Crash Course In Chaos

Chapter Two

We had set out on our Grand Adventure quite successfully all in all, despite nursing a pair of broken hearts over leaving behind our first home.

Still, we couldn’t deny the promise of adventures unknown that lay in wait on the road ahead, shiny and bright, beckoning us toward our new life.

Our destination on this part of the journey was sunny San Diego, but before we went south, we would first go west.

The route we had mapped out would take us down the Southern Oregon coast on the oh so scenic Hwy 101 which ran along the beautiful Pacific Ocean where it would eventually cross into Northern California.

After that, the road would continue to follow the coast for some time before taking us slightly inland where we would wind in and out of the mighty Redwood Forest.

The first few miles after leaving life as we knew it were spent in heartbreaking silence, punctuated by the occasional sniff as grief threatened to overwhelm us.

As if sensing the depth of our emotion, Crixus popped his head over the back seat to say hi, panting in happy anticipation of the adventures, sights and smells that this new life would undoubtably bring him.

We let our feelings run their course and once we felt strong enough to see through the intolerable sadness, we looked back to see how Atlas and Fenix were handling the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

Their reflections in the rear view mirror was a picture of contentment as they stared out the window at the passing landscape, blissfully unaware of the fact that our hearts were breaking, knowing that we would never return to the only home they had ever known.

It was the happiness shining in their eyes that snapped us out of our temporary depression and back to reality. You can learn a lot from a child’s perspective, they really do see magic. They live in the moment and focus on the joy in life, not the sadness.

We realized that to Atlas and Fenix, nothing had changed for them, not really. We were all together like we always were, going on another adventure, albeit on a much grander scale than usual.

They still had everything they could ever want or need, right here with us, including their new home. Sure, it was a lot smaller than they were used to and yes, it had wheels, but home is where your family is right? And now, in our case, home is where we parked it.

What more could they ask for? And so, by the same logic, what more could WE ask for?

The time of sadness came to a swift halt and we could feel our spirits lift, bolstered by their happy optimism. We were on an adventure, it was time to start acting like it!

We wanted to take it slow on the drive down to give us time to figure out our new normal and to enjoy our first taste of life on the road. There was no official plan for where we would spend our second night in our new home on wheels, we just wanted to see how the day would play out naturally.

So there we were, a couple of novices navigating in the wild, driving a brand new car with a brand new twenty foot travel trailer in tow. We drove on familiar roads in an unfamiliar car with unfamiliar feelings headed into the unknown.

Intimidating doesn’t begin to cover it!

Travel was slow going because, big shocker, towing a trailer slows you way down, but that was kind of the point of this whole adventure. If you slow down and pay attention, you’ll find big magic in the small moments and we wanted to do our best to soak up as much of it as we could before the real adventure began in ten days time.

First up on our list of things to do today not someday was a stop at the West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon. We had talked about taking the kids for years but had never gotten around to it and we hoped to make it at least that far on our first day.

As the drive went on, and on and on, it became quite clear that while we would make it to our first destination like we’d hoped, we wouldn’t arrive until after the park had already closed for the night.

We pulled into the empty gravel parking lot already planning a new plan, instead of tonight, we would just go in the morning.

But in the meantime, where were we going to spend our first night on the road?

We started looking for an RV park but there didn’t seem to be a lot of options in the immediate area and we preferred to not have to backtrack if possible.

It started to get darker and we had yet to come up with place to park for the night when we realized we were already parked. Could we just stay here?

We looked everywhere but couldn’t find a single “No Overnight Parking” sign anywhere. Could it really be this simple?

It was decided. We would stay and hope we didn’t get that dreaded middle of the night knock knock telling us to go.

We snacked on peanut butter and cheese as darkness fell and wondered at the magic of it all as we listened to the sounds of all the wild animals that were on the other side of the fence, just outside our front door.

The thrill of our first night boondocking made our sleep light and restless but eventually we drifted off, lulled to sleep by the sounds of lions, peacocks and zebras. (Oh my!)

We woke the next morning feeling on top of the world because who else gets to spend the first night of their brand new life listening to the roar of freaking lions?

Four year old Atlas could barely contain his excitement that he would finally be meeting the “peahawks” as he called them, that he had heard calling to him all night long.

We took mere steps out our front door leaving poor Crixus to wait behind and walked right up to the gate of the wild animal park.

The magic just kept multiplying when we discovered immediately upon entry that not only were we the first ones there, we were the only visitors in the entire park.

We had the whole place to ourselves!

Once inside, we bought ice cream cones filled with grain to feed the animals that roamed freely inside.

As it turns out, said roaming animals were apparently extremely hungry because they could not wait to pounce on us unsuspecting humans as soon as we walked through the door.

And pounce they did!

Deer, goats, llamas, sheep and donkeys swarmed all around us, greedily demanding we give them all the food which left the boys feeling rather unsettled and rightly so!

We were surrounded entirely!

After they were in the safety of our arms Atlas and Fenix started to feel a little braver and tried to help feed the animals who insisted that they wouldn’t last another second without our tasty snacks.

As soon as they discovered they’d eaten the last of their second breakfast they wanted little to do with us so we were finally able to escape the mob of hungry animals and move further into the park.

Atlas quickly found his feathered friends and despite his near perfect peahawk call, they were not in a talkative mood but Atlas was happy enough to carry on his one sided conversation with them.

Fenix delighted in chasing after the sheep on wobbly one year old legs. To him they were just funny looking fluffy dogs and he fearlessly followed them all over the park “baa-ing” back to them.

All too soon it was time to bid our new furry friends farewell and as we left, the sound of the peahawks calling followed us all the way back to the car.

The scenic drive along the coast was nothing short of stunning, and once we reached Port Orford there were near perfect panoramic views around almost every corner.

It was the perfect balm for our wounded hearts and the magical views and salty sea air helped ease some of the stress of towing a travel trailer for the first time.

The sight of the Southern Oregon Coast was so beautiful it was hard for our eyes to process such splendor. It was the kind of perfection that photographs could never do justice no matter how hard to you tried to capture the moment.

It was a fitting farewell from our beautiful home state as we crossed over the border into California where we spent our second night boondocking in the Bear River Casino parking lot in Loleta.

Night was falling quickly and it was a spur of the moment decision that came at the perfect time for us weary travelers. After a very long day driving we fell asleep to the lull of a nearby RV generator without fear of that midnight knocking. 

The next morning was cold and foggy and we were up early, beyond excited to get underway. Our destination of the day was the the beautiful giant Redwood Forest, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint!

We found ourselves on the outside edge of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park and if there is heaven on earth it must be here, among these tall trees.

To think we had thought the scenic coastal views were mind blowing, (they were) but they had nothing on this land of sleeping giants.

The trees were endless and so large around that we felt like ants scurrying around their massive feet. It felt laughable at the time, if trees had thoughts, what must they think of us, crawling about the forest floor, thinking we were so big and powerful. We were insignificant specks trying to find the meaning of life surrounded by trees older than time.

Imagine the things they had seen!

Atlas and Fenix were in awe as we walked through the ancient forest that towered so high, way up above us. They wielded sword sticks and dashed between trees, running down forest paths as sunlight streaked through the treetops.

It would be easy to lose ourselves forever among these tall trees and the further into the woods we hiked, the thicker they became. The trees seemed to stretch upwards on tip toes, greedily devouring as much of the sunlight as possible leaving us to explore in near darkness mid afternoon.

We wondered if we had somehow become enchanted, lost in time, destined to wander forever in this land of eternal twilight.

Eventually we found our way back into the sunlight and we loaded up to continue onward, still transfixed by the magic around us.

The giants were still and serene, ever watchful as they bid us the perfect silent farewell to the northern California Coast as we pushed onward to the east and back to civilization.

We ended the day at our first RV park in Gustine and as we drifted off to sleep surrounded by city noise, we dreamed of tall trees and the smell of freedom.

Taking advantage of our accommodations, the next morning began with a check list. It was our first time filling the fresh water tank and the first time dumping the grey and black tanks, which is not nearly as terrifying as it sounds. We took our time and managed the task without incident while Atlas happily oversaw the whole project.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur and somehow we managed to survive our first taste of truly mad California traffic going through Bakersfield where the impatient drivers swarmed the roads like angry hornets.

We ended the night boondocking in a Walmart parking lot in Hesperia. Admittedly, it wasn't the most glamorous way to end an already less than perfect day but the Little Geo (effectionatly dubbed by Atlas) was a blissful safe haven after a stressful day.

We took advantage of our accommodations once again and did a quick resupply before picking up In and Out Burger for dinner.

After we finished eating, Crixus sat up, suddenly on red alert, his ears twitching this way and that, and he quietly “boofed” his alarm to warn us we weren’t alone.

Sure enough, when we looked outside we discovered that we were surrounded entirely, outsiders camped among a sea of homeless stray cats that roamed the parking lot.

Cats of every shape and size, they were everywhere! It was perhaps the greatest cat gathering anybody had ever seen, and somehow, we found ourselves parked right in the middle of their territory.

While we readied for bed, Crixus stood guard, promising to protect us and the cats kept a wary and respectful distance after he made his intent known.

Fenix still hadn’t adjusted to his new sleeping accommodations and stubbornly refused to sleep through the night without nursing every few hours. He would only drift off in my arms and would wake screaming if I tried to lay him down. It felt like we were reliving the colic days.

By contrast, Atlas seemed to enjoy our close proximity inside the tiny travel trailer up in his bunker bed.

More often than not though, the four of us ended up stacked like sardines in a can in the double master bed while Crixus lay sprawled out on the floor below.

Exhausted in more ways than one, we finally fell asleep wondering if we’d ever sleep long enough to dream again and praying tonight would be the night.

In the morning after another rough night, we fueled up on caffeine before the next round of chaos descended upon us.

Ready to roll, we buckled everyone in, bid the cat army farewell and headed out for the last leg of this part of our journey.

We were La Mesa bound! 

To think that we’d thought traffic the day before was bad, hello San Bernadino and La Mesa drivers.

They were like hostile hippos, torpedoing down their on-ramps towards us, intent on guarding their sacred freeways, scaring us back to where we came from.

Impatience seemed to be a recurring trend here, most drivers had zero tolerance for our inexperience and they made their frustration towards us well known.

We were strangers in a strange land, trying to navigate eight lane freeways in an unfamiliar city with an extra twenty feet trailing behind us. Chaos doesn’t begin to cover it!

But at long last, five days and 1,124 miles later, we finally reached our exit and gleefully left the terrifying freeway behind us.

It had been a crash course in chaos but we had survived our first five days of full time RV life and now we had an additional five fun filled days playing tourist in sunny San Diego with family ahead of us.

When we finally reached our destination we carefully unhitched Little Geo from the Pilot feeling this enormous sense of pride and accomplishment. But mostly, we felt relief.

Feeling lighter and shorter than ever (twenty feet to be precise) we drove towards the sprawling city, dreaming of long sandy beaches, crashing waves and salty sea air and we took our first real deep breath in five days.