I have to admit that there are moments when I get nervous. I think this is the hardest time – just before packing up our house and putting it all in storage. I think this is why a lot of people choose not to do it. But what I learned last year is that once all the stuff is away, there is an incredible sense of freedom. So for now, I am enjoying these last minutes in our home and am packing boxes, even if it feels a bit unnatural.

We were in Ottawa yesterday walking around downtown and it felt like a small practice for when we’ll be on the road. The hardest thing was that we all have different paces. M likes to stay and look at everything for a long time. I like to move when it’s time to move, but take breaks and sit for awhile and just appreciate being wherever I am. Ghis wanted to be in nature, so he wanted to hurry through downtown.

We realized that it will be a question of communication and that travelling together requires some compromises. All in all, we’re not really worried. Well, maybe just a little. Travelling with a six-year-old is fun, but has its own challenges. If anything, kids remind you to take care of yourself – to stop and eat and rest and, especially, play.

One of the goals of our trip is to connect with people in different places and learn from observing their lifestyles. Another goal is to not spend much money. With this in mind, we have decided to do Woofing. WWOOF is an organization that connects people who want to work on organic farms with hosts. We have already joined WWOOF-Canada and arranged a few 2-week stays in the Maritimes. In exchange for five hours of work a day, our hosts will provide meals and accommodations.

A few times, we have stayed with friends who’ve had a big impression on us – their lifestyle, pace, environmental habits, etc. I think the best way to learn is to experience these different lifestyles and see: how do they really work day to day? I want to use this blog to share this information with all the people who don’t have this opportunity to be on the road right now. And maybe, just maybe, I’m out to convince you that it’s possible – that you could do it, too.

We are embarking on a one year tour of North America.  Our car will be home to the four of us as we hit the road.  We’re starting our trip in the Canadian maritime provinces in August, 2009.  In the Fall, we will head South along the Atlantic Coast of North America.

We plan to spend the Holiday Season in Mexico.  The Spring of 2010 will see us heading North up the Pacific Coast.  We aim to arrive in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the end of June 2010.

We are:

Ghis: spontaneous adventurer, lover of technology and nature, 44 years old

Heather: storyteller, teacher, creative thinker, 38 years old

Morgane: gorgeous chatterbox, creative thinker, philosopher, 6 3/4 years old

Carmanah: retired sleddog, shedding sweatheart, 13 years old

Over the years, we have moved many times.  We moved in together in Vancouver, then moved to Prince George. We moved once while still in Prince George, then decided to move to Quebec, moved to Drummondville, then to the countryside, and then to Montreal. We moved from Montreal into our first house, then moved into a storage unit, and finally, a beautiful apartment in Westmount.

Ghis says this will be the last time.  He says our next home will be our home for a very long time.  But for now, we are packing.  Our system is based on our individual preferences. I love packing and having garage sales.  Ghis loves moving things around and completing change of addresses with the different service providers (maybe love is too strong a word). We’re June the 5th.  By June 26th, as Ghis says, we’ll be homeless. At least he says it with a smile.

I put off starting this blog because I couldn’t think of a good name. How could I name our trip when I wasn’t even sure where it would take us? So, I am happy with rambling which describes our style of travel as well as my style of writing.

Rambling (definition from dictionary.com):

1. to wander around in a leisurely, aimless manner
2. to take a course with many turns or windings, as  a stream or path
3. to grow in a random, unsystematic fashion
4. to talk or write in a discursive, aimless way