What Does a Month on the Road Look Like



The first 11.5 months of this dream was just theoretical.  It wasn’t until the last two weeks that it became real.  How am I going to pack 4 of us for life on the road in a vehicle with 7 other people?  I found some packing cubes online and packed us all up about a week before we left.  I was so proud of myself—I got five full outfits for each of us plus Sunday dress clothes in each of the cubes.  Woot!


Talking with Shanon and Heather and revisiting the route, we decided we needed six full outfits because there were a few spots that laundry facilities were going to be hard to come by.  Add in that we will be experiencing weather from Florida to Maine and it was too much for my little cubes to handle, so I had to alter our packing plan a bit.


In the end, I have one complete duffle with six full outfits, a skirt, 6 workout outfits, a pair of size 11 running shoes, a towel, and a rain jacket all for me and another duffle for all the kids.  Then there is a beach bag with our swimming stuff so that we can try to contain the sand and a small duffle with jeans and a sweatshirt for each of us for when we camp.  Not too shabby for 4 weeks on the road.


The other big issue we had facing us was the cost of food.  Eating on the road can add up real quick. I can easily drop $15 every time we stop at a gas station filling up on drinks and treats, so we put ourselves on budgets and we’re trying to keep food costs at $10/person per day.  This means that road trip treats have to be kept at a minimum.  This is great for someone who doesn’t want to gain a lot of weight, but is something new for the kids to adjust to. I cut up vegetables for me to nosh on and divvied out the treats so the kids wouldn't rip through them on the first day.  I'm hoping to not have to hit the grocery store until we get to the beach house in Florida.

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