The Contentment of the Second Year on the Road

I'm writing this from Pacific City, OR, a place we visited twice last summer and plan to spend a total of 6 weeks staying in this summer. Visiting many of these same places that we spent time in our trailer last summer has us reflecting on our experiences at those campgrounds last year when we were first starting out as a full-time RV family.

Last year we were just figuring things out. We had never towed a trailer before, never spent a night in a trailer before going full time. We didn't have experience fixing the many things that break in a trailer, making new friends on the road or homeschooling while settling in a new home every few weeks. We didn't know which places we would love and want to return to again and again, and which ones we would pass over in future years.

Our first year on the road brought with it a feeling of urgency. With each new beautiful place we got to live for a few weeks we felt a need to "fit it all in," much like you would do on a vacation to a place you may never visit again. You want to see the sights, hit all the "must visit" spots, take all the pictures.

But that urgency is exhausting and unsustainable. We're not on vacation, we live in a home on wheels so our home is in a new locale every few weeks. We need to do laundry and wash dishes, teach reading and adverbs and geometry. We need time to stay home and get into a good homeschool routine and cook and clean and rest.

And in our second year on the road, we are finding utter joy and contentment in doing just that. We have already seen a lot of the sights, done a lot of the top activities. We know which places are worthwhile to visit again and which to skip over our second time around. Here in Pacific City we love the beaches, surfing, hikes, fishing, visiting the small town library and, of course, driving up to Tillamook to go to the creamery and yet a few days each week we don't even get in the car. We are finding contentment in slowing down, staying home more and getting into the most consistent and enjoyable homeschool routine we have ever had.

With the second year comes less pressure, less urgency, more contentment and more space. We like to say that we live in a tiny home on wheels. In our first year we were focused more on the "on wheels" part: exploring new places, chasing sun, adding to the Roadschool Atlas map, learning how to live on the road. Year two we are more focused on the "tiny home" part: settling into the 300 square feet that our family shares, cooking excellent meals together and establishing a rhythm of homeschooling that delights and educates us all.