24 hours ago Becky and I were sitting on the couch relaxing after a typical day in Kortman County. Kids running wild in and out of the house, coats and boots on and off again, ya know. The typical oh-my-word-why-did-we-have-four-of-them kind of a normal day ;)

But it wasn't a normal ending to the normal day as we were bidding and hoping to win the auction of a sweet motorhome setup.

We did win.

But that only started the clock ticking.

The way this RV dealership runs their ebay auctions is that the winners of an auction (us) have 1 hour to pay a $2,000 non-refundable deposit, we then have 5 days to pay the full price of the auction. Once we've paid the full price, that's it. It belongs to us and there's no turning back. However, if within the first 5 days we're able to inspect the motorhome and realize something's wrong we're only out the $2,000 deposit (and a lot of time and hassle).

So the 5th day is Monday. We need to fly out there and inspect it before end of day on Monday. Oh and they're closed on Sunday. So if we fly on Friday (arriving late Friday), we can inspect it on Saturday. If we fly later than that we have to inspect it Monday and drive home after that.

So the pressure is on.

We had to book plane tickets (last minute plane tickets), pack, do chores, prep the house for us to be gone for 5+ days and I had to work as well. All within 24 hours.

Because the plane tickets were last minute there were a bunch of hoops to jump through to keep the costs down. In the end we are flying on $650 tickets for $16 each taxes and fees included. Pretty sweet deal but those tickets weren't booked and confirmed until 3pm.

Becky, bless her heart, started organizing and packing this morning after supervising the kids doing their chores. The whole time she's working towards the goal of leaving tomorrow but not actually knowing if we could actually pull it off.

But after the dust settled, we're leaving on a jet plane at 10am tomorrow.

And that would be cool if this is the end of the story.

But it gets better.

First off, we're flying to California to essentially go camping on the way back.

Camping gear is not stuff you fly with. Even the basics like bed sheets, pillows or ... get this ... toilet paper. We're used to packing light, super light. We planned on flying with just our six backpacks. But that plan changed when we realized to actually use the motorhome on the way home we'll need to take some supplies with us. So that complicated things. Fortunatly our tickets included two free checked bags.

Speaking of our tickets, the itinerary for tomorrow is terrible.  We start flying at 10am eastern, fly to the east coast then to the west coast, and then finally on to Fresno. Arriving at midnight eastern time zone.  So 14 hours of travel. Not really looking forward to that.  Oh and we weren't exactly prepared for a long flight. In fact we weren't prepared to fly at all. So we've scrambled to pull together tricks, snacks and games for the kids for the long travel day.

But hey, how can we complain for less than $20 a piece?

We cannot.

But there is another adventure about to happen.

Newark and the mid-atlantic/east coast is under a winter weather advisory all day tomorrow. The peak of the storm is forecast to arrive when we do and be in full force by the time we take off.

Yeah, we're packed for 70-80 degree California weather.... umm, now what? No big deal if we fly in and out of Newark like we're scheduled do, but what happens if the whole schedule is messed up and we spend a day on the east coast?

Here goes yet another adventure!

In the middle of all this fun, I came down with an allergic reaction. I never had it before, but the palms of my hands, the soles of my feet and my face became blotchy and itched like crazy. Seems like the fish I ate at lunch didn't agree with me.

Which brings me back to the 24 hours.

In 24 hours we've:

• Packed for camping and inspecting a new-to-us motorhome
• Packed for flying
• Dealt with a sudden never-before-seen-in-me allergic reaction
• Bought plane tickets to California
• Got the largest Cashier's check I've ever seen with my name on it!

What might the next 24 hours bring for our crew?

And what might the next 24 hours bring for you?

We'll be posting more as we go through the next couple of days.  But in short we're going to spend some extra time on the drive home... because, well because we can. Here's a map of our expected route:

If you're near this route (also seen below) we'd love to visit. Play date? Tea? Meal? Whatever.  We already are making plans to visit friends in Vegas. And spending time in Yosemite, Oklahoma City, St Louis and more.  Give us a shout out in the comments below. Let's hook up!

Paul Kortman

Dad of 4, husband, blogger, digital marketer, follower of Jesus. I podcast at nomadtogether.com and own connexdigitalmarketing.com We're on this crazy journey to travel the world as a lifestyle. Looking for help in how to live as a digital nomad family? Join this Facebook Group!

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Read other posts about: california, Finding Home, Itinerary, marriage, Michigan, RV Trip, Travel as a Lifestyle, United States