Ok folks, here is our 6 month Q&A answers
1. What is the one thing you miss the most?
Pat - The only thing I really miss, is the close contact we had with our friends & family. Owning a bar, we really had hundreds of close friends that we saw on a everday basis. We lived in a small town, so we were with our family almost every day.
Cindy - I miss having multiple pairs of shoes, dressing up in nice clothes and showering twice a day....and I dont miss them that much, so it's not such a bad thing
I really miss having a yard and garden to work in and digging in the dirt.
2. What is the one thing you like the most?
Pat - I love the fact that we get to meet so many new people daily, and see somewhere new almost every day. I really like to learn new things and see new things, so I'm living a dream right now.
Cindy - I like the fact that I can clean my kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom in twenty minutes....thirty minutes if I vaccumn and mop.
3. What is the one thing you miss the least?
Pat - I know I dont miss the daily stress of owning a business, running a magazine and dealing with day to day things that we've now realized werent needed at all.
Cindy - COLD WEATHER and that Grey season in Michigan that we tend to have 6 months out of the year. That gloomy part of the year where all our roads are brown and all the vegetation looks dead. Since we've left, we've been in sunshine and comfortable temperatures almost everyday!!
4. What is the one thing you did before leaving that you are glade you did?
Pat - Enough research to know we had the right camper and most of the needed equipment. Since we've been on the road, if we would had just went and bought any-ol' camper I think we would have been updating and upgrading almost every week. Since on the road, we've only really added a few things, and those were minor things like Fans, air-bags to the truck...etc
Cindy - Spent lots of time with friends and family, so much so that they were probably sick of us. And selling all of our materialistic things, and feeling that freedom to know you dont have to have those things to live comfortably.
5. What is the one thing you wish you would have done before leaving?
Pat - Nothing really, my motto has always been 'If I needed something or wanted something, I went and got it and figured out a way to pay for it in cash before I got it' I've worked my butt off to make sure all the little luxuries we have we dont owe on, so they can never be taken away.
Cindy - Our 2006 tax returns, that's a stress that sits on my mind till we get home in July for a two week re-stock and re-adjust. We filed an extension and payed a guestimate on what our accountant thought we'd owe. But I worry about it a lot!
6. What is the one thing you did after leaving that you are glade you did?
Pat - Make that final decision to leave and find a few good web forums like this to get so many questions answered.
Cindy - It's too hard to pin point only one thing. There's not one thing in the past 6 months that I'm not glad we didnt do. Probably spending over a month in Arkansas, which is my favorite state so far!!
7. What is the one thing you wish you would have done after leaving?
Pat - Go slower - see more!! 100 miles a day is too fast
Cindy - Planned economically for more than a two year trip. Once on the road, we've realized our planned budget for only two years is going to have to be stretched to 3 to 5 years. I'm scurring to figure out how to stretch it.
8. What is the hardest thing you have found with living on the road?
Pat - For me it's the Dogs. They take up way too much time and we've had to cancel a few things, or change plans because of them. I know Cindy will kill me for saying that, but they're just too big for how much we move and do outdoors. Maybe if we had two toy terriers that weighed a pound a piece, it'd be different. But a 90lb. pit bull and an old ornery beagle are my thorn in the side right now.
Cindy - Cooking. It's not really all that hard, but I tend to dirty every dish I use and it's hard to get used to going from 32 kitchen cabinets to just two!! It's hard to work with the limited Counter Space, but if that's all I have to complain about, is it really complaining??
9. What is the easiest thing you have found with living on the road?
Pat - How little you really need. Even half the stuff we brought hasent come out of it's box yet. We packed a lot of stuff for out West, and now realize we could have left it at home, and picked it up for the second half of the year and saved a lot of space and weight. Put a tag with a date on everything in your house, every time you touch it, change the date. Tell me how often you actually use everything in your life right now. You'll be amazed at how much junk you think you need to live comfortably!!
Cindy - The fact that I dont have to get ready to go anywhere. I can wear my pajamas/boxers all day if I want to
Since I live in cut-off shorts, flip-flops and a t-shirt, my wardrobe is pretty simple.
10. What is the one most important thing you want to do / accomplish in the next 6 months?
Pat - Slow down and see more. Take better pictures and get deeper into the culture with each new place we see.
Cindy - Market ourselves better so we can pick-up a few sponsors for our journey. If it's going to be extended for 3 years, we need to market ourselves to a broader audience. We're trying to figure out an angle to approach various companies, if anyone has any suggestions. That and Slow Down!
So there are your answers. Really, we've both learned so much from this forum and especially all the tips and hints you've all given us. Thanks for the support, and if we could say one thing
Dont take life so seriously! Slow Down and spend more time with your loved ones. It's a short drive, so make sure you stop and get out often!!
Thanks again
Pat & Cindy Bonish
Every Miles A Memory
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