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Traveling Tuttles: Come Away...Home Away

Come away with me in the night
Come away with me
And I will write you a song
Come away with me on a bus...
 Come Away with Me...Norah Jones 

Do you ever find yourself singing a song because certain words come into your thoughts?  Yeah....it happens to me all the time.  I found myself singing the Norah Jones Come Away With Me song since I've been thinking of traveling as a lifestyle. 

We've been RV "shopping" every weekend since returning from our trip last month.  We've been doing this so we don't lose focus on our goal.  It's our way of being "visionaries for real".  

In our search we found a motor coach that can possibly fit us comfortably.  It looks very nice inside. 

Cozy...comfy...and the whole nine yards!   


Yep...I totally got the vision of us traveling from state to state....RV park to RV park with our van in tow. Yeah...it could work. 

 But then the thought of the day to day life became a tad more clear.
Hmmm.....Yep,  that's what happens when you think a little more on the details...the little details. 

An important detail is to make sure Donnie has a comfortable work environment.  Donnie is a sales coach so he needs space with little distraction and minimal noise so he can do what he does best...motivate, inspire, encourage his clients.  He coaches clients via phone calls every week. 

A very vivid image of him trying to work in our 40ft motor coach came to mind: Kid noises fell into my ears; A rainy midweek day came into my thoughts; The possibility of the kids arguing with no room to escape;  Donnie getting all worked up because he's not able to concentrate eventually saying that we can't do this "traveling thing".

Honestly though, how could we make this work for Donnie?  Ok...yes...he could rent office space in the city we were staying at. But really?  Realistically speaking...that's not what he is looking forward to doing. 

 I've been reminiscing of the home we rented during our Christmas getaway in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. That house was great!! We had plenty of space for all of us to stretch out.  It was equipped with everything we would need; We had WiFi connection, TV for the kids, plenty of outside space.  Beautiful and peaceful surroundings.  I could have easily stayed in that home for a few months.  Unfortunately...real life called us back...Donnie's office job and kids' school. 



Today we have nothing holding us back.  We are free to roam where we want to....all around the world (Remember the B52s?) 

Roam if you want to, roam around the world
Roam if you want to, without wings without wheels
Roam if you want to, roam around the world
Roam if you want to, without anything but the love we feel

Roam about in this amazing country....Heck...the whole world!!


I proposed the idea to Donnie....something to ponder on.  

Could it become a reality?  Could we live in Home Away homes or an Airbnb while we traveled around the country and eventually the world?

For those who don't know about Home Away, it's a site where you can find vacation homes for rent.  This is how we found our Michigan Christmas cabin.   I think it was once known as VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owners).  It is very similar to AirBnB yet a tad bit different.  I think AirBnBs are generally known for renting out rooms in homes to travelers.  Although, they do have whole houses for rent.  Whenever I think of an AirBnB...I kinda, sorta compare it to a bed and breakfast?

Anyway...the more we talked about the possibility of traveling this way, the more excited we became of the opportunity that was before us.  Yes...absolutely we could do it!  We ran some numbers in our head....continued to "dream"... looked up some of the home rental prices on the website and realized that we CAN DO IT!  Many of these homes are available for a lower rate if they are rented out for a longer stay. 

We gathered the kids around the dinner table and shared our idea.  Some of the kids were sad by the thought of us not traveling in an RV.  One child shared his concern asking, "How could we still visit the grand canyon, the great plains, or places like that if we don't have an RV?" We explained to him that there are people in this entire earth willing to rent out their homes to people traveling.  We told them that wherever your heart desires I'm 100% certain that there is a home in close vicinity.  If not...then we just have to drive a few hours to get there.  

We pulled up the website homeaway.com, typed in the location where the grand canyon is located, our family size and rental price suitable to our desire.  We found plenty of homes available.  We answered some more of their questions then realized....we all realized it was possible to travel while Daddy works!


To begin preparing for our grand adventure, we are getting rid of those things that will hold us back. Our lease in our current rental home ends in March of 2017 and from there we have no idea where we will be going.  Thoughts have crossed our mind about living near the beach, close to St. Augustine or Jacksonville since some of the kids have been interested in surfing lately.  


We may stay on the coast for a few months then either move towards the west....into Texas...New Mexico...Arizona..then into California.  Or move up towards the the east coast and experience a season living in snowy weather.  Maybe Alaska...heck why not Hawaii.  We don't know! We would love to have lived in every state.


It's all truly in God's hands.  And honestly that's what makes it even more exciting.  We believe that in our travels we will meet interesting people...we will make new friends.  

But you know what? Our home base will always be Florida.  Hurricanes and all! 

Our family is here.  Our amazing friends are here. This is where Donnie and I met.  This is where our kids were born. 



We know that we can always come back to living the life we have been living for the past 24 years.  The place we currently call HOME, Gainesville, Florida.  

The place where we began our family..growing from two to ten.



Yeah...that place.

I leave you with a little tune that just ran through my noggin...

Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Alabama, Arkansas,
I do love my Ma and Pa
Not the way that I do love you

Well, holy moly me oh my
You’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I've never loved one like you

Man, oh, man, you're my best friend
I scream it to the nothingness
There ain't nothing that I need

Well, hot and heavy pumpkin pie
Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ
Ain't nothing please me more than you

Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you
Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you

La la la la
Take me home
Mama, I'm coming home....

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