Bittersweet Symphony

Leaving Estella behind in Minnesota was bittersweet. Despite the expensive visits for servicing, our RV was a stalwart companion. She traveled many miles and kept us safe around every turn, our own little nomadic family. But every day that passed, I found myself increasingly looking forward to settling down somewhere and finding our Unicorn City. So, we said goodbye for now, and I look forward to when we can travel again.

The SUV (not yet named) has considerably less space than the RV for storage, so I had to be really thoughtful about what we could bring. In the end, I wish we could’ve brought more. There are some groups dedicated to people who “car camp”, and I admire them and, at the same time, have no idea how they do it.

My first step was figuring out how to bring Arthur and his paraphernalia. His cat stand had to come along as well as his poop box, food, and toys. I also needed my work gear, basic supplies for the bathroom and kitchen, clothes for all climates, and shoes. All the places that I lined up for the next year were furnished, which helps a lot. I ended up buying clear plastic storage bins for all of it, so this is what I ended up packing:

• Larger Storage Bins: (1) winter gear / coats; (2) pants; (3) shirts / sweaters
• Suitcase: This is always packed for a trip to FL or TX. To me, it’s always hot in both of those locations, so most of my “summer” clothes are in there.
• Tote Bag: I packed a lot of my smaller work things like pens, cords, mouse, Remarkable, laptop, iPad, personal laptop, laptop stand, etc.
• Backpack: This is where all the bigger work stuff ended up: keyboard, monitor, headphones, speaker, etc.
• Medium Storage Bins: (1) bathroom stuff, (2) Arthur’s cat crap, (3) bigger kitchen things
• Small Storage Bins: (1) more bathroom stuff and jewelry, (2) top-drawer things, (3) workout apparel, (4) smaller kitchen things
• Pillow and Blanket
• Duffle Bag: This was just for some of my shoes, a sad small amount of footwear.
• Small safe for valuables, and as I type this, and I can’t remember where I put the key….

In the end, it is a real life game of Tetris, and we had space to make it all work and still see out of all the windows.

Arthur did great on the trip. The first half hour was a good amount of yowling since this was a brand new travel space for him, but then he settled in to his hideout in the cat tree and was just fine until we reached Evanston. We stopped for donuts at Thorton’s, my favorite gas station donuts. They don’t have them at every station, but the one in Roscoe, IL, is marked as a favorite location in my maps just for the donuts.

Our furnished rental was a garden-level apartment in Evanston was just off Ashbury Avenue.

The walking space bathroom alone was larger than the RV, and the bedroom was very spacious. So, I did end up keeping Arthur confined to those two spaces when we were there. It was an adjustment for both of us.

The kitchen was pretty basic, but it was still a step up in space and convenience versus the RV. I borrowed a Crockpot from a friend while I was there, and that meant a very delicious pot roast slow-cooked over a bed of carrots and potatoes. 😍

I did venture out while I was in Chicago, so more on that next time.

And finally, Arthur in one of his favorite perches in Evanston. He was eye-level with all of our bunny and squirrel neighbors.