Well, welcome one and all who choose to come and read our postings. We are the Jamison's: Dad, Brian; Mom, Laci; daughter, Angela; son, Connor; and dog, Harley.
Back in June Brian started going to school to get a new job. Once in school it was decided it would be best for him to get a traveling apprenticeship. Therefore we started the process of selling our home in Washington State and buying a 5th wheel. After a grueling couple of weeks of packing and moving most all of our things into storage we were sort of ready to leave. We planned on leaving on Wednesday October 1st, but decided that we might as well get started on the road the night before. Sure enough small little glitch after another fell on our already stressed selves. After a couple rush trips to the store we made it on our way all of 20 minutes from home and then we camped for the night. We started paring down what we had packed, throwing away and giving away things. We "enjoyed" lots of driving, about 335 miles per day. Our second night was spent in a little town in Montana. The third night was also in Montana, but just barely in Montana. We were unable to get out of that state due to some motorcycle dilemmas. We had it on a little rack stuck in the receiver hitch of the 5th wheel. After a couple of days of bouncing around it was about to break off. Therefore we hooked it up with the front wheel
on the rack and the rear wheel pulling behind. It sort of worked, except for turning tight corners. It was the best we could do at the time, until we could get to a bigger town and get an utility trailer for it. During the fourth day we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. We all really liked it. As we were on the freeway, oops, one of the motorcycle straps broke and we layed the bike over on the freeway. Scary for me since I was following Brian and saw it all happen. Fortunately the bike itself was fine, just a little bit of the plastic got ruined. We headed back into Rapid City, SD for a utility trailer. After that everything seemed much nicer. That night we stayed in a little town in SD. The fifth night we stayed in Omaha, NE. Most days we drove to dinner, spent a couple of hours resting and then drove some 
more. Not so the fifth night. We got in and rested all night. The next morning we got to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo there in Omaha. It was a lot of fun seeing monkeys, giraffes, elephants and rhinos. We all really enjoyed it. That night we arrived in Indianola, IA where we stayed for the week. Of course we enjoyed our time there but we were not completely out of the oops zone. I was headed to the store to get some keys copied, including the camper key. Once to the store, no key. I searched and searched and couldn't find it. Thankfully the locksmith got us into the camper and made us some new keys. Brian finished his training on Friday and wanted to get moving, only problem, we snapped the shaft that ran from the front jack motor to the jacks, therefore no leaving. We were able to hook the camper to the truck the next morning and off we left for Monomonee Falls, WI (a suburb of Milwaukee). We got close that night, but we couldn't quite find it. Thanks to Wal-Mart we had a place to stay. The next day we found the union hall and stayed there. On Monday, Brian had an appointment and then we were off to Madison, WI. Again another appointment for him and off to work just north of Madison. We found a campground where we thought we would stay, that is until they turned off our water. So now we are at a campground near Portage, WI and we are settled for a few months. We have been having lots of nice weather but they are predicting rain and wind for most of this coming week. Brian really is enjoying work. The kids and I are trying to settle into a routine. We are still enjoying everything, including the nomadic lifestyle we have chosen to adopt. It is difficult to remember to connect with family as the time zones are throwing us off, but we will do our best.
Back in June Brian started going to school to get a new job. Once in school it was decided it would be best for him to get a traveling apprenticeship. Therefore we started the process of selling our home in Washington State and buying a 5th wheel. After a grueling couple of weeks of packing and moving most all of our things into storage we were sort of ready to leave. We planned on leaving on Wednesday October 1st, but decided that we might as well get started on the road the night before. Sure enough small little glitch after another fell on our already stressed selves. After a couple rush trips to the store we made it on our way all of 20 minutes from home and then we camped for the night. We started paring down what we had packed, throwing away and giving away things. We "enjoyed" lots of driving, about 335 miles per day. Our second night was spent in a little town in Montana. The third night was also in Montana, but just barely in Montana. We were unable to get out of that state due to some motorcycle dilemmas. We had it on a little rack stuck in the receiver hitch of the 5th wheel. After a couple of days of bouncing around it was about to break off. Therefore we hooked it up with the front wheel
on the rack and the rear wheel pulling behind. It sort of worked, except for turning tight corners. It was the best we could do at the time, until we could get to a bigger town and get an utility trailer for it. During the fourth day we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. We all really liked it. As we were on the freeway, oops, one of the motorcycle straps broke and we layed the bike over on the freeway. Scary for me since I was following Brian and saw it all happen. Fortunately the bike itself was fine, just a little bit of the plastic got ruined. We headed back into Rapid City, SD for a utility trailer. After that everything seemed much nicer. That night we stayed in a little town in SD. The fifth night we stayed in Omaha, NE. Most days we drove to dinner, spent a couple of hours resting and then drove some 
more. Not so the fifth night. We got in and rested all night. The next morning we got to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo there in Omaha. It was a lot of fun seeing monkeys, giraffes, elephants and rhinos. We all really enjoyed it. That night we arrived in Indianola, IA where we stayed for the week. Of course we enjoyed our time there but we were not completely out of the oops zone. I was headed to the store to get some keys copied, including the camper key. Once to the store, no key. I searched and searched and couldn't find it. Thankfully the locksmith got us into the camper and made us some new keys. Brian finished his training on Friday and wanted to get moving, only problem, we snapped the shaft that ran from the front jack motor to the jacks, therefore no leaving. We were able to hook the camper to the truck the next morning and off we left for Monomonee Falls, WI (a suburb of Milwaukee). We got close that night, but we couldn't quite find it. Thanks to Wal-Mart we had a place to stay. The next day we found the union hall and stayed there. On Monday, Brian had an appointment and then we were off to Madison, WI. Again another appointment for him and off to work just north of Madison. We found a campground where we thought we would stay, that is until they turned off our water. So now we are at a campground near Portage, WI and we are settled for a few months. We have been having lots of nice weather but they are predicting rain and wind for most of this coming week. Brian really is enjoying work. The kids and I are trying to settle into a routine. We are still enjoying everything, including the nomadic lifestyle we have chosen to adopt. It is difficult to remember to connect with family as the time zones are throwing us off, but we will do our best.
1 comment:
Hi Laci and everyone! Whew! Finally you can rest! We know how stressful moving cross country can be! You have our sympathy! We are glad you are enjoying some of the trip, and like your new home! Glad to hear Brian likes his new job! Love hearing and living your adventures! Looking forward to the next installment! Kera & Levi
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