our itch and learn as we go.

And, my how much we've learned! Sure, we did a ton of research before we hit the road. But, nothing compared to the education that started with the first turn of the key of our own motorhome. Our Shakedown Cruise, and every outing that followed, provided us with valuable lessons that prepared us well for what was to come: our fulltiming journey. Those relaxing weekends away in the moose inspired us to accelerate our timeline. When we bought the moose we thought it would be a couple of years before we started fulltiming. But, Bullwinkle made it so fun and easy that we decided to make our great RV escape in just 12 months.

Yes, this little moose turned out to be the perfect set of training wheels!

At a time when everything was up in the air for us, Bullwinkle became a haven. He welcomed us warmly after hectic workweeks, marathons of selling our stuff on craigslist, and everything it took to get the house ready to sell. As he transported us out of the Bay Area, he graciously transitioned from our home away from home to our home. To start this nomadic chapter in our lives in a very familiar environment was a blessing. And we knew it.

It's been four months since our great escape. And, this little gasser has carried us safely from coast to coast. He cruised down two-lane roads and climbed mountains. With him we've visited family and old friends and greeted many new ones. We have asked him to do more than any gasser should, and he's never complained. Sure, there's been a leak or two, and that mysterious exploding window. But, he never left us stranded. He always delivered us safely to our next destination. And, for that we are most grateful.

Tomorrow our moose will prepare for new duty. We'll relieve him of his cargo load and put him in the hands of skilled professionals who will repair the window, spiff him up and help him find another family of RVing newbies without a clue. He will show them, as he did us, how easy and fun it is to get away for a long weekend or vacation along the coast. Lucky for him, he has a new coast to explore.

We've told ourselves we won't cry when we part ways. After all, we know he is really just a big fiberglass box on wheels. But, we probably will. Because for 200 nights this little moose has been a part of our family. Thanks to him, we now have all the confidence we need to move on down the road in a big diesel pusher.

Hats off to the original Bullwinkle!