Traveling Community

One of the very BEST things about being on the road is the amazing people we meet. We've been so blessed to come into new friendships in every city we've been in...and our hearts are so full! We are often asked if we get lonely for community and friends while on the road. While there are definitely times that we miss family and old friends who truly know everything about us, the cool thing is that at any point in time...anywhere in the country, we can be surrounded by people we love.

This has come from being traveling for almost 4 years now and building up those relationships that have formed along the way (yay for Facebook and email!). Here are some of the people who we have created memories with lately:

The Loecken Family is on their own tour...Passion To Action. They are friends of friends and we tried to connect with them in Minnesota but it didn't work out. We were bummed. One morning in Golden, we woke up and found their RV parked a few spots away from ours! Neither one of us knew that the other would be there! We had a BLAST getting to know them better over 2 weeks. They are a dynamic, wonderful family...with their eyes firmly on Jesus.

Sharing a meal with the Loeckens.

Evening worship with Ben and Matt.

Lynne from "Family of Movers" contacted me while we were in Golden and we got together for a playdate. The girls had a great time playing together and the mamas did too. Shortly after, she and her husband decided to hit the road as well! You can see their blog here.

While we were near Boulder, CO, we held a potluck for all the blog readers in that area. We had a BLAST meeting everyone and we wished it could have gone on longer! Some of you might recognize some faces in these photos...Suzy from Hip Mountain Mama brought her family, as did Lisa from Visionary Mom. Plus lots of new friends as well! So, so fun.

Everybody loves a campfire!

Mamas in the house.

Bella found friends too!

Within one day of arriving in Golden, Bella was invited to a birthday party for a little girl she met in the park! After the party, we continued hanging out with Hillary and Aliza and look forward to seeing them again when we return someday.

 We spent several days and nights with the YWAM crew in Salem. Love it there. Gorgeous surroundings and beautiful souls. The community of people there made us not want to leave :)

Last but not least, I have to mention an inspiring guy we met while in Texas...Mr. Mike Hedge! Mike heard about us through our mutual friend, Tiffani, and he just happened to be traveling through Texas the same time we were there. He stopped by Hill Shade for a half day of fun and took some jump shots for his book. We've been inspired ever since and have been doing jump shots of our own. Thanks Mike!

So, as you can see...there is no shortage of community on the road! I have a lot more "friend fun" to share...but I'll be doing separate posts on my sister's visit and our time in northern California.

Crossing Paths

In December 2008, we sold one of our RV's to Kevin and Annmarie Gianni...they flew into Bozeman and we hung out for the day, teaching them a little about life on the road before they set out on their own nationwide tour.

Today, our paths crossed again...this time in Phoenix, AZ. It was so fun to reconnect, hear their stories from these past 15 months and to see our old RV again!

Kevin and Annmarie host The Renegade Health Show...which focuses mostly on natural living and raw foods, along with a few other fun things. The show is GREAT, and if you are interested in healthy living at all, you need to be watching their show. Matt and I love it. I also love Kevin's book, High Raw. If you've ever been curious about raw foods, but didn't know where to start, check it out. There is a free eBook version here.

Annmarie also just launched a new skin care line and she gave me some samples to try out. I am pretty skeptical when it comes to using "products"...but OH. MY. WORD. I am loving it. Such yummy stuff. Totally organic and natural. So natural that she said I could eat it if I so desired :) I'll be posting more about them on Walk Slowly soon...

It was strange to see our old RV with their stuff in it! :) Shout out to Johnny 5, the kitty cat. They are creating an indoor container garden in the living room area...can't wait to see it all "grown up". We get questions about how to do a garden on the road a lot, so here is one option.

I made a video with them as well...they shared with me their very favorite places in the U.S...along with tips for those who have dreams of a traveling lifestyle. Check it out!

39 Floors Above Vegas

A few months ago, I got this message on Flickr:

Are you a homeschoolin' RV mama? I know, strange question, lol. Someone suggested I find 'delight' on here since I'm about to go RV'ing for a little bit, and I'm wondering if you are she!

Tiffani

I wrote Tiffani back and assured that I "I am she". :) I started following her amazing Flickr stream...and realized that she is a total freak about photography, just like me. We sent a few more messages...and I always looked forward to her photos. I also started reading her blog, Child's Play.

Then, a few days before we were leaving Vegas, I got another message that said she was going to BE IN VEGAS for 3 days! Yay! That's what I'm talkin' about. Tiffani was going to be tagging along to Vegas while her husband attended a convention there. They left the kiddos with Grandma.

After a few failed attempts at connecting, we were finally able to make it happen. We picked her up at the Four Seasons (where Matt happened to walk right by Cameron Diaz!) and we headed out for Thai food. Afterwards, we hung out in her huge hotel room on the 39th floor. Our ears popped as we were going up there!

Lucy loved sitting at the window and looking at the pretty lights. We were so high up that it kind of made us dizzy looking down to the ground!

We all curled up in the cushy bed and giggled like we were having a slumber party. It was a good time.

We had such fun talking about unschooling, photography, Jason Mraz, and life in an RV. It's really amazing how we can feel like old friends in such a short time thanks to the connection we had online. Can't wait to run into this family again on the road somewhere...

You can check out her sweet blog here.
And her Flickr stream here.
Photos from our time together here.
All photos available for comment on Flickr here.