For as long as I can remember...

...I've seen things for how they could be, instead of how they are. 

This particular attribute has NOT served me well when it comes to romantic relationships and perhaps is the very reason why I’ve always been romantically challenged. This trait, however, has served me quite well when it comes to projects, and often leaves others to ask “How did she do that?” 

As a teenager I would ride my bike past a small abandoned farmhouse not far from where I grew up.  I would daydream about living there, and working on it to restore it to it’s former glory.  The “No Trespassing” signs did nothing to deter me from exploring behind the rusted hinges and broken windows of a once thriving household.  Of course, I had no idea how much time, money, or expertise it would actually take to restore that little broken down house because that was many years before I ever painted a wall or learned the difference between a jigsaw and a miter saw.   It didn’t matter though, I was enthralled. 

I guess you could say that the “fixer upper” in me is embedded deep in my soul.

If you’ve known me for more than 5 minutes you know I’m always working on something.  (Sometimes…many “somethings”.)  I think I’m addicted to the “before” and “after” pictures of renovation projects so it only makes sense that one would find it’s way into my life.  The story itself will unfold in this blog but suffice it to say that my trailer project has proven itself to be a perfect way to combine my love of renovation and travel.

Before I embarked on my vintage trailer journey I didn’t even know that vintage trailer renovation was a growing trend supported by an aging population eager to explore on a budget.  I didn’t realize that there are an increasing number of people who passionately live with a “less is more” perspective and actually prefer tiny houses to big mansions.  Gone is the ideal of saving, or borrowing, to buy a $50,000 recreational vehicle with all the bells and whistles.  The new, poorer, middle class that has been created by a recessed economy is making due with less.  But, it seems, they’re not giving up on their dreams completely.  They’re just changing them, scaling them back.

Let me restate: 

I’m not giving up on my dreams of travel completely.

I’m just changing them, scaling them back.

The best part of these trends is that they seems to imply that the materialistic world I grew up in is, perhaps, shifting to support a more easily realized set of ideals.  The best part of my dream of travel is that now (with the addition of my renovated trailer) it requires only...a sense of adventure, a little bit of gas money, and some time off from work.

Given this new set of circumstances, Dr. Seuss’ words seem quite fitting, don’t you think?

"You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own.

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll DECIDE WHERE TO GO...”